After being diagnosed with Insulin Resistance last year, my doctor suggested that I use a starch free diet to control my blood sugar levels and avoid a future diagnosis of Diabetes. For those of you who do not know, a starch free diet consists of cutting out all starches: aka- anything with wheat, rice, potatoes, corn, and other vegetables that are considered "starchy." The hardest part for me was kicking the carbs: the pizza, the cookies, the cake, the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. It's like once you've tasted all of the amazing things that come from flour, it's so difficult to give up. So many things start to happen to you and your body as this diet begins and progresses. The stages of a starch free diet are different for everyone, but I think anyone who has ever attempted to give up carbs in general can agree about these 10 things:

1. After only one day of the diet, you will start to dream about eating your favorite carb.

For me, it was tortillas. I had repeated dreams about tortillas and any food that you can possibly imagine made with them. I was dreaming of eating tacos, quesadillas, sandwich wraps and just plain tortillas with nothing in between. I was daydreaming about cookies, donuts, cake and bread. I wanted it so bad. The craving was so strong.

2. Your cravings get so bad you will swear it seems like you're going through actual withdrawal symptoms.

Your body will start to crave the carbs that it is so used to digesting. You will feel hungry all the time and being around carbs in general is one of the hardest things to do. You'll see pizza and you'll swear literal tears are falling from your eyes because you miss eating it so much. Your mouth will water and you will cringe watching other people eat something that you know would taste so good in your mouth.

3. You'll find yourself throwing carbs that people place in front of you at other people.

I vividly remember being at Panera Bread one day for lunch with my mom and freaking out when I got my tray and found that there was one of their hot, steamy, fresh, soft french baguettes sitting right in front of my face. I picked it up and literally threw it across the table at my mom, begging her to do anything but leave it sitting in front of me. My mouth was watering, my stomach was growling, and I was so addicted to the idea of that french baguette being in my mouth.

4. "Just one more carb won't hurt, I'll start again tomorrow"

You lay awake at night brainstorming ideas of how you can sneak carbs without anyone finding out. You'll sneak into the kitchen and grab the first carb you see. It won't matter if it's your favorite one or not. You'll sit there with it in front of you making every attempt to convince yourself that it won't hurt, that it won't make the cravings worse. But in the end, you'll gather up just enough courage to take yourself back to bed with a glass of water, even if it does mean tears of regret from not eating the carb are flowing down your face.

5. Pasta Parties for your sports team the night before a big competition will be unbearable.

Your tagline becomes, "NO! NO! Don't worry, I'll just have salad!" There are hundreds of carbs sitting in front of you and you start to get so sick of watching everyone else stuff their face with carbs while you eat the soggy pieces of lettuce that make up the salad that one of your teammates brought.

6. You'll start to get so sick of eating salad.

Everywhere you go, any dinner that you share with other people, the only option that will be there for you is salad. "Oh, you can't have this homemade lasagna with gooey cheese melting off the top of warm, baked just right, noodles and a side of garlic bread? That's okay, I have salad!" You want to yell at these people so bad, tell them that you do not want to eat the same flavorless vegetable salad for every meal.

7. Tears will start rolling down your face when you drive past Olive Garden.

That oh-so-soft, warm, seasoned just right breadstick that you used to stop for all the time will now be your biggest enemy. You could actually picture yourself breaking into Olive Garden after hours just to steal some of their delicious, addicting bread.

8. You'll show up to barbecue's and other parties with your own plastic containers full of food.

It starts to become routine for people to forget about your diet modifications and you will get so sick of having nothing to eat when you show up to social events. People will give you the strangest looks when you pull out your own container of grilled chicken and vegetables and pass up the greasy fried chicken and fried pickles that everyone else is devouring.

9. You'll seriously consider starting a group for other carb-addicts.

You'll start to think about making a group, CAA (Carb Addicts Anonymous). You'll meet in church basements and talk about your addictions and your accidental slip-ups and you'll be surrounded by people who know your pain. The only difference is that instead of coffee and donuts, you have to have water and sliced peppers and cucumbers. Sounds great, right?

10. After all the hard work and dedication, the diet will finally start to pay off.

Your body will start to adjust to the changes you have been making, and believe it or not, the cravings do subside a little bit (although you may still find yourself crying at birthday parties when you can't stuff your face with cake). Your body will start using it's own fat for energy and as the adjustment occurs, your start to drop the pounds just as fast as you used to finish a whole loaf of bread.

And after going through all of that, you more than likely will have a slip-up. It'll be a special occasion and you convince yourself that it's okay to eat just a small slice of cake. (Between you and me, that small slice of cake will turn into half the cake after everyone leaves). But, you'll hop back on the wagon and continue the diet and your body will be very pleased with you. Cutting carbs will be one of your biggest accomplishments. You'll give yourself special gifts on your 30-day mark, just as if you were an addict of another sort, and you'll brag about the accomplishment to everyone you know. If you've been through the detox from carbs, you know it's a hard ride, so be a proud member of the Carb Addict Anonymous group, it's a well earned title.