Introduce Yourself!

Welcome!

I started this group because I noticed that many members of OH seemed to be thinking about trying high-protein dieting, and were asking about Atkins.  This OH Group is a place to discuss the "how tos" of this approach, and give members a place to discuss its merits and faults, and to get some support for fine tuning their eating, if they'd like to give it a try.

Please introduce yourself!!!

 My story:

     I was super-morbidly obese from my mid-twenties (I am now 50+) -- and about nine years ago, I had several hitting-rock-bottom experiences related to being too fat to function well.  Neither my body nor my life "worked" any longer, and I turned (for the zillionth time) to the Atkins diet.  

     I had already spent a fortune on Weigh****chers, and it occurred to me that dieting in the 60's and early 70's had worked for people, and America was steadily getting fatter as we tried higher-carb dieting, so I looked into older diet plans that had worked for my mother's generation.  My guide was Atkins' book, "The New Atkins Diet Revolution."

     Who knows why we successfully stick to an eating plan one day, after having failed it so many times before?  Not me!  But this time it DID stick, and over the course of a year, I managed to bring my weight from 315 lbs. down to 179.   Significantly, I was participating in an early-morning exercise Boot Camp for much of that time.  I felt great!  I felt wonderful!  I was close to being merely overweight for the first time in my adult life!

     Though I did the Atkins diet imperfectly, my weight stayed at about 180 for several years -- but then I started a new and stressful job, and as my anxieties grew, so did my waistline -- After one year, my weight had climbed to 245!!!

     I was NOT willing to get back up to 315 again!  NEVER!  I had seen the weight-loss-surgery success of several people I knew, and realized this could be a great solution.  In August I went to a meeting for a well-respected and highly recommended bariatric surgeon, and by December of 2007 I had my Roux-en-Y.

     Without a doubt, this was one of the best things I ever did for my health.  As I write this, my weight is about 160, and has been there for two years, almost without effort.  BUT ... I did notice that I had some peri-menopausal weight gain, and decided to fine-tune my weight and my health by giving Atkins another try.

     To my relief, ten pounds of inflammation dropped almost immediately.  And here I am, once again, giving the old Atkins plan a shot!

     That's right -- I have had Weight Loss Surgery, and I still need to diet now and then!  It is much easier, but I cannot say that my RnY brought me down to my goal weight, or that it solved all of my problems.  

So -- That's my story!  

What's yours?

Had  RNY March 2005.  Went from 262 to 125 and have maintained fairly well.  Went up to 147, but down to 132 this morning.  I try to do low carbs and high protein.  I walked for exercise till two months ago when I had a hysterectomy.  Since surgery have had numerous complication including a leaking bladder and constipation.  Doctor trying to help my bladder problem with medicine.  I am hoping to retrain bladder.  

I am trying to control the problem with food and stool softeners.  Also I take flax seed oil gel caps.

I am looking forward to the Adkins board.  Would appreciate help with bathroom problem and diet suggestions.

Ruby
RNY  3/2005
262/125/132
hi/lo/today               

hi all,

Just joined today,,,,, horray merry christmas.  I have been doing low carb on and off for 28 years.  Low carb is definetly the way to go for heatlh.  I think the issues is what is "low carb" in other words what is considered low carb.....looking forward to this site.

Hi!

Just about 10 years ago I had the Duodenal Switch surgery. I started at 375 lbs. and lost 173 lbs. I was very happy with my results. However, over the years, I have managed to gain 55 lbs. back. Mostly because I was not really monitoring my carb intake. The DS is great at malabsorbing fat and protein, but simple carbs get absorbed virtually 100%. So, in order to lose the weight I gained back and to work with my surgery, an Atkins type eating plan is the best way to go. And so far it is working. Since September I have lost 30 lbs. My goal it to get below my previously lowest weight.

