By Julie Westly, CarbSmart Contributor
Posted 8/4/2001
Steve from Florida is 44, and has been low carbing for two years. When he began low carbing, Steve weighed 365 pounds; he now weigh 220 pounds. He used to wear a size triple-X shirt and pants with a 54-inch waist, but he now wears a size medium shirt and pants with a trim 34/36-inch waist!!
Steve follows a modified Atkins plan, which he affectionately calls "The Rani Magic Formula Diet Cookbook Diet," adding with a smile, "I do eat more carbs than most but I burn it off in such wonderful ways!" (Rani, Steve's wife, is our own Rani Merens from CarbSmart.)
Steve told me he has spent his entire life as a "husky kind of guy ..... and I still am. They invented the Husky Department for me at JC Penny's," he said. "I have did every diet on the planet from 1956 until 1994 or so. I tried Gray Sheet for Overeaters Anonymous, and Cambridge Powder in the 1980’s. I tried popcorn and cabbage, then I just gave up and didn’t give a damn. I decided that I was finished caring about how I looked or even felt, for that matter."
Steve didn’t want to go into depth about his past diet attempts, stating "None of them became a lifestyle, so who cares?"
Steve doesn't take any medication or have a medical condition that would contribute to his weight problem, and explained it by saying, "Just stuffin' my face with pasta and bread was my problem. (I'm not a big potato eater.) I
have family medical history that would lead me to those kinds of troubles, since both heart and sugar-related health problems run in my family."
Steve has been low carbing now for a little over two years. I asked him if he thought he was addicted to carbs, to which he replied, "I never met a carb I didn’t like."
A mortality issue and loving his wife and kids made Steve try low carbing. "Diets and major behavior changes in people's lives come from the motivation of self preservation, or some sort of mortality issue," Steve said. "For me, it was running up a flight of stairs with a student to get him to hurry to a competition. I had had chest pains earlier in the day. As we
were going up the steps, I had to stop. I waved him on and staggered up the flight with my chest pounding and my eyesight getting fuzzy. I had to admit that I was killing myself, but that I could do something about it. Rani had been low
carbing for more than a year at that point, and was doing really great. For me, the rest is history."
"I feel so strongly about this way of life that it is the only thing in my life I talk to people about with a real passion," Steve said. "I used to have loads of clothes that I could 'grow into.' Now I have grown down in size so much that I can wear my son's hip hop clothes, since he is bigger than I am now!
Atkins gave me more than a second chance. For the first time in my life I have real choices in clothes! The colors of my clothes, for instance, have changed. I am now smaller in size than I have ever been as a mature adult. Actually, the I'm the
smallest I have been since I was 14! I am 44, and strangers will look at me and tell me I am ten years younger than I am!"
Steve is not only trimmer now, but his general health is vastly improved as well. "I started this lifestyle with a cholesterol number in the 240 range. I now have a Central Florida Blood Bank card that, along with my blood type, shows my cholesterol number at 147. I exercise and lead a very active life style now. I can participate in activities that I could never have attempted when I was so much larger."
Steve told me the good part of this way of life is being able to have all the food he can eat and go anywhere, including restaurants, and stick to plan. "The self-limiting of hunger through a good dose of proteins and vegetables makes this an easy diet for me to follow. Learning to cook low carb
with class, flare, and a delightful variety of tastes makes living the life style wonderful. When I tell people that this diet has been fun, they look at me and think I am nuts. Well, maybe I was before I learned to eat this way, but not any more! This is a life style change that has made a difference in my life that no other diet was able to do for me. I feel it is easy, and it is definitely something I can stick with for the rest of my life."
"I feel good now, but I had to go through the low carb 14-day carbohydrate withdrawal just like everybody else. I tell people up front, if they ask me, that the 14-day induction period is really more like 12 weeks!" Steve laughed.
Steve says his support system is himself and his wife Rani. "I am the display hubby," he said. "Rani shows my pictures off to strangers in the supermarket and the health food store!"
"The emotional benefits," Steve said, "are too many to express here."
As far as feedback is concerned, Steve told me, "The universal reaction from anyone that had not seen me in years has been, 'Steve, you look great, incredible!' or in the case of a personal friend that hugged me, saying in her Georgia accent, ‘Steven! Where is the rest of you?' My coworkers have been supportive, and my family is just blown away, but my siblings have not adopted this way of life as a part of their lives."
When I first caught wind that Steve might be interested in an interview, I was excited! "You're a legend!" I told him, to which he replied. "A legend, I am not, though modesty and I have been reported to be in the same room on occasion. I have lived the low carb life for over two years, and as I was reminded this evening by my inspiration and my wife, Rani, (who is also my best friend, but don't tell her that), I have been on national television regarding this way of life. So maybe I will admit to sharing the inspiration about how fun living
is with this dietary life style."
Steve participated in "The New Me" diet challenge on a nationally syndicated news program last year. Steve beat all the other dieters participating in "The New Me" diet challenge by dropping an additional 20 pounds during the month-long contest, even though he had already lost 130 pounds following the Atkins diet and was nearing his goal weight! (The other dieters were trying the Carbohydrate Addicts Diet, the Cabbage Soup Diet, Metabolite, and Weight Watchers.
You can see a written synopsis of the program at: http://www.wesh.com/sh/health/diettv/stories/diettv-20000427-011607.html
You can view a video clip of Steve and Rani from the program at: http://www.wesh.com/Video/maydiet22.ram
Way to go, Steve!
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