A girl at work today told me that I had "inspired" her to lose weight. Because I have been doing it and she has been noticing, she wants to too. I'm going to loan her "Protein Power" tomorrow.

I myself do Atkins, but I don't suppose it really matters. Most low carb diets are very similar and to be honest I really like the scientific information in Protein Power much better than I like the Atkins book.

Dr. Atkins wrote like he was paranoid and busy trying to convince everyone that he was right and everyone else was wrong. Well since he was the "pioneer" of this revolution, I guess he has a little right to be a bit defensive, but I never really did like the tone of his book.

Amazed at what he had to say, loved the way the diet worked, but didn't enjoy the book as much as PP.

Anyway that made me feel really good what Maria said. Wow. I've been trying really hard. Last year in August I lost my other job, and was on unemployment for awhile. I went off the diet for about 3 or 4 months during that time and gained a lot of my hard lost pounds back, but I made a promise to myself at that time that as soon as I got a job again (and could afford so much protein) that I would get back on track and start losing again.

So about Feb, when I got this job, I went back on plan and have been sticking to it really concientiously (for the most part) ever since. At that time I weighed 250, so I've lost 27 pounds since starting this job.

In June I started lifting weights on a regular basis, because I lost really quickly back to my "set point" of 232, but couldn't seem to lose below that. 232 for me was a weight that I kept bouncing back to for about 2 years when I would diet well. But I couldn't seem to drop under it, I was stuck.

I still bounce up and down a lot, but I haven't been back to 232 in a couple of months, and if I DO go there, it is a "high" weight, not a low now.

This week I started Body for Life. So I've worked out every day since Saturday. It makes me feel so empowered. Weird how that works. I hate the aerobics part and if I had to think about doing this for 12 weeks, it would scare the pants off me. I'm not looking at it that way though, whenever I start thinking beyond today's workout I tell myself that I don't have to work out for 12 weeks, I just have to work out today. And then tomorrow I will tell myself the same thing.

Amazing how that works.

You're right about Dr. A's original book. He WAS very paranoid. But, just because you're paranoid doesn't mean the world ISN'T out to get you.

His new book is much better - he even admits that he was overboard in the tone of the first book. I like the new Atkins book and the original Protein Power and think they make great companion books.

BTW: You are doing fantastic!

Doing well I mean. Yes I guess the world IS still out to get Dr. A. Seems like there isn't much that they haven't said about him and his plan.

Even when he finally funds his own studies (something they've been challenging him to do for years) there is the argument that he paid for it, so it is biased, of course, right?,