100 lb losers...share your story

[CaroleKI61]

August 20, 2003

This story is about Carole.KI

I am writing this story from my inner child’s point of view; I call my inner child Crystal, as in Crystal clear, and perfect.

Carole was born in 1943. She had a very emotionally disturbed childhood filled with very sad memories.

Carole and I chose to keep the private details a secret.
Carole had wonderful hard working parents and four sisters and a brother. She was raised in a beautiful little town in the Ottawa Valley in Ontario. Canada

Carole recalls that the rewards for her physical and mental abuse from outsiders were sweet treats, which turned the child into a teenager that ballooned into a size 24 1/2.

Carole had a beautiful smile- a smile that expressed an innocent delight in life, she wanted so much to love and be loved. She became the clown of the class and was sent to the principal’s office daily to receive welts on her little hands from the black leather straps. This was because her teachers claimed that she was disrupting the class with her laughter. Her laughter wasn’t genuine though it was an attention seeking game, which caused her deep pain and humiliation.

Carole quit school at age thirteen in the seventh grade. She had been deeply hurt by some girls in her classroom. She worked, in hospitals, laundries menial jobs at menial wages. At the age of seventeen she left her hometown and moved to the big city. When she married at age nineteen she weighed two hundred and twenty pounds. She gave birth to seven children and suffered greatly when she had three miscarriages.
Carole’s thoughts, behaviour, and patterns crippled her life.
Her weight continued to climb and at the age of fifty-nine she weighed four hundred and fourteen pounds. Diets did not work for her and yet she tried them all.

While watching Dr. Phil one day she came to ask herself the question, “What payoffs am I getting for my unhealthy conduct?“ That week she did a lot of soul searching and became willing not to just identify those payoffs, but to give them up.
Well at least to start to give them up!
She asked herself
“Where am I going, am I doing what I really want to be doing?
She realized that she had settled for less because it was easy, safe, and not frightening, She decided to take off the blinders and deal with the truth.

Carole realized that she was filled with anger and resentment towards the people that had hurt her. Hatred, anger and resentment were eating away at her heart and soul. She experienced sleep disturbances, nightmares, depression and fatigue. She realized that she had built a wall of fat around her to protect herself from further harm. She felt safe from a lot of things by hiding behind her weight. It protected her from unwanted advances from males. And no one expected much from a crippled old woman of her size.
Carole spent most of her time hidden away in her bedroom living on whatever her husband brought her. Food was her heroin; whatever feelings cropped up she had a fix ready to relieve the pain. Loneliness called for candy, rejection, set off cravings for salty junk food, sorrow was eased with a box of honey garlic chicken wings or spare ribs and he list goes on and on.

Carole developed cellulites in her legs as well as degenerative ostio-arthritis. She purchased a motorized scooter and arranged to become a member of Wheel Trans. The bus would come and take her where she needed to go. She started a swimming program and a low fat diet and struggled with a slow weight loss, On November 24th. 2002 she weighed in at three hundred and seventy four pounds.
Someone told her about the Dr Atkins plan and she bought the book and started it immediately. She was doing well until she took a terrible fall down the stairs and Carole developed a serious bout of cellulitis, which put her back to bed. In spite of her pain and bewilderment she continued on eating the low carbohydrate way and continued to lose weight.

On June seventh she stepped on the scale and beamed with joy, for she now weighed two hundred and ninety pounds. The first time she had been less than three hundred pounds in thirty-six years. Her weight loss fluctuated a lot and there were many days of frustrations and tears. Carole quickly learned that when she chose her behaviour she also chose the consequences.

Carole giggles in a child like manner about her being the NECK, of the family. Claims that her husband Frank is the HEAD of the family. Carole borrowed the words from the show MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING; she claims to be the NECK of the family, and it’s her job to turn all of the HEADS.
I’ve watched her operate, and she does a good job at it too.
Having a large family with children, grandchildren and the extended family brought many new and different problems every day. Problems that cause feelings that demanded to be soothed. Most of the time Carole was strong enough to stop, identify the cause of the sudden urge to pig out. Other times she would give into her feelings and suffer the consequences of her cheat. Other times she would quickly make up a substitute for the fix she needed. Pork rinds would become her cinnamon buns with some butter, cinnamon and Splenda, dipped into the yoghurt cheese she had strained. Tomatoes, pepperoni and cheese turned the rinds into a delicious pretend pizza. She learned how to prepare delicious low carb meals and continued to lose weight even though she wasn’t getting any exercise.

On June twenty ninth Carole weighed two hundred and eighty six pounds. The race was on to get to two hundred and seventy four pounds so that she could celebrate her first one hundred-pound weight loss. on Dr. Atkins plan. This was a grand total of 140 pounds lost from the pre Atkins starting weight. 414/374/274. She reached that goal on August 24, 2003. This was a joyful day, A happy day but not the end rather a new beginning to losing the next hundred pounds. According to the medical charts for her height and frame size Carole “should” weigh one hundred and forty pounds. However Carole chose to set her final goal at one hundred and seventy four pounds. Frank does not like slender women!
She has not met that goal yet but is striving towards it.

Carole is happy with her husband of forty-two years; they are enjoying their golden years together. They are not suffering from the empty nest syndrome because the family is still around daily.

