Can anyone talk me through the low-carb thing?

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I'm having trouble working out the theory behind this low carb diet I'm about to try.

I have been dieting (calorie counting) with no success since the beginning on Jan. Constantly hungry, always end up binging, not losing any weight (and if I do, I put it straight back on at the next binge) and its driving me mad.

I NEED to lose around 2 stone.

So I'm changing tactics and going for the low carb thing but as much as I try and understand it, it just doesn't make any sense to me.

How could eating eggs, bacon and sausages for my breakfast make me lose weight any better than eating a bowl of low fat cereal??? Looking at the atkins style diet, I'll be eating much more fat and calories than I am at the moment. I'm skeptical to say the least.

Does it really work as well as people say? and what is this induction thing that people keep telling me about?

What happens with low-carb diets is that people lose weight because they are generally docking about 30% of the calories from their diet. If you can picture it... no bread, no potatoes, no pasta etc... it's tough to make up all those calories with meat, eggs etc. Also, protein and fat are appetite suppressants. So the dieter doesn't feel as hungry which all helps with the 'eating less' part. Ketosis happens but, be under no illusion, the main reason for weight-loss is good old fewer calories going in than calories going out.

As for how well it 'works'.. it does short-term because if you lose a lot of carbohydrates from your diet your glycogen (short term energy/carbohydrate) stores massive reduce along with all the fluid attached to them. So people get excited about this initial loss but, two or three weeks down the track, the rate has slowed down to something more usual... just the same as calorie-counting. ('Induction' is the period where you eat almost no carbohydrates... 20g Atkins suggested... and you end up with a very imbalanced diet.) Of course, if you ever slip up and eat a jacket potato or a few glasses of wine your glycogen stores replenish rapidly and people can gain 7lbs overnight.

If you're struggling you can take the better aspects of low-carb and tweak your current diet a little. For example, make sure you get a little appetite-suppressing protein and fat at each meal.... a breakfast of poached egg and wholegrain toast really does keep you feeling fuller for longer than a bowl of low-fat cereals. Eat more fibrous, unprocessed and wholegrain carbohydrates in preference to low-fibre, highly-processed and 'white' carbohydrates. These are also more filling.

Don't crash your calorie-intake too low because that's what usually leads to bingeing. If you're between 10 and 12st, for example, and if you are pretty active then you could start losing weight on 1500-1700 a day. Often people go for 1000-1200 and it's just not enough.

I have also tried many diets before unsuccessfully. I am on a LC diet called GoLower as are some others on this forum. Have been doing for 1 month and lost 1 stone. I don't feel hungry and although cutting out the carbs was hard at first I am now used to it and don't really exercise either. I have another 5 stone plus to go and have a friend who did this diet last year and lost 6 stone, and although she still has to monitor her carb intake has so far not put any back on.
I am not too sure about the science of it but basically it takes a few days for your body to go into Ketosis (this may be the induction you mentioned?) during this time you may suffer headaches and feel tired but it does pass and I now feel great.
Best of luck on losing your 2 stone, I hope to reach my 2 stone loss in 4 weeks time.