Information and support

Weight loss problems

• Diet Plateau.com. A comprehensive book about the factors that can prevent weight loss, and how to conquer weight loss problems such as a diet stall or plateau and depressed metabolism. Relevant for anyone on a diet or thinking about going on a diet, whether low carb, low GI, low calorie, low fat or any other kind of weight loss diet.

Official diet sites

• Atkins Nutritional Approach. Official Atkins Diet website. Comprehensive information on the role of low or controlled carb diets, nutritional supplementation, food intolerances and candida overgrowth in weight loss and reducing the risk of heart disease and diabetes.
• Dr Bernstein's Diabetes Solution. Official website, including Dr Bernstein's own personal experiences, and testimonials from his patients, about getting better control of diabetes using the methods in his book, including use of a low carb diet.
• Eat yourself slim. Official website of the Montignac Method. Slightly hard-to-find description of the diet is under Method.
• Protein Power. Official website of the Protein Power Diet. Support and information including FAQs, very active discussion boards, chatroom and bibliography of published independent research supporting the diet.

Diet support programs

If you like a structured approach, with your day's personalised meal plans provided for you together with shopping lists, fitness programs and access to support services online or via chat, try out eDiets.

UK focus

• eDiets UK (operated by Tescodiets.com). Atkins, low GI and lower sugar diets are currently supported under the eDiets UK membership programme. . !

US focus

• . Both Atkins and Glycemic Impact diets as well as the New Mediterranean Diet are currently supported under the eDiets US membership program.

Low carb information and support community sites

US/international focus

• LowCarbFriends. One of the most extensive sites for low carb diet support and motivation, including recipe rooms, chat rooms, extremely active discussion boards, FAQs and much more
• All Diets Low Carbs. FAQ, fledgling forums, recipes, an interesting selection of low carb articles and studies, and a fantastic index of useful information from low carber sites all over the Web (click on 'low carb articles') and much more.
• LowCarb-Resource.com. A very nice site with useful explanations on maltitol, transfats and the glycemic index, FAQs, summaries/reviews of low carb diets, recipes, product reviews and more.
• LowCarbEating.com. Another extensive site for low carb diet support and motivation, including recipes, chat, discussion boards, FAQs and much more
• Low Carb for Life. A wonderfully inspirational personal story and lots of support and motivation including tips, FAQ, resource directory, news articles, chat room and message board, diet books and cookbooks in association with Amazon, recipes and menu plans
• Low Carb Luxury. Another extensive support and information site for low carbers, including FAQs, hints and tips, good beginners' section, recipes, US-wide listing of low carb friendly restaurants, good listing of online shops (shipping from US), diet books and cookbooks in association with Amazon
• Truly Low Carb. Another extensive support and information site, including very useful FAQ, helpful articles on yoghurt and other cookery topics, recipes, newsletter, chat room and very active bulletin board
• CarbHealth. Support community for every low carb lifestyle, including recipes, forums, information, shopping, a printed low carb magazine and more
• Low Carb Nexus. Information for low carbers, including some useful hints and tips and FAQs, recipes and low carb diet books and cookbooks in association with Amazon
• Low Carb Connoisseur. Information for low carbers including recipes, chat room and active bulletin board
• Ketogenics Inc. Information for low carbers, including low carb cookery and coping with low carb life generally
• Low-Carb Pavilion. Useful information including the science behind low carb
• Tom's Low Carb Search Engine. Thousands of sites indexed for keywords with smart text searching
• Tom's Atkins Diet Mailing List and Information. One of the oldest established Atkins mailing lists, together with a FAQ, chat room and fledgling recipe room
• Tom's Atkins Diet Bulletin Board. Active Atkins Diet and low carb discussion forum
• Tom's Atkins Diet Induction Menu and Weight Tracker. Tom's sample Atkins induction menu plus weight tracker tool
• The Low Carb Cafe. Information for low carbers including FAQs, summaries of the main low or controlled carb diets, diet tools, recipes, chat room and an active message board

UK focus

• Low Carb in the UK. Information on where to get low carb products in the UK, comprehensive listings of low carb diet books and cookbooks in association with Amazon, recipes and some extremely useful FAQs on a range of topics including cookery
• Carblife. Support and information for low carbers including recipes, FAQs, active discussion boards and a useful research section, particularly an item questioning the accuracy of the glycemic index and whether there really is correlation between blood glucose and insulin levels. Very popular site for UK low carbers
• Sugarlite on-line shop. Discussion boards include a UK shopping section

Canada focus with UK, Ireland and Australia/New Zealand sections

• Atkins diet and low-carb support. Extensive information and support site including discussion boards with active sections for UK, Ireland and Australia/New Zealand and low carb online shop listings. Of particular note: research and news articles categorised by topic and split by 'for' and 'against low carbing' and a fledgling international 'yellow pages' listing of local low carb shops and low carb friendly restaurants which could help take the headache out of travelling.