Carole is yearning for the day when she can get the excess skin removed from her stomach. This is the part of her body that she dislikes the most.
Her doctor has a wonderful plastic surgeon lined up for her, this doctor does a great job and even makes a pretty “belly button” Carole has impishly claimed that she will have a gold navel ring attached as well.

She is also extremely unhappy about her upper arms. Flappers, she calls them! Carole giggles when she tells people about her grandchildren saying that she had started growing her own wings for when she becomes an angel. Oh yes! She giggles but it is a very touch subject, as it is with most women.
Carole will turn sixty-one on February fourteenth and accepts that time has ravished havoc on her body. Unfortunately the stretch marks and incisions from four large surgeries will remain on her body forever, but Carole doesn't mind them, they are just silent reminders of the cruelty she inflicted on her body.
The years of eating, drinking, smoking and using a lot of prescribed medications, and lack of fresh air and sunshine and lack of exercise show!

Carole was deeply saddened when Dr, Atkins passed away after his fateful fall.

Carole is a member of Dr. Atkins Low Carbohydrate Board. She thoroughly enjoys sharing with her new cyber family.

Together they have added on to Dr. Atkins plan by creating low carb yoghurt cheese, Carole strains three of the red and white cartons of Yoplait full fat yoghurt, draining of the whey that is high in carbohydrates. This yields one full carton of creamy delicious yoghurt cheese. To this assorted flavours are added to suit her desires. It is usually eaten after being sweetened with Splenda. Carole claims that yoghurt cheese is a lifesaver for her.

She also drinks 8oz. of pure unsweetened cranberry juice diluted with sixty-four ounces of water and three packs of Splenda. Carole claims that this is softening and even removing some of the cellulite.

Constipation was a huge problem on this new way of eating until four tablespoons of ground flaxseed was added to some yoghurt cheese sweetened with Splenda. Flaxseed oil is used on salads and for cooking too, thanks heavens, no more problems there!

Carole has to force herself to drink water but she tries to get at least a gallon of water a day. Starting with a cup of boiled water with lemon juice and Splenda every morning.

In the past six months there have been a lot of changes in her life. The dark clouds of depression that hung over her for years have lifted.
Her Diabetes is under control. The acid reflux has ceased. She is sleeping better and no longer wakes up in the morning to discover that she had been on a binge that she couldn’t even remember.
However the corn syrup, milk, bread and butter would be on the kitchen table in the morning and there wasn’t anyone else
to blame it on.

gonna-Be-lean started a Walk for Carole thread. Carole was so impressed and read stories daily of where the fellow members were taking her. This touched Carole deeply. Rhonda called Carole and it made her so happy. Some members are sending collectors spoons from their travels for Carole’s collection. Carole is making a scrapbook of all their walks together.

GBL also recommended some Triple Strength Joint supplements and within three weeks Carole was able to get up and get to a pool for some physical therapy. Carole wanted to share her healing weight loss journey with the hopes that it might help someone who is suffering the anguish that she had been suffering. She wanted to tell people to stop resisting, and to start coping. She wanted to share her honest opinion that if she could do this anyone could. She has a dream and even though the old painful feelings keep creeping up she’s not allowing them to fester, or poison her dreams. She will always have problems and she recognises that, the difference now is that she is prepared to deal with whatever comes along.

Carole is only half way towards her goal but she feels confident that she will reach her goal weight of one hundred and seventy four pounds and then maintain that weight forever. This is a way of eating than can be enjoyed.

Stay tuned folks for the continuation of... Carole’s road to success.

Carole isn’t looking for happiness she’s already got that, what she want is optimum health and to be able to dance at her grandchildren’s wedding with the best man in the world, her husband Frank.
We’ll see you lighter!

Carole
And me, her inner child Crystal.
I couldn’t have done this without all of your help.

CRYSTAL ROCKS, HEEEHEEEEEEEEE!

This is a story that really has no ending. YET!
I have always been heavy, as far back as I can remember I was the biggest kid in my class. There was the normal teasing and rude comments from others that most all of us have endured. At a fairly early age I learned to ignore them.
I knew I was extremely overweight but my attitude I guess helped me survive or helped me to continue to gain. I have tried myself or been put on almost any diet you can think of. Even as a kid my father used to try to bribe me to drop weight. I would lose some then gain it back and add some on top of that. I even was on Atkins in the early 70’s.
One day I finally saw myself in the mirror, I was amazed at how much I had gained and how I had lost all control. I was embarrassed to even see myself let alone let anyone else see what I had been the last to discover. Still I did nothing.
Three or four years ago I was awakened in my sleep by a dream. I had a dreamt about my own funeral. It wasn’t years away, as all of my friends looked the same as they do today. I watched the entire process from a distance. I heard the eulogy, I saw my kids crying, I saw the hollow looks on the faces of my parents. In my dream we proceeded to the gravesite. After everyone left, I was there alone. As I walked to the headstone I could see the date of my birth and the date of my death. It read 2003! Still I did nothing to save myself. I continued on the path of what I now know as self-destruction, slowly killing myself with the wrong foods.
As 2003 was rapidly approaching I remembered and would dwell on my dream I had had years earlier. In December at a doctors visit I was told my cholesterol was getting too high and my blood pressure was getting higher and they would increase my dosage. I decided to try low fat and exercise only to find in February that my cholesterol was higher and I had not lost a single pound! With my dream replaying in my mind I sat down at my computer and started trying to find an answer. That day was February 14th.
I honestly cannot tell you how I came to this site, but I am very thankful that I found it. I spent most of the day pouring over the post, the before and after pictures and the 100 lb. losers stories. I was amazed by the successes. I read everything I could find about the Atkins way of eating. I bought the book that night, I have to admit that I haven’t read the entire thing yet. After gathering all the information I could find online and reading parts of the book I dove in with both feet and have not looked back.
In just over 6 months I have lost 101 lb. Some call it amazing; I call it trying to deny my dream. In a way my dream did come true. The person that I saw in the mirror did die in 2003, however, a new person was born and is glad to be here today. I still have a ways to go, but I know I will make it to my goal and never return.

