Second Time Around!!

[Tyrone Bill]

Hi my name is Bill. I'm a disabled veteran, who is confined to a wheelchair and I'm a compulsive eater.

I started Protein Power back in May 2002. I was able to walk then utilizing two canes. At 5' 8" tall I weighed 370 pounds. I did well for a couple of months, slipped up and gained back a few pounds. I restarted and over the next three and a half to four years I cut my weight in half. I lost 185 pounds and was 15 pounds away from my original goal of 170 pounds.

It was at this time my wife Doy and I decided to take an extended trip to her birthplace in northeastern Thailand. While there my health started to deteriorate. It got to the point that I couldn't be on my feet for more than 5 or 10 minutes. The pain in my ankles, knees, hips and back was excruciating. I was also experiencing severe pain in my hands, wrists, elbows, and shoulders. It was next to impossible to use my canes anymore. My doctor told me I would need to start using a wheelchair. He added that it would be permanent and my condition was irreversible. It devastated me. This wasn't supposed to be happening. I was losing tons of weight. It should be getting easier for me to get around. But that wasn't the case and upon realizing it. I went into a deep depression and started binge eating again. It didn't take long for me to start gaining my weight back. Before I knew it I gained almost all my lost weight back. I realized I needed help. I received treatment for my depression. I made a few feeble attempts to restart my weightloss program. Finally on June 1st, 2009 I earnestly restarted and weighed in at 350 pounds. My July weigh-in showed a 23 pound loss and in August I added another 13 pounds for a total of 36 pounds. I'm on my way back and this time I'm seeing it through to my final goal.

[MichelleAkers]

Hi Bill --

Welcome from another newbie! I haven't been here on the PP forum much longer than yourself -- but I have been here long enough to say, wow, this board is a gold mine of wisdom!

As for the "compulsive eater" tag -- in addition to the Drs. Eades's various books, I suggest you read Gary Taubes's book, "Good Calories, Bad Calories." I, at least, am finding the whole process of taking the excess weight off quite a lot less psychologically onerous, having eased up on the shame factor.

All of us here are very fortunate to be undertaking our efforts in an era when this information IS readily available. (Though of course it's been around a long, long time... just pushed underground rather a lot.)

Best of luck to you (and us all)!

-- Michelle

[Tyrone Bill]

Thanks Michelle. I was a member of the old PP site but lost my way. Now I'm back.

[Dutchess2009]

Welcome, welcome Bill!!!!! :)

[deirdra]

Welcome back Bill - it looks like you're doing well with 36 lbs lost in less than 3 months.

I'm living proof that it is possible to succeed the second time around on PP (~50th diet after 35 years of yo-yoing) and maintain for the first time in my life - in my 50's.

What I did differently this time was to add more fat and keep my carbs low (20-40g ECC max) and my protein at or just slightly above my PP minimum and not try to speed things up by cutting calories below 1750 like I always did on previous diets that failed. Basically I took my original goal weight (150), multiplied it by 12 to get a typical amount of calories needed for a normal person of 150 lbs to maintain that weight. So my entire "diet" phase consisted of eating like I would need to eat when I reached my goal and forever. I'm actually able to maintain on 1900 cals/day now (and the extra is all fat, not extra carbs or protein), which is what a normal and active 136 lber (136x14) is supposed to be able to eat even though I am not very active.

After losing 45 lbs, I started reading more about Paleo eating and food intolerances and removed all grains and dairy. I found that the foods that I craved the most and binged on (sugar, starch, grains, dairy) were the ones I am not tolerant of. I make sure I don't get hungry and chose PP foods I love that don't cause me problems (soy, sugar, starch, grains, dairy). Although I had always assumed my compulsive eating & binging was psychological, after eliminating crave-inducing foods I was intolerant of, I finally felt "normal", with a normal person's desire for food; now I am convinced that eating crap chemically unbalances me, causing cravings that are extremely hard to resist (the urges come right back if I indulge in my problem foods). But when these things are not circulating in my bloodstream, I don't get urges to eat compulsively, something I never thought would be possible given my history of yo-yoing!

Eliminating grains & dairy almost completely eliminates my arthritic joint pain. Taking magnesium & potassium as recommended by the Eades also improved my joint pain & twinges. The magnesium and higher fat levels also seem to elevate my mood.

You'll also notice that I still check in on these boards for ideas & motivation even though I am "done" dieting. It keeps me from losing my way and keeps reminding me why I need to keep eating like this for life.

[Tyrone Bill]

Thanks Deirdra for the informative post.

[Tyrone Bill]

Hi Heather thanks for welcoming me.

[ramona]

Hi Bill,

Welcome to the board! I haven't been here long myself, but had lost my way and now I'm back. I noticed you said you are a compulsive eater-how are you doing with this? I'm only a few days into strictly following the plan but I found the advice Deirdra gave to be helpful. I know in the past I followed this approach and it worked well for me.

Ramona