I was so amazed at the post about weight loss and fear,
I decided to post this to see what anyone has to say.

I used the lc a couple of times in the past, but due to unknown
reasons still could only hold it a couple of weeks.
I now think it may have been the nutra sweet, because using the splenda, is working alot better. No where near the cravings I used to get.

After reading that post I think this is the crux of the matter.

I train horses for a living, and hard to believe, but the weight
helps me.

You have alot more 'anchor' when a horse acts up, at 250, than
you do at 150, and a horse only bucks once or twice with this kind
of weight on its back, unless you have a true bronk.
Now its ok in todays society for 'cowboy tex' to throw a 50 lb.
saddle on a 14.2 hand horse and ride it all day, but, you see
a woman the same weight on a horse, and people think,
Gads, the poor horse! Even when the rider is over 6 feet tall. Thats just the way it is.
Abuse issues, yes I have them, but feel I have put those in a safe place that I can live with.
However:
I do fear that if I loose to much weight, I might loose my strength as well, and get pitched higher, run over, or loose my 'knack'.

Anyways I've lost my first 11 lbs., and have no desire to go back
to sugar or high carbs in general.

A really wonderful way to develop body confidence is to weight train. It centers you and gives you the kind of strength - both mentally and physically - to take on an energetic task.

A lot of us who have belonged to the fat club have lived in our heads for a long time. THis gets us out of our heads and into our bodies.

You may want to have a look at the excercise forums, the BFL one in particular to see what it's all about.

You can feel and be big and strong and powerful without the fat, even though it may seem like a real stretch of the imagination at the moment.

Karen

I have no fear in losing weight...I was fat for far too long and Im not going to miss my formal lifestyle at all

Great advice, Karen. Just to add to it, weight training doesn't have to be the bench-and-dumbell type of stuff if that's not your "thang." Yoga, pilates, nautilus at the gym, old-fashiond calisthenics... they all work not only to increase your strength, but your body confidence, balance, etc.

...not that working with horses is doing nothing!