Varun had been of normal weight as a young man, but things changed when he started working and stopped being physically active, while still eating carb-rich foods. The weight piled on, regardless of several attempts to keep it off.
Then his uncle gave him the book Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes. The very same day he decided to throw out all bad food and start eating low-carb. Here’s what happened.
The E-Mail
Hi!
I am Varun Rattan. I belong to a small town of Dhuri in Punjab, India. My height is 5 feet 9 inches and I’ve been at moderate weight until the age of 24 (80 to 85 kg (176 to 188 lbs)) as I was physically active and somehow maintained my weight though I was eating a lot of carb-rich food. But when I came in corporate life in 2010, I became sedentary; I was eating the same carb-rich food maybe a bit more than earlier.
As I was almost zero percent physically active, I started gaining weight and within 5 years I gained almost 30 kg (66 lbs) my weight shot up from 85 kg (187 lbs) to 115 kg (253 lbs).
During this time I tried a lot of things, I joined a gym, I cut down on fats, meats, eggs, sugars etc. and started eating fat-free food and more whole-grain foods, muesli, corn flakes, egg whites etc. the same food that generally is considered healthy. But whenever I stopped my physical activity, my weight increased regardless of my diet.
I was getting frustrated, I started having health problems like difficulties breathing while taking brisk walks or climbing stairs, I felt depressed and thereby ate more and my weight came back to same point again, i.e. 115 kg (253 lbs).
Then last year my uncle gave me one book “Good Calories and Bad Calories”, I read some pages of the book and I was shocked to read that it’s not fat but carbohydrates which lead to weight gain. After reading this book, I started searching for this more on the internet and then I came to know about the DietDoctor website. I read everything about this diet on the website and started this diet the very same day.
Though in India, eating meat/poultry/seafood is considered to be more of a taboo especially among Hindus, but I knew that this is the only way out of this miserable life. I stopped eating chapatis, paranthas (Indian Breads), potatoes and other starchy vegetables, beans etc. (which I liked the most) and started eating eggs (with yolks), chicken, mutton, sea food, low carb vegetables made in physically refined rice bran oil such as fried cauliflower, fried mushrooms curry, pumpkin, paneer (Indian cottage cheese) etc. and also started having butter & ghee again which I was avoiding earlier.
To my surprise I started losing weight without any exercise and after almost a year I lost 25 kg (55 lbs). I am relieved of my breathing problems, I am no more stressed. Now, I feel very light and healthy, I kind of feel very positive, I sleep well, I do not feel lazy at all and I have become more attentive and alert than ever. It’s like you eat and you lose weight, who would have though of it?
My brother Tarun (who has also struggled with weight problems and tried all other ways to reduce weight, but in vain) after seeing my initial results, started following this diet as well and lost 30 kg (66 lbs), now we both follow the same lifestyle, in fact, this diet has become a part of our lives, our friends and family members call us the ‘LCHF brothers’. We have become the advocates of this diet.
Brother Tarun before and after
Thank you Diet Doctor, for sharing this valuable information with millions and guiding us towards the real human diet.
Kind regards,
Varun Rattan
Comments
Good job Varun and Tarun! It is inspiring to hear that you two brothers are on this journey together, and it’s great that it’s possible to do in India too.
Have you checked out our Indian low-carb recipes below? We’ll add more soon.
Do you have a success story you want to share? Send your information, plus before and after photos, to success@dietdoctor.com. It would also be greatly appreciated if you shared what you eat in a typical day, whether you fast etc. More information:
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