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

Mentally Winning or Mentally Losing the Game

We all know that a lot of top sports performance is the mental-body connection. Where the Winning Spirit and attitude separate the difference between the greats, the almost greats, and those that are not successful at what they set out to do. It is amazing to me to see myself and others struggle through rough spots on this journey, and the mental gymnastics that it takes to stay on track, focused on the goal, and committed to this as a way of eating for life. I am fascinated by how people think, and especially by how successful low carbers think and live their lives.

Not to say that it is especially difficult, or especially easy either. I think it may be different for one person compared to another too! But one of the biggest factors may be one's attitude. I have heard it said that "One's attitude determines ones altitude". That is really true in the workplace. Speaking with other veteran managers it is one of the main things one looks for in hiring new people (after making lots of hiring mistakes over the years and learning what works and what doesn't). A positive mental attitude is a very high percentage of a winning package in the workplace. If you can get someone with a positive attitude who is honest and reliable, is willing to work hard, can learn new things well, and is good with people, ...you about have the total package for a great employee.

And we have all probably watched a big football game that gets down to the clutch moments at the end of the game where the focus and effort makes the difference and the team that has more of it (focus, effort, and attitude) pulls out the win in the end.

The same thing is true for low carb living I think. Being focussed on the goal, staying in the game and committed to succeeding, and maintaining a positive attitude are so important. The quality of one's self-talk goes a long way to helping one succeed. Visualizing success and achievement of one's goals. Seeing through temptation and realizing that the momentary reward of going off-plan is less fulfilling and rewarding than staying on plan and meeting ones goals.

Folks that are really struggling seem to have one thing in common. Folks that are frustrated with this way of eating are looking at what they don't have and are focussing on that - instead of what they can have. When they look at their food choices all they see is what is verboten and forbidden. They see themselves denied everything and only able to eat some smallish amount of lesser satisfying foods. The ones who are successful focus on what they CAN have. And they focus on all the many varieties of what can be made of those things - wonderful dishes and meals and snacks!

I personally see juicy and sizzling steaks and burgers and fish and brats and sausage and pork and turkey and chicken and so many other things that I CAN EAT. They moan over only being able to eat burgers without the bun and bemoan the loss of bread and pasta and potatoes and REAL COKES, etc. I have learned about new choices cram packed with flavor and that are really satisfying. Pepsi One, Lipton Diet Green and White Teas, Coke Zero, Diet Mt. Dew, Crystal Light, Sobe, Fuse, etc. Frustrated folks feel restricted. Instead I feel like there are many choices, and the longer I am at this and work at learning about them, the more and more choices of awesome, tasty, excellent food there are that I learn I can eat and live on (and live WELL)!

I really enjoy Dannon low carb yogurts and Sugar Free Jellos and Breyers Low Carb Ice Cream and Ice Cream Bars! Low carb Cheesecake made with Splenda is AWESOMELY EXCELLENT! There are so many flavored cheeses and nuts and beef jerkies and beef sticks to eat. String Cheese. Sargento "Stcksters" Cheese sticks of all kinds of cheese flavors. And I am eating more veggies than I have eaten in my whole entire life. Tasty veggies smothered in cheese or cream or in rich flavorful broths, or mixed with mushrooms and herbs.

If you want to succeed at this lifestyle and way of eating you need to have your head in the game. You need to explore and love all the many choices YOU DO HAVE, and stop thinking about what you do not have. You need to be good to yourself and EAT WELL. Hot steaming juicy steaks and fillets and chicken. Cooked with herbs. Melted with cheese or flavorful low carb sauce.

Other Low Carb heros out there have invested in sugar free and low carb syrups and are putting chocolate syrups and fruit over their food. They are experimenting with all kinds of tasty flavors and textures in their food. You really need to get out there and try to make recipes other low carbers have developed. Only beware as some folks have labeled dishes low carb when they have 30-100 grams of carbs or more in the dish - WAAAAY over induction or OWL levels and likely to knock you out of ketosis and fat burning Gluconeogenesis.

One other thing that makes a difference in my mind is whether you see this as a temporary diet (till you reach some goal) or as a way of life and eating from here on out.

It does make a difference I think to how much effort you put into learning about the options you do have. About how well you prepare in advance for the day and week ahead of you. And it does translate to learning and implementing lasting changes into your life. It also makes the difference between long-term serious guilt ridden depression over falling off the wagon, and dusting ones self off and getting back on the program (if one overdoes it or gets off the program at any point).

