My Weight Loss Journey
...and information about the American diet and making healthy eating choices whether you need to lose weight or not!

In January 2007 I was inspired to do something about my health and weight.  I made a major change to my eating regimen that took me away from the standard American diet I had been doing for over 40 years.  I moved to a different way of eating designed to be more in concert with the types of foods the body needs for proper weight maintenance and overall good health.

It worked.

My story is below.

About this document...I tend to edit this document once in a while, so consider it "not done".  :-)  I don't hook this document up to my site and tend to share it with people who are curious.  If you know of someone who would be interested, please forward it along.  My e-mail address is at the very bottom of this page if you would like to contact me.

DISCLAIMER:  Before anyone goes saying that I'm advertising something, I'm not.  Really.  Much of this information is available for free at UltraMetabolism.com or at other sources.  I have no connection to UltraMetabolism or Dr. Mark Hyman other than being very grateful to Dr. Hyman for helping to inspire me and educate me.  And I hope he and I can inspire you as well.

These are MY experiences---your mileage WILL vary.  I'm not a medical doctor (and you should consult your doctor before changing anything you do for your health).  I'm simply sharing what I have learned and observed.

The story of my recent weight loss...

Obesity is chronic in America.  I fell victim to it.  Genetically I'm in trouble with one amazingly obese aunt, another who's up there, and a father who's no light petunia.  My mom's a stick figure, though, but I really don't take after her.

My weight had been up a bit in late 2001 (probably around 210 or so), but then I took a job at a startup company in early 2002, and that was that.  With a focus on work for the next four years, my weight eventually went up another 35 pounds or so and topped out at 245.  Ouch.

Your Webmaster - April and July 2000

Some GONewEnglanders and I head out to Pawtuckaway.
I'm the guy in the orange shirt sitting down on the rock.

GONewEngland at Kidder Mt.
That's me on the right in the glasses wearing the orange shirt.

I figure I was around 195 or 200 there, possibly less, but I was very active (yet still ate the same as I did until recently).  You can definitely see the difference between those shots and the below.

Your Webmaster - 2005

Your Webmaster in 2005 at Skatutakee.

Now in July 2005, above.  Yeah, well...And it got even worse from there.  It may not look too bad, but your buddy here was medically "obese", probably around 235 lbs. in that picture.  Eventually it went to 245, accompanied by the need to start taking blood pressure pills and encountering a variety of annoying ailments.

The ideal weight for someone around my height is somewhere between 175 and 195 pounds (depending on whom you speak to), so I was over that...by a lot.

Inspiration

In January 2007 I was hit by a double-whammy that pushed me to do something about my health.

The presentation by Dr. Hyman on the PBS show made it very clear what's wrong with the American diet, how it is harmful, and what to do about it.  Meanwhile "Supersize Me" was a brilliant movie about how fast food diets are killing us---literally.  I didn't visit McDonald's all that much to begin with, but now I'll never be back.

The PBS show put the thought into my head, as what Dr. Hyman talked about made a lot of sense and seemed to be something I could follow:  someone finally decided to explain the "why"---why are sugar and pasta bad for your diet, why should you load up early in the day and coast, why do you continue to put on weight and feel horrible when you do your best to burn more calories than you take in, and so on.

But it was "Supersize Me" where things clicked.  I watched a guy in OK shape with a decent life and someone in his life who cared about him decide to trash his body by eating junk.  It made me want to yell at the TV set---Dude, don't do that!  What are you thinking!  You have your health--why do you want to wreck it by eating all the wrong stuff?  Then it hit me:  I WAS DOING THE EXACT SAME THING TO MYSELF IN A DIFFERENT WAY THROUGH MY OWN DIET, but here I was yelling at him not to do what I myself was doing.  DUH.  That did it.  He didn't need to change.  I did.

The messages from these two shows combined and hit me at the right time, and I was moved to do something about my health.  There is not a single regret.  In fact, I am most thankful for the whack upside the head I got from these two videos---period, end of story.

