What does it take?
 

After years of diet pills, energy pills, starvation diets, cabbage soup, laxatives, and prescriptions, I finally developed enough self-loathing to boot my *** into gear. I had hit a serious low in my self-esteem and a serious high in my weight. It took all that before I was willing to really sit down and make the changes that I knew I needed to make all along.

So my question is, what did it take for you? What was your turning point? When did you finally decide 'french fries be damned'?

What made me want to make a serious change in my life is my daughter, my hubby and I'm sick of feeling sick.

Hitting rock bottom with my weight, depression and ooodles of other things for me has been the turning point.

Looking at myself in group pictures during Christmas....and having my skinny minny sister say she'd do Atkins with me. SHE doesn't do this anymore. But I thanked her for setting me in the right direction. Also, I didn't want to have to go out and buy the next size jeans :lol:

I guess mine in a little different... I was always skinny, a make-you-puke size 1-2 , even. than I suddenly lost energy, was always very cold and started gaining weight very quickly. I didn't know what was wrong with me, I blamed my job, my boyfriend, I became miserable. I went to the doctor and found out that it wasn't in my head, I really was sick wiht Hypo. It took a while for my hormones to get back into balance because I didnt have insurance at the time and wasn't taking my pills like I should've. (Boy did my Mom get madat me for that!) Anyway, I finally got insurance and was taking the medicine again last summer, but the weight was still there and I wasn't taking care of myself. I was going out all the time, partying every night... and I don't like to admit, we did not just drink. We did other things, too. My world came to a screeching halt this Christmas when I found out my Mom was terminally sick. I moved up here to South Dakota and cleaned up my act. this is just another step in the process.

sorry to hear about your mom!!

It was not this Mother's day but the one prior, my mom sent me the pictures she had taken of all of us as a group and I was bigger than the tree we were standing in front of. I am HUGE in that picture. Also my sis has a picture of her daughter in her wallet and I noticed it was a picture that I was holding her in but I am no longer in the picture. I asked her why and she said mom said to cut me out because I look so big in it, that to cut me out so I wouldn't feel bad. That is when I started realizing I was outta control, and then started noticing little things like not being able to fit into chairs, not being able to fit into public bathroom stalls or turnstyles, and never playing with my kids cause I was too fat and tired. So I decided this is it.

My "Oh my gosh, I need to lose weight" moment was when my DH started seeing another woman. For me, when I was with someone who loved me "no matter what," it was hard to see that I needed to lose weight. He was very accepting of my body, and we both knew we had gained weight, but it just wasn't a priority to lose it. Well, after he started the affair, I lost some weight just because I was depressed and miserable. That was a jump start. I lost about 15 pounds. I had a hard time really getting focused on losing the rest of the weight. After almost a year, I realized I couldn't lose the rest on my own -- I tried pills, shakes, the cabbage-soup diet, the grapefruit diet, and a low-fat, high-carb diet. I also realized I'd become a real loner. I never wanted to go out. I always stayed in my apartment by myself. I know this sounds irrational, but I never wanted to meet new people because I was afraid the subject of if I was married or single would come up. I didn't know what my answer would be or I was afraid I would start crying within seconds of meeting someone new. So, I avoided those situations. I finally decided I needed to do something about both of my problems, so I did some research and found TOPS (a weight loss support group). I finally got the courage to go, and I met great people, and I finally started making progress on my weight. I know with Atkins, I'll get the rest of the weight off.

Jina, I know how you felt, I spent 5 yrs alone cause I never wanted to tell anyone my fiance cheated on me and left me. But I did learn ALOT about myself in that time and learned to live life on my terms so actually looking back it was liberating, I just didn't know it then!! :)

Great Thread Star!!

For me it was the culmination of several things.

When My DD was 6 months old, I was diagnosed with osteo-arthritis in my knees. I was told that if I didnt lose weight I would not be able to walk by the time I was 35 (I was 31 at the time) So I got on WW and lost 56 pounds in 10 months.

