Oh my goodness.. I looked at my profile and I've been a member for ELEVEN years. Life takes over from time to time and well.. I disappeared for a long time recently... so I wanted to reintroduce myself and say HELLO!!!!!!


Ok..
So much has happened since I have really been an "active" member here.

I am glad that things seem to be going strong in these forums. I love it here.

I hope to reconnect with old friends and make new (please feel free to reach out.. I tend to be over anxious so it’s hard for me to).

For my own personal "dear diary" here's how I am:

I got divorced almost 6 years ago making me a single mama of six beautiful children.
I moved to SC from MI.
In between all that I had heart failure due to undiagnosed cardiomyopathy and had an ICD implant (defibrillator).
I have lost a TON of weight by starving myself and managed to lose 1/3 of my hair in the process.
My hair is now growing back but not as quickly as the pounds did.
I got remarried after 5 years of being single.. so maybe you could consider me still a newly wed? lol
( \0/ ).
I'm still a homeschooling mama to 5 kids. The sixth kid moved out and is now married. <3
I am doing fantastic at no sugar and low carb (I also have to keep low sodium for heart.. and limited fluid intake). I like doing IF every now and again but there are days when eating in between is necessary.
No cravings.
No desire to "cheat".
I am now down 26 pounds.. this is day 16.
I am working towards dropping the caffeine.
I truly, TRULY believe that this is "IT" now for me.

I have developed so many food allergies over the years... out of no where.
I had also noticed that there was a lot of things that just made me feel fat(ter), bloated, sick, and like I needed to eat a zantac everyday.

By going back to 'low carb' I was able to sort of do an elimination diet to see what my body functions best on. At the end of the day weight loss is not the goal (it's a great perk).. but my over all health and well-being by how I feel matters. Obviously I'm really overweight and I need to lose weight for my health.. but for my own mental reasons if I make losing weight my goal, I will become extreme and give into my already unhealthy triggers of NOT eating. I was almost hospitalized last time.. I don't want to do that again. So I am trying to keep my focus healthy.

If you made it this far.. PLEASE say hello.. and thank you!

Welcome back Symphonyod. I wish you the best on your restart. Nice loss in those first few weeks! I remember those early days. Wouldn't it be nice if it all came off that easily. I am a TDCer. I've done the lose and regain thing many, many times. Even though I am at goal I count myself a TDCer (present tense) because I feel that I am only a few bad decisions away from another ride up the weight loss roller coaster. I am still me and we all live in a carb-centric world. This is a great place for support. It may not be as busy as it once was, but there are plenty of good people around to offer the support and accountability that we all need. Hopefully a few of your old buddies are still around to chime in.


That is the attitude you need to make this happen. When I started this last go-around I had 250 pounds to lose. I'd never lost any more than 90 pounds before in my endless struggles with the scale. When I started this last and current journey I had my doubts as to the final outcome. Losing it all was a fantasy dream. I started this journey at the bottom both physically and emotionally. My health was bad, my weight was the highest it had ever been, and the thrill of life was gone. As depressed as I was, I wanted to be here for my kids. So I have it one more go. I started with that same attitude. This was it for me. Then the miracle happened. I actually did it. It was less about diet and more about attitude. Yes - you have to get the diet right, but if you don't have the right mindset to begin with then the loses will be temporary. Support from folks on this forum helped me find what I needed to succeed. Again - I wish you the best.

I look forward to following your new journey to health. Have a great OP day!

Thank you so very much Ken! What an awesome inspirational story you have! I can relate with those stupid 90 pounds... lost and gained more times than I want to admit. I appreciate the encouragement! I like how you said you are only a few bad decisions away from a ride... It's like an addict adage isn't it? One day at a time.. one meal at a time.. one bite at a time... It's like being 'sober' off carbs... or 'bad' carbs.. and bread. That gives me something to really consider. Thanks again! Did you ever journal here? I ask because I've noticed several people not having the journal in their stat bar... does that make sense?

anyway.. Thank you again!

OH my gosh.. NVM.. I found the "journal" button.. lol.. I'm lame.. just ignore me.