I'm a married 49 year old mom to three beautiful children. My weight increased but was manageable through childbearing years but once I reached my mid forties it steadily increased and I felt out of control. I tried lots of things with a low level of commitment prior to realizing that half measures really don't work for me anymore. Once I accepted that, I got the Atkins book out again and started recording EVERYTHING on Fat Secret. It took a while to get it right but with research and perseverance I was able to make adjustments and see progress. I'm perfectly happy with my eating plan today and don't intend to increase my carbs beyond my current 30 to 35 grams a day. There are so many satisfying foods to eat that don't have the health costs of excessive carbs! I'm a big believer in eating to live rather than living to eat :-)

I do feel like continuing to record my food is key for me to staying at my goal weight. I'm not resentful about that - it's just a fact of life.

Also, I know this is controversial, but in my experience physical exercise is not a weight loss tool... for me losing and maintaining weight is 100% about the food I eat. Physical activity is really important in many ways and results in feeling good and being able to do the things I want to do - but as far as losing weight it's a red herring!

One final thing - I am incredibly grateful to my husband for his kindness and support. He NEVER criticised me one time while I was overweight and he was the FIRST person to notice when I began losing. What a huge gift.