Active Low-Carber Forums - Yippie....Success!

After reading and being inspired by all the many successes that I see on this sight every day, I finally get to right about my own personal success. Yippie!

In high school, I was always right around 130-138 or so. I was very active and played many sports and always worked out. Like many on this site (and everywhere) I was also starving myself on low fat diets and skipping meals and whatever else I had to do to stay at that weight.

When I left high school and went off to college I was no longer playing sports, but I still worked out every day either my running or rollerblading. I was still sticking to my "starvation" method of eating and my weight crept up to about 145 lbs. That doesn't sound like much, but when you add 5 lbs to petite frame, you really notice!

In 2001 I fell in love with my husband and, of course, the weight fell off as it often does when you are in love. ;) I was too happy to step on the scale then, but I would guess that I was around 130 because I was fitting into a slim fit, size 7 jeans. As time went on and we moved in together, I put the weight back on. I remember one of my last doctors appointments before I got pregnant, my weight was 162. Had I been so deleriously happy that I hadn't noticed that none of my old clothes fit and I had to buy new ones?

About 2 months later, I was pregnant with my little girl and weight was really not a concern (although it should have been). I ate anything and everything I wanted with no hesitation. When I went in to deliver my little one I was at 209 lbs! Yikes! When I went home from the hospital I was about 180. I had lost 30 lbs and that was it. Everyone told me that breast feeding would be the way to loose the weight...in the end I was down to about 170 after breast feeding around the clock! I started going back on the low fat diet after I weined my baby (or should I say starving myself). After months and months of doing that and working out 3-4 times a week, I was at 160.

Go forward to Christmas 2004, just last December. We were puting up our Christmas tree and my husband was taking pictures of my daughter and me. When I looked at the pics, I was horrified. Was my butt that big! He had taken a picture of me hanging a high orniment and I saw a fat roll sticking out of my shirt. I deleated the pictures and said never again was I going to have another Christmas where I felt like I had to delete the photos for my own self preservation. I did not wait for New Years. I started Atkins on December 26th.

I am happy to say that I managed a squeeky clean induction and I think that really helped with my cravings. We also had absolutely NO food in the house that would allow us to cheat anyway. (no fail environment has been a key for me) I was down to 136.5 lbs by April, only 1.5 lbs away from goal when I found out I was pregnant with twins. I was of course, elatted beyond belief. My doctor, who had been all for the low carb diet, instructed me off it because I had to gain a pound a week. I did...I gained up to 145. I tragically lost the twins about a month ago in a cord accident at 12 weeks. They were single sac identicals (which we did not know until after). It took me about a week to recover physically, but started low carb up after that week and the morning I weighed myself I was still 145.

Since then I have worked out every day with a mix of cardio and weight training and Pilates. (about an hour) Sometimes I will walk as well in the evenings with my husband (also a low carber). I am not much of a "cheater". But, I will ocationally have a high carb meal about once a month or so. I used to call it my treat, but now that I have found so many creative and wonderful low carb recipes, it really is not that big of a deal any more. I generally stick to around 20-40 carbs a day comfortably. I love nuts! Macadamias especially and I really feel like those have helped a lot because they are almost like candy. Fealing my clothes get looser and looser has been the best reward.

I was always told all through school that I was a "big boned" girl and that is why I carried so much weight on a 5'2" frame. 135, although not overweight, is still quite a lot for a petite frame to carry. So, I think I am going to keep going with this and see where it takes me. I will never be "done" with low carb. I LOVE IT!

Plus...I would miss this web site way to much if I left! :)

Good Luck to All and Keep Low Carbing! :cheer: