Ok! Here we go. My name is Melanie and I'm a recovering "carboholic". But seriously, I have put a lot of prayer, thought, weeping, and nashing of teeth into what exactly I was supposed to do about this whole "Weight & Diet" thang! I have been on Atkins before, about 5 (OMG! Has it really been that long ago?!) years ago, with great success. I lost 10 lbs. the first 2 weeks, and continued to lose 50 lbs. in 6months time. I went from a size 16(ish), to a (what I now consider to be a perfect)size 10. However, ... You can probably guess the rest! I got a little bit too careless. I guess I thought I had this whole weight thing licked. Oh, well! You see, I'm now 36 years old, but I've only been dealing with "all things weighty" since I had my first child. (Who happens to be 16 now) I gained a whopping 50lbs while pregnant, & just knew it would all just disappear after the baby came! HA HA! Since then, I've been up and down, but I never came closer to my "pre-baby" self until I discovered the Atkins diet. Now, I've gained back about 30 of the lbs I lost before. So, here I am. Ready to get back on the wagon, & stay there, for me. Nobody else, just for me. Im the one who has to live in this body. I have to do this, and I have to do it now! Although I know that it will benefit my family as well. I have 3 kids, 2 boys and a girl. I don't want them to have to deal with these issues or pick up my "wishy-washy" diet habits. So, I guess I can't say it's all for me, but the majority of it is that if I'm happy with myself, I'll be better in other areas too. Well, that's my story in a nut shell. I'm really glad I found this place. I think I feel better already!

Melanie!

Your story sounds familiar to me and many of the folks who hang out here. Congrats on your decision to make changes and get back in the driver's seat.

I would suggest you make a point of following the stages of Atkins post-induction this time around. A lot of people (including me) have a tendency to stop counting after we're out of induction and oh-so-gradually slip right back into some of the habits that caused trouble in the first place.

Looking forward to getting to know you!

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Welcome Melanie,

Glad you found LCE. You will find a lot of support here, good luck on your journey!

Welcome, Melanie.

Happy to meet you.

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Welcome, Melanie. Great to have a new member!

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Nita

I can identify with pretty much everything you said....
I am new here too and trying to get myself back on track. I am finding that the hardest part for me to overcome is my own rationalizations. I have regained 20 of my 35 pounds lost and I really need to lose at least 50 to be in a healthy range. It is a one day at a time battle for me.. and I think this place has a lot of very encouraging but realistic people here which is just what I need. Welcome to you, and I look forward to getting to know you.