Markson's Web

Low Carb, Take I (1999)
Last updated on 01/16/05    

It was April 1999. In six months I would turn 40. Whoever said that turning 40 is a big deal is absolutely correct. Rather than complain and get depressed I decided to do something positive. I set a goal to be in the best shape I've ever been in and to tip the scales at my ideal weight. Now, being in the best shape was the easy part. I'd been going to the gym 3-5 hours a week for the past couple of years. The ideal weight thing was another story. I weighed 185 at the time. The charts said I should weigh 145. Yikes!

I am no stranger when it comes to diets. I was pushing 170 back in my 20's and managed to drop 33 lbs. I did that by cutting way back on food. I was always hungry and ended up taking dexatrim to suppress my appetite. I was able to keep the weight off for almost 5 years. I stopped my daily weigh-ins and the rest is history. I was pushing 190 in 1998.

You can't miss all the buzz about low carb diets this year. It's on every single TV talk and news show. Many of my co-workers had gone on the Atkin's, Protein Power, and Sugar Busters diets. Although each one is a little different, they are all related in that they limit the amount of carbohydrates in the diet. People were losing weight! They were eating as much as they wanted! They were never hungry! They were happy! What the heck kind of diet can do that? Dieting is supposed to be hard. No pain no gain. Well, I had to check it out. I bought the Atkin's book. A friend gave me the Protein Power book. Both are great. They describe the relationship of carbs, blood sugar and insulin. How come nobody ever told us about that? I also searched the web for low carb. Holy cow, there was a ton of information. I also came across one of the best Usenet Newsgroups in the history of the Internet. It's called alt.support.diet.low-carb. This is a very active and wonderful support group.

I planned to start the Atkin's diet on June 1, 1999. But I was so excited about it that I decided to start it right there on the spot. That day was May 21, 1999.

Check out the links at the top to read my description of how things went along the road. Most of these comments are taken from the low carb newsgroup.

I turned 40 on October 7, 1999. I was absolutely in the best shape I have ever been in. I was darn close to my ideal weight. The scales tipped at 147. I HAD LOST 38 POUNDS! I had a complete physical recently. Everything came back A O K. My doctor was ecstatic that I was exercising and that I had lost weight (I was still about 160 at the time). Here's my blood results: Cholesterol 

Summer 1999 (2 mos after starting LC)
(TOT/HDL/LDL/TRI): 175/56/107/60.

Update summer 2000 (14 mos after starting LC)
(TOT/HDL/LDL/TRI): 196/81/105/47.

You can see that the HDL is way UP and LDL & TRI's are way DOWN. 

--
Dave
185/149/145 (LC since 5/21/99)