The Losers' Lounge

[dreamof145]

Everybody loves Deflating Diva. She’s captured our hearts and kept our spirits alive by helping us see the humor in our lives as we tread along the path to health. Even though she’s had more than her share of troubling experiences, she’s managed to stay on top of her WOE and never give up. She’s a true Atkins trooper and inspiration to all.

You really want to know about me? Scary... Lil’ ole me; a true Southern girl who ate deep fried everything with a generous slathering of gravy and an extra large helping of hot buttermilk biscuits. I ate every emotion I ever felt. Then came my sons wedding pictures...Who was that cow? Holy cow that's me!

I never said no to anything I wanted to eat. In fact I made jokes about those skinny little things on the Titanic that passed up dessert on that fateful night. I kept active as a Mom and never realized how much I was stuffing. No one ever told me I was huge in fact they all loved me just the way I was. I was just a Big Girl from the time I was born. Some even said there was more to love. According to me my weight never stopped me from doing anything. I just never knew how bad I looked doing it.

I do believe the photos were my turning point. I also must say Dr. Edward Kuo also suggested this to me. One night while at the local Wal~Mart I picked up a copy of DANDR. I submersed myself in it. It made sense. So I tried it for two weeks and I dropped weight but there were some issues with leg cramps. So I went off Atkins and purchased my vitamins as my doctor suggested. I took the vitamins for a week before starting the program again. It did not take long for me to see great results. The underlying problems I have still surfaced, that being an emotional binge eater. Within a month I had lost and Aunt and a very close friend and had gained responsibility of my 90 year old Grandmother’s financial issues as she has Alzheimer’s. That was such a stressful time that there were a few times I slipped. But with the help of the others I got right back on the wagon. Then came the Holidays and I had to have my hormone medications changed and my weight started to go up even though I was sticking to the plan. Yes I get discouraged and I do feel like it is unfair that some that have been on less than I have dropped so much faster than me. Then I get a reality check for myself I am 50 pounds lighter than I was. I feel healthier, I look better but most of all this is not a race, I am in for life. I have met so many wonderful people and through all the rough spots they have been right there to support me. I get to be myself here at the ADBB. I laugh, I cry and I wonder if someone will read this and understand it is time to start healing from the inside out. I have no regrets in life. I am who I am because I have been where I have been and done what I have done.
Debbie

[dreamof145]

Chris lives in Washington DC with his cat, Pam. As most bachelors, he used to throw a frozen dinner in the microwave when he got home from work. Now, he takes pleasure in preparing proper and nutritious meals. He enjoys watching cooking shows on PBS, taking the traditional recipes and adapting them to low-carb versions. Before becoming a network systems analyst for a non-profit agency, he was a high school French teacher. He played Riff in a Summer Stock production of West Side Story in up-state New York when he was 20.

As a child, I was very underweight. My mom took me to a doctor who said I was malnourished and that I should be fed five meals a day. This seemed an impossible task for my mom as she couldn’t get me to eat even one meal a day. I still have memories of being forced to sit at the table until I ate what was on my plate. I’d cry because I just couldn’t do it. We know now that a child will not starve himself. The ‘clean plate’ theory can instill bad habits of overeating and lead to obesity. To this day, I have psychological problems with leaving uneaten food on my plate.

When I graduated from high school I had a physical for my college admission. I weighed 118 pounds; the most I’d ever weighed in my life.

I don’t know what it was about college, but by the time I came home for the summer after my second year, I weighed nearly 160 pounds. I got sick of the ‘fat’ comments that everyone made about me. I decided to lose weight. I didn’t know much about nutrition back then, but I knew that if I didn’t eat, I’d lose weight. By Christmas vacation, I was down to 110 pounds. When I went home, my clothes were too big for me, so I wore my 14 year-old brother’s! My mom was almost hysterical about how small I was. She was convinced I was going to die

It was only a matter of time and the weight came back along with a few extra pounds. I joined Weight Watchers and made it back to my goal of 125 pounds. As soon as I quit the program, the weight came back, so a few years later, I joined WW again. This time I lost 58 pounds and made it to my new goal of 133 pounds.

I don’t guess it will come as a surprise to anyone if I say that I gained all that back, plus more, taking me up to about 220 -- over 100 pounds above my high school weight.

In the summer of 2003, I started low-cal dieting and lost a few pounds. However, I knew that it would take well over a year for me to get back to a decent size. I dreaded being hungry all the time. I just didn’t think I could face that again. The times that I’ve done WW, I was always hungry. I remember finishing my breakfast and thinking about what I was going to have for lunch. When I went to bed at night, I’d fantasize about the next morning’s breakfast, to try to forget the hunger I felt inside.

The organization I work for has a visiting nurse program in our around-the-world offices. I work at headquarters, and the coordinator of the program, Ruthi, is a dear friend. I told her that I was giving up on weight loss, because I could no longer bare being hungry. Ruthi suggested that I give Atkins a try. I replied that I had heard terrible things about the Atkins diet, that it was very harmful, could cause heart and kidney disease, etc. She replied that I should at least look into it, because she had read Atkins for Life, and thought that it seemed like a pretty well balanced way of eating.

I read everything I could find on the Atkins program on the Internet, and discovered that many doctors and nutritionists were beginning to say that Dr. A was right. I bought a copy of DANDR and started. I came down with a very bad case of ‘induction flu’ and almost gave up when, on the third day, I was feeling so bad I had to stay home from work. But, I hung in there, and have I ever been rewarded for that!

A few weeks into the program I discovered ADBB. Until that point, I had been making great use of the Atkins products, including the Advantage bars and shakes, as well as the Indulge bars. Through this board I learned the truth about those products, and others, and was soon doing a clean program.

As the pounds dropped, I discovered some amazing additional benefits. My high cholesterol and triglycerides came down dramatically to within a normal range. The almost constant indigestion and heartburn that I endured just disappeared. I soon found that I had more energy than I’ve had in decades. I began walking up all the escalators that I used to ride. I became much less the couch potato that I had been for years. However, the most amazing change was the near total loss of migraines that I have had since I was about six years old. I was accustomed to near daily headaches, and severe migraines once or twice per week. I’ve now had TWO migraines since starting Atkins, and one of those was when I was given caffeine free regular Coke from someone who thought it was diet Coke. The loss of the headaches was an even greater benefit than the weight loss!

I also learned something about myself – I am not a weak-willed fat slob. The almost constant snacking that I'd done in the past was because of the drop in blood sugar caused by my sensitivity to simple carbohydrates. Once I eliminated those from my diet, the snacking just ended quite naturally.

The Atkins program is not my diet, but my way of life. It’s become perfectly normal to me to pass on the cakes, cookies, and pies, as well as potatoes, rice and high carb bread. It’s no longer anything that I even have to think about. When well meaning folks try to get me to sample one of their homemade cookies, or a slice of their cake, I simply say that I can’t eat that, because I have a ‘condition’ and if I do I’ll break out. It’s true, you know, because I’ll break out in fat!