If you have just discovered this board and are reading mine as well as all the other success stories, please give it a shot. Follow the plan, visit and become part of the boards. You can only fail if you don’t truly try. And to my family here in the CC I have to say thank you. You will never fully know how much of my determination comes from each of you. GBL

[mom2zeke]

I haven't officially hit 100 pounds, and I may never get there. I've been at the same weight now for almost a year. I don't post here anymore, but I thought I would share my story.

I was never really overweight as a child, but I was very muscular and never "skinny." I suffered in comparison to my younger, blonde, skinny sister. I tried every diet possible and dieted my way up the scale. I started college at 185, and managed to settle into 165 comfortably at that time, although I was never happy with that weight. After college I started gaining again, and I got married at 195 pounds. I got all the way up to 205 and then I went to nutri/system and paid way more money than I should have to diet my way down to 145. 145 lasted about 30 seconds (until right after I stepped off of the scale, I think). I tried to eat "low fat" and I kept right on gaining. Add two kids to the mix and I wound up at 257. I was miserable, depressed and it really felt hopeless to me. My dad had great success with "The Zone" and I tried it but I was hungry all the time. The one thing it did do was get me thinking about carbs as a possible source of my weight gain and depression. Right before my youngest started kindergarten I had a weekend alone where I made some plans to restart my life from that day forward. I went to the library and loaded up on diet books to research. Dr. Atkins book was in that pile, and I decided to give it a try. In the two years I've followed Atkins, I've cheated once (I came home one night after drinking a bit too much and gorged on potato chips). I've had too many low-carb treats, and I don't always drink my water or eat my veggies. But I'm a new person in all ways. I was able to stick to this WOE through 1.5 years of my husband's unemployment, financial crisis, starting work again after 10 years and the possible break-up of my marriage (I can do this, I can do this! I am a strong person...). Eating this way makes sense to me. I can't eat any other way. When I tell people I haven't had sugar in over 2 years they can't believe it. But what I can't believe is that I fell for the low-fat lie and years of dieting that got me to 257 pounds, and would have gone higher if I hadn't stumbled across Dr. Atkins book that fateful day in the library.

Thank you to all the "losers" on this board who have been and continue to be an inspiration to me every day!

[spongebobsqpants]

can i get a woohoo? boy am i excited! i have now lost 35.5# on LC, for a total of 100.5# lost! it's been a long journey so far, and boy do i wish i knew about atkins and LC way back when.

between 1996 and 2001 i lost a total of 80# on a LF diet, to end up at approximately 200#. i couldn't really budge past that since i'd lost all the weight eating LF, which i found very hard to do, since i had to do SO much exercise to maintain the loss. i guess that was my biggest problem with that WOE - SO much exercise. don't get me wrong, i love exercise, but it was getting nuts. anyhow, i stalled for a long time, got lazy, and gained back 15# over a year or so.

enter may, 2003. i started on atkins and stayed on fairly strict induction carbs until july. since then, i've loosened but a bit, but don't typically go over 30 carbs per day. i walk/hike at least 5 days a week, an hour at a time, for exercise, but that's about at it. sometimes i mtn bike or take longer hikes, but nothing too crazy here.

at this point, i've lost 35.5# on atkins, and it's only been 4 months. i've had very few stalls, and most have been easily explained (i.e. very rapid weight loss one week followed by a week or two of no loss) so i guess they're not "true stalls". i don't think i have any secret tips though. i don't cheat (except for the rare taste of something my SO is eating and then only a tiny bit), although i do eat 1 or 2 SF hershey's chocolates a day. i'm not strict about avoiding caffeine and may have 1 or 2 reg coffees each week. my typical diet averages about 1300 or so calories a day, maxing at prob 1500. here's an example:

breakfast: 1 serving flaxmeal bread (see recipe board) & 1 boiled egg

snack: 1oz. cheese

lunch: vegetables and butter or cheese & green tabasco! (like broccoli, brussels sprouts, green beans) - sometimes i have some protein like a piece of salmon, but not typically.

snack: 1oz. cheese, perhaps a beef jerky

dinner: some sort of grilled fish, chicken or maybe a hamburger. sometimes even (good, all beef) hotdogs on rare occasions. unless i've had one for lunch (or a TON of veggies) i also make a nice salad. 2c lettuce, some radish, a little cheese (like feta!), sprinkling of sunflower seeds - with oil & vinegar

-don't forget the 1 or 2 (ok, maybe 3 on occasion) SF candies too!

that's it. i suppose this has gone on long enough, but i just wanted to share my story. i have so many people on the boards to thank for their support and valuable information. it's resources like this that make it all possible. thank you!

KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK EVERYONE! we CAN do this! you are doing GREAT!

