Rose From North Carolina’s Low Carb Success Story

Rose from North Carolina is 56 years old and is 5′ 8″ tall. Rose began low carbing with the Atkins program in December of 2000 weighing 210 pounds, and now weighs just over 145 pounds. She’s just slightly above her goal weight, and has dropped from a size 22 to a size 10!

“I have been a fat person since first grade,” Rose said. “I grew up with all the teasing and ridicule a girl could have. I was sad much of my life due to the incessant teasing about being overweight. I had three children, but they didn’t cause me to gain weight, I was already fat! What little ‘baby weight’ I did gain remained, but I gained very little with my pregnancies. I had small babies, 2 1/2 and 5 pounds.”

“I tried a starvation diet,” Rose continued. “While in high school, getting ready for college, I saw a yearbook from the college. There was a very large girl (OK, fat!) in one of the pictures. I said to myself ‘that is how I will look.’ I decided to only eat my lunch at school my entire last year before I went off to college. I would go to bed at 6 PM to keep from eating dinner! By the time I went to college, I had lost weight, about 50 pounds, but once I got to college and tried to eat normally, it all came back. I gradually gained the weight back, and felt even worse than before. And I was always hungry.”

“After my husband left me, I tried TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly). I thought he left me because I was too fat. TOPS provided good therapy, but they gave me no guidelines about eating. You just ate whatever you wanted and decided yourself what was good for you, then went back to weigh in each week. If you gained, you put money in the “Pig” bank. I usually didn’t eat much at all during this time. I mostly thought I had to starve myself to lose weight. (Wrong!) I did lose about 50 pounds once again, but alas, gained it back, and again, was
always hungry.”

“I did a brief try with Weight Watchers. I would lose a few pounds, then gain back that and more. The regime of counting each item, calories, points, etc., became cumbersome. The cost also made it rough for a single mom. I’d eventually give up, and just go eat all and anything I wanted. I was still…… always…… hungry!”

“I tried the Diet Center program briefly. The cost was too much and I didn’t lose much weight. I didn’t like the regimen of having to go to the Center just to get weighed, and…… I was always hungry.”

“I tried low fat dieting after my double bypass surgery in July of 1999. I came back after the surgery bound and determined to get my health back in order, but low fat dieting didn’t worked either. And I WAS ALWAYS HUNGRY on the low fat diets! The
weight kept creeping up.”

“I had known about low carb eating for many years prior to trying it. I thought it was something I could never do, as I had high blood pressure and didn’t want to ‘die of a heart attack’! Boy, was I mistaken!”

“I was a wreck. I decided a year after my heart surgery that I was just gaining weight anyway, so I had nothing to lose but the weight. I decided just to give low carbing a try. I honestly didn’t expect to lose weight by EATING! How could I do that? My mindset was that I had to starve to lose weight. I certainly couldn’t eat EGGS! That would be cholesterol! I didn’t want to eat high fat mainly because of concerns for my arteries.”

“Well let me tell you, I am NEVER hungry. I lose weight without trying really hard. I am always satisfied! There aren’t even many bad parts to low carbing for me. I’ve found that even those high carbohydrate treats I used to enjoy so much don’t get me excited anymore! Often, if I take one bite of something that is high carb, I feel bad about even that one bite, and discard it before swallowing!”

“Low carbing has worked for me because it is easy to do. Compared to low fat dieting, it’s a dream! I’ve been low carbing since 2000, and have gotten into size 10’s. There’s no way would I want to go back to the size 20’s I used to wear!”

“I feel low carbing worked for me because I was determined to do it. I wanted to live longer and to see my grandchildren grow up. It has been wonderful being able to eat when I am hungry and not starve. It’s EASY! I’ve been able to stick with this for over a year, and it’s just the beginning for me! I can do this for life!”

“Even if I do occasionally take a bit of something high in carbohydrates, I try to enjoy it and know the next meal, I will be right back on the wagon. It’s such an easy wagon to be on!”

“When I had that double bypass surgery in 1999, I tried doing the recommended low fat diet. I just couldn’t do it! At the time, I was on four blood pressure medications, and now am only on two. Prior to low carbing, even the four different medications didn’t bring my pressure down to normal!”

“I have had the blood work to prove this way of life is healthier for me. My cholesterol went from 200+ down to 152. My HDL is 64, my LDL is 69. My triglycerides dropped from 218 down to 76. I am diabetic, but the doctor says there is no longer any sign of it now! My blood sugar went from over 150 down into the 80’s. My three-month sugar test went down from 7 to 4.9!”

“My cholesterol, blood sugar, and blood pressure continue after 1 year of low carbing to be well within the ‘normal’ range. (This is 2 years after having open heart double bypass surgery!) My cardiologist has encouraged me to keep doing this, and my family physician has given me a ‘no diabetes symptoms at all’ clear signal!”

Rose also enjoys a wonderful support system. “My loving husband and three kids are extremely supportive and happy with my current health. I belong to newsgroups and bulletin boards on the Internet that help me, also. I am finally able to speak before others, knowing I look fine. And I feel good emotionally for the first time in years!

“I am happy to be low carbing. It has been a way of life that has changed me more than anything else in the world, and I appreciate the way I’ve been able to learn from others. Most people just shake their heads and congratulate me. I’ve ‘turned on’ many other folks to low carbing. I’ve been happy to pass along my success story to friends and relatives who have had success also. My daughter and stepdaughter have caught the ‘low carb bug,’ and are doing great! I think THAT is my best accomplishment. It’s the BEST!”

Rose offered up some advice for other low carbers: “Be patient. Stay with the plan. Don’t give up when the stalls come. They came to me, but I just hung in there doing the right thing, waiting for the next downward turn of the scale. How wonderful it is when, all of a sudden, a pound or two drops! When I got down to 146, I allowed myself to eat a few carbs for the holidays. I knew I might gain a little and I DID. But, I just went ahead with the plan, knowing that I’d give myself a little leeway to do that. I think a my “cheat” is really more of a “planned eat.” If something special comes up and you have reached or are near your goal, I believe it is fine to indulge once in a while. Of course, it can’t be daily for weeks, but once in a while is fine. My planned “eats” have included a little bread, potato and once in a while (OH NO!!!!) sugar!!! But I get right back on the wagon, drink double the water, and get the weight right back off.”

“Usually I find that one or two planned high carb “eats” do not give me too much trouble. But I find that I do not feel as well when I’ve eaten starches or sugar. That really makes it easier to get back in the groove!”

“When folks ask, “How did you lose the weight?” just smile and say, “I cut out sugar, flour, potatoes and pasta.” I have found people are so much more accepting of that answer than, “I’m on a low carb diet.” Somehow they think low carb is BAD, but eliminating sugar, flour, potatoes, and pasta is OK.”

“Drink water. Enjoy the no-hunger part of this way of eating, and make your health all that it can be! I am thrilled to be so healthy, and will never go back to my old way of eating. What a wonderful way to life!!!