This is actually my second time on the Atkins diet - guess I didn't pay much attention to the "Maintenance" section. Problems with Diabetes run rampant through both sides of my family. I decided that I would "ward off the evil spirit" and maintain a healthy body, which would have to include losing a few excess pounds. I went on lowfat and partial vegetarian diet. (My farmer father would tan my hide if he knew that!!) The sad thing is, with all my "dieting" my weight started to creep up, not down.

I started the Atkins diet for the first time after I had MANY bouts of hypoglycemia and persitent fatigue when trying to maintain lowfat or vegetarian diets. My blood sugar would bottom out in the 40's. Boy that'll make you feel real energetic! hahaha!

My mother-in-law gave me the Atkins book to read and I found myself staring at a profile of myself. So I started it and lost the weight very quickly. I used to maintain 140 very well, exercised 4 or 5 days a week.

Here's the excuse part, hahaha! I moved to a small town with not a lot of recreation. I began working nights, which I continued for a little over two years. I found myself drinking 4 or 5 diet cokes a night and there was always fast food and the vending machine for comfort at three in the morning. And my daily routine consisted of reaching out to hit the snooze button just one more time... I gained 50 pounds in two years. I HATE looking at pictures of myself. I can't believe I look like this!

The day I decided to get back on the diet "for good," I received a letter from my sister with pictures from a recent vacation. I was in a swimsuit. oh my. I cried. My husband consoled me and told me I'm beautiful. Thank God for him! That same day at work I was drinking diet coke (I've since read that caffeine increases insulin response, anyone know if that is true?) like I always do and we were so busy I skipped lunch. I didn't skip the Spree candies tho and before I knew it, I was sitting in a chair getting juice shoved down my throat for low blood sugar. It just makes sense to stop this cycle and DO SOMETHING!!

I am so glad I found this forum. I need some positive reenforcement! I've posted once before asking for favorite recipes, please feel free to reply with any type of recipe, and THANK YOU!!

Have you looked in Low Carb Recipes at the top of the page Mary? Lots of great ones, both simple and fancy.

Karen

I'm so glad you jumped in and introduced yourself ... your post about recipes kinda got "lost". Sorry..

Good for you to hop back on the wagon. You can do it!. And congrats on the lbs lost so far. And your husband sounds wonderful and so supportive, that's great. It really is helpful.

About recipes .. yes, the Low-Carb Kitchen forum is full of recipes, in all the different sections. Plus, as Karen stated, if you click on Recipes on the orange bar at the top, you'll come to her Gourmet LC recipes page, and there's a link right at the top of her page to our Member-readers' recipes. Hundreds of them.

Keep us posted, I want to read all about your low-carb success.

Doreen