Good morning everyone,

I am a member of TOPS (take off pounds sensibly) and there are more than a few of us there that follow a LC plan. We whisper in hushed voices about our WOE because TOPS is really a lowfat diet and they don't really approve of these 'fad' diets. Here is a point to ponder.......maybe lowfat diets are the fad diets? ;-). I've been thinking for a while now that I'd like to start a LC group and I bet it would be popular. Anyone ever start one of these? I need some encouragement to get started.

You go girl!! I think it's an awesome idea. Don't know why it wouldn't work out well. Sure you will get some criticism, but the fact is that people do have success with Atkins, and better success with support.

Go for it!

I've been wanting to do this myself, but I don't have a big facility at my disposal. Perhaps a group like WW or TOPS, but without the weigh-ins!

How would you organize? Would you just have a round table discussion and let people talk and ask questions? Or would you lead with a topic? I dunno. I've kicked the idea around so many times, then manage to talk myself out of it. Would you advertise? Or just word of mouth? Would you charge a small fee for photocopies/facility use?

If I could get away with doing it all for free, I would!

Hi Ohio,

What I was thinking that I could use a room at our local High School for free. I book them for Board Meetings as I am secretary of our Youth Hockey Group here. So that could be a start. Word of mouth first I would think otherwise it could be a riot! lol. I pay a $1 a week to go to TOPS but I don't know what I'd do if I started a group because I wouldn't want to fool around with taxes and stuff. So you could look into holding a meeting at your local schools. Let me know what you think!

oops sorry, I said Ohiogirl and it's OHGal!

I think your idea is wonderful. You might also try visiting an Overeaters Anonymous and a HOW meeting to see how they are run for some ideas. Not saying that's an issue for you, just a suggestion

I was involved in one for a while and we went for an hour once a week and had a topic of discussion and took turns sharing on it.

I'd recommend starting out with a small group of people you know until you get the kinks ironed out of it and then put a notice (usually free) in your local newspaper under support groups. I bet you get a lot of response.

As for donations, you could always tell people what the room costs and ask them to help cover it. Or the photocopies or whatever your expenses are.

Go for it!! I bet people love it!

Squid