Thanks to all of you for your kind words of support. I wasn't planning to update for a while but since you asked, here it is.

When I posted this, I hadn't weighed myself for a while and when I did the weight was probably off a bit. Yesterday I was at the doctor's office and weighed in at 226 -- a landmark weight for me. It was my highest weight in high school and I thought it was the end of the world. Now I couldn't be happier to be here. 226! Woohooo!

These are my most recent observations on the effects of this way of eating:

- I feel completely content and happy. It's not because of the weight loss, I think it probably has to do with stable blood sugar, maybe stabilized hormone levels, maybe improved seratonin levels. I'm embarrassed to admit that I've been a bit moody in the past. (Not extremely moody, just a bit moody.) Perhaps it had a more physical, chemical origin than I ever realized. I'm now more emotionally stable than I've ever been.

- I have had no further problem with sleepiness. This alertness is what brought me back to low-carb eating, and this is what will keep me here.

- All my carb cravings are gone. This is new since December. Until January I was using a bit of artificial sweetener and it kept the cravings for sweet things going.

- My tastes have changed. Many things that I never considered sweet (celery and other vegetables, red wine) now taste sweet to me. Actually, I think this side-effect is kind of weird. I liked red wine. Now it all tastes like someone dumped sugar in it. Oh well.

- I'm wearing a size 20, even some 18s! In June I could scarely squeeze in a size 26. (The department stores and donation centers in my neighborhood should be very happy. For the past seven months I've been buying and donating enough to counteract the bad economy.)

- My face is definitely thinner. My arms and hands are more slender and feminine. I'm beginning to see my collarbones. Those nasty, horrible pudges of fat above the backs of my knees are completely gone!

- My knees creak less when climbing stairs.

At this point I simply can't see turning back. I have no temptation to stop doing what I'm doing. Really. It's not willpower. It just works for me. When I originally started Atkins I had no intention of making it a lifetime change. But I seem to have stumbled on to something that's exactly right for me.

Someday soon I'll write a detailed post about what I'm doing differently this time from last time. I've only made small changes but have had dramatically different results.

Allison