So many of you have gained weight after being thin because of medicine, lifestyle changes, etc., that I am starting to wonder who out there is like me? I've been fat since about age seven, though I have no idea why. My little sis and I did everything together, and we ate the same things—though she often ate more of them. We were both fairly active, but somehow I was always just ... fat.

I'm losing now without much difficulty. I feel great, and I love this WOE. I just wonder if my always being overweight has any implications about which I don't know. I also wonder if the fact that I tend to store fat in my hips and thighs instead of my abdomen means anything (other than the known health benefits of not having a lot of abdominal fat).

It would be interesting to see research on whether either of those things relate to the CCLM at all.

I was normal weight when I was born, but spent all of my childhood "bigger" than the other kids. I was fat until I was about 14, and discovered boys. Then, my creative mother, helped "motivate" me to lose weight.

I had to maintain or lose weight in order to get the car, and in some instances, even go out. So, I kept the weight off until after I graduated.

Since I was married, I decided eating was more important that almost anything else. Worst part of it, it was like being driven.

When I husband met me, I was a size 10-12, /currently 22-1/2, I have lost 30 pounds, but got lots more to go.

I gave up nutrasweet stuff a week ago (aspartame products), and went back on Atkins today with a new mission and determination.

I lost 30lbs. since last May, but spent more time cheating than losing.

It has been a real struggle..........and I believe I understand the cravings that an alcoholic gets. Thats the way carbs are for me..........

Meee. I hate it. I'm gonna fix it. I was made fun of a lot as a little kid which screwed over my self-esteem until I was older. At which time I tried to get reinforcement that I wasn't ugly by... uh.. doing stuff that I shouldn't.

So I'm getting rid of the stupid fat now.

I was a scrawny preschooler, but after that I was overweight. In grade school I thought I was huge. I had my period at 8, and all the other kids would make fun of me becaus eI weighed more then them. Looking back at pictures now, I relize I wasn't fat at all. I was curvy and built like a teenager. The other kids and I were too younge to relize this though. It kind of became a self fulfilling thing.

I stayed large. Even in high school when I was on my own for a while I was large. I was eating 1 meal a day of school lunch and walking about 1-2 miles to school each day when my car finally died. I was drinking too much and having poor food choices (oatmeal and potatoes were cheap) but I still managed to get down to 145.

I balooned up to well over 200 after my first pregnancy and later divorce. I decided to do something about it and managed to get down to 138 through a ton of exercise and a low fat diet. Then with my second pregnancy it was back up to 180. This time low fat didn't work so I discovered Atkins.

Right now I feel huge, but I 'm only up to 140. Still for some reason this looks big to me. Then I start to ponder at one time I was over 200 and I just can't wrap my mind around it. I look the same, but I must of been large. My clothes now include tents from large days, and tight from my low and hopeful days. I need some clothes that actually fit.

I was thin as a small child and then after I turned 8 it went to hell in a handcart. I went from size 7-8 child's at 8 to size 16 child's by 11 and barely fitting into that. By 16 I was 235# in a 22 women's at 5'6".

I was never thin as an adult for very long. I did WW 10 years ago and got down to 138 for about 5 minutes until I realized how hungry I was (that is interesting in that I wore a 12 at 138 then and a 6/7 now at the same weight).

Now I will LC for life because it really suits me and I am healthy, happy and NOT starving.

Namaste all.

Julie

I was always the big girl. I cannot remember a time in my childhood where my size was not an issue. My mother threw a fit when I had to move into the "womens' section" of the store at age 10. I ate and ate and ate... addicted to food and I grew rounder and rounder.

The thinnest I've ever been (before now) was 189 when I was 19 - it was after major surgery (removed a 22 pound ovarian cyst) and a two-week liquid and lipids "diet."

I am now the thinnest I've ever been in memory. I am also the healthiest and that means more than anything to me!

A lot of people in Triple Digits and CAD/CALP have always been heavy.

I've been fat my entire life, but I started to get unhealthy kind of fat at about 7. Baby chub was quickly turning into adult overweight. By the time I was in high school, I was extremely obese at 240. This continued until I reached 280 at 20. Then I found atkins, and here I am today.

