I thought I would add my story since this section is blank...even though I haven't reached my goal and still have a long way. I still feel accomplished for losing the amount of weight I have.

I started out at 206 at 5'7 in August. At that time I couldn't wear short sleeved shirts, even a three quarter sleeve was too revealing. My arms were huge and my weight was higher than it had ever been. I looked like I was pregnant and was an extra large. Every time I went shopping without trying things on (which I used to be able to do all the time) everything I bought was way too small, even though it seemed huge when I picked it out. I couldn't get on the floor and play with my little one, and if I tried I couldn't get back up, not easily anyway. Walking anywhere was really hard because I had horrible hip pain which I found out later was due to the excess weight pushing on my nerves. I thad thought I had arthritis in my twenties.

It is amazing the health problems that arise when you are overweight. It seems like they are never ending and your body sort of just shuts down. I know I did. It wasn't just my body shutting down- I was ashamed. I shut myself down and didn't want to go anywhere. I felt like everyone was staring at me, and everything people said had a fat joke in there somewhere. I wasn't used to being overweight- and I didn't accept it well. In fact, even though I was over two hundred pounds, I don't think I really accepted it at all. It was when someone managed to snap a picture of me when I wasn't hiding from the camera. That was what did it. No matter how I looked at it I needed to lose weight. It was the pictures that helped me realize that.

Let me just say my husband was amazing through all this. He gained weight like I did- but he still found me attractive at a heavier weight. He was supportive and with me no matter what I did. I think that really helped me with this process.
It is important to have support, wether it is your family, friends, or an online support group.

It was hard at first- I decided to eat healthy and lower my carbs. I was on something in between a low fat low carb diet. It wasn't any special diet- I just made it up. I exercised with a home DVD every day and started taking walks in the park and hiking a few times a week. I was finally determined to lose weight.

The first twenty lbs came off easily. But I was always hungry and never satisfied. After I lost the first 20, I stopped losing. There was nothing I could do to lose weight at that point. I went to the doctor expressing my concerns and she told me that my body is happy at 186 and wouldn't be able to lose anymore because I had a baby. I was very frustrated. I was still overweight! I still had hip pain, although it was diminishing. There was no way my body could be happy! Right?

I started Atkins when I was completely fed up. It was an extreme for me. I loved carbohydrates, but I loved my health more. It wasn't as hard as I thought in the beginning, because I was prepared. I was determined and had already gone on a low carb shopping spree. I don't think I could have stuck with it if I didn't stuff my fridge with healthy low carb food. I took most of the carb filled stuff to relatives as I didn't want to throw it away. I went to my local meat market and got some fresh meat with some top sirloin steaks. I think what helped me get through the beginning is that I allowed myself to eat large fatty portions like a 2 lb steak the first night. It is not something I would eat now, but it certainly satisfied me and filled me up! As I discovered things like mock fried rice, mock mashed potatoes and low carb cheesecake I began to like the diet more and more and feel less like I am on a diet. I think I lost about three lbs that first day and fifteen in the first couple weeks. I was a little disappointed when my weight loss didn't continue at that pace but I learnt that the first ten lbs is water weight, because carbs retain water.

I have now lost almost 45 lbs total on this diet. My husband constantly says 'we are on a diet?' ...he has lost a lot of weight too (30? 35? lbs) I don't eat fatty unhealthy things like bacon and butter but I did in the beginning of the diet. Juyst knowing I could if I wanted to and probably not gain is enough for me to want to eat healthy.

I have never been good with willpower. I cheat a lot, drinking a couple beers one night and ordering a pizza a week later. My diet is riddled with sugar free sweets. My carbs are not under 20 a day, but I don't have a high carb diet at all. When I do crack down and do 20 carb days I lose at a rapid pace. I know that if I didn't cheat I would be a lot further in my weight loss journey. Keeping a weight loss diary helps a lot because I can recognize patterns in my weight loss, and figure out what items make me stall more than others.

I am still overweight. I still prefer long sleeves. But I am close to being in a healthy weight range. I am on my way, and I am doing something about it. Now that I have lost a signifigant amount of weight my goal seems acheivable. And now I KNOW I can.