Then we moved a couple months after I hit the 56 pound mark. In 3 years my weight slowly crept back up until I gained back 30 plus. In february of 2003, I went back to WW.. and in 2 months I GAINED 20 pounds. As soon as I stopped ww, I lost most of it but still. it was weird.

Then in July I found out I needed surgery again for my endometriosis. I had talked to my doctor about all my options and we talked about my weight and how it plays a part in all this. When he did my pre-op blood work he also checked my insulin. We discovered I have insulin resistance. Since that is one step away from Diabetes, and it runs in my family, he recommended to me the Atkins diet.

I watched my aunt suffer with adult onset Diabetes. She died at age 64 of complications because of it. She had lost 100 pounds and still had to lose another 150 to be anywhere near a normal weight.I didnt want my kids to deal with that. I want to be around for them and be able to participate in all their activities...So I started Atkins.

Now, 10 months later, I am 40 pounds down (Less than I was when I lost that original 56) My insulin is stabulizing and I feel wonderful! Sugar? Who needs it! Give me a steak or shrimp scampi any day of the week! :)

I wish I had had some kind of enlightning experience to have gotten me started but it really was just the fact that I was sick and tired of gaining weight and buying bigger clothes. I refused to buy a size 16.

I had tried WW so many times and just couldn't do it. I still have ALL of the weekly booklets that they gave you for "inspiration". The only time I was successful was when I was in my 30's. Makes a HUGE difference (no pun intended) when you are in your 40's let me tell you (all who are younger than that....lose it now!)

When I got married 2 years ago I was at my heaviest. I looked at the pictures and was so dissapointed in myself. I wasn't taking up two chairs or anything but I could see that I was getting out of control.
I hated the way I looked and knew that if I looked better I would feel better about myself in the head as well.

I don't know exactly what made me choose Atkins except that I had tried everything else.....Meridia, WW, LA Weight Loss, Sugar Busters you name it.
Sometimes I think it was just time that's all. Time to do something, time to find what is right and works for me.

When I started chatting with all of you is when I finally figured it out. I have learned so much since starting this woe. I now take my vitamin everyday, calcium too. I have become more involved with what is going into my body than I ever did. Makes me feel good to know I am gaining control.

TG: Thanks for sharing! I thought I was the only person who thought like that!! It's crazy that we didn't cheat -- our respective SOs are the ones who cheated and left -- but, we're the ones that feel ashamed!

It is amazing how much better I know myself now. We've been separated for a year and a half, and no matter what happens, this time apart really has been great for me, personally. It's been really rough and miserable, too, but I can see the good.

Is it just me or does it seem like we're not just losing weight here? Reading these has made me realize that we're also losing a lot of pain. :)

Very true Star.

Well, I typed my whole story and it was very cleansing and then 3fc said I wasn't logged in and erased it all. I'll try again later :)

Star, what a great thread. It's nice to see the deeper element in people that sometimes you just don't get during the chat. Thanks for this.

My moment started to come last November when I was diagnosed with Diabetes. I was bawling uncontrollably in the doctor's office. It was awful. I tried to control it w/diet and exercise, but it just wasn't working. I ended up on two pills a day. I saw a dietician who put me on the diabetic diet, which totaled about 135 carbs per day. His recommendation for losing weight was to just decrease my fat intake until the weight started to come off. This probably won't surprise you, but the weight didn't come off and my motivation really lagged.

So, I stayed on the pills, kept exercising, kept the carbs to 135 a day, and the weight didn't move. Then at the beginning of March, my Dad died. That completely knocked the foundation right from under my feet. I never expected it. I was 30 and he was 58. Way too young to die, way to young for a daughter to lose her father. Then I really started to look at it. He and I have always been very much the same. Same disposition, same body time, same fight with weight all our lives. He developed Type II diabetes several years ago, and died after a major stroke (same scenario w/his father at 60). Having developed diabetes 20 years prior to his age when he got it, it really shook me. Time to make something positive happen out of a very negative situation. If I don't do something, my son will be watching my funeral when I'm 58. I'll miss so much, but mostly, I don't want to put him through all that. SO not fair.

