Startup checklist: eight steps for the first week
The first week is completed in eight steps: remove fast sugar, stock up on the basics, structure the day around two or three meals in an 8-10-hour window, get your fluid and salt intake in order, do not change your workouts and do not count calories. Nothing more complicated needs to be done during these days.
Eight steps
Remove fast sugar from the kitchen
Sugar, bread and baked goods, grains, potatoes and corn, sweet fruit, juice and soda. As long as these remain on the shelf, the decision has to be made again every evening.
Read the ingredients of what remains
Sauces, dressings, marinades, yogurts, granola, bars, plant-based milk. Hidden sugar lives where you least expect it.
Stock up on the basics
Greens and salad, avocado, eggs, fatty fish, meat, olive oil, nuts, flax and chia, sauerkraut.
Structure one ordinary day
Three meals, with protein and vegetables in each, and nothing in between. One day, not a week: after that, it will become clear what is missing from the fridge.
Set an 8-10-hour window
For example, 10:00, 13:00, 18:00. The overnight break becomes 14-16 hours and takes care of itself.
Get your fluid and salt intake in order
About two liters of fluids per day, more in hot weather and on training days. Aim for 3-5 g of salt per day, without increasing it on your own.
Do not change your workouts
Taking on a new training routine in the same week as new eating habits will not allow you to figure out what is causing weakness.
Do not count calories
During the first week, only the composition of the plate is counted. Arithmetic gets in the way at this stage.
Why this order?
Because each subsequent step relies on the previous one.
First, fast sugar is removed—otherwise everything else will be a struggle against cravings. Then the basics are stocked up—otherwise there is nothing to eat at home in the evening and the decision is made while hungry. Only after that does it make sense to talk about a window: it is impossible to maintain a break with an empty fridge.
Fluid and salt come fifth and sixth not because they are less important, but because their effect becomes noticeable once eating is already organized.
What should be in the fridge?
A short list that covers protein, fats and fiber.
Green salad and greens up to 300 g per day. Half an avocado or more. Eggs. Fatty fish several times a week. Unbreaded meat. Olive oil and apple cider vinegar for dressing. Flax and chia, 2-3 spoonfuls. Sauerkraut from 30 g, gradually increasing to 100.
Separately and with a limit: nuts 20-30 g, chocolate 85% and higher 10-20 g, added oil 10-20 g. This is an upper limit, not a mandatory amount.
What will you feel during these days?
For some people—nothing noticeable. For others, headaches, weakness, drowsiness or changes in stool appear.
Glycogen is used up, and the water bound to it leaves with it. This is why the scales may show a rapid drop in the first week—it is largely water, not fat.
It is difficult only for the first 3 days. Your mood may drop and apathy may set in. This is the body's temporary resistance.
What not to do during the first week
- Combining new eating habits, a strict deficit and new workouts on the same day
- Weighing yourself every morning and drawing conclusions from the number
- Reducing three meals to two “for speed”
- Taking salt, potassium and magnesium without a reason
- Eating less than you want to because “you've already started”
What should you do if fatty foods feel heavy?
Reduce fat portions by half and increase them gradually. If your diet used to contain little fat, your enzymes and gallbladder need time.
Heaviness after lard or bacon is a signal to reduce the portion, not to endure it. Bloating from sauerkraut is handled the same way: reduce the amount, and if you are intolerant, replace it with bell pepper and apple cider vinegar.
When this is not suitable
Do not start on your own during pregnancy or breastfeeding: the ADA names a minimum of 175 g of carbohydrates per day for pregnant women; the reference amount is higher during lactation.
With type 1 diabetes, change the regimen only together with a doctor. The same applies to type 2 diabetes if you take insulin or medications with a risk of hypoglycemia. Chronic kidney disease, a removed gallbladder, eating disorders and adolescence should also be discussed separately with a doctor.
What to read next
How the approach works as a whole is explained on the reference page low-carb eating: the complete guide.
The remaining materials in the section are collected here: starting out and the first month.
Related topic: How much water to drink on a low-carb diet and What to do after a slip.
Reviewed by Anastasia Zhukova, Fitness Trainer • Author of a Nutrition and Training System • Creator of an AI Personal Support Platform
A human has reviewed this material against the method and real client practice.