Ever tried Atkins Diet?  

I have never tried the Atkins Diet but I have seen the results from people that have and it works pretty good.

Only problem is it might be tempting to stay on the first phase because you lose so much weight, and all the protein can damage your kidneys. A registered nurse told me that.

The eating plan that really works for me is the South Beach Diet. For the first two weeks you are allowed no sugar or foods that will convert into sugar, you can drop eight to 15 pounds, the first time I tried it I lost eight pounds then a steady pound a week.

Yes, I fell off the wagon but it wasn't because of the program, it was because I had not dedicated myself to eating right. I am a lot older now and I am back on the plan. I have made major changes in my grocery shopping. I have slowly educated myself and realize there is no nutritional value in many of the foods I ate on a regular basis, like white bread, white rice, white pasta and such. Not only is there no real nutritional value in these foods, they caused me to crave more and more carbs that weren't good for me.

This wasn't a problem when I was a kid and young adult. Back then I had a sandwich and went on my way. I don't know what happens to us as we get older. I know our metabolism changes and stuff.

Anyway, with high blood pressure and high cholesterol now, I decided to change my ways. One thing I hate is spending money on medication when I could be taking that money and buying something special for myself.

What my husband and I did was get rid of everything in the kitchen that wasn't on the program and slowly replaced it with what we could have. I was out of a lot of stuff for awhile, we're not exactly rolling in money around here.

We didn't lose much the first two weeks because we ate too much of what we could have, in a way it worked for us because when the new wore, or novelty wore off, it was easier to just back off of the amount we were eating.

On this program you're really not limited on the amount you can have over all, they want you to watch the amount of cheese and stuff you eat, and nuts.

After a month I was ready to settle down and stop grazing during the day and add a little exercise to the plan.

I have started dropping a pound a week.

I am so thin now that the thought of dieting never crosses my mind. I think a lot about eating. Cheers!!