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Wow! That is really all I can say. I don't call this a diet in the strict sense because it's much more than weight lose. It's a lifestyle change and many people I have come in contact with couldn't do it. I have been tested since October 30 when I made the conscious decision to change my eating habits. It was the movie FoK that got me to look differently at what I eat or ate in the past and just how bad it was for me.

On October 30 I weighed myself at 216 pounds (I am 6 feet tall). I wasn't fat, my personal physician did call me just "obese" just 2 years ago based on my height and weight. Toss in an increasing cholesterol number and a few factors were starting to stack against me.

Since the end of October I have started to transition to the McDougall way of life. My initial plan was to read his entire book, 'The McDougall Plan' and learn before jumping in with both feet and going on the 12-day program. I figured it was like any addiction, give my body a period of time to adjust as I make culinary changes to my diet. Gone were the meats and oils I was comfortable with. Really limited was the cheese I really enjoy. I stopped eating out at many of the hole in the wall restaurants in Chinatown (Oakland, CA) when at work.

Following the directions in Dr McDougall's book I have now dropped 26 pounds and weighed in last night at 190 pounds! It's been amazing to see the results in such a short period of time and best of all...I have never been hungry! It's been difficult to cut out some of those foods I enjoyed in the "SAD" but I feel much better about myself now.

The true test will come on Tuesday when I go in for a blood test, which was set in in July when I had my physical and my doctor put me on a Statin to lower my cholesterol, which stood at 236 mg/dL in July. Come January I will follow the 12-day program to the letter and begin a light weight regiment, accompanied by 30-40 minutes of walking a day. Hopefully the diet in conjunction will accentuate the changes in my physical appearance. Lose the fat and add some muscle and tone to a body that has never had much of either.

Just had to share the my results and look forward to the rest of the journey. So far I am very pleased with the changes I have made for myself and my health.

Congratulations Steve - you must feel great! Keep us posted!

Excellent, Steve. Thanks so much for posting. Keep up the good work!:)

How exciting, Steve! Amazing, isn't it? Keep up the good work, and keep us informed.

Nicole

Steve, if you are happy...I am happy!!! Way to go!!!

I expect you will also be pleased with your test results.

Please keep us posted...and Merry Christmas!

Many congrats on your weight loss!

So up to this point, were you able to lose all that weight strictly on diet changes? No exercise?

How exciting...big congrats to you!

Cheers

Congratulations Steve. If your lab no's. don't come in as optimum as you hope, don't get discouraged. Although many people (and hopefully you) get quick, dramatic reductions in labs, with others it takes longer. So if you're disappointed by the first set of numbers under your new regimen, just get back on the forum and get some additonal support and good advice. "good eatin'," Don

Good job, Steve!

Fulenn

That's great Steve thank you so much for sharing. I can't speak for anyone else but I for one certainly feel energised when someone new drops in to say how he/she has come round to this way of eating and experienced some serious benefits.

I am just an inch taller than you and I spent years continually "yo yoing" between 230 and 300 lbs before changing and coming down to 185 - 190 - I remember only too well what a surreal experience it was going AGAINST everything I had long assumed to be true about nutrition.

Thanks again and good luck on Tuesday!

It can be a steady ride... As Dr. McDougall shares the learning curve is very steep... Know your body is the best lab there is.

Aloha, patty

Thanks everyone. It's been a true learning experience when it comes to nutrition and I know I have much to learn and digest but I feel I have a very good start.

As for the blood numbers, I won't get discouraged if they don't drop as I expected. I have seen the rewards and am sure I am reaping benefits because of the changes I have made.

My wife is a bit worried about the weight loss and believes I will get "too skinny." Not sure this is possible and I recall reading a few articles about weight and weight loss but does the body just stop dropping weight when it gets to its "optimal" weight?

I feel your wife is expressing a fear we all have... the Chinese haven't disappeared:) When understanding calorie density... Jeff Novick's dvds are the best... He explains we are programed to eat the same amount of weight of food daily. So in essence you just tweak your lifestyle choices...Listen to your body, it doesn't lie... it will tell you what works. Again you are in the best lab there is.

Aloha, patty

I started this thread on December 17 and felt very invigorated when I saw the weight loss numbers since I changed my eating habits. While weight loss is usually the most notable characteristic of a change in diet, what I was more interested in, and the reason for learning about Dr. McDougall was to improve my blood work numbers.

My doctor had prescribed a Statin to help decrease my cholesterol since in his medical opinion I could not get the total cholesterol under control any other way. Well I just got back the blood work numbers today after getting my blood sampled last Tuesday.

Here where the numbers in July, 2011 when I had my yearly physical and when the medication was prescribed.

July 26, 2011
Weight: 216 pounds
Chol: 263 mg/dL
Trig: 269 mg/dL
HDLC: 37 mg/dL
Chol/HDLC Ratio: 7.1 H......5.4 H
LDL: 172 mg/dL
Non-HDLC: 225 mg/dL

December 20, 2011
Weight 193 pounds
Chol: 199 mg/dL
Trig: 210 mg/dL
HDLC: 37 mg/dL
Chol/HDLC Ratio: 5.4 H
LDL: 120 mg/dL
Non-HDLC: 162 mg/dL

The most notable number for me was the 64 point drop in cholestrol! I had to compare the numbers a few times to make sure I was not looking at another number. The Trig number has me worried, but referencing The McDougall Program, this number could be increased "during perdios of weight lose..." I have cut back simple sugars, fruits and juices. I still nip at the occasional beer, but I have drank more since October. So the only way I can justify this figure is because of the weight lose and the "movement of fats from the fatty tissues into the blood."

Some talk about that "aha!" moment, well today was that moment. I am very pleased (to date) with the results I have experienced since change my diet. I look forward to improve the numbers more and to experience a healthier lifestyle now. I would like to hear some feedback from those who have continued this lifestyle for some time. Thanks!!!

Steve, that's excellent! It's so nice to see the lab work confirming the fact that you feel healthier and more energetic, and are painlessly losing weight too. Yay!

Although your TG are still higher than you want, it's yet early. And if you just recently cut back on fruits and other sugars, that could really make a difference there too (my TG seem to be really responsive to fructose). Have you been taking a statin all this time too? I'm not clear whether this is all due to diet, or whether it's diet and statins combined. Either way, it's great.

Congratulations, and keep up the good work!