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| My Eating Lifestyle Change [Here's a FUN project!] |
| On August 16, 2007 I went to my family doctor for a checkup. Nothing was wrong that I knew of but I like to have things looked at before a problem exists. I had taken a blood test a few days earlier in preparation for this doctor appointment and my doctor had those blood test results with him when I showed up. |
| He went over my cholesterol numbers, triglycerides, typical stuff. Then he said something that, for the very first time, hit home with me and made me sit up and listen. |
| He said, "You're not diabetic yet, but..." and I sat bolt upright in the chair! "You're right there on the borderline," he continued, "so, you know, you need to take some action before you become diabetic." |
| I asked him what I should do and he reached over, pat my stomach and said, "Well, you're a pretty big guy. You need to get rid of some of that. Losing weight will definitely help your situation. I'd start there. Have you tried the South Beach Diet®? It's the best thing I've got." |
| And that's what started me on this journey. I am committed to doing this as a complete lifestyle change in my eating habits -- not just a temporary diet that I will someday quit and go back to eating the way I once did. Nope. This is the rude awakening I needed and I am determined to make this work for the rest of my life. My doctor recommended the South Beach Diet® by Dr. Agatston who started the diet while practicing medicine in South Beach, FL. It is practical, easy, and (best of all!) you never go hungry! He says, if you're hungry, you're not doing it right. I love that! |
| This page is here thanks to Carly, my daughter, who got married on August 4, 2007, almost 2 weeks before I created this page. She came back here to Seattle to get married and saw how large I had become. She thought I should document how my new diet progressed and prompted me to post pictures so people could see the changes as they happened. So, here we go! |
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| 08/16/2007 |
I have always said, "I don't eat badly, I simply eat too much." I love the taste of food and the only way I can continue tasting food is to keep putting mouthful after mouthful into my mouth. After a while, I'm stuffed but I still want to taste that delicious food so I keep on eating. |
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I don't have the problem that some people have with cravings. If I don't have something, I won't go to the store and buy it. Some people will get into their car, drive to the local fast food joint, order something they are craving, and sit in the car and eat it. Not me. I have no desire to drive somewhere specifically to get a food or meal that I crave. Therefore, if I don't buy it, I don't eat it. If it isn't in the house, there's no danger of me cheating per se. There IS a danger of me OVEREATING something that IS in the pantry. That's where this diet comes into play. |
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These photos are from my daughter's wedding. My issues are rather apparent. They are not bad -- they are good because they are visual prompts for me to keep my focus in this change of lifestyle. The tuxedo shop was sweating bullets when they tried to fit me. My jacket was a 58" chest size. My pants were 42". Yikes! |
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So how big am I? In these pictures? My weight? Well, I'll tell you even though it's pretty scary: 307. Yep, I tipped the scales at well over 300 in these pictures and that also caused a shockwave to hit me and wake me up. I'm amazed I weighed that much, EVER! |
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| 10/09/2007 |
South Beach has three phases, the first of which is strict and designed to break your addition to sugar and foods that turn into sugar as soon as they hit your bloodstream. Basically everything that's white is forbidden: white flour and things made with white flour, white rice, potatoes and sugar. This can be a tough phase for some people and the diet calls for this phase to end after 2 weeks. Some people elect to stay on this phase longer because it is the strictest phase and can cause the quickest weight loss to occur but there is a potentially bad side to staying in this phase too long. The South Beach Diet® book says some people who stay in Phase 1 too long sometimes burn out and fall off the diet altogether. This is worse than moving on to Phase 2 which relaxes the restrictions on some carbohydrates and can help keep people on the diet and prevent failure. |
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I am not worried about this caviat because I am not like most people. I did in fact go through the "withdrawal" from sugar addiction predicted by the South Beach Diet® book. It hit me pretty hard on Day 10 and lasted through Day 11. But on Day 12, I was feeling my old self again and marched on. Since then, I have not had a problem and I have lost all my cravings for breads, cakes, potatoes, rice and cereal. I can go out to a restaurant and watch everyone around me eating french fries and hamburger buns without yearning for so much as a bite. This phase has been fairly successful for me and seems to be causing some pretty significant weight loss, nice and slow, and as long as I don't resent the diet, I'm going to stay right where I am. That's right! I have been on Phase 1 for over 7 weeks now! And I intend to stay here for a while longer. |
