If you’ve been dieting your whole life, trying to get rid of those pounds and always ended up on the scale, sighing, wishing you’d lost more, then it can be discouraging to try and try again. All those fad diets, all those fasts, and yet you’re still not seeing the results you want. But one of the best ways to lose weight--and healthiest, too, because you’ll still be eating lots of healthy foods like vegetables and lean proteins--is the low-carb diet.

But the low-carb diet is an adjustment, a lifestyle change, and because of that you’ll want to follow these tips:

1 Make a plan

When you’re first starting out, it’s a good idea to make a plan of how you’re going to do your low-carb diet. First of all, it’s a good idea to slowly adjust to this lifestyle--otherwise, by cutting so many carbs (and, therefore, calories) out of your diet immediately, you’ll end up feeling sluggish, and possibly even moody. And the last thing you want is to feel frustrated or stressed. According to Livestrong.com, stress releases cortisone, and if you have high levels of this hormone, it will “attack muscle mass, slowing metabolism due to the fact that muscle burns calories to simply exist. Additionally, unwanted cortisol release results in the storage of fat mostly in the abdominal area for later energy use.”

So in the beginning, make one of your meals a day low-carb, and the other whatever you want. According to the Mayo Clinic, “a low-carb diet focuses on proteins, including meat, poultry, fish and eggs, and some nonstarchy vegetables.” Once your body’s gotten adjusted, you can switch down to 50 to 150 grams of carbs a day, which is what’s recommended by HealthLine as the ideal amount if you want to lose weight.

2 Work your workout into your schedule

If you ever have an off day, and accidentally splurge--it’s human nature, after all--a great way to offset this is by going to the gym. It gets rid of the guilt (though you shouldn’t feel guilty for slipping up, but we’ll get to that soon), and, besides, it’s good for you. Try out a few classes here and there, join a gym if you can afford it, and combine both aerobic and strength-building exercises. Strength-training jacks up your metabolism, and according to Time.com, strength training has a multitude of benefits in addition to weight loss, from bone strength to improving cognitive function.

And don’t forget--exercising for only 20 minutes benefits your mood for the next 12 hours, and let’s be real. You’re going to be needing some mood-boosters with that low-carb diet to maintain, especially in the beginning before you’ve gotten used to passing on the free cake.

3 Be flexible

One of the most important things when embarking on a diet and fitness plan is being able to forgive yourself when you mess up. It may even be a good idea to have a “cheat day” once a week--this will keep you from having unbearable cravings because you’ll be rewarding yourself weekly for it. And if you don’t do this, you might end up being more stressed out, too--which as we know can cause unplanned weight gain.

And science proves that this works, too. According a study published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology in 2016, “Two controlled experiments (simulated and real dieting) demonstrate that including planned goal deviations during extended goal striving, compared with following a straight and rigid goal striving process, (1) helps regain self-regulatory resources, (2) helps maintain consumers' motivation to pursue with regulatory tasks, and (3) has a positive impact on affect experienced, which all contribute to facilitate long-term goal-adherence.”

4 Plan your meals--and cook as much as you can

All the other tips here are quite macro--but when it comes to the every day of sticking to a low-carb diet, you’re going to want to plan your meals and cook at home as much as you can. At home, you can keep temptations away from yourself, buying only foods that are actually in your diet. If you want to get inspired, check out this post from Healthline about some example meals that work within these set eating habits.

Out of the house, it’s going to be more challenging to stick to a low-carb diet, so brings snacks with you. Protein bars, for example, are a great way to have lunch on the go--and you can always pack some food with you, too. Considering that the average American household spends $2,500 a year eating out--this will mean not only healthier eating for you but savings, too, the same way that pest control software saves companies time.

As you can see, there are some super-useful strategies for mastering a low-carb diet. At the end of the day, it’s all about commitment, the same way that an ecommerce company committed to rebranding their image will master the latest marketing trends and get a new logo design.

What strategies do you use to stick to your diet?