“Had to tell the world about It!”

Before and after

In order to manage his blood sugar and weight, Mark had to follow a low-carb low-fat diet that left him with intense cravings and no success. Then one day a friend of his posted her dramatic transformation on Facebook, and said that she’d been able to lose weight with help from the Diet Doctor site.

He checked out the site, and thought that it made sense! Of course one has to eat more healthy fats to stay satiated. So he decided to give it a go:

Hi,

My name is Mark. I live in Arlington, VA with my two Bengal cats and I’m originally from Dudley, MA. I have two masters degrees, one in Operations Research and Statistics and the other in Applied Math, both from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. According to Myers-Brigg I am an INTP.

In 2010, my doctor ordered labs and they came back showing I had high blood sugar. He told me I needed to go on a low-carb low-fat diet and avoid red meat (heh, yeah) or he’d treat me for diabetes. For three years, I struggled being hungry all the time and always giving in to temptation – you know the usual… pizza, sushi (up to 3 times a week!!$$$), Mexican, Chinese, etc.

After three years and a dozen plus attempts to go on that “low-carb” diet, a friend of mine who I’d known for over seven years (in person) and who had been very heavy herself most of her life updated her pictures one day on Facebook showing off her “new” body. Everyone was amazed. How did she do it? She shared the website that helped her, dietdoctor.com… and I went there and checked it out. Sure enough, it was a low-carb site but one that was telling me to eat lots of healthy FAT! It made sense; I have to get my energy from somewhere if it’s not carbs or protein.

So the first attempt in February 2013 failed because I yet again gave in to addictive temptations that surround us. On the second attempt in June 2013, I was busting out of 40″ (100 cm) jeans at around 275 lbs (125 kg) looking at buying my first ever 42″ pair. So now I was determined to go through with it. I was suffering keto flu the day I had to get a co-worker a birthday ice cream cake and a co-worker tempted me with a piece. No way, I was determined at that point. If I got the keto flu, that means I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Sure enough, within a week (three weeks after starting) I finally went into ketosis! Started losing weight… brain turned on… I could go for long walks without cramps… Had to tell the world about it! My co-workers were curious and I told them what I did. “Aren’t you worried about cholesterol?” I said “No, because the liver makes what the body needs.” The response I got was “No, it doesn’t!” *SIGH* They looked at me with two heads when I tried to tell them “Calories In, Calories Out” was a myth, also… Oh well.

Later, I read Dr. Westman’s books “Cholesterol Clarity” and “Keto Clarity”. The former book helped me with a plateau and weight regain I was experiencing. I had lost about 70 lbs (32 kg) in the first year, then I plateaued and started regaining weight. So I reduced my protein intake and I saw the pounds melting off again. To date, I’ve lost about 90 lbs (41 kg) and have maintained my weight which came in this morning at about 187 lbs (85 kg)! :)

Chronic illnesses now in remission:

• High blood sugar
• Sleep apnea (never went on the cpap but came close)
• High blood pressure (came off meds last year)
• GERD (stop taking PPI in 2013)
• Psoriasis (can’t recall the last time I had an outbreak)
• Eczema (really bad outbreak in 2012, never again!)
• Constant hunger!

Some more numbers: in the first six months I went keto, my HDL-C went from 39 to 50 and triglycerides went from 152 to 90!

In time, I followed several other people to get a wide variety of information: Dave Asprey at Bulletproof Radio, Abel James the Fat Burning Man, 2 Keto Dudes. Been drinking Bulletproof Coffee now for three years. Having experienced negative affects of moldy coffee in the past, Dave’s lab tested coffee was a godsend. I could finally enjoy a nice clean caffeine high and focus it brings and not get jitters and that nauseating crash I used to get from Starbucks, Folgers, or any other mass produced coffee.

Finally, they say it’s expensive to be on a low-carb diet. Sure, real food costs money but what costs even more is eating out and getting delivery all the time ($1000+ / month). When I went keto, I stopped and found myself with so much more cash that I was able to pay off all my credit card debt AND pay down a substantial amount of my student loans!

Comments

Congratulations Mark, to your great success – we’re so glad to hear that we’ve had a positive impact on your health!

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