Here is a better link to follow. I've replicated the article that was in the newspaper complete with pictures.

http://www.dvelliott.com/support/Ca...up_Article.html

In response to the question about how to start a support group. We had talked about it for a while but it really started one evening when I met a man in the park who remarked that I had lost a lot of weight and asked how I had done it.

When I told him Atkins he said, "My wife is doing Atkins."

I told him were had been thinking of starting a support group and he was interested. We met the very next Tuesday evening and have been meeting ever since. We started meeting at a lo-carb ice cream shop. The owner was delighted to let us meet there because it brought in business for him. We finally outgrew that place and I found a night when our church was available and we moved most of the group to a different night and a new place.

We continue to grow mostly by word of mouth as people bring their friends. This article has also helped us grow.

After about a year we decided that we needed to do more than talk about what we eat so we began to incorporate some of Dr. Phil's ideas about weight loss into our group. I've figured out that there is a lot more to losing weight then what we put into our mouths and I believe that Dr. Phil has a pretty good handle on the other factors.

We have several people in our group who have had great success. A couple have reached their goals and still keep coming to support the others. And I believe that the best reason for starting a support group is to keep yourself accountable and on target.

Hope that all helps a bit.