Me, too! I am not a frequent poster but a frequent reader. New Years Day was a great day to start with a low carb brunch!

Hi! I’m also back. It’s been about 9 years, and a 30 pound gain, but it’s time to get back on track! Today is day one of south beach for me.

Holly, If interested, there are now monthly support group meetings in Durham, Greensboro and Southern Pines, though members tend to more Keto than SB.
Welcome back,

Just a note: I was very sick and relying too much on convenience stuff, so I am also "resetting" for the New Year.

I seem to do better with very low levels, which is why I'm going to see how I do with VLC. And in browsing the blogs and comment sections, I see people saying they are at 40 carbs a day, or 55, and I'm thinking, "well, that's too high for you."

It's easy to have this creep up, as we all know

So do try tracking if you are not. Even doing it for a week can give you an excellent picture of what is really going on.

Hey all I am back also, Hand some ups and downs and big event last year or so, but I am back on the wagon for good.

Hi, everybody! I'm back too. met some friends over the holidays who were seeing positive health changes with low carbing, and it reminded me of how much better I used to feel. So, here we go!

Thank you Jey100! Is there a NC board on here too? Back in the day I was on the twenty-something board and it was soooo helpful. Admittedly, I’m now a forty-something!

No board. There are a few of us here who follow Dr Westman’s clinic diet at Duke, but most in NC are active on the Facebook pages for the three LC groups. Kristie’s is the biggest and very active, 175 K followers and a fleet of admins to keep it under control. https://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=470795

There was also a huge (400 people) event in Roxboro last fall, and meetings there too. https://forum.lowcarber.org/forumdisplay.php?f=34 I sometimes forget they have monthly meetings and a FB page.

The Durham meetings, led by Dr Westman are videoed on FB Live and then archived. You can watch the entire year of 2018 meetings. Jacquie Eberstein of Dr Atkins clinic will be speaking this coming Tuesday.

Thanks Janet! I’m in Charlotte so those locations would be a bit of a drive for ,e, but I’ll check out the Facebook groups.

I have to say it's depressing to look at how my measurements ballooned....my own fault. But looking back at them at least I know I can make progress if I do this correctly! And I threw out all the left over party-mix from Xmas to the birds and cats outside on our farm.....that took some doing but talk about immediate ankle swelling! Maybe I should make a new version with lots of nuts and those carb free real cheese balls!

For anyone "crawling back" Dr Eades has a classic LC advice post, up in the also good thread Newbie Advice. All of those posts and comments have good tips and advice for anyone returning...know your plan being first.

https://proteinpower.com/drmike/201...w-carb-dieters/

The main problem with LC the "second time around" is that people forget to do the Induction phase, and eat the yummy foods in later phases and wonder why they didn't get Keto-adapted nor shed weight as fast as the first time. Example, the Induction phase of Atkins does not have any nuts and cheese is limited to 3-4 Oz (this is so little I find it easier to eliminate as a snack) The clinic version of Atkins does not allow any nuts until at goal and limits or eliminates cheese depending on your weight loss.

Amypete, Cooking Keto with Kristie on YouTube has a No Chex mix based on pork rinds.

Goodness this thread has really taken off.

I don't do well with very low carb, seem to have more success with semi low carb. Hope you are all doing well with whatever works for you.

Im back too! Glad to see we can all get attacking this together. Not one of us is alone!

I also am back! We’ve totally got this!

Never did Atkins Induction level carbs before. But for my first week I have been averaging 5 or 6 net carbs a DAY and cravings have vanished like a snuffed out candle.

I am pleased with my new Carb Manager app for making this process so easy. I can play with portion sizes and ingredients for a meal or a day to find what will fit into my goals, instead of guessing. Giant food database accessed with my iPad’s bar code scanner!

Tracking is a powerful tool. I think it’s the best way to start a new eating plan, and keep it real.

Epi-Paleo (my current plan) is also about limiting seed oils and artificial sweeteners for gut health. High fat levels have given me excellent satiety. I eat small portions of a few vegetables because of the sensitivity to fiber I’ve experienced since giving up gluten years ago. In fact, the winter phase of this plan calls for very low carbs. It will increase these allowances as spring develops into summer.

Everyone has to discover what works for them. And it’s possible that the right approach is not only a radical departure from what you’ve been told, but also what you tried but couldn’t stick with. Failure tells us something.

I started with Atkins, but the seed oils and sweeteners allowed on that plan was a problem for me. I needed to ditch gluten, forget about climbing the carb ladder, and find super simple meals that I could prepare even when my illness was at a peak. There’s nothing wrong with Atkins or the way I did it. It just turned out to be something I had to move beyond to go forward.