Dang Richard Simmons and his "Never give up." Here we go again. I have gained back about 15 lbs of the weight I lost for my daughters wedding in 2012. So I am back again trying to chip away at the 95 lbs that has controlled me for so long. My first goal is to get to 175 (five pounds lighter than the stated weight on my drivers license). So that's 75 to lose. 10 percent of that is 7.5 lbs and so 5 percent of that is 3.75 lbs rounded to four lbs. Ugh!!! I am doing a modified Atkins style plan (because carbs seems to be my main issue). Sugar is not a friend of mine. It makes my arthritis flare up painfully and I am sure it plays a role in my cyclothymic problems. Here's to another long miserable day on a diet (sigh).

I consider myself a sugar addict also but i don't need to demonise carbs. And i still eat fruit and have no problem. Its only refined sugars like cakes, ice-cream and things of that kind, or other highly flavoured foods like dried fruit, junk food, processed foods and peanut butter. I also have to be careful with nuts.

I also have depression which i know can trigger binging behaviours but i don't think its the fault of the carbs. I think its more the nature of depression. If i were depressed and on the atkins diet, i would probably still want to eat a ton of sweets. And i would break my diet. At least that's what i think would happen. I avoid diets like atkins because they are not meant for the long term and are not sustainable. And personally i believe they are doing unhealthy things to our insides when we don't even know it.

Its better to figure out a healthy way of eating that satisfies you. A lot of people also make the mistake of trying to lose it fast. That's also not sustainable in the long term although it might be ok for a couple of months.

Anyway its great you are trying again.

Good luck eightiesbabe84! I recently came back on here and thought to myself how many times can I start afresh? I guess we have no choice but to never give up no matter what.

If I cut anything out of my diet I crave it big time so I am trying calorie counting and exercising as much as humanly possible Hope you reach your goals in the not too distant future