Hello All,

I have been low carbing on and off (more off than on) for years . I have never lost much weight from it (my fault), but always feel better when on program . Right now I am a size 22-24 and would love to live out my life a size 6. I am a 36 y/o female who spent 18 years on birth control pills steadily getting fatter and fatter. I weigh 278 and focus more on size/body fat % than pounds, but I must admit to big discouragement at my lack of progress. I am a military spouse and while my husband was away for the past 3 months I did really well without cheating much and exercising pretty regularly. Still, I only lost 4-5 pounds total. I know it is me not being strict enough and when my skinny 6' 1" husband's eating habits don't help.

In less than 3 weeks I will be going to visit my parents for a couple of weeks. This is always a really hard thing for me since my weight has always been THEIR biggest failure and biggest embarassment . During my last visit they kept pushing for me to have gastric bypass surgery and leaving websites up if I was going to check my email on their computer. It was a regular, almost daily hint for weeks .

My short term goal is to lose 1-2 pant sizes in the 17 days before I leave . I recently was working out at the gym 6 days a week for 45 minutes on the eliptical machine and adding 45 minutes of heavy weights on Mondays and Thursdays. With that regimen I wasn't really changing my body and want to try something more effective.

Any ideas, hints, menus, recipes, etc. would be so greatly appreciated. I am so glad I found this group! I hope to reach my ultimate goal of a size 6 by Christmas and I really hope I can count on all of you for support and encouragement!

Thanks,

lynnp

Welcome! Glad to see another smiling face amidst the LC crowd.

Welcome to the TDC!

I think you have to focus on making these lifestyle changes for yourself, to be healthier and feel better. It will be a side benefit to make your parents happy and get them off your back, but that can't be the main reason, or you might be doomed to fail. I considered weight loss surgery when I was at my heaviest, actually got pretty close to having it, but then chickened out. Shortly after that I started on CAD and now I am sooo grateful that I didn't go the WLS route when I was at my lowest point of despair. I am feeling like a different person with the weight I have lost so far.

You can make LC work for you too. I don't know if it you will lose what you hope in the next couple weeks, but if you stick to your plan and keep up the exercise, you will surely be ahead of where you are today

Take care,
Tracy

Lynn - I had weight loss surgery in 1999. I went from 340 lbs to 220 lbs. And then slowly started to regain the weight. By Sept 2003 I was up to 297 again.

Weight loss surgery is not always the whole answer. It wasn't for me, though I don't regret having it at all, I'd probably have hit over 400 lbs by now without it.

For me, carbs are the problem. As soon as I stopped eating the refined carbs and starches, my hunger went away and I was able to control my food intake and lose weight.

Now they teach you to eat low carb when you have weight loss surgery (WLS) but they never told me why - that it was the blood sugar/insulin thing that affected hunger. All they told me was to eat protein & veggies first to get your nutrients in. Well, I did, but I still ate some carbs, so the whole hunger thing was re-created and then as I ate more to fulfill the hunger my stomach started to expand its capacity and before long I could eat regular sized meals again.

Now I used to (pre-WLS) be able to eat huge meals, so I'm still better off for having the surgery, but I wish I'd known the mechanics and reasoning behind low-carbing when I had the surgery, I would have lost all the weight I think and probably not regained it all.

So, bottom line, I think for someone who is very, very obese, weight loss surgery can be a good idea, especially if there are imminent health dangers to be considered, but if carbs are also a problem, then low-carbing with the WLS is essential for success. And if carbs are the problem, and fast weight loss is not urgently needed, many can lose the weight they need to without WLS and its inherent risks.

If you don't want WLS, tell your parents you don't, and tell them it's not a perfect solution. Many, many WLS patients eventually regain all of their weight back, I'm an example. If low-carbing works for you, then you will be able to lose your weight without WLS.

Val

Hi Lynn and Welcome! I am still struggling with losing too. And I too have also cosidered WLS, my cousin had it done. But I was afraid of what Val explained with her surgery, I love food too much. With Atkins there isn't a food I can't have that can't be converted to Atkins. Atkins.com is an AWESOME site. Back to the slow loss, don't give up. I did Atkins before and got discouraged and went off I was 314 the first time and got down to 232 and went back up to 277 and said NO HIGHER! So I restarted May 11 and it has been slow. But the inches show it is working. There are alot of great people here and you learn alot from their experiences and suggestions. Also there is not one single soul here that does not understand where you are at in one way or another. So keep in touch and Best of Luck!

Welcome lunnp !

I think you have taken a great step in coming to these forums - they have been a HUGE motivating factor (and source of information for me). It sounds like you are already moving in the right direction with your mind set and exercise . I think the best advice I received was the simplest: read the book, eat whole/natural foods, drink lots of water (my biggest issue), get your body moving, visit the foums and start a journal here, and if you have a rough day, don't beat yourself up.

Best wishes to you in your new WOL!!

Hi lunnp, as you work toward your short-term goal of your visit to your parents, I think the best thing you can do is get on induction, do it until your visit and no cheats. Drink lots of water. That is the best you can do and I'm sure you will see some progress if you stay honest to the food plan. I've found that you look slimmer than your actual weight. Something about losing the fat. I wear clothes that are smaller than when I weighed less years ago. Good luck, Start right now....

Greetings and Welcome!

Congratulations on making the commitment to yourself to eat a healthy diet, exercise and make healthy choices in your life. You can only do this for your. Not for your husband or parents. Perhaps telling your folks that you have made this change and that it is a "way of life" not just a quick fix diet, will help them see that you are committed to improve your health the slow and steady way (the same way you put the weight on).

Focus on your short term goals and the long term benefits and remember

Read the book, drink the water, do the exercise, eat on plan (only), and visit here often!

Good Luck to you!