Atkins Success Stories
Cheri Lynn
Cheri Lynn - Illinois
I lost 130 lbs.
My Story
Sometimes we get so caught up in our lives that we no longer see the self we're living in. We see ourselves every day, but we never SEE ourselves. I knew I was overweight, so I never thought of myself as thin. I also never thought of myself as THAT big either. But then, some before and after photos made me understand what the day-to-day me never saw.
MY GOALS:
I was not a happy person and it showed. My friends could sense it. My kids could sense it. It was time to turn that around. I first heard of the Atkins Diet from my friend Karen. She and her husband Chuck were on it and they were losing a lot of weight. So I decided to give it a try. Faithfully, I read the book, but found myself wanting for food choices. I used an online search page to look for low carb products and recipes. I found those, but I also found something far more valuable than low carb cookies and new ways to spice up a chicken breast. Lowcarbfriends.com as well as Atkins.com quickly became my low carb support. I turned there for tips, recipes, advice, and friendship. So I resolved that this would be the year that I will take care of ME.
HOW ATKINS HELPED ME GET THERE:
At first, I felt like it was selfish, but I soon came to understand that by taking care of myself, I WAS taking care of the people I love. As the days went by I was experiencing a lot of weight loss success, but somehow the sense of accomplishment just wasn't there. Still, I wanted to support others on their weight loss journeys. So despite being rather shy and not very happy with my progress, I packed up and traveled to the annual Lowcarbfriends Pig Roast. There, amid the fun and friends, the laughter and the success stories, someone snapped one of the most important photographs of my life. I just didn't know it at the time. I came home from seeing all those amazing successes, wondering why I wasn't one of them. All of that effort. All of that dedication. Yet still I felt down. I wanted to feel the elation I felt when I was first losing weight, when my low carb efforts had been so richly rewarded. One of my good friends broke the spell. She told me to put some 'before' pictures with one of the 'after' pictures from the gathering. As circumstance would have it, I had discovered an old roll of film that contained some photos of me at my absolute heaviest. I had the roll developed and compared the old me to the new me. I was flabbergasted. I knew I was losing weight, but I never understood how far I had come. I cannot describe the feeling of accomplishment I felt. It really helped motivate me to continue. As people say, "A picture is worth a thousand words.” I say amen to THAT!
To date I have lost 130 pounds. I am getting very close to my goal. I can SEE myself now. I'm proud of how far I've come, and of the dedication that got me here. To my friends who comprise my low carb support, I say, 'Thank you.' Your support and friendship mean the world to me!
Thank you Dr. Atkins. I know you are watching down on all of us "losers." If it wasn't for you, I doubt I would have had such great success with my weight loss efforts!
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