Welcome
frodo - so glad you are here!
I agree with
MotivatedQueen 100% - Some people really LOVE the Atkins diet. I see nothing wrong with that. Everyone has their own opinion on it.
But in
my eyes, I see it as a "quick fix". MOST of the time (not saying ALL the time) you have to continue to eat the Atkins way in order to maintain the loss, or keep losing. Once you go back to your "normal" eating habits (like eating bread, rice, ect...) you tend to gain the weight back, and quickly.
3 of my Aunts were on the Atkins diet together. They were each other's "support". They lost a lot of weight, and when they tried to maintain, the gained it ALL back plus more. When they tried to maintain, they were still eating healthy, but also added a few more carbs to their diet, that is what did it.
I have talked and met with many people who have lost and maintained their weight loss, and what seems to really work is eating HEALTHY. By that I mean getting EVERYTHING that you need.
You need protein, you need fat, you need carbs, you need calories ect... but it is all about HOW much.
Once you figure out how many grams of protein, carbs, fat, and calories that you need each day, you can come up with a meal plan that will be
realistic, and keep you full too. (And yes, getting enough fiber is very important because like MotivatedQueen said, it keeps you regular, and full too!)
There are some websites available if you do a search on the internet, that will tell you how to figure out how much of each thing you need. Or you could always set up an appointment with a nutritionalist. They will explain to you why all of these things are SO important to your body.
frodo - I wish you luck in your weight loss journey
Please keep us posted on how you are doing at the gym, and what type of plan you are going to do.
And remember, it's all about eating healthy for life
~ Kari ~
Trying again!
this sugar laddened cough medicine and I believe that it simply did me in. 
Grant it I was healthy again but I was 20 pounds heavier! After that it was like my weight was a run away train and I couldn't control it there after. I would be good on Induction for about 10 days and then bee line to Krispy Kreme and that was it... until I tried two weeks later again. I gained all of the 46 pounds back with 6 pounds of interest. I know that there are several people out there that are living a low carb lifestyle and they are living happy. But, me I missed my fruits! I will cut to the chase here. I have developed something on my own. One day I said that I need to get REAL. Meaning that I needed to eat things that look as close as they once did. I eat all fruits (3 a day), veggies (3 a day), lean meats, 2-3 dairy a day, and complex carbs. Meaning foods made with whole wheat (not easy to get used to after eating white bread forever 
