“This was the missing link”

Before and after

Dirk struggled with obesity and type 2 diabetes, after having neglected his health for a very long time. He fell into a depression, and decided that he needed to do something to improve his situation.

Then one day he heard of the word low-carb on a diabetes forum.

This started the most exciting discovery of his life and now, one year later, he’s a new person.

The E-mail

Thank you for allowing me to tell my story and thank you for listening.

Being single without any children at age 56 I have a long history of diabetes T2 combined with polyneuropathy in both feet and an uncontrollable obesity throughout my professional career (from 1981 until 2010) as a software engineer. Due to my irregular lifestyle and the urge to become successful as an independent consultant I completely neglected my personal health. In November 2010 I moved to Costa Rica to start all over and to gain control over my life again. I felt much better in a tropical environment and the pain in my feet had become more bearable. Unfortunately due to unforeseen circumstances I had to return home in 2012 and everything changed for the worst again.

My weight went up to 120 kg (265 lbs), total cholesterol was 220 (HDL 53, LDL 131, Triglycerides 178) and the HbA1c level rose up to 10,2% (88 mmol/mol).

In addition to this I was running in and out of a number of hospitals to get various surgeries done. In October 2013 I lost my job and fell into a deep mental depression which lasted for more than 8 months. I was in a pretty bad shape physically and mentally when I finally realized something had to be done.

So one day in May 2015 while chatting on a diabetes forum someone mentioned LCHF. Just those 4 letters: L-C-H-F nothing more. So I decided to investigate and find out what it stands for. And that’s when I found your website/blog www.dietdoctor.com. It has been the most exciting discovery of my life!

Two days before the first meeting with a nutritionist I was reading and learning about Low Carb High Fat and I couldn’t believe my own eyes. It suddenly was crystal clear to me that this was the missing link, the Holy Grail and the only way to give meaning to my life again. I have 2 adorable godchildren who I want to see grow up and who I deeply love with all my heart. LCHF has made this possible and I’ll keep this in a nice corner in my heart as well.

The nutritionist was a very understanding and modern lady and although she advised me to take a completely different and traditional 6-meals-a-day-diet she showed some professional interest in the LCHF way which I tried to convince her to study. After 2 days I called her to inform that I could not go any further with this stupid eat-snack-eat-snack-eat-diet and that I would skip to the newly discovered LCHF-way.

She agreed and we made another appointment to evaluate my progress. Needless to say that her eyes became bigger than her face when she saw me entering her office after 3 months.

So not only did I find a new way of living but my nutritionist as well was convinced that LCHF was far more better than anything else she had ever seen (unlike some nutritionist in South Africa).

After 15 months my weight dropped about 25kgs (55 lbs) my total cholesterol now is 143 (HDL 56, LDL 75, Triglyc 62), HbA1c (5,9%) and glucose levels all back to normal between 90 and 115mg/dl (morning values).

I got applauded by every doctor I met during the extended neurological examinations in the most famous hospital in my country which took place in October/November/December 2015 and June 2016. My nutritionist cancelled all upcoming appointments because they wouldn’t make sense any more.

Besides the neuropathical pains in my feet that are still there I feel great. No more statins, no more insulin, no more metformin and hopefully no more annoying punctures in my fingers to measure glucose levels.

The recipes I find on the website are delicious and easy to make. My favourites are the Aubergine-pizza, the home made guacamole and mayonnaise, bacon and eggs, the various Mediterranean dishes, the bulletproof-coffee, etc… too much to mention.

As I already said: LCHF and www.dietdoctor.com are the Holy Grail of my life and I cannot thank Dr. Andreas and his team enough for their brilliant work and devotion to a very very good cause.
My gratitude also goes to all other doctors and professors who share their expertise and knowledge to promote and support LCHF as there are e.g. Dr. Jason Fung, Dr. Ted Naiman, dr. Michael D. Fox, Dr. R. David Dikeman, Dr. Jacob Wilson, Dr. Eric Westman, Dr. Sarah Hallberg, Dr. Jay Wortman, Dr. Rangan Chatterjee, Dr. Mary Vernon, Prof. Jeff Volek, etc…

Warm and grateful regards,
Dirk

Comments

Congratulations to the great results you’re getting Dirk, it’s really inspiring!

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