I Never Chose To Be Fat - My Weight Loss Story.

[gonnabskinny]

BTW, this was written for the Non Atkins crowd. It was intended to open a few eyes. Hopefully, I succeeded in getting a few people to really understand. So without further ado. Here is what I posted.
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As many of you know, I have lost a lot of weight. In fact, as I write this I am exactly ½ of my absolute heaviest weight that I tipped the scales at back in 2003. I weighed in at a whopping 394 lbs., I wore size 60 pants, and couldn’t even bend down to tie my own shoes. I was OBESE!


I never chose to be fat and I couldn’t believe that a guy that had been so active growing up had become so overweight. All of my adult life I have struggled with my weight and I tried just about every diet regimen out there, but found that I could not sustain the low enough calorie count long enough to make a difference. If I starved myself I could lose, but I was also hungry all the time and eventually I ended up back where I started, and usually with a few pounds more. I even went so far as to take diet pills to suppress my appetite, but that too was short lived, and we all know the scare that came about with phen-fen.


So what made the change work this time? How did I go from 394 lbs to 197 lbs and from size 60 pants to the same size 36 pants that I wore in high school? It had nothing to do with willpower. I am not some superhero. I am just an ordinary guy that finally figured it out.


Most people believe that the cause of obesity is people taking in more calories than they expend and the effect of that is that they become fat. It really all comes down to cause and effect, right? They are just people that overeat and are slugs and don’t get enough exercise. It seems to make sense. After all, it is the law of thermodynamics. If energy in exceeds energy out, you gain weight. If energy in is lower than energy out, you lose weight. I believed that to be true for me as well. That is why I tried so hard to restrict the calories and increase the exercise. However, what if we are in error on what is the cause and what is the effect? The problem with that argument or calorie in/calorie out hypothesis, would be akin to saying that an alcoholic is an alcoholic because he over-drinks, or that a person with chronic fatigue is that way because they choose to not get enough sleep. Neither one is true. It just doesn’t make sense. The actual over drinking and not getting enough sleep is actually the effect, and in order to treat the effect, you have to first know and understand what the cause is. It isn’t as simple as saying to an alcoholic, “stop drinking!” Or to someone that suffers from chronic fatigue saying, “sleep well!” However that is exactly what we try to do with the obese. Eat less and exercise more is our solution. However, the eating more and getting less exercise (because they have less energy) is actually just the effect that makes them to be obese in the first place and we are still left to figure out and understand what the underlying cause is.


So, I started reading. I learned that the obese generally have several things in common (other than being incredibly fat, of course). They have increased levels of insulin, higher than normal triglycerides, lower than normal HDL cholesterol, and higher than normal LDL cholesterol. Their internal environment is so toxic that they are stuck in an ongoing cycle of blood glucose overproduction and insulin overproduction which if not reversed will lead them to hyperinslinism and ultimately to diabetes. So that leaves the question, what causes the cycle to begin with?


The answer is quite simple. It is the excess of carbohydrates in our system that is the cause. As a result, our internal environment has become so toxic, that it continues to overproduce glucose, the excess of which is stored as fat for future use in adipose tissue. However, because of the excess carbohydrates the body continues overproducing glucose, and those fat stores are never accessed, the glucose is burned as energy instead, as we store even more fat, and the cycle continues over and over and over again as we literally fuel the very thing that is making us fat to begin with.

However, if carbohydrates are restricted and controlled (especially understanding certain carbs are better than others), then the cycle can be broken and things will return back to normal. Blood sugar (glucose) levels will stabilize and hence insulin levels will recede, and your body will start burning the excess fat that had been stored, and you will find it much easier to lose weight. Also as a result triglyceride levels will go down, HDL (good cholesterol) levels will go up, and LDL (bad cholesterol) levels will be driven lower. What constitutes excess levels will vary from individual to individual as well as which carbs have a greater influence on each person’s blood sugar regulation.


All this was true for me. I had become a carbohydrate addict. The only way that I could ever lose weight effectively would be if I found a way to get this under control. I finally realized that I wasn’t overweight just because I overate. I overate, because I had a chemical imbalance that I needed to get under control. Once I took care of that chemical imbalance (the real cause), then I could get my eating under control, and the pounds would come off naturally. That is exactly what happened. I had reversed years of neglect and turned my body into the fuel-burning machine that it was supposed to be.


Here is what I did. First thing I had to do was to break the addiction. I did that by severely limiting my carbohydrate intake to no more than 20 net carbs per day of only acceptably low glycemic vegetables for a period of a couple of months. No sugars, flour, starchy veggies, etc. of any kind, and plenty of water. In the first two weeks I found that I lost a total of 14 lbs. Most of which I admit was water weight. However, I was purging my body of these toxic sugars that had so gotten my insulin levels so out of whack.


