My 1st birthday!!

[canuck]

First birthday for me

On Aug 21 I started a new way of life that scared the "bejeezus" off me as all my adult life I had been indoctrinated into eating low fat and high grains. I have been diabetic for ten ys and as the disease progressed, I went from diet management to pills management to insulin management. I was always reassured by the endocrinologist and diabetic metabolic centers this is not my fault, not to have shame, it is the natural course of the ugly disease, I have no control over it and can try managing it only….and must eat grains but the disease naturally progresses and I must enjoy and have a quality of life.

I bought the theory, I had ice cream, or when low a candy bar, I learned how to manage taking enough insulin to cover for a low fat ice cream cone on a hot summer’s night or a hot chocolate after curling on a cold winter’s night. That good ole insulin needle allowed me to eat squares at Christmas and still my blood sugars levels were usually close to normal or normal…..and I was praised for learning how to master my disease.

I felt like ****, I slept most the day, even after a sleep I was still tired, I had headaches all the time, I didn’t sleep well at night as I had to go pee a few times a night and always needed to be near a tap for some water or a drink in my hand. I was forever hungry and could not seem to get enough food.

But alas I did not know that eating carbs made me crave carbs, I did not know that not eating enough fat made my poor ole liver work overtime and spew out even more cholesterol for my body to use as when it is short of cholesterol it will do this but it has no thermostat to know when to quit.

Our bodies were made from Adam and Eve’s time to eat fat, protein, eggs, fruits, grasses(veggies) and natural seeds and nuts found on the earth, not to eat pasta, rice’s, white flours, and all the refined things like Wheatstone crackers or Campbell’s chicken noodle soup.

Somehow, my genetics got overworked over the centuries as my family moved from the far north of European side and into Scotland, they worked the fields and were physical, I sat at a desk for 8 hr a day doing therapy, walked to my car, and drove home. I looked after my family, my extended family, did thousands of hours of volunteer work, went fishing and camping and ate well, I neglected me, and I had no fields to clear. I did not like being physical as I was too out of shape.

Due to the migration of my family and the blubber and meats and fats they initially ate, moving south introduced them to farming and other sources of foods but the genes in the gene pool stayed the same as when we were first around, I developed what is known as a thrifty gene. This thrifty gene helped me cope when I didn’t eat lots and made glycogen for me to survive and made insulin for me when I had a feast,. Just like in ancient days where there was feast and famine, my body still worked for me. However, this gene overworked for me, I gained weight around the age of 13 due to my lifestyle, my stress, my role in my family, my poverty the foods I ate and my genes. My ignorance of low carbs helped to keep me this way.

I learned to sooth myself with food and what better food when poor than bowl of macaroni, or some white bread with homemade jam. An ice cream cone, food helped with sadness, stress, anger, happiness, friendship, it fit into every aspect of my life.

Now had I not had this thrifty gene it would have been ok for me and I would be a slim 55 yr old if I also had a physical job clearing fields or harvesting, or had I been a runner or exercised but I didn’t do that.

I saw Dr after Dr over the decades and they would put me on a diet of 800 or 1200 calories a day, starving the body, which slowed down metabolism even further. The protein in a day no larger than a deck of cards starved me and I was told avoid fats, maybe a bit of low fat mayo or salad drsg but no full fats such as butter or oils etc. This too made my body process my foods quickly and thus the rise and fall of blood glucose making me even hungrier.

I was diagnosed with diabetes in 1994 and I saw a specialist traveling Canada who was doing research for diabetes. She was known as a “quack” to all the docs but she said as I walked in the room. “I can tell you are a diabetic from a mile away”….huh……., I had just got the diagnosis about half an hr ago so was numb.

She said your coloring tells me you ancestors came from the far north of Scotland and migrated downward and you have a wheat allergy, you better stop eating wheat totally as you will get more and more problems with diabetes as your body doesn’t use grains well.