The person who has a long term focus to low carb eating doesn't wonder if they can't do this. They are sticking this out even through stalls, temporary gains, and hard times. This is the long term deal for them. And either through persistance, trial and error, or tinkering and tweaking they see themselves through the times where the body reaches plateaus or fights back against us in our weight loss efforts.

Successful low carbers hold themselves accountable. They don't allow negative self talk. They understand when rationalizations and excuses are occurring and nip it in the bud. "OWN YOUR DECISIONS", one successful low carb hero I admire tags his posts. And he also tags them with, "Character is that force that enables an individual to carry out a resolution once the mood in which that resolution was born has died." Super thoughts!

Some other last few things that I think makes a difference between winners and losers in this low carb journey is being consistent, making an effort, and willingness to make and accept changes to ones life.

Consistency makes this way of eating easier and easier. You get used to portion sizes and ways of eating (habits) that are successful and help you meet your goals. You try not to eat late at night, and you snack to keep your energy up and stay on track through the day. Consistency means that you learn by force of habit how to do successful things, in easy to learn and remember ways. You get used to portions and types of food that "work" for you, and learn to avoid those that don't.

Making an effort means you go the extra mile and put in the work and time to learn about this way of life. You read the books (Atkins, South Beach, Protien Power, etc) and you study and learn from the experts how to be successful. You read the blogs and web sites and other resources. You look hard for tasty solutions for meals, snacks, drinks, and deserts that are permissible for your stage in this way of eating. It means that if faced with lousey choices you make the best ones or simply wait to eat to do something better. You settle for a diet drink for now, or drink some water. You grab a bag of peanuts. You do what you can instead of breaking down and having what you cannot.

One of the best ways to make an effort is to make preparation. Buy some low carb groceries. Order some LC foods online. Boil some eggs. Make some chicken salad and tuna salad. Have low carb snacks on hand. Get rid of the tempting sugary things in the house, or at least have low carb alternatives at hand.

The last thing is making changes. Everybody hates change. It is awful. We are all creatures of habit. In some cases we are trying to change a lifetime of developed habits that have been unsuccessful in meeting our objectives (good health, a desired weight, happiness with ourselves, etc). But unlearning old poor habits and learning new good ones is a key factor in being successful. Learning to drink water and other low carb beverages if one has drank the SUPERSIZED COKES and other sugary drinks every day for years and years is a big change.

We have to learn new habits. Practice desired behaviors till they become part of us. They say if you do some new thing for several weeks it will become a habit and they way you do things. We need to work at this too.

OK. One last thing. Get some support. Go online and meet other low carbers. Learn from them. Encourage them when they are struggling. Share ideas. Make friends. Help others and get some help too. Find some of the many success stories online, and make/meet some low carb heros in your life.

Hope you find something here that can help. Keep you on-track. Keep you focused. Remind you of good things that work. Encourage you to make a little greater effort.

Make yourself a success story and become a low carb hero yourself! Good luck on your low carb journey!!!

I think I MUST be a TIGGER!

I feel like Tigger on Whinney The Pooh!

350.2 lbs this morning!

"Bouncey bouncey, bouncey bouncey, fun fun fun fun fun! The most wonderful thing about Tigger's - is I'm the only one!"

I am certainly bouncey!!!

"Bouncing is what Tiggers do best!"

I really must be a Tigger!

From WikiPedia:

Pooh states once that "He always seems bigger because of his bounces", implying that the other animals think of Tigger as being larger than he truly is.

"Tiggers don't like honey."

(yep - that's the low carb Tigger talkin!)

Sounds about right...

Beware the Heffalump's ! And Woozle's!

(honey eating monsters!)

"T-I-double-guh-err (T,i,gg,r) , which spells Tigger."

Forward Progress! Steady As She Goes!

Well, I finally got past 352.0 this morning. Seems like the past few weeks I have been bouncing against barriers to my progress. I will be 352.0 for two mornings in a row, then BLOOOOP on up to 356 or 354.8 for no apparent reason. It is frustrating as I am staying low carb, avoiding all the evil-nastybad-awful things but my body is still doing odd things.

This morning I was down to 351.2 lbs. Lowest weight ever for me in "Who Knows How Long?". I gotta tell ya, it felt GREAT to see those numbers. I am waiting to break through below 350.0 lbs, but it isn't coming as fast and as easy as it did a couple of months ago.

One friendly reader surmised that perhaps I need to up my carbs, just a little. She may have something there. I have been keeping pretty tight control over them, trying to not let them get outa control and into "dropping out of ketosis-land". Still I am seeing forward progress overall, and that is the main thing!!

