[Fuddle]

Hi. I'm 46 and live in Ireland and my weight's become an issue. I was always a skinny kid. Only in the last few years have I grown a belly, and it's just exactly like the one my grandpop had when I was a boy. In fact it's in honour of him that I chose my user name here; they used to call him Fuddle. No one seems to know why.

Grandpop ended up with diabetes (the insulin injection kind) and now my mother's got the non-injection kind. She says she's given up "white foods" mostly (flour, pasta, potatoes I think) and she's lost a lot of weight. She lives in the US (I emigrated to Ireland 19 years ago).

Some years ago I started Atkins. The science makes sense. I like the food too. But I guess I always cheated. Not sugar or candy or anything. Beer and wine I think. (I know, just another kind of sugar.) Anyway I'm back, getting ready to start again. I've got at least 30 lbs of dense tummy fat that has to go. It feels so uncomfortable. Like it's attached to me. But it's not me.

I just ate an entire bowl of popcorn while watching QI. And I thought, well why? Because it was there? For the butter and salt? Maybe I'd better think about Atkins again.

So here I am.

I'll weigh and estimate my goals tomorrow I guess. It's a bit late and I need some shut-eye.