Lyn
1.When did you first become aware of a problem with the weight?
“Back in 2001 we had a holiday in Lanzarote, It started very badly as I couldn’t fit into the seat on the plane, luckily my wife is very skinny and the stewardess allowed us to raise the seat arm between us and brought me a pregnancy seat belt extender. By that point I was Hot, sweaty and feeling really breathless, not an unusual feeling by then to be honest”.
2.Did you feel you were treated differently in society?
“No, I can’t say I was, but I’ll be frank and say that I think this is because I’m male, I was called a big man, or big jim etc, it certainly had no impact on my career that’s for sure”.
3.Had you tried diets in the past?
“Oh yes, I tried them all, even CD and failed miserably on every one. No fault with the diets, all down to me being hungry and miserable and then giving in”.
4.What was different this time and how did you know Atkins was gonna be your success story?
“I wasn’t sure Atkins was the one until about 3 months into it, at that point I thought, My Dr is happy, my tests are getting better every month, I’m not hungry, I don’t feel bloated and I have so much energy. I think I can do this”.
5.What is the best thing/adventure you have had as a slimmer person?
“Just about every day, I can run up stairs, I don’t have to think about finding a Café with chairs with no arms, I can go on holiday without any worries, I can buy clothes of the peg and not have to got to Big man’s shop God the list is endless”.
6. Did you ever 'tweak' the diet out of habit/just if needed/never
“I didn’t specifically tweak the diet, but I did ignore the rule about no alcohol on induction, I drank dry red wine most Friday nights, I just factored the carbs into my daily intake for that day”.
KD
7. There must of been some occasions (????) where things didn't go to plan, or you went off plan for an event? What did you do next?
“Oh yes, I just went straight back on plan, I won’t lie and say I wasn’t disgusted with myself, because I was. You have to be honest with yourself, if you have cheated, you must ask yourself WHY? And then try to avoid the situation that caused it”.
8. How difficult did you find it? Or did your desire to lose weight override any difficulties?
“Hmm, I truly believe that there is a diet out there for everyone, not every diet will suit every person, Atkins suited me because it allowed me to eat and I probably have very little will power over my eating habits. Provided I’m not hungry, I’m happy”.
9. How did your nearest and dearest (and even others), view your choice of diet?
“My wife and my Doctor were happy but only after my monthly blood, liver and kidney tests started improving, and I was losing shed loads of weight, which is usual I suspect for most diets in the initial stages. Others I’m afraid were very negative and I soon learned not to say I was on Atkins, the so called killer diet. Even today I say I’m on Low carb or I don’t have a sweet tooth, funny isn’t it, when the girls all bring cakes in they are quite happy to buy me a pork pie because They think that’s OK, If I said I was on Atkins they’d really worry about me”.
Just about maintaining - trying to eat low carb in the main, but weekends are my downfall. 
