Low Carb Success Story - 30 Pounds
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EricCowperthwaite
Posts: 450
I thought I'd share a success story here in the Low Carb Forum specifically. I'm not done by any means, but I have made much more progress than I ever thought I could, actually. Here's the tale
I started at 218 lbs. At 5'8", that's a lot. I didn't measure my body fat then, which is really too bad, but I would guess it was somewhere around 35% assuming that my lean body mass was 140 lbs.
From a health perspective, I was in trouble, too. My cholesterol was over 280, my HDL was only 24 and my fasting glucose was 135!!! My blood pressure was 144/90. Basically, I was a 45 year old middle aged career male mess.
In June, 2012, I signed up for Livestrong to use the food tracking and I bought Gary Taubes book, "Why We Get Fat". I went cold turkey n to his diet. When the rest of the family ate pasta, I put extra veggies and no pasta on my plate. I suffered through the Atkins Flu with no idea what it actually was, but grimly determined to make some sort of progress. I started running again. I could barely run 1 mile without having to stop and walk.
And the awesome thing is that it started working! I slowly saw the pounds come off. And my cardio endurance increased. Somewhere in September I was able to run 2 miles without stopping. And I had to buy a new belt. Clothes I had given up hope on started fitting again.
Had a blip over the holidays, but got past it. And in January I decided to go to a new level. Time to really get fit, so I did my research and decided on Tony Horton's Power90 Bootcamp as my first phase of fitness. I started that on Jan 28th, my 4 week milestone was this weekend. I have only missed one workout during those 4 weeks and it's paid off too.
Over all this time I have kept doing tons of research on low carb ... have learned about nutritional ketosis and now understand what our paleolithic ancestors actually at while they hunted the wooly mammoth in an ice age. My lifestyle is a very sustainable Primal lifestyle (think Mark's Daily Apple) these days. I love the food I eat, really enjoy working out once again and plan to keep this up the rest of my life.
Here's the pics, if you are interested. I don't have any shirt off pictures at 218, it was horribly embarrassing. The first shirtless pictures were at 204.5, took them myself because I still wasn't up for my wife doing it for me. Here you.
From left to right, top row
April 2012, 218 lbs | Nov 2012, 198 lbs | Feb 2013, 190 lbs
From left to right, middle row
Aug 2012, 204 lbs | Jan 2013, 194 lbs | Feb 2013, 188 lbs
From left to right, bottom row
Aug 2012, 204 lbs | Jan 2013, 194 lbs | Feb 2013, 188 lbs
As of Feb 23, 2013
CW - 188 lbs
Body fat % - 24.43% (highest measured was 27%)
Bloodwork in Nov, 2012
Cholesterol from 283 - 228
HDL from 24 - 41
Glucose from 135 - 107
BP from 144/90 - 110/70
The really big deal is how much change the body fat changes are making. I'm not losing weight the way I did last summer, but the "beer belly" is going away, the muscles are getting bigger, etc. I look a lot different. I want to look even better, but I'm not horrified when I look at myself anymore.
I started at 218 lbs. At 5'8", that's a lot. I didn't measure my body fat then, which is really too bad, but I would guess it was somewhere around 35% assuming that my lean body mass was 140 lbs.
From a health perspective, I was in trouble, too. My cholesterol was over 280, my HDL was only 24 and my fasting glucose was 135!!! My blood pressure was 144/90. Basically, I was a 45 year old middle aged career male mess.
In June, 2012, I signed up for Livestrong to use the food tracking and I bought Gary Taubes book, "Why We Get Fat". I went cold turkey n to his diet. When the rest of the family ate pasta, I put extra veggies and no pasta on my plate. I suffered through the Atkins Flu with no idea what it actually was, but grimly determined to make some sort of progress. I started running again. I could barely run 1 mile without having to stop and walk.
And the awesome thing is that it started working! I slowly saw the pounds come off. And my cardio endurance increased. Somewhere in September I was able to run 2 miles without stopping. And I had to buy a new belt. Clothes I had given up hope on started fitting again.
Had a blip over the holidays, but got past it. And in January I decided to go to a new level. Time to really get fit, so I did my research and decided on Tony Horton's Power90 Bootcamp as my first phase of fitness. I started that on Jan 28th, my 4 week milestone was this weekend. I have only missed one workout during those 4 weeks and it's paid off too.
Over all this time I have kept doing tons of research on low carb ... have learned about nutritional ketosis and now understand what our paleolithic ancestors actually at while they hunted the wooly mammoth in an ice age. My lifestyle is a very sustainable Primal lifestyle (think Mark's Daily Apple) these days. I love the food I eat, really enjoy working out once again and plan to keep this up the rest of my life.
Here's the pics, if you are interested. I don't have any shirt off pictures at 218, it was horribly embarrassing. The first shirtless pictures were at 204.5, took them myself because I still wasn't up for my wife doing it for me. Here you.
From left to right, top row
April 2012, 218 lbs | Nov 2012, 198 lbs | Feb 2013, 190 lbs
From left to right, middle row
Aug 2012, 204 lbs | Jan 2013, 194 lbs | Feb 2013, 188 lbs
From left to right, bottom row
Aug 2012, 204 lbs | Jan 2013, 194 lbs | Feb 2013, 188 lbs
As of Feb 23, 2013
CW - 188 lbs
Body fat % - 24.43% (highest measured was 27%)
Bloodwork in Nov, 2012
Cholesterol from 283 - 228
HDL from 24 - 41
Glucose from 135 - 107
BP from 144/90 - 110/70
The really big deal is how much change the body fat changes are making. I'm not losing weight the way I did last summer, but the "beer belly" is going away, the muscles are getting bigger, etc. I look a lot different. I want to look even better, but I'm not horrified when I look at myself anymore.
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Replies
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Great story, very motivational and I'm glad I have you has a "friend" - you look fantastic. Keep up the good work.0
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Fantastic job! Keep up the good work!0
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You are doing great! Keep up the good work. You are an inspiration to all us low carbers!0
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I thought I'd share because I know just how much these sorts of stories motivated me when I was thinking I couldn't possibly succeed.0
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Great job!
It is motivational indeed- and I like that you mention this is something we can do for the rest of our lives. Personally, I find lower carb diets help me look better and feel better, and healthier. (Even though they get heavily criticized)
Awesome pics!0 -
Thanks for sharing! You've done great. I know it's hard to watch the family eat pasta - I will be enduring that tonight!0
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Great work!0
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Wow what a huge difference! Your stomach is so much leaner now! Great job and keep it up0
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thanks! I know how big the difference is based on being willing to look at myself without a shirt on ..... I wish I had taken a picture at my worst point, actually, so that I could really see the change. I can see it in the clothed pictures, but it isn't as dramatic.Wow what a huge difference! Your stomach is so much leaner now! Great job and keep it up
The upside to this whole thing? Even if you have gotten to the point of very unhealthy, a healthy lifestyle really can fix it.0 -
Very inspirational! Congrats and thanks for sharing!0
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Wonderful job! You look so much better!0
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Great Job!0
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Just wanted to show folks what difference adopting low carb and exercise can make. it's not just how I look, but also the really dramatic changes in muscle, endurance, energy lives, outlook on life! Sometimes it wasn't easy and sometimes I goofed up. But now that I can really see and feel the change ... It's awesome.
Thanks for the compliments, hopefully this can help motivate others.0 -
you definitely helped motivate me! Thank you!!! :flowerforyou:0