[dreamof145]

G-Mom has lost 84 pounds on Atkins. She knows she can never be one of those ‘dieters’ who finds success with ‘eating in moderation’. People who find success this way either don’t have that ‘switch’ or have control of it. Atkins allows her to be free from the chains that ‘bad’ foods shackle her with. With Atkins, she has control to keep the switch turned off.


I was 8 lbs. 8 oz. when I was born, which was considered downright huge back then and no one kept that fact from me as a child. Maybe somewhere deep inside, I thought I was supposed to be a huge person and ate like a huge person ought to eat. My childhood was filled with disappointment, starting with the letdown of being overweight. I came home from school and ate an entire bag of chips. Eating soothed me. Food never made fun of me for being fat; it never punched me in the stomach either. Other kids did those things. So being alone with my food was very cathartic.

Then, when I was 10, my parents divorced and more stress followed. My father, instead of loving me and helping me get through the divorce unscathed, called me a “fat pig” and further burdened me with emotional pain. I did the only thing I could do to ease the pain; I ate. Food medicated me. I couldn’t possibly let go of the one constant that got me through all the tough times. Thankfully, my Mom married someone willing to be a father and help me shape up. The combination of sports, genetics (I started getting taller), and controlled eating helped me trim down. I enjoyed relatively slim teen years and early twenties until I met my future husband. At that time, food became a problem again.

This time I didn’t overeat because I felt pain, but because I was happy. High carb, high fat meals became part of our relationship - something we looked forward to and planned. My weight shot up from a healthy 175 lbs, to an unhealthy 235 lbs during our two- year courtship. After we were married, my weight problem escalated at an alarming rate. Within three months we were pregnant. At my first Ob/Gyn visit, I weighed 260lbs. Pregnancy was extremely difficult. I gained 60 lbs and suffered horrible edema. After giving birth and breastfeeding for 6 months, I went on Atkins and lost all that weight. I was thrilled and very happy with Atkins. Then, in 2002, I got pregnant again. I desperately wanted to stay on Atkins Maintenance, but at that time I didn’t have ADBB, and both my doctor and husband were not convinced staying on Atkins would be safe for the baby. I knew it would be, but I decided to keep the peace and went back to my old way of eating, which took a devastating toll on my health. I shot up to 322lbs when I gave birth. I breastfed for 9 months, but the weight stayed.

I felt horrendous at 322 lbs. I dread getting on the floor to play with my kids, as getting up was quite the event. I had to get onto my knees first, and then push myself up from there. Sometimes I thought I needed a crane. My clothes resembled tents, primarily because I still wore my size 3X maternity shirts and 26/28 shorts. I looked at myself in photos and in the mirror and thought to myself, “I used to walk into a room and turn heads, now those people would be disgusted and possibly even pity me.” I had simply had enough. So, on June 28, 2003 I decided I was going to get that girl back if it took me 5 years to do it, I will look at her again in the mirror.

My Atkins journey hasn’t been all smooth sailing. I have officially fallen off the wagon two misery filled times. The first time I became violently ill. Both times I was nauseous every day, very bloated, fatigued and depressed. Even though these times were filled with misery, I actually treasure them. They made me appreciate how the Atkins WOE makes me feel and look. The change in how I felt was almost immediate each time I went back to Atkins. I know now that my body prefers low carb and I perform best eating this way. That is irrefutable. I also know now that I am a carb addict in the worst way. Food made with white flour and sugars flip a switch in my brain and I can’t stop eating them. They make me eat when I’m not hungry, bored or depressed. I become that unhappy little child again instead of the confident, happy, controlled adult.

Atkins has helped me lose 84 lbs so far. Never has a “diet” ever been so pleasant to be on. I am rarely hungry, and I am bursting with energy almost all the time. In the warm months, I enjoy walking, and last Summer I even jogged! When I was at my top weight I remember struggling to go for short strolls with my family, now I can walk fast for an hour at time. I’ve watched my clothing size go from a 3X to an XL and my chest/waist/hip measurements go from 56"/52"/57" to 43"/38"/48". I am looking forward to each new size and the rewarding feeling I will get. Ultimately, I hope to achieve my goal of 175 lbs and a size 12, a size I haven’t been since 1995. I know that 2005 will be my year to achieve that goal.

[dreamof145]

Before Atkins, Tammy (lostandfound) refers to herself as death waiting to happen. She was depressed and ashamed of what she had become. She wanted to die and is thankful now that she didn’t have the courage to do something stupid. Today, when she looks in the mirror, the face smiling back at her is one of a much happier and confident lady. Tammy had to learn to appreciate the hardship she went through to become the person she is today.


Before Atkins I had no life. My life consisted of easing my feet to the floor each morning, hobbling to coffee pot, counting up the meds (11 of them), eating and watching TV from the couch or playing games on the computer till time to cook supper. I was well over 300 lb's and only 5'2"

I was arthritic, my BP was out of control, my body would hold so much fluid that it hurt to move. I was on my way to having to take insulin injections; my eyesight was failing because of the high BP along with my kidneys. I had a mild heart attack the year before. I was a train wreck.

It got so bad that I didn't go out of my house for 2 years. My kids spent a lot of time visiting me and 'taking care' of me. They cleaned my house, washed my clothes and cooked for me days in advance. I spent so much of my time waiting for my body to give up. I was so convinced that my time on this earth was over that I actually wrote letters to my children and their children saying goodbye.

My husband and I grew apart and rarely even spoke. He went from being concerned, to being indifferent. He told me he spent many nights checking to see if I was still breathing. (And I wondered why my marriage was falling apart)

I can't say where the turning point in my life was. Maybe it was when my Dr. told me not to bother making another appointment with him because I probably wouldn't live to keep it. Or when he told me he didn't want to treat me anymore because I was determined to kill myself. (My weight and health) Maybe it was when my kids started talking about round the clock care for me when they didn't know I was listening. Maybe it was when I discovered my husband had taken a girlfriend. I just can't say what changed things.

What I can say is Thank God Almighty that I did change. I took control. I started doing little leg lifts on the side of my bed. I cleaned my own house! I made out a grocery list with no snack foods! I stood naked in front of a mirror and told that woman that I hated her. And that she was not welcome here, in my home, or in any aspect of my life. I kicked her to the curb!!

It took the last two years to begin feeling like I had made a positive change, but I am changing. The most wonderful change was Atkins and ADBB. I made some strides towards becoming a healthier me. But when I began Atkins with a clean induction, by the book, I began to make a transition that I came to believe, would never be possible again.

My Children are relieved. My Husband and I are happy now, and God willing, I will live to see my grandchildren grow up and have children of their own!

I am going to win this battle for myself. Of all the things that have gone wrong in my life, this is the one thing that is, and has always been, within the boundaries of my own control. I had to learn this the hard way. I thank God everyday, that I did learn it.

Thank you God. Thank you Dr Atkins. Thank you ADBB.
I feel you are all my friends, and I couldn't think of a more wonderful group of folks that I would rather take this journey with. You have all made the difference for me and I will be grateful for the rest of my life.
I know I still have a long battle ahead of me. But the journey has been much more pleasant with my ADBB family.
Good luck to everyone. Together, we can make a difference.

