well, i am a newbie at this. i started this woe 2 wks ago and have lost 4 lbs so far. prior to this time i was not sleeping, felt bloated alot, and tired all the time. i am in my early forties and was starting to come to the conclusion that i was just supposed to be at this weight. i did not look bad "for my age" but was getting tired of feeling like i was stuck at this weight. i have been basically the same size for ever. i play summer rec softball and just started karate with my youngest son but i do not feel in shape. last fall i bought new pants for work and by the beginning of jan 05 they were all tight. i had gained over the holidays big time. that was it!! so i started walking on the treadmill at a small local gym where we also do karate. thought i was eating ok. but by february i did not lose anything (in 1 whole month!) and still felt awful. so 2 wks ago i got out a book i bought a few years ago and got serious-again- eating low carb. 4 lbs gone, and i feel better and i have slept at night for the last 2 weeks. i have 25-30 lbs to lose. i feel i can do it this time. this website is great and has been very helpful and encouraging.
brenda

Welcome! Make yourself at home. A journal is a great start. I hope you like it here and I also hope you post often. Feel free to ask questions. It is nice to have you here.

~Crystal

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Started Atkins-1/2/04
174 lbs at heaviest



5'0 154/136.5/130

thanks for replying. my 4 lbs is now 5 lbs. i weigh in on thursdays and i actually lost another pound than i thought. very happy. i have been 30 pounds-give or take- overweight for years. never in shape even though i stay somewhat active. i am in a 12/14 and have been up to 16 at one time. i guess i am tired of not looking good in summer months, having a "pouch" and shorts look awful on me (hips and thighs). i heard once on a show from a woman: she was told that she looked good for her age. and her response was: she just wanted to look good-period. that is how i feel. i see people heavier than me and think i am ok. then i see people thinner and more fit than me and i think even though i am older i could still look like that. so my SERIOUS journey begins. i am going to try hard this time. so far seems to be going well. it helps that my husband is eating somewhat low carb also. i know there are people who have more weight to lose than me but you can still feel unhappy with your body no matter how much you have to lose.i am determined this time to get fit and lose those extra pounds by summer. thanks for a wonderful site and good luck to all you out there!

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:butterfly Brenda

It is very helpful when hubby is eating the same, or nearly the same. Mine does lc too. I agree that it doesn't matter where others are on their weightloss journeys, it matters how you feel about YOU. Hope to see you posting often and congrats on another pound down! One at a time is the way to go!

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Started Atkins-1/2/04
174 lbs at heaviest



5'0 154/136.5/130

well, another day almost complete with no cheating. i do not seem to be as strict as others seem to be. it just would not fit my lifestyle, i guess. alot seem to be on atkins which is fine, but i have read the schwarzbein principle and find it very helpful and informative also. and it works for me so far. if i can just give up my daily caffeine. a diet coke seems to hit the spot after lunch. but i do get in water in the morning and after my diet coke. with a desk job it seems easy. i am allowed to keep a big glass at my desk so that helps. but the weekend is fast approaching and pizza sounds so wonderful. last weekend was a b-day party for my son and we had pizza, giant choc chip cookie with icing, and snacks and pop. thought i could splurge. was i wrong. felt awful sat night and sunday. sugar rush??? i realized then how much better i feel eating the lc way. hopefully can stay on track this weekend.
good luck to others this weekend!

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:butterfly Brenda

If everyone has pizza you can always eat the toppings! Have a great weekend yourself!

