“THAT is success!”

Before and after

After having had steadily increasing blood sugar levels for 5 years, Mark’s doctor wanted him to start taking insulin. It did not feel like the right thing to do – so Mark asked his doctor to give him 6 months to bring his blood sugar down.

He started researching when he came home, and came across the low-carb diet. This is his fantastic story:

Good morning,

I’m writing to let you know how your program has worked for me – so far.

In May of 2016, I went to a regular doctor’s appointment, and was told that after 5 years of steadily increasing HbA1c results, I would need to go on insulin. My reaction was a bit crude, but there was no way I was going to let that happen. I asked him for a 6 month delay, and told him I would fix the problem. He was skeptical whether I could, but agreed to delay starting me on insulin shots.

I went home that night and searched the internet for “reversing diabetes“, never expecting to find anything of value. As you know, most of what I found suggested that the best I could do was control it, mostly with medication. But then, I found your site. I wasn’t really looking for a “diet”, and almost passed over your link, but decided to take a look. I was desperate.

A number of years ago, without any real guidance, I did a strictly reduced carb diet, and was successful losing some weight, but I never really understood the science behind why it worked. Once I gave it up, of course, I gained all that weight back and then some. But as I read through your information, I began to understand why it worked then, and also learned that without even knowing it, I had been regulating my glucose levels as well.

I use the U.S. Memorial Day as my official start date, although technically, I started about a week earlier than that. At that point, I weighed 336 pounds (152 kg), and had an HbA1c reading of 7.6. Although further reading your website caused to fine tune my plan, I followed a strict low-carb diet – rarely more than 20 grams of carbs a day, and NEVER more than 30. At the consternation of my wife, I began to seek out fat – eating fattier cuts of meat, using more olive oil, more butter, and even making home made whipped crème. Not a calorie did I count, although I could tell that I was generally taking in fewer calories than I was used to. Fast food was no more. Pizza? No way. Except for salad vegetables and a few almonds to tide me over if needed, everything I ate was a protein or a fat.

The first weeks for me seemed to be less a problem than others seem to have. I’m not so sure I craved carbs like others report (even my wife). I did miss the convenience of going through the fast food drive through, or dropping a box of pasta into a pot of water. But after the first few weeks, I got into a routine, and it became fairly easy.

Over the first 3 months, I lost a shade less over 30 pounds (14 kg). Pretty good, I thought, and I began to add to my goal of reducing HbA1c that I would take until Christmas of 2017 (a total of about 18 months) to try to get to the weight I was when I got married – 200 pounds (91 kg). 136 pounds (62 kg) is a big goal, I know, but I figured if I kept at it, I should either be able to get there, or at least know that my weight settled at where it should be. The weight loss has slowed down, and although it became frustrating at times, with stalls happening along the way, I have continued to progress, and am down to 281 pounds (127 kg), a 55 pound (25 kg) loss so far. I have another 81 pounds (37 kg) to go, and have about 13 months in which to make it happen. I’ve remained in ketosis the entire time, so I’m pretty confident that I’m doing as well as I can.

Oh – I almost forgot! As you may recall, my original purpose was to eliminate the need for insulin. After the first three months, I submitted to another round of blood work. It normally takes a few days for the lab results to get to my home, but THE NIGHT OF MY TEST, the doctor called and told me to stop taking Victoza and Glimiperide, and told me that further reductions in my A1c would likely result in eliminating all my diabetes medications. He also said that my blood pressure and cholesterol medications would need to be reviewed at my next doctor’s appointment – They may need reduced as well. I checked my results, and my HbA1c was 5.3!

I started on your website looking for a way to avoid using insulin. Not only did I avoid it, but other diabetes medications have been eliminated, and more meds my end up being cut. THAT is success! In addition, I’ve lost 16.3% of my original body weight, and 40% of the weight I hope to lose overall. It may be too early to call that a success, but I am CERTAINLY on my way.

I spent a good portion of my free 30 day trial membership reading and watching most of the resources your website provides. By the time my free trial was up, I probably didn’t really need to pay to continue – I had about all the info I needed. However, your work is so vital, and valuable to me, I did sign up for the paid membership. If my monthly subscription helps you continue the work you and your colleagues are doing, I’m willing to support it.

And lastly, thanks for the recipes. I’ve tried about 15 or so, and all have been good. I have settled on four or five that serve me well, but mostly because they are so good, my wife doesn’t care that they are low carb. As others are introduced, if they look good, I will certainly try them.

Once (if) I hit my weight goal, I intend to move to a moderate low carb, and allow myself to indulge only on special occasions, like holidays and birthdays. A small piece of cake, or a serving of mashed potatoes a half dozen times a year should be fine – at least I hope.

Thank you for the work you and your team does. It’s been terrific for me, and I bet for hundreds, or thousands, of other folks. Please keep it up.

Mark

Comments

Thank you Mark for sharing your story – it made my day!

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