Howdy

[Ryan.Stoeppel]

Just found this website today and it seems really nifty so thought I'd sign up and use it as even more motivation!

Anyways, my name is Ryan and I'm a 25 year old college student living in Houston, Texas. I've always been one of the heavier kids but it never really phased me til recently.

Last year for my birthday/Christmas present I asked my parents for a stationary bike and they went ahead and got it for me. I was so excited because now I could finally exercise in the comfort of my own home (and air conditioning, and if you've ever been to Houston you know what a blessing that is from about May til October). Sadly, like many other people it became one of those gifts that I just never used. It sat there from August til just recently collecting dust and providing an extra seat.

As I mentioned I'm a student, and this quarter at school my schedule is a mess. I go to class all day on Monday, from 8 in the morning til 10pm at night, and Saturday afternoons from 1pm til 530pm. With all this new free time just staring me in the face I had no clue what I was going to do with myself. I would get a part-time job, but with the economy being what it is right now it isn't exactly the best job market out there right now. So I decided that it would be fun to start using that dusty birthday present.

A few weeks ago I went to the doctor and stepped on the scale, and that is when it hit me. I knew I was heavy, I'm not that naieve, but I didn't realize just how heavy til those digital numbers stopped spinning like a slot machine. I weighed in at 308.4 lbs. I was absolutely devastated.

I always figured that I was around 275 lbs., not ideal by any stretch of the imagination, but 300 lbs was like a glass ceiling that I didn't want to break. It was then and there that I decided that I needed to do more than just utilize my exercise bike. I had to make a lifestyle change because the older I get the more difficult it will get, not to mention the long term health consequences of carrying around all that extra weight.

I've never been on a diet in my life, so I did some snooping around to see what was out there and a number of friends of mine have used the Atkins Diet with great success in the past. I started reading up on it and said to myself "Self, this sounds like a diet I can stick to."

So I started slowly cutting carbs out of my life. The first thing to go was the cans of Pepsi. I used to drink anywhere from 2-4 cans of Pepsi a day. After a few days seeing that I hadn't shriveled up and died I decided to take it all the way.

I officially began my first day of Induction last Saturday. I weighed in at exactly 308 lbs. I began riding my bike for 1 hour every day as well. Since making the lifestyle change I've noticed that I have more energyy (which is kind of surprising to me because I had heard that a lot of people tend to lose energy on the Atkins Diet because of the lack of carbs), I am sleeping better...I feel great overall. I know it hasn't even been a week yet, but I am excited about this. It doesn't feel like a diet at all, which is the greatest thing. I was laughing with a friend the other night cause I said "this is a real man's diet!!!" I can actually eat this stuff and not worry about counting calories and such. I have been keeping a food journal though, just to keep track, but knowing that all I have to do is watch out for carbs I'll be okay.

That isn't to say cutting carbs has been a piece of cake. It hasn't. Most people need their cup of coffee in the morning; I was always a big orange juice drinker. THAT has been the most difficult thing for me to drop.

The one thing I've noticed is that for the past few days I've had a rather mild but persistant headache. I know this is something that many people have experienced on the Atkins Diet before, so I'm not all that concerned with it. It is just a minor nuisance.

Anyways, I've enjoyed my short time on this message board so far and I look forward to being able to share my future success with you all as well as hear about all of your success as well!

[blueberrylady]

Welcome to the board, Ryan. It sounds like you are really motivated and that's good.

Do you have the book? If not, you should get a copy because it has all the whys and wherefores that make the diet so much easier to understand.

Kudos to your parents for buying you a bike and to you too for using it! Way to go! Keep us posted on your progress.

[Ryan.Stoeppel]

I don't have the Atkins book at the moment but I am hopefully going to pick it up at Barnes and Noble on the way home today!

[Sunny_0ne]

Welcome, Ryan,

You are off to a wonderful start! Congratulations!

Yes, definitely get the book! It will answer a lot of questions and help a LOT!

[Ryan.Stoeppel]

Picked up DANDR yesterday at Barnes and Noble and already read it cover to cover. Thanks for suggesting I pick it up, because once I did I couldn't put it down!