1 Year, 80 lbs - Progress Pics

RamblingRo

Amazing!!! You look fantastic!

cherod70

Way to go!!

jcbernahl

You are an inspiration!! You look wonderful! Keep up the fantastic work.

woodsanita

wow....Amazing.

pork_belly

Low carb for life here!!! Good job!!!

tanyaMax

fantastic job!!! Congrats :0)

tinatheapplefarmer

Wow, just look at you! You must feel so proud, you look absolutely great! Most important you have your health under control. You go girl!
im new here would love to have some great girl friends to chat with who can help me stay on track

missyyclaire

I love the collage pictures! Look at how your body has emerged! You're like a butterfly!

abbygrace84

OMG
**** your amazing!

LowCarbAmanda

Thanks for all of your encouraging and kind words! You guys are awesome!!!

As for tips, here goes!

Sleep! Get at least 8 hours of sleep every night. It seems basic, but sleep makes a huge difference. Sleep is when your body breaks down your fat.

Drink! Drink a ton of water. Water plays a very important role in breaking down and eliminating your stored fat.

Eat! Eat when you are hungry. I don’t care if it’s 10pm, I eat when I’m hungry. Fortunately, being on a low carb, high (sat) fat, moderate protein diet, you are kept satiated much longer than when you are eating a standard north American diet, riding the rollercoaster of blood sugar spikes and drops. I never get the shakes from needing to eat. I feel entirely different.

Here are the basics of my plan:
I don’t care about calories. If you are following this plan, and strictly adhering to the carbohydrate restrictions, and not losing ANY weight, only then do you concern yourself with your calories. I also don’t care about saturated fat. I avoid trans fat, which would be in processed foods, and hydrogenated vegetable oils. I use olive oil, or coconut oil, but never canola oil, or other chemically extracted oils.

As far as beverages go, I have coffee (though it usually has 1 carb per cup, so you have to keep that in mind), tea, water, and some diet sodas (though it is best to avoid soda altogether). I use full-fat whipping cream in place of half & half or creamer in my coffee (in Canada, Lactantia from Superstore is zero carb). I use liquid splenda in my coffee, and cooking. I get it at www.splendex.net.

Some people will find that if they have any diet sodas, or any sweetened foods – even sugar free ones – they won’t lose weight. You have to determine your body’s own tolerance for fake sweeteners. Diet sodas don’t stall me, but Maltitol (found in some sugar free candies, syrups, chocolates) does stall me, as it has a very high glycemic index. That means it still causes my body to release insulin, and therefore is treated like carbohydrates by my body.

Along with heavy whipping cream, I have carb-free full-fat mayo, some sour cream, butter (not margarine) and hard cheeses (cheddar, mozzarella). I have small measured quantities of cottage cheese.
Eggs are excellent! They have carbs, but I don't actually count them against my 20 - 35/day.

I eat unprocessed meat (read the labels on bacon/sausages/lunch meats/burgers, as most have high-carb fillers) in about 3 servings of 30g each (I am NOT on a high protein diet), and measured quantities of lower carb, non-root veggies.

I do have some nuts. I just count the carbs (I love almonds, but they also stall me!). I have berries, cherries, and melon, but not watermelon!

You have to be aware of your own body's rhythms. For me, every month I plateau for two weeks, then GAIN 4 - 8 lbs in PMS, then drop that gained 4 - 8 following my TOM, and then drop another 2 - 10 lbs the week after. Then it's back to the plateau. It's best to chart for a few months before you freak out. LOL!

You can find low carb recipes for virtually everything at www.genaw.com . I also get groceries from http://lowcarbcanada.ca/ and http://thelowcarbgrocery.com/ . In the states, most of the same products can be bought on at Amazon.com (things like low carb ketchup, Just The Cheese baked cheese snacks, etc.).

I also really recommend reading Gary Taubes' Why We Get Fat and What To Do About It. That book helped me understand the science behind why this way of life works as well as it does, and why it is not only safe, but healthier. At first I was really afraid about eating high fat, moderate protein, and low carb, but now I feel confident that it is a totally healthy way of life!

sonic_the_cat

Great Job! Truly an inspiration. I'm sending a friend request. I've been looking for other low carbers to share recipes/info. with. Thanks for sharing your success!

LowCarbAmanda

Very Cool!!! What's your next goal? (Not that you need one, but just curious.. of what you are going to do now !!!! )

I still have another 50 lbs to go, but I have started working on other goals as well.

I had been off of work on disability when I started this process. I've since returned to work, and have decided to pursue a career in management. That's currently in the works.

Also, ten years ago I dropped out of University because my health was so horrible. I'm now feeling so great, it's definitely time to head back and finish. I've reapplied, and this past week I received my acceptance letter! I will be going to University part time while working, but I start back in January 2012. I'm nervous, but very excited!

sissamae

Wow!! Great idea on taking pics every month! Great motivation to see the change! Congrats on the loss!

madijo41

Fabulous!

kimad

You look amazing, good work!!!

LKFISHER

CONGRATS!!!!! U LOOK GREAT

irishredgirl70

You look fantastic, good work!

BackToPreBaby

amazing job! You are an inspiration. Ihope you are soooo amazingly proud of yourself!

preciousperez

I JUST WANT TO SAY WOW YOU LOOK MARVELOUS. YOUR AN INSPIRATION

bslic

WOW look at you...and love all your progress pictures. You are awesome!!!!

megz4987

My fiance has epilepsy and it's harder to get him to take his medication than it is to get a child to eat brussel sprouts.

Can I ask if your doctor suggested this diet and why? Why does it help?

PS. You look FANTASTIC!! Great job!

bslic

and best of luck to you in school and your career goals. You can do it!

Samanthasteinagle26

Congrats!!! You look great.

Estrella30

thank you so much for sharing your story! congrats!

PhatChic1186

Great progress!! Keep up the good work..Congrats

BlessedandBeautifulBrown

you look awesome

naptina

BEAUTIFUL!

killerqueen17

wow!! congrats, how awesome!! and I love how you made the photo timeline thing... it's really cool to see the progress that way... not just before and after, but all the hard work in between, too!

Sherbog

Absolutely the best success piece and pics I have ever seen! Fantastic!

FitRodr

Amazing!!!