So, now I'm tearing up at work, so I'm ending this, but that was my aha, where everything clicked into place. I must say though, that without this diet, I would be struggling and I don't think I could do it. This website has also been essential for keeping me on track. Thank you chicks!!!

P.S. Having lost 20lbs since being diagnosed, I'm now down to just one pill per day, and hopefully no pills soon. ;)

Oops, I have one more thing to add. My attitude toward food has definitely changed. Especially when staying OP. Now, I'm hardly ever tempted to cheat, and if I'm going to cheat, I always ask myself it it's worth it. Is it worth it to stall, is it worth it to go up a pound or two. And, when I do go off program, it's got to be a pretty good treat, like gourmet, for me to do it. I guess my whole food outlook has finally changed, or in the changing process. That makes it much easier.

Thanks for all the chick support. You guys are really great!

Thanks for making me cry, Kerri!

Sorry! At least something positive has come from it. I really think a lot of our success must come from attitude. You can either let a bad situation drag you down, or you can pull yourself up and become stronger.

I think we're all of the stronger bunch around here!

Don't you dare be sorry! I was serious when I said thank you. I love a good cry. Very cleansing :)

Thanks, me too. Just better at home than work.

Awwwwww, where's your sense of mischief? Crying at work can be fun. People get all concerned and tiptoe around you all day.

OH I totally agree with leaving the pain behind. I was constantly PMS'ing (or was it pre-menopause?). It seemed I was never in a good mood. I ALWAYS hid (when possible) when pictures were taken. Now that I've lost weight I'm a little more self confident (and for ME that's saying A LOT), my moods aren't so bad (well, I don't think so. DH might) and I'm actually enjoying this WOE. There are days lately (coming off a high carb weekend) that I miss some things I could eat before. I think Dr. Atkins came up with the most brilliant way to lose weight that works for a LOT of people!!

Star, maybe I should try that crying thing at work! I've been bombarded all day. I might actually get some of my stuff done if I shed a few in front of people!

Or, maybe I'll just hang my "Do Not Disturb" sign on my door... Less dramatic, won't have to explain later.

If you do it right, they're too afraid to ask :s:

How does all that mischief fit in such a tiny little package? You're too fun!

Well, for me I guess I just got tired of being sick and tired of being fat. I have been overweight all my life and I finally just got disgusted enough with myself to quit whining and do something about it. It's not fair that we don't have a family portrait after 3 years just because I don't want to look at my fat face in it. It's not fair to my son to miss out on doing things with me because I can't get up and do them. It's not fair to my Dh to hear me put myself down everytime he tries to compliment me, or hide myself away from him because I am ashamed. Finally, it's not fair to me to loathe and disgust myself over something that I can fix! I let myself get this way and damnit I can get myself out of it. I'm tired of being depressed and thinking people are looking at me and laughing every time I am out in public. I never even GO OUT anymore because of it. Dh and I have NO friends because god forbid they ask us to do something involving any type of physical activity. Not to mention when you don't feel good about yourself, who wants to feel good about you either? I want people to see me, the REAL me. I don't need a shield of fat to hide behind anymore. I am tired of being afraid to show my true, fun, spunky self to people and using fat as an excuse to be bitter and hide it. Bad things happened growing up and I used fat to make myself unattractive to people. I wanted NO ONE looking at me or noticing me. It's time for that to end.

I can't control everything in life to be happy, but I can damn sure control this and if I can do this, than chances are anything else isn't going to seem so hard either.

