Hi, I'm Twibbly, been hanging out here for a while, have dietary restrictions out the wazoo (seriously...chicken. Who reacts to chicken? Other than me), finally behaving and eating what I'm supposed to for...16 days? 17? All sorts of weird little things are fixing themselves.

Hello to all you new, new beautiful people!
I'm Karlotta (or Karla, thank you mother for two names, lol!), I'm 47 and have been married almost 23 years. We have an 18 year old son who just graduated from high school on May 21st and began his college career on May 27th. I am an RN, but haven't worked in ten years due to physical inability (if you can't do CPR without hurting yourself it's time to stop putting patients at risk) from Fibromyalgia and neck issues from a car wreck 18 years ago. So, I don't work a job, but am thinking about signing up to be a substitute teacher at our high school. I'm gauging that decision on how I continue to feel.

I've been heavy since puberty at age 12. I'm 5'8 &1/2". Five years ago I had a gastric sleeve after ballooning to 318 pounds. I lost to 208 (for a day and a half) and proceeded to regain to 267. My excuse? I ate the same food after surgery that I had always eaten and justified it by the fact that I couldn't eat much of it, but I was sick too. At four months post op I began to throw up bile. It would happen anytime, wake me at night mostly, and was always nauseated. One good thing is that I learned to love myself, even though I felt awful. They removed my gallbladder and did every medical test that could be done, but could never fix the bile issue. Through testing with another surgeon I finally found out that surgeon number one had not done the surgery correctly (IKR?!!!!). So, in January, 2015, I was converted to a gastric bypass (weight was 231 on day of surgery) and have felt better since then. Decided to use MFP after for logging my food and found this amazing group. Through reading I found this woe and transitioned to LCHF as my diet progressed post op and haven't looked back! Have been at ZC since May 1. I've found that fibromyalgia pain is greatly improved! Not gone completely, but so much better (pain a constant 5+ is now 0-5 as long as I don't overdo). Still have headaches from the wreck, but feel my body is working on those too. The healing my body is undertaking has the scale bouncing but on a good day I'm 194.4! So, I'm sticking with that for now!

Without MFP, and this amazing group of people, I wouldn't be here changing my life! In the beginning I just jumped in and never told my full story, so there it is! I love all of you for helping me! The path that was laid for me, by the committed, longer-term folks, has made this an amazing ride so far! I look forward to seeing where this new life takes me!

I am Goat. Every group needs at least one fundamentalist extremist. I fill that role here.

It's hard to describe who I am. I am a strict carnivore (no plants except my cup of coffee and occasionally some seasoning for my meat). I am way out in left field when it comes to a lot of things. I'm anti-restriction, anti-sweeteners, anti-faux foods, anti-veggies, anti-fruit, anti-supplements. Don't worry too much about that, though. I know we're all on different paths. If your carb goal and tolerance is higher than mine, I'm more than happy to support you in making it work for your goals. If I can pry that Diet Coke out of your cold, dead hands. . . you know, it doesn't hurt me if you love Diet Coke. I just say it because I come from a different perspective than most here. I've found success not through calorie restriction, but from removing the foods that caused me problems. Once they were gone, my body took care of things on its own terms.

I'm a short guy. I'm only 163 cm (5'4") tall. At my heaviest, I weighed between 102-105 kg (225-230 lbs). I'll save you from the BMI math. That puts me at just a hair under 40. I did lose weight from calorie restriction, but it was miserable and I had to eat really small amounts thanks to my height. I dropped to around 75 kg (165 lbs) at my lowest and could not get lower. On top of that, I eventually reached a point where it started reversing because I couldn't keep it up any more.

I officially started keto at a weight of 92.5 kg (202.5 lbs) although I had already been losing some weight with a primal moderate carb approach up to that point. I probably hit 98 kg (215 lbs) before I decided to try the low(er) carb approaches. I had been very anti-low-carb for years. It had to be bad for you. Anyway, the weight came off steadily. Not super-fast, but it did come off. My version of keto was 99% plant-free. I was eating them because I thought I had to or I might get sick. Eventually, some reading convinced me that wasn't the case. I stopped all my supplements and eating plants. I've been that way pretty much ever since.

