finally


By: troy


I am a power lifter but it was getting to the point the only thing I was lifting was my fat butt off the couch although I was religious in the gym my carb intake was over the top....I tried starving my self but got no results, I tried low fat and calorie counting but it gets so tedious you quickly get discouraged. Finally, I found atkins I've been on it for 11 days now and my start weight was 285 today I stepped on the scale and got a reading of 269 it was a blessing. Although I still lift weights Ive toned it down for a more lean muscle effect and I started a 30 minute a day cardio program. I rather be thin and muscular than big and fat. I encourage anyone who feels unhealthy or overweight to try the atkins program its not a "fad" but should be a way of life if you get discouraged I suggest you go get some ketostix and watch those babies turn purple it is a motivator. Willpower is only necessary in the first few days to get over the reduction of carbs you will crave some things but once you see the weight coming off those cravings are easier to deal with. I also suggest YOU GET THE BOOK dont go to websites looking for a quick start program you must understand the process to enjoy its benefits fully and understand from a medical standpoint reading the book makes everything easier. I wish all luck in their approach to low-carb dieting and for those here that remain on the program kudos and welcome to a heathy 2004.

Posted on: 2004-01-15

By Lorraine,

As a child I was always chubby. When I turned 17 I decided to lose the weight and got down to 130 lbs and stayed there for the next 25 years. I gained no weigh when I had my daughter and went home in regular clothes after she was born (same day, a skirt (size 8)without elastic).

I started back to college when my daughter was 5 and started eating like everyone else at school(who were half my age). I started gaining weight about 5+ lbs a year. My daughter forgot what I looked like thin but she knew I had been thin. Finally, the year she was graduating from High school and my boyfriend's son was getting married. I decided I did not want anymore fat pictures. (I refused to have my picture taken) I had tried no fat diets and it didn't work I lost no weight and tried reducing my calories didn't work. I tried exercise and nothing. By this time my weight was beginning to affect my heart. I had an experience where my heart skipped a beat. I went to the doctor and he wanted to run all sorts of tests.I hated the way I look and refused to buy clothes unless I had to.

I was so depressed I talked with my VP one evening at work. He of course didn't have a weight problem. What I didn't know was he had previously had a weight problem and went on Atkins and lost all the weight. Now he just does maintenance.

So I went out and brought the book. The following monday I started the diet. Unlike others people, my people at work told me about how incredible heathly I eat. I love to snack on raw veggies. No one else knew (except my daughter and boyfriend (he remembered me thin) that I was on Adkins. I weighed the first day and the scale read 194.5 and 3 weeks later when I stepped on the scale I had lost 24.5 lbs. The one really good thing that happened with that much sudden weight loss was at 50 years old I thought "oh no!!!!" I will have all that sagging skin and look terrible. I have to exercise. I started an exercise program and between Atkins and my exercise I no longer have those health problems.

I lost 50 lbs in 5 months (with 3 week + vacations when I wasn't perfect had a few sugar drinks). I went from 195 lbs to 145 lbs, a tight 16 to a size 6/8. I went from 16+ min miles flat walking to 13 min miles with hills. From 3 miles to 14 miles walks.

I have changed the way I eat period. I cheat occasionaly but my boyfriends is so proud because I changed my eating habits and continue to do it.

I didn't reach my goal of 139 lbs and added back on a few pounds partly because I knew I was going back on Atkins after the first of the year. I am almost back to the 145 lbs and my new goal is 135lbs. I am also back to my old exercise program because my sister and I are going to walk a marathon in May. My sister has gone from a size 26 to a size 14. She does a partial Atkins and just loses about 2-4 lbs every month. She has all my old clothes and now has clothes to give away that I gave her.

If I can do it anyone can and no one that see what I eat would ever call it unhealthy. In fact people who found out I was doing Atkins were surprised. Atkins is about choices. Find the food you love that is LC and eat it.

travellost-51 yrs Young
1/20/03 195/145 first time
1/5/04 second time
150/147/135
"I am allergic to carbs they make me break out in fat"

Maggie, these are so important, thanks so much for them ... unless I missed it... what is YOUR success story?

