What's going on in here?

[PolarBearKing]

Hi all,

Barb noticed that I wanted to lose 100 lbs (in my signature) & join this group, but she said I didn't have to be there yet and invited me in...Blame her.

I haven't been under 230 Lbs in many many years (25?). Maybe when I was in the military, I can't remember honestly. I do know when I was 15 I was 5'10" and weighed 260. Puberty, football and weight training had me at 6'3" and 210 when I was 17...

But it has slowly crept up over the years, yo-yo'ing, but always getting heavier. I know most of you can relate.

This time I'm doing things differently. I'm making serious lifestyle changes. Hopefully with everyone support (and a few prayers) this time I'll be able to keep it off.

Dr Atkins and low carb have been the only thing that ever worked and I felt like I could live with it. Here's to living.

[JulieB]

Re: What's going on in here?

Welcome to the club!

[Aways2Go]

Re: What's going on in here?

I'm with you - this way of eating is the only thing I have ever done that I felt like I could do on a long term basis that also consistently took off pounds, whether quickly or slowly. I'm okay either way, as long as they keep dropping off over time.

I quit eating nearly any processed foods several years ago, including nearly any sugars, eating mostly fresh vegetables/fruits/whole grains and a little meat and eggs along with some nuts, butter and cheese, and that actually was pretty easy too. (I think it was fairly close to the maintenance stage of Atkins, unintentionally). I was doing it to improve my health and feel better, and the fact that it made me lose weight was a bonus. I had struggled so long with trying to lose weight I really didn't expect ANYTHING to make me lose weight anymore, which is why I just thought maybe I would try to improve my health instead.

But after losing as much as 50 pounds without any special effort eating that way, the weight loss pretty much stopped and then just waffled up and down in a small range for the next year or two. I couldn't seem to tell what it was I was doing that would make me lose one week and gain another (apparently, it was the varying carb intake from the veggie choices and the fruit and whole grains). I definitely felt some better, but still had a lot of excess weight I wanted gone.

So then I switched that non-processed diet over to a low carb version. I feel like for the most part I am eating mostly the same things or types of things, just in different ratios than before - more meat/protein, much less (or nearly none) of the few starchy veggies I used to eat, and very little fruit/whole grains, etc. I ate a fair amount of fat already, in the form of olive oil and organic butter and cream or half and half, LOL, so that part didn't really change. Eventually, when I get to goal, I will probably be back a little closer to my previous percentages, though likely won't be able to have quite as many grains/legumes/fruits as I was eating before, but certainly more than I let myself have now.

The best part is that now I can pretty much predict how much weight I may likely lose any given week, usually based on how many carbs (and from where) I ate routinely the week before. If I am especially hungry, I am totally aware now that protein and fat cures it a lot quicker (and keeps it that way) than anything carby, which cures it only temporarily and then seems to make it worse than before.

It's nice to feel like I finally have some kind of control and influence over my size, hunger levels, etc, which often seemed random and out of control over the past decade or two. Wish I had understood the keys to my appetite and weight issues a long time ago. But glad I finally seem to have gotten a handle on it. I'm okay with the fact it will take a while to get where I am going... I'm on the way and seeing progress.

Welcome!