[dreamof145]

We've all heard of the tortoise and the hare. Well, even though Bren considers herself a ‘slow’ loser, she has lost nearly 60 pounds and is a qualified ‘winner’ when it comes to losing the battle of weight loss. She is now an exercise guru for her clients at CURVES and a shining example of an Atkins success story to everyone on the ADBB site!

I think you all know my story, but I have been asked to tell it again. I am Bren and have been a member here at ADBB since 3/30/03 which was the same day I started my Atkins Journey.

When I came here I was a mess. I was sick and tired of dieting. I wore a tight size 22 and was physically a train wreck waiting to happen. I decided to try Atkins, as it was really the only diet I had never tried. Most of you know the drill; if there was a diet, I tried it. I did ok for a few months then “poof” right back to where I was and usually added a few more pounds. I had been obese all my life. I don’t remember ever not being the “fat kid”. In fact, my nickname as a kid was: Crisco….. Fat in the can.

I met the man of my dreams over 20 years ago and we married, he didn’t care that I was obese. I was blessed and still am to have him. I have two children, well young adults ages 19 + 20. My family still eats what they consider “normal” food and yes I prepare it for them. I work in a family construction company where, you guessed it; I sit on my butt all day.
There you have me in a nutshell.

Now back to March 2003. I wish some of my first posts where still on the board, as I was the perfect and shining example of a “pain in the butt”. I asked every dumb question there was to ask. Somewhere in my first month here I started really “listening” to what I was told to do. I had what I call my “moment”. I bought into everything everyone told me (except exercise). I did EXACTLY what I was told to do. The most important thing I did was to start writing down everything including my goals and creating rewards. I now carry that through in every aspect of my life. I spent approx. 8 weeks in induction where I lost about 13 pounds. My weight loss was and still is SLOW. In fact, I think I could be called the slowest loser here. Know what? That doesn’t bother me in the least. Somewhere in the summer of 2003 I started thinking about exercise. I was feeling so much better but still doing the steps one at a time. I bought the Leslie Sansone “Walk away the Pounds” video. I went upstairs and started. I’ve never looked back. I had been a member of Curves for many months, but never really doing it. I GOT SERIOUS. I started “working” the circuit at Curves and when I could not get to Curves I was doing my “Walk Away the Pounds” video.

By January 2004, I was down to a size 14 (I go by clothing sizes, not really pounds etc.). Based on the fact that I loved helping people here, I set a new goal. The goal….. To help others become involved in fitness. Ironically on March 30, 2004 I started my job as a fitness instructor at Curves. In the past two years I’ve gone from what I told you at the start to what I am now. I am a fitness instructor; I am down to a size 10. I FEEL FANTASTIC! And, I help people do what I have done.

Many people ask me after two years why I am not at goal. YOU GOT ME! But, I don’t care. I’ll get there eventually. I keep my mini-goals in front of me and keep on keeping on.

First, I will never go back to what I was. Second, I am having more fun then I have ever had in my life. Life is good and I am finally living. I will also tell you I am not the “perfect” Atkineer. I have cheated…. My first cheat was in June of 2004 after I had been in a stall for many many months. I tried the refeed. It did work for me, but I have since found kicking up my exercise works a LOT better. Then in October of 2004 on my birthday I had a cinnamon roll. Over the holidays this year I had a few goodies.

I now have complete control over food. Food no longer controls me. I slayed the carb/sugar monster two years ago. I can have the occasional cheat and am in no way tempted to continue. There is one thing I refuse to try and I know I will someday, but it was my biggest downfall… PASTA.

I was talking to one of my clients last week and something struck me. I suggested she try lo-carb. Her reply… I could never give up bread and pasta. BELLS AND WHISTLES! It is not that she cannot, is that she will not. She is addicted, as I was 2 years ago. Until you are ready to admit that you will never succeed. My name is Bren and I am a carb addict. I will always have to be aware of that and keep it in check. NO PROBLEM.

Ok.. fast forward to January 3, 2005. Approached the “metal monster”, climbed upon its evil steps and decided ENOUGH. New mini goal was to lose 5 pounds so I could take advantage of a “spa day” my family bought me for my birthday in October. NOTE: I said mini-goal. BABY STEPS…. That is how and why I am still here! So, since January 3, 2005 I have upped my exercise and been very aware of carb creep. I went back into induction for a few days to make sure I was in ketosis. Oh guess what, I never registered as in ketosis on the sticks. Did it stop me……nope. I got on the scale this morning. GOAL IS MET. GOAL IS SURPASSED…. 8 pounds. Spa here I come!

What is my actually goal weight? I have no clue and in fact I could care less. I go by how I feel. AND…my doctor has finally convinced me to quit worrying about the numbers. Again, I stress the reason I am still here and still chugging along is baby steps, mini goals and I am now an ADBB addict.

I credit ADBB and the people here for 99% of my success. NEVER did I think that I could actually be where I am today. The people here made me what I am. Another thing that has happened to me is I finally took the focus off of me. Once I started having success with Atkins and being here on the board, I started thinking, “Heck, if I can do this ANYONE can”. I refocused on helping others and along the way I have lost weight but gained so much more in return. PAY IT FORWARD…… and it comes back to you 100 times over.

Always remember...

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. BABY STEPS.
and a dream is a wish your heart makes.
A goal is that dream put on paper. WRITE IT DOWN.

IF I have inspired one person through "my story", then I can call myself a success.

As always, I am here and always happy to help ANYONE I can!
I wish you all much success!!!!!!! YOU'RE SO WORTH IT!

[dreamof145]

When Amenia realized that her life was worth the effort, she started a journey to find her inner self. Now, 150 pounds later, she has found a confident and happier person.

I’ve always been fat. I was the fattest baby at birth in my family. I was the fattest kid in kindergarten. I could barely fit in the desks in high school and college. It’s all I’ve ever known. From middle school through high school, my doctor put me on 123,746,262 diets, always to have me fail.

My dad always told me, if you keep eating like that you will be 200 lbs by Christmas or this weight by graduation etc. He didn’t realize that actually made things worse. He thought it’d make me step back and see what I was doing and turn my life around… it didn’t.

After years of struggle and low self-esteem, I woke up to the fact that I am worth more than I was giving myself. The worst part of realizing you’re worth more is that you have allowed others to help contribute to your low self esteem. I had to change my life. That’s when it began… my first day of Atkins.

I’m not exactly sure how much I weighed, my scale wouldn’t register me, but based on the typical induction loss and the amount of time it took me to register on my scale, I estimate that I started my journey weighing 465 pounds. It could have been more…

The first 6 months were easy. As my self-esteem improved I realized I had to not only change my life this way, but I had to move out of my marriage. It was a mutually destructive relationship, and we both would benefit if we went our own ways. The next 4 months were easy as far as exercising went… I exercised to get away from my miserable home life.

Since I moved away from my old life, I’ve struggled. However, that struggling is making each pound I lose more and more rewarding!