I thought hmmm no wonder they called her quack the doc and dietician had just told me I must have 12 servings of grains a day and this woman is telling me not to eat them! Later my doc and I had a chuckle about this crazy female doctor. She even went on to confide in me once she found out I was doing research on emotional abuse in the workplace that the work she had done on diabetics for past many ys of how grains helped to make diabetics blind was stolen off her computer. I wondered if maybe she needed some Trilafon for her paranoid thoughts. Now I know she was onto something but we were all deaf and blind.

Of course, the pharmateucial companies and the wheat board would not want this info out to the public….But now I know and how I wish I had listened to her.

Dr Banting over 80 yrs ago discovered insulin and said diabetics should eat low carbs, low grains, but he was booed out of the medical community and he was a diabetic, but he founded insulin to control it and thus was honored with a Nobel prize. Once he founded a drug he was a hero!!!He was onto something with low carbs but his peers would not allow the info out to the general public so he succumbed to the peer pressure. Just as what happened to Freud hundreds of yrs earlier. The power of the medical community and its unspoken boundary that you cannot cross without being shunned is frightening.
Well in 1970 Dr Atkins who has a weight problem starts his own research to help himself as he craves carbs and cant get off them so he develops his rigid program of proteins and a cup of salad, it helped to lose weight initially but no one could live this way for life so for 30 yrs he researched it, treated many patients and was scoffed at by the medical community and the general public. It was all seen as a gimmick to sell books and exploit fat people. Despite the fact he added tons of veggies, low GI fruits,restrcied saturated fats and said no to trans fats decades before the rest of the world, he used grains, nuts,…..he was exploited by the South Beach diet and many others who use his science and engineered it to look like theirs. He struggled on and thank goodness he did as he saved my life and I am worth it!!

Well I was a fat person, I have been discriminated against by everyone who has touched my life, I have felt the stares, the peering over to see what I eat, heard the rude comments that people make that are said loud enough to hurt me, I have done every diet there is, I could write a ton of diet books and I followed a lot of good doctors advice from face to face interviews, to attending metabolic clinics from reading books and listening to other people success such as Weight Watchers. I had approached my own doctor to have stomach by pass surgery but I wasn’t 100 lbs overweight so I didn’t qualify. I even thought of trying to force myself to become 100 lbs overweight so I would qualify.

I would wake up in the night and not go back to sleep as I would worry that I am going to die young as I couldn’t lose the weight, I was always hungry, always tired and on about $700 worth of meds a month, I felt awful and I had a low grade depression for the past many many ys but was oh so good at hiding it all. I really should have had an Oscar for how I performed as none of it was really genuine due to my feelings of hopelessness and heedlessness. I worried I would not see Dannys children, my mom died young of cancer and I didn’t want to die young.

Well one yr ago today I started with reluctance and full of fear the Dr Atkins program as a guest who was coming to stay with me told me she was dong it, had lost 55 lbs and was off her insulin. I had been feeling I wouldn’t live to see 60 and was arranging to get my pension early so I could have some of it as I was not doing well at all and was running out of steam to keep hiding it all from my family and friends who would worry over me.I didn’t even answer the phone so I wouldn’t have to go thru the charade of being good when I was feeling horrible!!

I began the diet and in 32 magical hours my body adjusted to not having carbs, my blood glucose fell to 2.7 and was always 8 to 10 with insulin as recall I had to eat all those grains my diabetic team told me were good for me. I tested about 12 to 18 times a day for a few weeks as I thought my meter was wrong, I found a new meter and tested as could not believe my eyes. My fingers were black and bruised and I had trouble using my hands for awhile as they pained from all the blood tests. I wasn’t hungry, I had tons of energy, I lost weight, 22 lbs in three weeks and felt sooo good I couldn't believe it.

Underneath I was scared as I worried what the protein was doing to my kidneys ( you know all those myths about Atkins had filtered into my brain) and my cholesterol as Atkins is high fat, moderate protein and low carbs.I still had not had enough time for this new info to percolate thru my brian and settle to belevie in it.