I am currently under my original goal weight of 74 kg (163 lbs). Why 74 kg? Two reasons. First, it put me under the lowest I could reach by cutting calories, and, believe me, I don't restrict calories these days. Second, it put me under a BMI of 28. That's the old cutoff for a healthy male BMI before they lowered it to 25 back in 1998. I might never get below 25, it would be nice but I am not trying to lose any more weight. If some more weight comes off, it's because my body decided to take it off. It won't be because I tried to lose more. I'm currently around 71 kg (156 lbs) and a BMI of 26-27. I would need to get down to around 65 kg (143 lbs) to reach what the government thinks is a healthy weight. I don't think that would look that good on me. My profile picture is what I currently look like. Is there some chub that could still come off? Yes. Is there 13 pounds of it? I don't know. I'm more focused on general fitness and letting the body work itself out.

The government says this is over-weight. They also tell you that vegetables are good for you. "Hogwash!" I say, "Absolute hogwash!"

I'm new to the group, but have been doing LC for almost 2 months now. I'm 48, 5'7" & weigh 160, down from 180 when I started. I'm a mom with 2 sons. One is 8 years old and my (step)son. Is almost 21. My first grandchild (also a boy), will be arriving in about 6 weeks. I am a nurse practitioner in a very busy ICU and work long hours.

LC is the only way I can lose weight since I hit 45. I had been pretty steady at 140 - 145, but chronic gastric issues led to several months of highly starchy foods (easier to digest ) & my weight skyrocketed. I was on 3 different meds for the gastric problems and felt terrible all the time. I never had any energy and just watched my 8 year old play. After having a bad case of the flu in late February, I couldn't walk around the unit at work without wheezing. So I decided I had to make some changes for myself and my kids.
I started LC dieting & started walking every day. In 2 months, I've lost almost 20 lbs and have gone from barely being able to walk around the block to walking 3+ miles & occasionally even jogging. Even better, the LC diet has improved my gastric problems & I've dropped 2 of the meds that I've been on. I still have 20 lbs to go, but want to maintain this way of eating for the health improvements. I have so much more energy and feel like a different person. I take karate with my 8 year old and am now an active volunteer with his cub scout group. I love hiking with them and spending active time with my son.

I would love to get meal ideas and recipes from others. I would also love to provide support and encouragement to others that are walking thus road with me. I'm excited to be part of this group!

I'm Wab, and I'm a carboholic.

I've never been obese, and I didn't really consider myself fat (but I was). I'm 6'1" and my top weight was around 220lbs. High school weight was probably around 170lbs, so I slowly added an average of less than 2lbs per year (current age is 53).

My doc noted that my heart disease risk had been increasing even though I was "weight stable." At one point, my triglyceride levels were crazy high -- around 700 mg/dl.

So I developed a theory about my condition -- some people suck at making new fat cells, and I might be one of those people. I ate a LOT. I'd eat an entire large pizza when the family ordered pizza. I snacked all the time. Girl Scouts loved me during their cookie sales. I should have been obese. Instead, my fat cells appeared to be full and overflowing.

High TG is also associated with low HDL. And full and overflowing fat cells appears to be associated with insulin resistance, so my fasting blood sugar was slowly increasing as well. I was officially diagnosed with Metabolic Syndrome, which isn't a disease as much as a collection of symptoms associated with insulin resistance.

10 years ago, I tried a low-carb diet with no interest in weight loss -- purely to get the high TG under control. It worked amazingly well, and my TG dropped from 700ish to about 170. Over the years, I let the carbs back in, and my TG went back up to 300ish.

Last year, my doc threatened to start me on statins due to my elevated heart disease risk, so I went back on a low-carb diet, but this time with the dual goals of losing weight and improving my blood tests.

After a few months, I lost 20lbs and had my blood retested. ALL metrics improved -- I had NONE of the markers for Metabolic Syndrome.