Second thing that I did was to find out what my carb tolerance was. I gradually, and I do mean gradually started adding back more carbohydrates into my diet. I started with the lower glycemic carbohydrates first. For the next three to four weeks I went to 25 net carbs of extra veggies. Then I went to 30 adding in some dairy products such as cottage cheese, plain yogurt, etc. Then to 35, adding in some nuts. Then to 40, adding in some berries. Then 45, which is when I got to add wine back in. Yea!!! Then at 50, I added back in certain low glycemic fruit. This is when I discovered something interesting. Apples drove my appetite. An hour after eating ½ of an apple I became hungry. However, I found that if I ate that same ½ of an apple with some nuts or cream cheese, it had little effect. Somehow the fat slowed the absorption of the sugar from the apple into my blood stream. Then at 55 I added a limited amount of starchy veggies. Then at 60 I added whole grains. I was still in search of my carb tolerance maximum. I finally found it at about 100 net carbs. Exercise also apparently plays a key role in what your carb tolerance is, as does muscle mass. Guys generally have a higher carb tolerance than females.


Thirdly, I lowered my carb intake back down to about 70 net carbs and continued my exercise routine as I continued to lose pound after pound on my way to my goal weight of 200 lbs. (I found that to be a realistic goal considering my age, height, muscle mass, and where that in my younger days I felt the most comfortable.) As I got within 10 lbs of my goal weight, it started coming off much more slowly, but still continued gradually, as it should.


On Valentines Day of 2008 I celebrated by finally reached my goal weight. I have lost three more pounds since that day and I continue to be amazed at how easy this is now that I have figured it out. This really isn’t so much a diet as it is a completely new way of eating and living. I don’t really watch calories too much, but do know that it ranges somewhere between about 1800 and 2200 calories per day. If I watch my intake of carbs and in particular stay with only the good carbs, then the rest kind of takes care of itself. It doesn’t give me a license to overeat, it just gives me the ability not to.


So, I have kissed the low fat and low calorie diets goodbye and I am free at last. Free to shop in stores where regular sized clothes can be bought. Free to choose from an extremely wide variety of foods. Free to do so many things that I could never do before because of my weight. Free from starving to death in order to lose and maintain my weight. And most of all, I am free from carrying that whole other person around with me, wherever I go!

[inhisgrip]

Wow Don, thanks for sharing this with the ADBB community. You are such an inspiration to me. I just stare at your siggy pics whenever I scroll upon them. lol You have made such a huge transformation. It's great to hear you speak of how you moved up the rungs gradually. I am starting that process now and it is a scary one for me. I'm so comfortable in ext. induction. It's encouraging to read that you moved up the rungs and continued being successful. I too, hope to be FREE one day! CONGRATULATIONS on reaching your goal!!

[Adena]

Don, this is terrific -- and a great eduational piece for all those who don't understand low-carbing or addiction to carbs as an eating disorder.

Your story is incredible -- thanks for sharing. I'm sure you'll be an inspiration to many!

[blue996]

Excellent post!

[Mothercooter]

If this were church, Id stand, shout "Amen!"; and start clapping vigorously!!!!

Awesome post!

[dreamof145]

Great post. Your theory on why we are obese is right on. I totally agree that once you educate yourself on the why...the how is so much more easier to comprehend. Thanks for sharing! And CONGRATULATIONS.

[gonnabskinny]

Wow! On another board, I posted the same thing today and got a PM a few minutes ago from a freelance writer that asked if she could publish my story. Me??? Like I said, I'm just an ordinary guy, who just happened to figure it out!

[Mothercooter]

Awesome! Yes I think it should definately be published. Some ppl go their whole lives and never figure out why they cant conquer their food addiction, and some dont even realize they have one. I wish I could have also figured it out yrs ago but better late than never.

If only one person reads your article and the lightbulb goes off and they too can come to realize what all of us atkineers had to learn the hardway it would be awesome. I read a similar article to yours of one womans personal journey that made the light bulb go on for me a while back. Though she wasnt exactly doing atkins but something similar as prescribed by her dr, she also was able to overcome her food addiction. For me, I had to first realize it was an actual chemucal addiction as is alcoholism, and such. Then the good news came...There was actually something i could do about it! Finding out i didnt have to fight that losing battle everyday changed my life.

Thank you for sharing your story and I hope others who have yet to learn about the awesome power or atkins will be convinced after reading your personal testimony.

[Pie4me]

What are some of the lower glycemic veggies you started out with?

I read your post about 6 times--it is amazing and helped me to realize
what happens when we eat too many carbs and it gets to be addicting.

Thanks for the wonderful post.

[Bluebelt2007]

Fantastic Post.