My Evolving Success Story
By Kristine I've been on this forum for a year and a half, and
have yet to post a success story, so here goes.
I'm putting the pictures at the end, because they don't tell you what was going
on. They're not dramatic at all.
My strained relationship with food started early. From childhood, I've been a
carb and sugar junkie. I grew up with poor, yet hardly abnormal, eating habits.
I started struggling with depression in my early teen years, and I
self-medicated it with either food or the lack thereof, in cycles. Whether it
was junk food or "healthy" carb food, I was never able to moderate. Like many
women, I morphed into the typical "professional" dieter - moody, isolated,
obsessed with food, never in particularly good health, and perpetually cold.
My first clue that I had a carb issue was around 1996, at age 23. I began to
notice heart palpitations, and soon after that, noticed that they tended to
happen after I ate carby foods. Clue number two was measurable hypoglycemia: I
knew that everyone has sugar highs and crashes if they eat too much sugar, but I
once had a glucometer check (courtesy of a diabetes presentation at the hospital
where I worked) two hours after eating a bacon and egg sandwich, and it was 2.9
(about 50 mg/dL).
The nurse said, "wow, are you feeling okay?" I felt no crappier than I usually
did. Frankly, I wasn't concerned enough about it to take any action. Life was
busy and I ran on caffeine and adrenaline.
In late 2001, I found myself in very sorry shape from taking Depo-Provera. I
gained over twenty pounds in only two or three months, my depression was worse
than ever, and my acne worsened severely. My hands (and probably the rest of me)
were markedly swollen. I had never had intestinal problems or PMS in my life,
but both struck me suddenly and seriously, occurring for a full two weeks before
TOM. The heart palpitations and hypoglycemic symptoms were happening constantly.
To sum it up, my hormones were totally wrecked and so was my body.
I had heard of low carbing through a "Depo disaster" support group. The concept
was that Depo can impair your glucose tolerance. I was skeptical, since I
considered this a hormone problem, not a diet problem, but I was at my wits end
and willing to try anything.
I found this forum in early 2002, and started out by eliminating "the white
stuff:" obvious carb sources like flour, sugar, rice and potatoes. I started
eating more protein, fat and vegetables. This alone eliminated the heart
palpitations. I decided on the Protein Power plan, borrowed the book from the
library, and away I went.
Within a few weeks, I felt incredible. I had more energy than I had had since I
was a kid! The longer I did it, the better I felt: my moods and acne improved
dramatically, and the PMS disappeared within a few cycles. My hair and skin
looked healthier, and my nails now *grow*. I'm not perpetually cold anymore, and
the food obsession is gone: if anything, I forget to eat sometimes.
My immune system is amazing: the only colds I've had since LCing have been breif
and bearable. Colds used to knock me on my butt for at least a week - now, they
last only for a few days and I still have energy.
So: that pesky Depo weight is gone. It took a few months. But as you've read,
that's not the success story. Success for me has been taking control of my life
for the first time, and being healthier than I've ever been while eating
*incredible* food!
Maintenance, for the most part, is a breeze. I eat anywhere from 30-80 g of
carbs per day. I could probably handle more, but I simply don't bother. I'm
happy with the food I eat at that level. My key to maintenance success is
settling into a routine with respect to my favorite foods, while still having
enough variety that I'm never bored. I'll never stop learning and experimenting.
I've since read several other LC books, including Atkins New Diet Revolution,
Atkins for Life, and "How I Gave Up My Low Fat Diet..." by Dana Carpender. I've
also gone from not even knowing how to boil an egg, to being a whiz in the
kitchen!
Success didn't happen on one particular day. I technically still haven't hit my
ultimate goal weight, since I'm too lazy to work out and really crack the whip
on myself. I've fallen off the wagon a couple of times, and had all of those
hormonal symptoms come crashing back down on me. But the course of my life took
a sharp turn when I started low carbing, and even though I'm sure I'll struggle
sometimes, I'm still an evolving success story.
My advice for others:
- Be sure to literally remove all barriers to your success. Get the junk food
out of the house and have strategies for dealing with potential temptations.
Learn to say no to others.
- Prepare and plan ahead. Cook ahead of time and keep lots of snacks on hand.
- Say goodbye to the junk food, even LC junk food - don't try to recreate it.
It's expensive, it's a hassle, it maintains the cravings, and it's almost
universally disappointing. Instead, embrace the fact that LCing is meant to
consist of whole foods wherever possible. I have the occasional Atkins bar or
treat, but it's definitely not a habit.
- Get the right attitude. Have patience and a sense of appreciation for the high
quality of food you're eating, and the respect you're now showing to your body.
This isn't a crash diet, and there's no reason to believe that the weight is
just going to slide off. Plateaus, even gains, will happen and it's normal. Get
on with life in the meantime. If you're frustrated, perhaps you need to improve
the quality of your food and exercise. There's no reason to dislike either of
those things. If your food is great and you feel better than you have in years,
it shouldn't make any difference to you whether or not the scale stalls for a
while.
Here are the pictures:
Before/after:
 
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