I checked my blood pressure last weekend for the first time since I started this way of eating and living. I was at 128 over something in the 90's on my best reading. While that may not be great for many folks, for me it is wonderful! I knew it had to be lower, but it was nice to see it for myself. I have run from the high 130's through as high as 160 on the top number in the past (the higher numbers if I took cold meds, or was under mega-stress, which happens occasionally). The bottom number has been in the mid-to-high 90's and maybe 80's at it's best.

I have had so many benefits since I started eating this way. I don't get all jittery if my blood sugar drops too low anymore, or sleepy and drowsy headed if I eat alot. Blood sugar is really steady and I feel great since gluconeogenesis provides the blood sugar it's supply. It is so regulated to the amount I need to feel good!

Also I have not had to take Prilosec or Alka Seltzer (sorry antacid manufacturers) as I no longer am having reflux, acid shoot up my esophagus, or any of the stomach acid problems I had before! I was one of the Alka Seltzer companies biggest customers I am sure - probably have to lay off a few thousand workers on their assembly lines now. Sure feel sorry about all that!

I also had to go out and purchase a tool to drill some new holes in my belts, as I had gone down well past the end of them and they were getting loose on me. THAT IS A WONDERFUL FEELING!!!! I want to keep one of my belts as I drill hole after hole to be able to see myself how far I have come as I lose down to lower inches and pounds.

And one other new and exciting thing happened... my wife had to make a "ring snuggy" for me out of some tape, as my wedding band was about flying off my hand every time I moved it to do something. THAT IS ALSO A WONDERFUL FEELING!!! Even my fingers are getting a little smaller, tho the cold weather is also a factor I am sure. Still, I haven't had THAT particular problem before!

Thanks to all how stop by here to check on me and see how I am doing! I AM DOING GREAT! I am loving life and living well on my low carb life. I am about to the point when people are starting to notice at work a little bit. I had my first question asking if I was losing weight from a coworker the other day. It was nice since I had lost around 50 lbs by that point, and you would think surely ***someone*** would notice my shirts getting baggier, my belt pulled tighter, my neck shrinking inside my collar, etc.

But being so heavy at the start (and still being really heavy) it will probably take even a while longer still for most folks to notice. I am OK with that. It gives me something to look forward to!

Optimistic Weighing: Musings on an Honest Scale...

Weighing are the metrics of my new weight loss. Keeping score. Standing in judgement - quite literally. There are all kinds of ways to do it, I suppose.

I have found that I and many others have a tendancy to weigh early in the morning. When we have gone the longest without food, after getting rid of the byproducts of the days eating and drinking gone before. And yeah, ...weighing buck-naked - no weight from any clothes or shoes, I even take my watch off. When I am at my lowest possible weight of the day.

During the day I find that my weight may fluctuate as much as 3-7 lbs from my weight in the early morning. And day to day it fluctuates up and down, though mostly down. The past couple of weeks it has been really bad as I have been fighting water retention and/or weight gain for some reason. My calves have been getting really swollen, and once I lose the water weight I see I am still going down over all. I drink alot, and I think I need to. But for some reason on some days I seem to be retaining alot of the fluids.

I suppose it might be more honest to weigh in the middle of the day, or at the end of the day. It would seem to be more honest - as really for most of the day I am weighing higher than I report from my morning weigh-in. But I still need to see myself at my lowest weight during the day, and if I am weighing consistently at the same time I guess it is OK. I guess I am going for the most positive and optimistic reading I can.

The other area of honesty is when you are on the scale. It is hard to resist standing on the scale in certain ways to make the scale read the lower number or the higher number. I am trying hard to stand there flat on the middle and take my medicine. But I so want it to be the lower number that sometimes I catch myself wanting to see the lower number by shifting on the scale a bit. I am trying to resist this type of dishonesty too, by not doing that (though the differences are only in a couple of ounces).

It is funny how badly we (those of us engaged in losing weight) want to see the lowest possible number on that scale tho. And how important it is for me. And how important it is to have an honest number. Good metrics. But also how important the encouragement of seeing positive momentum is, how important positive thought and self-talk is, and even encouragement from others.

Breaking Through Barriers

Well, I finally made it below 360 lbs! I have been bumping into this barrier now for too long, and I finally checked this morning after 2 days of not checking, and I was at 357 lbs this morning!!

Down 43 lbs so far, and staying the course. Steady as she goes! Full speed ahead!

All Navy lingo is deliberately and gratuitously added for the benefit of my brothers in-law, who think sleeping in foxholes with other men is a good idea. Go Navy, beat Army!!!

