Hello all let me explain myself and why I'm here...



I loathe dieting. The thought of it makes me cringe. I often asked myself growing up on why my mother dieted. She was always a heavyset woman, wasn?t she? I thought she was always that way. That was until I turned 14 and saw a picture of this rail thin strawberry blonde and my dad. It was my mother- all 120 lbs of her. This was much different than her 220 lb build. She was built like my sister before she had me. Oh, she must have hated what all 6lbs, 5 oz of me and what I did to her model-esque body.



...and here I am at almost 24, married, content, and trying to conceive... but still with the same body as my mother ? pre- Atkins (I?ll tell you she lost 50 lbs on it and looked dang good!). Dang you, fast food and falling in love- you did a number on my athletic body. I was never the skinny mini skirt wearing, Diet Coke drinkin', tic-tac eatin', Abercrombie and Fitch wearin', 120 lb girl. Actually, growing up I felt HUGE compared to my rail-thin, tanned younger sister. All through high school, I was 5'7" and 150 lbs. Back then, I felt like I was build like a boy. I was playing three sports and had muscular legs and a flat stomach. Well, looking back on that now, I'd kill for that shape.



This weight didn?t just gain itself. I earned every pound I gained. I was moving a lot, eating where I could (ie: McDonald?s? talk about a cheap meal) and getting settling into Florida living. Now, I did gain all my weight after meeting my DH, but I did gain a sizeable amount with us being so comfortable with each other and eating out all the time. As my father-in-law says, ?:oints at stomach:: this is the only thing I have that?s truly paid for.?



I married the man of my dreams. His beautiful huge hazel eyes and strong arms made me melt instantly. We were both a little broken and fell in love quickly. Married eight months later and now, here we are just days before our one year anniversary back in ?loathe? with Dr. Atkins and his carb-less love affair.



Our first attempt was amazing, at first. The weight just flew off of me. I lost 15 lbs in a month. Jeans that didn?t fit before became my new favorites, my dad was even noticing (he wouldn?t even notice if his face was on fire), and the gym became my second home. I was feeling pretty good about myself, but then I saw my DH?s results and it killed my confidence. He was down to 185 lbs! AHH! I could?ve killed him. He had lost almost 30 lbs and everyone was complimenting him left and right. ?Oh, John you look fantastic.? I was discouraged by his results and being a man! I couldn?t compete. (Now would also be a good time to tell you my DH and I are VERY competitive people and he was kicking my butt!)



My DH was busting his butt in the diet and in the gym sweating out pool and showing results. I was in love with riding the bike at the gym, but the bike isn?t enough. So, I did what most people did. I QUIT! And I didn?t just quit- I binged. I ate all the sushi, mashed potatoes, and ice cream I could. I was pissed and didn?t want food that didn?t have a carb. I needed them, craved them, loved them? and I gained all 15 lbs back- quicker than I lost them.



So, here I am in 2007- back to my weight before attempt numero uno. I decided to make a life change, not a New Year?s Resolution (for those are things that are to be broken, like hearts and expensive wine glasses? you don?t mean to break and you try to be overly careful with it, but it shatters nonetheless.) So, here?s my life change. I am determined to lose 63 lbs! It won?t be easy. I know this! But I don?t want to tell my husband to turn around when I don?t have enough close on. I don?t want to avoid mirrors and camera. I don?t want to get diabetes like my mother, aunt, and grandmothers. I want to have a baby (people who are overweight have a lot of troubles getting pregnant, like we have) and be healthy enough to see this baby grow up.



I want to be comfortable in my skin. And with help, LOTS of it actually; I won?t be a quitter like I was last time. I want the 65 lbs GONE!



So, hello? I?m Jessica and this time is the time where 65 lbs of me will disappear and my self-confidence will return.

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Welcome, Jessica. You have a goal, determination, how can you go wrong?

It's good to see you join our little family, please know a lot of us are in the same boat!

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Nita

Welcome Jessica!

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Welcome, Jessica.

Hope you'll make yourself at home.

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Hi Jessica..Im new to this also..but I am loving this site...sounds like alot of wonderfully motivated people...just what i need...Positvity!!

It's great to be here... Thanks for all the warm wishes! I need it!

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Jessica, welcome to LCE. Our stories may be different, but our weights are not far off. I got down to 204 last year and let the thought of being under 200 blow my mind, evidently. From 4th of July weekend until New Year's day when I weighed....I regained 20 pounds. My doctor is going to have a fit!

So, as you can see by my stats, I re-started at 224, and was 220 this morning. I don't think I will ever see 165 again. I am 5'8" -5'9", so not much taller than you. And I carry it in my lower belly, hips, and thighs. My ribcage can actually be seen, even at this weight. I'm just built funny!

I want to get down to "under 180" so if that means only down to 179, then I will consider that "at goal".
So, I'll join you....or you join me, or whatever and let's get going. You may want to scope out the thread in the Challenge Club Forum called "The New Journey to 199" which we lovingly call "Onderland".
Take care and check in often. There are always great people here to help and encourage you.

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Jess -

First welcome to our humble community. I have found the support here to be terrific!

Second, Congrats on returning to "the way." It's a tough decision to leave all of those big macs and doughnut holes behind.

Finally, don't let your husband's weight loss discourage you. It's not a race! Even though I'm down about 90 pounds, I still feel big compared to a lot of my slimmer more active friends. Just remember how you feel fitting into slimmer clothes, how you feel when you're able to go out and do the things you want to do (for me it was play basketball). This is all about you being healthy 5 years from now. Not what the scale says in 3 monthes...

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Sven
305/218/200
Start Date: 1/1/06

Welcome to low-carb eating.
The food's not bad here.

Hi, Jessica. I'm a little late coming to this party, but I wanted to add my welcome to you. You're a great writer, and I hope you'll post a lot more about your journey.

I hate dieting, too. Lord knows, I've done them all, over a lifetime of yo-yo ups and downs, beginning at about your age. I remember when my sister and I did Stillman--ate hamburger and eggs for a month. It worked, but you sure can't do that for life!

You can find my "success story" through the links on this site.

This month, I celebrate my four-year Atkinsversary at my healthy weight. It took me a good two years to nail it as a lifestyle, but now I know: I'm NEVER going to go on another "diet" again.

Best wishes. You've come to a great hangout.

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Barb L.
Atkins since Jan 2003
Maintenance as of 4/05


My Fitday Journal

You GO Jess! 7 pounds in the first week? That's awesome! And DH ALWAYS loses faster than I do - most guys do, not their fault and NOT YOUR TROUBLE! Don't own his loss and hold it up to your own - two different people, different genes, and different genders!!

With your athletic background you are already WAY ahead of lots of us who were never very athletic and who struggle to 'pretend' we think sweating will help :(

You can make Low Carb fun and not boring and make some great and yummy foods - and this is a great, supportive, positive place to be for support... I hope we see you back here soon - let us know how we can help...

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Hugs, Rachel







(the horn is in honor of DH!)
Quien canta, sus males espanta... ("She who sings fightens away her ills") Miguel de Cervantes