Hugs,
Rachel
165/145/128
Haec trutina errat. (Latin for,"There is something wrong with this scale".)

My story is still in the article section, Rachel. Maggie's Story

All the mods' stories are in that section, but I don't see any reason why they couldn't also be posted here.


I'll put mine here and let the other mods decide whether to put theirs here, too.


Thanks for the good idea!

Maggie
5'1" ~~ Atkins since '98 (160+)
Maintaining nicely (110 +/-)
~~ Redhead until further notice!

Maggie's Story


By: Maggie


Webmaster's Note: I'm thrilled to welcome Maggie as our newest moderator, and equally thrilled that she's agreed to share her story and pictures with us. Thanks for all you do here at LCE, Maggie! - LCandrea 09/27/03

I was a "chubby" baby and was roundish, more or less, until I hit puberty. By 14 I was quite slim, ranging between 105 and 115 lbs, and stayed that way until my mid thirties. Then everything started to change.

I started to gain weight. Being a nurse, I 'knew' that counting calories and 'cutting out the fat' was the only way to go. Expend more than you consume and you will lose weight. It does work to some extent, but the whole time I was doing it, all I could think was: I wonder how long I can go being this bored, hungry and miserable, while simultaneously working my butt off with mindless exercise every day? The answer was: till I lose some weight. With that mind-set, when the "goal" was reached, the "diet" was over. In between diets, I tried to make my eating habits healthier and healthier. Less fat, more grains, more fruit. My 'nutritionist prescribed' breakfast was a glass of orange juice, a bowl of oatmeal with skim milk and a slice of whole wheat toast - with jam, of course, foregoing the deadly butter. Now I know what that kind of breakfast does to my blood sugar. No wonder I was brain dead, weak, shaky and in 'sugar seeking mode' by 10 AM!

Looking back, I can see why I'd get the weight back in record time and always with a bonus. By the time I hit my forties, I decided that I was getting "matronly" and, well, that's just how it was going to be. I was busy with my law practice and family and tired of diets that required me to be a starving, obsessive and very nasty person. If that's what it took to slim down, I preferred be fat and die with a Hershey's kiss in my mouth. Besides, I wasn't THAT fat, I rationalized. I tossed my scale.

It was a few months before my birthday five years ago, that I was awakened in the middle of the night, because the cats were having some kind of festival in the living room and making a huge racket. The "entertainment" was what appeared to be a dead bat. It was just laying there, after all. I picked it up by the wing and headed toward the back door, intending to toss it off the deck, so I could get some sleep. Well, it wasn't quite dead and was putting up some lively resistance by the time I launched it into the brushes. I wound up having to get a rabies series which, by the way, is no big deal anymore. But the initial treatment is gamma globulin, which is dosed by weight. Wearing only a hospital gown, I was 160 lbs. Having 'lost' my scale years before, I was actually surprised. In retrospect, I don't know why. I had been on a gradually upward trend when I tossed the darned thing. Between the weight 'discovery' and a growing list of other complaints, I thought I'd take one more look at my options.

My doctor ordered a bunch of blood work on me. It showed that I had normal thyroid function, but blood glucose testing indicated hyperinsulinemia and a degree of insulin resistance. My cholesterol was out of whack, with low HDL, high LDL and high triglycerides. In all, I was pre-diabetic. There is type2 diabetes on my paternal side. Finally, I read the Atkins book which my DH had been foisting upon me, along with endless stories about some fellow named Steffanson and his turn-of-the-century writings about the native Inuit or Eskimo diet, yaddah, yaddah, yaddah.

After the first few miserable days on induction, I realized that I felt pretty good! I never did get that big burst of energy that so many people experience, but I FINALLY had a nice even energy level that lasted all day. I was off the roller coaster. So, the nice even feeling was sufficient pay off for the new way of eating.

My goals were to feel better, normalize my blood sugars and maybe lose twenty pounds. After a couple of weeks I had lost a few pounds - not quite five - but I was tiring of eggs, meat, cheese, romaine salad and pork rinds. Personality wise, I don't eat to live, I live to eat. I'm a good cook and I love to prepare, serve and consume delicious meals.

