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Friday, June 1, 2012

Over 10 Pounds Gone – And Still Counting Down

(If you must have politics, please keep scrolling. Don't miss Sam's post below!)

A friend of mine lost over 40 pounds on the Ideal Protein Diet.

On May 5, I decided to give this diet regimen a try. I'm glad that I did! In less than a month, I'm not ashamed to wear a swim suit.

All the hype about this diet is true – for me, anyway.

I've always been very muscular as I grew up on a farmette and, when I moved to real suburbia after getting married, continued a high level of physical activity by working out on a regular basis. That strenuous exercise regimen abruptly ended on May 17, 2005. At that time, I sustained a permanent back injury when I was involved in a car accident in which an illegal immigrant rear-ended me at a four-way stop sign.

Let me tell you this: when your back is injured, ANY exercise is painful and can well be harmful. [See THIS RECENT INFORMATION about exercise over at Right Truth. Hmmmmm....]

In addition to the lack of the exercise, my having to take Lyrica for the pain and inflammation contributed to significant weight gain. I knew that the "miracle drug" Lyrica would pack on the pounds (some 35 of them), but had only two choices: take the Lyrica and gain weight, or be consigned to a wheelchair for the rest of my life. And the issues weren't only pain and inflammation. Even worse, my left leg wasn't getting the proper neurological signal; as a result, I was dragging my leg and actually came close to using all use of my left leg. So, I opted for taking Lyrica, which stopped the pain and allowed me to exercise me just enough to keep from losing significant muscle mass.

I ignored the weight gain as best I could and dealt with Lyrica's troublesome pscyhotropic side effects, one of which was "losing" two years of my life. Frankly, I remember little that occurred in those two years. Strange!

After a few years, I had to stop taking Lyrica because I developed one of the serious side effects: uveitis, a serious impairment of vision. The doctor caught the uveitis in time to save my vision. But I had to stop taking Lyrica as the vision problems and the psychotropic problems continued to exacerbate.

I came off the Lyrica by gradually reducing the dosage.  But, no matter what I did, some of the pounds caused by Lyrica did NOT come off.  Furthermore, my body was ramped up on stress, too, primarily because of Mr. AOW's situation as of September 15, 2009.  Stress itself causes weight gain and prevents weight loss.

When, for the first time in my life, my December blood work showed an increased cholesterol level (213), the family doctor advised that I "lose a few pounds." Easier said than done! I did lose some pounds between January and May, but too many pounds remained around my middle and were putting a painful and debilitating strain on my lower back, the latter my primary reason for trying the diet.

The Ideal Protein Diet specifically addresses the weight-around-the-middle issue.  Within two weeks, I could get into slacks that wouldn't fasten back in February.  In less than three weeks, my waistline dropped two inches!  And my back pain eased off, too – to the point that I have able to reduce my daily dosage of Neurontin.

Now, I won't lie to you. The first week of the diet was AGONY! My stomach felt empty, of course, but I managed that issue via mind over matter. Worse, I had severe headaches and nausea the first few days – some of the headaches and nausea due to caffeine withdrawal, I'm sure; one can have all one wants of black coffee, but I don't like black coffee. By the second week, however, my body acclimated to one cup of "doctored up" coffee in the morning, and I felt the best that I have felt in YEARS.  I continue to feel that way and have more energy that I've had since before the car accident.

Short video about the Ideal Protein Diet:


A more-detailed video is HERE.

The Ideal Protein foods are delicious and satisfy any possible craving that anyone could have. Even Mr. AOW loves their food, primarily because it doesn't taste like diet food; for example, for breakfast this morning, I had a lemon-poppy seed bar with my coffee, and Mr. AOW will have strawberry wafers.  Via my food coach at Ideal Protein, I also discovered Walden Farms, a company that makes calorie-free dressings and sauces – and even pancake syrup.

The Ideal Protein Diet may not be for everyone, but it is the answer for me. For the first time in years, I truly am in control of my weight! I can move freely, wear the clothes that I like, and – GASP! – cross my legs in comfort.  And my energy levels are high.  Best of all, my back doesn't hurt now.  I'm ready to start exercising again.

Note: Technically, I am not overweight, and my Body Mass Index is within normal range; nor was I overweight when I began the diet on May 5.  But I felt uncomfortable.  I don't feel that way now!

15 comments:

  1. Alright! Great positive story for a Friday!

    It's great to hear how positive you are about it. Attitude can carry you on to further success.

    Congratulations on the milestone and keep up the good work!

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  2. I'm glad you found something that works for you. I have always been thin but as middle age moved in I did start to gain a few pounds. I've always been careful, if I gain 5 - 10 pounds over my 'feel good' weight, then I cut back on sugar and fat, walk more. We have a treadmill an I think power walking on it does more to trim down the waist, thighs and belly than any other exercise, at least for me.

    Log Cabin has a sugar free syrup that tastes like the real thing and is sweetened with Splenda.

