No Longer a "Professional Dieter!"

Well, maybe the term, "professional dieter" is a bit extreme, but that's essentially what I was. From the age of 12 until now (age 33), I have been very weight-conscious. And until I found this woe, I had tried just about every fad diet there is!

I was a fairly thin child who had indulged my sweet-tooth every chance I could, but with the onset of puberty my care-free days were over. Around the age of twelve, other kids my age began to tease me for being fat. I look back on pictures during that time and I certainly wasn't fat, but I wasn't exactly thin either. With the addition of hormones, my body seemed to be *hanging on* to more of what I ate and those years of eating ice cream sandwhiches and potato chips were now starting to take their toll.

Thus began my years of yo-yo dieting. I would "starve" myself for a few days (eating very little or not at all) and then end up binging on chips and soda when I couldn't stand it any longer. There were days when I would come home from school and eat 4 or 5 ice cream sandwhiches and still be hungry. For some reason, the bag of "Hot Fries" and Diet soda that I bought and ate for lunch every day just weren't keeping me satisfied! 

So I started exercising. Every night I would jog on our indoor mini-trampoline for a full 10 minutes (all I could stand to do). I pocketed my mom's mini-exercise book, "Thin Thighs in 30 Days" and did every single exercise, every single day. NOW I was starting to get somewhere. I was definitely becoming more toned so I decided exercise was the key for me! Hey! I could eat anything I wanted as long as I exercised, right??? WRONG.  I remained chunky (size 14/16) all the way through 10th grade.

And then, a glorious thing happened. I grew 3 inches between the 10th and 12th grades! My new height of 5'10" forgave all of my earlier dietary faux pas and I found myself (suddenly, it seemed) with a new, slimmer physique. Well. I was not going to mess that up! The yo-yo dieting continued and I increased the intensity of my workouts. Secretly, I filled empty milk jugs with water and taped them shut and used them to "lift weights" in my room. I began doing sit-ups religiously until I could do 200 a day. My hard work (and poor nutrition) paid off -- at least, temporarily. I started doing a little modeling and I was elected "Fair Queen" -- quite the honor in my tiny home town! 

Here I am at as a young woman:  Of course, I still saw myself as "fat" (what was I thinking??) and it was not unusual for me to go a day or two without eating. I lived on Diet Cokes and salads. After getting married (while still in college), I promptly gained 20 pounds, but my large frame carried it well so I didn't panic. In time, excessive exercise would free me of the extra weight. My husband and I became exercise junkies. We joined a gym and did free weights no less than 3 days a week. On alternate days, I did aerobics. And Slim Fast became the main staple in my diet.

Of course, around this time I started having all kinds of gastrointestinal problems, but I never associated the two. The Dr. diagnosed "irritable bowel" and I was satisfied with that. With my first pregnancy, the bottom fell out of my "weight control." My yo-yo/crash dieting was not safe for the baby, so I promptly cut that out. But I was still addicted to sugar and while eating plenty of "healthy" foods, I would also eat twinkies and doughnuts almost daily. I cut sodas out completely (those aren't good for the baby!), but thought nothing of having a second piece of cake or a big bowl of ice cream. And with pregnancy, my work-out routine completely fell away. I became a slug. And I gained 65 pounds. I would have been miserable if I hadn't been so happy!

 I loved being pregnant and I reasoned that I could always go back to my old "diet stand-bys" once my baby was born... right? Wrong. After dear daugther number one came along I was too tired to work out and between colic and nursing her, I had no time to eat healthy. I ate what I could grab quickly. Then came the *serious* diets. I joined Jenny Craig and lost a bunch of weight but felt miserable and hungry and unhealthy much of the time. I shudder to think what I did to my body eating so little protein! I joined Weight Watchers and found the pressure of the scale each week to be too stressful and too degrading. I went back to Slim Fast and my stomach revolted. I tried eating diet bars and my weight stalled.

In desperation, I became a "health food nut." I began eating mostly organics and reading up on various "healthy diets," including vegetarianism -- I felt better, but I was still heavy. After dd #2 was born, I was diagnosed with type II diabetes and hyperinsulinemia. I read Protein Power and decided to give low-carb a try, but I thought of it as yet another "diet," and couldn't wait until I could go back to my old favorite foods.

Despite a 25 pound loss in two months, I turned away from LC and decided to try vegetarianism. I GAINED weight! Next up was the "Blood Type Diet." Again -- as with the vegetarian plan -- my blood glucose levels were erratic and I gained. I tried two or 3 more diets over the next 2 years while my diabetes went uncontrolled. This was the result: I was now more than 100 pounds overweight!

When I saw a similar picture of myself, I knew that it was time to take control. I went back to the only way of eating that I had ever had real success with -- LOW CARB. I read Atkins, re-read Protein Power, read the Carbohydrate Addicts, and then I hit the internet. A God-sent search led me to this site and the rest, as they say is history...

After a year of eating this way: I have lost nearly 50 pounds and 34 inches. I have "reversed" my diabetes and my blood glucose levels are now normal and stable. My PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) is GONE. My blood pressure is back down to normal. My cholesterol levels are better than they were when I was 24! -- with my hdl: 55 and my ldl: 106 My complexion has cleared, my mood swings are much diminished, and I do not feel hungry. I guess you could say that my *career* as a "professional dieter" is over. FINE by me!

And though I still have much to lose, I can safely say, "I will never diet again..." I LOVE my low-carb way of eating! 

January, 2008: Update on Summer's story here!