Colleen in Washington

Karen · **Posted:** Thu May 01, 2008 12:35 pm

My name is Colleen...

I am 46 years old, very soon to be 47. I am married to a wonderful man whom I love very much. I have two grown boys, ages 28 and 23. My husband and I live in a rural area in eastern Washington State, and share our home with our 2 Basset Hounds, a Shar Pei mix, and one cat.

I have been overweight for most of my life, and have lost a lot over the years. If only I'd had enough sense to not put it back on each time!

In September of 1999 my father was diagnosed with lung cancer, and a month or so later, I promised him that I would quit smoking on New Year's Day. My father did not live long enough to see me keep that promise. He passed away on December 2, 1999. But I kept my promise, and I made myself another one: If I could stay smoke free for one year, I would then start working on my weight.

In October 2000, ahead of schedule, I started a low fat diet. After 6 months of eating low fat, and riding a stationary bike 24 miles a day, (8 before breakfast, 8 before lunch, and 8 before dinner) I had lost a "grand" total of 11 pounds! I was so frustrated - frustrated, and MAD. A cousin of mine showed me the Protein Power book and said I might want to check into a low carb eating plan. I didn't do that right away, but later my best friend from high school mentioned that she had lost 35 pounds on a low carb diet a few years ago. She had stopped, and so naturally she gained it all back, but she said she was going to get started on it again. She called me after she had been on it for just one week and told me she had lost 5 pounds already! I practically broke my legs trying to get to the store and find the Protein Power book, and I started low carbing the next day, May 15 of 2001, weighing a whopping 270 pounds.

I swore then that I would not quit low carb until I had lost at least 100 pounds. Keeping my carbs under 30 grams a day, and alternating walking and riding the stationary bike, I lost 65 pounds in the first year. Very slowly, I lost another sixteen pounds by the first of September, 2002. By then I was up to walking 4 miles per day, but in spite of the exercise and being very strict with my carbs, I then stalled completely for six very long months! I stuck with it, but I was feeling very frustrated and was almost ready to give up. After all, I had not lost any weight or inches in over six months. But then, at the suggestion of a friend (Carol from the Low Carb Cafe), I started researching other low carb plans. I didn't want to quit the low carb lifestyle, I just wanted to get back to losing again. I ultimately decided to give Sugar Busters a try, even though the very thought scared me to death. (Add more carbs?? Eeek!)

I started Sugar Busters on March 2, 2003, at 189 pounds. I saw no change for the first whole month, and this made me very nervous. It was a bit harder for me since I had to start watching my fat intake, while adding more carbs than I had eaten in a long time. I just knew I was going to start gaining weight back. But to my surprise, after the first long month with no change, I then lost 4 pounds. Then two weeks later, I lost another 4 pounds. Then I started doing weight resistance training instead of walking five days per week. I lost about 2 pounds a week doing that, plus a whole lot of inches.

Over the course of weight loss journey, my waist has gone from 46 inches to just 29.5. My hips have gone from 52 inches to 41.5. I weigh 158 pounds - I have now lost 112 pounds! I have gone from wearing a stretch size 28 pants to a pair of size 10 jeans! I would love to lose 8 more pounds, but would be happy with inches, and being able to wear a size 8 pair of jeans! I will never quit eating this way. I am a true believer in the low carb lifestyle.

Since starting low carb, all of my allergy symptoms have disappeared. Before low carb, I was always stuffed up, and I suffered from frequent and severe sinus infections. I have not had a cold or sinus infection for over two years now. I have twice the energy now that I had before. I no longer have to struggle just to get up off a chair. I can bend over to tie my shoe laces without having to raise one leg and cross it over the other. My cholesterol has even dropped. (It is still slightly higher than my doctor would like, but we are working on that.) My blood pressure is excellent, my skin and hair have never looked this good, and I just plain feel GREAT!

The best thing about low carbing is that I don't feel deprived. If I want a dessert, or a slice of bread, there are now a lot of choices out there. Granted you can't eat half a loaf of bread.....but then, that is what got me here in the first place. With low carb, I never really feel that I am dieting. That is how it started out for me, as a diet... but it has long since become a way of life instead. My outlook is no longer "when I get to goal I can have a piece of this....." Now I look at a piece of cake or a cookie and ask myself "is it really what I want?" So far the answer has been a resounding "NO!"

Quote:

Sharing Success Strategies

Colleen says:
"Hang in there.....it is not always an easy down hill journey. Just because someone you know is a fast loser, doesn't mean that you will be. You will hit a lot of straight road, along with the curves, and the peaks."

"Measure yourself when you start, and don't always go by the scales. Just because you don't lose any weight for a week or two doesn't mean that it isn't working. Your body has to stop and adjust every now and then."

"I don't really have a favorite recipe... I have tried a lot of good ones. There are many out there.....look for them and enjoy them. It will keep you from getting bored. I truly think that you can find a low carb substitute for almost anything that you want to eat."

"When I started out, I was eating what I thought was 30 carbs per day. I never counted the eggs or cheese that I ate. I was still drinking lots of coffee, too - and I was losing. What I came to realize after my long stall and after then starting Sugar Busters, is that when I started counting every single carb, including the eggs and cheeses, I quit losing. Apparently, I was not eating enough to allow my body to let go of any additional weight. Once it knew that it was going to be fed enough....the weight started coming off again. I probably eat around 100 grams of carb per day now. I do keep my fat intake down now that I am eating more carbs, and I make sure that the carbs I do eat are only good nutritious carbs such as vegetables and fruit, and whole grain foods."

"Don't beat yourself up if you happen to slip a little. If it is to become a way of life ... you will want to spice it up every now and then. Just remember that moderation is the key, and enjoy your new life!!"

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Colleen in Washington

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