Startin Over

[des]

Hey everyone, I’m glad I found this forum!


I’m not new to Atkins, though I am new around here. I first did the Atkins diet in 2000, and stayed on it for about a year and a half. I went from about 210 pounds to 150 pounds in about three to four months. And I kept it off for several years after that. But eventually I started wandering back towards higher carb foods and too many sweets. I tried Weight Watchers for a while, and it’s a good diet and education, but didn’t do much for me even though I was absolutely religious on it.


I’m in my early 30’s, and 5’7” tall. I have a very slow metabolism which resulted from hormones I took (depo provera) to treat possible PCOS. They caused me to gain about 80 lbs in about six months, back in the mid 90’s. (I did quit depo about four years ago). It’s been a battle ever since. So even on Atkins, it is harder for me to lose weight than for normal, healthy people. But it’s the best diet I’ve found so far (other than falling in love – I’ve found that works very well too! lol!)


I’ve started Atkins a few times since then, but never stuck with it for various reasons. Over the years my weight has fluctuated, though not as high as it was before I did the diet.


Then last year I suffered from an incredible amount of life-changing stress, and began eating worse and worse and exercising less and less. Then I developed a heart problem early this year that kept me from all activity. I gained weight back and ended up at a firm 190 lbs, no matter what I do. Slowly my heart condition seems to be improving, and a few months ago I was finally able to start working out, which I have been doing 4-6 times/week. That actually seems to be helping to strengthen my heart now, which is great. Unfortunately, even with going back to good eating habits and working out regularly, the weight would not budge even after several months of this.


So this time around, I’m planning to use Atkins as an aid to my workout routine. And so far it’s been going well. My husband has been very supportive of me through all of this, and is such a blessing! But this is the first time doing the diet with another person to cook for (was married last year amidst all that stress I mentioned). In the past I was able to rid my house of all bad carbs completely. But now I will have to keep them here and cook them regularly for my thin husband. This is going to be a new challenge! My other concern is that this is the first time doing the diet since having my gall bladder out. I know this kind of diet and weight loss can be hard on the gall bladder. With it out, I could potentially be in for even more problems. But so far it’s been fine, so I’m hopeful. I’ve added digestive enzymes to two meals/day to help process everything.


I’m looking forward to chatting with everyone here and “keeping it fresh” with new recipes and ideas. The major pitfall I’ve found in the past is that I can fall into routine and get very uncreative about my meals. This site should help a lot!



So:



Starting weight (August 15, 2007): 191 lbs

Current Weight (August 18, 2007): 188 lbs (wow!)

Goal Weight (By January, 2008 ): 140 lbs



48 lbs to go.

[speedyturtle]

The recipes are GREAT and really help me keep on track, with the exercise you are doing you should do wonderfully back on Atkins

[fowlergirl]

Welcome des.

[sallyseachange]

Warm welcome des... and thanks for sharing your story. Congrats on your lbs shed so far!
Sorry to hear your heart issues... but it's good that they seem to be improving and that you can exercise again...sooooo important to any weight loss programme!

Take a tour around and join any activities you fancy... they're all pretty good motivators, not to mention fun!

Happy losing!

[hydroflame]

Welcome to the boards Des, I hope that you do very well this time around. I know you will!!!

[dreamof145]

Welcome Des. Glad you've joined us. Theres lots of support and encouragement here for you with people who care and want to see you succeed. Keep us posted on your progress, you did it before and sure it won't take long for you to jump back into this WOL. I look forward to hearing more about you and sharing in your journey!

[des]

Thanks everyone! I've already found some excellent tips and advice that I'm sure will help me on this journey. This is great!

[sillygirl]

Hey there Des! Welcome to you. Having a supportive spouse is really great! Come around the board often so we can see how you're doing.

[READY_2_CHANGE]

Hi Des

Its great to have you here, i wish you the best of luck. Everyone here is so helpful and suppotive its a great place to come and be able to chat with others going theu the same thing! I wish you tons of success, I know you can do it

[jengie]

Hey Des, thanks for sharing your story. I can totally relate. In 2000 I had my thyroid removed and metabolism virtually disappeared. It is much hard to lose weight now, yet so easy to gain. Good luck on your weight loss journey!