I was ashamed of my weight. I thought my body was ugly. I sometimes wanted to take a knife and cut the fat off. Then, this past Feb. my doctor referred me to a gastric bypass surgeon. I didn't go. I started Atkins. That was six months and over 50 pounds ago. Now I'm still fat. Hell, I still have 100 pounds to lose. And it's slowing down. But I'm not. I'm walking faster. I'm not out of breath all the time. I run up and down stairs when I used to avoid them, my blood pressure is normal and I feel great.

Now you're going to have real stalls. And they will probably freak you out. PM somebody. Send up a flare. But keep it up. Don't stop the program. You are in a war with the fat in your body. And it's a fight to the death. Either you lose the fat or it will kill you.

I weigh every day. When I lose a pound or two I post my results in the forum. Invariably the next day or two I gain about 4-5 pounds (water weight) and keep it for a few days. The longest I've kept the gain after the loss was three weeks. But then all of a sudden I'll lose three pounds and then another four so that in the long run, I'm down another pound or two. If your body is more than 50% water it is obviously going to have an effect on what you weigh. Go by how you look, how your clothes fit, and how you feel. And take measurements every couple of weeks.

We're all going to make it.