Part of me did not care, as I felt so good and had not felt this good since I was in my early 30’s so thought this is it for life.

But another part of me worried that my cholesterol drugs would no longer work as was eating steak, red meat, never used to eat eggs but was eating eggs and using cream in my coffee and hadn’t used anything but 1% milk for a decade.

My doctor was on holidays and I was afraid to see her but wanted to monitor my blood tests to make sure it did not harm me. I wrote to Dr Westman at the Duke university who had studied Atkins for diabetics and found it lowered cholesterol, it lower blood glucose levels and it lower blood pressure as I knew I had to arm myself with reliable information before seeing my doc. I wanted her on my side as I could belevie how good I felt. He wrote back to me within 12 hrs and whenever I have a stumbling block he answers my emails yet this man does not even know who I am and lives about 4000 miles away in South Carolina.

My doctor told me it would damage my kidneys and I could do it short term and she would support me only if I had cholesterols and blood glucoses done every four weeks, I was happy to do that as I wanted to know too what it did for me.

Within five weeks, I was so dizzy from low blood pressure I had to go off my meds and my cholesterol dropped so we dropped the cholesterol drugs. Immediately I felt better not being on the statins as they made my legs weak and cave in sometimes when I stood up, I had trouble walking after sitting in my car and when curling my legs would be weak. This feeling all left me in few days after being off statins.

I have not taken a migraine drug since starting as don’t have the monthly migraines I had from hormonal disturbances every month when I ovulated, my arthritis drugs were dropped too as my feet, my knees and my fingers stopped aching and no longer woke me up at night. I had lived on vioxx for pain for about three years. I was drug free for first time in 15 yr as it was 15 yr ago they started me on meds for blood pressure.

Now I don’t even take vitamins as eat such nutrient dense foods and such a diet of whole clean veggies, fruits, eggs and meat that has not been bought from stores so has no hormones or chemicals in it.

My body has healed itself, my fingers are almost straight and I have a bit of arthritis in two fingers only, my cholesterols are good, my blood glucose registers as non diabetic, there is no evidence of diabetes at all in my body from any blood test they can do they cannot tell I had it for ten yrs. I have no headaches, I don't crave sweets, candies, breads, I eat veggies and dip, salads, cheese, meat, eggs, whenever I feel like it, I eat low carb bread, almonds and pecans for good fats and to fill a hole mid afternoon if hungry, a chunk of cheddar, flaxseed cereal and flaxseed muffins, coffee with real cream, baby potatoes, not big mashed one, tons of veggies and low sugar fruits. A banana will never again pass these lips, nor will an apple or an orange due to the sugar levels but I love the strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, rhubarb, plums, apricots and peaches that I can eat as they are lower in sugar not to mention fresh cherries and all the melons!!

Best of all I am drug free, I am down 65 lbs, I am smaller by a total of 36 inches off my body, I wear a size 16 not a size 44, I can shop in a regular store not a store for big women, I buy nice lacy bras, not horse halters, and Bob is down 65 lbs and feels the best he has in decades too.

If it were not for Bob’s support and the ever amazing understanding from Danny, who is fit as anything, brags about us to his friends and encouraged us all along I may have dropped this way of life.

But now after one year of living this way I have my head around the fact that high grains are not good for everyone, especially if person is prone to diabetes, or have fat around the tummy which indicates diabetes down the road, or for those with high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

Atkins is onto something about low carb eating and says even with our regular weight kids nowadays who are eating a lot of granola bars, crackers, pasta etc they will have high cholesterol levels in their 20’s whereas we had them in our 40’s as we played outside, today’s kids play inside, use computers and are not physical. They have access to more Frankenfoods than we did. I took a peanut butter and jam sandwich to school, they take chocolate milk drinks, fruit roll ups and granola bars, laden with chemicals and sugar. It is high carbs that create high cholesterol in the body but most of us are not aware of that. Since this way of life I have met so many small slim people who exercise, run, and have high cholesterol as they eat high carbs and low fat, many are on statins despite their exercise and eating regime.