So why is it so easy to put on weight but so hard to take it off?  What are the myths and facts about the American diet and weight loss and health?  What can you do if you would like to be healthier?

To lose weight you eat less and exercise more...NOT!

Oh, you've all heard the usual mantra..."You get fat because you take in more calories than you burn off, so eat less and exercise more."  So, to lose weight you take in less energy and you burn more off by exercising.  Unfortunately that whole theory is WRONG, and it can be more HARM than good!  It goes counter to how your body evolved, and it sends all the wrong messages to your body.

Many people starve themselves (eat less) and exercise (burn more).  It makes sense if you do the math, but your body isn't based on math.  Your body goes into "starvation mode", and you may lose weight for a while, but it becomes tough to take more off and keep it off.  This "diet and exercise" program causes you to burn both fat and muscle.  And when you go back to eating normally, your body remains in "starvation mode" and puts on only fat.  Clearly this is a real loser of a way to lose weight.  And in the end it all comes back anyway---as fat.

The bottom line is:

You cannot lose weight by eating less and trying to burn more calories.
Your body does not work that way.

OK, one more time in case you missed it:  You cannot lose weight in a healthy, permanent way by eating less and trying to burn more calories.  This isn't how our bodies are designed.

In fact, weight loss is easier than this starvation stuff.  You don't have to fight your body.  You can work with your body by giving your body what it wants.  And when you do that, it's really easy to lose weight and be healthier.  In fact, the proper foods can change your body's systems to trigger better health.  So if you're starving yourself and not taking in what you need in terms of nutrients, you disrupt the ability of your body to behave in its healthy mode---the way it was designed to operate.  Eating less short circuits everything your body was designed to do to work properly.  The secret is to get rid of what's holding your body back and eat more of the right things.

Eat your way to better health and weight loss...and NEVER go hungry?

Yeah, right, you think.  Eat more, never be hungry, feel better, weigh less.  Sure, sure.

Not believing me?  I'll describe to you my experience so far.

I adopted the food portion of Dr. Hyman's "UltraMetabolism" program.  It is largely described in the PBS special, while in his book Dr. Hyman describes additional things to do, such as detoxification, getting rid of "inflammation", and so forth.  But I just went for the food stuff for now.

Result?  In 17 weeks (mid-January to mid-April 2007) I went from 238 lbs to 204 lbs.  That's 2 lbs per week.  (And in just about six months my loss approached 50 lbs...and before the year was out it was over 60.)

The kicker?  I feel better, sleep much better, have more energy, and am not plagued by hunger.

Let me say this again:  By following the recommendations by Dr. Hyman (and others) for food alone, I lost 2 lbs/week for 17 weeks (then about 1 lb/week thereafter), felt better, slept through most nights, have more energy to do things, and didn't have a lot of trouble with hunger.

OK, so you're thinking, there has to be pills, powder, lots of exercise, going to a fat camp, an expensive meal plan, or some gimmick.  No, none of that garbage.  It's easier than I ever thought it could be.

Here are the principles I have been observing:

1. Get rid of "processed foods" including "fast food", processed sugars, nasty fats, and flour-based products (breads, pastas).  I even cut out coffee in favor of tea (green tea is said to be very healthy).
2. Eat "whole foods".  Include a mix of food in your diet---light protein, fiber, good fats (Omega 3s), unprocessed carbohydrates, fruits, veggies, seeds, and nuts.
3. If you're hungry, eat.  Eat all day.  Eat several meals.  Eat earlier on during the day if possible (big breakfast, moderate lunch, small dinner, while grazing all day).  In fact, you must eat, especially breakfast--no skipping.
4. Don't eat 2-3 hours before bedtime.  Make sure you give your body what it needs before then, then wait for breakfast (if you have gotten rid of the junk out of your diet, this is not only possible---it's easy).
5. Play.  Most folks hear "exercise" and roll their eyes.  So don't exercise.  Play instead.  Find something fun for you and do it.

