I'm very excited to be hosting the new Success Stories feature for Low Carb Luxury Magazine!   I look forward to sharing with all of you the stories of those who have embraced low carb and found victory in it! We believe you'll find them inspiring, encouraging, and even amusing.
                                                                                                        Soren

As I began to write this article, song titles having to do with the passage of time kept popping into my head like low carb musical popcorn. So many of the titles seem to fit with the events and the times of the year when they occurred in the story.

Vicki R. lives with her husband and two boys, ages 3 and 7. A nursery school teacher by profession, Vicki spends as much time as she can with her family. She also spends some of her free time visiting the Talking Low Carb Forums, where she posts as "VickiLynn". Vicki's weight loss success has been a source of inspiration for many who frequent the forums.

Living in Tennessee has given Vicki the most wonderful music in her voice. As I listened to her tell her story, more song titles about changing seasons and the passage of time drifted into my thoughts.

If I Could Turn Back Time Cher

Looking back, Vicki says she remembers being overweight as a child. PE class was particularly stressful, because at 135 pounds in the fourth grade, Vicki knew she was much heavier than her classmates. The two week long gymnastics program was something she really feared.

Vicki also had to have her clothes specially altered and she hated not being able to wear the same cute outfits the other girls wore.

When Vicki began high school she weighed 155 pounds and continued gaining throughout high school. When she graduated, she weighed in at 170. She continued to gain weight through college and topped out at 218 pounds.

At this point, Vicki was able to lose 60 pounds following the Weight Watchers plan. The only problem was - she was always famished! As soon as Vicki started to relax a little with her portion sizes, she gained all the weight back and then some.

Time After Time Cindy Lauper

This gain, lose, gain, lose cycle is so familiar to many of us. Vicki fell victim to this very common trap because she was "dieting" and not truly changing her eating style.

Many of Vicki's family members were overweight as well. Food was always available in her house, so she didn't have to sneak treats. However, she did have a habit of eating when she wasn't hungry, getting "head hungry" when commercials came on TV. She also overate at the table because she wanted more food, despite the fact that she was already full. Vicki liked the reassuring feeling that food was there if she wanted it because it reminded her of her parents and of good times. It was a comfort when she was stressed and it helped her celebrate when she was happy.

Where Did the Spring Go? The Kinks

Vicki thought she would be trying "just another diet" when she picked up Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution in a Goodwill store one day. She read the book and really identified with the carb addiction concept. But, like many others, Vicki wasn't sure she could live without pasta, rice and her beloved Hamburger Helper.

Thinking that the diet was just a means to an end, she decided to try low-carbing in the summer of 2001.

Though she jumped in with both feet, she suffered the effects of carbohydrate withdrawal and quit the plan when her addiction took control.

Summer Days, Drifting Away Olivia Newton-John

Summer quickly passed into Fall with no change in Vicki's eating habits. Christmas came and Vicki's family gathered together for the holiday.

The topic of weight loss came up and Vicki's sister could not understand why Vicki had given up on the Atkins Diet when it had helped her to lose four pounds in three days! Vicki's sister had always been naturally thin. But with the birth of her first baby, her metabolism changed and she began to have trouble losing weight for the first time in her life.

So the sisters set off to find that timeworn copy of the Atkins book, and they talked about doing this diet together. The two had always been such good friends, with no rivalry between them, but Vicki felt she just couldn't let her sister get thin while she was stuck in "Fatland".

This Will Be My Year Semisonic

As a new year came around, Vicki and her sister convinced their father to join them in giving low carb a try. The three of them made a New Year's Resolution to lose weight together.

This resolution didn't go the way of most New Year's Resolutions though. Vicki stuck with it this time. She made a discovery that amazed her. For the first time in her life, food was not controlling her -- she was controlling the food!

This simple fact kept her going when her weight loss slowed at times. Vicki knew that eventually the scale would move again. She had the added reassurance of knowing that she and her sister were in this together, so giving up wasn't an option. They each had an "accountability partner". It really helped to have one person with whom she could be completely honest and share the struggles.

Vicki's total weight loss is an astonishing 121 pounds! She began at 253 pounds and now weighs 132. Her goal weight is 128, but she is very happy right where she is for now.

   

This Time I Know it's for Real Donna Summer

Previously, Vicki thought she could just lose the weight by following a diet and then go right back to eating whatever, whenever. Now that she has succeeded with low-carbing, she doesn't want to return to eating high carb foods. She feels a loss of control when she does eat foods that are off plan. Plus, eating off plan causes that "overall scummy feeling from the crash and burn reaction" of wildly fluctuating blood sugar levels. This is a hard cycle to stop and time has taught Vicki it is just better not to allow the cycle to start.

Vicki knows that this is the last time she'll ever have to lose weight. "I am not consumed with thoughts of food", she says, "I eat when I feel hungry. I stop when I am full. Simple."


She doesn't want to go back to a time when her feet and back ached. Or when she had heart palpitations. Or when a bath towel wouldn't even fit around her body!

She enjoys having more energy to spend on her boys. Though her husband has been loving and supportive regardless of her weight, Vicki loves knowing that she now weighs 40 pounds less than she did on their wedding day!

Vicki's story is a great example of the importance of not giving up. She had to start and stop, and think and adjust.

When she found the path that worked for her, she stayed on it and didn't get sidetracked by periods of slow progress. Vicki took her time and turned a low-carb "diet" into a low-carb way of life!

                                                                               

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