How I did it!: Rapid declines, slow declines, peaks, valleys and meadows!

First, let me apologize for the wild and silly claim on the front page, reading “Lose 100 lbs. in 7 Months and Two Days!“. Results aren’t typical, but … it IS what happened to me. It also really depends on how much weight you have to lose. If your weight is 600 lbs., it’s very possible you’ll lose MORE than 100 lbs in 7 months and 2 days. If your weight is 150 lbs., it’s highly unlikely you’d ever want to lose 100 lbs, much less to do it in only 7 months.

I also want to thank the new folks that signed up! I conducted some experiments with Facebook, not expecting much, but a whole bunch of people signed up … making this whole thing real. Dixie, at LowCarbZen was incredibly kind and generous. Thank you, Dixie! To the rest of you … Howdy, Strangers!

In any event, in showing this new website to friends and family, one of the most common questions was “How did you do it?” I will need to write something a little more concrete and elaborate, in time. For now, I did it by low carbing!

It started when I read a book called “Dr. Gundry’s Diet Evolution: Turn Off the Genes That Are Killing You–And Your Waistline–And Drop the Weight for Good“. This book was recommended to me by the family doctor (via my concerned mother). I was desperate. At the time, I was trying to eat only Subway sandwiches and walk about a mile a day. That wasn’t working, because I kept cheating. I couldn’t stop myself from double dipping into the bags of Butterfinger’s that I kept accidentally purchasing. It really did feel like an endless vicious cycle and I didn’t know how to break it. I was desperate.

I don’t know what it was about that particular weekend, but I remember reading the entire book in one sitting. That started it. I think the thing that most grabbed me was the “genes” angle and how different foods trigger different genes to extend your life, or … kill you off to make room for other healthier human life forms on this crowded planet. I remember being really drawn to the idea of extending my life. Something about that concept really hit me hard. It could be said that my personal pursuit is less about weight loss and more about “living longer”. If you try and live longer, things like health, happiness, weight loss, etc. are all fantastic side effects!

At the time, I knew that I only had a few years of life left, if I kept living the same way. I’m certain that my shelf life was less than 5 years. Somehow, some magic equation occurred to me, which was something like, “Dude, you have 5 years left. If you eat right, lose weight and flip the right genes, you can live another 50 years. You can extend your life by TEN TIMES!”.

Something about that number really did it. I wanted to live longer and the idea of living 10 times longer was enough to motivate me for real, this time.

I followed the diet. I followed it fanatically, and dropped about 50 lbs. within the first 2 ½ months. More than 25 of that in the first month alone!

Here’s a PDF file that you can download. It very succinctly lists what can be eaten and what should be avoided, within the first 2 weeks of Dr. Gundry’s diet evolution.

Also, here’s a graph that showed my weight loss progress (I weighed myself daily), from March 13th, 2010 until May 11th, 2011. I don’t know what happened on that day, but … on May 11th, I stopped weighing myself, stopped charting progress, stopped participating in discussions, quit researching, etc. I weighed 217.8 lbs on that day, and have stayed within about 5 lbs. of that weight, ever since.

Hey, if you’re not gaining, you’re maintaining, right?!

(Note a few times where the weight spiked. The first was a weird random freakout binge, where I devoured piles of cheese, sugar free ice cream and genoa salami. I told myself that it was AT LEAST a low carb binge! Still wasn’t good, though … The rest, I was much more at ease with this way of eating and allowed myself freedom on vacations and holidays’, provided I made a dedicated promise to return to my way of eating … which I have always done.)

Anywhoo … somewhere in early June, I hit a wall. I couldn’t lose weight. I even remember gaining weight. WHAT WAS HAPPENING?!!? I remember being INCREDIBLY frustrated. I felt like I’d found the Fountain of Weight Loss Youth, but … here I was, diligently following the rules and … was now GAINING WEIGHT!

This is when I started reading at LowCarbFriends.com (unfortunately, now defunct) and participating in those discussions. I also dug out a dusty old copy of Dr. Atkin’s New Diet Revolution (the 1992 publication). I read this and immediately switched to Atkins’. If you look at the chart above, you’ll see that … my weight started falling right off, again!

Here’s a PDF file that breaks down the Atkins’ diet.

The two aren’t all that different, in terms of content. They’re both low carb diets, but they are philosophically different. I tend to believe that Dr. Gundry’s diet is the right diet to eat for optimum health. At its core, his approach is mostly raw and mostly vegetarian, with a small percentage of animal protein. I do believe this is the right diet, but it’s a far cry from the foods I was raised on, my own culinary education, and the entire Western Diet, at large. Needless to say, this is hard for me to swallow … (*rim shot*!)