_________________
I'll do what it takes to please the inner me, and that means letting her out!



Michelle
5'6" - 465/315/175 I have lost 150 pounds!

[dreamof145]

Elmark may be the only Dane on the ADBB site, but her story is one that we can all relate to. Before Atkins, she could eat three large bags of chips in a day. Now, she’s lost 66 pounds, two shoe sizes, and she has her own website (in Danish) where all the Danish Atkins people meet.

I’ve been fat all my life. As a little girl, I was a chubby tomboy. Nobody said anything about my weight because my whole family on my father’s side is big. My grandmother was over 350 pounds and it just seemed normal.

When we visited family, I was always told by grandmothers and aunts to eat plenty since I was growing. My mom and dad divorced when I was 4 and my dad married a younger woman. I liked my step-mom. She kept telling me, that she was fat as a kid too, but when she became a teenager she slimmed down from day to day. She gave me lots of food too. Sweets and chips. So it just seemed okay to eat. I was going to lose it all as a teenager anyway!

So I kept eating and eating….

As a teenager, I discovered that it didn’t all go away overnight. I had to diet. I wasn’t bullied in school about being overweight. I was actually one of the popular kids. Maybe it was because I was funny to be around.

So this was when the dieting years began:

I was 13 when I tried my first diet. I thought about my confirmation and wanted to look good on that special day. I joined a gym and started eating fat-free everything. I did lose 4-5 pounds in 2 months, but that was all. As my confirmation approached, I realized that I would look ridiculous in a dress standing next to all the skinny girls. I decided to wear pants and a shirt. It was white, but it still covered the fat better than a dress. At this time I was probably around 180 pounds. My friends were more like 110-130 pounds.

For my second diet, my mom decided to support me. She didn’t need to lose weight at all…still doesn’t (she’s around 110-120 pounds). But she wanted to help me, so she went on the diet with me. We went for walks in the evening, but no extra exercise. In 2 months, she lost 10 pounds and I lost 4. She couldn’t keep it up or she would get too skinny. And I didn’t want to do it alone. (it was difficult for me to make all those low-fat recipes.)

Since then I tried pills that made me feel bad, slim-fast, exercise (and eating badly), regular low-fat, the pineapple diet, the grapefruit diet, the “eat nothing for 2 weeks and lose a lot” diet. I tried them all. I spent lots of money on it. I’d usually lose 10-20 pounds, take a break and then gain it all back.

At the age of 16, I managed to lose 30 pounds on a low fat diet and keep it off for six months. I hadn’t reached goal, and felt sorry for myself for being fat. I ate even more.

After Business College, I had different jobs. I lost a little weight and kept it off, since all my jobs were physically active. Then 1½ years ago I went back to school. I gained more than 50 pounds in a year.

That was when I decided to get serious about losing the weight. I think that the one thing that made the difference is the fact that I now live alone. I’ve always lived with friends since I moved away from my mom. It was always very tempting. Now I get to decide what foods go into my fridge and cupboards.

Atkins wasn’t known in Denmark when I started a year ago. I found the ADBB by accident and hurried up and bought DANDR on the internet right away when I joined the ADBB. It is the best thing I ever did.

Now Atkins is more known in Denmark, but most people remember the bad things they hear, so I don’t get much support from strangers. I have lovely family and friends who support me and some have even joined me in doing Atkins.

Some people ask me what I plan to do after I reach goal and finish Atkins. I tell them, that Atkins is a WOL (Way of Life) and that I am “sugar free” forever.

I love the food I get to eat on Atkins. I still can’t believe that I can eat cheese and cream almost daily and still lose weight. I still have an eating disorder. And I know that I have to be careful for the rest of my life or I will gain it all again. I’m like a drug-addict ~ I can’t settle for one cake or one piece of candy. Everyday I fear going back to what I used to do, but I know that as long as I have the ADBB I will manage!

I only need a few things to make my life perfect now:
-Reach goal (and have loose skin removed)
-Find a MAN!!!!!

[dreamof145]

Peggy is 53 years old and has become addicted to exercise videos, particularly step aerobics. She operates an editing business out of her home, but there's no place she’d rather be than in her kayak on a river taking pictures of wildlife. When she’s not kayaking, working, or exercising, you’ll find her reading, with at least one cat on her lap and her Pomeranian beside her!


I had somewhat ambivalent feelings about being fat. On the one hand, your size doesn’t reflect who you are as a person, and I did not define myself by how much air I displaced as I moved around. And at 50+ years old, I felt entitled to the extra weight; after all, even animals get a bit paunchy as they age! On the other hand, being fat just didn’t jibe with my lifestyle and personality. I am active and independent, I consider myself to be smart, and I am very much in charge of my life. Despite my rationalizations, being fat just didn’t fit my image of myself.

I was eating what is generally accepted to be a healthy diet. My diet was very high in fruits and vegetables, with lots of fruit juice, as well as pasta and whole-grain cereals and bread. I ate very little red meat (though I love a good steak), bought fake eggs instead of real ones (though I love eggs), and only ate cheese when a recipe called for it (though I love cheese!). I ate no desserts, candy, pastries, chip snacks, or other junk food. And every year I got fatter.

Diabetes runs in my family. All of my immediate family is presently taking medication for hypertension. I was already on cholesterol-lowering medication. I had been told by three different doctors that I needed to lose weight.

One day I was in a small local hardware store and overheard the owner telling some women about how he had lost weight—they had been remarking on his new size. I overheard the words Atkins and carbohydrates. Shortly after that, I was in a bookstore, and I picked up a copy of DANDR and skimmed through it. I was incredulous. There was NO WAY that you could lose weight eating like that, and what would it do to your cholesterol? I didn’t buy the book, and when I came home, I told my husband about it, and we decided that it would just be too drastic a lifestyle change for me to suddenly add steak and eggs and cheese to my diet. I felt no qualms about dropping the carbs, but I couldn’t imagine eating such high-fat food after avoiding it for so many years. However, eating low-fat was getting me nowhere, so maybe desperate times called for such desperate measures.

A week or so later I saw my doctor to get results of a recent routine blood test. My blood sugar was now at the pre-diabetes level, my blood pressure was high enough for us to discuss medication. Diabetes is a very, very scary disease that can have dire consequences. So I brought up the subject of Atkins, telling him I just wanted to bounce an idea off him, to get his opinion. When I asked him if it was possible to lose weight while eating steak and eggs and cheese and following Atkins, he informed me that he had been on it for 15 years, and started rattling off his before and after stats as far as weight, cholesterol, and blood pressure. I told him I would give Atkins a try, and he scolded me not to say I was going to “try” but that I was going to “do.” At the same time, because of my rising blood sugar levels, he told me to get the gizmo to take blood samples twice a day to monitor it—if it went much higher, we would have to put me on medication to lower it.

Going on Atkins was like going off a diet. I can eat steak! And eggs—I became a master of the omelet! Cheeses, cream cheese, dark meat instead of light, real butter on my veggies, Marie’s blue cheese salad dressing—does it get better than this? I was never hungry between meals, gone was that “shaky” feeling I used to get when my blood sugar went haywire.