-s

[nervous rex]

On January 2, 2003 I started my annual exercise in weight loss futility using the WW plan I returned to time after time. During the first week, knowing what hunger and failure lay ahead I made the fateful decision to give Atkins a try.

Having successfully tried Atkins originally in my teens to lose a small amount of weight, I abandoned it, swayed by the erroneous information regarding the "dangers" of low-carb eating and the "virtues" of adopting a low-fat lifestyle. After quitting a two pack-a-day cigarette habit and then having a baby, I had ballooned in weight and chose the WW program recommended by my doctor. I eventually tired of the group experience, the weigh-in hassles, the deprivation, the techniques needed to try and keep hunger at bay (go to bed, have a bath, read a book...) and quickly put the shed weight back on. Thus began an eleven year cycle of loss and gain, creeping upwards in weight with every failed attempt.

This brings me to 2003 and my rediscovery of Atkins. I made the switch on January 9 and found this site in February and it was the only comraderie I needed to keep me motivated and losing. My initial reservations disappeared as I read the studies on low-carb available here and elsewhere, and experienced improved health and energy as well as a quickly shrinking body.

Like other successful losers, I was determined to lose the weight eating whole foods, no cheats and very little processed foods. I find the food satisfying and am thrilled to be rid of the need to weigh and measure each portion of protein -- I simply eat until sated. I find the lack of cravings to be the best feature of this way of life -- I lose steadily and celebrate my milestones along the way. To say it is effortless is misleading. While it is not difficult to lose the weight, it is because I make choices everyday about what I will and will not put in my mouth. No doubt the battle will rage on between low-carb and low-fat. As for myself, that debate was settled months ago as my chronic stomach problems disappeared (almost overnight), my energy level increased and my body happily gave up its fat stores.

I am thankful for the support of all my friends here -- so much inspiration, so much wisdom. Thank you for showing me that 100+ is an attainable goal. I am eternally grateful to dear Dr. A for providing an alternative to low-fat madness, for never giving up despite the ridicule he faced, and for giving us all hope that we can live productively in normal-weight bodies.

[Ms.M]

hello,
I have 100 pounds to lose when I begin this Atkins plan. I will begin next Monday with my doctor's approval. I have been reading all of the inspiring stories and feel encouraged, I will continue to read your posts and I have purchased the newest Atkins book and have read it cover to cover twice. My kitchen is ceared of dangerous stuff and I have stocked it with all necessary stuff for the induction phase of the plan--but-- I'm scared. I have failed at so many diets and now my choleaterol is 271 and my doctor is giving me this chance to lower it or he is pushing Statin drugs on me which I do not want to take I welcome advise and emails and support from you all when you have the time Thanks Ms.M

[payne_uk]

Hi
I though it was about time i made a post here so here goes.I have always been big since in my teens but like a lot of people in my teens and early twentys i lifted a lot of weights and played a lot of rugby as a prop which requires you to be bulky so i was fat but fit. But like many people here as i dropped the sports i din't drop my eating habits and the wieghts just piled on i made a few half attempts at diets over the last few years but they never really lasted or worked! i mean slim fast after a weeks the thought of another tinned shake makes me want to be ill.
My lightbulb moment was after hiking down to the bottom of the grand caynon and having to hike back up that 4 1/2 mile uphill was the hardest thing i ever had to do and probaly ever will do but there i was struggling away bieng passed by people lapping me and 80 year olds strolling past me with out a care in the world.on that day i smoked my last *** and when i got back to the UK started looking at ways to lose wieght i dint find atkins till the start of the year and started in april,
It has been one hell of a journey for me todate i have lost 105lb,s which probaly makes me a low as i have been since i was 18 and as fit as i have probaly ever been After the first few weeks the diet stoped bieng a effort and became my new way of life and i am never going back! one of the things i want to do when i hit goal is go back to that damn Grand Caynon and enjoy the hike
Andy

[Melody]

I'm pasting this from another thread by request.

Melody

I suppose it started for me in 1996 or 1997 (I think) when a fall on the boat dislodged some kidney stones. I was probably around 260 or so. I had to fly to Seattle for lithotripsy with my medical file and I remember being horrified at the words “severely obese young woman”. Didn’t do anything about it at that point, except end up gaining more weight. It was a combination of low self esteem, a bad relationship, and not taking time for myself.

In 1999 a different doctor recommended Protein Power to me when I expressed my usual desire to lose weight at my annual exam. She said Atkins was “more dangerous”, giving me the usual speech about Keto-acidosis. I started PP, and read most of it but never finished it. I did lose 40 lbs between August and Thanksgiving that year. Thanksgiving completely derailed me and I’d gained most of it back by January 2000.

I changed jobs in March of 2000 and met a few new people, and started doing more social things. (My ex never socialized and I was pretty much a homebody/TV watcher before that) I suppose meeting more people helped me gain some self esteem, whatever it was, I started wanting to lose the weight again. I also started taking the MS Access classes up at the University here for my job. By February 2001 I was up to 300 lbs. I remember one day sitting in my bedroom after an argument with the now ex, and crying. I was probably at my lowest point ever, and for a tenth of a second I thought it would be so much easier if I’d just die. I looked up at the shelf in the closet and his .357 pistol was laying there, and I thought to myself, that was the stupidest thing you’ve ever thought about. Right there I decided that I was going to get healthy or die trying. I actually thought I’d have a heart attack before I got this far but thankfully that never happened. So I picked up PP again and read part of it. I never did finish reading it…. I just decided to count my carbs and work out. I found the Atkins site and read about induction and set my carbs at 20 grams a day.

