
| Click here to see more "Before" photos! |
| Click here to check out my full Cholesterol Profile |
| AFTER - 106 pounds, after 3½+ years at goal Tuesday, May 24th, 2005 |
| BEFORE - 140+ pounds, size 10 Fall 1999 NYC - top photo, in front of the WTC |
| August 17th & 18th, 2006 Almost 6 Years on Atkins! |
| MY STATS & ATKINS STORY - AT GOAL SINCE LATE 2001 Before - August 2001 Now - July 2008 Height: 5'3" (1.6m) Height: 5'3" (1.6m) Dress size: 10 (a U.K. 14) Dress size: 0's or 1's (a U.K. 6 or Euro 34) Measurements: 39-29-39 (or 99-73-99 cm) Measurements: 36-23½-35½ (or 90-60-90 cm) Weight: 141 (63.9kg / 10 stone) Weight: 109 (49.5 kg / 7.8 stone) Shoe Size: 6 (Euro 36 / 3½ U.K.) Shoe Size: 5 (Euro 35 / U.K. 2½) Body Fat: Not measured until making goal. Body fat: 13.92% BMI Before: 25 ("Overweight" Range) BMI After: 19 ("Normal" Range) My name is Sheila Pike-Pereyra, founder of SugarFreeSheila.com and author of Sheila's Super-Simple Low Carb Weight Loss Workbook, as well as cookbooks Sheila's Super-Simple Low-Carb Desserts and Sheila's Super-Simple Low-Carb Induction Meals, each containing 150 all-original low-carbohydrate recipes. My success story has been published in several international publications, such as FitnessRx For Women magazine, SHAPE, Low Carb Living. the January 2005 AOL "New Year, New You" (I was honored to have my photo featured on the Welcome Screen for the entire day), Ms. Fitness magazine, the July/August 2005 issue of Best Body magazine, and most recently in 2008, popular low-carb blogger Cleochatra was kind enough to feature me in her Lighter Side of Low Carb blog in February & late May. I lived in NYC (Manhattan's Upper-West Side) for a few years and graduated university there both summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa before relocating back to my hometown of Dallas, Texas. Never was I able to lose weight by restricting calories and/or fat grams - even with regular treadmill-walking exercise, which I have done consistently since the age of 10. I had attempted a multitude of programs, each for months at a time; every possible variation of calories under 2,000 with every possible variation of cardio yielded no results for me. I gave SlimFast a shot, as well as the Blood Type Diet (which recommended vegetarian, high-carbohydrate eating for my blood type of A positive), and even tried the vague "everything in moderation"/portion-control method. None of these programs or techniques took an ounce or an inch off my medium-boned 5'3" frame (my doctor recently referred to me as "moderately petite") - and even with all of my struggling and dedication, I never had anything to show for my stringent efforts. In fact, I was almost envious of the yo-yo dieters ... because at least they had a taste of weight loss success to begin with! Having said this, I must illustrate here that motivation has never been something I lacked - I possess drive and ambition in all areas of my life like no one else I know. But up until 2001, I didn't find what worked for me. As I entered the second decade of my life, I felt that I was doomed to carry around extra weight forever: maybe I was just meant to be this way. Though I had maintained a weight of approximately 130 & a size 6-8 (still a bit too heavy for someone so short), I settled at around 140 by 2001. I was suddenly up to a size 10! Well, since I'd discovered through the years that pasta rather bloated me, it suddenly occurred to me to start eliminating it, along with bread with dinner, crackers, and to eat mostly vegetables with the same amount of meat I had always consumed (I've never been a big meat eater). By as soon as the very next morning, I immediately felt better & more energetic. I ran out & bought the book, read it from cover to cover, and started Atkins that very night. It must have been a sign from God Himself, because I was a half a pound lighter by the next morning, and I couldn't believe my eyes when I stepped on the scale. That was over 30 pounds ago! Amazingly enough, I found on Atkins that I actually almost doubled my caloric intake - while keeping the same treadmill-walking exercise regime I had always done - and that it ultimately took only the elimination of unhealthy starches and sugars to finally get the 30+ pounds and 4-5 dress sizes off 5 months later that inflicted me with stubborn drumstick arms, back fat, upper-inner-thigh rub, those loathsome tummy rolls, and kept me forever in one-piece swimsuits. After a trip to Century 21 in downtown Manhattan January 2002, I wore my first bikini ever on a cruise in Aruba. So emancipating that was to have finally found my ace in the hole through Atkins. I love eating this way - and most importantly? My mission in life 6½ years ago became sharing my story about Atkins and showing others looking for a way to get healthy and slim that losing weight successfully, safely, and keeping it off permanently can be done without the nuisance of calorie and fat-restriction. So, if you are attempting Atkins, and have read the Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution book as well as through my Atkins FAQ & User Agreement, I am happy to help you in whatever way I can. As always, everything I do through my website, as well as the assistance I offer to people who contact me via e-mail, IM's, and phone/text messages (972-999-5237) from around the world, is free. I have no affiliations, I have no endorsements, and I am not paid a red cent by any organization or company. SFS.com is my way of paying it forward. Every aspect of this website is courtesy of me and me alone. No contributors, no webmaster, I have no HTML savvy - which explains why it doesn't look like the Apple website. It shouldn't! Additionally, I cannot put into words the thrill I get when hearing from all of you from all around the world - the Commonwealth Realm, Africa, Europe, Asia, Latin America, Canada - and I love hearing from all over the U.S., too. But wherever you are around the globe: if you need help with anything this website covers, scroll down to the form at the bottom of this page or e-mail me: sheila@sugarfreesheila.com BUT . . . IS ATKINS UNHEALTHY? Thrilled you asked. Check out my cholesterol profile. Now have I gotten your attention? Believe it or not, I used to be adamantly anti-Atkins. Like most people who have not read the book, I foolishly assumed it was all about not exercising and eating nothing but meats and cheeses - and boy, am I eating my words now! Because YES, you eat tons of vegetables (just not starchy ones like peas, corn, and potatoes), YES, you do eat low-glycemic fruits, and YES, you even eat some whole grains (just be choosy and eat the most fibrous ones)! As far as the tired - and most importantly, unfounded - "kidney disease" & "elevated cholesterol" arguments and accusations go, this only applies to those who go about the way of eating incorrectly - and if one is not following Atkins, then it is essential to acknowledge the fact that Atkins could not possibly be to blame for their folly. What many unfortunately do not understand about Atkins is that it is not a high-protein diet, but a low-carbohydrate way of life. Those who gorge on protein do so entirely of their own accord. (I consume meat only once or twice a day, and vegetables are the mainstay of my diet.) Just being able to eat at any restaurant with complete ease and comfort is such a delight with the Atkins lifestyle. As you inch closer toward your personal goal weight, you will find that there are all sorts of vitamin-enriched, low-carb shake mixes to enjoy on the run, low-carb cheesecakes and desserts to bake, low-carb pastas (e.g., Shirataki noodles) . . . the list of goodies to enjoy on occasion is endless. The truth is: anything and everything can be duplicated into low carb! Interested in losing weight by doing low-carb, but don't know where to start? Well, click here to check out my extensive Atkins FAQ, which covers a lot of preliminary issues which might be keeping you on the fence. Also, feel free to examine some food staples via a handy printout low-carb grocery list I have compiled. Consider also trying out a few of my original low-carb recipes I created myself along the way; check out my daily-updated low-carb / Atkins news, and a whole lot more. Allow me be a relatable guide to get you started - I'll help you out! Once you have read the book and through my FAQ, feel free to e-mail me anytime. |

