The life of a perpetual dieter

So, I've been doing the yo-yo, gaining, losing, gaining, etc. for the past few years, but I think I've figured out the right way to go about permanent weight loss.

One thing I am good at is seeing patterns. So I began to see my eating patterns, what I was doing to myself, and why. I decided to try Atkins again. I'd done it before, years ago, but as I said, when you move a lot, you tend to toss your routines and habits out the window when it comes to road trip eating.

So about a month ago, I went on Atkins. It stuck for about a week. Lost 6 pounds in that week. Then on the 8th day, 3 pounds were back. So naturally I said, "Screw this!" and went back to my old ways.

BUT (there's always a big butt in there, right?) After going back to my old ways, it occurred to me that I'd felt pretty good while on the low carb diet. I wasn't plagued by lots of gas (apparently too many carbs make me gassy), my ankles hadn't swelled in a week, and I drank more water without even realizing it. Those are pretty good clues, aren't they? I thought so. I went back one more time.

I found a support site dedicated to ketogenic diets, and found all sorts of videos from doctors explaining why low carb is good for you. Two doctors in particular explained why and how this works in very simple to understand terms. One was Dr. Mary Vernon (a  former president of the American Society of Bariatric Physicians) and one was Dr. Eric Westman (current president of the American Society of Bariatric Physicians). Search for them on Youtube for some good explanations.

So anyway, I've been back on low carb for only 4 days this time. I've bypassed Atkins, because I think those bars and shakes they sell are probably not the best to include in a low carb diet. Since Dr. Atkins died, the brand is just a business with no personal investment. Someone is just making money off his name, and I'd rather not support that. But, I digress.

In the four days since I started again, I've lost four pounds, I'm actually eating less calories than before without measuring or weighing any food, I'm consuming a lot more fat than ever before and not dumping (those who have had gastric bypass don't need dumping explained). This is a big one, because I've been increasingly sensitive to dumping syndrome as the post-op years go by, and now I'm not dumping at all even though the fat I'm consuming has increased by a LOT.

The overall best part of this though, and this is what's going to keep me on this path towards a healthy weight; I'm not hungry. Let me just say that louder. I'M NOT HUNGRY. Not even a little, between meals. Every diet I've ever been on has left me feeling hungry, starving in fact, half way between meals. Breakfast at 7:30am? I'm hungry and craving ANYTHING by 10am. Snack at 10am? I'm starving by lunch time at 12. It continues through the day, and if I'm hungry, I eat. If I'm not hungry, I don't eat. Simple.

This way of life isn't for everyone. It's hard to break a lifetime of habits and "learning". Consider this though. The food pyramid recommends that 50% of your daily intake come from carbohydrates. FIFTY PERCENT. At the same time, the number of obese people in this country has skyrocketed. Mostly since the food pyramid was revised. The USDA can't recommend the same thing for every person in the country. We're all different. Keep looking for the way that is right for you.