I do feel much better, thank you.

Looking forward to the next 20 pounds.  I think that I will use that first
picture and pair it up at the end as the before and after set when I reach
my goal.  I figure I ought to scan the first photo to make it more clear.
(But, on the other hand, I really don't want that picture to be any more
vivid in its representation than it already is ;)

JJ.

Jim,

Excellent job on your weight loss too.

Since you are one of those here now on maintenance, but only for a
relatively short time, would you be willing to share how things are going
for you in maintaining your weight?  I do not mean to trivialize the weight
loss portion of this for you, or for anyone, but having been to this stage
in the past I know how difficult maintaining can be.  At least it certainly
has been difficult for me in the past.

For those of you who have maintained your weight loss for extended periods,
my heartfelt congratulations, and I would like to hear from you too.  I
suspect others will as well.

I'm fearful of the last stage of this, the maintenance part, and I am
working hard to ensure that my state of mind is such that I will continue to
eat correctly and not lapse back into old, very bad, habits.  This, to be
perfectly honest, is one of my primary reasons for participating in this
support group.

JJ.

Fantastic !!!

Thank you all.  If it is okay with you I will just suck up the complements
for the time being.  I need something to feel good about this week.

JJ.

Thank you Jean.

From some of your earlier posts you sound like you have been doing quite
well yourself, I recall you were pleased back in December with smaller
slacks.  The sizes you described then are the same as my wife started from
and moved to at about the same time...and she is doing fine on her weight
loss, and looking fine too I might add.

Me, I just want to get rid of the rest of this gut, and I won't miss it a
bit.

JJ.

You are an angel, thank you.  You are looking wonderful in your photos too.

JJ.

Thank you.

My wife has said "Hey, you have a chin again...and a dimple."  (Hmmm, now
that I write that down I wonder if she meant that she could see my chin
again or that I only had "a" chin, as in one instead of two ;-)

JJ.

You've lost 20 lbs in 2 months or less -- that's GOOD!  I know it's discouraging
to keep waiting and waiting for the scale to budge, but stay the course and you
WILL be rewarded!

Hey!  You're losing upwards of a pound a week *and* you're losing inches?
What exactly is it that you "don't see?"  Don't be so hard on yourself!
You're doing great.

carla
237/218/165?

Marli,

You've lost 20 pounds in two months, that is wonderful.

Do I exercise.  Yes.  I walk.  A lot.  I have begun lifting weights again,
just free weights at this point to start working on some muscle tone.

Do I ever feel like giving up?  I have certainly given up in the past on
other diets (the typical low-far calorie restricted regiments) but, as I
have never been able to resign myself to a lifetime of being fat, I
ultimately won't give up.

There is absolute truth to the statements about not being hungry on a
low-carb diet, so long as you stay within your personal carb limits.  In my
case I also count and restrict calories but, with absolute truthfulness, I
have no real feelings of hunger.  Of course, there are many foods that I
used to eat that I now miss.  I miss many things, mostly those items I think
of as comfort food.  But I recognize the difference between having a
physical craving (the classic addiction) and a psychological need...I think
that this is an accurate depiction of what is happening to me.  I'm not
certain that I can explain what works for me but it is not so much that I
try to avoid temptation as it is that I try to avoid being put in situations
where I will be tempted.

As far as not "seeing it" goes, I personally lost about 30 pounds before the
first person even said anything about me dropping weight...I had a lot of
weight to lose, and it took a lot for it to be noticeable to others.

I knew things were changing, and are changing, in the way my clothes fit and
in the way I feel...those inches you mention.  The scale is only one measure
of success, however meaningful it might be.  I've not spoken of it here thus
far but it should come as no surprise that, at my heaviest, I had continual
bouts with acid reflux...big time heart burn.  THAT is long gone I'm happy
to say, and I didn't need to lose more than 20 pounds or so to see that
difference.  By itself that was enough to encourage me to continue.

Based upon your stats you sound like you are doing something right.  I don't
see any point in hounding you, or seeing you hound yourself, about cheating.
I don't know what might have motivated you to do that.  I can think of many
things that can motivate you to continue and not give up.  The old saw is
that you did not gain the weight overnight, you will not lose it overnight
either.  Nor should you.

I think you are doing fine, stick with your program, you will ultimately
succeed.

JJ.