These are a few of my favorite things...

Can't you just hear Julie Andrews singing that song from the Sound of Music? Well, listen harder, then!

Actually, I thought it might be good to mention some of the beverages that keep me going. I think it is important to continue to have flavor in your life and to both eat and drink good stuff!

I've always been "big on beverages". I would often get a coffee, milk, and orange juice with breakfast (in my pre-low carb days), for example. And I think I have been drinking lots for a long time, perhaps since I went on the low calorie diet in my thirties and just got used to drinking so much water, tea, etc.

When I got off that diet (years ago) I went right back to sugary Cokes and major amounts of High Fructose Corn Syrup in all it's many flavors and packagings, along with lots of milk and other stuff to drink. And I was always about drinking the XXL sized drinks - probably how I ended up an XXXXL in the end, huh? Yeah, no kiddin!

Now that I am LCing it, I am trying to cut back on the coffee some, drink more tea and water, and find good things to drink. The thing is, I think most of the diet drinks that are sweetened with aspertame taste like they have formaldahyde in them. I mean they are flat-nasty drinks. Sure I will drink one now and then, but I am trying to go for healthy drinks that I can drink that are permitted under the rules, and then also drinks that are satisfying my need for flavor and all.

So here's what I have been drinking lately:

Lipton Diet Green Tea


It tastes great, and might even be good for you. They say that green and black teas are a great source of antioxidants and so they may even help prevent cancer or other problems (with free radicals and all that stuff I won't even pretend to understand). It is definitely low carb and satisfies pretty well - both from a thirst quenching and a flavor point of view.





Sobe Green Tea

Sobe make some great tasting beverages and I also like their version of diet green tea. No aspertame, zero sugar, Carbs=1g, not too shabby. And it's earned the South Beach seal of approval evidently.

All kinds of free radical fighting antioxidents must be cram-packed into these bottles in some way that my mind could not even understand. They fill these babies with "Goodness Machines", and cap em' off when they are just cram-packed with all kinds of excellence & goodness!

Well, I kinda like em' pretty good anyhow. :)






Pepsi One Diet Cola

Pepsi Cola has come out with a type of diet soda that omits for some reason all the High Fructose Corn Syrup, and even the aspertame. Instead they use sucralose, better known as Splenda (the trademarked name of a productized version of sucralose I suppose).

The main thing about Pepsi One. It just tastes great!

And it is refreshing! For a Cola and soda fiend like myself it is nice to have something to drink that doesn't taste like I am being punished ("NO SWEETNESS & GOODNESS FOR YOU! BANISH HIM TO THE LAND OF FORMALDAHYDE TASTING NASTY DRINKS!"). I try not to overdo it and to just try to find more good and healthy options to drink. But it is nice to have a frosty cold cola over ice once innawhile.

There are more things that I am drinking, but this single post is probably going on long enough. But Why did I want to comment on what I am drinking? Well so many starting out on the LC life are worried about never having anything GOOD to taste anymore, and envision I suppose sucking cold greasy lard and fatty bits from meat, smiling and saying "Hmmmm, this tastes GOOOOD!"

Well - there actually ARE GREAT TASTING food and beverages out there, and you don't have to be locked into that kind of thinking - that you have forever given up on all good tasting food and beverages. You need to realize that there are many food and beverages that are actually good for you and satisfy!!!

Hang in there and look for low carb products that are both good for you and satisfy! Don't give up! Search for the wonderful LC recipes out there, and look for the permitted products that are full of taste and flavor. YOU CAN DO THIS!!! You can fill your world with good tasting, satisfying food and drink, and never miss a thing. Lose weight or maintain weight loss, be healthy, and feel great. And don't miss out on a thing!!!

Another Success Story on Low Carb!

The Times Online in an article entitled "The fat lady slims", tells of a woman named India Knight who lost 5 stone (70 lbs) on a low carb diet that has evolved into a "whole way of eating". She customized her diet to meet her own way of living, and she did it while "having a social life, and eating family meals".

"And it allowed me to feed my family and me really good food: the beauty of low-carb diets is that you have the roast chicken, the gravy, the beans, the salad, and simply pass on the potatoes. This doesn’t make you feel deprived.", she said.

She describes how she lost the weight without a tremendous need to workout at some bodybuilding gym, but simply walked vigorously and ate well. One nice thing she notes is how the low carb lifestyle has even improved her childrens attitude towards nutrition.

Nice article, with before and after pictures. Way to Go, India!!

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,8126-2542787,00.html