Greetings fellow losers!

[ShayLee]

Hello Everyone!

My name is Shay and I'm 24 years old. I'm on day 7 of induction and everything is going fine. I should give you a little backstory about myself. Six years ago I went on the Atkins diet and I lost 60 pounds in three months. It was amazing. My problem was that at the time I for some reason believed that once I got down to my goal weight I would be able to just eat whatever I wanted. These thoughts stemed from my friends who were thin and litterally could eat whatever they wanted I learned later that to compensate for all that eating they did an unbelievable amount of exercise. Also I remember those girls had an incredible amount of energy. It always seemed like they couldn't stop moving.

Well my weight came back on of course. At my lowest point I weighed 200. I know that sounds like a lot but I'm 5'8" and I looked pretty good at that weight. I probably only needed to lose like 20 or 30 more pounds. Over the course of 2 years I gained the 60 pounds back. I got married in 2002 and I weighed 260. Over the next 3 years my weight skyrocketed and I'm pretty sure I got up to almost 350 pounds, maybe more. During this last year I decided to start eating better and to exercise more. It worked really well. I'm down around 320 pounds right now. When I went to the doctor in January they recorded my weight as 322. The highest weight I believe they have listed for me is somewhere in the 340's, I'll have to ask the next time I go in.

I decided that now that I know how to eat right and I love what I am eating, I know I can do the Atkins WOE and I'll be able to keep the weight off. I know that I will continue to lose weight eating this way, I have been for the past year, but it is going too slowly. I know your thinking "What's the rush? Slow is better right?" I've been having heart palpitations and my blood pressure has gotten higher. I need to lose this weight quickly before something really bad happens. I shouldn't be going through all this at 24.

So here is where I'm at currently in the way of eating and exercise. I'm of course going by the book. Somehow I have two copies of it and I can't figure out how I managed to do that but hey it's alright I can mark one up as I go along. So I'm staying around 10 carbs a day. I only drink sugar free cool-aid. I stopped drinking any type of carbonated drink a year ago when they started giving me chest pains. So I basically drink flavored water, lol. I have a big 30oz water bottle I carry with me everywhere and fill up constantly just to make sure I have the minimum 64oz of water that I need each day. I've been doing that for the past year. For exercise I go to a gym called Contours Express. It's all weight training. I started going there at the end of September last year. Tomorrow I get my new DDR Dance pad so I will have that for an aerobic type exercise. I also have a treadmill on the way but it may take a week or two before it gets here. I'm also taking vitamins everyday and soon I will start taking Flax Seed Oil.

A couple months ago I had a buddy that I would keep in touch with online and we would cheer each other on in our new WOE. A month ago she just stopped talking to me. She hasen't responded to my emails or anything. I really think that she has given up on herself and she is embarrassed to tell me or something. I don't know if she thinks that I would be mad at her or something. I never would. I understand how hard it is and I have my moments as well. It's just very dissheartening because we had so much in common. We even had to lose the same amount of weight and we were the exact same age. So I'm hoping to find a new buddy. If anyone here is interested and is looking for a buddy please contact me. I can even do phone conversations. I have free long distance to the U.S. and Canada and I can call anytime day or night. I would really prefer someone who has a large amount of weight to lose but honestly more than anything I'd like a buddy who is determined and doesn't give up easily because I'm in it for the long haul no matter how long it takes.

Thought I should mention my hobbies:

Anything to do with computers. I am a programmer. I also build computers as well as do webdesign, graphics, and 3D modeling.
I also have been teaching myself Japanese for the past few months.

Wow, that was almost a book, lol. Well thanks for taking the time to read this I really appreciate it. I can't wait to get to know everyone here.

See you around! Ja Mata!

~Shay~

[Caleymarie]

Welcome Aboard!!! You are going to be dropping the pounds like crazy in no time! If you ever need to chat feel free to PM me!!

[jsj0305]

Welcome!!!!! I hope you really like it here! If you need anything PM me anytime!

[Sheshy]

Hi Shay and welcome to ADBB!!

It sounds like you've got a great plan going! Love the exercise part, weights and cardio and a variety, whoohoo!!

Help me with what you're drinking...so you drink flavored water only? Or is that 64 oz regular water and then flavored water on top of that?

Great on the 2 books, too! One for home and one that can travel with you!

Hope you get a chance to cruise around the board, there's a lot of great forums and support!

See you around!

[sunflowergrl]

Welcome to ADBB!! Glad you are here. You can PM me anytime!!!

[Isabeau]

Hi and welcome. That's awesome that you've got an exercise plan. Like we say around here, you're not doing Atkins if you're not exercising. I also want to emphasize that water is just that...plain old water. Anything else liquid you drink doesn't count towards your daily water intake. Also, remember that only three servings per day of artificial sweetener. Glad to have you aboard. I think you'll find this a very supportive place! Oh, and just for your information, we use the 2002 edition of DANDR around here!

[ShayLee]

Thanks Everyone!

I really appreciate the welcome.

Sorry, that part about the water was probably a little unclear. I only drink the flavored water. For some reason regular water leaves a really bad after taste in my mouth.

Has anyone tried that Fruit2o yet? I heard it is really good, and it has no carbs or anything, it's just like the flavored water that I drink, I think.

[adreliluc]

Good luck and welcome aboard!