An updaste on this newbie:  

Thanks for all your advice, even when it is conflicting - what else to
expect?  I have lost 4 lbs in the first week and then held steady into the
second. I am eating a lot of walnuts (not more than 4 oz, though) and read
that I need to cut back on nuts and oils to lose more weight, right?  The
headaches and crummy feelings of the first week disappeared! I think I have
more energy.  I have cut out coffee completely, but still drink black tea
with a tiny bit of honey.

Breakfast is still hard to get used to.

I am also eating a lot of butternut and acorn squash, which helps me
overcome the potato/pasta loss.

Question about the best substitute for flour when browning meat.  Do people
use chestnut flour?  I make several chicken dishes for which I typically dip
the boneless slices in flour and then saute quickly in olive oil and then
incorporate into a dish with sauce.  I tried the same with ground hazelnuts
but it overpowered the dish and made the sauce too thick.  I see you can get
chestnut flour on the web; I haven't tried the health food stores yet for
that.  Also, is arrowroot easy to find?

Thanks.