The question became, how do I customize ongoing weight loss to me? I had a hard time using the keto sticks. My urine has a low specific gravity - always has. That's familial, too. I couldn't get a keto stick to pink without a magic marker. Since they weren't a good gauge of what was going on in my particular body, I started doing blood sugars and journaling. I don't recommend this particular approach to anyone, but it was the right way for me, since blood sugar normalization was a primary goal. I started introducing other foods into my diet, keeping a meticulous diary of what I ate and what my blood sugar was before eating and at 20, 40, and 60 minutes after eating it. A typical entry would be: 5:00 AM, 86, 5:20 (1/4lb sausage & 3 egg omelet, cup of coffee with heavy cream) 5:50, 93; 6:10, 99, 6:30, 87. That became a legal meal. Next time maybe I'd add a couple of sections of grapefruit, or a couple of strawberries dipped in Splenda. No big change? More legal food.

After a couple of months, I had a really good handle on what kinds of foods, and in what amounts, I could eat without causing more than a small elevation in my post-prandial blood glucose levels. I continued the testing, but only if I had tried something new. I continued to lose weight, very, very slowly, but after the first 20 lbs., it was no longer a goal, just a great 'side effect.' Consequently, I had been back to shopping in the juniors' department - where all the really cool clothes are - for over a year before I realized that I was probably in maintenance. My weight still bounces around a lot - but that's always been true. I'm not concerned as long as it continues to stay between 108 and 114. If I see more than that for a week or so, I journal and test again for a while to see what I'm doing wrong - then I stop doing it.

Beyond that, I test every now and then if I get the impression that some new product I'm trying sounds too good to be true. For example, I thought Endulge bars were wonderful until I tested myself on one. I discovered that I am one of those people who has no trouble metabolizing maltitol. As far as my blood glucose levels, I might as well have been eating a Hershey bar. On the other hand, a low carb pasta that was tasty? No problem. It's legal for me. Lessons learned.

As of today, my energy level, weight and blood sugars remain normal and my cholesterol profile was super on my most recent tests which were done last week. My HDL/Total Cholesterol ratio is 2.3 and my triglycerides are 80. This is a huge improvement from my pre-lc tests, and even a bit better than my last profile a year ago. Interestingly, I think this way of eating has helped my dental health as well. I had some serious periodontal problems several years ago. Now, at my checkups, the doctor and his staff are amazed at the health of my gums, and commend me on my increased diligence to the ridiculously time-consuming regimen which was prescribed. Guess what? I'm just as lackadaisical about my dental routine as I always was. I brush after meals and floss whenever I get the urge. I credit the fact that I don't have a bunch of starch packed around my gums all the time anymore. Oh yeah, and my knees, which used to be pretty painful almost every day, don't hurt anymore.

Now I need to end with a disclaimer. I'm NOT a health conscious individual. I am a CONSCIOUS individual. This is, for me, all about: Am I happy and how I feel? I'm very happy, thank you, and I feel great. I'm thrilled not to be fat anymore. It's nice that I'm statistically less likely to die of certain issues. But I'm still statistically certain to die, since - last I checked - no one gets out of this alive. If someone told me that I could be slim and avoid certain health problems - as long as I spent every waking minute thinking about calories in and calories out, gave up my coffee with cream, my lack of careful attention to anything but carbs in my food, my occasional martini, and my indifference to exercise ... I'd probably pass. No kidding. Just so no one gets the wrong impression.






Posted on: 2003-10-24

Maggie
5'1" ~~ Atkins since '98 (160+)
Maintaining nicely (110 +/-)
~~ Redhead until further notice!

Here's mine

Blessings!
Sharron
Author of "Low Carb Cooking at Sharron's Place," and "Extreme Lo-Carb Cuisine," available where ever books are sold.

www.thelowcarbcook.com

"My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart." Colossians 2:2

What a great idea!!!! Thanks Maggie!!!!

Here's my story: Barb's Story

Barb - 30 lbs gone FOREVER!
www.iwsgroupinc.com - website design and development


Atkins-3/14/03
174/144/135 5'2"
"A little knowledge is a dangerous thing."
Knowledge is POWER