Abandon Hope... All Ye Who Enter Here!

The other day (OK, more than a couple days ago), some super sharp expert-like people at some University somewhere (in California) reported in major publications everywhere that on the basis of SCIENTIFIC reviews of many major weight loss studies (Brace yourself, here comes the hard part...) ..DIETS DON'T WORK!

Now who am **I** to argue with the REALLY SMART folks like all these experts who did all this crackerjack analysis and studying using the latest in scientific methods and statistical analysis (I'm Sure)?!!

After all, they are probably RIGHT. I am DOOOOOMMMMMEED! Doomed to a hopeless existence in some enormous carcass. Probably better lay down on the couch right now and start barking to the family to run and get me some LARGE SUPER VALUE BURGER MEALS, so I can hurry up and GROW my skin into the sofa(http://www.wftv.com/news/3643877/detail.html), and wait for the Fire Department to come RESCUE FAT ME cutting large holes in the side of my house and so they can take me to a hospital on a FLATBED TRUCK! :sigh:

So they can X-RAY me at the ZOO, and weigh me on some scales at a truck stop somewhere. ARGH! So Richard Simmons can rush to my aid and maybe feature my pitiful story on an infomercial somewhere. PERSPIRING to the Oldies. Doctors can intervene with some magical weight loss shakes.

I mean WHY TRY?!! It's Hopeless!! Might as well start looking on eBay for some 17-X Shirts and I dunno if they make pants that big. Wow, I guess I should start PLANNING FOR MY INEVITABLE FUTURE! I am doomed, after all (if you are to believe all the super geniuses). Better find a good PIANO BOX for a casket and a good COUPLE ACRES to plant myself in!

OK. I am being a little dramatic and more than a little sarcastic. I admit it.

I actually haven't lost hope! At all!!

Like I said in my prior posts - I have met folks who have been there, done that, and they got the WAAAAAY Smallerish T-Shirts to prove it! There is no way I am going to get discouraged by all that negativity! In fact, I have no reason to doubt the veracity of the reports and analysis. Most folks probably do start and then quit on some diet, and rebound right back to above where they started. I have noticed this for years in my own life and with others all around me. So it is real. Just not for me. :snicker:

I am changing the equation. I am not going back to the way things were. I REFUSE TO ACCEPT THAT! I am rewriting my future (not simply accepting the past as the equation for my future). I am learning to eat differently. I am learning to live differently. Over the long haul. Not a diet. Not a temporary thing I GET ON, and then GET OFF.

I saw this piece (entitled "Dieting Doesn't Work") over at CNN's homepage (linked to "The Onion" - An online satirical look at the news) and it inspired me to vent a little. http://www.theonion.com/content/amvo/dieting_doesnt_work?utm_source=cnn00

Actually, lots of folks are writing about this directly or indirectly. Jimmy Moore is writing about someone who told him he couldn't do something (to find out what, read his blog at http://livinlavidalowcarb.blogspot.com/) and follow the links.

I am impressed and challenged too by people too who tell you that you cannot do something. I always remind the fellows who work for me that Henry Ford was told by his engineers that the V-8 engine was absolutely impossible (till they figured out how to invent the camshaft and make it happen). He kept sending them back to the drawing board till they made it work! At least that is how I recall the story.

Anyhow - it is your choice! Wallow in self pity and doubt and dispair, eating donuts and canollis or get up off yer large behind and go do something about it. Make some changes. Rewrite history... that is, your future. The script for your life. If you are to buy what all the super-scientific folks in the University of California are writing for your script, or if you want to rewrite it to be something else. That is my choice. And I am so glad I decided to try the low carb lifestyle! It has allowed me to take control of my decisions and eat in ways that have resulted in a healthier me. THANK YOU DOCTOR ATKINS!!!! THANKS JIMMY MOORE!!! THANKS J13, ValerieL, Victoria (size8), Bob2112, Calianna, Diemde, JudyNYC, SparkysGirl, PJ, and so many many other really super (ordinary but still majorly overachieving) awesome people online!!! You guys give me HOPE! You guys give me encouragement! I CAN DO THIS!

YOU CAN TOO!

