My progress story isn't Low Carb driven until this year, but I have a heaviest weight of 335-350. I stepped down "chunks" for a while. That was in 2006-2008...then with a medication change (med had added over 40 pounds in 6 months), I got down to 298 on 1/4/12. In the next six months, I finally kicked my ex-hub fully to the curb, getting rid of a 265 pound weight off my back, and got moving. I lost 50 pounds in six months, maintained it for about 2 years. This time last year, I had creeped back up to 272....then, got back down to the 240's in June, the doing a gentle ebb and flow to a holiday-fueled 262, and I'm back in the high 240's now, 248 this morning, but my weight fluctuates wildly day to day.

I started LCHF/borderline Keto on 1/15/15, so that makes today day 34. I was at 255 of 1/14/15, and I'm at 248 today, so that is a solid 7 pounds gone, but I've lost almost that many inches in hips and waist, I'm back down a full size of pants in that time, and I've got more energy than ever before in my life as far back as I can remember, I have a number of health issues under decent control, my mental fog and complications are mostly gone, cravings (I was an utter carbaholic and sweets junkie of the worst degree, I can't even explain how bad...) are nuked almost completely and what little is left is easily managed, and I just finally feel like the me I knew was hiding inside somewhere...

I spent a good deal of time last year getting my head in the right place and back in the game. I wrote a number of blogs chronicling the journey.

I think these are the heaviest photos of me I could find with some pictures from last week.

I started low carb mid-December and despite a loss in the family, holidays, and lots of chances to cheat, I've only taken one week off (Christmas to New Years) and had 3 "cheat" meals since. I've been in ketosis for 4 straight weeks, with 2 mini-vacations during that time.

I've lost 14 pounds, several inches, and I'm on the verge of being down 2 pant sizes. This is a huge success for me because I've never been able to focus on a diet any longer than a month because the scale starts creeping or stops moving altogether. I don't have cravings and this past weekend was the hardest I've had since I started. I think it was because I didn't have access to enough fat and ate way too much protein. Now that I'm back home and can do things my way, I'm fine. I absolutely love(d) anything sweet or starchy, and while I miss those foods, I find that it's mostly a mind thing and just a bite or two satisfies me. Yesterday, I even had 2 small bites of my son's vday sugar cookie and managed to stay in ketosis!

FYI, I did stall for a couple of weeks when I started my cycle and started working out. I only have about 16 pounds more to go, so right or wrong, for motivation's sake, I'm going to wait to start working out again. I do plan to keep eating this way for the long haul. Aside from my grief and depression, I feel great!

Best of luck to you! You can do this!!!

Knitormiss (love the name!), you are looking amazing! Keep up the good work!

-Rebecca

I started Aug 30 ish at 230 with the CICO and lost about 14 pounds starving myself and miserable. I kept at it but gained back 6 pounds. Then I gave up for a few months.

Came back to the LCHF Nov 28,yes Thanksgiving Day. We did not do anything special so I was not being a poop to give up a big dinner that did not happen. My weight then was 226. By Dec 3,doctor appointment I was down to 220. I am losing very slowly but now I am 207. I only have face shots to show the change. Not sure it really shows much. Left is about the end of 2013 I think and the right is the end of January.

Thanks everyone, and I love hearing these stories! Kudos to all of us!!

@strawmama As a big bootie girl myself, I have to say that the most amazing change for me in your photos is your backside curve!!! Have you done anything to help the process along exercise wise? I'm just curious because I like my curve, I just don't want it to be as pronounced that it makes everything stick out! LOL

@rmath76 Thank you - it was a name I picked out for my knitting business years ago, but I realized that I wasn't willing to work for peanuts, because no one wants to pay what a person's time is worth! LOL

@shadesofidaho‌ If you are handy with computers at all, I used Microsoft Word to make one picture partially transparent, changed the settings on both so I could put one atop the other, grouped them together, and the cut/pasted them into PowerPoint so I could save it back to a single image. Before I did this, I resized both pictures for best resolution and lining up my facial features... I was wanting to find out if there is an app anywhere that will resize pictures based on facial recognition! Anyone? And your differences are amazing! To me, one of the first places we can see differences is our faces, because of simple proportion and water...

@itcphotog It's good to see someone on around my same schedule with similar progress!! Nice work.

@ShawnaDrew I'm going to write more about this later, but I wanted to tell you that I think I've just had the biggest NSV of my life. I've always been a stress/emotional eater. Today I had a massive episode that sent me into a 30-45 minute rant with my best friend, just to get back to functional (luckily I was at lunch). Normally, this type of stress would have resulted in me eating an entire bag of "fun size" candy bars, three or more king sized candy bars, family sized bags of doritos or fritos or lays - the WHOLE THING, an entire large jar of nutella, or any number of equally binge worthy eating sessions. I was utterly flabberghasted to realize a few hours later that even though I was eating lunch at the time, I never craved more food, I never even once thought of food as a stress relief, I didn't have a sweets/carb/junk instant compulsion/addiction/craving. I thought about going for a walk, but a frustration earlier contributed to this issue so I didn't. I thought about listening to some loud angry rock music, but it faded before I got that far. I thought about making sure I got more fat later because my meal didn't have as many calories as it should have maybe, so I started thinking about what fat bombs to make tonight, but not right then... Drinking more water, yeah, sure. But my formerly inescapable coping technique was decimated off the face of my current existence - or it went into hiding/WitSec.... I'm still reeling from this realization, but if nothing else, if I never lose another single ounce, this alone is reason for me to continue eating this way...

