How did I find out about the low-carb WOE? I think I was just lucky...I was in the right place at the right time around the right person.

I was never much of a dieter; the term "yo-yo" could never be applied to me (not in the dietary sense, anyway. ). I think once in my teens I tried to do the low-calorie, low-fat approach, but I gave that up after a couple months; it was miserable living on 1000 calories a day with no weight loss. So, for most of my life, I ate what I wanted, when I wanted, which had a devastating effect on my body: I topped out at 300 pounds in 1997.

Fast forward a few years; I weighed 264 in the early part of 2001 (the drop in weight attributable to severe depression throughout 1998-1999). Late in that same year, about November, a co-worker (his name is Mark) was talking to me about this diet he would go on every so often when he needed to lose ten or twenty pounds; when he described the types of food he could eat, I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Meat? Eggs? Cheese? Heavy cream? Nuts? Avocados? Butter? PORK RINDS? "And it really works?" I asked him incredulously.

I didn't believe him when he answered affirmatively, and I couldn't believe that it was possible that such diet was healthy. I told him that I couldn't ever see myself eating that way, and I wrote it off as a fad. Even though I had never seen evidence that low-fat really works, I had long ago blindly accepted the "low-fat diet = healthy" theory as fact.

A couple months passed, and Mark came by my desk and reported that he had lost his weight...all sixteen pounds of it. "I bet you exercised a lot." was the first thing out of my mouth. He grinned mischieviously and said "Nope! Not at all." I was astonished...and now very intrigued. I began to ask him more questions, and when I had tapped out his supply of knowledge about the Atkins diet, I went out and bought the book. I read it from cover to cover, and then I put it down and thought about it some more. About two weeks later I was low-carbing and journaling my experience here.

I only wish someone had told me about the Atkins WOE a long long time ago!

-- N

I knew that i had to do something when my fat clothes did not fit anymore. I refused to by a larger size! I has tried low fat and almost every other diet out there. I find LC easy to stick with even though I have only lost 12lbs in 2 1/2 months. I no longer crave sweets and feel better overall. Thanksgiving should be a challenge, Thursday at my little sisters, Fri at my Mom's, and Sat at my older sisters and I am the only one on a diet. Good luck to everyone over the holiday.

Around 1991, my husband was told he would have to stop donating blood because his triglycerides were too high. He was sent to a specialist at a prominent medical university. The specialist encouraged him to begin a low-fat lifestyle, then turned to me and asked what I was doing there. I had just been there to accompany my husband, but I got the lecture, too.

I've been fat all my life. My mother put me on my first diet at age 5 and things have progressively worsened from then. Before she died (of diabetes & heart complications), she told me that she only did it because of pressure from my thinner relatives (uncles who thought they knew it all and told you so).

For over ten years we tried the low-fat way. I never lost any weight from a rather strict regimen. In 1997, I was diagnosed with diabetes and high blood pressure - found when the eye doctor noticed damage. My blood sugars were fairly well-maintained with glipizide, but my blood pressure kept spiking higher and higher. I finally had a heart attack and triple bypass in March of 2000.

Even after the heart attack, my health was continuing to fail. My (new) doctor was giving me more and more meds every visit. In March of this year (2002), he told me there wasn't anything more he could do for me. I was likely to die within two years.

Discussing matters with my husband on the way home, we considered three options. My husband had lost 5 lbs with the Slim-Fast diet plan over the previous 7 months and thought that would be the healthiest way for me to go. I had a friend who had gone through the stomach stapling (twice) and that, though scary, had given her good weight loss. I had another friend who had been on Atkins for a few years and lost about 40 lbs with it.

I don't like artificial shakes/bars, etc. For me, the Slim-Fast plan and stomach staplings sounded like torture. On the other hand, I've always preferred meats to sweets. To be honest, Atkins seemed too good to be true - a possible hoax - but I had to try SOMETHING or die. I was actually concerned that Atkins would hasten my death, but received permission from my doctor to try it for JUST ONE MONTH. He was certain I would be back on another plan as soon as I saw the flaws in low-carb eating.

In the first two weeks, I lost 15 lbs. Yes, it was water-weight (as EVERYONE pointed out), but some of it stayed off in the second two weeks. Plus, my edema all but disappeared. And, after one week, I went off of my diuretics and half my heart regulator pills (Metoprolol). I also went to the hospital for a bp check and had a reading of 138/87 - an impossible number.

Back at the doctor's, I told him about the bp reading. It seemed strange to him that my bp was so low that day, confirmed by the hospital, when it was so high this very visit. He went to re-take the bp that had been taken by the nurse and discovered that his nurse had been using the wrong size cuff on me. My bp had been artificially read as too high for MONTHS because of a, forgive me but I know this is why, lazy nurse. It turns out I was not as close to death as we thought.