I have been overweight since puberty, I think.  It seems I have always been overweight, but pictures of me before puberty show me that I was not overweight.  Pictures of me after puberty show me slightly overweight but that was the 70's when Twiggy was the style and if you weren't a waif, you were overweight.  Needless to say, my body image is majorly f****d.

I have done Atkins and Optifast before and had a lot of success.  A mostly protein diet, with low carb gives me more energy and less hunger.  However, if I let the carbs start slipping back in, I am right back to square one.  Just like an alcoholic with one drink.  I actually feel the carbs messing with my body when I go off the low carb diets.  There is a rush after eating and a couple of hours later, I am totally wiped out, 

I really appreciate having this group and hope it will be my inspiration for getting back on track.

I had the VSG 2 months ago, and did it because no matter what I did, I couldn't lose weight for any length of time.  I really need to have some good variety in what I eat, but I am insulin sensitive and can't have alot of carbs or the cravings for sweets come right back.  I have lost nearly 40lbs including the preop diet, but I don't feel like that's enough and I need some help with meal plans.  I have basically the same thing all of the time which won't last long.  Help is appreciated.

Hi, I'm so glad to see this group here on OH!!!

A little about myself...
I've been overweight/obese/(super) morbidly obese since I was very young and went on my first medically supervised diet at the age of 8. When I was 17 I did NutriSystem and successfully lost about 55 lbs which put me at a normal BMI for about a minute, LOL. Ever since then my weight has been a steady upward climb, despite off and on dieting & exercise, all the way to 315 lbs. The first time I tried low carb eating was during my pre op diet and I was able to lose 43 lbs fairly effortlessly. Today I am almost 17 months post op VSG and I know that low carb eating is how I will get to my goal, plus I really do feel much better when I've cut out all refined carbs. Thank you for putting this group together :)

Like the rest of you I've been a life long dieter and when I look back to the one time in  my life that I lost weight and maintained it until I got pregnant was when I was eating high protein. Since I have a lapband I need more help than that cause it ain't all it's cracked up to be. However when I team it up with low carb it's much more effective. Of course with the holidays I've fallen off track but come 1/1/11 we start again! That's one thing I love about Atkins is you can always get back on track and at 60 I don't expect to come out looking like a model just want to get some of this lard off my butt!

Hi there! My name is Shannon. I have come to the paleolithic/high fat school of thought by way of food intolerances. I know foods like whole grains, legumes, nuts/seeds, and dairy are supposed to be good for you, but they don't agree with me. I am 32 years old and feel like my joints are 80! Problem is, my doctor (holistic MD) told me that my systemic joint pain could be the very early signs of RA (rheumatoid arthritis) because I already have another autoimmune disease (Hashimoto's thyroid disease) and once you have one, it's more common to develop others. He wants me on an anti-inflammatory diet -- lots of fish, poultry, grassfed beef, veggies, olive oil, and some fruit. But I keep sabotaging myself and can't seem to follow-through.

I have been studying higher fat, lower carb nutrition (ala Primal Blueprint, Paleo Solution, Rosedale Diet, Primal Body Primal Mind, Protein Power, Atkins) for quite some time. The Paleo type plans espouse eating as our ancestors did -- meats, fish, poultry, veg, fruits (more lenient on some plans than others), and nuts/seeds plus healthy oils (olive, avocado, macadamia nut, grassfed butter).

I had the VSG surgery in May 2009. My very highest weight was 365 (have been obese pretty much all my life from early childhood on); surgery weight was 322. I am now 268 after getting down to around 252 at one point. I haven't lost anything in close to a year (and have gained as you can see).

I know this lower carb WOE is what is for me even though, according to my doc, I don't have insulin resistance. My fasting insulin was <2, which he said he rarely sees. But still, I obviously have food issues.

I am also a physician assistant student in grad school and want to be a good example for my future patients. Plus, I feel that I will be able to help my patients understand their bodies if I can get a grip on my own food cravings and issues.

Shannon