Three weeks later my fasting blood sugar, which I was measuring every day, had gone down and stayed down in the middle of the normal range. My blood pressure, which I also measure myself, was in the lower end of normal every time I checked. Three months later my cholesterol was lower, though I still need medication for that. I had so much energy that I started exercising, increasing the duration and difficulty as time went on. The weight came off steadily and I started enjoying clothes shopping again, as I bought in progressively smaller sizes.

I have finished my weight loss journey after losing 60 lbs and I am holding steady here. I started Atkins 14 months ago; I passed my goal of size 10 pants and leveled off in size 6 (not stretch, no elastic waists!). When I was fat, I avoided looking in mirrors, and I never got over that habit. As a result, when I do catch my reflection, I do a double-take—is that me? I find this WOE ridiculously simple to stick with, and the rewards are vast. Not just a pleasing reflection, but better health, increased energy, and soaring self-esteem. At last, my outside matches my inside in perfect harmony.

[dreamof145]

Perry considers himself a computer geek by trade and a self-proclaimed golf nut. He enjoys working on his car and quiet times alone. He loves his family and is extremely proud of the way his daughters are blossoming into young women. He also works hard at keeping this site running. He spends a lot of time 'behind the scenes' working with Tom and the other admins to make our ADBB experience enjoyable.


Let me just say that there is NO way my weight loss success can be considered inspiring. I look in awe at all the people here (and in my own family) who have battled weight their whole lives and you are the people who have inspired me. You all have wonderful personalities and warm hearts and I feel so welcome on this board. It is this sense of "community" that is my secret inspiration and the reason I've chosen to pay-it-forward and volunteer my services to ADBB.

My goals were very modest. I wanted to drop 27lbs and get back to the weight I was at when I met my wife 22 years ago. I tried my own methods over the years.. not any particular plans, per se... just the Perry plan. I would drop a couple and then put on a couple, plus a couple more! Before I new it I was in the worst shape of my life. Walking on my treadmill hurt my legs. Doing chores around the house hurt my back. The last straw was having to leave the golf course after 13 holes after a
searing pain shot up my back after a swing. I was laid up for several weeks with a slipped disk. I blame the added weight for that injury.

After 2 months of physical therapy I took a good look at myself and decided that I need to do something... but what? My answer came from my baby brother. He had open heart surgery to replace 3 of the 4 arteries in his heart because of blockage - at 40 years of age! I took it hard, looked at my 2 daughters and wife and thought "Am I ready to leave them?". Then, not more than a few days later, my brother called me out of the blue and said "Bro, you gotta try this Atkins. My cardiologist recommended it and I'm down 30 lbs. and feeling like a new person". I thought the cleaned up heart made him feel better but he never got rid of the weight after the operation and it was becoming a burden to him. He's still maintaining and continues to inspire me.

The rest is history. I took 2 weeks off work in Dec 2003...did the strictest of inductions... exercised daily...drank my water... etc... 7 weeks later I was at my married weight of 180 and feeling like a 30 year old. My back is well... back! I have returned to golf and work around the house without pain. I don't even wake up at night or have to down 8 Advil to get to sleep! Well, I do wake up at night but now its for other reasons.

Thanks to those who've read this far. I appreciate knowing all of you. I hope to continue to stick around and tackle new challenges and make this board the best on the web.

Regards.

[dreamof145]

Elizellen and her husband run the only stained glass supply retail shop in Dorset. One of her customers introduced her to the Atkins plan and she didn’t have any trouble adopting it into her lifestyle. She’s now lost over 100 pounds.


Always a chubby child, I was overweight as an adult by about a stone (14 pounds) but felt I made up for it by being the outrageous lively outgoing one - you know the one with the short skirts, low necklines and big earrings and a lot of laughs!

When at 24 I decided to join the Army I had to lose weight which I did by basically eating very little and exercising a lot instead of having lunch. This was fine while at officer's training college. I managed to get down to the weight they wanted but I started to slip into 'normal' eating and drinking once I got my commission and was posted overseas.

The weight moved up again for the next couple of years but in order to still fit into my uniform I had to do the odd concentrated periods of dieting and yo-yoed up and down around a size 18 UK.

When I left the Army, I got married and guess what? Before a year had passed we bought a sweet shop that I ran for 10 years. Surrounded by sweets and crisps (at wholesale prices) I just seemed to pile on the pounds till I got to my weight BA (before Atkins) of over 20 stone (280 pounds). I’m not too sure of my highest weight as our scales weren't too accurate or consistent that far round the dial.

I tried most 'diets' over the next 20 years without lasting success and thought I was destined to be always buying my clothes from Evans (UK High Street 'Outsize' clothes shop). I had very few physical problems as yet - apart from not being able to fit in many restaurant seats and getting out of breathe climbing stairs – but I did have the occasional knee twinges and difficulty getting up from kneeling down.
I led a busy life with running our stained glass supplies shop, designing windows for clients and teaching classes four nights a week. Boy, did I get tired!

One day one of our customers came in looking a shadow of his former self and extolled the ease and success of the 'Atkins Diet'.
It sounded worth a try so the next day I bought DANDR and started to read up on it and began to count carbs.
I didn’t really lose a massive amount of weight immediately as I was really doing my own version of Atkins, but I was encouraged by losing a few pounds and as I enjoyed the food and didn’t find the planning too hard. I decided to stick with it. It seemed so odd to be able to say 'I am on a diet so please can I have eggs and bacon with mushrooms but no fried bread!' and slowly the weight started to move downwards.

After 6 months, I came across this board in March 2004 and lurked for a few weeks before getting up the courage to join up and join in. That was the best decision I made for a long time!!
Nearly a year later I still have 40 or so pounds to go and it is moving very slowly but I am enjoying starting the climb up the OWL ladder - next week the nuts rung which I am looking forward to being on for a while and trying out all the recipes I have seen here and elsewhere on the web.

I have learned so much about how to follow this WOL (diet no more) by ‘the book’ from all the members of this board that I am now firmly convinced that it is a way of life for life for me now.
I’m sure that without the encouragement and support from all you Atkineers at ADBB, I would have fallen off the wagon and become another of the statistics of those for whom Atkins didn’t work – so I will always be grateful to this community of losers!

_________________
Elizellen
Bournemouth UK

[dreamof145]

JoAnn pretended to be happy on the outside while she was crying for happiness and love on the inside. She is now 77 pounds lighter and found true happiness in her life at last. Her story is a great inspiration to us all.

I’ve felt trapped for most of my life. I grew up in a family with an abusive father, a funny but unsupportive mother, and an angry brother who liked to molest me. I quickly learned that if I pretended to be happy and did what I was supposed to, my dad would, for the most part, leave me alone. From that point on I existed as two people: the happy, funny “good kid” was my safety facade that everyone saw. But deep inside was a scared, lonely person who wanted to be accepted and loved for who she was, and who was terrified that her soul was dying. I used food to self-medicate my loneliness and pain, and the inevitable “chunkiness” that followed only made me more of a target in both school and with my father. When I graduated high school I was a size 16.