And that's that.  Seriously.

And, with that and little else, I'm down 2 pounds per week...and I'm never really hungry.  You can do this, too, with a little effort and a little preparation.  It is NOT hard.  And the benefits are WORTH IT big time!
 

1) Avoid "processed foods"

"Whole foods" are what you pick off a tree.  "Processed foods" are manufactured somehow, stuffed with chemicals, and thrown into a box.

Many processed foods are jammed with calories and fat that at best have no nutritional value and at worst can kill you. 

The "down side" of doing away with processed foods is you are not going to find healthy, whole foods at most restaurants in America.  Most food at restaurants is starchy, fatty, and sugary with little fiber.  Although it's tasty, it's not good for you.  The restaurants are coming around---slowly---but for now you'll need to hunt carefully in the menu.  Sometimes you can request a particular meal cooked the way you want with a nutritious side dish.

I just tell people I'm "impossible to feed", and they get the idea.  :-)

One of the best myths I've heard---and used to believe---is that what you want to have on a hike, for example, is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and maybe some cookies.  The peanut butter gives you protein and will stick with you, and the jelly and cookies give you instant energy.  OK, here's the truth...

2) Eat "whole foods"

Your mother and grandmother were right!  The closer food is to what you picked off a tree, dug up from the ground, pulled off a stalk, or have taken from a free-range animal are the best.  As Dr. Hyman stresses, that all includes nuts, fruit, seeds, vegetables, eggs, fiber, and light protein.  You want to taken in natural sugars, lots of fiber, protein, and good fats (including lots of "Omega-3" fats found in flax seed and fish oil).

Here is what my diet comprises these days:

A typical day for me?

I have as much as I want of any of this, but I find I'm not really all that hungry.  Why?  Because I'm eating what my body needs.  My body isn't trying to grab every scrap of nutrient it can from garbage food then storing the rest as fat.  My body is instead delighted with the nutrients it is getting, and it knows exactly what to do with them.  Does your body know what to do with "polysorbate 80" or "partially hydrogenated vegetable oil"?  I didn't think so.  So try some veggies, seeds, oats, and fruit.

So, let's get back to the hiking food myth.  What do you take on that hike instead of PB&J and cookies?

The breakfast alone will sustain you for a good while, but you will want to eat all day to keep yourself going.  I've tried this on a cross-country ski excursion, and it works like a charm.  I wasn't even all that hungry for dinner!

3) Eat.

Heh, that's a tough one.  But, yes, eat all day.  Try to eat a large breakfast, smaller lunch, and small dinner.  Grab for snacks (raisins, seeds, fiber crackers, veggies, some fruit, nuts, and so on) when you're feeling peckish during the day.

I eat all day and drink something (usually tea) all day.  I stop a few hours before bedtime and coast 'til the morning, grabbing only water or tea in the evening.

Did I say you should eat, eat, eat?  Yes, I think I did.  And I'll stick to that.  :-)  Just eat whole foods and start at breakfast with your "big meal", then coast to the end of the day.

But...wait...if you're eating all day, what about calories?

4) Stop eating well before bedtime.

About two and a half to three hours before bedtime, don't eat anything.  Your body goes into a different mode at night where food in your stomach isn't handled the same way as it would be during the day.  In fact, sleeping after a large meal is what Sumo wrestlers do to bulk up.  And their goal is to put on lots of weight.

Sometimes you may feel a little hungry before bedtime, but let that be a message to you that you need to adjust your eating habits a little.  Maybe you need a bit more fiber, or maybe a certain amount or type of food at some point during the day may be more beneficial to stave off any before bedtime pangs.  Oh, don't worry.  If you get peckish after dinner, wait a few minutes or distract yourself, and the munchies will go away.

