Greetings All!

I guess this is where I belong. I am some what embarrassed to admit even to myself that I need to lose 100+ pounds. I remember being in high school and thinking I was such a lard ass at 180. I would so kill to be at that weight right now. I have always been chubby and not very active. Didn't go for that sports thing.

I've spent the last 10 years since high school trying to see if it was possible to live on Pizza and Beer. My findings were conclusive, yes you can but expect a some baggage to come with that choice. Mainly around your gut area...


I've been doing the Atkins thing since 11/3/03 and have dropped 16 pounds. My wife has also joined in with me and has lost about 12 pounds. I feel great and am going very gung ho at the moment. I set my goals small, I just want to see that scale drop by 2.2 pounds a week. By this time next year I want to have lost another person. I want to be able to go to the mall and buy jeans and shirt that actually fits.

Currently I am finding it difficult to get over the perceived social stigma of being fat and on a diet. I feel very self aware when ordering a burger with no bun, or asking what is in a soup. My wife on the other hand has no issue with announcing she is on the Atkins diet, which by the way makes we want to try and fit under a table for some reason.

I have not started an exercise program yet. I know I need to seeing as how my work day consists of riding a keyboard cranking out code. For some reason, I have set a sub 300 mark for even considering exercising in a gym.

I think allot of the stigma I feel is related to having been fat as a kid and trying to hide that fact. I wonder if that mental block will go away with time, or will I always see myself as that fat little kid?

Anyway, sorry for dumping. I had intended to just say hi and be out of here. I have been reading the forum for a week or so and find your comments soothing.

Night all.

Hi NotMyself, welcome to the forum. The people here have the same goals as you and have many similar experiences, so we understand how you feel. You're off to a good start so stick with it. Good Luck!

Welcome!

A wonderful and supportive forum. I am very new myself.

Congratulations on your weight loss! Yes set goals small...baby steps and soon you will be there!

xxx

Welcome, notmyself. I was a code monkey from way back -- so I can share your pain and delight!

No guarantees here that I have a clue!

I see a lot of parallels in the way you feel about yourself and the way I used to see myself. I thought that if I didn't admit that I was dieting, nobody would notice how overweight I really was.

But when I shared with folks that I was doing Atkins, there was much more support and understanding from all sorts of people, even the skinny minnies. They were curious about the results, about the press reports and most of all, they were very supportive of my resolve.

As far as eating out is concerned, lift your head proudly and chow down what you know you can have. My favourite eat-out meal is a Chicken Caesar --- hold the croutons. Last time I ordered that, I got a smile and a "you must be on that diet!" My response is a smile and a big "Yup" in return.

Don't be shy -- you will be surprised at how much support you will get even from complete strangers.

Good luck and stay tuned to this board!

Hi NotMyself! Welcome to the TDC. I can relate to not wanting to exercise. Can't stand doing it myself, but I've decided to try it for the TDC challenge. I can do anything for 8 weeks... then we'll see!

I also work with software development. I work with the clients to determine what software changes they want that will fit into a release.

You have truly come to the right place. These folks are very supportive! I highly recommend you start a journal. It feels strange at first writing to yourself, but in no time you will find you enjoy it.

Welcome to the TDC. I can relate to not wanting to call attention to the way you are eating in a restaurant or anywhere. I used to not say anything at all. Now I ask for double vegetables instead of the potato/rice, but aside from that I don't feel any need to draw attention to myself -- it is usually pretty obvious what I can and cannot order.

Please consider doing some exercise -- it's so important for your health even if you can lose weight without it. You don't need to go to a gym; just walking around the block gets your circulation moving.

Hey, you are at the right place. Welcome aboard!

Dear Notmyself:

Even though I'm not a triple digits loser, all of us on this forum have similar emotional issues about our size and calling attention to it. There are so many wonderful and supportive folks here. Please stick around and get to know them. You will never regret it.

I have/had no real problem asking for no bun,extra vegetable sides instead of fries, no croûtons in restaurants. (and it's getting much more acceptable now) I couldn't care less what the wait people there think of me, since I may well never see them again. Plus, I'm a generous tipper, if they cheerfully accommodate my wishes.

The place I do have trouble is when I eat in my father's retirement community dining room, where they pride themselves on their "Healthy Strides" program, meaning low fat. At first I tried to hide what I was doing. But as time went on, I started getting angry, and now bring my own salad dressing , splenda sweetener, etc. and the heck with what their nutritionists think is "healthy". I'm sure they think I'm weird, but then I think that they are weird, too.

I'm trying to save my life by getting my weight, cholesterol, and blood pressure levels down. For that I can ignore funny looks from people serving me food. One other thought: What do you think they think when they see an overweight person chowing down on a burger with bun and french fries?

All best,

Kay

Hey notmyself, and welcome to the TDC! We can all empathise with you on everything that you said in your post... but trust me, it's gets easier and easier as you go on. And look, you're just about to join me in the "under 300" zone! I just got out of the 300's, and let me tell you, it feels great. Hey, when you reach it, we should do an excersize challenge!

Talk to you later!

Hello and welcome from accross the Cascades! Even though I have twenty years on you, I can relate to your situation.

Good luck!

BrewWa

Welcome NotMyself!

I know what you mean about the difficulty in not admitting how much you have to lose...

...when I finally got on the scale, I weighed a helluva lot more than I estimated and I freaked (and cried).

But life is better now, and I'm here to tell you that it is entirely possible to have lost the weight of another human by this time next year.

Good luck to you and don't give a hoot about what drawing attention to yourself. Just get used to ordering what you need, how you need it. This is a lifetime change.

Donald

welcome to the TDC
yep we all went through it in the beginning and had to endure folks telling us how bad our WOE was too. You will grow stronger and prouder of your choices as you progress.

just look them in the eye and say I have an allergy. if they pressure you as to what say to carbs. Tell them they make you breakout in fat.
works every time and you'd be surprised how helpful resturants will be at changing menu items to accomadate your diet. I tell them no crutons, bread or potato and all the time they add extra of the other veggies without my asking. LOL really had to watch it with my Induction carbs and salad limits with all the extra stuff they were helping me diet with.
Congrats on your great start. Yep you do need to get the exercise part going. As Dr Atkins said in DANDR if you aren't exercising you aren't doing his plan. Come join the TDC exercise challenge run by AntiM it is very easy going and very helpful to have to report in your actual exercise to a bunch of other TDC exercisers. I know when I started Atkins 20 min walking 2.5 MPH was a big deal for me. Now I've progressed to over an hour a day at faster speeds and you will too if you just take the first step and start.
Happy low carbing to you.

Thanks for the warm welcome all. I'm sure we will have much to chat about in the future.

Yes it can be devasting indeed.

Fantastic news! and a great inspiration!

xxx