This was a great thread to read and throw my hat in the air and shout HURRAH!.

I have just returned from a trip to the good ol' US of A. This was my first big trip since I started this WOE and I had all the advice from you guys ringing in my ears.

Eating the Burger and not the Bun. Declining the Home fries and waffles with maple syrup. Eggs and bacon for brekkie. Prime rib,Steak, Lobster with butter for supper. Just had to have New England clam chowder my favorite even though it had potato and clams are fairly high in carbs. Salads with everything. Thats the nice thing about the USA, you get a salad without asking for it, the waiters do not mind you holding everything with a carb in it. Water magically appears by the jugfull. (Failed miserably in my water consumption however)

Returned home and no weight gained maybe 1lb loss in 12 days.

The point of this verbal waffle is that I also was shocked and horrified at the big business that is the diet industry in the US.
I went into Barnes and Noble bookstore and the number of diet books was staggering. (bought the secret to Low carb success by Laura Richard by the way... still reading it... looks good) many offering the instant cure.

The radio was worse. Pills this time. Blockers for this, blockers for that, people just standing by to relieve me of money. People are buying the magic pills, people are buying the books, but people are not getting any slimmer. Some people in the USA are huge. I saw more obese people per square inch of New York and Philadelphia than anywhere else in the world and I have been to most places.

The advertising for some products verge on the criminal. Even with the money back guarantee if not completely satisfied I wanted to leap up and strangle the advertiser. Mrs R, my trusty companion is now used to me ranting at the TV, radio, bookshops, supermarkets and the food pyramid.

Went into a supermarket and bought an Atkins brownie and almond bar not available in the UK. It smelt like rubber. Took one bite and spat it out. Expletive deleted. Mrs R took a bite and clutched her mouth and headed for the restroom. Bought Splenda to bring home and cook with. I hope I do better with that.

It is not easy when all said and done to stay on track. It is not a walk in the park. But the message of this thread is... it really is up to me. You guys cannot make me do it. The advertisers surely can't.

The truth is out there and it comes with a low carb label on it.