Hope its okay to cross post this, I put it in the general section too:

Here is bit about me, so I don't feel so voyeuristic reading so much about all of you without sharing a bit. I'm a 30 year old male living in Missouri. I've been overweight most of my life. Both my parents had weight problems (to a lesser degree) but both of them dealt with it later in life (my mother using Atkins which I only learned a few months ago.)

Back in early 1997, on the advice of my doctor I went on a traditional low fat, low cal diet (he was an Atkin's skeptic). I lost about 65 pounds in 5 months. It was incredibly hard to stick with but I did it.....for a while.

In July of 1997, I graduated from college and the following month I started law school. Those of you who have been there know what I mean when I say that the first year of law school is NOT conducive to dieting. I picked up every bad habit in the book. I started drinking caffeinated beverages as if they were fuel to keep me awake to study more. I completely stopped caring what I ate because of the stress and simple lack of time. I'd skip lunch and dinner doing a paper or preparing for the next day of classes and then end up buying Oreos at the gas station at 2 in the morning to curb my hunger so I could sleep for 4 hours then get up, chug a 20 ounce glass containing half milk, half espresso and 3 tablespoons of sugar, and do it all over again. Hell, I even started smoking some (but smoked my last cigarette on May 18, 2000, graduation day, thankfully.) Basically everyone I know from law school either gained weight or in the case of some female classmates became anorexic. Healthy lifestyles just weren't part of it.

In 3 years of law school I pretty much gained back everything I'd lost prior to that and about 10 pounds to boot. Anyway, to make a long story short I ended up deciding that being a lawyer wasn't for me and I fell back on my computer/network skills for a career. I love the education I recieved, but the practice just wasn't for me. I can really understand why lawyers have the highest suicide rate of any profession.

So here, I am. I recently decided it was time to do something about my weight problem again, this time for good.

Today is day 9 of my journey toward the new me. My results so far? Well, for starters the cravings are gone for the most part. I have some now and then, but they are fleeting, not the all consuming cravings that I had when I was a carb junkie. I have a lot more energy. I've started my exercise program by walking about a mile a day. I'll ramp that up as I go on. I'm finding it much easier to wake up in the morning, I don't feel all cloudy headed.

As for weight loss, I'm avoiding the scales for now. I'm going strictly by how my clothes fit and how I feel. If I'm losing inches and feel more energetic, I don't need the numerical reinforcement. However, yesterday I was able to button up a shirt that I hadnt' been able to button since early in my second year of law school. It still doesn't fit well, but in a month I bet I'll be wearing it.

In closing, I'd like to thank the hosts and admins of this forum. Its a great place both for inspiration and information. In fact, its almost too much information to sift through. Thanks for listening and I look forward to participating here.