New Zealand focus

• Low Carb NZ. Information including recipes, where to find low carb products in NZ, hints and tips and a checklist to help identify symptoms caused by unstable blood sugar, yeast infection and/or food allergy/intolerance/addiction (all of which respond well to low carb diets).

Australia focus

• Australian Low Carb Lifestyle. Another great Australia-focused low carb forum.
• A Pinch of Health. A nice Australia-based independent low carb and organic/wholefood/healthy living support site with a great forum and interesting links.
• Lowcarb Pantry. Information including summaries of the top 4 low carb diets and how to choose the right one for you, how to get started, and which Internet resources to go to for Australia-focused support and recipes.
• Carb-lite. Low carb recipes and 'Cook's Thesaurus' (very comprehensive listing of all categories of food including alternative names for vegetables, spices etc, how to prepare them and how to substitute for them)

Sitios en espanol

• El sitio de Shordi. El sitio excelente de un 'low carber' - todo lo que se necesita saber sobre la Dieta del Dr Atkins, como funciona y que se debe comer.
• Dieta Atkins. Foros excelentes sobre la Dieta de Atkins, en espanol.

Vegetarian low carbing

• Active Low-Carber Forums. Vegetarian low carbers' forum with lots of veggie low carbing tips and questions answered.
• How to Plan a Vegetarian Low Carb Meal. Nikola Howard's very helpful article reprinted from CarbHealth Magazine.
• Vegetarian Lowcarb. Lowcarb vegetarian Cyndi Norman's site - the place to go for listings of vegetarian sources of protein showing their protein and carbohydrate values including a comprehensive list of grains and flours, sample menus and low carb vegetarian recipes.

Carb and protein value reference and diet tracking tool sites

• US Department of Agriculture Nutrient Database. Comprehensive, quick reference for carb, protein (and other nutrient) values of individual foods (if outside USA see categorisation of fibre). For alphabetical lists of foods for a single nutrient click here and select relevant report (pdf format.)
• NutritionData.com. Quick reference, very clear, easy to read and impressively detailed nutrient data for a very wide selection of generic and branded foods (if outside USA see categorisation of fibre). Includes a Fast Foods section including Dairy Queen, KFC, Krispy Kreme, McDonald's, Pizza Hut, Subway and Taco Bell. Permits searches for foods high or low in specific nutrients. You can also add new foods or recipes. Entering your entire day's menus enables you to get a detailed analysis of your diet.
• CalorieKing.com. Quick reference for carb values of a very wide selection of generic and branded foods (but see categorisation of fibre). Also has a very comprehensive Fast-Foods and Restaurants section giving carb values for individual items at KFC, McDonalds, Pizza Hut, TGI Friday's and many more.
• FitDay.com. FitDay's free foods/nutrients, exercise, weight loss and goals tracking tool

