I'm 32, and I've been overweight since about age seven. Since my little sister and I had the same activity level when we were kids even though she ate much more than I did (I've never been a really big eater, and she could easily down six pieces of cinnamon toast as an after-school snack), I just accepted it as genetics and tried to eat "healthy."

Fast forward to 2003 ... I'm 32 years old, 196.5 pounds, and my knees have been hurting for about three years (sharp pains, especially when going down stairs or stepping down wrong). Also, my husband could stand to lose about 120 pounds, and I knew he'd had previous success with a high-protein regimen combined with circuit training. I wanted to support him and help him. A friend of mine who is currently pregnant but had previously lost a lot of weight on Atkins (and plans to go back to induction after breast-feeding) loaned me DANDR and a few other books. I read DANDR and learned a few things.

1. Dr. Atkins was not a quack. He was a brave, smart man. It takes courage to stand up and disagree with the consensus. The theories of Copernicus, Pasteur, and Lister weren't accepted at first either.

2. I am not destined to be fat. I can control it. (Wow, typing that made me tear up, which I normally don't do. Guess being fat bothered me more than I thought.)

3. For whatever reason, some people ARE more sensitive to carbs. It will always be easier for my little sister to be thin than it will be for me. That's okay; she has her crosses to bear too. Like Cherry Valance said, "Things are tough all over."

So far, I've lost 28 pounds, and I'm one and a half pound away from being as small as I've ever been as an adult. And my knees have pretty much stopped hurting. I'm beginning to suspect that I actually may make it to my goal weight.

Now if I could only get my husband to do it ...

All of your stories are very inspiring and really touched my heart.

KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK, ATKIDS!!!

It was a combination of 3 things for me. One was the day I got on the scale and saw I weighed exactly twice as much as I did when I met my husband, I could barely fit into my size 18 clothes and I could not get my wedding ring on.

I saw my graduation pictures and saw for myself what I looked like. It was just a shock. Then I started to notice things like my pants were so small, I would have to unfasten the button to breath. I started to realize that absolutely everything I did was centered around food. My girl friend is having a baby, and she said,"I wonder who will gain more-you or me?" That just really got to me, and a light just came on I decided to do something. It took a while to decide which one I wanted to do, so I read everything and made the decision to do Atkins for life. I just want to be healthy and not hate what I see in the mirror.

I got married last winter and spent a week in Mexico. When I got the pictures back, I couldn't believe how HUGE I was. I didn't want to show anyone my beautiful pictures because I didn't want them to see ME in them..

My moment was on November 1st, 2003. I was on my first week of induction when, unnfortunately, our house caught on fire while I was away for about 30 minutes. When I came home I ran to my neighbors and a couple of guys came over to help try to put the fire out. While we were waiting on the Fire Dept I kept trying to yell for my cat from the front door to see if he was still alive and could come out of the house but my neighbor (a guy) grabbed me and said that I shouldn't be breathing the smoke in especially since I was PREGNANT! Well guess what........I wasn't pregnant! I have to say that his comment was the final straw for me and even in the midst of my chaotic life living out of a hotel room for the next couple weeks and the never ending restoration of our house I have been able to stick to my new WOE and have managed to lose 22 lbs so far. As much as I would have loved to smack that guy right upside the head I have to admit that if he hadn't said that I might not have been so determined and probably would have given in to emotional eating as a result of the fire. I still think he is a bonehead though!

Okay, I've read this entire thread and I cannot believe the insensitivity and cruelty of some people!

I have my own 'cruelty' thing to add...

My son's birthday party Nov 1st, my middle son (12) bumped into me and knocked me off balance a bit (staggered). My BIL comments, "Wow, you should be a professional hockey player if you can knock HER off balance!"--nice, huh??? Also, I'm the biggest person at all of the family get-togethers on my husband's side and I'm sick of it! He has 2 brothers and both of their spouses are very slim and wear fashionable clothes and bathing suits in the summer (neither has had kids, mind you, and I've had 3 but that's beside the point). I'm tired of always being self conscious when I eat in front of anybody and being embarassed all the time about my size. I hate it!!! I've just been laid off from my job (ends in April) and will be going to job interviews and I don't kid myself that there's discrimination out there.

My MIL is always commenting on weight things. She serves me second helpings of food without me asking for them, snide remarks constantly...yet she's not small at all--go figure

At my highest I weighed a few pounds more than my 6'5" husband

I weighed the same weight as I did when I gave birth to my 3rd son--9 months pregnant with a 9 1/2 pound baby!!! He turned 6 at the party I mentioned above.

Nearly passing out from doing up my shoes, aches and pains and only 32, trouble sleeping, heart palps, out of breath walking....take kids swimming and NEVER go in the pool (I LOVE swimming!), not participating.

