What's your kryptonite? What is it that saps you of your will and energy? What makes you weak? What takes your dietary resolve and tosses it out the nearest airlock?

Identifying these triggers can quite literally save your life. No matter how strong, or how dedicated, or how much support surrounds you, everyone has a weakness. Even Superman. So don't expect yourself to "rise above it". What do I mean? I can best explain this by telling you about my kryptonite –– Krispy Kreme Donuts.

The fact that I am powerless against them is why I can never have one… nope, never. When I first made this statement in my office one day, a coworker replied, "Any diet that says a certain food can never be had is absurd and unreasonable." I've heard this argument before... that any "sensible" diet has no "bad" or forbidden foods. They key, they say, is moderation.

Really? Think back. They key is moderation? Has that ever worked for any of you? Have you ever just said to yourself, "...well, gee, I'm going to have to eat less pasta/French fries/donuts/Little Debbie cakes…" and then it worked? These foods are those to which you are addicted; those for which you have no strength against. These foods are your kryptonite.

Were I to decide I "deserved" a Krispy Kreme (as a reward for my success at low-carbing no doubt), and actually gave in to that white sugar/white flour/trans-fat concoction that tastes like nothing short of heaven to me, I'd slide down that slope to utter failure once again. I'd never be able to stop at one. Whether the second donut came five minutes later or five days later, it would visit me.

People have a difficult time assigning addiction to food. It's easier to think that some people are just weak willed. But no one thinks twice about telling an alcoholic he cannot continue, "drinking in moderation", or telling a heroin addict that he can never again have "just a little". We know better. But with food it's better to blame the dieter.

So I return to my original premise –– find your own kryptonite. And realize that you may have more than one. Now if you went into this diet thinking how lovely it would be when you got the weight off so you could go back to eating ravioli, (or éclairs, or baked potatoes), then you've already identified your kryptonite and you will actually have an easier time avoiding it at all costs.

But what if your weakness is something you can actually have a little of on your low-carb regime? What if your kryptonite is pistachios? Or whipped cream? Or chocolate? These are pretty low carb items (by chocolate, of course we mean low-carb chocolate.) So... let's take that chocolate example. I'm going to run with that one because a friend doing low-carb has run into just that weakness.

He started low-carbing about 5 1/2 months ago and has done very well. With the online support we steered him to and his reasonable meal plans, he's managed to drop a nice number of pounds (35 lbs at last check-in.) Then he started shopping for low-carb "goodies" online. Being a Hershey-bar junkie before the diet, he thought he'd found a way to win this battle and eat low carb chocolate as a “free food.” He ordered lots and in no time his weight loss stopped cold.

Why? He couldn't eat just a few bites. He ate a few bars each day.

And if you've identified your weakness as the aforementioned pistachios (or pecans, or peanuts...) then you may have no choice but to nix these items even though they'll be fine for many other low-carbers. For you, they're heroin.

In the end, if you take the time to think about what foods you fantasize about; you'll have no trouble putting the kryptonite nametag on your target. And once targeted, never let it near you again. Use your resolve to build a fort –– a lead shield made of ketones that hold the kryptonite at bay. We joke about it around here calling it (in Star Trek parlance) our "ketonic shields"! So get that shield in place and regain your status as Superhero!