Don's Story

[dvellio]

My name is Don, for 30 plus years I have struggled with my weight and lost the battle. I've tried many times to lose weight and always ended up weighing 10 pounds more when I got done than I did when I started.
At the end of January this year my doctor called me in and told me that I was well on my way to becoming diabetic and that I really needed to lose some weight. As he was trying to explain to me the role that carbohydrates play in becoming diabetic he asked me if I was familiar with Dr. Atkins work. I said no and he dropped that line of discussion and went on to talk to me about the problems being diabetic would cause. Since my mother had been diabetic I was all too familiar with that scene and knew that I didn't want to go there.

At that point in my life I as almost 62, weighed 330 pounds, my fasting blood sugar was 135 and my total cholesterol was 235. I have slept with a CPAP machine since 1987 because of sleep apnea. And I had no idea how I was going to do anything about any of these problems since I have never been able to be successful before.

The next day as I was walking through the local Sams Club store I saw a display of Dr. Atkins books and decided that I could afford to invest in myself and see what my doctor had been trying to explain to me. It took me a day or so to get around to reading the book "Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution Revised", but once I started it I knew almost immediately that this was going to work for me. By the time I had read to the end of the chapter on the Induction Phase I knew that I was going to try it.

I started my new life on the 4th of February, 2002, which was a Monday. By mid afternoon on Tuesday I knew that I had found the answer. On the 8th of February I went to dinner with some people I used to work with and even though I had only lost two pounds I announced that I was on this new diet and was going to lose 180 pounds. I know that none of them believed me.

As I write this it is the 267th day of my diet. I have already lost 150 pounds and only have 30 to go and I expect to be at my goal weight of 150 pounds by Christmas. The last time I weighed 150 pounds was 1967. I have already gone for size 4X and 5X shirts to medium.

Because of my size and lack of energy I had not been able to do much exercise for several years. When I started the diet I could not walk across a room without running out of air. About three days into the diet I found that I had the energy to start an exercise program and began to walk. It took me almost an hour to walk a half mile at the beginning. I am now walking thirteen and a half miles a day at a pace of three miles an hour. And I've only missed fifteen days walking since I started that program in the first week of my diet. And those day was spent riding long distances on my motorcycle which I had decide in January that I would have to sell because I could no longer ride it. I have taken two long trips on the bike this summer. One to Dallas TX in early June and the second in September to KC, MO to visit children and grandchildren. On this second trip I was able to camp out and sleep in a tent for the first time in years.

As of the 10th of May I've added 30-40 minutes a day on my new Bowflex to my exercise program. This has given me a real boost in strength and energy. But it has slowed down the rate of weight loss. I'm sure that is because of the muscle I've put on.

My life has been changed by this diet. For the first time in my life I believe that I can decided how much I want to weigh and what size I want to be and I find that exciting. I have been able to stop taking several prescription drugs that I've had to take for the last 15 or 20 years. For the first time in almost thirty years I no longer have to take medication for my blood pressure. And as of the 22nd of August I was able to get off the CPAP machine I had used since 1987.

On the 10th of October I had a wonderful visit with my doctor. For the first time in thirty years I was told that I did not need to schedule another visit for a year. And all of my blood work was normal. Not liver or kidney problems. My HDL's have gone from 34 to 78, triglycerides from 231 to 45, and blood sugar from 135 to 76.

Because of the amount of weight I had to lose and the desire to get off the CPAP as soon as possible I have stayed in the Induction phase of this diet for the whole time. I'm sure that I have not been out of Ketosis since the 6th of February. I set a goal when I started of losing 180 pounds by Christmas and I still believe that I can make it but if I don't I know that I'm as healthy now as I have been in at least thirty years and I look forward to being able to do lots of fun active things in the years to come.

To help me succeed I have taken pictures on the 1st day of the month every day since I start the diet. If I can figure out how to do it I will post my before and after pictures.

I measure every Monday and weigh every day. I have charts and graphs of the entire process. I have also been very public with friends and family about my goal and my progress.

[wflow68]

Dveillo.......

WHAT CAN I SAY........ UNBELIEVEABLE....FABULOUS....FANTASIC... WHAT AN INSPIRATION... CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

FANTASTIC DEDICATION

WENDY :clap:

[RobinTX]

Don - What a wonderful success story! I bet you will inspire many people on this site (you've already inspired me!!). Thank you for posting your story...Have a wonderful day!

Robin

[mischa]

Don, what a fascinating story, I showed it to my husband and this finally convinced him, to change his way of eating as well. He is borderline diabetic and on blood pressure pills, and he could knock of about 30 pounds. Because his weight is just around the belly, he has bad back problems as well. After he read your story he finally believed, this is not "just another quick weight loss gimmick" I got into. Now he will start reading my Atkins book *whee*. I hope soon I don't have to cook 2 different meals anymore.
Thank you so much for sharing this story with us, this keeps me motivated as well ...I am still very new to this myself.

