Unrecognizable

[monkeyfrog]

After 5.5 months on Protein Power I have finally hit a few milestones. I have been watching my bodyfat % closely as that is what matters most to me. As long as it goes down (or maintains) each week I am happy. It has been slowly dropping over the last months.

I just realized that I have lost 50 lbs in total. Wow. It became clear to me yesterday when I ran into a friend in the street that I had not seen since last year. He did not recognize me! I thought he was joking around until I saw the look on his face. I see myself everyday, of course, so I don't notice the changes.

I originally thought I needed to lose about 20 lbs. Then, after 20 I said "maybe another 10". It has been "another 10" now 3 times.
I have grown accustomed to the new way of eating and I feel so much better. I don't even want to go back to my old way of eating. I know so many people who "diet" and lose weight, the go right back to the old way of eating and gain it all back.

I recently had my physical and bloodwork and I am healthier now than 10 years ago! Why change what works? I'm also getting more and more people saying "Tell me what you are doing/eating" as they see the results.

My thanks go out to the Drs. Eades.

[Billie]

Mitch congratulations! The efforts you have made are really encouraging for many people. Since you are now in the maintenance area, drop in the maintenance forum especially, there are some great people who frequent that part of this board who can assist you in keeping it where it is! Great story thanks for sharing!

[Missy]

Congratulations Mitch!!! HOW VERY INSPIRING!!!! :D :D :D Good for YOU!

[realruth]

Well done Mitch.

I too know about the people who don't recognize the new me!:D

But like you it's the feeling of well being that keeps me Lcing

[banshee]

Yep, I've had a few people at work not recognize me after I'd lost 70 pounds of fat. In fact, I've had it happen myself when looking at family pictures. There was one where I was thinking "I know I was sitting at that table - where am I?" I just didn't recognize myself in the picture. Just last week someone who I know has seen me since I lost the weight didn't recognize me when I ran into her on the street. Clearly her mental picture of me was still off! So it's not just our own minds that play tricks on us!

And congrats on the weight loss, and especially on the improved health!

[lowcarbgirl]

Mitch,

Congratulations and keep up the great work!!!!! :nod: Isn't it exciting when you run into someone who you haven't seen in a while and they don't recognize you!!!!! ;) It will only get better and better and you will feel even more great :D :D

hugs,
Willow

[bigdawg_SLC]

Mitch -- kudos to you! What a great story. Keep that experience in the forefront of your mind -- it will keep you from ever going back. :)

[steflou]

Monkeyfrog-has low carb really helped drop your bodyfat level and bmi? I have not been low carbing but am having a hard time getting my bodyfat down and weight loss (have been on Jenny Craig). I am seriously considering going on low carb to lose weight (80 lbs) and for the health benefits (have acid reflux and don't like taking the rx for it!). I am exercising but it is hard even with 1 1/2 hours exercise 5 days a week. I had been getting up at 3am to fit in exercise (start work at 8am) and it is starting to wear on me. Is it your suggestion to go low carb?

[maxlharris]

Steflou:
I went from 265+ to a maintenance weight of 215. 50 pounds, maybe more.
I calculated my lean body mass to be about 170 pounds near the start.
I calculated it to be about 175 pounds in maintenance.
I'm ~6'2".
That's all the factual data we need to answer your questions.

BMI
Before: 6'2" @ 265 = BMI 34 (Obese)
After: 6'2" @ 215 = 27.6 (overweight)
That is a drop of a full category, and nearly 7 points of BMI (which is of not much use anyway in determining anything about you).

Body fat:
Total Weight - Lean Body Mass = Fat
Fat/Total Weight = Body Fat %age.
Before: 265-170 = 95, 95/265 = 35.8% (Poor)
After: 215-175 = 40, 40/215 = 18.6% (very good)
The Very Good rating for my body fat is part of why I suggest that BMI is not worthwhile. According to BMI, I would have to get <195 to be considered "Normal".
@195 I would be carrying about 10% bodyfat. 10% bodyfat is very good (I aspire), but it's on the thin side of normal, since I could probably expect to see the 6-pack at 10. To get to the midrange of normal BMI, I would have to get down to 170, which would involve losing some lean body mass and having an unhealthily low body fat number.

Work on a goal based on body fat %age. It allows you to customize your goal based on what you are actually carrying. BMI can create some unrealistic goals for people with a reasonable amount of muscle (I am not muscly by any stretch) or solid bones, and create overly high goals for people who are very lightly muscled or boned.

[Frank Hagan]

Monkeyfrog-has low carb really helped drop your bodyfat level and bmi? I have not been low carbing but am having a hard time getting my bodyfat down and weight loss (have been on Jenny Craig). I am seriously considering going on low carb to lose weight (80 lbs) and for the health benefits (have acid reflux and don't like taking the rx for it!). I am exercising but it is hard even with 1 1/2 hours exercise 5 days a week. I had been getting up at 3am to fit in exercise (start work at 8am) and it is starting to wear on me. Is it your suggestion to go low carb?

Steflou! Go get the book Protein Power Life Plan by Dr. Mary Dan and Michael Eades (you can click the menu bar item that says "Book" at the top of the page to order it from the site, or borrow it from the library, or order it from Amazon.com).

Put Jenny on hold and try it for 4 weeks and see if it works for you. But read the book first so you understand the importance of not only eating low carb, but also getting adequate protein. I had my GERD stop within 4 weeks, and you might see the same results. Many people do. I also was very surprised at how much food I HAD to eat to get my minimum protein requirement; there was hardly room for other foods; I never get hungry on this diet (unless I skip a meal).

