Categories
Website design By BotEap.comFrom when I was a kid, to my glorious 20s (thankfully behind me, no pun intended), and into my early 30s (before I had my son), maintaining my weight was never a problem. I always relied on the fact that by watching what I was eating, if my weight increased, a little non-stressful exercise would be all I needed to get back to my ideal weight.
Website design By BotEap.comBut things change
Website design By BotEap.comAfter the birth of my son (and the 60-pound gain during pregnancy), my thyroid, which was always rocky, decided more or less to give up the ghost. Actually, when she was about 21 years old, it was discovered that she had a problem with hypothyroidism (which is the one that puts on weight more easily and other unpleasant symptoms). Religiously he had been doing the annual blood tests and taking the little pill every day. However, even that changed after giving birth. A normal thyroid stays in the 0.4 to 0.6 range, mine was 10.0, a sure indication that it had sunk and is no longer effectively regulating my body.
Website design By BotEap.comSo get into the diet cycle
Website design By BotEap.comEven at the age of 16, obsessed with maintaining a slim figure, I “invented” my own diets. I remember one was nothing more than hard boiled eggs, toast and something to drink. And I lost 18 pounds in two weeks doing it (eggs are the secret).
Website design By BotEap.comLater in life, I followed the Scarsdale diet. I can tell you it really works, but over time you start to really hate tomatoes. Meat is definitely on the Scarsdale menu, along with lots of veggies and even fruits. It really is balanced. You just don’t get a hint of anything that smells “sweet.” Oh, and I can’t stand coffee alone.
Website design By BotEap.comThen he moved on to variations on the “diet in a box.” They sure work, but after about a week the cardboard box smell along with your food decreases your appetite anyway … maybe that’s how it works. And yes, combining the right amounts of carbohydrates, protein, and fat is the real secret.
Website design By BotEap.comWhich led me to … the Atkins diet.
Website design By BotEap.comI didn’t just jump into Atkins. I read the book cover to cover and did some research on my own. Good, solid scientific data, along with an eye-opening look at the lobbyist telling us what is good to eat and what is not (read the manufacturers of high-sugar cereals who threaten us that eggs are not good for us, only that their products are the best).
Website design By BotEap.comWell, researching behind me and my solid The Atkins diet in hand, I purged my kitchen of all the nasty (but wonderful) stuff and started on the 14-day portion of the diet.
Website design By BotEap.comSure enough, the scale moved (and it still does), but more importantly and almost immediately, my clothes start to “feel good” again.
Website design By BotEap.comYou’re on the 14-day induction diet for (obviously) 14 days. However, if you are very overweight, you can continue on less than 20 grams of carbohydrates longer. And yes, if you are seriously overweight, you are still healthy.
Website design By BotEap.comI’m not going to go into detail about the various stages of this “life, change your eating habits” diet. It’s all in the book and I suggest you read it. A lot of people I know tell me, “Oh, but that’s not a good diet. You eat too much of ___ or ____. And that’s not healthy.”
Website design By BotEap.comMy first question for people who make negative comments is, “Have you read the book?”
Website design By BotEap.comThe answer, when something truly ridiculous is thrown at me, is a resounding … no. However, they maintain with an air of unreliable authority that they are right. I just smile and keep moving. I’m slim, most of the time (and I’m not saying it harshly), they need some serious weight maintenance.
Website design By BotEap.comTo give you a hint about Atkins, I started over (yes, I know this is supposed to be a way of eating for life, but when have we, the American population, done something fully committed?) Late last year (around August 2005) I had an unfortunate 30 pound sitting on my butt that I needed to remove before it turned 50 or more. Pretzels and high carb snacks (where he only has a quick handful) are my downfall.
Website design By BotEap.comBy February 2006, I had lost (and continue to maintain) 33 pounds. It’s seven months of eating the correct combinations of protein, fat, and carbohydrates as outlined in the Atkins diet plan. Averaging just under 5 pounds a month or 1.25 pounds a week (more or less), this is a healthy approach to losing weight while keeping it off.
Website design By BotEap.comI even invented my own smoothie that works wonders. Ice, Carb Hood Chocolate drink (chocolate of course), some Splenda and / or Torani Sugar Free Hazelnut, and a can of Atkin’s Chocolate Royale. It fills you up, it’s loaded with vitamins and minerals, and best of all it works like a charm as you lose weight.
Website design By BotEap.comSo now you know my weight loss and slimming story. But before I go, I would also like to bring your mind to this lovely reality.
Website design By BotEap.comWhy do tons of advertisements suddenly appear with the message “Order our diet in a box”? What is the first thing they say to you? All about the glycemic index, of course, and if you do it in the right proportions for you, “the pounds just melt away!”
Website design By BotEap.comYes, they are right. But these same people, along with all the wonderful pill makers and the “health conscious” community, were until recently the very same people yelling at you that the Atkins diet was unhealthy.
Website design By BotEap.comDuh … Atkins wrote and implemented the proper carb combination diet decades ago. At least he has decades of research and real stories to back up what he had been saying all along.
Website design By BotEap.comCombine the right foods for each individual and anyone can lose weight. Take a short walk to lift your butt off the couch and move around, and you have a surefire recipe for losing weight and keeping it off for the rest of your life.
Website design By BotEap.comFind out what works for you, do it, stick with it, and you can be healthy and as lean and fit as it comes naturally to you.
Website design By BotEap.com(c) Theresa Cahill 2006 – All rights reserved
