OK  A little more about me and where this journey began. 

Being on a low carb weight loss program is not new for me. I've struggled for years to take off the weight I put on in the late '80's. Most of my life I was a fairly normal weight. Oh maybe a little tummy, but nothing to speak of really. I obsessed with my weight following College. Which is why I was never really fat. And when I say obsessed, we're talking Bulimia. I know it's rare for men, but for some reason I got it into my head that I was really fat, at 175. When I think back on it, part of the problem was I had no muscle. So I was soft and flabby at 175.

I found out later part of the reason I had no muscle to speak of was that I have Hypogonadism. (Yuck. I hate that word.) It wasn't until 1997 that I was diagnosed and started on Testosterone replacement therapy. That diagnoses was partly what started me on my most intense weight loss diet. I had gained to an incredible 355 pounds.  Finally after five years and gaining to my highest weight, the testosterone and anti-depressants I was taking spurred me to do something to change my life. I was seeing a therapist whose wife was a Nutritionist. She was the coordinator of an Optifast program at a local University Hospital. He suggested I try it as a means of jumpstarting my weight loss. It turned out the my insurance covered a similar program. It was Medifast. I started the program in January of 1998. By July I was down to 210. I was doing the plan, going to the gym every morning. I even started running. Eventually running up to 6 miles a day, 6 days a week. I never felt better. I'm going to skip ahead here to after my second back surgery...when the weight almost all came back. That was several years ago. I started Low Carb dieting and could not seem to get past a few months and then stop. My weight was hovering between 260 and 300. Up and down. Finally in frustration I vowed to never diet again. Well in the past 2 years since taking that vow, I went back up to 336 pounds. I was disgusted with myself everyday. The only thing that comforted me was the food.Then on November 1, I woke up and it was as if someone had thrown a light switch. For the first time I felt as though I could do this. No worries no regrets. I started on that day and have not strayed once. After struggling so much in the past it's unbelievable.  

So here I am. Ready to go on.