For 8 months I worked out two to three times a day. Every morning I would bike or do Tae Bo, and evenings I’d swim or do an upper body workout. I have notes about it on my website, so this doesn’t get longer than it already is. So, in 8 months, from February 19, 2001, to October 10, 2001, I lost 145 lbs. October 10th that year I went to Seattle to have a Tummy tuck and a breast lift (separated from my husband at the time) and it took me 9 more months to lose the final 20 lbs. My original goal was 149 lbs, I wanted to have lost more than I weighed, but I adjusted my goal to 135 once I’d hit that.

I’ve been on Maintenance since July 6, 2002, so the whole thing took me 17 months. I’ve regained 15 lbs and lost it twice since then and I’m 5 lbs over goal right now, but I’m in a pretty strong weightlifting program right now so I’m not worried about it. Although I haven’t changed my signature because I AM losing the last 5 and I’m stubborn. Maintenance has been harder for me than the bulk of the weight loss. There is too much temptation to “just have one, you don’t need to lose weight”… lol I seem to gain every time I get a new boyfriend. This time around I have a very supportive DBF that wont allow me to take time away from myself and my goals for him. He is great. So I’d say for the most part my weight has fluctuated about ten lbs back and forth. I’m running 5 K every morning on the cross trainer and alternating between running 5K and upper body workouts every other night.

Right now I don’t count my carbs strictly, but to guess I’d probably say I stick pretty close to induction levels. There aren’t some weeks that really make more of a difference than others. When I get depressed is when I struggle the most, but I have changed my emotional eating to emotional exercising if that makes sense… I say I follow Atkins because that’s the plan my woe is closest to, but I don’t strictly do all the counting and figuring.

About drinking, I usually stick to chardonnay, and I have a glass with dinner once in awhile. Sometimes I won’t have any in a month and sometimes I’ll have one or two maybe twice a week. I love to go out dancing but when I go out, three glasses makes me drunk so I try to limit it. I dance all night so I usually end up losing two lbs the next day. Occasionally I will have tequila shots and my grocery just got those Baja bob’s mixes in so that may change but I try to limit the alcohol.

Well, that’s the short version, although it came out VERY long (sorry) I hope it helps. I’ve never typed it out really so I probably left something out. I tried to stay away from the whole Ex scenario for the most part even though that was a huge part of it. I figured that was best left alone. I just kind of typed this out as I thought about it so I hope it doesn’t come across too disconnected. (like me) lol

[jbabbit]

You guys are amazing and an inspiration!

I have always been big as long as I can remember. I've tried every diet out there and could lose a few pounds but never kept it off. When I was in 8th grade I remember weighing 200 lbs and going on a diet. I asked my Mom for help. I just called it a diet and lost really quickly on it. I ate salad at school for lunch and for dinner at home I always had meat and green beans. Green beans was the only veggie I ate back then. I kept the 75 lbs I lost off until a couple of years after graduation.

I got married in 1986 weighing in at 198 lbs. I slowly over the last 17 years put on over a 100 lbs. I was tired all the time...felt bad....and could hardly walk across the floor without being out of breath. I didn't sleep well. I was misrable.

My sister in law had been on atkins and lost 60 lbs and kept after me to try it. I finally gave in on Jan 27, 2003 and decided to try it. I thought to myself that I could do anything for 2 weeks and then if I hated it I would just be done with it. Well, I liked it, but thought of it as a diet. I went through induction for 2 weeks, then took the weekend off and cheated. I didn't like how I felt after that cheat weekend, so I went back on it. I did this for about 3 months...on for 2 weeks, and every other weekend cheating. I lost 50 lbs doing this in the first 3 months...but I didn't feel good on the cheat weekends.... So, I stopped doing it so often. I liked the way I was feeling and I just didn't wanna lose that.

At some point I found this board, and learned so much from you guys. I also learned about atkins candy bars, ice cream, and all the other goodies and went through a period of about 6 weeks with no weight loss during the summer due to eating these things all the time. I had to give them up to start losing again. Then at another point I had to start watching calories....

Now at 101 lbs loss, I now know it is a wol for me and can't be a diet. I won't say I'll never cheat because since this is a wol I know there will be times where I will, but I will get back on track.

I feel so much better, I can't believe I waited so long...

[eatinright]

Well, like many of you I have been obese my whole life! I can not even remember a time when I wasn't. It's funny I always knew I was overweight but it was when I saw a picture or walked by a store and saw a reflection that it hit home that I was as big as I was. I was always pretty happy, always had a wonderful, caring family, had a great boyfriend all through high school, married a wonderful guy, had great kids. So, if my life was so wonderful then why was my weight spiraling out of control? As it turns out, I WAS self conscious about my weight. It was evident when I had to request a table at a resteraunt instead of a booth for fear that I wouldn't "fit" in a booth. It was also evident in the fact that I was not doing things for fear that I wouldn't "fit" or be too heavy, etc. Well, I had a hernia that needed to be operated on. I went to see a surgeon and he said to me, "You can go on living the way you are living and live a very short life OR you can do something about it." He went onto to talk to me about WLS. He went over all the risks associated but said if you are unable to lose weight on your own, you NEED to have the surgery to save your life. He also went on to say that ONLY 25% of his patients are successful on their own and that I would probably NEED the surgery. I met with him on May 19, 2003. I decided right then and there that I was going to be in the 25% that was successful losing weight on their own. I went online and did research on Atkins and found these bb's. What a blessing these boards have been to me! I found inspiration, support, friendship and love. I honestly believe that if I hadn't found these boards, I would not have done as well. Anyways, I found a WOE that "suits" me. I now believe that there are people out there whose bodies don't process carbs as well as other people do. I still have quite a bit of weight to lose, I started going to the gym on a regular basis, keeping an eye on my calorie intake as well as my carb intake and can honestly say I feel like a different person! I hope that I can be a person who now "inspires" and motivates others to try this WOE! I would love to "pay it forward"!

