Hi All! Just wanted to chime in from UCSD - nothing like a Ph.D. program to mess up my LC living. I did great for about the first 8 weeks... then the final papers came... then christmas... it was all over... Luckily, instead of the freshman 20, I stopped at +15.

I'm finally committed to LC living. I'm on day 16 and slowly losing... clothes are feeling better. Working out is really helping & drinking H2O while studing is helping - that's the hardest part - I used to take study breaks & eat a snack... today, I'm guzzling green tea & water.

Happy studies! viv

Hello...

I'm a master's student at CSUF. I have found that it is pretty easy to eat lowcarb and go to school...although right now, I'm not working. That will be changing soon, and the limits on my time may make it tougher. I also think it would be difficult to stick with it as an undergrad living in the dorms. I know I ate a lot of sugary junk back then...

I'm curious: were you ever heavier? Did you have trouble losing weight with a more traditional diet? I just wonder what led you to this WOE.

I'm curious: were you ever heavier? Did you have trouble losing weight with a more traditional diet? I just wonder what led you to this WOE.

Hi Zandria!
I suspect it's how you look at it. Was I ever heavier? In my head most definately, Yes. Between 15-22 I wore a size 12-14 which sucked because practically all the other girls were doing the diet-coke thing. I went to a boarding school so all in all there were about 80 girls to compare myself with. (i was young and insecure) Through college I went up and down - ate nothing but salad for awhile & got skinny... but it didn't last.

In my late twenties I became a runner. My diet problems disappeared. I ate and developed a lean body 115-117. I loved it. Then the injury came (degenerative disc) surgery & I will never run again. I switched to the gym, low impact cardio... and started eatting a modified atkins and stayed a size 4 until I entered the ph.d. program - after thanksgiving through christmas - i gained weight. I couldn't squeeze into the only 2 pair of size 6 jeans that I kept hidden in the closet... EEEKS! So that's how I came to study the ATkins diet & this time approach it as a way of life.

Yes, I've been able to lose weight but the problem is I do it by cutting calories - for a while I ate under 800 calories per day & exercised religiously. Sure I got skinny. (the best part: i got to go to a hollywood thing & for the first time, i didn't feel fat - i too was a lollipop head!) - BUT reality hits - I'm not apart of that world - I don't get paid to ruin my health - I need to be healthy - diet jello & egg whites & diet dr. pepper is just NOT the way to go.

Atkins opened a new world - eat 3-5 times a day, vegies/protein/fat/, and lose weight. Incredible. I consume 1,500 calories a day THAT'S ALMOST DOUBLE what I ate before.

Day 32 & enjoying this lifestyle. Problem for me is stress eatting. This ph.d thing is the hardest thing I've ever done... i feel obligated to perform (probably because they're paying me) but also because i'm anal! I'm trying to light'n up. Realizing the best thing is to do My Best period.

This is probably more info. than you wanted... viv