Interesting Related Articles/Reading:

Certain Factors Associated With Weight Regain After Weight Loss http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/558092

Dieting Does Not Work, Researchers Report http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070404162428.htm

Why dieters have fat chance of losing weight http://www.guardian.co.uk/medicine/story/0,,2054265,00.html

Dieting does not work, researchers report http://www.physorg.com/pdf94906931.pdf

AND LAST, ONE OF MY FAVORITE RECENT ARTICLES:

What if It's All Been a Big Fat Lie?
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F04E2D61F3EF934A35754C0A9649C8B63&sec=health

From Far Away to Here, With Oh..., So Long to Go!

I have been at the low carb lifestyle not quite a year now. OK, according to the date calculator (http://www.timeanddate.com/date/duration.html) it has been 233 days, or 5592 hours, or 335,520 minutes, or 20,131,200 seconds so far, to be a little more exact (but still off by some margin of error).

It seems like I ought to have arrived already at some level, and yet at another I know I have probably another couple of years ahead of me just to reach goal, and a bunch of years after that just to be able to say that this isn't some kind of yo-yo thing (diet followed by failing miserably and rapidly and massively regaining the weight lost).

Altogether I am trying to lose about 240 lbs give or take, which is a whole person. A whole entire very large person. Like trying to lose a linebacker or something. (smile).

My wife and I compared pix from September before I started and more recent pix. It is startling in some ways, but also kinda depressing too at the same time. Even tho I have lost ~87 lbs to this point, it hardly looks like it to me. Sure I see my face a little better defined, and my guts are smaller. I know my belt is tighter and I am lighter. But I still sorta look just the same. (sigh).

Anyhow - I am in this for the long long haul. For days and weeks and months and years more, if Lord Willing, I should be fortunate enough to live that long. So this is just a tiny pit stop on the road to where I am going. The road to better health, a fitter me. A higher quality of life. Hopefully here with my wife and my kids, and my friends and those I rub shoulders with in life.

PJ's Divine Low Carb Mania!

You absolutely need to check out the low carb blog mania and web linkage posted here:
http://lowcarbmania.blogspot.com/

What an awesome idea!! Break out your favorite web browser and add this site to your favorites! It's a great place to search for excellent low carb blog links! I personally really enjoy following links to other low carbers sites and then even following the links off of those sites. It is amazing and I have ended up (in my six degrees of seperation) surfing the Internet clear to the other side of the world reading about fellow low carbers and related health and nutrition blogs and sites - all interested in the same things I am!

One thing I personally find interesting and rewarding is reading about the success others have had. Reading about their strategies! Seeing their BEFORE, IN-PROGRESS, and AFTER photos. Reading about their stories. About their struggles! About all the ups and downs (even stalls, gains, etc). Also about the research being done! The ideas being shared!

And don't forget to add another long standing and also awesome low carb link list blogsite to your favorites - Jimmy Moore's Low Carb Links!!!!(http://lowcarblinks.blogspot.com/)

Following and reading the thoughts, interests and progress of others on their low carb journeys is very inspiring to me and is educational and charges my own low carb motivational batteries!! I really enjoy everytime I can read about another person with great recipes, stories of making it through various struggles, launching back after failure, learning of new tools and gadgets and sites to help, etc.

Anyhow this is all part of that bigger picture I blogged about in a prior posting below (The whole is greater than the sum of the parts). And while on my own low carb journey and while dealing with my own personal health and life, I am also sharing something in common with so many others all over the globe! I am cheering them on in their victories! I am hoping for them! Sometimes I can help them, manytimes they help me!

PJ & Jimmy - Thanks!!!!
And Thanks to my many low carb friends!

What - Me Worry? HA! Down into the 320's!!!!!

Negative Self Talk and Worry - Internal Battles

Well it appears I have hand-wrung and worried myself into a mini-whoosh-like breakthrough into the 320's (see prior blog post). I wonder how many calories are burned in hand wringing, worrying, and the like? Does that count as excercise? Should I log that in my "Fit-Day" journal entry? Hand wringing - 2 days (>14,000 calories)??!!