Congratulations on your success and we want to see another picture on Christmas:)

Mischa

[lkonzelman]

What an amazing adventure you undertook when so many of my family and friends think they are too old to change and start living afresh again.

More power too you and I think the very most of your successes!!!

:cheer: :cheer:

[jus2muchme]

Don,

Thank you for sharing your wonderful success story. Words cannot describe how moved I was from reading it.

I too, am/was borderline diabetic. I haven't had any more tests since before my new WOE.

It seems each time I log in to this forum, I get more and more confirmation that this low-carb way of eating is the way to go!

Congratulations on your big weight loss success!! Please continue to write. You will be a major help to a lot of us.

[DWRolfe]

What an exceptional story, Don...

Thank you so much for sharing it with us and for being so open. This saga will no doubt inspire many, many people...myself included!

Welcome to the forum, BTW, and I suspect I speak for many when I say post more pictures!!!

CONGRATULATIONS!!! A++++++

Donald

[tamarian]

Well done, Don!

I have resized the image you sent me, and it now loads fine.

For those who checked the pictures before, click again for an even more impressive before and after :thup:

Wa'il

[dvellio]

If this works I am going to attach a side view before and after picture to go with the original attachment. Both of the before pictures were taken on February 10th when I still weighed about 330 pounds.

[mischa]

The incredible shrinking man :)

:cheer:

Mischa

[mateoj]

Wow! Your story is truly inspiring - and your pictures are a case in point. I am sure your colleagues are absolutely amazed at the new you! To lose 150 pounds in your case is to become half the man you used to be - Just remember to stick with your goals, as I am sure you will do, and keep everyone posted.

All too often, I see people post their story, and leave the rest of us in limbo as to their situation. Your story is truly amazing, as phenomenal as many of the posts are, and in the end, you will be happy you have been able to share your wonderful experience with the rest of us. Even when you reach your goal - which you will, I hope you frequent these forums and provide inspiration for the rest of your fellow LC'ers!

-Mateo
"Reach for the stars!"

[dvellio]

Thanks for all the kind words that you guys have shared. I intend to start a journal soon and will put more pictures our there.

I will also share some of the other things I have used to keep myself motivated throughout this process.

[Yesican]

Wow!

What a wonderful success story Don. I am so happy for you & your new healthy life! Thank you for sharing your journey as it is very inspiring.

:)

[Cyprinodon]

What other word can I add to all of the above describing something about the impact of your story? Has anyone said "SUPER!" yet? Also, how cool that you found a doctor with a clue. I get horribly angry when I think of how many doctors out there are passing on their misguidance to their patients (especially to their patients with diabetes). Keep up the great work. I am so impressed that I really can't express it in words.

[dvellio]

I have started my journal and the link below should take you to it if you want to follow it. I plan to put lots more picture out there as well as share the ups and downs of my journey.

My plan is to recap each month as an entry and then when I get caught up I'll record my current activity.


http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?s=&postid=614879#post614879

Please use that thread if you have questions or comments to share with me.

Thanks for all the encouraging words and thoughts.

Don

[slanker]

Don, Saw your story and happy to hear the Atkins diet has worked so well for you. I am also a bike rider-- my wife & I both ride. Started the diet this week and hope to start loosing some weight. Have gained about 30 lbs this year & it is interferring with my riding & other activities here at the Lake of the Ozarks. Deer season opens next month & want to be able to hunt without having to stop every minute to catch my breath. I also find myself riding less because it more difficult to throw a leg over the Harley. Had open heart surgery several years ago & my doctor keeps telling me how bad I look-- will have to hear it again today as he is comming down to fish. Ride Safe, Todd in Missouri

[Kristine]

Don, <b>Congratulations!!!</b> When you 'invested' in that copy of DANDR, you bought yourself a new body! :thup:

Wonderful job on taking your health into your own hands. The reversal of your health problems is incredible! :thup: :thup:

[Yan]

Don:

How very fabulous you look. What an amazing story you have told and your results are extraordinary! Congratulations. Wonderful that you were blessed to have a doctor who would recommend Dr. Atkins. My husband is on the Atkins WOE and it's done amazing things for him and he's 10 lbs. from goal. Keep up the good work and keep posting pictures! :rheart:

[dvellio]

I am posting more pictures and charts and lots of my diet journey in my journal at the link below.

http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=67791

But I have decided to post the pictures from November 1st here as well. The before pictures were taken on February 10th at 325 pounds.

Thanks for all the kind words you guys share with me. I hope some of you can find hope for your journeys in my story.

