Saying hi

[changing]

I've been lurking here for a little while. As much as I hate to admit it, I had a great weight loss doing the Atkins woe a couple years ago, but deciding to quit my job and return to college at the age of 23 (withdrew from college originally at 19 because I couldn't figure out what I wanted to major in, or what I wanted to do with my life) made money really tight and what did the husband and I drop first? Our meat budget. It was mac n'cheese and cereal purchased at 60-90% discounts with a hearty stack of double coupons and sale timing for us. Needless to say, I gained the vast majority of my pounds back, as did my husband. We just kept telling ourselves that once I got done school, we'd have enough money and could quickly take off the pounds.

We got tired of waiting. I'm coming up on my 25th birthday and my mom's been telling me scary stories of a drastic slowing of my metabolism that she believes inevitable by my 30th birthday. I'm also working toward a degree in the field of allied health care and the more medically-oriented classes I take, the more I learn about the dangers of obesity.

So I've taken what I learned about couponing/sale-watching and applied it to Atkins-friendly food. While I can't make meals for 10 cents anymore (well, not all the time, at least -- eggs are wonderful, but we can only usually eat them once a day), I've gotten some outrageous deals on meat and produce. The freezer is my friend; I buy dark salad greens because they last much longer and therefore don't go to waste. It can be harder to save money on this woe, but it's really, really worth it.

We had one false start about a month ago--we started before the holidays and ended up falling off the wagon because we didn't start with the proper attitude. I know it will work this time, however, mostly because my husband has vowed to make it work... he manages a coffee shop and has always fallen prey to the sweets and leaned heavily on me for support (which somehow always drags me into the carby abyss). But the other day we were at the grocery store and he walked through the bakery section effortlessly. "You know," he said, "this stuff doesn't tempt me a bit." I smiled and said, "I'm so proud of you. What changed?"

He paused a second, then said, "The idea of this junky crap doesn't seem anywhere near as delicious when I think about how it's been ruining my life."

Well, pardon the long post. Just wanted to say hi to all you strong, motivated people!

[Laurenfra]

Welcome. We are so glad you decided to delurk

[Kate113]

Welcome! It sounds like you both are in this for the long haul. Good for you!

[sallyseachange]

Welcome to you (and your hub)! Happy losing!

[MotherOfGizmo]

Hi! Welcome aboard!

[Desertthorn]

Great post and glad you joined. You guys have the right idea. We had a Member who use to say, Nothing tastes as soon as thin feels, or something like that.
Welcome and if you ever need anything, all you have to do is ask.

[Analog6]

With such a good attitude and each other's support, you are bound to succeed. Welcome and good luck!

[Sheshy]

Hi changing and welcome to and back to Atkins!!

Hope to see you around the board!