Josie From Texas’ Low Carb Success Story

Success Stories

Josie from Texas is 33 years old and 5′ tall. Josie has been following the Atkins program since August of 2002. Her starting weight as 130 pounds and she was then wearing a size 9/10. In just three months Josie reached her goal weight of 115 pounds and goal size of 3/4.

“All my life I was thin,” Josie began. “During high school I had anorexia, so I always felt I ‘needed’ to lose more weight.”

“After college, when I’d gotten a little ‘too’ comfortable in my relationship with my husband, my weight slowly began to sneak up on me. I got to 125 pounds. I went to see a doctor for my headaches and he said they were migraines. He also put me on medication for depression and high blood pressure. He said it would take pressure off my head and relieve the pain.
Almost overnight my weight seemed to jump to 130 pounds. Every time I got on the scale it kept going up until I finally reached 144 pounds. The medicine made me extremely tired and hungry. If I wasn’t eating, I was sleeping. So I stopped the medication, because I was too afraid I would never lose the weight I was gaining.”

“I’ve made several attempts to lose weight in the past. I’ve tried various diet pills like Dexitrim, ephedra, and chitosan. Most of them only gave me energy, although the chitosan made me feel bloated as well.”

“I tried a diet called Weigh Down. I figured that if anyone can take the weight off me it would have to be God,” Josie smiled. “I did that diet for a couple of months and lost 20 pounds, but I wasn’t able to stick to it. I was tired and hungry all the time, and I ended up gaining most of the weight I lost weight back.”

“My doctor put me on a low fat diet because I was having acid reflux and gall bladder problems. I’d exercise for hours. I may have lost a few pounds doing this, but certainly not much. I was frustrated and gave up, thinking that I would never lose the excess weight. It seemed hopeless.”

“I’d first heard of Atkins a few years ago,” Josie explained. “Someone told me that they were going to try it. At the time, I couldn’t believe it would work.”

“When I finally decided to give low carbing a go, it was because I’d been reading about a lot of different diets over the Internet, and ran across Atkins once again. I was reading the results people were having and was impressed also, when I read how much healthier people that low carb are. Additionally, I read how low carbing was good for the skin and slows down the aging process.”

“I’d say the best part of low carb eating is that I can eat and not feel bloated after I eat. The bad part would have to be that I have to stay away from chocolate,” Josie laughed.

“I feel satisfied and am not hungry an hour later, as I was on low fat diets. Low carbing is easy; I can defiantly stick with this for the rest of my life! For me, the hardest time, for me to remain true blue to the plan is the holidays. Other than that, I’m fine.”

Josie has enjoyed many benefits from her low carb lifestyle. “My skin looks a lot better, I’m not breaking out like I did when I ate a lot of carbs, my acid reflux is under control, and I am no longer constipated,” she explained to me.

“I’m getting a lot of compliments from family and friends, especially my husband. There are a few people who give me negative feedback by saying things like, “That is dangerous,” or “I heard someone died doing the Atkins.” There’s no truth to any of it. Personally, I think people react negatively to low carbing because they are jealous. They can’t lose weight and they don’t want to give up high carb food.”

I asked Josie if she had any tips or advice for fellow low carbers and she said:

“There will be times that your weight loss will stall, or you sometimes have the urge to cheat. It’s not the end to give in a little, but don’t overdo it. Just make sure you lower your carbs the rest of the day and drink lots of water. Also, don’t forget to exercise. I do, at least an hour a day, five days a week;it really helps.”