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So, bottom line, how much have I lost to date? Well, I suppose it depends on what day I weigh myself and how much I have eaten at the time of the weigh-in. I can confidently say however that I am currently in the high 280's -- around 286 - 289 right now and for the last couple of weeks. |
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I have dropped to a 40" waist size in my pants and they are pretty loose which is very encouraging. I can get 38" waist size pants on but they are not very comfortable yet; I prefer my pants on the loose side. But it will happen soon! I'm sure it will happen very soon; maybe in another week or so. |
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Even better than the measurements, my blood pressure is lower than it has been in over 30 years. I have no edema in my lower legs. My ankles look like they did when I was 19 years old. I'm seeing blood vessels in my lower legs that I haven't seen since my wrestling days in college! Health-wise, I have improved dramatically and that alone is a HUGE motivator for me. |
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I would like to have lost more weight than this by now but as the South Beach Diet® book says, I shouldn't worry about the numbers. Instead, I should pay more attention to my diet and sticking to healing my blood chemistry, physiology and overall health. As these things correct, my weight will take care of itself. I'm leaning on that statement and hoping I will continue to drop weight and come down to a nice, lean size perhaps in eighteen months to two years or so. That seems to be the normal amount of time it takes to lose the weight. |
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| 11/19/2007 |
I am now at 13 weeks and 4 days into my new way of eating. Just over 3 months. I have continued to be very strict with myself. To date, I have eaten 10 pieces of whole grain bread and no more. I have eaten no rice, no pasta and no sugar foods. These have been with tuna fish for sandwiches mostly. I have been careful to eat only breads with no sugar and always whole grains. |
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Becky bought me some new 38" waisted pants and I secretly prayed just a moment that they would fit and she wouldn't have to take them back. The pants remained draped over the bed post for a couple of days before I thought, "Okay. I'm going to try them on and see for myself if they will fit me." I grabbed the pants and started putting them on. Becky walked into the room. She said, "Oh! You're going to try those pants on? That's great!" But I thought, "Yeah, well, I just hope I don't have to suck it in so much that it hurts me!" |
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I pulled the pants up and Becky started shaking her head. Under her breath I heard her say, "That's amazing!" I pulled the top waistband together and I had SLACK!!! I smiled and pulled the button out from my waist and amazingly, I saw a 2" gap between my stomach and the waistband. This is WORKING! |
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[I'm wearing the new pants in the pictures below.] |
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So thrilled am I at losing all this bulk, all without hunger, I am now fully convinced the South Beach Diet® is the way to go if you want to change your lifestyle of eating and living for the better. After all these years, I have finally found a formula, a "practice" if you will, to attain my ideal body weight and health without struggling to get there nor to stay there. Truly amazing! |
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The last thing I would like to say in this entry is this: I truly have no cravings. I can sit with people eating onion rings and pasta and drinking milk shakes and I haven't a single urge to eat any of it. I'm also finding that dinner has been reduced to almost nothing. I snack on raw vegetables and nuts and drink hot tea. I'm satisfied, alert, happy, and feeling thinner every day! Such a deal! |
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I'll weigh myself next month and let you know what the numbers are. To be honest, I don't care about the numbers, I really don't. I feel so great and my clothes fit so well, who cares what the numbers are? I mean, the numbers are really taking care of themselves. But I'll weigh myself sometime and I'll let you know how I've fared so far. |
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| 12/29/2007 |
I am now at 20 weeks and 2 days into my new way of eating. Almost 4.5 months. I still haven't moved very far or whole-heartedly into Phase 2 of the South Beach Diet® diet. No rice, potatoes, or sugar. Some bread but very rarely and only whole grain. I eat lots of chicken, eggs, vegetables, salads, albacore tuna and nuts. I eat butternut squash and I like it! I cube it and broil it -- Man! It's so good! |
