I'd like to say hi to everyone and share some of the changes I've made since I got to this WOE. I hope this is the right board category to do so.
My name is Anja, I am a 26 years old psychologist (and leisure time bare hoof trimmer
@ETEselle).I started my weight loss journey about 20 months ago when I had suffered from a herniated disc at 23 years old. That was kind of the warning sign I really needed to finally decide to do something about my weight. When I had a inguinal hernia at age 20 (happened without carrying anything, just getting out of the car), that apparently wasn't enough for me.
I am 1,78m or 5 ft 10" and at that time weighed almost 100 kg (220 lbs) which was just too much for my poor back. So I started going vegan, following a recommendation of a friend (and my nagging consciousness as I already was vegetarian for ethical reasons), but went low-carb. I didn't know any better.
Within 3 days I already saw a lot of improvement: My hay fever (stupid stuff when you're working with horses a lot) and cardiac arrhythmia were GONE. Yes, gone! I had not even thought of that being possible, but I enjoyed it and kept going.
I picked up an exercise routine at my university's gym and started feeling better.
But as I am deeply curious and analytic by nature, I started reading more and more on good nutrition and eventually found the China Study, the starch solution and all the other wonderful information out there. It was all so clear and logical, that I immediately went from low carb to high carb and I LOVE IT!
It feels so natural to eat whole plants and I always surprise doctors with my great numbers.
I donate blood 3 to 4 times a year and am NEVER iron deficient. Asked by the doctor whether I was taking any supplements for that, I told her, that it's just what's inside plants anyway
Last year during a routine exam (actually meant to reassure my poor grandma who thought that I would die within weeks, eating only plants
) they examined a primary hyperparathyroidism. That means that a part of my parathyroid was hyperactive and producing too much of a certain hormone which absorbed a lot of calcium from my bones, leading to calcification of arteries and organs and very low Vit. D. The doctors were extremely surprised that at my hormone levels I was neither severely depressed, nor suffering from stomach ulcers, nor renal failure. It was probably due to my very clean diet that the calcium did not find a lot of stuff to which it could get attached in my arteries. So it was pure chance that my condition was detected and with a little operation I was fine again. Needless to say that I was out of the hospital after a day (instead of the usual 11).Today I am still 5 ft 10", but weigh about 143 lbs. Hay fever and arrhythmia are still gone, my back is fine without the operation and allows me even to trim up to 10 horses a day without complaining, but most of all, i FEEL fit and I start liking my body for how it is.I don't feel like the fat and ugly girl anymore, but just normal, like I always wanted to. This has boosted my confidence.
I would love to eventually get into the range of 135 lbs, but don't stress about it. I'll just keep going and see, where my body wants to go.
So here you can maybe see some of the changes this WOE has made to my outside.
Two of the "before" pictures:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/87902162/P1000237.JPG
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/87902162/DSC_2374.JPG
This is me now:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/87902162/IMG_3611.jpg
And here maybe you get a glimpse at the changes on the inside, too:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/87902162/IMG_3327.JPG
I'm looking forward to a lot of interesting exchange with you.
Greetings from Germany,
Anja
