Gee whiz, thanks to all of you for the warm welcome. I feel right at home. It's great to have like-minded folks to take the journey with.

My immediate family has been fairly supportive of me though they are tired of hearing me preach the LC gospel. The boys aren't following my WOE but they are happy I'm doing well and they walk with me when they have the time. My #2DS showed me some tricks & tips with the Bowflex and hand weights. The DH has his issues as well with being about 40lbs overweight, the high blood lipids, and he's flirting with T2 diabetes if the sugar doesn't stay down. I've gotten him to somewhat half-heartedly embrace the LC WOE, but he's not consistant enough. He doesn't plan ahead or eat regular meals when he's busy working and winds up just grabbing whatever, so the sugar is up and down and all over the place... Well, one battle at a time I suppose.

The extended family is another issue - especially the MIL. We don't get along anyway, but she is famous for tormenting you about things you'd rather not discuss publically - like your current weight - or trotting out the junk food and waving it under your nose. That stuff doesn't tempt me anymore but it's annoying as heck to have to keep refusing it! The last time I was over there I had to say "no thanks" to an offer of soda three times in a row, and finally she just had to ask me 20 questions as to why I wouldn't drink any and was having icewater instead. I knew if I said anything connected with weightloss, as soon as we left she would be on the phone laying bets with other relatives about how soon I'd quit this diet and gain it all back. In a moment of quick and lucid thinking (I get those now and then ), I told her I was on a "special arthritis control plan" that didn't allow sugary and starchy stuff that might aggravate my pain response. In a roundabout way that's actually true because LCing does help with the pain and stiffness, but the better part of it was seeing the vague look come into her eyes and knowing it went right over her head. At least now she won't be tormenting me with nosy questions about how my diet is coming and why do I suppose I'm not losing more weight because so-and-so has lost twice as much as I have in half the time? That and all the stuff she says about always being able to eat whatever she wants (we call her Mrs. Planter's Cheese Balls) and still be a size 10. And believe me, even at 80 this woman can really pack it away - and most of it is junk too. I'm surprised her blood isn't like pudding!

There is one SIL (Frank's ds) I get along with very well, and since we both have weight issues, we try to support one another. She has somewhat embraced the LC WOE, but is having trouble making a commitment to change the entire WOL. She isn't making any progress weight-wise at all. I think she's having trouble losing the LF&HC mentality - we both suffered through that stage for years. I know she's still making a regular breakfast out of oatmeal and OJ and then LCing the rest of the day and wonders why she's fighting off the chocolate cravings by evening. I try to be supportive and non-judgemental but sometimes you just want to say, for crying out loud, wake up! Another SIL (not crazy about this one) has been LCing for several years but she's one of those who loves rich and sweet desserts. She plans huge bingey cheats around vacations and special occasions and eats everything sweet in sight, and then goes back to induction levels to get the weight off. She's never really lost the cravings and the weight yoyos up and down 15-20lbs, yet she'll freak over a shred of carrot in a salad. She's read DANDR and SB, but evidentally hasn't made it a WOL. It's just another round of dieting...

The one I really feel badly for is my DS. She went from years of being an almost anorexic 99-100 lbs and now weighs 181. She knows she has to do something because the back is going and she feels tired all the time, but won't even consider LC. It's not the bogus health-scare issues as much as convincing herself she could never live without ample bread, potatoes, rice, grits (she lives in FLA) and pasta. "What do you find to eat?" she'll ask me and then be amazed at what I tell her. "I couldn't do that - we'd go broke!" There are only 3 of them and both adults work, and my niece doesn't eat enough to fill a thimble (and it's 90% junk food too). There are 5 in my household, and the DH is the main support, though my mom and #1DS contribute a little here and there. We're not rich but we manage to eat well and it hasn't been a big hassle having me change my WOE. I'll just have to put it out of my mind I guess...

Forget about my friends - they're dear folks and caring, but they all think I'm going to keel over and die from this WOE. I get mini-lectures and concerned to talks, and they clip articles and send me emails that bash Atkins/LC all the time. Some of them are overweight or downright obese, some are not (one is very thin and T2 diabetic - go figure!) but they all have that same ingrained mental block about the fat and red meat being unhealthy - and they think that's all I eat. I've given up explaining it and just make it known that we have to agree to disagree. Some of it may be pure jealousy and the rest is probably a bad case of "expertitis" - that's when you trust what the "experts" say instead of what your own experience tells you is working. As soon as the lectures start, I tune out and have been known to end a phone call or visit if it gets too uncomfortable.

I really like my doc, though he's skeptical of LC, because he's willing to listen and learn and is supportive of any healthy weight changes I can manage to make. He's of the notion that we all get overweight simply because we eat too much and don't get enough exercise. He does agree that some folks are gentically pre-programmed to gain eating certain ways, but says that doesn't excuse our overeating - you just have to make a commitment and then get into some kind of structured plan to succeed. He's big on recommending Weight Watchers because of their middle-of-the-road nutritional approach and long term track record in the industry. Well, that's OK for some people but the WW WOE has never appealed to me and I know just as many folks who've yoyo'd with that as anything else. And it is true to an extent, we eat too much and move too little but as an internist he should realize that there's a lot more going on than that. There's a root cause for obesity that goes beyond willpower and slow metabolism and as a lifelong sufferer I can attest to the wild blood sugar swings and the compulsiveness of the food cravings. The recommended HC/LF diet they're all touting never worked for me, and only made things worse. Though he's only seen me briefly a couple of times he has applauded the weight I've already lost and told me to keep up the good work. I will be having a physical again next summer, and I can't wait to waltz in there significantly lighter and in better shape than I was in my 20's. My last bloodwork (pre-LC) was fine and everything looked good - the next one should be awesome.