New Challenges for the token fat girl

Call it what you will: experiment, challenge, curiosity, but I have decided to do a little research on dieting. I've had this idea for awhile now, but it’s only until recently that I’ve decided to put this into action.

I'm a believer in three things when it comes to losing weight:
1. you have to exercise 2. any diet will work if you stick to it (ie: a life style change and can be tolerable for a long time to bring you into maintenance) 3. Every diet is not for everyone

That said, for the next few months (or as long as I can stand it) I am going on a new diet every month for one month. I will rate the diet on a few key items, such as: convenience, energy levels, how i handle cravings, pms and stress on the diet, daily challenges, weight lost, and how hard it is to follow. I will continue doing my weekly weigh-ins, daily food tracking, and continuing with my monthly goals.

This month is the (dun dun dun) Atkins diet. I have reservations about this diet for many reasons that are pretty obvious. I did this diet once without exercise and lost about 10 lbs for each 4 months I followed the plan. I went from 280 to 240 and went from a size 24/26 to 18/20. While the diet did work, I wasn't prepared for what I would do when I went off the diet. I didn't think about counting calories and all that, I was more focused on eating as many carbs as possible.

So, anyway I've dedicated one month to my own study of this diet. I look forward to my thoughts about the diet and results at the end of the month. I'm doing this for several reasons:
to lose weight, to challenge myself, to learn new ideas about my relationship with food, my bodies reaction to food, to challenge my pesky cravings and to maybe provide some information to curious readers.

The Atkins Induction plan is pretty simple and can be found anywhere on the internet or in books. You basically stay under 20 carbohydrates a day for the first two weeks and then you can start adding nuts and berries.

For me, the pros of the diet are: olive oil, butter, bacon, dressing, meats and feeling fuller longer.
The cons are: lack of convenience, meat that grosses me out, and less food variety.