According to Dr. Hyman, a study showed those who ate a hearty breakfast (a good mix of protein, fiber, carbs, and so forth) were less likely to want to chow down on things later on in the day.  So, yes, what you eat and when you eat it is important, and maybe that'll help you adjust your eating habits to where you're comfortable all day long.

5) Play.

Forget "exercise".  Most of us won't do it, so don't bother beating yourself up about it.  Dr. Mark Hyman (and I) suggest you "play" instead.

I enjoy volleyball and will play for hours.  I'll hike all day long, or I'll go for a walk.  I enjoy running around with big, friendly dogs.  Other people run after their kids in the backyard, dig in the garden, go for a swim, kayak a few miles, and so on.  All of this is exercise--keeping the body moving.  Some people enjoy working out in the gym, running on a treadmill, going to an aerobics class, and so on.  If you like it, keep doing it!

Pick stuff you enjoy and will do often.  Turn it into "play".

But here's the kicker...If you follow the above items about food, you'll still lose weight, as you're no longer shoveling in junk that keeps your body hungry.  Having the additional energy from a better diet may even motivate you to get out and "play" more.  And if you're eating the right stuff, exercise/play is easier because your body has the right fuel!  You don't get tired and winded as fast.

Exercise...errr..."play"...helps raise your metabolism and keeps you healthy.

What are the results I've seen?

I'll bottom line this for you.  My change lost me 2 lbs. a week for the first 17 weeks then 1 lb/week thereafter.  The rate of loss has slowed as my body has approached its ideal weight and my metabolism adjusted to my food intake plus activity level, and I fully expected that.  But let's call it a result in the right direction.  And there's more:

There are other things beyond that list in which I've seen improvement.  So I'm going to declare this as a huge win for me.

The Downside...

Everything has a downside.  Yes, even this.

Nope, that's about it.  Can't think of anything else.  Anyone?

Now, what about you?

As stated everywhere, consult your physician before beginning any diet program.  Chances are your physician will not only agree with this one but may ask you for information about it.

I would encourage everyone to look into this.  For those of good weight already, you can think of it as evaluating how you're eating and if it is healthy.  If you're a bit over where you should be, then you may want to look into checking out some resources.

One question you may have is how you stay motivated.  If I could answer that for everyone, I'd be rich.  Here's my motivation:

I've heard that you can't buy health.  This whole thing was free, it wasn't difficult, and it worked for me.  I hope it turns out to be what works for you as well.

The Grand Delusion?

Am I delusional?  So do I expect this to solve all possible health problems I may encounter?  No.  Clearly this is not a panacea, and it's not the only answer.  Let's be real here.  But if I start from a good spot, it will hopefully make it less likely that my health will fail, and it will hopefully mean recovery from any ailment will be quicker and more complete.

A family member began aerobic exercise in her late 30s/40s.  In her late 50s/early 60s she experienced a cancer that had to be removed through surgery.  She recovered almost instantly and didn't need some of the usual therapies and didn't have some of the nastiness normally associated with the type of cancer she had.  The doctors were astonished and told her that if she wasn't in such good shape, her recovery would not have been nearly as good.

It works.  It's easy.  I hope the information on this page is helpful to you or to someone you care about.

Good luck!

I wish you the very best if you decide to change things for yourself.  It was not hard for me, and it did change my life for the better.  It is an amazing transformation.

I hope this web page has helped to inspire you.  If it did, drop me a note.

Oh, what's next for me?  Let's see...In 2006 I quit coffee (even decaf), in 2007 there's all this, and in 2008 I went vegan.  In 2009 now that analog television is obsolete and the cable folks have decided to stop providing analog signals, I have decided not to buy a digital or high definition TV set.  So it's likely my time with the boob tube will start getting cut down.  Frankly, that may be far more difficult than changing my way of eating...I think it will be a huge challenge, but I already have some ideas about where I can put some of those wasted TV watching energies.

...kl...
Original page:  May 2007
Last Update:  December 11, 2009
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