The “good girl” facade continued into my 20's. By that time it was so deeply ingrained that it never occurred to me to live without it. My life had become a joke; on the outside I was happy and very involved my church, doing whatever people wanted me to do. On the inside I felt dead, and believed that noone in my life had ever truly “been there” for me. When I was 25, I imploded and completely fell apart. I withdrew from everything and spent months alone in my room, wanting to die. Eventually I realized that I couldn’t kill myself, and that I couldn’t continue living as I had been. The only option left was to create a new life for myself. But how? I had no idea who I was, what I liked, or what my beliefs were.

What followed was my own personal Odyssey. I read book after book after book, mostly centered either on personal healing or on other’s beliefs about life and beyond. I took classes in meditation, yoga, and various healing topics. For the first time, I felt alive and in control. I found that everything I’d ever wanted or longed for was already inside me. I got to know who JoAnne was, and I realized that she was a pretty neat person! I adopted my personal belief system, and decided that I would explore whatever interests I had. I promised myself that I would always be here for me and always take care of me.

Unbeknownst to me, I’d created a little minefield. One of my beliefs is that I was beautiful just the way I was, and I spent quite a lot of time learning to love my size-18 body. I decided that I was going to be a person who ate what she wanted, and who didn’t deny herself a single thing. Armed with my new self-esteem, I became a member of various BBW clubs, and found out that in the BBW world, I was a hottie. I dated only men who preferred larger women, and it was great.

When I was 28, I met the man who would become my husband. Unfortunately, he harbored a dark secret; he was an alcoholic and a drug addict, which he managed to hide until I was very much pregnant. During the course of our marriage, I felt trapped again and lost pieces of myself while trying to deal with his lies and addiction. Self-medication merged with my “eat whatever I wanted” motto, and I began to get heavier...until I was a size 24.

In 2002 I woke up, and realized that I was sacrificing both myself and my son’s future for a man who either couldn’t or wouldn’t live up to his responsibilities as a husband and father. I kicked him out, and we divorced later that year. I set about reclaiming the precious pieces of myself. I wanted to return to a size 18, but was too firmly entrenched in my “perfect the way I am” and “eat what I want” ways of thinking to do anything about it.

When I felt ready to date again, I was size 26. I rejoined BBW social groups, but didn’t meet anyone I liked. I decided to step out of my “bbw lovers” subculture and, because a co-worker had found success on it, joined “E-Harmony”, a matchmaking website. Oh boy, was that an eye opener!!! In the few months that I was a member, I had a ton of matches, but once they found out I was large-sized, not a single one wanted to meet me. Boy, talk about humiliating!!! (In fact, it was so embarrassing that this is the first time I’ve mentioned it to anyone!) I’d spent so long in the “bbw’s are sexy” philosophy that I wasn’t prepared for the reaction from the rest of the world. And it was a big blow. One night, I took a long look at my naked self in the mirror. For the first time in many years, my “bbws are beautiful” rosy glasses were off, and the backs of my thighs horrified me. I had to do something.

But wait a minute. If I loved myself and truly believed I was beautiful the way I was, why would I need to change anything? If I was a person who did what she wanted, how could I stop eating the things I liked? If I wasn’t concerned with what society thought, wouldn’t becoming skinny be conforming to society? These thoughts tumbled around in my head over and over. I realized that I was trapped again, but somehow I’d trapped myself. I found the minefield I’d laid out many years ago. I’d spent a lot of time healing my inside and learning to love myself, but I skipped over the “loving yourself is taking care of your body” part. Yes, I was beautiful the way I was, but I’d be even MORE beautiful if I could bring my body in tune with my spirit and mind. I finally realized that losing weight would be a big piece in the “being true to JoAnne” equation.

Armed with my decision, I had to choose which plan to adopt. I tried Atkins a few years ago for a short period, and I liked the fact that we could eat cheese...which I loved. I checked the book out of the library, and read it in one day. It made perfect sense, and I carefully created my plan, and set my start date. I was so anxious to begin that I gave up sugar and caffeine the week before!!

Less than a month after I began this WOE, I found ADBB and the Century Club. I’ve been here ever since, along with others on the same journey. I’ve adapted to the Atkins lifestyle pretty painlessly, and haven’t been in danger of eating sugar/starch/flour/carbs since.

My own personal Atkins advice?

1) Be honest. Take off your blinders and rose-colored glasses, and see yourself as you really are. Keep them off, and be willing to deal with longstanding food issues. It can be difficult, but it’s the only way to truly make a lasting change.

2) Drink your water!!! It flushes ketones, it fills you up, it does soooo much good.

3) Be prepared!!! Always plan ahead and always keep acceptable food and snacks around.

4) Be ready. When naysayers approach (and they will!) have an answer ready. Mine is something to the effect of “Thanks for your concern, but I’m going with what works for me. I’ve got the clean bloodwork to prove it.” Funny, but as I’ve lost more and more weight, the naysayers don’t speak up as much.

5) Be natural. Whole foods are the way to go. Foods that were born in a lab have no place in your body.

6) Exercise. Okay, so I’m working on this one.

ADBB has become a lifeline for me, in more ways than one. In CC, I have a place where everyone understands. My questions are always answered, and I get support that I need. I have a place where I can be silly, be sappy, be happy or sad, and just be myself. I’ve learned about my emotional eating, my triggers and exactly how my body works. I credit ADBB as a big reason that I’ve lost 77 pounds, and my recent bloodwork came back perfect. My original goal (one that I saw as unreachable) was to be back to a size 18, and I’m now there. I’ve surprised myself, and realized that I can do far more than I ever thought I could. My new goal is to reach size 16, and I won’t stop there either. I have no ultimate goal in mind, just to keep going until my body is in tune with my mind. I no longer exist as two people. Traps aren’t a place I belong, and they have no place in my future. With Dr. Atkins and ADBB's help, I’m releasing myself from my last big trap...my oversized body.

[dreamof145]

Sharon (Roshan) has lost 101 pounds and 78" total. In her first 5 months on the Atkins plan, she lost 50 lbs, but didn't tell anyone how she did it because of the negative contraversy surrounding it in the UK.

I had what I thought was a normal upbringing. Both my parents worked and my brother and I were cared for by doting grandparents.

From an early age, I remember having no limits on what or when I could eat. At grandma's there was always home-made pies and cakes that I was encouraged to help myself to in-between meals. When mum got home, she always made up for being away with more food and treats. I became a fat kid, not really teased too much, but enough for me to realize that I was different.

I remember my teenage years the most. I was the girl that the guys liked to hang out with but never ask on a date. I never got one date, never got asked to the dances, never got to wear the cute little outfits that my girlfriends wore. To everyone...I was just Sharon - the girl who made everyone laugh when she made fun of herself over her size and weight. What they didn't see was that I was crying inside, unhappy with my weight and lonely.

The comfort eating cycle began...

