Hello "Fellow Turtles"! I'm happy to see this group...I've been following Atkins now for about 3 months and while my DH has lost nearly 20 lbs. to date (and his cholesterol is lower than either of us have ever seen it - he typically runs in the 225-250 range - last checked was 186!!!) I can report that I've lost maybe 6-8 lbs. I weigh once a week and sometimes it's up and sometimes it's down but the average in 3 months of only 8 lbs. (at best) is disappointing. I've cut back on caffeine (50% caffeinated/50% decafe for my ONE morning cup of coffee); I do eat nuts - but try not to eat the salted ones; I do eat bacon and hot dogs, but not every day. I don't eat sugar free jello at all; but I do enjoy a piece of chocolate - I try to find the ones with very high cocoa content and low carbs/sugars- those are the expensive ones in the gourmet food sections - Valhrona and some other fancy names. Sometimes I make my own chocolate topping by melting some of that chocolate and adding some heavy cream and then pouring that over Suzanne Somers chocolate nut cake (I make mine without the sugar she calls for in her recipe - I use Splenda & Sweet n low) and I use Crystal Light and artificial sweetners in my ONE cup of coffee and in any other sweetened foods I eat. I didn't lose any weight on induction so I moved on to having a few more veggies (salads, cauliflower, brocolli). This week I'm adding 2-15 minute sessions on the treadmill (can't actually do more than that at a time) and trying to increase my water intake to see if I get any response by the end of the week. I am also taking HRT's and have to think that's contributing to my slow weight loss. I have tried very hard not to cheat - I've actually cheated 3 times in three months at an Italian restaurant by eating bread and spagetthi...but no dessert! HA! So I've really avoided sugar the whole time but not some of those evil carbs.

Does anyone know of a way to contact anyone at the Atkin's Institute to see if they can help those of us who are have metabolic resistance? I tried Atkin's suggestion of the all fats diet and I lasted exactly 1/2 day! I was starving and felt that if I didnt' eat some meat I would have eaten ANYTHING - bread, crackers, fruit...so it wasn't working out for me.

Loved reading your "Turtle Club" stories. Nice to know I'm not alone in my efforts.