Maggie's Story

I was a "chubby" baby and was roundish, more or less, until I hit puberty. By 14 I was quite slim, ranging between 105 and 115 lbs, and stayed that way until my mid thirties, with only minor weigh gain during my pregnancy and a quick return to "normal." Then everything started to change.

I started to gain weight. Being a nurse, I 'knew' that counting calories and 'cutting out the fat' was the only way to go. Expend more than you consume and you will lose weight. It does work to some extent, but the whole time I was doing it, all I could think was: I wonder how long I can go being this bored, hungry and miserable, while simultaneously working my butt off with mindless exercise every day? The answer was: till I lose some weight. With that mind-set, when the "goal" was reached, the "diet" was over. In between diets, I tried to make my eating habits healthier and healthier. Less fat, more grains, more fruit. My 'nutritionist prescribed' breakfast was a glass of orange juice, a bowl of oatmeal with skim milk and a slice of whole wheat toast - with jam, of course, foregoing the deadly butter. Now I know what that kind of breakfast does to my blood sugar. No wonder I was brain dead, weak, shaky and in 'sugar seeking mode' by 10 AM!

Looking back, I can see why I'd get the weight back in record time and always with a bonus. By the time I hit my forties, I decided that I was getting "matronly" and, well, that's just how it was going to be. I was busy with my law practice and family and tired of diets that required me to be a starving, obsessive and very nasty person. If that's what it took to slim down, I preferred be fat and die with a Hershey's kiss in my mouth. Besides, I wasn't THAT fat, I rationalized. I tossed my scale.

It was a few months before my birthday in 1998, that I was awakened in the middle of the night, because the cats were having some kind of festival in the living room and making a huge racket. The "entertainment" was what appeared to be a dead bat. It was just laying there, after all. I picked it up by the wing and headed toward the back door, intending to toss it off the deck, so I could get some sleep. Well, it wasn't quite dead and was putting up some lively resistance by the time I launched it into the brushes. I wound up having to get a rabies series which, by the way, is no big deal anymore. But the initial treatment is gamma globulin, which is dosed by weight. Wearing only a hospital gown, I was well over 160 lbs. - ok, nearly 170. Having 'lost' my scale years before, I was actually surprised. In retrospect, I don't know why. I had been on a gradually upward trend when I tossed the darned thing. Between the weight 'discovery' and a growing list of other complaints, I thought I'd take one more look at my options.

My doctor ordered a bunch of blood work on me. It showed that I had normal thyroid function, but blood glucose testing indicated hyperinsulinemia and a degree of insulin resistance. My cholesterol was out of whack, with low HDL, high LDL and high triglycerides. In all, I was pre-diabetic. There is type2 diabetes on my paternal side. Finally, I read the Atkins book which my DH had been foisting upon me, along with endless stories about some fellow named Steffanson and his turn-of-the-century writings about the native Inuit or Eskimo diet, yaddah, yaddah, yaddah.

After the first few miserable days on induction, I realized that I felt pretty good! I never did get that big burst of energy that so many people experience, but I FINALLY had a nice even energy level that lasted all day. I was off the roller coaster. So, the nice even feeling was sufficient pay off for the new way of eating.

My goals were to feel better, normalize my blood sugars and maybe lose twenty pounds. After a couple of weeks I had lost a few pounds - not quite five - but I was tiring of eggs, meat, cheese, romaine salad and pork rinds. Personality wise, I don't eat to live, I live to eat. I'm a good cook and I love to prepare, serve and consume delicious meals.

The question became, how do I customize ongoing weight loss to me? I had a hard time using the keto sticks. My urine has a low specific gravity - always has. That's familial, too. I couldn't get a keto stick to pink without a magic marker. Since they weren't a good gauge of what was going on in my particular body, I started doing blood sugars and journaling. I don't recommend this particular approach to anyone, but it was the right way for me, since blood sugar normalization was a primary goal. I started introducing other foods into my diet, keeping a meticulous diary of what I ate and what my blood sugar was before eating and at 20, 40, and 60 minutes after eating it. A typical entry would be: 5:00 AM, 86, 5:20 (1/4lb sausage & 3 egg omelet, cup of coffee with heavy cream) 5:50, 93; 6:10, 99, 6:30, 87. That became a legal meal. Next time maybe I'd add a couple of sections of grapefruit, or a couple of strawberries dipped in Splenda. No big change? More legal food.

After a couple of months, I had a really good handle on what kinds of foods, and in what amounts, I could eat without causing more than a small elevation in my post-prandial blood glucose levels. I continued the testing, but only if I had tried something new. I continued to lose weight, very, very slowly, but after the first 20 lbs., it was no longer a goal, just a great 'side effect.' Consequently, I had been back to shopping in the juniors' department - where all the really cool clothes are - for over a year before I realized that I was probably in maintenance. My weight still bounces around a lot - but that's always been true. I'm not concerned as long as it continues to stay between 111 and 118. If I linger at the high end for a week or so, I journal and test again for a while to see what I'm doing wrong - then I stop doing it.

Beyond that, I test every now and then if I get the impression that some new product I'm trying sounds too good to be true. For example, I thought Endulge bars were wonderful until I tested myself on one. I discovered that I am one of those people who has no trouble metabolizing maltitol. As far as my blood glucose levels, I might as well have been eating a Hershey bar. On the other hand, a low carb pasta that was tasty? No problem. It's legal for me. Lessons learned.

As of today, my energy level, weight and blood sugars remain normal and my cholesterol profile was super on my most recent tests which were done last week. My HDL/Total Cholesterol ratio is 2.3 and my triglycerides are 80. This is a huge improvement from my pre-lc tests, and even a bit better than my last profile a year ago. Interestingly, I think this way of eating has helped my dental health as well. I had some serious periodontal problems several years ago. Now, at my checkups, the doctor and his staff are amazed at the health of my gums, and commend me on my increased diligence to the ridiculously time-consuming regimen which was prescribed. Guess what? I'm just as lackadaisical about my dental routine as I always was. I brush after meals and floss whenever I get the urge. I credit the fact that I don't have a bunch of starch packed around my gums all the time anymore. Oh yeah, and my knees, which used to be pretty painful almost every day, don't hurt anymore.

Now I need to end with a disclaimer. I'm NOT a health conscious individual. I am a CONSCIOUS individual. This is, for me, all about: Am I happy and how I feel? I'm very happy, thank you, and I feel great. I'm thrilled not to be fat anymore. It's nice that I'm statistically less likely to die of certain issues. But I'm still statistically certain to die, since - last I checked - no one gets out of this alive. If someone told me that I could be slim and avoid certain health problems - as long as I spent every waking minute thinking about calories in and calories out, gave up my coffee with cream, my lack of careful attention to anything but carbs in my food, my occasional martini, and my indifference to exercise ... I'd probably pass. No kidding. Just so no one gets the wrong impression.