Today is my first day back on the low carb way of eating and I thought I would introduce myself. I started eating low carb a little over a year ago and lost 30-35 lbs quite easily. I kept that weight off for about 6 months and now realize it's pretty much back on.

I recently found this site and these forums and I think it's going to be a great place to get help, advice and encouragement. I do have a few basic questions about the site, hopefully someone can answer:

1. How do you get an icon or better yet, a picture next to your name? Do you have to be a moderator?

2. Is there a way to search for registered users by their location? It would be nice to find other people that are living near me (Washington state).

I want to lose 40 lbs and this time keep it off for good. I realize now that my body just can't take the carbs. It's tough when you have little ones around (I have a 5 year old and a 3 year old) and almost all of their meals contain carbs, but I've done it once and I know I can do it again.

Thanks in advance for answers to my questions.

Jennifer

(Dahn, if you are out there, thanks for introducing me to this site!!)

You already know that you can be successful with lowcarb, so that's a good start. Perhaps your little ones might benefit from your experience, and unlearn the taste for sweet things, and white flour breads and sugary baked goodies...

To answer your questions about using the message board -

1) The picture with your username is called an avatar. You can choose from large selection of cute icons OR, you can upload your own picture from your computer, as I have done.

To add an avatar to your username .... click on the Profile icon (top right, just below the red menu bar) On your User Control Panel page, click on Edit Options. At the bottom of that page, you'll see the Avatar option .... click on Change/Edit Avatar.

You can select one of the avatar icons from the database, or you can select your own Custom Avatar, at the bottom. Use the Browse menu to find your file, then be sure to click Submit.

(note, your pic can't be any larger than 100 x 100 pixels, or 20 Kb, whichever is smaller ... so you might need to use an image editor to shrink it down if necessary)

2) We have an International Category, with forums for countries and regions around the world! You can either go back to the Forum's home page, then scroll down the page to Local Lowcarbers, and you'll see there's a US forum ... or click here to open a new window. You can also click on the members icon at the top right of this page. You'll get a list of every registered member, which you can scroll through. Sorry you can't do a search specifically by location ..

All the best to you, and I look forward to reading all about your lowcarbing success..

Doreen

Jennifer: Yea! Someone else from Spokomo! I live in Spokane County too! And have a 5 year old too! And need to lose 40 pounds too! I was beginning to think there was no one else in this whole county who knew what I was talking about except for my doctor. You can contact me anytime to share ideas, etc etc! I'd love to hear from you.

What a small world. Do you teach also???? (Iteachca) I teach but not to children, I teach adults (well at least most of the time they *act* like adults).

We live in Nine Mile Falls area. It's nice to know that there is someone out there going through the exact same thing.

Nice to meet you!

Jen

Hi Jennifer.

Now that you mention it , I did give you this forum as one of the choices. I have found this type of support really does help me out a ton. This will be so wonderful to reach our goals together.

Looking forward to a successful adventure with you.

Dahn

Jenyphur: Yes I teach 8th grade communication arts (Iteachca). My students like to think they are adults but are really still children - well, most of them. I live in Otis but am moving in 3 weeks to Rockford area. We could figure out a way to get in touch if you are interested.



Donna

Thanks to everyone for their help and encouragement. I woke up today and actually felt excited about making it through my first day. I know it's not much, but to me it is. It's one day I got through *without* feeling guilty about what I ate. It's one day that I feel that I've done something for myself.

Yippee!

Have a great day everyone.


Jen

Jen, here's to more days just like that!! You can do this, I know it, keep up the good work.

Doreen

Thanks Doreen for the help with my avatar, as you can see it's working. Yeah.

That's my daughter Chase with me. This is one of my favorite pictures of us.

Jen

What a cutie!! Actually, your daughter is cute too

Doreen