What I liked about Dr. Atkins’ approach was that there were numbers I could count on. I could count things, and weigh things. There were actual metrics that I could measure, tweak and follow. I could very much apply Dr. Atkins’ numbers to Dr. Gundry’s philosophies and lose a lot of weight and live forever, but … I confess to having some sort of mental roadblock on this one. The raw, mostly vegetarian Way of Eating is … a goal, but … I’m not there, yet. (for the uninitiated, that’s a flat out excuse/rationalization … it’s how I avoid what I know is right)

Back to the story …

I followed the rules of induction very strictly, but eventually moved to phase two “Ongoing Weight Loss”.

In short, induction is this: Eat any meat, egg, dairy or vegetable, provided the total number of net carbs is under 20 grams per day (net carbs are total carbohydrates, minus fiber). No fruits, grains or nuts. Try and avoid processed foods, etc. I’ve found that eating in this “close to the food chain” manner is the cleanest form of eating and the most effective. Low carb paleo …

For the majority of my weight loss, I ate around 30 grams of net carbs per day, with the addition of some nuts, some fruits (mostly berries), and the occasional processed or … “FrankenFood” (processed low carb foodstuffs, like nutrition bars). I’ve never paid attention to the amounts of food I eat, provided I stay around 30 grams. These days, this is just “how I eat”. This whole website is really solidly dedicated to the foods I eat. Look around to learn more!

Ah, I suppose it should be noted, that I started by walking about a mile a day. This was slow and painful, but became quicker and quicker. When I was thin enough to join a gym, I did. I still exercise about 5 times a week (weights, cardio and/or yoga). Finally, I dabbled in Intermittent Fasting, two days a week (basically I skipped breakfast and lunch twice a week, eating only dinner on those days … truth be told, I actually liked this, once I got used to it …)

Following these methods has allowed me to drop roughly 140 lbs, and never EVER felt like I was hungry, starving, craving or “wanting” (except in the very beginning, mind you, where my body adjusted). Even during the fasting days, I never felt hungry. Without the drops on blood sugar that comes from eating a lot of carbs, my body stops sending me the hunger signals. I tend to eat what I want, but … eat less … naturally!

That’s pretty much it! This post, including the links to Dr. Gundry’s and Dr. Atkins’ diets and food lists should really spell this out for anyone that reads it. With this information, I feel good that most any normal person, without any medical conditions, can and will lose weight. (This is all just my opinion and experience. I’m just a guy on the internet. Talk to your doctors, People!)

If any of you feel that I’m contributing goodness to the low carb world at large, it would mean a lot to me if you could like some recipes, or pin them, or tweet them, or … whatever social network you should choose to use. I’d appreciate it!

Finally, you can follow me or like me at my Facebook Page

ALL NEW Weekly Recipes!

	Warm Salmon, Tomato, Bacon, Mustard and Romaine Salad I eat a lot of “warm” salads. They are a combination of the nice textures of cooked veggies, with the blend of nutrients that come from the raw ones! This salad is no different! It’s a very healthy, vibrant and flavorful salad. It’s got fresh cooked veggies, some fresh raw veggies and a nice portion of salmon, for you Pescatarians (who can omit the bacon, should they choose to … ) out there!
	Sweet n’ Glazey Totally Beefy Meatloaf This meatloaf recipe is awesome. Just awesome. The end result is a fantastically moist meatloaf with a wonderful texture and flavor. It also keeps really well, it freezes well and the leftovers last for days!
	Beyond Quick and Basic Tomato Sauce This is a super quick tomato sauce for a tasty, lazy, and rapid assembly. Its fantastic with fish, on top of pasta, served with eggs, quiche, etc.
	Ground Beef, Parmesan and Spinach Fritatta One of the very first meal ideas I had was the concept of a Frittata. It’s basically a quiche, but without that pesky crust. It’s quick to prepare, simple, freezes quite nicely and is a one-skillet meal!
	Spicy Green Chicken Chili This is one of those awesome recipes that’s easy to freeze and basically a full meal, in itself. This recipe makes 4 BIG bowls!
	Broccoli and Ham Soup: Not Split Pea! This broccoli soup is one I make often. It’s a quick and easy lunch and is also very very tasty. It also uses the broccoli stem, which I LOVE! Once the outer layer of a broccoli stem is peeled away, the light green/white inner portion of the stem is very tender and delicious!
	Salami, Cheese and Tomato This recipe isn’t very recipe-like. It’s more just permission or … um … a recommendation to reach into your fridge for a nice tasty snack, from time to time. There are some recipes which I see more as permission to eat something that runs against general Western “common sense”. This is one of them.

STANDARD FTC DISCLOSURE: In order for me to support my blogging activities, I may receive monetary compensation or other types of remuneration for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial and/or link to any products or services from this blog. Please note, I only ever endorse products that are in alignment with my ideals and I believe would be of value to my readers.