Atkins

By August of 2003 I was basically resigned to being overweight—a nice way of saying obese or just plain fat. For over thirty years I had been able to "control" my weight by periodically changing my low-fat diet to a low fat - low calorie diet. "Control" is obviously a misnomer. If I could control my weight there would have been no need for me to periodically lose the weight I had regained.

Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution, New and Revised Edition author: Robert C. Atkins asin: B000C4T48I

Atkins newbies often struggle with the question, "When should I move on to OWL?" (Ongoing weight-loss phase of Atkins.) Many pospone the decision to move on because they're in a hurry, or maybe more frequently, because they're frightened that moving on will "break" this way of eating that's been working for them.

You know that doesn't make sense, right? 

"Success is falling down five times and getting up five."

It was the year I was to turn 50 that I looked in the mirror and suddenly saw a fat, old woman. Never mind the shock of stepping on the scale to find I was weighing in at 192 pounds. Never mind the realization that if I kept eating the way I was I would just keep getting bigger. Now I was in pain: It was the searing irritation of the rash where my thighs squished together in the crotch of my pantyhose that finally led me to scream, "Enough!" I had been battling fat all my life. It was time to win the war.

Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution, New and Revised Edition author: Robert C. Atkins asin: B000C4T48I

First a little background! I grew up in a family that was overweight. So naturally being overweight was something that, well, came naturally! My family also has a history of heart problems, diabetes, and high blood pressure just to name a few! At times I have had problems with my BP, but never to the point of being on medications. I have watched my loved ones struggle with and die from the same illnesses as we speak.

Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution, New and Revised Edition author: Robert C. Atkins asin: B000C4T48I

Like so many, I was always overweight.

Maybe not by much in the beginning, but it was enough of a difference that it made an impact on my personality early on.

Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution, New and Revised Edition author: Robert C. Atkins asin: B000C4T48I

Did you ever look at pictures of yourself when you were very young, and wonder where all that joy went? This photo was one of my mom and dad's favorite pictures of me, because - as mom put it - "You were so happy back then." BACK THEN??? What happened to that little girl, I wondered many times over the years. How DID I become so lonely and introverted? How did I go from being a postive, happy child to feeling like I was a completely unworthy sub-species of the human race? Could it really be all downhill from the age of two????

Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution, New and Revised Edition author: Robert C. Atkins asin: B000C4T48I

My name is Redell. I am a 36 (almost 37) wife and mother of one son. My story is typical of so many I have read. I had struggled with weight issues even before I was a teen. I remember the craziest thing I did to try to lose weight was the vegetable oil diet. The idea was to swallow 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil before eating so that the foods would slide on through rather than being absorbed. Needless to say, I didn't lose weight.

Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution, New and Revised Edition author: Robert C. Atkins asin: B000C4T48I

I have always loved FOOD. Learned it well from my Mom, who during her lifetime has been overweight and dieted numerous times. I spent most of my young life perched on the counter in the kitchen, watching her every move. She's a great cook.

Unless you live under a rock, you're well aware that since the July 2002 publication of Gary Taubes' well-researched and much-debated article "What If It's All Been a Big Fat Lie?" in the New York Times, 'low carb' has gotten an enormous amount of press. Unfortunately, much of it has been in the form of "Atkins vs. Ornish" debates - debates that never have enough time for the participants to finish more than a sentence or two at a time let alone go over in detail any of the research being discussed or make clear what the diets are REALLY all about.

The last time I weighed what I was supposed to weigh was in 8th grade. I weighed 140 pounds(I'm 5'10'), and I thought I was fat then! This was during the era of Twiggy, my best friend was a size three, and both of my brothers were sticks.

I've tried every diet known to man, some of them more than once. I was able to lose significant weight a few times, but I could never sustain the diet long enough to hit goal. Then, of course, I would gain back all I had lost, plus some. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? Over the years, my weight ballooned up over 300 pounds.

Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution, New and Revised Edition author: Robert C. Atkins asin: B000C4T48I