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I am never hungry. I am very settled into the diet now and it no longer offers me any resistance, either psychologically (emotionally) or physiologically (hunger pangs). My daughter Carly and her husband George have both joined the South Beach Diet® way of eating. It's been good for me because I must know the details of the diet in order to teach it to them. We lean on each other and give each other recipes that we find delicious and "legal". It's made us better cooks, more careful eaters, and we savor our foods one bite at a time rather than gulping and not tasting like we once did. |
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I came out of the shower this morning and looked at my once-bulging, -hanging gut and it is so flat and narrow now, it's almost like I'm looking at someone else's stomach! I'm amazed at how I look. I'm so pleased, I'm just plain excited! I went out to the kitchen and lifted up my shirt. I told Becky to look at my stomach and she said, "I know! You look GREAT!" Her support is a real encouragement to me! |
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The 38" pants that I talked about back in November are now routine and no longer the amazing thing they were back then. I have put all my 40" pants away. They're going to charity because I'll never wear them again. The 38" pants are getting so loose now, I am certain that I will eventually wear 36" pants! To put that statement into perspective, I was a college wrestler and in the best shape of my life the last time I wore 36" pants. Oh, yeah, baby! I'm going to get back to that size again. I can feel it! |
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I now push away from food that I have not finished and walk away. Again, to put that statement into perspective, I have always (as far back as I can remember) eaten everything on my plate, taken things off of other people's plates, and schemed ways of getting the left overs before anyone else so I could eat them. Pushing away from anything edible is a real milestone! |
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I remain confident this is the diet that will take me to my goals and keep me healthy for life. Finding this diet, even at this late stage of my life, is like finding a 10 carat diamond in the grass! I've finally found the solution! |
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I promised to weigh myself and give the numbers on this entry. My weight is 281 (down 26 lbs). The numbers are not very impressive but they are steady and continuing. The transformation in my body structure is far better than I had hoped so I know the weight will continue to fall. As Dr. Agatston says, the numbers will take care of themselves. I like that. It keeps me focused on the task and not on the fluctuations in my weight from day to day. |
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| 02/26/2007 |
It's been almost 2 months since I've updated this page. So now I have been on the South Beach® diet for 27 weeks and 5 days. That translates to 6 months and 9 days if you go by the calendar. I am so focused on losing the weight and holding the substance of my daily diet to Phase 2, I have only eaten about 25 - 30 slices of bread since I started the diet. So in that regard, not much has changed. I still have a 2-egg omelette every morning with minced broccoli and feta cheese. Lunch is mostly something left over from last night's dinner. I still eat lots of chicken, eggs, vegetables, salads, albacore tuna and nuts. Butternut squash is cheap and easy to make. I broil it and that's my favorite way to cook it. |
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I have no cravings. I have no urges at night to eat. I am never hungry. |
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Carly decided it's been long enough. She told me I needed to take some photos and put them up. So I did. This morning I set the camera up on the timer, jumped in front of the camera, and the result is below. |
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I'm still wearing 38" waisted pants. They're very comfortable. I have a lot of energy coming back to me now. I am able to work outside all day long and never quit. I can also work bending over for long periods of time without wheezing and wishing I could stand up straight. I've been making a brand new biodiesel processor (all automated!) this week and I have been working from 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM (basically the daylight hours here in the northwest) and I have no problem with energy like I used to when I was heavier. |
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My blood pressure remains completely under control. I am on a 10th of the amount of medication I was on back in August of last year and I feel great. Just that is worth doing this diet!!! I sleep very well during the night and I wake up rested and ready to go. |
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My weight hovers around 278 but I am not pressing the numbers. I am more interested in my health and eating for a healthy lifestyle. |
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| ©1999 - 2008 Three Dead Flies, All rights reserved. |
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