I suppose one could say I was a "member" of TDC about a year ago. I didn't intend to drop off the face of the earth, or leave the low-carb boards, but I ended up shockingly getting pregnant (happy Valentines Day to me!), after being told that due to the severity of my PCOS, I had less than a 5% chance of ever conceiving naturally, AND being on the pill. Whoops! Miracle baby, indeed

Needless to say, I no longer could follow the Atkins eating plan, although I did stick to a very healthy style of eating. I went from 360 pre-pregnancy, to 380 on my due date, and, less than 16 weeks later, am at 328.

I re-introduced myself to the Atkins way of eating on 2/19, the same day I decided to quit smoking for good. (I had quit while pregnant, but as soon as I had my cesarean and was put on percoset I immediately started smoking again, for some unknown reason).

I am an at home mom, because in my area, daycare for a newborn is upwards of 400 dollars a week, as well as a full time student (currently online). Looking at my little girl has made me realize how much in my life I had to change, because I wanted to be around for her for as long as humanly possible.

I'm back to this portion of the low carb forums, because, as distorted as this may sound, I have a hard time relating to someone who is on Atkins because they want to go from 135 to 120. I could only dream of being 135 pounds. I guess that's just a personal view, but I wanted the support, and hopefully the friendship, of people who are actually walking in my shoes.

It used to be "okay" in my head for me to be this big, because it didn't "hurt anyone". Now I know that if I continue to be this way, it WILL hurt someone. It will hurt the most beautiful little girl in the world, who means everything to me, and who has given me a reason to try to be a real person again.

And, in case anyone is curious, here is a photo of Aura, my pint-size motivator