I'm Tracee: I have been on MFP and LC (for the 3rd time) since March. I have lost about 16kg (about 35lbs).

I am soon 52. I am originally from Los Angeles but have lived in Oslo, Norway for the past 16 years (hubby is Norwegian). I have been heavy all of my adult life. Biggest was 305 lbs when I moved to Norway.
I lost some weight just from walking all the time the first couple of years here, so my normal weight has been between 265 and 275.

I had a stomach stapling when I was about 25 (the procedure was very new) .. lost 100 lbs, gained it all back plus. Something happened, stomachs stretch, staples pop. Whatever, my determination to be fat to protect whatever I was trying to protect would NOT be thwarted by surgery!

I have used various methods of weight loss, but always gained it back, until THIS TIME. because I have decided this is a lifestyle, not a diet. I chose low carb because my grandmother and both my parents got age onset diabetes after 50 (despite my mother never being more than 10lbs overweight). I am trying to avoid that fate, and although I may not be able to (it's in the dna), I can try keeping it in check. I also don't think I can live without cheese.

I am trying to lose weight because an accident and years of being so heavy have given me osteoarthritis (no cartilage between my bones) in both knees. Physical therapy has helped one knee, but not the other, so it looks like a will be getting a knee replacement, but they will not give it to me at this weight.

I also am tired of the burden of carrying the weight, tired of being fearful of flimsy chairs and jerks on airplanes. I want to walk without pain and feeling like I am lugging a 747 behind me.

I do plan on eating copious amount of carbs on my birthday, Christmas, Easter and a couple of other occasions. Otherwise, this is the way for me! I am not starving (any more than usual), not angry, only occasionally feel deprived, and I'm happy because I can eat cheese (did I say that again?)

I really do love this group. What a great bunch.

Hello, I am trying so hard to eat less carbs but I crave them like crazy. I was once vegetarian and that is probably why. I lost about 70 pounds as a vegetarian making me about 170 , 8 years ago. I am a emotional eater and trying to keep a trace of the emotion that has lead to me over eating on a daily bases. At any rate I am considered diabete at 279 lbs. I use to be very active but had a spinal surgery in 2012 which has prevented me from becoming as active. After surgery I weighed 259 pounds but again stress and pain eating got me up to 270 pounds within a year. I was 273 pounds two weeks ago. My weight is all over the place and menopause has not been a great journey. I am determine to lose 100 pounds by the end of this year. I am currently trying a 1500 calorie diet. I just do not care for meat a lot but I know it will fill me up. I work out 4x's a week, I have tried weights again but due to my medical condition they have difficult to handle. I can lift no more than 5 pounds but I enjoy using the ergometer machine and walking. So here goes I will try the low carb diet I know people who have been successful at low carbs and I want to be on that list. So, I may write on this every day for help or just to report what I have done on a daily base.

I am New to this group? My name is Deborah, 45. I have two boy 16 and 8. I started LCHF in April. I haven't been doing the greatest food wise. I have lost 18lbs. and. One of my pants fit!

I have reduced my carbs. I don't know exactly the breakdown... Hoping to learn all that.

Good for you Jane on finding a decent man!

Hi, Vicki here. 48, Aussie pining to be in England.

We're retiring in 6 years and want to spend a good deal of time in England. That would including a lot of wandering through through the villages and countryside. Last year I reunited with my Dad and after spending a few days with him and watching his weight and movement issues it struck me that I was well on my way to the safe future and that wasn't going to allow me to enjoy travelling. His main health issue is Diabetes that has developed into being insulin controlled. When I arrived home I did a lot of research into diabetes and through information from the Catalyst programme and follow up reading into low carb research decided I'd give it a go.

I've been fat since I was 5, on a diet since I was 10 and now I've found what works for my body.

I used mfp just for logging and one day decided to click on the community heading. I found this group and haven't looked back. It was such a relief to see that I wasn't alone and these guys have given me so much information and support.

I've been attempting LC on-and-off since 2010. In 2010 my husband and I cut our carbs to 120 total g, and sugar to 15g per day. It worked fabulously, and for months we steadily lost. I was down to my lowest weight since early high school, around 137 lbs. Then we had some serious power losses due to weather, twice in a span of just over a month, and we threw out so much [expensive, mail order] low carb food that we sort of panicked and lived on fast food for months.

When we tried to get back on the LC way of eating afterward, we forgot that "Fat is our Friend," and tried to cut both. Not surprisingly, we were miserable, getting nowhere, and frequently binging on the old carb-laden friends just for emotional reward. This was the pattern for the next four years. Each "cheat day" turned into several months before we'd bolster up courage to "put ourselves through the misery" again. Like I said: No fat? No fun.

We tried a "moderation" awareness-based eating path earlier this year, but really it led to us just forgiving the poor choices more often than making good ones.