Don

[dvellio]

I've learned a new trick so here is a picture you won't have to download to view.
<div align="center">
<img src="http://www.dvelliott.com/oct/images/021101.jpg"

Total weight loss since February 4th is 154 pounds.

[dvellio]

Here are the pictures from the first of December. I only lost 6 pounds in November but it sure made a difference in how my body looks.

http://www.dvelliott.com/nov/images/021201.jpg

I'll be putting more detail in my journal soon.

Don

[dvellio]

As of today, 12/20/2002 I have offically lost half of my body. I weigh 165 and I've lost 165 pounds in the past 319 days.

I said in an earlier post that this was one of my goals and it feels great to reach it. It also means that I only have 15 pounds to go to reach my goal weight of 150.

Here are the pictures from today. The top is 330 and the bottom is today at 165.

http://www.dvelliott.com/dec/images/021220165.jpg

[tamarian]

Great job Don and a great web site too :thup: I've moved this thread temporarely here, so you can do all the edits you need, and I'll move it back once you're done.

Wa'il

[PoofieD]

And look at those abs.. each picture they just keep firming up!!
What an amazing story.. I am going to show my dad if we can get a minute on Christmas!
Poofie!

[ptjody]

Fantastic!!!! What an inspiration. My husband, 2 sons and myself have all been eating LC. We have slowed slightly during December due to a cruise ship (oh boy...what food) and the holidays. Our goal is to start back on induction again right after the first of the year in 2003 and your story, and especially the pictures, have made all of us excited about starting again.

Thanks for sharing your wonderful story and congratulations on your success. Continue to share your ongoing story. :clap:

[dvellio]

Here are the pictures from today, January 1st. Not as much progress as I would have liked this month but I did manage five pounds since December 1st.

I'm close enough now to my goal that I decided a week ago to go back to working out on the Bowflex every day again. And I'm sure that has slowed down the weight loss. But I did lose some inches this week. When I get a minute I'll put more detail in my journal and on my website.

No change in weight since the last pictures I posted on the 20th when I reached my goal of losing half my body. But I'm going to share them anyway.

http://www.dvelliott.com/jan03/images/030101.jpg

Weight 165

Total Loss 165 Pounds

Thanks for all the kind messages that you guys are leaving. I wish all of you a very Happy New Year.

Don

[dvellio]

I have updated the PDF file version of my story with the latest pictures and weight loss information. If you want a version that you can print or send to someone else to share you can click on the link below and download it from my website.

Don

http://www.dvelliott.com/Don%27s%20Story.PDF

File size 445 K. Revised on 1/04/2003

[anjelica]

WOW that is unbelievable! Thank you soo much for sharing pictures and your story! I loved looking thru your website and seeing all the progress you have made by the month, losing a whole other person off your body, isnt that phenominal!?!?!?


I have found many people here to use as inspiration, you are definitely one of them!

Thanks so much

Beth

[dvellio]

I'm posting the pictures here in my story, but to get the detail you need to click on the journal icon at the bottom of this post or come visit my web site, also a link at the bottom of this post.

I only lost one pound in January but it has been a wonderful 12 months on this WOE.

Not much change in the pictures but the ABS are starting to show. Look out Arnold! I can see changes in the mirror daily.

http://www.dvelliott.com/feb03/images/030201total.jpg
Weight 164

Total Loss 166 Pounds

Now for some fun pictures, I kept some of my old clothes just for this purpose.

http://www.dvelliott.com/jan03/images/oldshorts.jpg
http://www.dvelliott.com/jan03/images/oldshorts2.jpg

This is a pair of shorts I was wearing one year ago.</b><br>

http://www.dvelliott.com/jan03/images/pants.jpg

http://www.dvelliott.com/jan03/images/pants2.jpg

Pants size 54 waist that I wore. And they didn't even come close to coming up on my belly. For what it's worth, today I bought a pair of slacks size 33" waist and they fit perfectly.

The red shirt was my first "I'm Not Fat I'm Pregnant" shirt. I got the first one in about 1980.

http://www.dvelliott.com/jan03/images/notfatshirt1.jpg

http://www.dvelliott.com/jan03/images/notfatshirt2.jpg

http://www.dvelliott.com/jan03/images/belt.jpg

I did not own a belt when I started the WOE, I had used suspenders for years because my build did not support a belt. So in March after losing forty pounds I bought this belt. It is a 44" belt and the last hole out was 46" and I could just barely stand to wear it the day I bought it. It now wraps around to the middle of my back and I refuse to cut it off. It is a great reminder for me of where I've come from and where I don't ever plan to go back to.

[anjelica]

I am grateful to you for sharing all your pictures! I love looking at them, what a huge (pardon the pun) difference!

Keep up the good work, and keep on sharing your story, we need people like you !