I spent years trying every diet. I'd lose some then gain it all back and more. I was yo-yoing out of control. I met my partner at 28. He was a black guy and my size didn't matter to him. He was one of the black men that adored the larger woman. Oh boy!! That was an excuse not to diet anymore and carry on abusing myself with food.

We had kids. I went from 220lbs to 362lbs in 12 years. My life got more restricted the bigger I got. I didn't want to go out. My ankles swelled so much some days I could hardly walk. My knees and my back hurt. My kids suffered because I couldn't do much with them and my partner became distant. He worried about my health and wondered if he was going to wake up some morning and find me dead in our bed. I was in a rut and couldn't see any way out.

In early 2004, a program was aired on UK tv about the Atkins diet. They followed the progress of a group of celebrities who had taken the 2 week induction challenge. I couldn't believe these people were eating fried chicken, butter, mayo...etc, everything that I loved and were losing dramatic amounts of weight.

This was a dieter's dream. I started to follow the plan.

I looked around the internet for support groups and found the ADBB site. I felt like I belonged here. I had people to discuss Atkins with and somewhere to get the support and I've never looked back.

The hardest part of doing the Atkins plan for me was giving up the bread. I loved my sandwiches. They are so versatile and convenient and quick to eat before anyone comes in the kitchen (I was a closet eater) and the water...I was drinking close to a gallon in the beginning and thats a lot when you're not a water drinker. But, now I don't miss the bread at all and the water has become a natural routine to my day as with the exercise....EXERCISE!! OMG, I forgot about that.

I've gone from not being able to climb the stairs without hyperventelating to walking 2 miles a day, swimming on Sundays, family bike rides once a week and 2 nights in the gym doing weights. I love it. I have made more friends than I have ever had since adopting this lifestyle.

I've lost 101 pounds and 78" total. I still have a long way to go, but I will do it. Atkins has helped me turn my life around from someone who had nothing to look forward to, to someone who has everything to look forward to.

I thank Dr. Atkins for everything he did and I thank all of you in the ADBB.

[dreamof145]

Higgies agrees that Atkins is not a magical plan to lose the weight, but he admits… “It’s the easiest thing that has worked for me”. He’s lost 52 pounds and gained a whole lot of confidence.


I have always struggled with my weight. I remember shopping in the "Husky" boys' section at Sears growing up, which always made me feel a little embarrassed. I don't think food filled any emotional void for me, but I think I used it to fill my boredom. I wasn’t a very active child. My mom had me try Slim fast & some kid's weight-loss groups at a local hospital. Nothing really worked.

When I got into high school I was 5'8", 250lbs., and wore a size 46 pants. I joined the football team and found something I loved! During the season I ate what I wanted as I was getting such a workout from practices and games. I lost about 20lbs during the season, and then in the off-season I realized I needed to do more to keep it up. I joined Winter & Spring Track and the golf team. During this time I had to work out for football. I started running in the mornings before school. After school I'd hit the weight room for 2 hours or more. I also started starving myself. I'd have a piece of toast for breakfast and then I'd hide in the locker room during lunch so I wouldn't be tempted to eat fries or a horrible school lunch. For dinner, I'd typically have what my mom made. She made decent healthy meals. During this time I lost another 35lbs. I was able to keep it off for the next few years of high school while I maintained fairly poor eating habits and a strenuous exercise regimen. I think I was in a size 36 by then.

When I got to college, I was still playing football. After the first season I just ballooned up with all the great cafeteria food and beer drinking! I got to about 260lbs. I admit a lot of it was muscle, but not that much of it! I kept eating, drinking, and gaining.

For the next few years of college and post-college I gradually gained and gained. I was at my highest about 2 years ago of 286lbs. That's when I decided to make some minor changes. I started walking every other day. I stopped drinking soda. I immediately dropped about 15lbs. I started eating more salads and gradually (very gradually) I lost some more. I really wasn't going anywhere though.

One night my girlfriend came over crying that her mother had been making some comments about her weight and she was determined to try Atkins. Atkins had worked for her father. I had some friends who had tried it with some success, but it was always something I thought I could never do. I loved my bread and potatoes too much!! I didn't really know anything about Atkins so that night I started searching for information. That's when I found ADBB! This was the best aid in helping me along my way. I decided to join my girlfriend for support, and we both started the next day.

Atkins has really been a great experience for me. I've been pretty militant about the whole plan. The first two weeks were proof enough for me that it works!! I lost 11lbs my first two weeks and couldn't have been happier. Every week it seemed I lost more weight. Sure, I've had my slip-ups. Mainly these happen when I am away from home on a vacation or trip of some sort. The thing I've come to realize through this way of eating is how sensitive I am to carbs. If I cheat for one weekend, I gain 6-8lbs. I know it's mainly water, but it's very much an incentive to maintain this WOE. Exercise is also a critical part of this plan. I do treadmill work 3 days a week and then lift weights the other 3 days. I keep it reasonable-- working out for 45 minutes to 1 hour. You can't do this plan successfully without exercise!!

I started this WOE at 252lbs and a size 44 pants. I am now down to 200lbs and a size 36!! I try to thank this community every day for the help and support that it has given me. There have been so many other great success stories on this board that have been such an inspiration. I will continue my Atkins journey as I go through the final steps of OWL, pre-maintenance, and maintenance. There is so much more for me to learn and do.

_________________
Higgies

[dreamof145]

Allison (AllieCat0817) has lost 80.5 pounds on the Atkins plan. She has exceeded her original goal and has solid advice on how to keep motivated and be successful in losing excess weight.

Some life changing events occurred in my life in early 2003-- my father passed away. One of his major problems was diabetes. At times his sugar levels were recorded at over 700-- he should have been in a diabetic coma but somehow wasn't. After he passed away, mom said she was borderline diabetic. I was next, WITHOUT A DOUBT.

Something flipped inside me and the desire to lose weight and be healthy totally consumed me. I could feel diabetes creeping up on me and I wasn't having it! I pursued my weight loss with a vengeance. I did months of research; reading, searching the internet, reading books, and talking to people before I finally decided that the low carb lifestyle was for me.

I began eating the low carb way on 5/23/03 and began Atkins officially on 6/11/03 after I realized I COULD do it and succeed!

My starting weight was 213.5 and my starting size was 22. I am 5'5", and 31 years old.

My weight loss left me with lots of sagging skin on my breasts and abdomen. On 1/13/05 I had a breast lift (mastopexy) and a full tummy tuck (abdominoplasty) with muscle reconstruction. My surgeon is Dr. Heidi Williams in Charleston SC.

As of 3/17/05 I am 133 and I am a LOOSE size 6-8 and I have some size 4-6 exercise pants and size SMALL 4-6 jackets! I am in the fourth and final lifelong stage of Atkins: Lifetime Maintenance. I have surpassed my sixth and final goal of 140. I selected this goal weight based on the Body Mass Index chart.

If you decide to live a low carb lifestyle, please do your research beforehand. Understand how and why it works.

Here are some things I say to myself every single day, and I mean them! Tips to living a happy low carb life:

1) Eat to live, not live to eat

2) The sole purpose of food is nutrition. It is not an emotional pillow.