Anyone who knows me well knows that I am big on positive self-talk and staying positive in outlook and all. Yet the truth is, when I start worrying all the negative thoughts get in there and do battle internally - these kinds of things **do** pop into my brain. I try not to dwell on them or give them any place to hang out, but the truth is you do start to worry and have negative thoughts if positive things aren't happening like they used to. So it is a battle! One we got to hang in there and stay the course on!!!

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SMALL VICTORIES! This morning on the scale I read 326.2 lbs - so I am finally making it into 320-land. "EEEEEE-Doggie!" Happy Happy Joy Joy!!!!

That is a new all time low for me (last low I saw was at 331 lbs), and makes it over 80 lbs down now. Actually 83.8 lbs. So, I'll take it!

Given that I stay true to form, I will now roller coaster ride back up again and then back down again in a few days time. That is so frustrating, but I guess it's how this whole deal works for me. I would like my weight numbers to be much more linear and consistent, instead of oscillating all over the place like they do (riding up and down on water retention). Another week or two and I will be out of the 330's, I would hope (based on past experience).

Anyhow. I feel good. I feel REAL GOOD!! It's been a long long while in coming and I was seemingly never going to break thru out of the 330's.

Kewl-Ness of Weight Loss!

Well, I am almost down about 80 lbs. Not yet, but almost! I have been on-plan (or mostly always on-plan) since November 1st, 2006. No significant cheats or carb binges, or falling off the wagon as of yet. A couple minor indulgences here and there, but nothing really out-of-bounds so far.

We went out to eat tonight as a family. For YEARS, I have always asked restaurant staff for a "Table and Chairs, ...Not a Booth". Fear of booths has been a constant thing for me since I have had to jam my too big body into someplace way too tiny, and try to look like I am eating comfortably. What a scene I must have made....

Anyhow, that is one phobic tick about me that is seemingly going away with the weight loss, as I progress further and further towards a more normal weight for my bod. It used to be that my wife would ask (in recent weeks) "Are you SURE you want to sit in a booth?", and lately I have been bravely trying to see if I could make it work. And lately, more and more of the time it is no big deal. I fit comfortably, and can eat well, and enjoy my meal.

Tonight was the first night my wife didn't ask, "Are you SURE...??"!

So here's to smallish victories and improvements in the quality of my life!! I now fit into most booths, without a problem! That probably doesn't mean much to you if you have never had the problem I have had over the past years. It means alot to me, and it is a significant landmark on my journey to eat healthier and get healthier on a low carb life!

My drawing at the top is a tribute to the award winning graphics featured on the "Lovin Low Carb Life:By Sparky's Girl'" lowcarb blog... if she can draw pictures of herself there, well ...then I can too!!! [smile!] :)

Sure these are low-budget graphics no-doubt, but hopefully you get the point of the picture... It can be a tight fit when you get too out-of-whack with your bod and sometimes have to fit into smallerish places like the typical restaurant booth!

Getting Others to Jump In to Low Carb

In something of a surprise to me, my brother in-law has decided to jump in to eating low carb. I am very excited about this and hope he has the commitment to really do this with no cheats. I am sure he will see major results if he does! Rather than commit to a goal of losing X-number of pounds in Y-amount of time, he is planning on committing to this way of eating for 52 weeks. That would be awesome if he did so! I really think that this is the way to go, and the way to long term weight and health improvement.

I have been hoping to have an influence on a number of folks but so far have been striking out. My stepson went on and off the program in a couple days time. I was hoping he would be motivated enough to really truely try it, but no. My wife has been teetering, but hoping that something other than watching what she eats will do the trick and suddenly result in massive weight loss (She is somewhat invested in the CPAP breathing appliance, as some sleep center doctor told her that folks who use it lose weight. I wonder if she asked this doc if it would make her breasts larger or her IQ higher if he wouldn't have told her it would do that too....).

I hope that someday my wife will also join me in this way of eating, as I know it would make her feel so much better, and would better regulate her blood sugars and all - and would probably result in weight loss, better cholesterol numbers, and more.