Joanie
338/236/150
102 pounds lost!

[cutevic]

My journey started 3/8/03

This is the day that has changed my life forever. I didn't start gaining weight until I was about 17...and at that time I was suffering from depression...which has carried on my whole life.

Throught the years I steadly gained weight. It wasn't until I was in my 30's that I was told that I was hypothyroid and had to have part of my thyroid removed. I was assured that, with the thyroid medication I would lose weight. That didn't happen...I continued to gain. In 1996, I had to have another thyroid surgery to remove a goiter that had gotten so big that it was crushing my windpipe and I couldn't breathe. I was told that if I hadn't gone to the emergency room when I did I would have died. In 2000 I had to have the rest of the thyroid removed and this time they found cancer. I was devastated. I made up my mind to try and change some things in my life. It wasn't until I had gallbladder surgery that I knew there had to be a better way of life.

I started doing alot of reading about better health. I got Dr, Atkins book and decided to give it a try. I had been like alot of others,believing the media and other doctors talking about the dangers of low carb/high fat...but I said,what do I have to lose. I,ve tried a million diets...and none of them worked.

That was the first day of the rest of my life. So far I've lost 120 lbs
and counting. This woe/wol has been very easy for me. I don't have to think about it I just do. I went into this giving it 100%. The best thing about this woe, is there are no cravings...I know that I will reach my goal. I oew Dr. Atkins my life. He has given me my life back 100 fold. I can actually say that I'm happier and healthier than I have been in my whole life.

I owe a lot fo my success to the wonderful people on this board for giving me so much encouragement and support. Everyone here is like family. I hope that my story can help someone reach their goal.

Thanks everyone

[Joanne]

Originally posted by Jaxy
Hi, everyone!

I would like to begin by giving a big CONGRATS to the people who have posted before me and to those who will post after me. I am very proud to be able to post among you.

This post is long overdue, so here goes:

December 8th, 2001: My light-bulb moment was my live-in boyfriend of five years walking out for good that day. I remember stepping on the scale, looking down and seeing the numbers 254. I was wearing a size 22.

I was completely devastated (because of my ex AND my weight) to the point of not eating. At all. For nine days. Any attempt proved to be useless. On the ninth day, I stepped on the scale again and saw the numbers 236. Losing 18 pounds was a small ray of sunshine in my very dreary life, even if a lot of it was probably muscle. Losing weight became my new hobby then.

Remembering the previous success I had with low-carbing three years prior, I decided to take that route again now that my appetite had returned. By eating less than 20 carbs per day, I lost 22 additional pounds over the next two months.

Then the weight loss stalled. BIG TIME. For ten weeks. Lowering carbs, increasing fat, monitoring protein – none of that mattered or made a difference. I knew I had to exercise if I was going to see any REAL results.

April 16th, 2002 saw the beginning of my walking regime. Three miles a day, every day. Weekends included. I figure if I was going to be serious about this whole thing, I may as well be committed. No days off! The only person I’d be cheating is myself, and who would care? Well, as it turns out, I care and, to me at the time, that’s the only person who mattered.

Exercising every day, every single day, is not easy. Believe me when I say I hated it. I hated every freakin’ minute of it! I’d curse myself driving home from a long, tiring day at work knowing those miles awaited me. Then I got to thinking… there are days I curse the alarm clock for going off because I know I have a day of work ahead of me that I’d rather not do. I curse the chores I have to do when I’d rather goof off. All the cursing in the world isn’t going to earn me a paycheck, nor is it going to get my home or laundry clean. I do these things because I have to. These things are part of my life.

That’s what exercise became to me: a part of my life that I have to do. As much as I hate it, I have no excuse good enough not to do it and every reason to do it.

After eight weeks of daily walking, I was down to 180 pounds and a size 10. I hadn’t seen a size 10 in my whole adult life! Putting on that size for the first time made me giggle and cry at the same time. I couldn’t believe it. From then on, it became a game for me. A game to see how much success I could have.

I began walking five miles a day. After a couple weeks and a very few pounds gone, I began walking SIX miles a day. It was then that I decided to limit my caloric intake to 1500 a day. The weight began dropping off rapidly again.

By October 2002, I was weighing in at 152 pounds and wearing a size 6. I had lost 102 pounds in eleven months. As much as people seem to be amazed by this, there is no one more stunned than I am. Considering how well I know me, and how lazy I am, and how undetermined I can be, and how easily frustrated I am, this is an accomplishment I never thought I’d be able to claim as my own.

To date, I have lost an additional six pounds and am still wearing a size 6. My goal weight is 135, but reaching that goal has become secondary to maintaining, which I seem to be accomplishing quite nicely.