3) Eat when you are hungry, stop when you are satisfied. Use portion control (I usually use a measuring cup to measure fruits, veggies, and nuts). Never over-eat or stuff yourself. To me, over-eating or stuffing yourself is a form of emotional eating.

4) Drink at least half your body weight in ounces of water per day (if you weigh 200lb, drink 100oz of water per day)

5) Keep It Clean-- by this I mean avoid processed food as much as possible and eat real food. Eat meats, low glycemic fruits and veggies, nuts, and dairy (depending on your phase of the program). Avoid many of the low carb pre-packaged products, especially protein bars, and sugar free chocolates, and shakes. These products cause many people to lose very slowly or not at all. A lot of low-carbers refer to these foods as Franken Foods. Use them VERY sparingly if at all, especially during Induction and Ongoing Weight Loss. It is a choice between a high glycemic sugary starchy carby food and the Franken Food, then choose the Franken Food- but be prepared for possible slower or stalled losses. It is human nature to 'see what we can get away with' and still lose. Be very cautious.

6) Take nutritional supplements daily, and read the ingredients list to be sure your supplements contain no sugar or starch products

7) Always be prepared- prepare your own food ahead of time and always have cooked veggies and meats in the fridge. Never allow yourself to be caught off guard with nothing to eat. If you have to eat out, ASK QUESTIONS about ingredients.

Find an online support group and make that your home

9) Reward yourself with new clothes in smaller sizes

10) What other people do or say has nothing to do with what goes into your mouth. You and only you control what you eat, no exceptions (unless you are unconscious of course)

11) Never go off your plan, (may seem severe but for me this is critical). If you DO go off plan, jump right back on. Going off plan for one meal is NO REASON to go off for the whole day. Going off for the whole day is NO REASON to go off for a week, month, year etc. For me, going off plan is NEVER AN OPTION

12) Do not expect losses every day or every week. Expect up fluctuations which are due to water weight, hormones, medications and other factors. Do not be discouraged by temporary fluctuations- it is completely normal. For me, I always have 10-14 days every single month where I lose not one pound and sometimes temporarily gain a pound or two. It always comes back off plus more.

13) Meditate daily, even if for 5 minutes. Visualize in your mind the numbers you want the scale to say. Visualize yourself at your goal weight.

14) When I was preparing to leave home for college, we were all sitting at my grandmother's kitchen table. She said “Allison, if you ever need a helping hand...”

Now I just knew she was going to tell me to call her if I needed a helping hand. NOPE! She finished the sentence with...

”look to the end of your arm.”

I was in major shock that she told me that, but it sank in. She got that saying from one of the old timers that are long gone now. It is SO TRUE! You are the only one responsible for you, not one other soul. If you want to lose weight, then you do it- NO EXCUSES!

15) I keep a daily food journal where I record the time, what I eat and how much I eat. I also record which supplements I take. This is a great tool for holding YOURSELF accountable.

16) Two great ways to get excellent fiber are psyllium husk supplements, and ground flax seed (I prefer organic ground flax seed). Ground flax is also an excellent source of essential fatty acids and other nutrients. Recently I have started baking flax seed muffins. They are GREAT!!

17) My true accomplishment will be a successful permanent lifetime MAINTENANCE! If all of your focus is on your weight loss, and you give not one drop of thought to permanent maintenance, you may be headed for trouble. Study the Pre-Maintenance and Maintenance phases of your program the entire time you are in your weight loss phases

[dreamof145]

IKrystal Iklear lost 90 pounds by the age of 15. This has made her stronger than most other teenagers. She has done something that seemed impossible. Now her goal is to help other people who are struggling with a weight issue to know the miracle of the Atkin’s Way of Eating and succeed as she has.


I was always overweight, I don't exactly know why. I guess it was because my whole family was. I know my mom always tried to lose weight, but she'd stop trying after a month or so. We ate large portions for dinner, went out to eat, and ate junk food constantly. I never realized that it was wrong. When you're young, you don't think about these things. I always thought, "I'm born fat, I’m always going to be fat."

The worst feeling in the world is that I never could get the clothes I wanted, because they never fit me. I had to shop in old lady plus size clothes. I wanted to cry every time. The first time actually putting on jeans that weren't elastic was the best feeling in the world. Atkins helped me achieve that.

School is something I use to dread, even though I was always friends with the "popular" kids throughout catholic school. I hated the feeling of being in a skirt uniform when all the other girls were so tiny. I got teased sometimes from the boys who I didn't talk to, but I would just shrugged it off. Then, I moved over to a public school, and that wasn't the happiest time of my life. I went from popular, to not so popular because of the way I looked. By 7th grade, I was pushing 245 pounds - not your average 7th grader. After meeting my present boyfriend, I wanted to look "perfect" for him. Also, I wanted to have better friends, and get back to my popular status.

At first I took the ‘counting calorie’ approach. I lost about 15 pounds. I remember my sister’s best friend/neighbor wanted to lose weight too, so every morning in the summer we'd stay up all night then go running in the morning. Of course, I couldn't really run for longer than 2 minutes. Calories were too hard for me to keep track of. The summer of 2003, she asked if I’d do Atkins with her. Her aunt lost a lot of weight on it, and she said it would work. The sound of, "no carbs" was horror to me. I didn’t think I could do it. But then I kept thinking to myself, “I want to come back to school and be skinny”. By time school started I was completely use to Atkins. I went from a size 24-26 to a size 18. I continued to push myself, exercising every night and watching my carbs. I stayed cheat free the whole time. My goal was to get on my schools drill team [dance team]. All the girls were on it, it was bigger than cheerleading. That was my dream. I wanted to wear a cheerleading outfit and not look fat so people wouldn’t pick on me.

I still had the image of being skinny for my boyfriend. I kept my true weight from him. It was a long distance relationship, so he didn't know how I looked yet. He never even considered me to be fat; even though it was quite obvious my face was overly chubby. Slowly I slimmed down. It's insane the things you'll do when you love someone. He was my main motivation. He was always there when I felt horrible, and telling me I was beautiful all the time. It made me feeling better. When drill team auditions rolled by, I was down to a size 14, and thankfully I made it. That was my main reward. Also, I got my first lead role in the school's play. I would have never gotten it if I was heavier.

Then my weight loss slowed down to nothing. In April I stopped at 150, and my body refused to let me lose any more weight. I pushed myself at the gym for 3 hours every day during the summer, and nothing happened. My gallbladder gave out on me, and I got sent to the hospital. They said I had pancreatitis. The pain went away. I thought it was over, but in December I got sick again, and had to have it removed.

Now, I’m slowly on my way to losing weight again. I do believe that was making me stall, but I’m still trying hard to get to my goal weight. Right now being 154 makes me happy. I'm back to being popular. I get to be on a school team, and actually get called "hot" by guys.

I feel Atkins saved me physically and emotionally. Without it, I would still be fat, and unhappy. If I am this happy now, I can't wait to know what it feels like to be at my goal weight. I know I still have some work to do, but I will continue to let Atkins guide me to the end.