Hi. My name is Gwen. I have been here in the past about a year ago trying SB and fell off the wagon. I have been dx with Heart Valve Disease and knew that I needed to do something about my weight. I just enrolled in and began my first semester of College, walking up the flight of stairs at campus just winded me to the point of exhaustion. I cannot walk a block without my back hurting and I cannot ride a bike without being out of breath before I get around the corner. I have basically led a sedentary lifestyle and didnt care much about what I ate...etc. Well last night I got the wakeup call that I needed. I am 39 and mom to three teens, happily married for almost 20 years. I have an older sister, she is 44 and she had a massive heart attack last night and is in the Intensive Care Unit near here. This got me to thinking that it could very easily have been me! I need help! I cant continue to eat this way, I want to be around for my kids. I am starting a new career by going to college and I want to make some lifestyle changes to go along with it. But I know that I cannot do it alone. I am unsure where to start, but today is the day! I have the SB diet book from before, I have the Kimkins Plan Sheets, I have the Atkins Book, which one is the best? I am five foot three and weigh about 250 pounds. Someone please help me, Im scared to the max that I will be next and i dont wanna leave my kids and my husband without a fight.
Thanks!
Gwen

Welcome Gwen - so sorry to hear about your sister!!!! I'm 39 and my 43 yo sis just had a big health scare too....

The "best plan" is one that you can live with forever, going through the phases as outlined in the book. It's an individual choice. Read all three (and then read some more) and decide what appeals most in terms of variety vs. restriction.

Take care of yourself!!!!

Julie

Welcome Gwen!

First, I am sorry to hear about your sister! That would scare most into wanting to take better care of themselves.

As for your choice of plan, I say look at all of them and decide which one is doable for you. Don't rely on which makes you lose the weight the fastest, but which will make you the healthiest.

Best wishes on your choice of plan and on your journey to a healthier you!

Thanks to you both, right now I am leaning towards starting with Atkins, however the only thing that concerns me there is the high fat content and with Heart Disease being so prevalent in my family I am wondering if it would be a good choice, guess I would like to hear from others with heart disease that were successful on it where it didnt make their conditions worse

Hey Gwen, Gosh my eyes welled up with tears reading your story...I think we all have the same fear of being unhealthy and letting it get the best of us. Most people don't get a second chance..it is a gift when you do. You have time to change things around..so do it. Start with something today. Determine in your mind that there are no other choices and the alternatives are scarier than you want to imagine. I've seen a lot of sad scenerios as an ICU nurse...most of which could have been prevented with healthier lifestyle and wt mgmnt. My wakeup call came as well, but not as life and death as yours, but just as telling. Choose a plan you are happy with and stick to it. Some people do all the plans at diff times throughout their journey...mix it up every month or so. Walk some or ride your indoor bike if you have one. Join a wt loss challenge and hold yourself and others accountable. This does work. If you read some of my post, I'm a whinner..truely ...but all the people here help me so much and I read all the success stories, before and after pics and really you find out, it is possible...so I'm doing what everyone else is doing to lose wt and get healthy...slowly but surely it is happening, more slowly than I want, but it is happening. I would rather lose 1 lbs a week than be gaining 1lbs a week. Listen...I am so sorry to hear about your sister...I'll say a prayer for you and her and the family. Make yourself well, Dee

Welcome Gwen!

I'm also very sorry about your sister and hope that she recovers quickly.

Good for you for seeing this as a wake up call..many would not see it that way.

I agree with Julie....read all 3 again and try to figure out which you would be able to live with in the long run. In the mean time, you can begin by stopping eating all sugar, white flour, white food IE: white rice, white potatoes, bread.......Go food shopping and get lots of green leafy veggies and others that you enjoy. eggs, good proteins...look through the kitchen to find recipes that you will enjoy.

The way I made this a lifestyle change is by finding many different foods that I really enjoy eating, that fit the parameters of the plan that I'm on. I've found that the SBD is a bit too liberal in the way it allows us to add good carbs back into our plans...so I'm very stingy on any flour items at all....they've become a treat for me to eat. I've become a master at eating meals without starch at all, sometimes a starchy veggie.

Anway...this is possible for you to do!! You get to chose how you do it.

My very best to you!!

FYI...You can do Atkins and not consume a lot of sat fat....there are other places for you to get fats ie: olive oil, avocados, olives, salmon.