[LindaC6724]

Your story truly inspired me...I was going through the success stories and got to yours and thought to myself, there is still hope for me.

You look fantastic. Keep up the good work and keep us here all posted. YOU CAN DO IT!!

:wave:

[dvellio]

I can't believe that it's almost the end of March and I haven't posted the pictures from the 1st yet. I'm really flunking retirement. I did get them taken but I haven't had time to post them.

I did have a really nice article written about my journey by Julie Westly of CarbSmart and you can find it at the link below.

http://store.yahoo.com/carbsmart/donnc.html

No weight loss for the month of February but I did tone up quite a bit. Here are the pictures.

http://www.dvelliott.com/mar03/images/030301totals.jpg

Weight 164
Total Loss 166 Pounds<br>

[workinmom]

Incredible! Way to go!!

[dvellio]

It's been a long time since I added anything to this story but the story has continued. Between March and August I managed to add on about 26 pounds in spite of the fact that I stayed lo-carb and was running 13.5 miles a day. Just proves that you can eat enough calories to gain weight even without carbs.

I'm sure part of that gain was muscle since I was working out on the Bowflex four days a week for most of that time and like I said I was running 13.5 miles a day. If you go to my web site and check out the slide show on the main page you will see that I trimmed up a lot even as I gained weight.

And on September 5th our little support group was challenged to go back on induction for a week and that got me started and I managed to lose most of the weight I had gained in less than a month. Support is important.

Which brings me to the next subject. About a year ago some of us got together and decided to start supporting each other in a more formal way. We began by meeting every Tuesday evening in a local lo-carb Ice Cream Shop and soon had grown too big for that place. So then we started a Friday evening support group that meets at a small church and now that group has grown to about 20 members. The Tuesday group still meets and there we talk about recipes and what is going on in our lives and mostly social kinds of things. The Friday group is a bit more structured and there we are combining some of Dr. Phil's ideas about losing weight with the food plans of lo-carb. What I feel is the best of all worlds and that small group is having great success. Several people in the group have lost 30 pounds or more.

On a more personal level, I ran my first ever half marathon, (13 miles), on October 25th, and finished in two hours and twenty minutes. That works out to 10 minutes and 45 seconds/mile. Not bad for an old fat man who couldn't walk across a room 23 months ago without running out of air.

On the 4th of November I had my yearly physical and everything checked out perfect. My blood work is the best it's ever been and my physical health is as good as I can ever remember it being. I have not been sick in any way in the last 23 months. And it's not because I haven't been exposed, I just believe that the combination of this WOE and the supplements I take and the exercise I do has revved my immune system up to a very high level.

I've found exercise to be a really important part of this journey and as of the end of the year I've walked almost 7,000 miles since February 4th, 2002.

And now for the really big change in my life. On December 14th my long time friend Donna and I decided it was time to tie the knot, we are to be wed on February 14th. Donna is another lo-carb success story because she has lost a hundred pounds as she has shared this weight loss journey with me.

For much more detail, including pictures and more good stuff come visit my web site and be sure to check out the slide show.

www.dvelliott.com

I believe that what Donna and I have managed to do is possible for anyone who is willing to believe in themselves enough to make the investment in time and effort that it takes to succeed. We wish you all luck on your journeys and if we can help in any way please feel free to ask.

[Lindazkewl]

Oh my gosh!!!! I went to your website and when I saw the slideshow/your pictures along with the the "The Impossible Dream" I almost cried. I'm so happy for you. I'm very overweight and I can now only dream of how I'll feel when I'm at a healthy weight. Just today, my 10th day of Induction, I already had thoughts of going off the plan running through my head. I should know better, with all the success stories and inspiration that I get here at this forum! I guess I was letting the thoughts of "needing to eat more beans and fruit and the like" get the better of me. I'm okay now. Thanks :) You worked soooo hard and you earned being where you are now!! Wow!! You should be a poster boy (man) for this woe. And your info. regarding your bloodwork being normal also encouraged me because I guess I have this little fear that eating all this way will somehow cause me be to unhealthy, but that's only from the hype and negative things the media and doctors are saying about this plan. Anyway, enough of all that, but congratulations to you and your sharing your journey is helping others also :Party:

[Ruralgurl]

Hi Don

Well you are just so inspiring! Thank You for sharing this journey with us!
Congratulations :Party: on your recent engagement to Donna as well, I wish you every happiness. You two have a very bright future.
See you around the forum !

[RCG]

Holy cow!!!!

I just saw your most recent photo and all I can say is WOW!!!!

You have inspired me today, and for that I thank you!

[suzzee2003]

I agree you look great! It's so nice to read success stories! It motivates us all! Thanks for sharing!

[itsamea]

all I can say is wow your success has dumb founded me!