Success Stories
Becky's Story
By Julie Westly, CarbSmart Contributor
Posted 11/16/2002
Becky is 44 years old, and is 5' 10" tall. She has been following the Protein Power Plan, Atkins, and has occasionally a CAD (Carbohydrate Addict's Diet) meal since March of 2000. Becky started her low carbohydrate journey weighing 285 pounds and wearing a size 32. She currently weighs 195 pounds and wears a size 14. Becky's goal is to be 160 pounds.
"I was fat my whole life," Becky told me. I weighed over 10 pounds when I was born! I can remember loving spaghetti and bread when I was younger. I craved carbohydrates all the time! My doctor put me on a diet in the first grade. When I was in elementary school I used to chew 50 pieces of gum a day! My mom began to hide gum and food so I couldn't get to it. But she was addicted to carbs too, so there was always something to eat in our house, even if I had to search for it."
"I tried many diets over the years, including the Atkins diet when I was in high school, but I always cheated. I was obsessed both with eating and with trying to lose weight. I was so addicted to sugar that by the time I got older I didn't even want to eat regular food. When I was in high school, I wouldn't eat all day and would then ate a whole box of candy after school."
I asked Becky what other diets she had tried.
"Other diets I've tried? All of them!" Becky replied. "Weight Watchers, low fat, Stillman, starvation, and every single fad diet except the one with cabbage - yuk! I also tried Xenical, Meridia, Dexitrim, Richard Simmons, walking, and jogging. I don't think I could even name every diet I've been on! I've been on one diet after another since first grade! I had the most success with Weight Watchers when I was in the 6th grade, then hormone shots, and oh yeah, NutriSystem. They were all hard to follow because I had such a craving to eat. I never really understood why until the low carb thing. As soon as every one of the other diets was over, I went back to the food I loved and always gained back what I had lost plus more," Becky exclaimed.
"I gained 60 pounds with my first pregnancy and never lost itall. I was in an unhappy marriage and continued to gain even after I had my kids. My highest weight ever was 304. Through the years I managed to be successful a couple of times with different diets, but I always started eating sugar and carbs again and gained all my weight back, plus more. I lost a few pounds after my divorce, but not many."
"I began to consider having my stomach stapled. Finally, I decided to give up sugar completely and go on the Atkins diet one more time. I told myself that if I couldn't do it this time, I would go for the stomach stapling. I began low carbing in March 2000, and the weight began to come off at a slow but steady pace. I became discouraged because I knew other people had lost weight more quickly, but I decided to stick it out. It took me over a year, but I lost 90 pounds! I have kept it off for over a year now. I still want to lose more, and I know I can be successful with this new way of living."
"I have mostly followed Protein Power and Atkins. I have cheated with bread, and on those days I do CAD (Carbohydrate Addict's Diet). I also ate no sugar until recently, but am giving that up again because I just can't eat sugar and lose weight. I am taking estrogen, and maybe that has affected me because I haven't lost any weight since I started taking it."
"I actually started low carbing in the 10th grade, but I did Atkins and thought you had to do Induction forever. I didn't understand about adding carbs back in. After a few weeks, I just couldn't take it anymore. I've tried it several times and was never successful because I would always cheat with sugar. Now I know that just won't work. Recently I tried adding in just a little and my cravings came back with full force so I am wrestling with getting sugar back out of my life."
"When I finally started low carbing this time, I just felt like God was telling me to choose an amount of time to give up sugar. I picked a year (because forever just sounded like too long) and then on the same day at work this guy got up and told his success story with Protein Power. It was a little easier to follow than Atkins, so I decided to do it. Even when I started slowing down, I knew I didn't want to go back to my old way of life because the new way is so much more peaceful. It's so incredible not having something inside of you forcing you to eat even when you don't want to!
"I made it without sugar for over two years, and then I slipped. Now I have to recommit to that again."
"Low Carbing has worked for me because I can go out to eat and I eat better than my friends. I can have fast food every night if I wanted to."
"My cholesterol is a lot better now than when I started. My HDL cholesterol is 83!!! When I started it was only 35. My LDL is still up, but my percentages are good. My triglycerides are about 43. I'm starting to eat more turkey and less stuff like bacon. I haven't been sick once since I quit eating sugar and, of course, everyone is amazed."
"I know this will be it for me forever. I have actually perfected a lot of sugar free recipes. The best recipes I have are recipes that had sugar in them and I converted to sugar free. I find that a lot of the recipes I find on the Internet are just yucky!!"
In closing, I asked Becky if she had an advice to offer on the following subjects:
Cheating:
"Never cheat with sugar!" Becky declared. "If you are going to cheat, be sure you only do it every now and then not every night!! Make sure you don't eat food that is off your diet for more than an hour period in one day. The least damaging way to "cheat" is with a low carb dessert... at least that's my preference!!"
Stalls:
"Count your carbs more closely, increase or change your exercise routine. Cut out cream (and other dairy products) and high fat stuff and see if that helps. Cut down your portion sizes."
Most important thing to remember:
"Never give up and never go back to the old way of eating."
We'll update you all on Becky and her journey when she gets to her goal.
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