I decided to try LC again in late February, this time deciding not to worry about what my husband did (we often dragged each other down on bad days). Except this time I found a plan that was even more low carb. It promised 14 lbs in 28 days. After the first week, I figured out that this was a Keto WOE, and abandoned the plan to just find keto recipes and guides. I read everything I could find, voraciously. Everything clicked for me.

My husband was concerned over my enthusiasm at the start, mistaking my obsession over this WOE for obsession over my weight. When I told him during one conversation that I actually felt FREE from food, his interest was piqued. He had been sharing dinner with me just for convenience, and mostly eating his old LC-friendly breakfasts out of habit, so it was not a huge leap to fold him into this WOE and he joined me a month after I started.

The amazing thing this time is that I have had NO trouble avoiding a "cheat day," which we used to schedule for morale boosts (though I've always been aware it does more harm in the long run). We got through all sorts of holidays that would normally have been excuses for going off plan, with only small menu adjustments. For my husband's birthday, we had friends over and ordered them pizzas and made our own with the fathead recipe.

Now, for me, a "cheat day" is one where I eat over 20g of carbs. That would have seemed impossible to the old 120 g/day me.

I no longer see my old comfort favorites as desirable. My brain doesn't even register them as food. My skin has cleared up. I don't fart. I can go all day without food if necessary and not fall apart. I sleep better, wake earlier, have more energy... There are too many benefits I've discovered to list them all here. Most of all, the food is GREAT, and is more satisfying than anything else I've tried. Not to mention I have the energy to get home after work and cook a big meal and there's no temptation to cut corners by stopping for some brand name chemical mixer on the way home.

So here I am. From 166.6 lbs on 2/23/15 to 149 lbs as of this post. My clothes are still the same size, but they fit me completely differently than they did before. I recalculate at the ankerl calculator once a month. I weigh daily (AM) just to log the weight and track trends. Same with calories. I log everything I eat, but more to watch the carbs than anything else. I listen to my hunger cues and if I'm not hungry, I don't eat. If I'm emotionally hungry, I find a quick way to satiate the emotion, preferably not with food. If I'm over my calories but I'm still genuinely hungry, I eat. My body knows better than some number in a database, and really, transitioning to this WOE has really become about making peace with my body and finally listening - really listening - to it for the first time in my life.

My husband's lost 30 lbs at last measurement (he does stress the numbers, so he only weighs and tape-measures once per month). He doesn't track, and I plan the dinners for us because I enjoy it. He doesn't have to cut the carbs as far as I do to get the results, I would guesstimate he's closer to 75g per day, and he still seems to tolerate gluten.

I'm gluten free, anti-Aspertame/Sucralose, anti-cheat day, anti-cauliflower-as-starch-replacement, anti-tuber, anti-boxed foods. Probably a couple other antis that don't occur to me. I avoid sweeteners as much as possible, and hardly need them anymore anyway. I largely avoid anything that isn't an animal product, though I'll eat vegetables if I want to, I just don't usually want them enough. I'm under 17 total grams of carbs per day; more often I'm under 10 g. I take vitamin supplements each morning, and only do BPC if I can't have breakfast for some reason. Favorite meal is chuck steak, which I'll eat three times a day if there are no other plans or if my husband wants hot dogs, Five Guys, or something I don't care to join in on.

My current goal is to look as awesome (meaning energetic and healthy) as possible the next time our family gets together (this holiday). I'd really like to lead my family members into this WOE, and the best way (as my husband proved for me) is just to do my thing and let people see how effective it is at the markers they care about. My goal weight is 125-130 lbs. I don't expect, at this rate, to be there by [Northern Hemisphere] winter, but I'm also gaining muscle mass from strength training so the scale can't be the measuring tool of my success.

I really enjoyed reading this message. I guess we all have to find out what works. Today I am at 51g of carbons but I am planning a light dinner . Just chicken boiled and okra maybe a piece of watermelon for snack.

@kiddo, read the Launch Pad at the top of the group page. Lots of reading and video information to help learn the ropes. Welcome! Best of luck!

Hi everyone, I'm 52 years old, 5'6. I have been on MFP since 2011, and yes, I thought you had to have carbs or you would die. The last several years I have been lifting heavy weights, for strength and bone density and all that good stuff. I want to still be able to ride my Harley when I'm 70. But also the last few years I started really struggling with taking any weight off and a lot of hormonal issues. I started eating LCHF 35 days ago, to support my SO whose doctor recommended it. I was amazed when I started feeling fantastic after a couple of days, most of the hormonal symptoms I had just disappeared. Initially it didn't seem like I was losing much weight, but as of today the scale is showing 10 pounds down. (The man has lost 30 pounds). I don't really have a specific goal weight, but I do want the belly fat to go down, so body fat % or composition is more important to me at this point. I'm eating typically between 40-80 grams of carbs, 100 grams protein and the rest fat, and haven't had a lot of cravings or problems adjusting. I'm not eager to go back to feeling like I used to feel, so I think I will be continuing to eat this way.