Unfortunately, the fall was entirely of my own doing.

Hi - I'm Barby. Let me explain:

Three years ago I watched several family members lose a lot of weight following the Atkins diet. I thought it was exactly what I needed to lose the lbs. I hoped to get rid of before my class reunion. I jumped on the band wagon - and was very successful. Over the course of about 10 months I lost 40 pounds - and found myself! At 128 lbs., finally, the "outside Barby" looked like the "inside Barby" felt! I had lots of energy. Life was great. When I opened my closet door, the last thing on my mind was the camouflaging properties of a particular outfit. Zippers zipped, belts buckled, buttons stayed buttoned. Life was really good.

If everything was so great, what happened? Classic, shor-term diet mentality. Though I never admitted it out loud, I was sure I'd be the first low-carber to be able to eat the foods everyone else eats, once I reached my "natural" weight. So, slowly I did...and slowly, they stayed. Today I weigh 152. I haven't gained it all backyet, but I'm just kidding myself if I don't believe that I'm just a hamburger bun, a bagel and a couple of bowls of pasta away from my "truly natural" weight of 168, or worse. The dumbest part of falling off the lc wagon is that I actually loved how I felt while I wasn't eating carbs. I had a ton of energy and I was in control of my appetite - something that never happened when I was chain-eating carbs.

Have I learned my lesson? God I hope so. Thankfully, I couldn't find the forum I relied on last time around. I'm looking forward to getting healthy with this great community.

And, if you see me drifting down "denial" again, please throw me a rope!

Thanks.