Q&A WITH DR SCHOONBEE

This is something that has long puzzled me in my practice so today I’d like to share what I’ve learned.

1. Motivation: The reason why you are signing up for this lifestyle is very important. Do you want to be healthier – or did your partner feel you needed it? Is it just because it’s a craze and everybody’s doing it? You will be more successful if you want to be healthier and you can accept that you’ll have to make a few sacrifices to achieve that.

2. Information: You aren’t informed. It’s important to understand why low-carb eating works and why you have to abide by the ‘rules’. There are no benefits to doing it half-heartedly.

3. Understanding: Guidelines have to be simple, clear and practical, with no room for misunderstanding. People have to realise how important it is to keep the carbohydrate intake low and to understand that most starches are converted to sugars in the body.

4. Personal or religious beliefs: These might make it difficult to follow the lifestyle. Some religions prohibit the eating of certain types of food and there are also people who will not eat or use any animal products such as meat, fish, eggs or dairy.

5. Allergies and/or discomfort: Being allergic to products such as nuts or eggs makes it more difficult. In some cases, people who experience early side effects of the lifestyle – such as constipation – will decide to end their lowcarb journey.

6. Group pressure or lack of support: Friends may try to convince you that low-carb eating is dangerous or tempt you to eat carbs. One of the best ways to persevere is to do it with somebody. You can support each other and share ideas.

7. Your own personality: It really helps if you can do your own cooking but not everyone can. You also get two types of people: those who need exact instructions and measurements and those who can improvise and adapt. The former become demotivated if the process proves too challenging. Some people also just don’t like to cook.

8. Availability of ingredients: I often hear, ‘I can’t find almond flour or psyllium husk’ or, ‘these ingredients are too expensive’ but it can be very affordable depending on what you eat, and you can substitute ingredients.

9. Acquired tastes and preferences. People will say, ‘I can’t eat eggs in the morning, I don’t like the taste,’ or ‘I hope you don’t expect me to give up my bread/potatoes/ glass of wine’. You need to accept that you will have to make sacrifices in order to achieve your goal.

10. Ingrained ideas about food. You’ve been warned since childhood about the dangers of fat and cholesterol. You cut all the fat off meat, can’t eat chicken skin and always buy the low-fat option. You can’t imagine eating more than four eggs a week, let alone three to four a day.