Sharon -

Cheryl pretty much has it.. lots of meat and salad. And TONS of water. I drink at least 3 quarts a day now.

Carrots are not on the menu for the first part of the diet. You're allowed 3 cups of salad greens a day ..or two cups of salad greens plus a cup of other dark green veggies like broccoli, green beans, kale, etc. Tomatos are on the list too.

My salad dressing solution is to take equal parts soy sauce, vinegar, and lime juice, throw in a little red pepper flake and use the fork dip method for eating it with salad.

I keep a big stash of canned seafood (I love Costco). I have salmon, tuna, and even chicken. I mix it with a little bit of onion, mayo, mustard and horseradish.

Pepperjack cheese omelettes are good too.

The carb count on the protein bars is a little misleading. Not all carbs are digestible (fiber for example) and those dont count. The Atkins Advantage and the Carb Solutions bars have 14 grams of carbs in them, but only 2-3 grams are digestible. (Atkins Advantage Chocolate Coconut taste the best out of those I've tried so far.

That being said, I don't actually sit down and count the carbs I eat. I eat whats on the acceptable food list, and usually have one carb bar a day for a snack and chocolate fix. I find I'm not hungry other than that (which is a rather amazing feat for me).

I took some great advice from Tazi, and I give myself a cheat day. Mine is Sunday and coincides with my weigh in. I don't eat anything ridiculous, but thats when I have my fruit, and this morning I had a breakfast burrito. The key for me is to weigh myself first..that usually keeps me from cheating too much

And I work out during my lunch hour..thankfully there's a fitness center right downstairs. And since I take my lunch at 2am.. I'm usually in there alone and don't have to feel self conscious about my athletic inability.

Take some time to sit down and read the book..at least the first section through induction.

I've got a couple friends doing it with me, and we keep each other honest. Feel free to email me if you need some support or have any questions.

I personally don't have the discipline to do my own thing, but I can't be bothered to do a lot of measuring and calorie/points counting, so this is working well for me. I don't get too worried about eating too many veggies one day, as long as they are on the list.

Good luck!