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Started Atkins-1/2/04
174 lbs at heaviest



5'0 154/136.5/130

well that darn pizza was tooooo tempting. and a few beers also sounded good so i splurged a little. during the day i was on track though and sunday too. but the weekend in general seemed stressful. my husband is so supportive when it comes to what i eat and he has NEVER said anything about my weight in a negative way. but i just do not feel good about my body. that 30 pounds is frustrating. i just have always been 25-30 lbs overweight. my weight seems to stick at that setpoint weight. but not this time. the first 2 weeks have gone well so i will keep at it. i do not think my husband realizes i really have 25-30 lbs to lose. we had a discussion this weekend and i just plain feel fat. and when you do not feel good about your body it reflects on other things. i do not "ruin my days" on how i feel about my weight but it is always in the back of my mind.
i hope this journaling will help keep me on track, by sharing how i feel with others, make me accountable for what i eat. i see women older than me who are fit so i know it can be done. i will not settle anymore to be stuck at this weight. summer is almost here.

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:butterfly Brenda

started off ok today. not hungry, cravings etc.. i just saw article on homepage of netscape that says it is becoming ok to be fat. i know you have to be happy with yourself and if someone is overweight and happy and healthy then more power to them. but then there are ones like myself who are tired of how they look. i feel frumpy, overweight, tired of not having a slim stomach when wearing pants, tired of the big thighs. i know i have 30 pounds to lose and some others have much more. and i realize that some have lost to get to my point of weight. but i have been "STUCK" at this weight for many years. had a son 7 years ago and just kept my stomach pouch after his birth. i want to wear cute summer shorts and tops for once. tired of wearing vests and oversize shirts over a top to cover my stomach and hips. i support everyone and soon hope to help my mom lose a little. she has diabetes, is overweight. tries to eat "lite" but has been looking at low fat, toast, sandwiches, potatoes forever. i have been sending her articles on diabetes, low carb, cutting out the potatoes, glycemic index stuff,etc... i really think she has a "carb addiction" thing. she wants a sandwich at lunch, eats lite at breakfast, but with toast, carby things,then i think she does not know how to snack better. i think she needs more protein at her meals. eats lots of carbs. well enough rambling. just worried about my mom. hope she really tries to cut some carb intake.doing good this week but seem to have gained a little but my official weigh in day is thursday so.............probably the crap i ate over last weekend and the couple beers. have to get it out of my system.
the success stories have really helped to keep me on track so far. and the picture from my sons b-day party did the trick also. ha ha

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:butterfly Brenda

well my weigh in day is thursdays and looks like i gained a pound. but i have to remember to not always go by the scale. my clothes feel ok. i can tell my pants fit better, not overly tight like a month ago.was somewht sick this week for a few days, felt bloated. now seems to be out of my system. very stressed week and ate supper late a few times. will keep on track through the weekend. had my chicken for supper last night when hubby fixed a hamburger and noodle thing for son and him. if i can just let go of the diet pop/caffiene craving.
stay on track this weekend, everyone

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:butterfly Brenda

Hi Brenda!!! Welcome to LCE!!!! I got your e-mail and was unable to send one back to you, so I found your journal and wanted to respond to you. THANK YOU for letting me know I have inspired you!!! That is what my being here is all about. If I can positively impact ONE person's life........I'm a happy camper!!!! So, thank you for letting me know I've helped you.

Reading what you've written so far is practically a mirror of me............I can sooooooooo relate to your experience. SO, If I can do this, SO CAN YOU!!!!! Keep reading and absorbing information. Diana Schwarzbein's book is one that I have read..........good choice!!! A couple of OTHER really good books are: Protein Power by the Eades and Living the Low Carb Life by Jonny Bowden. (and of course Dr. Atkin's book.) Diana S.'s book is so good because you get the whole picture of how hormones work in the body. And our food greatly affects our hormones.

I only lost 6 lbs in the beginning when I did Atkins induction, but I didn't get discouraged and figured I was just weight loss reisistant and kept at it and plugged and plodded along. And lo and behold, here I am almost 2 yrs later (the 15th will be my 2 yr anniv. of LCing) so close to my goal weight, I can taste it. One thing I can't stress enough is that you take your measurments. The scale can be a liar, and measurements are more reliable. So take a notebook and jot down your measurements on your bust, waist, hips, wrist, bicep and ankle (and calf if you want). Measure the same side of the body always and do it maybe once a week. It's FUN to watch the inches slim down!!!!!