I am writing this story to validate for me my history at winning over the battle of diabetes and weight..... as now I don’t pretend how I feel, I don’t mask when I am down for fear of upsetting my family and friends, I live with what I know works for me. If in my writing my story it enables you to make some decisions about how food influences your life and helps you then I am truly very happy.

If it does not but just makes you feel good to hear a feel good story than I am happy.

I am happy to have learned what I did, to Dr Atkins I will be eternally grateful as in his life here of berating from the medical community and the press it has enabled thousands of us hopelessly fat people to get a better life and get healthier, nothing can pay for that journey, no amounts of money, no words, nothing, just a blessed good feeling of being alive and knowing I can master my health thru eating the low carb way with no chemically processed foods and knowing I can share my story with those will listen and maybe help one other person.

Help me clebrate one year of taking care of me and learning to become healthy. Some call me an Atkins Patron Saint, some call me an Atkins ****, all I know is if you do Atkins way of life the way it was designed and don’t alter it and fool around abusing it, it will work for you too. If you can get ten percent of the good feeling I have then it is all worth it.

Thanks to all who love me and support me.It makes my life worthwhile!

[Binsk]

Happy 1st Birthday Canuck. What an inspiring story. You rock.

I see so much of my own story in your's. I hope that in time I will achieve the same results. I didn't start this WOE to lose weight, or to look good in a bathing suit, but to get more energy. That has been my main goal for the past year. With more energy, I thought that I could get my life back, and other things would be possible. Slowly I have lost weight, my BG is lower and I sleep better. The best result has been that I do have more energy to go about my day, to exercise. I've gone from taking a nap everday (sometimes twice), to taking a nap maybe once every 3 weeks. This is huge for me. We are becoming the hero in our lives. Each day brings a new strength, a new resolve, a new commitment to this WOL because we never want to turn back to that hopeless, sick, tired life we had.

You must have wished for something good last year this day, because it sounds as though it came true. Thanks for all of your support.

[2big4mysize]

:joy :joy :joy Congrats Canuck. :joy :joy :joy

:wave I'm so happy for you my friend. It is nice to know the background of the late night shy Canadian visitor to chat last yr with a million questions who didn't want to join the board and would say I'll be back tomorrow night when prodded to join. You didn't know I alerted the troops to come for you late night and be ready to answer all your questions :yes cause they typed much faster then I did and I was worried you'd pop in and out too fast. Glad we got you to join cause you have turned into a very valuble asset even if you did turn me down after i pushed for your diabetic board and I had to twist your arm to be a mod
really really hard;

I hope you wear your Atkins fanatic badge with pride for a very long time. The lifesaving advise you dispense is well worth the occasional insult by someone who doesn't understand and is scared like you were when you needed to start.

[Coop2004]

Canuck,

You are truly an inspiration to all diabetics!!

Weigh to go!!

:hug

Linda (Coop)

[JoanOH]

I'm not diabetic -- but I am still inspired by your story.

Cheers, canuck! May the next year only be an improvement upon the last.

Joan J

[shawnee]

As another diabetic who doctors were ready to put on insulin, now I've been doing this WOL just over a year & also made my diabetes seemingly magically disappear. Isn't it just amazing how 'wrong' the doctors have it & when armed with the right program how easy it is to change the course of this disease & knock it into total remission, without really cramping your lifestyle too much at all

When I think of the 100's of thousands of needless amputations & slow ugly downhill deaths it just makes me fume. & 'they' (most docs & dieticians) still feed you that low fat high carb diet coupled with meds that just manage to slow down but never stop the damage bullshit. Makes me very angry on some days.

I feel like original Clinton campaign, & its just so easy; remember the mantra "It's the Carbs Stupid!"

Canuck look what we've done here with this forum, we are spreading the word & look at all the people that comne here & share their tales. Its been a good year all aound for us!

