The very first diet I was ever on was the original Atkins back in the mid-70's. I was 16. I lost weight and kept it off until my early 20's, when I went off to college and nursing school .. and the fear of fat and the horrors of cholesterol were hammered into my brain. For the next 20 yrs, I did the yo-yo diet thing with low calories and low fat, over and over ... even tried macrobiotic and veganism in the belief that I'd be restored to good health. Hmmm ...
I became totally disillusioned about "diets" and vowed I'd never go on a diet ever again! I turned a blind eye to my exploding girth and just wore loose baggy clothing. Two years ago, with summer on its way ... I discovered that my loose baggy clothing was no longer loose or baggy. I went shopping, and nothing fit properly. I had 2 chins, rolls of flab oozing out of the armholes of the dresses and shirts I tried on .. and knees so big, I couldn't get XL pants or shorts pulled up over them.
It just happened that my experience with veganism, and high-grains and starch-based diets taught me that A) I was allergic/ intolerant to most grains ... and B) I needed a lot of protein with my fibromyalgia and muscle pain. I knew that a low fat, low calorie diet based on fruit and wheat would be disastrous. Yet, as a nurse, I believed the mythology that a diet like the old Atkins would be the end of me, especially with a strong family history of heart disease, stroke and high cholesterol. My own cholesterol and blood pressure were already high.
Then a colleague told me that a large group of doctors and nurses at the hospital where I used to work were having good success at weight loss with a plan called Protein Power. That was it for me -- I zoomed out, bought the book ....... and haven't looked back.
That was May 2000. Like BarB (tofi) I'm having some struggles right now with health issues. Even so, I weigh 40 lbs less than 2 yrs ago, my cholesterol and blood pressure are way down, I have more energy and only one chin
Doreen