Just moved to Austin, TX, from Los Angeles. It's great here so far.

I started low-carbing with the Hellers 'Carbohydrate Addicts Diet' and lost weight effortlessly. But, after a few weeks I began experiencing sluggishness, loss of concentration--just a general blahness. Their answer was to add another low-carb meal to my day. When I did that I quit loosing weight. So I went off the diet and gained back all the weight.

My current diet is one I came up with and I've lost 15 pounds in about 2 1/2 months. I eat at least 5 servings of non-starchy vegtables a day, 7 to 9 ounces of protein, then just about anything else I want. I find that I eat far less bread, pasta potatos and dessert. And I try to eat 4 or 5 small meals a day. I also quit using Nutrasweet completely and the carb cravings have vanished. I now use Splenda (and half/half--no carbs) in my coffee.

My trouble spots are exercise (how to get motivated) and eating small meals. Sometimes I get busy and don't eat for hours, then realize I'm starving.

Anyway, good luck to all of us--Shirley