But truth be told, on Atkins, controlling your blood sugar levels will be more important to having a healthy heart that the amount of sat. fat that you eat.

When we are overeaters and eat too much of foods ( refined carbs)that cause our bodies to produce too much insulin, its that surge of insulin that ruins our blood vessels, circulation and heart.

Stabilizing your blood sugar is what is most important!!

Hi Gwen. I certainly can't add to what the others have said but I sure agree with them. For me, Atkins has been my choice as I know I can do it long term but it definitely is a individual choice. I wish your sister well. Hopefully this is only a wake up call for her too. Good for you for choosing today to make a change. I wish you well.
Leah

Hi Gwen!

I'm sorry to hear about your sister. I hope she has a full recovery; please keep us updated, okay?

As for which plan is better? Well... I'm biased, and I like Atkins, but I agree that you have to find one you can stick with. If you're not happy, then it's much easier to not stick to the diet.

And the heart issues? Let me tell you a story that will back up what Judy said. I had had problems with my blood pressure being seriously elevated, enough that my doctor was considering medication. I started Atkins, and then had to go back in for another checkup. When I went in there, the nurse who checked it looked at me and said "I didn't think the doctor had prescribed medication the last time you were in here." You don't know how good it was for me to say "She didn't!" in response!

Good luck, whatever plan you choose. We're all here for support for you when you need us!

It sounds like you are really ready to make a committment. It is unfortunate that it sometimes takes a bad situation to give us a wake up call. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your sister. Take it slow, but keep on trying to walk further every day while you're on a locarb plan. The exercise will help you feel better mentally and physically as your endurance increases.

Whew...that is some wake up call.

I am in agreement with the previous posters. The best plan is the one you can stick to, not the one that makes you lose the fastest.

If you are concerned about fat intake and heart disease, you may want to add this to your reading list:

Protein Power
Protein Power Life Plan
Life Without Bread

These 3 do an excellent job in explaining the physiology of why fat does not cause heart disease. Yes it's a myth that saturated fat causes heart disease. This will explain in detail the physiology behind heart disease, carbohydrate, and saturated fat. It will go against everything you have ever heard, read, and expounded by the medical community, but the phsyiology doesn't lie.

Good luck with the beginning of your journey. Our prayers are with your sister and your family.

Lisa

Gwen - allow me to express my wishes for your sister's speedy recovery. There's not much I can add to what's already been posted except one thing. On this site there is a way to start a Journal. If you look at mine, as well as the majority of other posters on this thread, we have a small green Journal icon at the bottom right of our posts. This is how we are tracking our paths to better health and well-being. I hope you start a journal yourself, as it allows you to post your eats, and anything else you have going on. In return, you will meet others on this site and get to know them then before you know it, you'll have a support system that money can't buy.

Best wishes to you as you embark on a healthier you.

I've found that adding lots of salmon, olive oil and things like occasionally putting a few sliced natural almonds on my salads has left me feeling pretty good and has started up my weight loss again, after a long stall.

I'd suggest trying Atkins at first - but get the other books too and read them and learn from them. There's so much to learn and all the plans have something to offer. I'm suggesting starting with Atkins because I like the carb ladder, and I do find it's fairly customizable - meaning, if you didn't want to eat a lot of a certain kind of food, it's easy to stick to chicken/fish/turkey/vegetables and so on. Plus, better to get started on something as soon as you can, rather than worrying about which plan is best.

Judy's right though - it isn't the sat fat that's the problem, it's the sugar and refined carbohydrates. With regard to fats - I do think it's a good idea to try to balance our omega 6 fats with more of the omega 3's.

Sorry to hear about your sister - what a shock. Here's hoping for a speedy recovery for her.

Hang in there, and know that you can do this. Ask all the questions you need to.

Gwen..

Welcome.. Glad you have made a choice to protect the best investment in the world.... YOU!!!

Post often and you will get the greatest support in the world here..

T-man

I re-read Protein Power again yesterday (my first day back on the plan) and it does a great job explaining the physiology of insulin resitence and too much of it. It also explain why some fats (ALA/Trans fats) are bad and which are good. Like you I am concerned about coronary heath factors. For me, the reason I have not been able to stay on a strict locarb diet for long was also explained in this book...low potassium! If you feel weak and dizzy it may be your potassium! I wish some one had told me about that a long time ago...