By August of 2003 I was basically resigned to being overweight—a nice way of saying obese or just plain fat. For over thirty years I had been able to "control" my weight by periodically changing my low-fat diet to a low fat - low calorie diet. "Control" is obviously a misnomer. If I could control my weight there would have been no need for me to periodically lose the weight I had regained.
In that thirty year period I estimate that I lost 500 pounds. However, I also gained 550 pounds. I was not worried as I was always able to lose the weight. After I was diagnosed with high blood pressure in early 2002 and at the insistence of my Doctor, I attempted to lose 30 pounds. However, this time not only was I not able to lose any weight, I could not keep from gaining weight.
A friend had started the Atkins "diet" and had success with it. When I asked him about it, he suggested that I read Dr. Atkin's New Diet Revolution. After reading the book, the approach seemed to make sense. I also noted that the Atkins Diet was the first diet I had seen that had what I characterize as a "seamless transition" from weight loss to weight maintenance built into the diet. I did not know if it would work for me but low fat/ low calorie clearly wasn't.
I decided to begin the Atkins Diet on September 1, 2003. From my research, it was apparent that if the low/controlled carb approach worked for me, it would have to truly be a lifestyle change. In other words, my eating habits would have to change to accommodate this new lifestyle in order for me to avoid regaining any weight I would lose.
About 2 weeks after I started, I had a scheduled appointment with my doctor. I had originally intended discussing the diet with him before I started. However, I could not wait to get started. He was not in favor of the low carb approach but when he saw that I had lost weight and I told him I had lost 17 pounds in 2 weeks, he decided to go along with me on this and to periodically monitor my lipids.
A recent company health screening showed that my total cholesterol has declined to 157 and HDL has increased to 56. In addition, both LDL and tri-glycerides were so low they were outside the measuring parameters of the testing machine.
In order to monitor my progress, I maintained a notebook with certain periodic measurements. I decided to measure 3 areas on each arm and leg as well as the areas shown below. My height is 6'5". My progress can be measured, in pertinent part, by the following key measurements:
September 1, 2003 September 1, 2004 September 1,2005
Weight 335 225 211
Chest 53 44 44
Upper Paunch 55 43 42
Lower Paunch 52 43 & ½" 43
Neck 19 & ½ 16 & ½ 16
My first year was an unqualified success. I remained at Induction level of carbs for 9 months and lost 90 pounds. I then started OWL but only increased my daily carbs every 3-4 weeks. For the first year I lost 110 pounds and a total of 71 inches. I went from size 52 pants to size 40 and from XXXLT to XLT for shirts.
With my weight loss, my doctor began reducing my blood pressure medication. Thirteen months after starting this WOE, I stopped taking any blood pressure medication. My current blood pressure is 118/65 and my doctor is pleased. He said that "You have made a believer out of me about Atkins".
One of the things I found from the beginning was that I had to plan all of my meals to help in staying on plan. Each week I review the grocery ads and plan my menus for the week around what is on sale for a good price. I think the fact that I did plan all meals helped keep me from cheating. The other thing that helped keep me from cheating was that I found/developed great tasting recipes that provided me with variety and substitutes for old favorites. I like to cook and learning low carb cooking techniques, converting old high carb favorites to low carb, and finding new foods that I liked all assisted in providing stimulation and satisfaction with this WOE.
During the first year I either lost weight or remained the same for each weekly measurement. The longest I went without losing weight was 5 weeks. That occurred 6 months after starting this WOE. My second year however has been a learning experience/struggle.
One week after reaching my low of 115 pounds lost, and without any increase in my daily carbs or change that I could attribute to eating, my weight increased 5 pounds. A couple of weeks after that I had another 5 pound spike that I could not attribute to diet. Then began a period of upward and downward fluctuations of 2-5 pounds with no variance that I could attribute to what I was eating or change in exercise. As my clothes were still fitting and I could not account for the fluctuations because of eating habits, I decided to continue eating on plan and stop weekly weighing. I also decided that I would not count a weight gain or loss until I got a second confirming measurement. As a result of this methodology, the weight fluctuations were minimized, at least in my mind, and I did not dwell on them as they basically showed a stall, except for the first two 5 pound weight spikes.
