Thanks for that guys. I get so excited about the way I feel now - I am just loving it - when I take my dogs out I can feel this new energy in me and I feel I can walk forever - it is amazing ! Now the really interesting thing is that I have been on other diets - low fat - low GI and I read about all the energy benefits etc - so I just flip pass any mention of how I was going to feel on Atkins - in fact last night I was checking low carbers on line I saw mention of the lifting of the brain fog and the sluggishnesse - and that happened to me. It just blows me away.
Jimmy I have never thought of doing a blog - maybe I should - I am going away in four weeks time and won’t be back till almost the end of July. I have put a lot of work into plans to keep myself on low carb while I am away - I even bought a light weight egg cooker with two different plugs for the countries I will be going to so I can cook up my eggs each day.
Perhaps what I could do Jimmy - with you help - is look at it all now and see if I can work it into my life now and perhaps I could do some really interesting blogs about travel and staying on low carb. That might even help me stay on track !

Diamond Girl that is a good point and I have gone over that in my mind. I see it this way - if I am perceived as being too nice by people with an attitude problem or who have a tendency to be bullys then I feel I am the first to get my head chopped off - or so it seems to me. I can’t do anything about their behaviour - wouldn’t even try - so the only thing I have to work with is myself. So what I am doing now is trying to establish a line in the sand by being more assertive and giving the general impression that I am not going to put up with bad behaviour. I n the past people get me on the defensive - and it is often in regards to things that are none of their business. Instead of trying to defend myself because I wanted to be polite I will now say up front - I am not going to go on the defensive and this really is none of your business or words to that effect. This is coming from a new strength I have - I have now realized that this whole self loathing thing with the
weight just wasn’t my fault - I was fighting an impossible battle. I don’t feel like a stupid loser now, my whole sense of myself has changed - no doubt things will change still. So the long and the short of it is I can’t change people and how they behave towards me but I can change the way I react to them and so far it seems to be working
cheers
Helena

Do you think that dropping sugar/carbs was as much of a radical change for you as is someone dropping serious poor behaviors with how the interact with others?

It is truly amazing how mood effects attitude, though. I’m amazed at how I can look at the exact same thing in totally different ways depending on the day and my mood.

That is a powerful thing you just wrote:

“I have been on low carb since January and I am becoming a very different person. I feel so strong now within myself and I am finding my courage again.”

You should create a text file and paste that in so that you can look at it again if you ever find yourself having moments of doubt or weakness!

Yes that is exactly what my problem has been - people pleasing and weak boundaries. I have been on low carb since January and I am becoming a very different person. I feel so strong now within myself and I am finding my courage again. One of the things that was the first to change when I changed over - apart from my fat just melting away - was the brian fog that I never even knew that I had lifted and my mind cleared. That is when I started to think - what the hell am I putting up with stuff for - for what reason ?
Getting rid of the carb and sugar is the best thing I have even done for myself and it is only the beginning.
It is great to have people like you and Jimmy out there writing and talking about the truth
Blessings
Helena

I can relate to your story 100%. I think it’s very common, after conquering a sugar/carb addiction, to look at other ways your life isn’t working. I, too, have had to reassert myself and set healthy boundaries. After all, besides the physiological aspect of carb/sugar addiction, there’s the psychological hook: people pleasing and weak boundaries—putting other people’s needs/preferences above my own. In the same way that I learned to set boundaries with myself and my eating, I’ve also learned to set boundaries with other people. So, yes, I think this is a very valid connection.

Best,
Karly

“In fact, the dietician and Sydney University researcher says it’s wrong to even call it a diet, and believes there’s a “strong case” for the entire population to switch to low GI.”

http://www.smh.com.au/news/diet/low-gi-not-a-diet/2008/04/21/1208742833971.html

Cheers
Helena