Back And As Mad As Ever!
Hi Folks:
As some of you know, I started the Atkins Diet on July 28th, 2003. By December 23rd I had lost 38 pounds (going from 239 to 201) and went from a waist size of 46 to 38. I was also very active on this forum during that time and don't believe I could have had that success without it.
I took off two weeks from work during the holidays (Dec 23 - Jan 4) and made the conscious decision to take off from the diet as well. I had been "stuck" between 203 and 201 for several weeks and didn't want to go through the holidays worrying about the diet. For those two weeks I ate exactly what I wanted. All the things I had missed during the previous 5 months, I enjoyed. Pizza, Mexican Food, Margaritas, Cheeseburgers, French Fries, Biscuits, Pancakes, Waffles, and more. One thing I found out though was that some of the good habits I had learned through the diet stuck with me. I still drank diet drinks for the most part, my portions were smaller (I used to be able to eat a large pizza by myself, but during this 3 slices would make me stuffed), and I really never had any candy or ice cream... I just didn't really want it. By the end I felt kind of bloated and lazy and very scared I wouldn't be able to get back into the swing of things.
So on January 5th I got on the scales for the first time in 2 weeks and I gained
6 pounds, back to 207. I was somewhat relieved... I expected to have gained 10 pounds or more.
I wanted to get back on the forum immediately and tell everyone what I had done, but I was still apprehensive about future success. I was also kind of depressed that I had set myself back and didn't want to get on here and bitch and moan. So, I promised myself I wouldn't come back on until I had lost the weight that I had gained and was back on track.
That time is now! After two weeks, back on the induction phase, I not only lost the 6 pounds I had gained, but one more pound. I am down to 200 even and am eagerly awaiting hundred-ville for the first time in 20 years. More importantly, I am right back where I was mentally, and have a renewed appreciation for this diet and what it is doing for me. I got lots of new clothes for Christmas, all in my new size, and I will be damned if they are going to sit in the closet because I get too fat to wear them. On Thursday, Good Will is going to be coming by and I am giving them all of my fat clothes that I have been keeping in case I ever went back to that size. My wife told me to throw them out and I kept saying, "What if I can't do this and gain the weight back." Now I am convinced I CAN do this, lose the additional 30 lbs I need to lose, and stay that way for the rest of my life.
So, I AM BACK AND AS MAD AS EVER! Thanks for listening, and thanks for your support over the past several months. MADMIKE
|