But, after that scare, those results, and the feeling that I FINALLY knew what to do - how to lose weight - how to take care of myself in a manner that worked - how could I go back? It WASN'T MY FAULT I WAS BIG! That was such a powerful moment for me, to realize that I'd been misled, given the wrong tools.

I've been on the plan for 8 months and have lost 54 lbs. I feel better and happier than I have in decades. People still stare and comment, but I don't take it seriously anymore because I know I'm doing something about it. I'm finally on the right path. It is almost a new religion for me to educate anyone I can, get the message out to all those people like me who just need the right information to change their lives. Bless Dr. Atkins and every other scientist who sticks to the truth against the entire world.

freydis

congratulations on your weight loss, best of luck to you on your new WOL. it's great to have found the answer

freydis~Ellipsis~
Thank you both for sharing what you did~ I needed some inspiration tonight~ Hope the day went well for you both~

This was my last resort, I felt that I have to get this weight off one way or another. I was so scared to try this and be let down againl. I have been up and down my whole life but after my first child my weight was out of control. I tried everything and I worked really hard. I would loose a little and then gain it all back and then some almost within the blink of an eye. I read the Atkins book and it made so much sense, he described my weight problem to a T. I lost weight during induction, I was so happy, I felt like I was getting my life back. Being this big, I feel like I'm not myself. People look at me, but they don't see ME, it really hurts and its really hard. I feel like I'm automatically labeled as being lazy and uncaring of what I look like. When that is so far from the truth, I work so hard at everything that I do, but this weight problem is by far the hardest to overcome. It's the biggest problem I have in my life and its holding me back from everything I want to do. I don't know what I would do without this website, when I first found this, I would read for hours. To see that there are so many people with the same problems and that so many of overcame them is really uplifting. I must add that everyone is wonderful on this site. I think I'm on the right road now, even if I'm not, I know that LC ing is the right way. I know it will be a long ride but I'm not giving up.

shelly~
I can see myself so clearly in your words, in your pain~
Especially when my children were young. Even my x husband to whom I was married for 18 years could not "see" me..........that hurt horribly and I could never believe or understand how I could stand there in front of him, my love......my heart, the spirit and person that I am shining in front of him and it was as if he either looked right thru me or just saw my "weight"........and that was it...........saw me completely as someone and somethig I was not.
*deep sigh* Yikes..........still makes me crazy and aches in the pit of my stomach to think about it.
All I can say to you my friend is that you are a beautiful woman........I can see it in you and hear it in your words.......hold onto that and to who you know you are and let that give you the strength you need to do this for yourself.
It is a long journey and one thing this site has taught me is that no matter how many times I "fall" I can pick myself up and keep walking the path with a glad heart. I do this for me. You know the saying if we don't love ourselves we can never love anyone else?? It sounds very simplistic but the truth is.........it is okay to love and care for yourself. Most women gives unselfishly of their time, their energy to those around them...........you HAVE to give that same time and love to yourself......it is the best thing you can ever do for yourself~
*stepping down off the soapbox, Allura laces up her sneakers and runs out the door*

Hi Allura,

Thank you for replying, those are the words that I so needed to hear. What you had to go through with your ex husband, I feel for you. I was a lot smaller when I met my husband, but he is so good and understanding about it. Thank God that he is because I don't know what I would do if he wasn't there for me. But I've had a lot of "friends" and family that totally see the weight and not me, its just the worst feeling in the world. I think that its starting to sink in that its there pure ignorance. My Aunt keeps on telling me about this woman she knows, she had the Gastric Bybass surgery and has lost 80 lbs since June. You can see it in her eyes....HINT HINT. It just infuriates me, by no means do I plan on getting that surgery.

I do love myself. I know that I have a lot of work to do on myself, mentally and physically. Thank you for listening and just to let everyone know, I'm not always this down in the dumps!

at 73 year old, I been in the obese category of 265# for a long time. in 2020 it was recommended that I have spinal surgery, but my husband was very ill, so I put it off. in 2022 my back pain was getting unbearable, so I decided to LC diet to relieve the pain-did not help. despite husband's decline health, I scheduled surgery. He died January 2023, and I had surgery in February. while in the nursing home, the food smelt horrible and taste worse-ate practically nothing but yogurt, weird tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. now 8 month after surgery, I'm down 80 lbs. to 185. Still can't walk unaided yet. only by the grace of God, I'm improving every day, bit by bit. He reminds me when I am tempted to overeat or go off plan. It is now September 2023 and I plan to get to my goal of 145# by May of 2024.

Way back in 1998 or 1999, I heard that low carb dieting was good for PCOS. That was why I originally began with the 1997 Atkins book with the yellow cover.

Fast forward to now, I have had weight loss surgery and low carbing keeps me feeling good though my carb limits are slightly higher now then the original 20 grams per day I was on formerly.