I think I need this as much as everyone else. I am having a rough time getting weight off right now, and it is starting to get to me.

After I had my daughter in 2009, I wasn't really worried about my weight. I had gained 36 pounds during my pregnancy, and lost 25 of it within a couple of months. I didn't really consider my self overweight (which I was) I am 5'5" and I think I was around 170-175. I always thought I was 'big boned' the smallest I ever was before that point was in high school and a size 7. I thought my body wasn't built to go smaller than that - and who ever gets back to high school size anyway?

As time went by I knew I was gaining weight, but I wasn't concerned with it. I was taking care of my daughter, working full time, heavy on volunteering, looking back I was having other issues as well. My weight was not on the list of things to care about. One day I remember realizing I was fat - and I was okay with that. I ate what I wanted, and a lot of it.

It took me a year or so after that to decided that I should loose weight. In the Early spring of 2012 I weighed 225 pounds. I hadn't stepped on a scale for a very long time. (in fact I think I had to buy one) So I started weight watchers and lost about 30 pounds. Life got in the way and I didn't worry about it again until the fall of 2012.

One of the girls in my church (I thought she was bigger than me, but I don't think I ever realized how big I was) lost a lot of weight really fast -- or it seemed like it was really fast. I only saw her a couple of times a month, and I thought she must have has surgery to loose all of that weight. I was talking to a mutual friend and she told me the girl was doing a low carb diet. The next day I googled everything I could think of about low carb.

If she lost that weight, I could too, and I was doing it. RIGHT THEN. -- This was the week before Thanksgiving. I figured out what to eat and stuck to a schedule. I didn't think about what I couldn't have, I didn't worry about what other people were doing. I was going to loose weight - full stop. There was no other choice. And I did.



I didn't exercise for a very long time, and I did have a few slip ups, it happens. The majority of my weight came off from diet - and determination. If you make a change - you will see a change. I eventually did do Shawn T's Rockin' Body (which I still do occasionally) and I did P90x for 8 weeks. I really enjoyed that, but 1hour to 1hr 45 mins is a lot for me in the morning.

Those photos are of me are at the same event - with a two year difference. I think was was around 195-200 or so when the first photo was taken and a size 18 jeans.

The second one I weighed 137 and fit (tightly) into a size 2 jeans. --Crazy. I honestly didn't think that was possible.

Since then I have gained 10 pounds, I am currently sitting at 146 and can't seem to budge the scale for anything. But I try to remember -- If you MAKE a change, you WILL see a change.

@stillonamission, you had me at size 18 to size 2! Wow!!! That is amazing!!!

Right now I'd be happy to get down to a 16; I actually felt my best at size 12 (pants). I'm a pear shape, and I love my big booty (as does my husband)! But at size 12 pants, I would be a S/M on top, and that's perfect to me. I got *almost* to 12 a few years ago when I was doing the Raw Food Detox Diet, which I suppose is also low-carb if you are going with net carbs as I ate about 70% raw vegetables and fruits and filled in the rest with meat and cooked vegetables and some high-quality starches like sweet potatoes, squash, and those awesome Ezekiel 4:9 breads and tortillas I used to only be able to find in one health food store in town (but now, at least here in Houston, they sell them at the regular grocery stores, including the Kroger right across the street!).

Sorry for rambling!

Thanks for all of these stories! They're very good to hear.

Thank you, for the love -- I really mean it. As we all know it is not easy to loose weight. It really comes down to the daily choices and it is easy to loose sight of that and want to see the big picture. I am extremely fortunate not to have any other health issues that others have to contend with. I also feel like if I can do it. You can do it. Just one day at a time!

It is also amazing to see everyone else's success and goals. And nothing is more rewarding than seeing someone you haven't seen in a while and get a "wow"!

@Knittormiss Thanks for the photo change, it does make a difference. Now it feels so odd to look back at those photos. I can see a big difference in your photos, so I am sure you feel the same!

@Mami1976 Yes seriously 18 to 2 - I NEVER thought that would happen. I just wanted to loose weight, and once I started loosing it I just wanted to keep it going.

@Jdkbs I think it is different for everyone and how much weight you need to loose. I lost the bulk of it in 8 months. For the first month or so I lost 6-7 pounds a week. But I had a lot of weight to loose and it tapered off. I made sure I ate under 20 net carbs a day. Now the scales haven't really budged in 3 weeks and I generally eat 5-10 net carbs a day, however, I am only 20 pounds from what I have identified as my goal weight. I think my body is good with my weight now. After the first couple of weeks once your body has stabilized itself, you should be feeling much 'clearer'.

All of you are so amazing and such a great inspiration! I wish I had joined MyFitnessPal earlier in my journey because this community has been just wonderful!

I started low carb a week before Valentine's Day last year and lost about 50 pounds in 6 months. I then kind of maintained for a while until I was ready to take off the rest. So far I've lost a total of 60 pounds and have about 15 more to go.

I started as a very tight size 16, like doing lunges in the dressing room so I could zip them up kind of tight. I'm now a size 4 and here I am on Valentine's Day this year.