I've now dropped about 30lbs -- I'm at the top range of a "normal" BMI. And I feel fantastic. My only goal at this point is to avoid backsliding and to stay low carb for life.

I am a 51-year-old female, type 2 diabetic, hypothyroid, with Addison's disease. Wow, that sounds absolutely depressing. But, I feel great, most of the time. I lost 30lbs on low carb in 2014 and have maintained. I went lower carb after finding out about keto and it has helped to normalize my sugar readings. I have quite a bit of energy throughout the day and I love that. I do, however, want to lose 10 more lbs (I am currently 147, 5'7"). I am having a very hard time losing this last bit. Don't know why since I am doing everything "right". I am feeling a lot more comfortable in this group, as I did get chewed up a lot writing about carbs and insulin in the main threads.

Hi I'm Karen, 56 yr old and began the low carb lifestyle 3 weeks ago. I am down 10.6 lbs. Wont lie and say I don't miss the carbs but this is easy to stick with. Have not given up dairy, I have a McDonalds ice cream cone almost daily. Feel much better.

I'm Toni, I'm 35 (well, I will be next month, so close enough), mother of 3 girls with a 4th girl on the way (33 weeks pregnant). New to mfp, but started low carb eating two years ago. My current youngest had just turned 1 and I hadn't been able to lose much of the baby weight with conventional dieting. I set out to lose 20 lbs (from 185 to 165, which was my lowest weight as an adult, I'm 5'7") but with low carb I dropped down to 138 in 7 months and fluctuated between 138-145 for about a year before getting pregnant again. Love, love, love this way of eating! Right now I'm obviously not wanting to lose, but once baby is born I will be! Would like to get back to about 140lbs, that seems to be a good weight for me.

Hi I'm Janice, and I am 53 yrs old, 5'4", and 203 pounds. I have been overweight to obese since about age 11, with many weight loss efforts through the years. I am divorced from a troubled marriage and have 2 daughters, 21 and 23 who live with me. I have hypothyroidism, bilateral vestibular hypofunction (makes me dizzy) and have suffered from anxiety in the past.

My highest weight was 284, so I am down 81 pounds so far, 40 of them lost by switching to a sugar free paleo /Primal diet with a few gluten free items here and there. I was losing weight at the rate of 10 pounds per year, so starting last September 2014 I began a challenge with the intent to lose weight more rapidly. I did lose weight, but then put some back on with sugar-free/grain-free Christmas baking. It's supposed to be good for you right? It is better than eating sugar and wheat, but for me, not such a good idea. My net weightloss over a period of over 5 months turned out to be 18 pounds.

In January 2015 I decided to try keto, and floundered a bit until I joined MFP in early March. What a great tool ! I had no idea exactly how much protein/fat/carbs I was eating until I learned how to log my food and really keep track. I've been on MFP for a little more than 3 months and have lost 23 pounds, so definitely seeing better results.

At first I was aiming for 75% fat/ 20% protein and 5% carbs, but saw my weightloss stall in April and May, so decided to try Zero Carb for June, and so far I am very pleased with the results. I have lost 8 pounds in 2 weeks, similar to the start of my keto journey with MFP in March. April and May showed me that if I ate nuts, too much cheese, berries or anything sweet tasting or a bit starchy, my weight would go up, I would retain water etc.

I guess the main thing about the way I eat, is my philosophy of getting the best quality real food I can get. I was lucky to find farmers to provide us with all our protein needs. Grass fed beef, pastured pork, chickens, turkey, lamb, eggs and all the bones and parts of the animals that most people don't use. I make bone broth regularly, and also grow my own vegetables, make my own pickles and kombucha. I don't believe in convenience foods or packaged foods, and make most of our food from scratch.

I'm not eating plants right now, but imagine that I will introduce lettuce and tomato to eat with my bacon when the veggies are ready. I will gauge how I feel and how my weight responds and decide from there if I will continue with ZC or if it will become my go-to way to combat weight gain from carbs.

