[Kevy Baby]

Thanks all for the wells wishes, advice, comments, etc.

What I didn't get into previously is the connection between my depression (purely due to a chemical imbalance in the brain - been on meds for about 10 years and probably will be for the rest of my life) and weight. My depression starts taking over and I find myself becoming more sedentary and eating more. Which makes me more and depressed and, well, yo can see the cycle. I finally decided that it was getting out of hand and I needed to do something.

My job is EXTREMELY stressful to the point of pure exhaustion when I get home (usually after a 10-12 hour day). Often times on the way home, I try to get myself phsyched up to go for a walk or do SOMETHING that night. But I don't. I usually end up with my lazy butt parked on the couch watching TV or (now that the 'puter is up and running again) cruising the net and playing solitaire.

I hope (I don't even say "plan" at this point) to add excercise the mix. I know that it would help more than a change in diet. But after months of beating myself up over continually not excersizing, I decided that doing something was better than doing nothing. This was just the first step in trying to make myself better. I am hoping that I can kick-start my body with the diet towards other improvements in my life.

Life for me of late has not been very happy. If I get out and do things, I am okay. But my drive just keeps diminishing. I am in a downward spiral and I am finally doing something to end it. I have no delusions that the Atkins Diet will be my panacea. It is just simply the first step.

And I am dealing with this one day at a time. I have no specific goals ("lose 20 pounds by XX date") at this time - it is simply too much for me to try to think about it. I just have to plod along for now, doing the best I can.

Sorry - I didn't intend to make this my public whine forum. Sometimes it just helps me to get it out so that I can start the healing. Thank you for listening.