You've done a GREAT thing for yourself and to get your hubbie's support will only keep you going and get you to where you want to go. Just don't let any stalls or plateaus discourage you. They are a part of the process and WILL happen. Stay active, keep getting advice here, keep reading the books (cuz knowledge is POWER), drink your water and don't worry if you eat off plan every little once in awhile. Just get back on that horse. And you can eat pizza, without eating the crusts. I just eat the tops, especially if there is lots of "junk" on the pizza. That works FINE for me, I feel satisfied and NOT deprived!!!!

Oh and don't worry about "rambling" here, this is YOUR journal............a place where you can ramble as much as you want. So ramble away!!!!! (sorry I rambled here )

Let us know if we can be of any more assistance to you. And let us know when you've had another loss success or have resisted a tempting food or your clothes are getting loser and loser.............we'll jump for joy with you!!!!!!

Again, WELCOME to LCE!!!!!!

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well, another day and i am doing so so. trying to keep up on the water. and have to try not to rely on what the scales tell me i weigh. think i am weighing too much and getting discouraged. it has been almost 4 wks. i seem to be losing then gaining, back and forth. if i just see a difference and get past that "setpoint" weight i seem to be stuck at. gained over the winter so the 4-5 lbs lost just got me back to where i have been FOREVER. i think the diet soda/ caffeine is one of the problems. will do my best to cut way down on that stuff. too much sodium?? kind of under the weather this past week. my clothes do fit better, as in when i bought the pants last fall So do realize this woe is better. i have lost some bloatedness in ab area.
just have to stick with this. and really do not "crave" potato stuff. that is the somewhat easy stuff. it is the sweets, and extra calorie stuff i do not realize i eat, i guess. watch that portion control!! drink that water!!!
b-day coming up. Where to go out to eat for b-day dinner.?!

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:butterfly Brenda

Brenda, do you have a Ruby Tuesdays there? I think they have them in Ohio. Their LC cheesecake is to die for!!!! They have an AWESOME salad bar, and you can even get Caulimash there. Call around to restaurants and ask if they have a low carb menu. I've even gone to nonfriendly to LC restaurants and substitute bread and potatoes with veggies. But your best bet is to call around and ask if they support LC.

I went nuts for sweet treats in the beginning..........which is weird, 'cuz I didn't think of myself as being insane for sweets, but I guess I was. Anyhoo, what I did, was I bought diet A&W rootbeer and heavy cream. I made "rootbeer floats" BUT I had to use tremendous self-control with that because I would have gone nuts with it. So I would pour out HALF a can into a glass and add 2 TBS of heavy cream. That was my dessert. This saved me from going nuts. Some LC people believe you should just cut out ALL sweet treats, even LC ones, to get over a sweet addiction. I never did that and have been able to keep control on it. But some people have binging problems, so that's their preferred way of handling it.

Now my choice of dessert is something with strawberries in it. I really like to make Mock Danish and top it with thawed or fresh strawberries......YUM!!!

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i have to keep looking at the bright side. my clothes do fit better but i have a ways to go. 6 1/2 lbs gone. being sick for awhile can help lose a few pounds. ha ha. wish i measured myself when i started but did start measuring in march. so i have lost a few inches- 5 3/4 total all over since beginning of march. so there is progress. just at a snails pace. which is ok. just frustrating having this "pouch" and big thighs. you all know what i mean. hoepfully eating a grilled chicken salad for lunch. having some carb cravings-sweets-easter chocolates!

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:butterfly Brenda

Hang in there Brenda. I only lost 6 lbs when I went through 3 weeks of induction, but 2 yrs later I am almost at goal. And actually, the slower it comes off, the longer it will stay off. (Plus you don't have as much of a saggy skin problem if it comes of slower) And if you are losing inches...........that's AWESOME!!!!! That's what people SEE anyway, so lost inches is even better!!!!! they don't see the numbers on the scale!!!

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