This all has been such a learning experience, and I find that keto has given me control over food for the first time in my life ! Even paleo had not done that. The support on MFP is amazing and has really boosted me when I wondered initially if I could continue. But we are all doing this together ! And that is the best things ever.

I'm super excited about ZC right now. It's a funny thing but I don't feel that it restricts me. In fact I feel more freedom. Freedom from wondering what to cook, freedom from HUNGER. Hunger is gone. I finally know what real hunger feels like, rather than emotionally desiring to eat something to soother the spirit or occupy time. I still do look forward to eating, but I am not tempted to stray from ZC or eat snacks or overindulge. I eat until I can't eat any more meat and since I get full so quickly, I stop eating and end up eating less that ever before. That really feels like freedom. Thanks to Goat for being such an inspiration !

Hi- I'm Cheesy. 5'10, 301.6 lb down from a high of 330.

I've been following the Paleo Autoimmune Protocol diet for about 18 months, and am re-doing the elimination phase starting tomorrow, with a low-carb / keto approach. Goals are to lose weight and improve symptoms from two autoimmune neuromuscular disorders.

Hi, just joined the group recently. I'm 42, 5'0" and 134lbs. I have insulin resistance and heart disease. Had 3 stents put in my arteries in December 2012. Lost some weight after that with CICO, low fat, high fiber. Then went through a phase where I was just tired of watching everything I ate and gained it all back and then some. Got to highest weight ever of 140 a few months ago and decided I really needed to get my act together if I want to be around to see my 9 year old grow up. Started doing some research and decided I needed to try the low carb way of life. Started a couple of months ago and am trying to stay under 50 net carbs but so far I'm not getting there consistently. I am at least consistently under 100 which from what I've read on here means I am probably getting at least a little keto going on. Haven't lost much weight after an initial 5 lb loss, but with a new workout routine I am seeing changes in my body that are keeping me motivated and am hopeful that once I get my carbs consistently in line the weight loss will come. My last blood work showed improvement as well, so that helps too. My husband isn't going quite as drastic, but is really supportive which is great since he does 95% of the cooking.

My goals: lose weight, get off statins, improve cardiac and overall health and stave off T2 diabetes which runs in my family.

Glad to have so many fine folks to share the journey.

Hey everyone,

I'm Patrick.

I'm actually not a low carb dieter. But, I like discussion and I like the MFP forums, so I tend to spread myself around into other groups and read forums and occasionally chime in with my opinion.

I've recently taken a strong liking to powerlifting, having competed twice this year with 2 additional competitions (possibly 3) coming up before the end of the year. I'm also a personal trainer and online coach, and I enjoy that a great deal.

You all have a great forum group here.

Hi ! I'm Brittney and I'm a super newb, to this forum and the app (3 days in) in love with it so far. I used to be one of those girls that could eat whatever and stay tiny.. But in this recent year and a half , I stopped waitressing, and went through losing two grandparents in two months and depression got me good and in this time I managed to put on quite a bit of weight.. Which only added to my depression. In the beginning of May I decided that it was time to change. I started running/walking and also some strength training. Recently I realized I needed a little help with my eating habits, so here I am ! I'm really loving the motivation and advice so far !

Ps- I'm a very picky eater, so I'm interested in seeing any low carb recipe/food suggestions you guys may have to add variety to my diet.

I'm Constance, 35yo married mother of a 41/2 yo living in South Africa.I've been on MFP for about 3 years but not really doing anything useful until this year when I decided to take my weight loss seriously. I'm truly a professional yo yo dieter. I could never stay on a diet for longer than two weeks. When I hit 90kg / 198 pounds (I'm 152 cm or about 5 foot ) over Christmas I knew I needed to get serious about low carb. I had lost a bit before cutting carb but of course I threw myself off the wagon ( I can't say I fell because I made the choices) before I lost any significant weight.

I restarted Keto seriously on March 20 and I've lost 6kg/ 14 pounds so far. I've stalled for about a month but I'm not letting it bother me too much. I've made up my mind that this is a lifestyle change not a diet I'll take the weight loss, if any, at whatever rate. My body loves this way of eating. I'm sticking with it. So there!