After lurking on these forums since October, I guess it's time that I came out of the closet and shared my success. I stepped on the scale this morning and the readout was 174 from 215! I started LC in late October and thankfully found this site a few days later. I've done various forms of lc dieting in the past, and usually I'd lose about 10-15 pounds in about two weeks and then I would reward myself by going out and stuffing my face and gaining the weight back.

The difference this time is the fact that I've found this wealth of information at my fingertips, and although I haven't conversed with any of you, your support has gotten me to where I am today. What has been different this time is that I've been able to stick with it, as I now view this as a WOE rather than a diet (just ask my wife, she's starting to understand).

After about a month of LC (two weeks longer than I've ever done it in the past), I realized that I was no longer interested in all of the foods that I thought I couldn't live without in the past. I'm proud to say that in the 4 months I've been doing this, I haven't cheated once. There were many times where I planned a cheat ahead of time for special occasions, but when the time came I always found a lc alternative. I went on a trip to New York in December and had planned to pig out on all the stuff that I can't get in Denver like good New York Pizza and all the great stuff at Zabars, but when I got there I found great fish dishes that I could never get in Colorado and that was just as satisfying to me. Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years all came and went without me losing my resolve, mainly because I was reading here about other people's struggles like mine.

As for why I've never posted before, after reading all of the gentle scolding from the moderators on the newby questions that have been answered hundreds of times over, I started to use the search functions and soon was able to find answers to any question I had. Since my rule of thumb on internet forums is if you don't have something worthwhile to say, don't say it, I never posted anything until now. I have however been an avid reader of this site on a daily basis since I found it. I'd just like to say that anyone who has given their 2 cents on such topics as drinking lots of water, Yogurt, YMMV on lo-carb products (my mileage is pretty good, thankfully), cardio on an empty stomach, weightlifting for fat loss, fat vs. muscle weight, Splenda, Pure-Delite chocolate bars, and countless other topics, you were helping someone change their life and didn't even know it!

The capper for me was going out over the weekend and buying clothes in size Medium and 31" waist, then going home and emptying the closet of all the XLs and 36" waists.

I guess my point is that this remarkable WOE can really change your life, as I am living proof of it, and I have all of you to thank for it.