This is a tough one...I'm kind of wondering if you are metabolically resistant, maybe a thyroid issue - I'm hypothyroid myself, on meds, so I always think of that as maybe being a possibility...

You look very muscular and fit in your photograph, and I wonder if you aren't closer to your healthy weight than you realize.

I had such a problem trying on clothes from Vietnam, and I figure it's about the same in Japan. The thing is, there are genetic differences between people. When I look at many Vietnamese and Japanese people, it seems to me they have much smaller frames than I do. (I come from big old Swedes. I'm short, don't know how that happened, but I got the big huge gigantic frame size that Swedes are famous for. I come from NW Montana. Not that far from Calgary. There are a lot of people who are descended from Scandinavians and Germans up there, too, just like in Montana.) Now here's the thing - if you come from the same kind of stock I come from, you aren't ever going to be the size of a Japanese lady, because your bone structure is so different. You could starve yourself to death, literally, and still not fit in the dress. Any more than you could fit in the size 5 shoes or whatever that they wear. So I'm thinking...that dress....are you absolutely sure, 100% sure, that you couldn't take a photo of the dress and get it made there in Canada instead by a good seamstress? I know for me, no way will I ever fit in Japanese/Vietnamese clothing, because my build is so incredibly different. I'm thinking maybe the dress is the real problem here, much more than your weight. Am I crazy for thinking that? Tell me if I am!

Hehe, lori I spent time in Vietnam and left like a gaint over there and I pretty short! My pic is a few years old. I'm about 15 - 20 lbs heavier now (I just like the picture!). I come from good ole german farming stock (mom was actually born in germany - I have my dual citizen ship Woo Hoo!). I have a pretty tiny frame and at 5'1.5" I should be down around 120. I'm kinda built like twiggy (the old fashion model), but shorter and with boobs! I kept my weight at around 124 for years, but fell into a minor depress last year, while traveling non stop for work and put on a fair bit of weight. Quit the job, got myself out of depression now I just need to lose the last reminder of that not so good time - the weight!

I know the dress will fit if I'm down around my goal weight as I've worn items that my friend has brought back from Japan before. Unfortunately, I put on most of my weight while my friend was out of town and she didn't know. So she picked up the dress, in my old size.

I love Montana, by the way! Used to spend many summers down there. It's beautiful!

Well, I know for sure you will reach your goal! I just don't know for sure how to make it happen really fast. I'm still scratching my head and wondering if you aren't just having one of those plateaus that are so infamous with diets.

Thanks for the compliment! Glacier National Park is still one of my favorite places on earth And I can outfish just about any man when it comes to trout fishing, too! LOL!

I have an idea. This is a just-in-case. Not saying you won't reach your goal in time, but...in case you have five pounds that won't budge in time...shapewear can be your friend. It's not comfortable, but it can help you fit into a dress for one day.

I'm jealous of you for the dual citizenship! I lived in the Netherlands when I was in high school, with my Dad who was in the Army. I took German in school and travelled a bit in Germany and really fell in love with the people and the country! Have you gone there on trips? Did you like it? Boy they have some good beer there too. I guess I shouldn't be thinking about beer, since I'm doing Atkins.

Well...shoot...maybe some of the old hands around here will know what to do next. I'm pretty new myself and still learning so I haven't figured everything out yet or anything.

I love love love Glacier! My family used to have a cabin in Waterton while I was growing up so I did that freaky going to the sun road many many times! Can't fish, but love to hike and camp! This summer my boyfriend and I are going to do a 4 or 5 day hike that starts in Waterton crosses into Glacier and then back into Waterton. It will a killer, but so worth it! My family used to do a week long vacation in Big Fork every summer. I have been in years, but I'm dying to go back.

Oddly enough, I've traveled all over Europe, Vietnams but never to Germany! My mom and I are thinking that next summer (if I get into grad school) we'll go to Germany for a couple of weeks. That would be amazing and I have my fingers crossed.

Well, the cream cheese wasn't half bad really, especially with fresh grated black pepper on it, and eating it with a spoon like ice cream I liked it better than the egg salad I made with mayo... I was going to branch out to macadamia nuts but I had a giant tub of cream cheese so I mainly did that, and ate pre-cooked bacon at work, 4 slices every 4 hours, heh!

I don't think the bacon is on the official Atkins Fat Fast (I gave away my copy of the book, ha! need to get another), but it is listed here, by a woman who has done it a few times over the years, and she's more flexible in what she ate.

It definitely did work for me. I didn't find it that difficult to eat almost pure fat, but then I have also done stints of Medifast where I was drinking just 6 low-cal protein shakes a day. The cream cheese won hands-down

But... You're only to be on for a max of 5 days. I can see why, it's quite dehydrating and not well-balanced nutritionally. However, that is certainly the fastest I ever got into ketosis

Thanks for the link and the info! I am reading that chapter of the book right now, mostly out of curiosity. I'm pretty sure I'm *in* ketosis (I have a lot of the symptoms, anyway) so now I am just waiting for the scale to prove it. (Still waiting!)

The thing with me and cream cheese is the texture. I don't hate it, but after awhile it starts to make me pretty sick just thinking about it. I'm a weirdo about textures. This is also why I don't enjoy eggs much, but I have pretty much had to get over that at this point.

I *am* glad it worked for you. And I'm also glad that you're back to normal healthy eating. Too much of the fast sounds pretty scary, frankly.

Hey, Shantroy, that sounds like an awesome hiking trip!
Bigfork is a nice little town, isn't it? It's right across the lake from where my father lives, in Lakeside, Montana.

Keeping my fingers crossed that you will go to Germany and get to see how beautiful and wonderful it is!

Berkshiregrl, congratulations to you! That's great that it's working, and that you aren't finding it too hard to stick to! Good for you, too, for saying you will only stick on it for awhile so you don't get too dehydrated.

I went off my diuretic because I was way too dehydrated and gained five pounds of water in two days. I know it's not real weight because I've been very low calorie and very low carb both days, so apparently my body was very happy to get that water back in. I already feel much better, not light-headed anymore.