I'm writing the first chapter of my success story here today at the request of a new found friend in the forum!

On September 13, 2001 at 9AM I visited my doctor with the purpose of asking for her help with losing weight. I'd been trying low calorie/low fat and just wasn't getting anywhere. I weighed about 230 pounds - an all time high. I was frustrated and depressed by my physical condition and appearance. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I begged her...HELP me.....

Someone is looking after me. My doctor didn't even miss a beat when she said: "Go on the Atkins Diet. Get the book. It's the diet for you."

I trust this wonderful lady so on my walk home I stopped at the local book store and again the Gods smiled on me. The book was there. I read it cover to cover that afternoon and evening...skipped ahead far enough to be able to start Induction right away. Made a trip to the grocery store that afternoon to get supplies. I decided that whether it was going to work for me or not I was going to give it a 100% honest try. 14 days is a very short time in the big scheme of things and I was willing to invest that in myself!

I felt things shifting right away and by the end of the first week I was down 12 pounds. I was jubilant! At this rate I figured I'd be where I wanted to be in no time flat! Visions of a new wardrobe danced in my head.

Then I rebounded. Up two pounds and then up another 6 at the end of two weeks. I was following the LC plan 100%. I couldn't understand why I went up again. I thought my nightmare was starting again. Gaining weight on a diet. I wailed when I saw my Doc again and she asked me to do two things. Stay on the diet for two more weeks and not weigh myself. I reluctantly agreed. When I got home from that visit, I was devastated and knew that I was going to need help. A lot of help. Again I seemed to be 'standing in the light'. I don't even remember now how I searched, but I found this forum right away.

I started a journal that day and thanks to the encouragement from Karen and Nat in those early days, I'm still here.....two months later. When things appeared to be at their worst with me and LC as a WOL I made the committment to myself to give it an honest 100% try until January. Once again, I believed that I am worth that. It took a full month of following the plan for my body to adjust. I'd hate to think how much longer it might have taken if I'd been cheating on myself.

Doing the Atkins Induction did what he promised. I lost all interest in the nastier carbs during induction. It wasn't easy, but it was worth it. And it's paying dividends. I've been eating LC for 2.5 months now. Yesterday I reached a 20 pound milestone and today I'm down another 2.5 pounds for a total of 22.5 pounds.

I allow myself every little success. I congratulate myself for every sip of water, with every trip to the gym, with every length swum. I'm successful every step of the way. I'm not waiting to get to my goal weight to call myself a success. I'm not putting off my happiness one more minute! This is a journey of success for me.

I'm so glad you posted that, and I hope everybody who's struggling with stalls or weight gains reads it. Marlaine, I would NOT have had the fortitude to stick to the plan with that history. I really admire that -- and thanks to your doctor. If your doctor hadn't been a low carb person, her advice to you might have been very different.

Maybe your body just had to settle itself after a lot of attempts to lose weighit? Whatever, it's in shrink mode now and I hope that continues.

If I had it to do again, I think I'd start with Atkins and switch to Protein Power after two weeks. I think there's a lot to be said for "going cold turkey," which induction does.

Anyway, it's a very instructive story. I've enjoyed reading your journal, too, but it's nice to see it in this form as well.