SO as you can see, I am still in my "moment". I am just sick of it all and have realized that nobody is going to fix it but me and I am not going to be happy until I DO fix it. There is no pill, there is no "I'll lose it later". Now is now and at 23 years old, I should feel like it! Not like I'm 53. (which isn't a bad age or anything, I just want to feel it when I'm actually there. :lol: ;) )

Ok, I'm going to give this another shot and copy it before I commit :)

I have been going through years of infertility and this past August was finally quasi-diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. I read up on it and found out that a low-carb diet was the recommended approach.

At the time I didn't start right away, because the DR gave me medication. Well, then I lost my 3rd child and went into depression mode again. So, I realized that for the last 3 years that is what had happened to me. I lost 60 pounds about 5 years ago. After that I finally became pregnant only to lose that first one...After this loss and 7 years of infertility we decided to adopt and I have 2 beautiful boys!! However, this loss began a vicious cycle and after each lost I would gain a little more back. Finally After the 3rd loss last August I decided my children needed me to concentrate on me and not a natural child. I needed to let go of the depression and the obsession. So in September I began aerobics twice a week and at the end of October (after surgery) I began Atkins. It has helped in so many ways. I have obviously lost the weight... But also amazingly I've become somewhat of an athlete. My children are happy to work out with me...which just makes me smile. Before we all would just sit around the TV! Not to mention, unfortunately I suffered another loss in April. And while I was very sad, I didn't take near the dive I did before. I am truly thankful for all of your support. I'm struggling right now with keeping on track, but I know I'll get back...I have to I have some races to complete in the next few months.

Ok, enough! I am enjoying the opportunity to get to know each of you a little better.

Wow you guys, what struggles. What strong women. It's so nice to have a place to share and encourage!

Keep up the good work!

Star,
Great topic, and oh so true about losing PAIN as well as POUNDS!
I owe my sister all the thanks in the World---SHE was my motivation to do this! She *HAD* to lose weight as a liver function test was off kilter and she was heading towards 'fatty liver disease' (?). She and my BIL both started Aktins July '03...I was so impressed and amazed at the results in just a month's time, that I made the plunge August 8, '03. My Mom lives with me, so we BOTH started it.
I also had just started a new job August 1, '03, and THAT made such an improvement in my life by itself---finally a great job, an incredibly wonderful boss, and essentially I feel no stress in this job WHATSOEVER! For the first time in God only knows how long in my life, I was feeling very good and happy! So, between the job change, and my sister's progress, I finally felt up to doing something about the weight...New job/new attitude + mild sibling rivalry of me not wanting to become the fattest of the family :o EQUALS= 53.5 pounds gone thus far...Also, being slapped in the face when I saw a picture from April/May '03 of me on one of friend's horses seeing how disgustingly even BIGGER I'd gotten, and getting on a scale for the first time in about a year having that horrific "246" glowering at me played a BIG part in "waking me up"!
I think we've all lost "around 50 +/- pounds" so far. I have been "stuck" since I hit my low back in early April, and have bouncing around about 5 lbs up & back down since then...but, I've been adding back in some carbs, good and bad ones too I'll admit it! I'm ok with "sitting here" for a little while---I mean, I took off 18 years worth of accumulated weight in just under 8 months! :dizzy: I'm not beating myself up about the 'lull' or fretting/worrying about it. I figure 'the bod' needs time to adjust to it's new form before pushing onward and downward further! The rest will come off, all in time...I've got about 50 more to go to arrive where I think I want to be...
I'll say for all of us that should think "Don't Worry, Be Happy!" ALL of us here have done what we we surely thought was impossible, and I'm so very proud of everyone (and blatantly, unashamedly proud of MYSELF, lol :smug: as we all should be!) I think probably the biggest key is getting your MIND right first...the body will then follow...kind of like "nobody can love you until you love yourself", if that makes sense...I guess with me it was all just that finally "things fell into place" for me finally, and I just "ran with it"! So, now I'm just leisurely strolling along and enjoying the journey, not worrying about when I'll get there...Y'all don't forget that---don't WORRY about/over it, just ENJOY every step getting there!