My one piece of advice: Never give up. Please do not believe for one second that I am the exception. I’m not. If I did this, you can, too. Determination, persistence, exercising and low-carbing. It really IS that simple.

My last parting thought: Now that I’ve done this… now that I’ve lost 100+ pounds…. I can’t help but wonder why I didn’t do it sooner. It really wasn’t all that difficult when I consider the benefits of it: the improvements of my mental and physical health, my overall appearance and my outlook on life.

Why did I wait so long?




At the insistence of Tessa (tam7875), here is the return of my collage:



Thanks for reading!

way to go everyone....hope i can be this successful!!

[porkchopsisgood]

I started the Atkins diet in August of 2001 after seeing how successful it was for a friend of mine who lost 90 lbs. on the diet and was able to join the military as a premier musician in the U.S. Army Field Band. At 375+ lbs., 5'8", and a confirmed steak-o-holic, this would at least be fun if not successful!

Well, it was successful beyond my wildest dreams: I lost 75 lbs. in 4 months, and lost 136 by October of 2002. My goal was 200 lbs., and I was only 34 lbs. away from making my dream come true. But that was the closest I came to that goal.

I am a currently a music major in college after a 12-year hiatus from school as a professional musician. When I got to school it was still easy for me to lose the weight, but after a while I started to loosen the pursestrings on my carb intake. What a drug...I am nowhere near wear I was, but after gaining 40 lbs. since October 2002 (most of the weight in this past semester), I have grown increasingly depressed with my chances of ever meeting my goal of 200 lbs. School is time consuming, but I maintain a high GPA, and I feel school is something I enjoy doing, so I don't find it to be as stressful as one would think. But I need to help myself again. The saddest thing is that I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I NEED TO DO BUT WON'T DO IT. I'll tell myself that things are going well, and then one slip and I'm on my tail again.

All I really need is encouragement. That's why I'm here. I know what to do....I can lose this weight, but I just want to be reminded WHY I'm doing it...any help will be appreciated.

Thanks,

porkchopsisgood

[MissIrony]

Wow, I get to write one of these! I still can't quite believe that myself.

This morning I woke up, on January 12, 2004, and I was 100 lbs lighter than I was on February 24, 2003. On that day in February, I was depressed, angry, unhealthy, and didn't have a lot of hope that anything was going to work. I had been overweight or obese for most of my life, and the last time I'd managed to lose quite a bit of weight (1995/1996) I wasn't able to keep it off and over the next 6 years my weight crept right back up. All my other attempts to lose weight were a constant battle, and I never ever felt in control.

In March 2000, I tried the Atkins diet. I think I even visited this board. At the time, I was traveling almost constantly for work, and had absolutely NO eating habits - long hours, lots of time in hotels, and you pretty much eat what you can when you can. You can imagine that my attempt at changing to good habits didn't last long. I did a half-baked attempt at Atkins for a few months, then I had the worst gallbladder attack I had ever had (I'd been suffering from them for 4 years) and ended up in the ER and had surgery a week and a half later to remove my gallbladder. I thought "well, it must be all that fat I was eating - clearly Atkins is bad." Of course, my gallbladder was already damaged from years of low-fat eating and yo-yo dieting, and it didn't help that I was doing an on-again, off-again version of low-carb that isn't the slightest bit productive.

In September/October 2002, I visited Overeaters Anonymous meetings. I went to maybe 3 or 4 meetings, and it was very cathartic to admit that I was a compulsive overeater. I bought a house, got busy, life intervened, and I stopped going to the meetings. Even though I had admitted that I had a problem, I couldn't see a solution, and I wasn't sure that OA was it.

In January 2003, my best friend from college took his own life. It wasn't an immediate wake-up call, but it was a wake-up call nonetheless. Here was a highly-functional person with depression, who had a good job, great friends, a great partner, and by all accounts, had things together. And yet, he was experiencing enough sadness in his life that suicide seemed like the right option. It hit me like a ton of bricks. I, too, was a highly-functional person with depression. Suicide was not on my "menu of options" but I was running out of options and it scared me that I might someday get to that same point of desperation.

So that brings us to February. The woman I shared an office with at the time wanted to lose about 40 lbs. We'd seen others in our office be successful at low-carb. Ann (bless her heart) said "Do you want to try this low-carb thing? We'll do it together." I said "Sure, why not, could be good" and we set a date of February 24th.

I figured if I was going to do it, I was going to do it full out, because I had more to deal with than weight - I had food issues and I needed a strict approach. Ann took more of a Sugarbusters/Zone approach, where I went hard-core and jumped right into Atkins. I cleaned out my kitchen of all the crap and switched over to low-carb.

About a month in I noticed some things were already changing. I'd lost weight, and that was great, but heck, I'd been there before. But I was feeling in a better place emotionally than I'd felt in a long time. Could it be that cutting out sugar was curing my depression? Amazing!

I kept trucking along through the spring, even weathering a disappointing visit to my family in which they didn't notice the 35 lbs gone. Summer was starting to be more fun. Even though we had record heat, I wasn't sweating nearly as much. I could walk all around the city in cute little summer shoes and not have to put my running shoes on to go more than a few blocks. I was more comfortable squeezing my ass into the seats at Mariners games. I was wearing tank tops again.

