Hi there. I'm a 32 y/o mother of 4 and future RN. I had lost 106 pounds 4 years ago but after starting nursing school, I have stress eaten my way back to all but 6 pounds of that 106 in only a year and a half! I have had all kinds of weight related medical issues pop up and I need to be back in shape so that I can take care of other patient's without ending up at the hospital myself. So I am hauling myself back to the weight loss arena with my tail between my legs and determined to get this weight back off. The first time I lost the weight by extreme calorie counting but for some reason I can't seem to go more than a few days doing that before I haul off and binge. So trying the low carb lifestyle and hoping for the best.

Hi and welcome. I think the low carb, high fat, moderate protein approach will appeal to you as most here don't count calories that I have seen. I've only done it a few times as an exercise and was astonished at how many calories I ate at the measured meals.

However, eating this way seems to diminish hunger and you, or at least I, probably end up eating fewer calories than I was before and putting those calories to good use as energy rather than storing them as fat.

For a quick start here's a link that I used to get my food ideas and simple carb counting together https://www.atkins.com/how-it-works.../low-carb-foods

The things I have stayed away from the whole time I've been doing this (over a year) are:

Grains of all kinds
Potatoes and starchy root vegetables
and, I think most importantly, SUGAR of any kind except that found in the vegetables listed in that atkins 20 primer

I get most of my calories in a given day from saturated fat from animals, palm oil, coconut oil, etc. This was hard for me to get my head around as I was taught to avoid fat because it was so calorie dense and not a good "bang for the buck" food item.

Look around, pick a plan, stick to it for a few months and see what happens!

You will do well.

Welcome
You have found a great forum to help you along starting with a good summary of the Atkins induction plan right at the top of the Atkins forum:
http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=236482. Stick to the "real food" versions of LC and avoid processed foods and calorie counting will be a thing of the past.

To commit to LC it helps to read why CICO doesn't work, and this " Obesity-Solving the Two Compartment Problem" explanation is a good one: https://www.dietdoctor.com/obesity-...artment-problem

Check out the other tabs on the DietDoctor website, especially his Low Carb for beginners page, because that is one of the simplest and shortest summaries of Why we get fat and how LC can reverse that. His video is well worth watching if you have time.

This forum also has good sections on health issues, buddy groups, and a place a keep a journal. Use whatever type of support is most useful for you and what you have the time to do. With four kids and in nursing school, how you have any time at all is miracle, so ask questions and let us know how we can help you.
All the best,

Hi, I am new also, I started on 9/29/16, I like it, it's my new lifestyle! there allot of help and support here. Start your journal, and you will see your progress. you are very busy, take care of yourself!

Welcome, SN.

You've made a great choice. If you're anything like me (or pretty much any of us here), you'll find low carb to be more sustainable in the long run than low calorie, and ultimately more successful.

Good luck on your journey!

Welcome on board.

I hope you find low carb and this way of eating as beneficial as I have. Like you my years back at university resulted in a massive weight gain which I had only just managed to hold at bay before starting back in education, and likewise I to am a very emotional / stress eater, with a big slant towards carbs.

This forum in no small way helped and the journal that I kept has been a great. Both as something to look back at and as an anonymous way of recording feeling and reflecting on how things are going.

Wishing you many lost pounds :-)