Greetings!

[geeksicle]

Hi! I'm Tilly, and I'd like to take some time to introduce myself.



I'm 24, turning 25 in December. I'm living in a city that I moved to because my high school boyfriend moved here after we graduated - and because we were in luuuuurve, I followed. Well, the course I was studying at University turned out to not be what I wanted to do with my life, the boyfriend and I broke up, and I just kind of... stalled. I've been living in Hamilton since 2002. That's nearly six years in a city I don't even like! I'm currently working in a call centre for an electricity provider, and a couple of weeks ago I realised that I get at least two abusive phone calls each day. At least twice a day somebody who doesn't know me calls me up and says horrible things to me because of something I didn't even cause. And I thought to myself that if I'm not happy in that job, I should just find a new one. Naturally, that progressed to "I'm not happy in this city, I need to find a new one" which led to "I'm not happy in this body, I need to make a new one".



I've always been on the chubby side, but it's gotten a lot worse recently. I'm 5'4" and 88.9 kilos, (196 pounds, if the online converter I'm looking at doesn't lead me astray) which if we go by BMI alone, makes me obese. With one grandfather having died of a heart attack and the other having had multiple coronary bypass surgeries, I'm really not someone who can afford to be unhealthy.



A major stumbling block for me is that I've never been on a diet. In high school my best friend suffered from bulimia, which progressed to anorexia, and she ended up being hospitalised. I was overseas when she spiralled out of control, and I don't think that I'll ever be able to get the sight of her when I first saw her again out of my head. I walked up to her to give her a hug and the first part of her body that touched mine was her protruding hipbones. It's kind of choking me up even now to think about that, and the fact that my friend's obsession with what she saw as perfection had turned a beautiful girl into an animated skeleton gave me a sort of horror of weight loss or control. My terror over her obsession allowed me to lump EVERYTHING in with that level of obsession, and gave me a convenient escape route over my own food problems. Better fat than half dead, right? Except that having a heart attack due to being overweight would kill me just as dead as a heart attack from being underweight would.



Then I found Atkins, pretty much by chance. I'd heard about it, and heard the major misconceptions about it, and like a lot of people scoffed that a diet where you can eat five pounds of bacon but not an apple was just plain stupid. A couple of weeks ago I bought a bulk lot of second-hand books and "Dr Atkins' new Diet Revolution" was in it. I read it, because I am the type of person who will read a cereal box out of boredom, and it made sense. I realised that most (if not all) of what I'd heard about Atkins was incorrect and misguided and that if done properly, it's a very healthful way to live. I realised that it's probably the very best way for me to attack my weight problem. I do my supermarket shopping today – all my sugar and carb laden food is in a box, ready to go to the food bank, and I have a VERY strict shopping list. Just to make doubly sure I’m buying the food to get me through Induction and then splashing out at Lush to make sure I can’t afford to cheat! If I’m going to be looking after the inside the outside deserves some love too, right?



Anyway, if you've made it to the end of this - which looks more like and essay than an introduction - I want to say thanks for having me. I'm kind of scared, to be honest - scared I'll fail, and DEFINITELY scared to be admitting that I really need to do something when it's always been my MO to pretend that I don't care what I look like because it's my brain that matters. So I'm excited to be starting this with such a friendly and funny bunch of people I can turn to for advice!

[Bootie77]

Welcome Tilly! I'm new here too, and so are a lot of others. Everyone is scared at first, but you sound like a very bright girl who has made up her mind. Trust me....pretty soon some very wise people with great experience about this WOL (way of life) are going to Help you along the way. Someone wiser than me anyway!

[Laurenfra]

Hello and welcome,

I am the type of person who will read a cereal box out of boredom

Thats scarey I do the same.
I am so glad you found us, there is mich better stuff to read here.

[sillygirl]

Hi Geek! Welcome to the board. You've made a very thorough first post!

You've never been on a diet? Kudos to you for that. Atkins is definitely the right choice then because it's not a diet, it's a way of life! Truly, you will feel so good eating this way, which is healthy and encompasses all food groups eventually.