I do want to take issue with one point in your post though. I don't feel that people like Dr Agniston (South Beach) or the Dr's Heller (Husband & wife formerly obese & diabetic-Carb Addicts) are Atkins copycats. Agniston was a cardiologist like Atkins & didn't start out working on a dietary plan. He was trying to find ways to help his heart patients, which was a the begining of a path similar to Dr A's that eventually lead to a low carb diet. The story he writes of this journey of discovery is pretty interesting, & from what I've heard once he started comin to the same conclusions as Dr A they became good friends, swapping, patients, ideas & info. The Dr's (Husband & Wife) Heller were both severly overweight & diabetic & developed their low cab program as they learned how to help/cure themselves.Their clinic has literally helped 10's of thousands of patients/clients to acheive a low carb lifestyle which usually knocks diabetes into remission.

I feel like that when other medical professionals, walk the walk, do the research & work with patients & come up with more or less the same conclusions as Dr A that is a reaffirmation of how correct he was. I dont feel like it's 'copying' but taking the same path & reaching the same conclusion as to the most effective diabetes/health managment lifestyle & way of eating & that is a good thing. It just increases the chorus of voices who independently confirm that a low carb WOL really works effectively for us diabetics.

[canuck]

Thnx for all support folks.

Yes 2 big I didn’t want to join the board as had such negative experiences on diabetic boards.So much religion, politics and beliefs systems stuffed down my throat and certain groups( mainly Cdns) treated second class. The dynamics of power and abuse was rampant, so avoided internet boards, so thought I'll go to chat then don’t have to be part of this board.

Well as it turned out we had some small issues but in the end we have been able to give out good info to help others use Atkins info to control diabetes and for that I am thankful.

When you had Tom set up a thread just for diabetes it spiraled and from then on all is history. I didn’t want to me a mod as didn’t want negative experiences in my life but no members on the diabetic board have been negative to me so all in all it ahs been a rewarding experience.

Sorry shank if didn’t present it correctly, I have read on the Atkins site that South beach "took their info" so to speak and assumed they wouldn’t print this unless true but that’s ok, it great if they work together. Have heard this from other sources too but have not personally done a lot of research in this area. I do know though that Protien Power boards etc bash Atkins.South beach does as well.

A friend of mine was in Edtmn diabetic clinic at the Miscercordia and guess what…….. he was told to control his BG which is out of whack with his radiation for cancer.......eat more protein, cut out carbs.....I couldn’t believe it so maybe some of the diabetic clinics are catching on.

Anyhow ya 2big, you kept me hooked to coming into late night chats with your knowledge and friendliness and the fact you had lost so much weight and were committed, I like intelligent people and knew you were…..and the others with their reaching out and humor kept me coming.

I was scared, I was horribly scared…… I didn’t believe in Atkins as had tried it in the 70s and didn’t believe in high fat as I was indoctrinated as all others!!!

I never had time in my day to use the internet as run crazy with my B&B and it is late at night when I had time to read as it took me a week to get my book from the city as I live in small town rural. Therefore, you folks were my life line and due to you is why I pay it forward.

No ya brat I didn’t know you told others to keep me occupied, hehe….thanks girlfriend!!!!

[2big4mysize]

:P I'm telling you called me a brat LOL LOL

Canuck Mrs Atkins expressed the same thoughts about the author of the South Beanch diet and his failure to acknowledge his dept to her hubby when she was on Larry King after Dr Atkins Death.

[canuck]

After I posted above I recalled that, just a slow mind.

[dreamof145]

I am so inspired by your story. You are definitely living proof that Atkins works and improves our health in so many ways. Thank goodness that Dr. Atkins was not one of the doctors that gives in to the medical field with greed to keep patients dependent on medications. What better way to have repeat business than to keep your patients forever dependent on expensive drugs and doctor visits.

Congratuations on losing your weight and having the strength to keep at Atkins regardless of the controversy that surrounds this WOE. Thank you for sharing your story. It is the kind of motivation that I love to hear about. Thank you.