| October 4th, 2005 Another sweaty session of treadmill-walking! (Cardio is 20-25 min. a day, 3 days a week; Weights 40 min. a day, 2-3x/week.) See my Motivation Page's Fitness category for my full workout regime) |
| April 27th, 2004 Dallas, Texas |

| April 29th, 2005 Visiting a friend in Edmond, Oklahoma |
| July 30th, 2004 Dallas, Texas |
| June 2, 2006 - Plano, Texas After a lovely dinner at a friend's wedding reception |
| June 13th, 2006 - Dallas Leaving a Bikram Yoga studio - the only type of Yoga I've ever done. ** Interested in opening a studio in the Dallas area and want to pursue the 9-week Bikram Teacher Training? Please click here. I rarely practice Bikram, & won't again until a studio finally opens in my area. Fingers crossed! |
| June 18th, 2006 Coming out of church! |

| August 16th, 2006 Florida |
| Labor Day 2006 - Dallas A little difficult to find restaurants to get out of the rain - hmph, they were all closed! |
| September 2006 Chuck's in Plano, Texas |

| Sheila Pike-Pereyra: Low Carb Coach & Self-Improvement Motivator! |
| March 21st, 2007 On a Caribbean cruise, heading towards Montego Bay ... |
| March 23rd, 2007 Mexico |
| July 4th, 2007 - Frisco, Texas Fourth of July lunch at Texas Land & Cattle. I had the 10-ounce filet & fresh mixed steamed vegetables (both no seasoning), and the Wedge Salad with bleu cheese dressing on the side to start. I wasn't too crazy about the awful high-noon shadows, but decided to include this one anyway! |
| September 3rd, 2007 - NYC On the Staten Island Ferry I bought this dress at a street fair in the Village the day before. You can't try anything on, so you have to really eyeball everything! |