My experience mirrors yours. I too lose very easily on atkins, and love the lifestyle. I have absolutely no desire to eat any other way, seriously. I also tend to store fat in my hips and thighs mainly (as well as a spare tire; I tend to store a lot of fat in this area just above my behind, too.)

I have found carbohydrate level seems to effect me less than type of carbohydrate. For example, a little bit of sugar will effect more more than a larger quantity of veggies. However, my CCLL seems to be fairly high - I am currently at 30, and my losses are only a little bit slower than they were back when I was on under 20.

I have been told I was fat for my entire life. The reason was because I was being compared to my older sister, who was very tiny, she was 4lb10 at birth and grew to 4'10". And she was still buying children's clothes way into her 20's. Looking back I was average, at 21 I was wearing size 8 (smallest adult size here in Australia).

I was a skinny gangly kid until age 8 or 9, then vwooom .. fat. Interestingly I also experienced early puberty too, age 10. I ate the same things and same amounts as my older brother and sister yet they both stayed skinny all through childhood and adolescence. Although, they both became obese as adults. The difference was activity level .. they were into sports and physical activity, whereas I was the nerdy bookworm with less physical interests like art and music.

When I was 16, I went on the original 1970's Atkins diet with my dad .. and kept the weight off because I stuck to low carb eating, until I went to college. There in nursing school they put the fear of cholesterol in my head .. and for the next 2 decades I struggled with low fat diets and yo-yo dieted my way up to 215+ lbs, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

re CCL - I've found that my daily carbs can go fairly high .. 40 - 50g ECC per day .. IF it's from vegetables, including the occasional portion of starchies like squash, beans or lentils, or a fresh fruit (not bananas though ). But as soon as I add grains, bread, Wasas or cereals into the mix, even if my overall carb grams don't change .. uggghh. Bloat, crave, gain


Doreen

I was born huge, not fat... 10.78 pounds, and quite large... 54cms... during childhood I was big built, always the biggest in classroom, and after 7 I got chubby... at 12 I was already quite overweighted... the only time I recall being 143 pounds is when I was 9 years old!

I have done all kind of crazy diets, losing up to 38 pounds in a month, just to regain it as soon as I reached the 176 pounds... don't recall ever being lighter than that during adulthood.

At early 20's I got it sort of under control, living alone, short student budget... I just couldn't afford to crave anything Even then my weight was around 180 pounds...

Right now my weight is as of when I was 9 months pregnant, 9 years ago! My highest ever was 230, january 2002.

Ive always been a big girl, I remember shopping in the chubby or husky section as they called it as a little girl. I don't remember being teased much about my size util HS when my breasts were bigger that all the other girls. I don't know what happened to those breasts but they seem to be dissapearing on me. LOL.

Funny you should ask this question, because I've often wondered it myself while surfing around this forum... The little devil that lives in my head is always looking for 'evidence' that this isn't going to work for me, even though it is working.
I wasn't really seriously overweight until high school, but in elementary and junior high I was bigger than other girls. I had a nice, curvy body at the point in time where all the other girls were scrawny from growing. Then in high school, I began dating my husband and went on the pill. I really started to gain weight, but very slowly and steadily. About 15 lbs per year for three or four years. When we started dating in the 10th grade, I weighed 126 lbs and was wearing a pair of size 26 levis (it was the 80's, so I admit they were pretty tight). When we got married, I weighed 205 lbs, my heaviest weight ever. I've gone up and down a little bit, but I can't recall the last time I was under 160... that will be an exciting day for me.

Jenn

I have always been big but it was more muscular when I was a teen but in my college years it was fat (I was over 200 since 18) I did lose to 160, but it lasted about 2 months and I was back to 200. I have no mental picture or physical pictures of me at 160. So I don't have a "goal" image. This is tough. For I'm nervous about how I will look. I just don't know and I wonder if I could realistically be 160 again.

I was always a large child until high school when I started decreasing my meal portions and I got down to 140#. My first year of college I got down to about 128#, due to stress and prozac, but by the end of college I was at about 190. In November '03, I weighed myself at the store and saw "203", that's when I knew I had to do something.