2 MOST MAJOR THINGS:

Binging in secret, when by myself, hiding wrappers deep in the garbage, lying about when and what I ate...

and lastly, feeling like I'm wasting my life waiting to do things 'when I'm thinner'--not swimming with the kids, bike riding, roller blading, ice skating, going to fun stuff because I didn't want to be the 'cow' looking stupid...

For me it was me realizing that at 40 my body was breaking down more and diabetes runs in my family. I was having major backaches and hip pain on and off so I went on the atkins diet after the first of the year and I have felt great ever since. Pains have subsided. I just don't want to end up like my parents taking insulin shots and pills every day.

I was motivated by a couple of events. One was when my daughter's friend, who hadn't seen me since the weight gain, remarked at how different I looked and that she almost didn't recognize me. The second thing was when I realized that men didn't look at me anymore. I used to get lots of attention and now I'm invisible! I can't remember the last time I got complimented or flirted with. I was spoiled I guess. I'm too young to be ignored by the opposite sex, darnit.

I had three things happen in one week - I was on the phone with an old friend whom I hadn't seen in years. We used to ride horses together. She asked my why I didn't ride any more and I had to admit it was because I was afraid I would hurt the horse because of my weight.

A couple of days later I got on a plane and couldnt put the tray table down because my stomach was in the way.

Later that day I saw a guy I hadnt seen since I was a teenager, he came up to say hi to me - great! - but he thought I was MY MOTHER.

Quite an eye-opening week.

i went in the hospital in october for gall bladder surgery. the doctor told me "you may be 28, but you have the heart of a 40 yr old" that was all i needed to hear. it did take me a few months to get started. i wanted to heal first, so i could put my all into my new WOE. I'm looking forward to going on a roller coaster with my kid, and not having to worry if the seatbelt will fit!

I started having dreams, and in them I was always slim with a flat stomach, and able to wear a lovely dress. This happened so often I figured myself was trying to tell me something ! Then.... the photos of Christmas came back from being developed.....gheeese thats telling, when you look at the photos and the person that IS you is just not the person you see inside your head, or imagine you look like ( is this making sense? ) soooooooo..... DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT !! So I did, and I have, and it"s working brilliantly. I am a Born Again Atkinser !!!

One other YUKKY experience is the mirrors in changing rooms ( in shops), don't know what it is about them but they really seem super unflattering...( at least everthing I try on looks so horrible I don't spend any money!!) (Will do in a few months though!)

My kickstart was when I need an extension on my airplane seat belt this past August when we moved to England. I felt horrible and DH just didn't know what to say, he felt bad for me. He tried to make me feel better by saying all seatbelts are different. I went to bathroom in plane and cried.

Then a week later while walking around in these beautiful towns in England, I was waiting to cross the street and a guy in a car passed me by and said to my butt cause it was facing the street, I'll have 4 double cheeseburgers please and drove away laughing.

I pretended I didn't hear him but went home to look in the mirror and started to cry. How could I let myself get like this.

Well, I've lost 32 pounds since November 2003 and I'm proud of myself and more determined now more then ever to go the whole distance. I love this new WOE and I thank God for this support group.


Lily

There where a few things within a few days that could have set me off. First my darling mother-inlaw took one look at us when we arrive, there was no hello, just "you both are fat". It got my dh's goat, I'm used to it. She does it to me all the time usually not in front of him, even though she has a daughter who larger than me, MIL told me she gets upset when she mentions anything about her weight.
Then I went shopping for swimming costumes, enough said.

The final straw was on my birthday, DH bought me some tshirts, not one of them fit. That day I took them back and got some exercise wear instead and an exercise dvd. Not long afterwards I started leaving the sugar out of my coffee and a couple of days after that decided to go the whole hog and get back onto Atkins.

Well, I have always been overweight.. and always wanted to lose.. just never did. I would always stick around 200 sometimes a little less, sometimes a little more.
My mother and I play "dress-up" sometimes (yes, were both grown) and take pictures of each other. When the pictures came back the last time around last March I decided I was going to do something. I was horrified at the way I looked. Ill post some of those pics soon, I want to put the before and afters up at the same time.... not yet.. Anyway, I went on a diet for about a month, lost 15 lbs then quit and gained it all back. I was around 210 at this time.

Then close to Christmas time my best friend and I were talking on the phone and she was telling me about what her boyfriend said about me. He told her that he didnt want to set me up with any of his friends (I was single at the time) becuase I had such a pretty face, but my body was awful. She didnt mean to hurt me by telling me this... but my goodness did it ever hurt!

Later that night after a good cry, and a lot of soul searching.... I jumped on the scale and to my suprise I was at 223. I am only 5'4. I decided to start low carbing at the first of the year. I did and I am now at 57 cheat free days, and 20 lbs lighter....

Dahlia