40 lb in two months, feel incredible!
I'd like to begin by saying that we are controlled by the mass media and the big food companies that are telling us what we should eat, what's good for us and what's not...
27 years old, male.
I began my low carb diet beginning of Sep 2008. This was actually my second time doing this diet because I had fallen back on bad habits and the amount stress going through school had me finding comfort in eating. I hit my peak in Sep of this year at 242 pounds. I had gained weight extremely fast which made me have constant sharp skin pains on my stomach along with very ugly stretch marks. I knew I had to do something about it but every time I wanted to start the low carb diet again, my addiction for high carb, sweets would take over and convince me that it was the last time. I felt this high like nothing else when i had food in front of me. I would look forward to my next fast food meal while eating my current meal. Some of the symptoms I had while being fat were as follows:
-Shortness of breath
-Low energy.
-Never satisfied no matter how much I ate
-Severe food cravings at unusal times in the day.
-Severe heartburn prevented me from sleeping and functioning.
-Couldn't wake up in the morning and when i did, I had to rest half hour before beginning my day
-Difficulty in concentration. Loss of interest/motovation at work
-Pains on my stomach due to skin being streached, stretch marks
-Unhealthy, excessive oily skin, hair, excessive body odor.
-Reduced sex drive.
-Low self esteem.
and the list could go on and on. The first week of the diet was quite difficult but I know I had to keep up with it. I reduced my diet to basically meats, salads, cheese and a small amount of vegies. I cut 100% of sweets, rice, grains, starches etc. I wanted to shock my body into ketosis since I knew the faster I do this, the faster my cravings would go away and sure enough at the end of the 2nd week, almost all my cravings were gone! I stopped feeling hungry all the time. I could eat two medium sized meals a day and feel completely satisfied. I was able to concentrate on other things for the first time! Before I would always complain about not having enough time but I realized this was because I had food on my mind all the time. I all of a sudden had time that I could never find before which was great. I immediately felt healthier, my skin improved greatly and stopped hurting, I had much more energy than before, my heartburn stopped completely, I fell asleep and woke up with no problems, concentration and work habits improved so I was more productive and I could finally walk from my work area to the parking lot without losing my breath! It's just amazing how much better you feel overall.
So here I'm supposed to listen to the media and FDA tell me what is good for me and what isn't? I do admit that the amount of carbs I ate in a day were probably more than what they suggest but that's what resulted in me eating too much in the first place! I am 100% convinced that human beings were not designed to eat processed foods such as bread, pasta, sweets etc. The food pyramid isn't made by god!
So far I have dropped about 40 lb in a little over two months. My goal is 185 and I'm sure I'll reach it. I have so far gone from a tight fitting XL to a medium and from size 42 jeans to a loose fitting 36. I just wanted to express my feelings about this diet and what it has done for me to hopefully inspire others who are seeking to lose weight. I've been there and know how it feels to be overweight. I know the daily struggles, cravings, self steem issues, hopelessness that many of you go through and I'm here to tell you that you can absolutely overcome them if you put your mind to it for 7 days in your life. I know that after that first one or two weeks, things will become much more easy, you'll begin to see results, feel better and hopefully continue the diet. I hate to use the word "diet" in low carb because it's really not a diet. it's a style of eating which doesn't involve starving yourself and doesn't make you feel starved.
I'd be more than willing to answer any of your question if you have any so please let me know.
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