Hi, all

My name is Wayne Thomas Batson. I'm 45 years old, a father of four, and happily married. I'm a teacher and an author of 14 fantasy and/or adventure novels. I'm also about 80lbs overweight.

I've done the diet yo yo for about 15 straight years. Here are the diets I've tried and failed to do:
-Weight Watchers
-Jenny Craig
-Body for Life
-Atkins
-Intermittent Fast
-The Every Other Day Diet
And now, Carb Nite Solution.

For the past ten years I've basically recognized the need to lose weight. Every New Years brought weight loss resolutions, attempts, and fails, ultimately leading to spring and summer feeling sad and frustrated because, though only 45, my quality of life is almost geriatric. This year was going to be different (just like all the other years).

After reading the book "Why We Get Fat," I was more convinced than ever that I could never lose the weight via "Calories in, Calories out." My body is just a Carb to Fat transforming machine. So, here I am, realizing there MUST be other folks who have been here, done that, and maybe, just maybe someone knows something that will help me.

I wonder a lot of things like: 1) can I drink diet soda? Or, is it too "sweet" and tricks my body into insulin release anyway? 2) is it really okay to eat lots of bacon and cheese? If not, what's the cut off? 3) is there really any hope that I can lose 80lbs via low carb...or anything at all?

Sorry to verbally yak on everyone, but this is me. This is real. Nice to meet you.

-Wayne

Welcome Wayne! I am an author, too!

Anyway, this is part of your problem, I think-


It is not a diet but a way of eating for the rest of your life. OR you will gain it all back. There is a reason you were guided here, make the best of it and make some big changes in you habits for better health and a longer life with your family and get the rest of them eating better as well!

For me low carb is the best. I am doing very well on a high fat Low carb way of eating. I lost 50 pounds and have kept it off with this menu. I look forward to eating all this very good food for the rest of my life.

I also read Wheat Belly and other books and eat any grains rarely.

There are some who say give up the soda, but others like me, who drink it. I suggest giving it up in the beginning until your cravings are gone. As for bacon and cheese..... There are lots and lots of high fat low carb websites for you to go to, I like this one, http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf Be sure an look around his sight, and he has a lot of very good interviews on You Tube with low carb doctors and researchers from around the world. He is Swedish.

Losing your 80 pounds is very doable. It will not be fast, and you will have to really find out what works for you to keep it off. I think that the more I experiment, the more I research and learn, the more I OWN this place I am at now.

Welcome to the board, Wayne

I think the Carb Nite diet is a zero carb then carb loading kind of diet, so would not suit an aged female like me but it seems that blokes often can make that kind of "famine/feast" way of dieting work, so I wish you success!

As to your 3 questions
1. Some people can lose weight while drinking diet drinks, some others can not - a YMMV situation - so you will have to test your body on this.
2. Most low carb ways of eating to lose weight suggest you limit cheese to a few ounces a day but I haven't seen any that limit bacon - just make sure the bacon you choose is not a maple-cured or other sugar containing variety.
3. Yes, eating low carb can definitely allow someone to lose 80 pounds!!
So follow the rules of your chosen plan and enjoy the ride!!

thank you for the kind words and encouragement. I'm in it for the long haul and def recognize that this isn't a diet anymore, but life. I'm lifting weights thru this as well. Always have, but more of late. Worst thing of all this is that my oldest daughter seems to take after me. But she's far worse with carbs. I'd say 80% of what she eats is carbs, and at 18, she doesn't want to be told anything. {sigh}

Sometimes we have to lead by example. That is how I turned my hubby on to this way of eating. He finally asked how he could get bacon and eggs for breakfast! LOL

I'm a writer, aspiring author.

Yes, most people can eat quite a lot of low carb food and still lose. I have to watch my calories but my metabolism is super slow.

Other books you might want to read on the topic are: Grain Brain, and Wheat Belly. Also, I recommend "The Art and Science of Low Carb. Living".

This one sounds promising. Never read it. Thanks!

Great first post. Good luck to you.

Thank you! And hey, I noticed your stats are similar to mine (starting weight, I mean). How'd you do it? Any tips and tricks?

Welcome to the forum boards, Wayne! You can not go wrong with all the advice you'll find here from veterans who have reached their goal as well as those of us who will be in the trenches with you, striving towards our goals. You really have to find what combo of carbs, calories, protein and fat that work for you. And what works for you now might not work for you in a couple months and you'll have to adjust something so as not to give up.

I was having trouble figuring out what exact amounts I should be eating so a friend suggested this site. It might help.
http://keto-calculator.ankerl.com

About the soda and bacon/cheese. I don't have any problem with sodas, but I drink like 2 a week. Hubby drinks it all day long and he loses just fine. It's a personal choice. On the bacon/cheese, I have trouble with stalling when I have too much. I do eat some. I do try to keep my sodium, most the time to about 1700 for the day. That's a personal choice though and you'll have to find the level that works for you.

Also, charting your foods every day is a must for me. It gives me a daily sense of how I'm doing. I can see where I need to drop more carbs, add more fat, etc. Some people weigh every day, others once a week or month. I weigh every day to keep on top of what's going on in my body. Patterns start to emerge.

Lastly, I'd say take the time to form relationships here. Support here and in your real life is paramount to a successful loss.

Good luck on your new adventure. You can do this!

I didn't read any books to start off with or anything like that. I just went to the Atkins website and started the steps. Simple. I was and still am very strict.

What I would recommend is that once you get going, write everything you're eating/doing down for a week or so, even if it's on just a pocket sized piece of paper. If you run into trouble you can look at that piece of paper and figure out if you're doing anything different.

Also, there are apps for this on iPhone, ipad and other phones. My Fitness Pal is my favorite. Also FitDay.

Yeah, keeping track of the eating seems like a great way to go. I use MyFitnessPal too, and it's great. The KetoCalculator is new though. I'll check it out.

Right now, I'm eating to many dubious carb things like slim jims or v8 juice. I mean, the carbs are listed on the products, but I'm just not sure if they can be trusted. lol

When counting carbs always remember you can subtract dietary fiber from the carb count - and that is the net carbs. Try to stay away from sugar alcohols as they can put you into a stall - and in my case - lead to sugar cravings, and potential crash.

Men seem to be able to drop weight so much faster than women on this Way of Life (WOL) - so in addition to your weight lifting - try to get in some formof Cardio - even if it's playing with the kids on the XBox with Kinect. I say "with Kinect" as there are no "sit down" games - the Kinect games are a blast - and keep you up, moving, and having FUN.

The ONLY reason this woman owns an XBox 360 is for Zumba on the Kinect. Having an absolute BLAST getting fit and having fun at the same time. Played RallyBall and 20,000 leaks in Kinect Adventures and found muscles I didn't know I had!

Best of wishes to you - be sure you start a journal - and feel free to pop by mine.

Hiedi

It isn't the plan...A lot of plans can help you lose weight but you have to pick a plan that you can stick to for the long haul...I think it is very important to find a solid plan and do all the research possible then jump right in and don't let anyone or anything stop you and you will be amazed at the results..