[bradybunch]

Welcome to ADBB Tilly, I want to congratulate you for reading the book before starting this way of eating. I also misunderstood this diet years back and didnt do it simply because of all the naysayers. I wish I would have been as smart as you and just read the book to begin with. Once I read it a lightbulb went off. It is a very healthy diet and obviously you already know this from reading the book. You will not fail dear, you are already a success in my eyes, my best to you, brady

[SunnySmile501]

Originally Posted by geeksicle

A major stumbling block for me is that I've never been on a diet.

This is a good thing! The first time you 'diet' will be the best shot ever. The more you yo-yo, the harder it is to lose weight. It messes up your metabolism terribly.

Originally Posted by geeksicle

A couple of weeks ago I bought a bulk lot of second-hand books and "Dr Atkins' new Diet Revolution" was in it. I read it, because I am the type of person who will read a cereal box out of boredom, and it made sense.

Are you my twin sister? I don't even have to be bored--I am fascinated with almost anything I start to read. This is another reason you will do well with this new lifestyle. You read and comprehend what you've read. So many people never read the book and they end up doing it all wrong and fail.

Originally Posted by geeksicle

Anyway, if you've made it to the end of this - which looks more like and essay than an introduction - I want to say thanks for having me. I'm kind of scared, to be honest - scared I'll fail, and DEFINITELY scared to be admitting that I really need to do something when it's always been my MO to pretend that I don't care what I look like because it's my brain that matters. So I'm excited to be starting this with such a friendly and funny bunch of people I can turn to for advice!

I made it to the end, and a lovely read it was. Yes, definitely my twin, even though we are 33 years apart in age. At least soul sisters. I always write a book, when I mean to write a short story. Your MO and mine are much the same. Moreover, re that "funny bunch of people": Anyone that joins a Muffin Butt Challenge has to be funny!

Since you like to read, I've culled these favorite quotes from 27 pages saved in MS Word. They sound like they just might be what you need to hear.


You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do.
~~Eleanor Roosevelt

A failure is not always a mistake;
it may simply be the best one can do under
the circumstances. The real mistake is to
stop trying.
~~B.F. Skinner



Courage is doing what you're afraid to do. There can be no
courage unless you're scared.
~~Eddie Rickenbacker

If you are drowning and all you can think about is the fact
that you can't swim, you are certainly going to die.
~~Lee Highsmith

Being defeated is only a temporary condition; giving up is what makes it permanent.
~~Unknown

The Champion’s Creed

I am not judged by the number of times I fail, but by the number of times I succeed.
And the number of times I succeed is in direct proportion to the number of times I can
fail and keep trying. Courage is simply the willingness to be afraid and act anyway.

~~Robert Anthony, American psychologist



Sunny!

[sallyseachange]

Warm welcome Tilly! So glad you read the Atkins book this time, rather than a cereal packet! Enjoyed your first post tremendously... tks for telling your story.

Don't be scared... Atkins isn't hard. Just hold tight and get through the first few days and it'll suddenly begin to get easier and easier. We'll help you.

Join in some of the activities on the board. They're fun and inspiring and lots can be fitted easily into your daily schedule without taking extra time (pedometer challenge and pledging flights challenge, for instance).

Looking forward to applauding you as you move towards goal!

[fowlergirl]

Hi Tilly and welcome. The people on this board are wonderful. Support is yours for the asking. Best of luck to you.

[*Wendy*]

Hi Tilly,

I read cereal boxes too! (Or the back of shampoo bottles, etc. - whatever's handy!)

Reading DANDR was the best thing you could have done - must have been fate that it was in that bulk purchase!

Please post often & read through the threads that interest you - there is a WEALTH of information on this site - coming both from people that are exactly in your postition and from people that have made it all the way to maintenance. It's so inspiring!

Wendy

[Defrazld]

I would hide my bowl behind the box so that people couldn't see how much I was actually eating.... I was too busy making sure the cereal didn't get soggy to read... sad but true!!!

Welcome! I'm new as well but I just wanted to be part of the welcome group





EDIT

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