Reference, research and articles

• Good Diet Good Health.com. A site and newsletter dedicated to raising awareness of the connection between diet, nutrition and health and providing information and resources for weight loss, allergy and other special diets.
• The Scientist and the Stairmaster New York Times journalist Gary Taubes' article on 24 September 2007 on how exercising may not cause you to lose weight after all. Quite the reverse: it may make you store fat rather than burn fat!
• Good Calories, Bad Calories: Challenging the Conventional Wisdom on Diet, Weight Control and Disease (called 'The Diet Delusion' in the UK) An Atkins interview with Gary Taubes about why he wrote his book challenging the accepted truth that weight loss is simply a matter of eating fewer calories and that heart disease is caused by a high fat diet.
• The quality of calories: what makes us fat and why nobody seems to care A webcast by Gary Taubes at the School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, on 27 November 2007.
• What if it's all been a big fat lie? Article in The New York Times on 7 July 2002 by journalist Gary Taubes on how the recommendation decades ago that we all eat a low fat diet lacked good scientific evidence, and how 'low fat is healthy' proponents may soon be forced by the evidence to accept that carbohydrates not fat are the real villains. MIT interview with Gary Taubes about his 'Big Fat Lie' article, containing links to other related articles.
• Diabetes, insulin, leptin and diet. An article by Ron Rosedale, MD on 3 December 2007 on the pitfalls of treating diabetes with insulin and a high carb diet, and the role of leptin in insulin resistance.
• Calcium loss and bone health on low carb. An article debunking the myth that low carb or high protein diets cause bone loss.
• StopYeast.com. Leanne Felzien's site about candida (yeast overgrowth) with very helpful information on what candida does, its symptoms and its relationship with weight loss problems. There is also an impressive array of information and links on other chronic conditions with a food/nutritional link such as food intolerances and autoimmune disorders of all types.
• Linus Pauling Institute. Detailed explanation of glycemic index and glycemic load
• Atkins Center. Information on a myriad of topics, supported by published independent research references, such as The Blood Sugar Roller Coaster: Excess Carbs, Excess Insulin and Diabetes, The Role of Dietary Fats and Cholesterol in Heart Health (including information on the different types of fats, what cholesterol does, the changing view of the role that fat plays in heart disease, cardiologist Sylvan Lee Weinberg's 2004 paper saying that the low fat high carb diet can no longer be defended, and conclusions from the Harvard Nurses' Study), The Atkins Nutritional Approach Research Library, containing abstracts, articles and research summaries on the subject of the weight loss and other health benefits of the Atkins Nutritional Approach
• The metabolic effects of insulin Transcription on Dr Mercola's site (registration required) of a presentation given by Ron Rosedale MD - a fascinatingly detailed account of everything you could possibly want to know about insulin, including insulin's relationship with ageing, heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis, the thyroid, magnesium and what happens in insulin resistance
• Low Carbohydrate Diet Science. Doctor Jan McBride's review of the available research. She explains her conclusions that the US Food Guide Pyramid (healthy eating guidelines) is wrong and that it is high fat/high carbohydrate diets that cause heart disease, debates why many doctors are still rejecting low carb diets and compares some of the most popular low carb diets
• Pat Sonnenstuhl's Insulin Resistance and Healthy Lifestyle Choices pages. A fascinating and detailed site for everything relating to insulin resistance, including diabetes and PCOS. Don't be put off by the title - this site is a goldmine of information for all low carbers and anyone interested in controlling blood sugar and insulin. Find professional reviews of low carb/low GI diet books, an amazing collection of 'food pyramids' and 'healthy eating guidelines' from countries all over the world (including revised ones proposed by low carbers) and so much more it is impossible to list them. Don't miss this site!
• The Secret to Low Carb Success. Low carb resources in quantity: impressively comprehensive listings of web sites, web rings, support groups, online shops, recent research study findings and personal web sites
• Ketogenics Inc. Including interview with Lyle McDonald, author, researcher and leading authority on ketogenic diets and useful FAQs on artificial sweeteners
• Low-Carb Pavilion's pages on biochemistry of nutrition (how each food group is metabolised, the relevance of the glycemic index, why 'a calorie is a calorie is a calorie' is incorrect), hidden carbs (eg fillers, sugar alcohols (polyols) and glycerine) and US food labelling
• The Controlled Carb Assessment Registry Bank Study's very helpful summary on sugar alcohol sweeteners
• Atkins Diet & Low Carb Weightloss Support's pages on sweeteners including stevia, sugar alcohols and sucralose and low carb plans (comparing a number of different low carb plans, each summary presented by a dieter who has read and followed the plan)
• Second Opinions. Barry Groves' site exposing dietary and medical misinformation on topics such as low carb diets and the alleged link between dietary fat and heart disease, including independent published research references. Don't miss his article Do Calories Really Count? on the calorie-is-a-calorie myth, his explanation of why low carb high fat diets really do have a metabolic advantage for weight loss, and why, contrary to common belief in the medical world, the 'metabolic advantage' is no contradiction of the Laws of Thermodynamics. Another one not to miss is his article Why Low Carb Diets Must Be High Fat, Not High Protein
• The World's Biggest Fad Diet (low fat). Dean Esmay's paper, supported by independent published research references, debunking the commonly held belief that fat intake is the main culprit in overweight and heart disease
• Life Extension Foundation. Extensively detailed information, supported by independent published research references, on many diseases and conditions. The protocol on Type II diabetes provides detailed explanations of hyperinsulinemia, insulin resistance, Syndrome X, carbohydrate metabolism, the glycemic index, the link between high insulin levels and heart disease and more

Suggest links

Please contact us if you would like to:

• be included on this page
• nominate a site to be included
• link to us
• notify us of any failed links.