This is my second time doing lo-carb, but not because the first time didn't work.

The first time I was fifteen. I lost, I don't know, probably 40 lbs. or so and got really small. I kept it off for two years until I got married and started eating like 'normal' people. Since then, it's been mostly the low-fat thing, which never works long for me, it leaves me too hungry.

I decided recently that I had had enough of being fat AND hungry and went back to what I know works. Therefore, it's my second time around.

Well, my first shot was my best shot, and I never intend on eating any other way, except for 5 more pounds and the fatty meats are history. My family is solidly behind me and would never encourage me to eat anything I should'nt. So that is a big help.

Cheers Kathy

I tried LCing the first time in 1976, went on it for a month as a precursor to the liquid protein diet. Since then I have tried numerous versions of LCing but this is the first time I have stayed on it for 6 months or more. I guess my attitude has changed this is not a diet... it is a life change. Sure wish I had seen that back when I could lose quickly. Now I am older and it takes more of a committment. I guess some of us learn slower than others :-)

I should modify my answer it seems. This is now my second attempt... and my LAST!

I Tried It For A Week & Did Real Well & Then Stopped For Some Stupid Reason. After About A Month, I Vowed To Be Serious & Here I Am 23lbs Lighter Exercising & Feeling Great.

I lost quite a lot (30 pounds or so, I don;t remember now) in 1999. then for a few months, when I was travelling around for my job and couldn't cope with LC-ing, I tried not to put on weight again. But the emotional things were still there, and it crept on again. That winter, abroad but at least in the same place for a while, I tried every week for a month and a half to return to LC, and by the end of the week I would be off it and depressed again. At the time I wasn't exercising and I was lonely and somewhat depressed. Now I have done a lot of self-work, I have changed many things about my life, I exercise regularly and enjoy it massively, I have found love, and I have educated myself about LC much more thoroughly than last time. It feels like a permanent change this time; last time it felt like a daring (in the UK especially) experiment that would be exciting IF it worked.

Gez

Well I have tried low carb several times... The first time shortly after the birth of my daughter.... I lost all the weight I had gained and was able to fit back in my size 9 jeans.... Kept it off until diagnosed as bipolar.... Gained it all back and 50 more pounds...

Since then I've tried low carbing but couldn't stick with Atkins for more than 2 weeks... Have lost about 11 pounds from low carbing...but that is in 6 weeks...and I find that I am not hungry... However, I seem to be in a stall and am now trying to figure out is it the carbs...added low gl fruit...or calories...might be too low on calories I think... I hate to cook so I grab small things instead of cooking.... I just started exercising and am starting to feel a bit better.

I tried Atkin's about 2 years ago when my husband went on it. I last about 2 1/2 days and was going out of my mind craving carbs. I caved in and said, "I CAN'T DO THIS!!!"

My hubby stayed on and lost about 20 lbs.

Then I went on CAD in August and lost about 15 lbs. I got comfortable where i was and started cheating until finally I got off it entirely. I never gained the weight back as I didn't go nutso on the carbs.

Then I got pregnant and didn't want to end up looking like Mama Cass again, so I went back to a modified CAD. This has worked wonderfully. Now my whole family is doing low-carb and loving it.

Jeannie

I agree with Darci - there won't be a third time!!

I was doing very well from Jan 2002 to Feb, 2003 - lost 55#. Then, I guess I just sabotaged myself, and gained back 35#. This second time around I need to look into the issues that made me sabotage myself as well as sticking to this WOE. The only way I am going to keep this weight off is to resolve why I gained it in the first place!

Hello! I'm new to this forum, but not LC'ing. Last year in Sept-Oct I lost 20lbs in 4 weeks, (from 216lbs to 196), but got pregnant so I stopped LC'ing altogether. The cravings from the pg were too much for me and I gained 55lbs, which put me at 260! After I had the baby I was down to 235. Now I am back on LC'ing a 2nd time and am not going off it again! Right now I am stalled at 216, but I know that it will go down again, I usually plateau for 3-4 days then have a 3lb woosh! Everyone stats look wonderful! Congrats everyone on the progress you have made!

Melissa F.

This is my third time, and I thought it was gonna be the last, but with hypothyroidism, "succeeding" is very tricky. I had been maintaining at 119lb for a few months and I think that was probably my natural ideal weight, and then suddenly I am up to 132lb (no, I didn't cheat - it is just the thyroid going whacko). So I am gonna go from pre-maintenance back into induction once I feel better, making this the fourth time, and probably not the last one either. I am probably never gonna succeed according to DANDR's standards of never being 5lb away from your ideal.

Are you medicated for this? My mother has hypothyroidism and is medicated. It's done wonders for her. Sorry, but I don't know what she's on.

Jeannie

This is my second time on Atkins. About a year ago I tried it for a week and got very bored with the food selections. In August I was talking to a friend who had lost 65 lbs on atkins and he inspired me to try again. He gave me tips on what to eat for variety. This time around I am really enjoying it and know I can keep with it for life. This time around I am cooking more and trying out new recipes. I do not find the food boring at all! I guess the key for me was to find a variety of foods that I looked forward to eating.

Also, the first time around I became constipated. That was another thing that led to me quitting. I now make sure to get in enough fiber--I am taking pyllium husk powder daily.

I have to say this has been the easiet "diet" I have ever been on! I am never starving like on other low fat diets I have tried. My cravings have disappeared. I can occasionally indulge in a sf treat if I want, and I don't miss the bread or potatoes or rice. (I ate alot of rice before, love the stuff) It truly is a great way of life!

I couldn't begin to recall the number of times I've tried low carbing and various other diets. First attempt was way back in the '70s when Dr. Atkins' first book came out. It was easy to stick with and lose weight back then, probably because I only had a few pounds to lose each time (20 or 25) and more importantly because when you're in your early 20s almost anything you do will get results fast. These days I have a great deal more to lose, but I have to say the support of these boards (I hit the Low Carb Friends board and a few others, but this one has a special appeal to me for some reason, even though it is a little more challenging to find one's way around here, and doesn't seem to be quite as active) and the appearance of products like low carb bread make me feel like I can achieve the goal this time. My last attempt at LC was last spring, and lasted for a full two months, until summer vacation disrupted everything. I don't even attempt induction, because I know I'll never make it through. I prefer to just take a little insight from all the plans and create my own, sticking to about 30-40 grams a day.
I now disovered atkins bagels (only 7 net carbs) and as silly as it may sound, I think just this one addition will help me stay on track, because I love a bagel in the morning with my coffee, and besides pizza that was the thing I missed most!

This is my 2nd time at Low carb. I tried it in 1998-99 back when everyone I knew thought it was evil. I lost 30 pounds then, very fast, then stalled out for 2 months and couldnt shift a pound. I got very discouraged and gave up.

and gained it back, plus some.

So, this time I'm ready for the slow down -- I've lost 30, and now I'm up and down 5# for the last 3 weeks.

I know that part of the problem may be with the "treats" that many see as the great Evil Toad, but I also know that without them I'd be heading for the closest REAL junk food emporium.

I'm in this for the long haul -- after all my blood pressure is back to normal and so are all the other things that doctors love to tell you are going to kill you if you don't "change your ways"