My turn around point was when my Pulmonologist asked to see pictures of my children....He looked at them and said how beautiful they were - and then as he handed them back to me he held them tight in his hand so that I was forced to look up at him. He said "So how many more years do you want to live for them?". I broke down sobbing. I left his office that day last July and began my low carb life. Even though I struggle at times I am pleased that I can continually re-focus on this way of eating and not drop the ball completely.

Thanks for sharing! Keep it up! Here's my actual turning point:

One day I got the oh-so-brilliant idea to measure myself. When I was at my thinnest, my waist was 23.5". On this day, my thigh was 28". And it hit me like 3 tons of bricks: my thigh is bigger than my waist was. OMG. I just started crying.

After that day, I was sick every time I ate something. I was so depressed. I started throwing up all the time, I just couldn't keep anything down. When you throw up a lot, it does some bad things to your throat. I didn't want to be doing it, so I found that if I took laxatives, then eating didn't make me feel bad enough to throw up. 3 weeks later, DH found a bag of laxatives in my purse. I was taking 20 or more a day and he flipped. He called one of my closest friends, who has battled anorexia for years, and together they gave me a serious ***-kicking.

I needed it.

2 days later, I was pill-free and at the grocery store doing the week's shopping with DH. We were in the produce section and I just looked at him and said 'That's it. I'm done with this crap. I'm going on Atkins.' I had researched this WOE for a long time but I didn't realize I was going to really change until that moment. So I did and I haven't looked back since.

Ok, I've been kind of absent from the board for over a month now and never got around to posting my story.... so here goes.

My entire family is overweight. My two older sisters can probably be considered morbidly obese. I always prided myself on being the "thinnest" person in my family. I figured that, as long as I was under 200 lbs then I was fine. But then I graduated college and starting having sinus problems which led to stomach problems because of the medication I was on. I basically ate little to nothing for 3 months straight... which meant I lost a BUNCH of weight. At that weight I got this killer good looking boyfriend in the marines and bought a bunch of new clothes. I felt killer. Well, the not eating damaged my metabolism and plus, with college gone... so were all the activities I used to do. The fabulous bf ended up cheating on me once I gained a bunch of weight back. Fine. I was still under 200lbs. For some reason I kept gaining weight and thinking 200 would never get here. A bunch more weight was gained last year as I was really busy and depressed a lot as my grandmother gradually lost her battle with cancer. She raised me as a child and was the most important person in my life. We took turns helping her out on weekends and during the week I'd be depressed and hid myself away in food. At the end of last May, she was given 2 to 21 days to live. We brought her home to die with the help of hospice and I moved in with her. My mom and aunt quit their jobs to help out as well. It was an amazing time the way we all pulled together and those were some of the most precious days ever. However, the high stress and the fact that most people bring cake and cookies over instead of meals (hint hint if you know anyone going through anything similar) meant that I was eating crap and smoking like a chimney. My BF at the time was pulling a bunch of crap and saying he felt neglected.
After my grandmother died, I found myself. Here I was with this loser boyfriend who was so incredibly selfish that he played GOLF the day of my grandmother's funeral and I had been in such a fog and so in love that I hadn't had the courage to dump him. Well, I dumped him the day of my grandmother's funeral.
I went to the allergist in July last year and I was at 205. I had gained 25 lbs in the year it had been since I had last been there. I was past the 200 mark. My clothes weren't fitting. That was the point. Right there in the doctor's office. The previous year had taken it's toll but it had also made me a stronger person. I knew that I could do something about it.
Well... I lost 10 lbs between then and January when I first started Atkins, which was the first day I came to the board. I've lost 23 more lbs since then. I've got a great guy that I'm gonna marry and spend the rest of my life with and I have no doubt he is my grandmother's gift to me. My body is actually loving the break from all of the crap food I ate last year and even when I'm not on plan, I'm much better than I was before.