My brother, who was one of the few folks who originally inspired me to do this (he had lost about 80 lbs on Atkins) has since gotten off the way of eating and back to high carb eating, and has regained much of his weight. Even after I threw down the gauntlet and proclaimed him the new heavyweight champ of the family, he has still struggled. For some reason he will eat low carb all day, then eat donuts or some cake or the like. It's almost like - why bother? I suppose restricting some of the carbs and sugars is beneficial, but the whole deal is to get into and stay into a ketongenic state - ketosis. If you are avoiding ketosis by filling your body/liver regularly with sugars, it seems like nonsense to me. But my bro has the same body type as me & my dad and I am pulling for him, and hope that he too can get motivated to get on this plan again 100%.

Anyhow, I am getting to the point where I want to stop and tell everyone that I meet who are grossly overweight (severely morbidly obese) that they don't have to be that way - that there are pretty easy ways to avoid that way of life if you want to. But I've been biting my lips a bit. The few times I have spoken to folks they haven't really gotten it, or don't want to get it. I feel like maybe like me, they need time to get to the place where they too are ready to commit to this way of life and way of eating.

Ah well,.... I am still:

Keeping on keeping on. Staying the course. Keeping the faith. On plan and on target.
Hanging in there...

AHHhhhh.... GO EAT YER DONUTS YOU,... DONUT EATERS!

Ah well. I have resisted the temptation of gourmet sweets, and gourmet pastas and even donuts this past week. Work had me at a conference at a swanky hotel with giant boatloads of good-eating. I stuck to big piles of green beans and some chicken. And big piles of green beans and some barbeque. And other low carb goodness. Passed on many things that would have made my pancreas simply self destruct and explode, for sure.

For all of this I hit 331.4 lbs yesterday, staying on-track and on-course. Almost 80 lbs down, and near hitting the 320's. Probably will be another week or so and I will dip into the 320-land ranges. THAT WILL BE SWEETNESS THERE!!! Can't wait!

Tonight my lovin wife ate ice cream in my face in slow motion, making orgasmic sounds in the process, trying to punish me for saying something she didn't like so much. Man, I got Super Lowcarbman armor on, and that kinda stuff just bounces off of me. Like I want to go nose-down into some ice cream after all this. Don't think so. Not happenin.

I am livin a life here and a way of eating that is keeping me healthy, helping me lose weight, reduces my blood pressure and blood sugar problems. I feel better. I am fitting into smaller clothes. I hope to be here for my children - to raise them, Lord Willing, if I should be able to live long enough and the Lord doesn't return before then. That is worth more than ice cream.

I am not working out at all yet, but I have started occasionally walking up the stairs more at work, instead of the elevators - and parking a little further away than in the past, so I am walking more. Just doing a little bit more here and there.

Anyhow - just a quick update. Staying the course. Laughing in the face of danger and donuts.

BuWah-Ha-Ha-Ha!

Yummy Desert

Being on a low carb diet can have it's disavantages. I mean I have passed up alot of really great sweets, treats, and deserts. But I have recently stumbled into a few things that are really excellent low carb treats, taste great to me, and are a neat reward when you feel like something with explosively excellent flavor, that leaves you satisfied. I wanted to share a couple...

Alot of folks recommended the Jell-O Gelatin Sugar Free Low calorie cups. I have been eating those for a few months now and am sure I have exceeded the recommended allowance of Jell-O products in our fridge the past few months. They are wonderful for a quick flavor hit, and a two or three cups are filling enough for me.









But one new product (new to me anyhow) is the new Dannon yogurt. Dannon has introduced a new "Light and Fit" low carb yogurt (only 3 grams of carbs) in a variety of flavors. The local Walmart only stocks the strawberries and cream flavor, but it is truely wonderful. If you are low carbing it, go get some!

Dannon offers other great low carb flavors in the Light and Fit product selection, and I can't wait to try them at my local Walmart. As it is I eat two of the Carb Control Strawberries and Cream and feel like I did when I've just eaten some excellent high quality ice cream or tasty dessert in the past.

I am not a compensated advertiser for either of these products, just a satisfied customer. But I want to share with others the good things I have found that I enjoy and help me on my own low carb diet. YMMV.