[maxlharris]

Steflou! Go get the book Protein Power Life Plan by Dr. Mary Dan and Michael Eades (you can click the menu bar item that says "Book" at the top of the page to order it from the site, or borrow it from the library, or order it from Amazon.com).

Put Jenny on hold and try it for 4 weeks and see if it works for you. But read the book first so you understand the importance of not only eating low carb, but also getting adequate protein. I had my GERD stop within 4 weeks, and you might see the same results. Many people do. I also was very surprised at how much food I HAD to eat to get my minimum protein requirement; there was hardly room for other foods; I never get hungry on this diet (unless I skip a meal).

Forgot to mention that.
Eliminated acid reflux. (With the LC more than the weight loss)
Eliminated sleep apnea (with the weight loss, more than the LC).

[Frank Hagan]

Max, was your sleep apnea diagnosed as that? I had interruptions in my sleep, but in the sleep study ... where they wired me up with about a thousand electrodes and watched me sleep ... they said I didn't actually have apnea, but was waking several times during the night due to "pain". I never actually stopped breathing during sleep. That led to the diagnosis of GERD; reflux was waking me up and preventing sleep.

My brother does have sleep apnea; he literally stops breathing whenever he enters a deep sleep. I didn't think there was a connection between it and diet; he is moderately low carb (insulin dependent diabetic), and uses a CPAP machine. They put a CPAP on him during the sleep test after his first "wakening" because they couldn't risk his death in their lab; he got a CPAP that next day on an emergency basis because his apnea was so severe.

[steflou]

I have Protein Power. I also got the Protexid to use at night. I think not only for weight loss but I would feel better doing low carb!:)

[maxlharris]

My apnea was not tested in a sleep study. Wife said she heard me stop breathing in the night when we got married.

I look at all the people who have CPAP devices, and I am sure I've never seen one who wouldn't be considered at least obese, if not morbidly so. As I said, I think it's the weightloss that alleviated the night breathing thing. Consider, at 265+, I was a reasonably tightly stuffed sack of organs and fat. Lay down, the squishy stuff succumbs to gravity and your pathways are obstructed. If you're lucky, you roll over. If you have problems, you get a machine that exerts some positive air pressure on your airway. If you like cheaper solutions, you lose the weight that is compressing your airway in the first place.

I have talked to hundreds of people on line who have cured GERD/Acid Reflux with LC. I've talked about it before, but I used to go through a Costco bottle of Pepcid every couple months. I recently finished a bottle of 30 pepcids that were two years beyond the expiration date on a recent set of honey tree days. That's pretty much cured, in my book. No meds, just have to eat the way my forebrain says to eat (as opposed to the idiot with no impulse control in the back of my skull).

[Frank Hagan]

I think there's a lot of people who don't have the brain issue with sleep apnea, but do have disturbed sleep because of collapsing nasal and throat passages due to excess weight. In my brother's case, he got down to the low end of the overweight category of BMI (which, in my opinion, was his ideal weight) when he had the sleep test, and still needed the CPAP machine.

He may have gained weight again; he's following the stupid diabetic diet and eating more carbs than I do, then using insulin. Its a shame. :(

[tplank]

I have talked to hundreds of people on line who have cured GERD/Acid Reflux with LC.

I'm not quite ready to say cured yet, but since Dec 1 I've lost 70 pounds and my GERD has become radically better. I still use some acid blockers, but skip them more often than not. My symptoms seem to lessen every week. I have about 30 more pounds to go and I'm thinking by the end, I'll consider myself cured as well. Low Carb rocks. :thumbsup:

[Karole]

Good for you !! Sounds like you are really working the plan and getting the results you should. Keep up the good work.

[tplank]

Thanks Karole. I appreciate the encouragement. This website has been a real inspiration for me. I've mostly lurked, but I've been blessed to have this resource.

[Karole]

Yep, we all are so lucky to have such a great resource as this. I sure couldn't get along without the support and encouragement and knowledge that accumulates around here.

Come on out of lurking and join in the challenges and exercise sections. I know the Shadow would love to have another of us to swish her whip around.

[tplank]

Come on out of lurking and join in the challenges and exercise sections. I know the Shadow would love to have another of us to swish her whip around.

Hahaha. Maybe...maybe.

I just notice, Karole, that you are from the show-me-state. I live in Dallas, but my roots are all in Christian County, Mo. Is that your neck of the woods?

[gitfiddle]

This website has been a real inspiration for me. I've mostly lurked, but I've been blessed to have this resource.
Same here, tplank. It keeps me sane. :)

[tplank]

Same here, tplank. It keeps me sane. :)

Well, I myself would make no far-reaching claims of attaining sanity. :lol:

[Eleanor]

I agree with you both - in that I've always thought sanity was over-rated, and make no claims in that direction:-) But in the short space I've been on this forum, it's helped immensely - kept me motivated, and feeling supported, and not alone in my 'crazy' diet ideas, and given me hints and tips and reminders.... and boy have I 'met' some interesting people along the way:-)

[Claudette]

Tplank,
Why don't you come and join us in the Challenges ?

I love this PP site. I know I wouldn't be doing as well as I am if it weren't for the support, tips, inspiration and daily accountability of reading and posting here.

[tplank]

Tplank,
Why don't you come and join us in the Challenges ?


I already have enough of those! Everyone says I'm challenged.