Hello,
I joined the forum this week and have been Low-Carbing it since the middle of October. On September 13th, I weighed 411 pounds. This morning I weighed 371 pounds. So, I feel pretty good about my progress. But, my story is much longer than that. Here is a short version...
In 2012, I weighed 520 pounds and scared myself by almost having a heat stroke. I knew I had to do something! I had tried various diets over the years and would always gain the weight back that I lost and perhaps a bit more. My wife and I discussed the options and I made the decision to have the Gastric Sleeve surgery. In truth, it saved my life. I dropped down to 369 pounds and was doing well. However, at that time (2014) we made a transition in our lives and decided to return to Missionary work over seas. In our system, we raise our own support which required about 16 months of traveling. This of course meant eating out most of the time which saw me balloon up to over 400 pounds again. Hence the starting weight with this WOE of 411.
The truth is that you can out eat weight loss surgery. So, while it saved my life it didn't "fix" what is at the root of the problem which has always been an unhealthy approach to food. Plain and simple, I have been ruled by my appetite my whole life. Now, I am 6'4" tall and always carried my weight well. (Whatever that means?) But, once I hit 50 (I'm 55 now) I started to have a few problems here and there. For a fat guy, I'm unusually healthy. I don't struggle with anything but VERY mildly elevated Blood Pressure. Other than that, my Doctors are amazed. But, I can "feel" my weight where I never used to be able to.
When I saw the scale reading 411; I knew that it was time to make a change. Simple portion control as a result of weight-loss is not enough. So, we started a self monitored Low Carb diet and did pretty well. However, I really stalled for about 3-4 weeks and felt that I needed to shake things up a bit. I use and app called Carb Manager to keep track of what goes down my gullet. While in their forum, I saw a ling for the website DietDoctor.Com and checked out.
We started their 2 week challenge program this past Sunday and it seems to have broken the stall. Plus, the food has really been fantastic. So, I'm going to stay on their program for while and see where it takes me. Currently, I'm 2 pounds from my lowest weight which is my first Goal. The second Goal is 349 followed by micro-goals of 50 pounds each until I reach 250 or so. From there, we'll see where I need to go.
I hope to keep track of what I do and learn from those who have walked down this trail before me.
Oh, the name Big Daddy was given to me in my mid-thirties by a young man and it seemed to stick. It was a term of endearment, it fits me, and for the type of work I do it helps people remember me. My website is
www.bigdaddymissions.com. So, I'll probably never shed the name. Even after I shed the weight!
Thanks for letting me ramble a bit,
Jeff