Hi all,

I can't say that I'm new to forum groups or to trying losing weight, but it's my first shot at combining the two. We'll see where it leads and if it's only into a pile of embarassment and failure, at least I'll have the field notes.

Genetics have pretty much crucified any chances that I have for a "normal" life of being healthy if I don 't watch every last crumb that I eat. I truly believe that I'm the only person in the world that can gain weight by following Weight Watchers to the letter and the only thing I lost with that experience was $11 a week and my sense of humor (week 9, .04 lbs). I lost about 90 pounds on Atkins and kept it off for about 3 years, but I then moved home to be with my family and the proximity to so many awesome cooks soon rectified that for me. Atkins no longer has much appeal for me since I lived on the same food for so long that I can't look sideways at an egg without having flashbacks to how many carbs might be hiding in the yolk somewhere undetected waiting to attach themselves to my thighs in the dead of night.

Soooo, I thought that this time around I might try the South Beach approach because it seems the most reasonable in the vast space of diet solutions.

I'm interested in just about any approach someone takes to losing weight and in my pretty much lifelong struggle with weight, I've accumulated a lot of useless facts that might be of help to someone along the way. And at the moment, I'm interested in getting to know my fellow members.

So, officially, hello and please be gentle.

We're always gentle! Now drop and give me 50 ... just kidding.

Welcome! Have you found the South Beach threads?

Hey! I'm new here myself, just posted in the featherweights forum (first time in my life I've been a featherweight...)

Welcome! And I know you've probably heard this before, but I assume you've been checked out for thyroid stuff? Losing weight is hard enough when everything is aligned... Genetics are tough. My lovely mother, the light of my existence, is fully responsible for the stubborn, immovable ring of chub around my belly. I don't really know too much about SB, so just a general welcome here!

My thyroid is supposedly pristine and perfect enough to be a centerfold in a naughty endocrinology mag. My weight has been increasing steadily for the past 4 years while the amount of food I've been consuming has decreased. And it finally clicked that 4 years ago, I had to go onto Celexa for a mild depressive disorder. After 2 years of tests and even an appendectomy for kicks, my doctor finally switched me over to Wellbutrin and the change has been unbelievable. Ends up that Celexa was mimicking a thyroid disorder for me. Better living through chemicals backfires at times.

I've been losing weight since the medicine change without really changing my diet, but I've been stuck around 240 for about 3 months now, though, so I'm trying to help it along. I've been checking out the SB forums and I'm hopeful about some of the recipes.

I'll try anything once, twice if the photos turned out well.