Meet Karen.
I have lost over 300 pounds. Ok, so I have lost 30 pounds more than 10 times! I have been dieting since 1963 when my mother first took me to The Diet Workshop. I was 11 years old...and I have been hungry all these years! I have faithfully followed a low fat diet and have successfully lost weight when "on a diet". And I always gained it back again, plus a little more each time.
I have been on most every diet, including Stillman's Diet (all protein), Weight Loss Clinic ( 500 calories a day), but generally stayed closer to the moderate low calorie diets of The Diet Workshop and Weight Watchers plans. I stayed clear of Atkins, being a nurse, it seemed outrageous and so heart unhealthy given the current research. I have made a life long study of nutrition and weight loss for personal and professional reasons and followed the current literature. I read Good Calories, Bad Calories and Gary Taubes' NYT article, "What if it's all a Big Fat Lie?" and started to re-think the low fat mantra. When I read "Why We get Fat" and finally understood that it was all about the insulin, things started clicking into place and I understood the answer to the question, "What happened over the past 30 years that has produced an obesity epidemic?" and the answer is, "too much sugar in our food supply". NOT too much fat.
So in Jan. 2011, I changed my thinking from low fat to low sugar and cut out all sugars and starches. It was hardest to wrap my head around the idea that I could eat fat, low fat was so ingrained in my way of thinking and way of life. Fat has always been "bad". I did not count calories and generally followed the Duke University Weight Loss Clinic Diet that Gary Taubes recommends in his book. The best part was I wasn't "dieting". I learned very quickly that fat actually is "satisfying" and I was not hungry between meals, had no cravings for sugars or starches once I got them out of my system... which took only about 2 weeks.
I didn't eat any fruits for about 3 months, but enjoyed 1-2 glasses of wine each evening with my meals. In 6 months I lost 36 pounds and have maintained it now for 8 months. I am the best weight I have ever been, I feel great and energetic. The best part is I don't "diet" by restricting calories. I have reintroduced an occasional fruit (2-3 per week) and starchy vegetables like beets, carrots and sweet potatoes. I find this way of eating very easy day after day. Best of all, my satiety gauge has been re-set. Funny how fat works!
So after more than 40 years of dieting and being hungry, I now eat what I want (because I don't want sugars and starches any more), I am at my ideal weight, and I feel great!!
I have been on most every diet, including Stillman's Diet (all protein), Weight Loss Clinic ( 500 calories a day), but generally stayed closer to the moderate low calorie diets of The Diet Workshop and Weight Watchers plans. I stayed clear of Atkins, being a nurse, it seemed outrageous and so heart unhealthy given the current research. I have made a life long study of nutrition and weight loss for personal and professional reasons and followed the current literature. I read Good Calories, Bad Calories and Gary Taubes' NYT article, "What if it's all a Big Fat Lie?" and started to re-think the low fat mantra. When I read "Why We get Fat" and finally understood that it was all about the insulin, things started clicking into place and I understood the answer to the question, "What happened over the past 30 years that has produced an obesity epidemic?" and the answer is, "too much sugar in our food supply". NOT too much fat.
So in Jan. 2011, I changed my thinking from low fat to low sugar and cut out all sugars and starches. It was hardest to wrap my head around the idea that I could eat fat, low fat was so ingrained in my way of thinking and way of life. Fat has always been "bad". I did not count calories and generally followed the Duke University Weight Loss Clinic Diet that Gary Taubes recommends in his book. The best part was I wasn't "dieting". I learned very quickly that fat actually is "satisfying" and I was not hungry between meals, had no cravings for sugars or starches once I got them out of my system... which took only about 2 weeks.
I didn't eat any fruits for about 3 months, but enjoyed 1-2 glasses of wine each evening with my meals. In 6 months I lost 36 pounds and have maintained it now for 8 months. I am the best weight I have ever been, I feel great and energetic. The best part is I don't "diet" by restricting calories. I have reintroduced an occasional fruit (2-3 per week) and starchy vegetables like beets, carrots and sweet potatoes. I find this way of eating very easy day after day. Best of all, my satiety gauge has been re-set. Funny how fat works!
So after more than 40 years of dieting and being hungry, I now eat what I want (because I don't want sugars and starches any more), I am at my ideal weight, and I feel great!!
The new Karen.
CHALLENGES:
Getting the low fat mantra out of my head.
ADVICE:
I do try to keep in mind the diet that humans were designed to eat. That makes it easier to stay away from processed foods and stick to what nature provides. Shop the "walls" of the grocery stores to find foods closer to nature.
Getting the low fat mantra out of my head.
ADVICE:
I do try to keep in mind the diet that humans were designed to eat. That makes it easier to stay away from processed foods and stick to what nature provides. Shop the "walls" of the grocery stores to find foods closer to nature.
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