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Frankly, Potassium isn't that big a problem because its easy to substitute in Potassium Chloride salt or half and half normal and potassium salt. Its cheap at the store sold by Morton Salt. I have always struggled with Phosphorus which is in abundance in grains but not in any real amount in other foods except peanuts and beans like black beans and such, but you are going to get carbs eating beans.

I did the Adkins diet for about a year about 4 years ago and at 6 months hit a wall because I was eating enough oil in the form of cheese and peanuts and such that I balanced my energy use and stopped losing weight. Then I got bored and frustrated and eventually gained it all back.

Nevertheless, the general low carb approach I believe is still valid though I believe that the Adkins approach of inducing Ketosis as a means of metabolism (living at 20 carbs) results in an unnaturally balanced diet that isn't sustainable.

The more pragmatic reduced carb diet is sustainable for life and quite pleasant.

Like so many other people have said here, the secret is to forgo pretty much any bread,noodles,potatos or other white or near white starches and concentrate on vegetables, meat pretty much as much as you care for and some cheese but better to have low carb yogurt and reduced fat cottage cheese.

Depending on the part of the country you are in you can find "double fiber" reduced carb bread, 18 carbs per slice, (Around here the Brand is Brownberry) and I have one slice of this each day to make up for that whole that only bread fills best. I keep a budget of 100 carbs and this seems to be enough to get the positive effects of lowering cholesterol and triglycerides significantly and yet I have plenty of energy.

Today is the very best time to be doing this ever because as folks have said there are a whole number of sugar free products which can cater to an occasional bout of sweet tooth without much real impact on your diet that you cannot balance within that very day. There are also low-carb tortillas that you can make all sorts of interesting sandwiches with. I have peanut butter and sugar-free jelly on my bread and this helps limit my intake of this while getting the good nutrition in the peanut butter.

I take a mountain of vitamins every day. I never much cottoned to that, but I was found to be low on vitamin D, B12 and a few other things so Boom.. Mr. Mega-Vitamin. But this has worked out and I have been using Niacin 2000mg per day rather than taking statins and gotten very nice results. The secret with this being, taking the timed release form which avoids almost any flushing even if I take the whole amount at a time rather than in two doses during the day. I take milk thistle because it is protective of the liver which is the organ that is most tried by all of these choices. And my liver function is great. I just have read over and over that this is the best move to provide a pound of prevention if you would.

I take at least 4 oz of red wine each day and this has been a chanllenge for me because I have never been a drinker but this and a few other moves have helped raise my HDL to acceptable levels.

And I have been losing 2 to 3 lb per week for months. Just add 20 minutes walking once or twice a day and it can work for a lifetime.