The approach of remaining on plan seems to have finally paid off. Six months after my first weight spike and subsequent stall, and by making only one change in eating pattern (eliminating a nightly treat of 1/4 or 1/2 cup of peanuts, depending on how much of my daily carb allowance was left) I began losing weight again. For the last 3 months I have been losing an average of 5 pounds a month. I have had peanuts since I began losing again, just not regularly, so I do not know if they were a triggering mechanism. However, I am treating them cautiously.
In any event, after 2 years, I have lost 124 pounds and 78 inches. The losses were "across the board" ranging from a low of ½" lost from my left wrist to 13" lost from my "upper paunch." In addition, I am now transitioning my wardrobe into size 38 pants, a size that I have not worn since I started buying my own clothes at least 40 years ago.
I do not "know" what a "good" weight for me will be as I never weighed myself until about 30 years ago when I first began my trip on the weight roller coaster. My current weight is the lowest weight that I have any knowledge of ever being, even though I know I was not born weighing 211 pounds.
I have already reduced my goal weight 3 times because as I was approaching each goal, it was readily apparent to me that I could lose more weight without looking emaciated. That is the empirical subjective standard I am using. In other words, I will recognize my final goal weight when I see it.
My current goal weight is now 195. However, that is nothing more than a number that may or may not have any relation to reality. In any event, I do know that regardless of where the final goal weight is, the true long term goal I have is not to regain any of the weight I have lost. As the Atkins approach seems to work for me as outlined in Dr. Atkin's New Diet Revolution, I am optimistic that as I continue on my journey, the controlled carb lifestyle does, in fact, provide me with both the tools and methodology to achieve that goal.
Update, Jan 2008: I posted this article in September, 2005. When Dixie asked me for my "success" story, I pulled it up and read it for the first time in over 2 years. As I read it now, with almost 2 and ½ years additional experience, I had forgotten the unbridled optimism I had.
One thing I did not mention in the article was that I started and maintained a regular exercise program during those 2 years. I mention that now, because shortly after my 2 year anniversary of beginning the Atkin's approach, I had a couple of medical issues that prevented me from exercising—at least I used that as an excuse. Then some changes at work made it difficult for me to get away to exercise. As a result, I got out of the habit of exercising.
In addition, I found it was very economical to buy the big jar of peanuts at COSTCO and I decided I could go on "automatic pilot" because I had this WOE down pat and avoided dealing with reality by not weighing. As a result, by October of 2006 I had regained 25 pounds.
I was not worried even though I did not make it down to the size 38 pants, my clothes still fit. My blood pressure and lipids were fine, so I deluded myself into thinking I could continue on "automatic pilot" figuring that if my clothes still fit and I didn't weigh, I wasn't gaining weight. I knew I needed to start exercising again, and I told myself that I would. However, I just couldn't seem to get motivated to do it.
In October of 2007, I had my annual check-up and I had gained another 7 pounds. In addition, my blood pressure was starting to creep up. That was the wake-up call I needed. I began a regular exercise program in November, cut out all nuts, and began paying more attention to portion control. Six weeks after re-starting, I had lost 7 pounds and my blood pressure was back to normal. By the end of 2007, I had lost 10 pounds.
I know now that I need to exercise regularly and that I am addicted to nuts and must avoid having nuts as a snack. I also know that I need to weigh once a week to maintain accountability to myself. In addition, I now understand better that there is in fact, a direct correlation for me between my weight and my blood pressure and that I must keep my weight under control to avoid high blood pressure. Even though I did not stray from the low carb lifestyle during my 2 year detour, I did find out that it does make a difference how much you eat, even if it is all low carb.
A weight loss journey is a learning experience. You learn from your successes, but you really learn more from your mistakes. I have learned a lot these last 2 years. I will get back to my low weight and hopefully lose some more as well. I do not know when and I have not set a timetable. My good practices will take me there sometime in the future and I can accept that.
Henry, pictured here with LCE Members, Left to Right: Texanflowr, KCTinter, hdyhouse (Henry) & bkloots.
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