I am 53, and had let my weight slowly climb towards 220, with the last 5 or 6 pounds being added in the last 2 years since I retired from the Army Reserves. I had done Atkins 10 years ago, and it helped me drop 15 lbs before I wandered back to my old eating habits.

I am lucky that I do not gain weight quickly, but the march of time and corn chips had its affect on me.

I am relatively active, thanks in large part to a 15 year old son that I enjoy doing things with. We backpack a couple times a year, hike, hunt, and recently (last 6 months) have been lifting weights to get him stronger for wrestling.

I started this round of Atkins immediately after returning from a family vacation to Turks & Caicos. The impetus was several fold:

- Be able to wear the pants in my closet again
- Look and feel better, for me and my wife
- Prepare for the next great adventure, a MT Rainier climb with my son in the spring of 2018. I figure that not having to carry 30 extra pounds up Rainier will be a good thing:-)

I am 73.5 inches, and weighed between 218 and 220 when I started on 7/19. When last I weighed myself (2 days ago) I was 205.4. Plan to wait a week to step on the scale again so I can hopefully see a 1**. My goal for now is 190, but I may push that to 185 (what I weighed when I got married 26 years ago).

I am not a strict carb counter, but I have not wandered from the approved Atkins low carb list for the induction phase. My biggest 'sins' so far have been using a tasty balsamic vinegar with olive oil over salad, snacking on a few pistachios (only in the last week, under 10), and 1/2 a wheat beer when my sister and her husband visited (1.5 weeks ago). I estimate my carbs have been consistently below 30 since I started this.

What I miss most: Beer, sushi, ice cream, chips and salsa, pizza.

I do plan to cheat when I hit 195 and go out for sushi with my son, then right back to it. Ultimately, I do plan to get back to normal eating, although with greatly diminished snacking, sweets, empty carbs, once I hit 190 or so. With the exercise I will be doing to get ready for Rainier it should not be a problem....but I will watch more closely this time:-)