One Year Later: A Lengthy Progress Report
March 13th was my one year anniversary of eating a low carbohydrate diet. It has changed my life in so many ways. Not only have I lost 80 pounds, but like so many of us here in the TDC, I've done so with the odds against me.
History
When I started eating differently last year, I did so with serious trepidation. I have been obese my whole life; when I graduated high school in 1983, I weighed over 300 pounds. My mother, a large woman from a line of large women, was horrified and tried her best to keep this fate from me. I don't remember a time when I wasn't on a very strict diet; I was going with her to Weight Watcher meetings by age 5. I was given amphetamines throughout my childhood. Nothing mattered - I just kept gaining weight. By my mid teens, I had figured out how to sneak food, and I binged whenever I could. It was the one thing that finally stopped the gnawing hunger; but my young body was already way too efficient at using the 800-some calories I 'formally' ate - adding 2-3x as much in a binge session helped balloon me upwards into the 300's.
I finally stopped gaining weight when I joined the Fat Acceptance movement. I quit dieting and my binging behavior stopped. I gained confidence, self acceptance and went on to live my life as a fat person. I worked on becoming fit instead of slim, and eventually became a YMCA fitness instructor at my top size. It's one of my proudest achievements.
As long as I was able to exercise, I saw no health problems from being fat. All the typical health indicators showed me to be in great health. However, that all changed when in 1999 I developed a disease called Scleroderma, a type of arthritis like Lupus. I stopped being able to move well, then I stopped moving much at all. I needed two Canadian crutches (canes with arm support) to walk. All the health problems associated with obesity struck: diabetes, elevated BP, higher blood fats, etc.
Two things converged to bring me to the point of desperation.
(1) I lost my health insurance and had to drop all the medication I was taking for six months - my *fasting* blood sugar was 300. (If you're not familiar was diabetes, that's scary high.)
(2) More immediate, much more embarrassing and the true reason I took this leap: I could not easily reach certain essential areas to keep clean. I was at the point where Scleroderma and my body size came together where I was just barely able to wash myself.
My history with trying to lose weight by changing the way / amount I ate was dismal. It was only through quitting the practice of dieting that I was able to maintain the same weight for almost 20 years. Choosing to try Atkins' was a leap of faith. I knew full well that even if my one month trial proved unlivable, I would regain any weight I lost, plus put on more. Given my history, I felt my chances that this would work were slim - but I had reached the point that I had to take that chance, even if failure meant I'd end up worse than where I had been to begin with.
March 13, 2003
I made the commitment to do a one month trial - no matter what I'd stay on Induction for the full 30 days without cheating. I had cleaned out the cupboards of any 'bad' carb foods, filled the fridge with meat, cheese, eggs and low glycemic veggies. I had a menu planned, complete with shopping lists ready.
Within a few weeks, my 'desperation' reasons were no longer an issue. My blood sugar was ~160 fasting (still too high, but much, much better). More importantly, I could reach everywhere I needed to. Just the decrease in water weight made that essential inch or two no longer an issue.
However, the first 6 weeks of this WOE, I only lost 13 pounds. I'm not going to lie ... I was *so* disappointed. With all the 'quick, dramatic' weight loss hype surrounding Atkins, I felt like I was failing - even though I now know 2 pounds a week is a fabulous rate of loss, it didn't feel like it at the time.
Then I needed a course of steroids and swiftly jumped up 26 pounds to 348. While I wasn't ready to quit the WOE because it had so many other benefits, but I almost quit the forum. It just felt so depressing to watch other people have great success, and feel like nothing I did was going to make any difference, anyway.
I was lucky enough to have the support and friendship of Liz175, who once wrote a post that has rung like a bell through my whole low carb experience {paraphrasing, of course}: It is the people who stick with this WOE who succeed. Folks who get frustrated and change repeatedly from LC to low fat, to LC and back again, etc., end up heavier each year. Speed down the scale doesn't matter as much as staying on a healthy, effective path that will bring you where you want to go.
That made so much sense to me. So I stuck with it, and eventually a synergistic effect took place.
It's much easier to eat from frozen prepared meals, cereal boxes, fast food restaurants, etc. - for everyone, but especially someone with mobility problems. Cooking 3+ meals a day is work. I'd stand in the kitchen, getting things together, sweating from the exertion. It was aerobic exercise cooking and cleaning the kitchen constantly.
But like all things, that started getting a bit easier, and I kept reading on the forum how exercise was an essential component in maintaining weight loss. I knew myself how all my obesity related health problems didn't exist until I stopped moving so much. I decided I would try walking a bit each day, but needed support and motivation.
I started a thread here in the TDC asking if anyone else was interested in starting a fitness challenge, and received many enthusiastic responses. In June, we began our first 8 week cycle and I started walking a few minutes every day. And I am talking *few* minutes. I could barely make it to the end of the cul-de-sac without feeling wobbly and weak. I'm pretty sure if it wasn't for the commitment I'd made to other challengers, I would have quit. It was that hard.
Eventually, 5 minutes turned into 10, and 10 into 15 over those two months ... but that seemed to be my limit. I wasn't stopped so much by my muscle / cardio endurance, but by balance issues. I used my crutches much of the time, but even so, I'd reach a point where I'd be afraid to push myself much further.
It was about then that I discovered Walk Away the Pounds, an aerobic walking video. I was ecstatic because at the brisker pace, I could balance easier, and since it was indoors, I had a softer place to land, or catch myself before falling. The one mile was a huge challenge ... the first time I finished, I sat down and cried with joy.
Nothing can stop me now. I do between 3-4 miles of WAP every day. For many people, that's too much, too often - but I've found that it keeps my joints lubricated, my muscles stretched and well used. I feel it's essential in keeping me mobile. I'm training to do a 10k walk, and take up belly dance - a long cherished dream. My point with exercise is that the right fit can make all the difference.
My blood sugar is now in the 'non-diabetic' range. My blood fats are perfect. I can reach everywhere I need to on my body.
LC isn't the solution for everyone, but it sure has been for me.
A big thank you to the whole forum. You have supported me in hard times and celebrated my victories. I'm so grateful I found you!
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