Then September rolled around and I got what my physical therapist calls the "cosmic bonus question." The test that says "You think you want to be healthy and change your life? Are you REALLY serious?" I got hit by a car. I spent 6 days in the local trauma center, another few weeks at home/working part time, and went through all the emotions you might imagine with a traumatic accident. I was extremely lucky that my injuries weren't much worse - I'll make a full recovery and for that I'm very thankful, but it was tough to come to terms with what did happen as well.

But I passed that "bonus question" with flying colors. The first thing I did when my friends showed up the day of the accident was have them check the IV to make sure it was just saline, and not a sugar solution. I asked a friend to go home and get me some clothes and to pick up some low-carb bars while she was at it. I made a friend of a fellow Atkins dieter who worked in the ER, and she brought me treats when the menu choices weren't all that good.

I realized "if I can stick to low carb and WANT to stick to low-carb through something like this, it's permanent." I've stuck to low-carb through months of rehab, and have actually pushed my physical therapist to challenge me because I want to get stronger and healthier and end up healthier than I was before the accident. I think I'm getting there!

I still struggle with emotional eating, but when I do, it's low-carb, and I can control it pretty well. I still have a tough time sometimes seeing my own changes, but I click on the progress photo links too to remind myself (see below for links).

I exercise regularly, and it's finally getting fun now. I'm never going to be one who loves going to the gym, but I love to play, and I'm in shape now so I can play a lot more. Somehow snowboarding and tennis and softball and whitewater rafting feel a lot less like exercise. I'll probably start hiking again this summer since I do live in the outdoor paradise! I still go to the gym pretty regularly, but I'm also looking for new sports to try.

I've gone on too long already, but I guess I'll close with "what was different this time?" I have no idea, I really don't, I think the stars just aligned and I was ready to make a change and I found the way to make that change that was most effective. It's not magic, it's not rocket science, it's just taking simple nutritional principles and applying them consistently. I refuse to cheat because I consider that playing with fire. It's a slippery slope and I've been down it before and I'm not going there this time.

The other thing that's been different has been that this has been a very public change. I've come here and posted regularly since the beginning. ALL of my friends know I'm low-carbing, and many of them know I'm struggling with food issues and body image issues. I've been really up-front about all the stuff that usually derails me. Instead, I've been reaching out to people online and in my life and they have helped me more than I can know, picking me up when I'm down and supporting and inspiring me. I've never done this before, now I can't imagine being successful without all that support. It also sets me up for public failure, which to me is much worse than private failure. I don't fail because to do so would be to let myself and my friends down.

That's it ... I'll stop rambling. Thank you, all! You blow me away every day with the love and support you show to me!

[gina7657]

Hi everyone

well i have been fat just about all my life except in 74/75
i lost weight with diet pills ...i went from size 18 to 5
it was a blessing .but like most of us know it didnt last.
i met my hubby when i was small boy was he in for a suprise....lol
after dateing awhile the weight started coming back .....by the time we was married i was up to sise 9
which wasnt bad but it didnt stop there.
all though i balloned up to 272 he has never said nothing about my weight .
Lord knows i have tryed every diet in the world .. yes i lost a few pounds just to gain it back and a few more

At the beging of sept2003 i kept getting ear infections
the ENT said he wanted to check me for diabetes .
i went back the next day and has the fasting test done.
well when he called me to go to his office
i knew it wasnt gonna be good.
he told me that if i didnt do something now i would be
facing diabetes . my fasting blood sugar was 198.
i came home and said this it it i need to do something.
so i started watching my sugar intake for a few days.
then i was back to eating everything and downing the cokes
like there was no tomorrow .

then in oct 2003
i kept getting pounding head aches.
but never payed no mind to it,,,,till oct 27
i got up that morning my head was pounding so before i ate i checked my blood sugar
it was fasting (235) well that was my wake up call .
i had the atkins book but never even opened it ...but that morning i said
yes gina you will read it and try it .

when hubby got home that day i said we are doing atkins
lol.....i never gave him a choise either eat what i fix
are go eat by your moms house ....lol


he said ok lets do it .well needless to say he shed 30 lbs in no time
and damn him he even cheated ,,,,,,lmao MEN,,,,,lol

after a week of doing this my blood sugar has been normal
i know then this was the answer to my prayers


the first few days was rough but on the 4th or 5th day
i felt wonderful other then the poundin head before
i thought i felt good . i guess thats because we have carried this extra baggage around for so
long we think we feel ok.

when the scale started moving i was a happy camper,but was scare to face the facts i had over a 100lbs
to shed .
thats when i got on line and found this place
i cant begin to tell ya'll how this place has saved me
there was many of times i wanted to eat even tho i wasnt hungry
but thats from old habits just to have something to shove
in your mouth even tho we arent hungry


i dont recall to who's post i read at that time.. to take it one day at a time
but that helped me alot ....from then on i didnt look at the 100lbs
i set my goal for 10 lbs.
in this 15 months i went from size 26/28 to 12/14/16's
depending on how things are made.

to shed this weight and not be hungry is wonderful

the only regret i have is that i didnt find this yrs ago.


i could go on forever about this WOL with all
the things it has helped me with .


before i go thanks to all here that has helped me on my journey .

to all the new people here startin thier journey
when you feel like you want to cheat grab a glass of water and read the post
that has really helped me even though i dont post much.



once again thanks everyone ya'll are my angles

[LowCarbJoe]

I started this way of life in May of 2003, half heartedly, but after seeing good initial results I dove right into it hardcore in June, working an outside labor intensive job in the corn fields along with this way of eating allowed me to lose weigh