I started FTS cold turkey after a “come to Jesus” session with my doctor in late May. He told me to read Fat to Skinny. My weight gain was primarily related to thyroid issues but it was still weight that needed to come off. I was lucky that I didn’t experience the sugar withdrawl symptoms that some of you described. I also decided to not deal with replacements until I established a low carb pattern of eating so my first month was meat and salads.
My husband and 5 daughters are all tall, thin and athletic. I am 5’3” and have a stockier build. My husband, bless his heart, took on the low carb challenge, has done most of the search for new recipes and does most of the cooking and meal planning. He lost 10 pounds he couldn’t afford to lose and has managed to put it back on by supplementing his meals with added carbs.
To me, the best part of FTS is not being hungry. On other eating plans, if I ran out of “points” or “exchanges” and was hungry at bedtime, celery was just not going to fix the problem. A hard-boiled egg or piece of cheese, on the other hand, will get me through the night.
Once people started to notice that I was losing weight, I found that the phase “low carb” got a lot of negative reaction. I started using the word “controlled” and found that people didn’t dismiss it quite as quickly. My explanation to them is that for now I’m at a pretty low carb intake but that I will add when I’ve reached my goal weight but still “control” my carb intake.
So, 50 pounds later, I have a different relationship with food and with my doctor. It is easier to focus in on the hypothyroidism that is my primary health risk. I’m a “loser” in the finest sense of the word.
