Wow! Awesome for you!

Thanks Joker.

Congrats.

I started the low carb deal a week ago and have lost 6 so far. I have a ways to go, but it's a solid start.

6 lbs. in a week is way solid. Way to go.

saw an article this weekend that highlighted some of the health issues that people have developed going with a no carb/low carb diet. while i also understand that not everyone has these type of reactions, i hope you at least see a doctor at some point during this to make sure you aren't one of those it impacts negatively.

Thanks Happy. I honestly think my carb intake is just basically at a normal level now..i used to be a carb fiend. I have bread, potatoes, rice, pasta pretty much every day...just not nearly as much of them as i used to.

Thanks RJ. I am only doing the militant extreme low carb deal for a couple weeks and will then do less carbs for the foreseeable future. Those are my Achilles heel and I am aware of it, so that is the direction I am going from now on, hopefully permanently.
Currently, I do eat broccoli and the incidental carbs in mainly iceberg lettuce now, but again, just for the short term to kick-start my weight loss. I used to be heavily into lifting weights and fitness, although it's been quite a few years since then. My body fat was in the single digits and I had a fair amount of muscle mass. Not sure I could ever get back to those levels again as I just don't have the same motivation or time that it takes to get there, but I am sick of the "dad bod" I have now.

I don't think low carb is a big deal (not saying don't see your doctor, just that I think it's fairly simple in concept). There are some things that if you never ate them again, I really don't think you will be hurt by it.

To me, it's what type of carbs are you eating. The biggest obstacle I saw was bread. It's everywhere in different forms (I include snacks in that category). For instance, toast or bagel or English muffin for breakfast....sandwich for lunch with a side of chips....popcorn snack, Dorito snack.....burger or hot dog with bun or pizza for dinner. There are things that may not come literally with bread but can be breaded (chicken, pork chops, etc.). I grew up in a meat and potatoes family with bread and butter on the dining room table every night.

Replace all of that as much as you can with fruits or vegetables and get rid of soda (diet or regular) and I believe that's pretty much the key. I snack on cheese, sausage and nuts.

I never ate too much pasta so that wasn't a big deal for me. I really don't miss potatoes much either but do have them a couple of times per month.

There are other refined sugars I really cut back on but I don't think the average person eats cake or cookies or candy with every single meal. I think most eat some kind of bread with just about every meal.

All to say, that in my opinion, falling off the wagon with some refined sugar seems like it's the occasional thing and something you can get over quickly. Keep eating bread regularly and it adds up.

Unabashed brag alert coming.......as i noted above, i lost 15 lbs. in (estimating here) about the first 2 months of my diet change....and then hung right there for another month. This morning i was down another 5 lbs. and am as low as i've been in about 20 years. I think another 10 lbs. and i'll be at my ideal weight.

Congrats RJ! Way to stick with it.

Thanks.