    Contrary to what some people believe, a person would have to eat a house full of artificial sweeteners before they would have any adverse reactions, so I use Splenda.

    Keep up what works and I'm so glad you feel better. Be very careful as you start exercise not to hurt your back.

    Debbie
    Right Truth
    http://www.righttruth.typepad.com

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  3. Good for you, AOW! I know it was difficult at the beginning, but I'm glad you've persevered. Patience, determination and good character are sure to work together to achieve lasting success.

    KUTGW!*

    ~ FreeThinke

    ________________________
    * KUTGW means Keep Up The Good Work just in case you didn't know. ;-) - FT

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  4. Debbie,
    The Walden Farms syrups are delicious! I bought the blueberry one.

    Mr. AOW, who is diabetic, loves that blueberry syrup mixed in with cottage cheese and blueberries. No carbs and no calories in that syrup! And it tastes like any blueberry syrup you've ever loved.

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  5. Silverfiddle,
    I don't have all that much weight to lose; the problem is "that time of life." But I KNEW that it would benefit me to drop at least 15 pounds. Once I've lost 20 pounds, I will re-evaluate to see if it's time to stop. Having once flirted with anorexia, I won't go THERE again!

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  6. FT,
    Oh, yes, that first week was hell.

    But my mind was made up.

    I did have to change food coaches. The one I had just didn't know what she was doing -- and actually endangered my health by allowing me to burn both muscle and fat. Yesterday I spent the day going to and consulting with a food coach who is some 45 minutes away. Worth the effort! And because I never cheat while on a food regimen, I will have to see him only every 2 weeks -- very doable, now that classes for this term have ended.

    PS: I'm staring to like the way my body looks right now. Now I won't "feel bad" when I go to the swimming pool. ANDI look 10 years younger, too. No kidding! What a nice touch for our upcoming 40th wedding anniversary, huh? (Except that the waitress will think that I am Mr. AOW's daughter. Oh, well.

    PPS: I just have to be in good shape if Mr. AOW undergoes cataract surgery.

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  7. Way to go, AOW! I'll have play and translate the videos for my wife. She is always trying to drop a few pounds and she has not had much success.

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  8. Way to go, AOW! I'll have play and translate the videos for my wife. She is always trying to drop a few pounds and she has not had much success.

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  9. They DID pay you for that? But hey, I thought you looked great in a swimsuit anyway. (Don't tell the Mr.)

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  10. I wish that they did pay Mrs. AOW for talking about this diet. She is raving about the diet all the time!

    I thought she looked fine before the diet. But she was not happy about those few extra pounds. I admit that she looks even better now. She better not get real skinny, though. I have never found skinny women very attractive.

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  11. So you eat all their food, etc? I mentioned NutriSlim recently and I meant Nutrisystems..sorry.

    Do you gussy their food up with fruits and vegetables of your own?

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  12. Dang it! You found me out, Mr. AOW. I just can't be careful enough these days. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Z,
    I don't eat only THEIR foods, called IPs.

    I must have three IPs a day. The cereal and the powdered protein drinks can be made into different forms: for example, the cereal into a pancake (with Walden Farms syrups -- such as blueberry, strawberry, or maple) and certain powdered protein mixes into something called a mug cake. New recipes are coming out all the time, so there is plenty of variety if one wants to do that kind of thing. At first, for the first 4 weeks or so, I didn't change the forms of the IPs. But when I got a craving for a brownie, my friend made a chocolate mug cake for me. Mr. AOW tried a piece and has been clamoring for more ever since.

    One is supposed to have 4 cups of vegetables a day, but it's all I can do to consume 3 cups of veggies a day. No "whites" allowed, such as potatoes or pasta, as well as carrots or sweet potatoes. I gussy up the soup mixes (Very creamy!) with vegetables I add. Yesterday, I had the chicken soup with 1 cup of asparagus and 1 cup of green beans. Lettuce is unlimited, so a salad is part of the daily routine; the Walden Farms dressings make salads feasible and more palatable.

    In addition to the above, for the evening meal (or for lunch), one must have 5-8 oz. of protein that one fixes: steak, shrimp, chicken, swordfish, etc. Last night, I have sirloin tips cooked in barbecue sauce and a salad.

    It's actually easy to have dinner out, particularly at my favorite restaurant, Ruby Tuesday.

    Another mandate is a minimum of 64 oz. of water a day.

    Most of the IPs are liquid of some sort, but there are also puddings, snack bars, chocolate puffs, lemon puffs, chips, etc. Mr. AOW gets one of those snacks a day even though he isn't on the diet (yet); he loves ALL the IPs because they don't taste like diet food.

    Following the Ideal Protein Diet, I lost 2 inches in my waist in less than 2 weeks! THAT is a big deal on someone of my frame! A couple of the IPs target cellulite specifically, so I'm losing inches where I want to lose inches -- AND WITHOUT EXERCISE.

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  14. Glad to hear it's working out for you. I myself have been on a low sugar diet for a while now and I find that alone makes such a difference.

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