A lesson in NEVER giving up -- 221 pounds gone and below 300 for first time in over 20 years.

[Systematic Chaos]

Last edited Thu Dec 13, 2012, 04:44 AM - Edit history (1)

This morning was one of the happiest and emotionally draining which I've had the pleasure of experiencing in many years. My journey from the clutches of super-morbid obesity has just passed one of its most important milestones, in that for the first time since late '90 or early '91 I am carrying less than 300 pounds on my 6'3" frame.



This has been accomplished only with the help of diet. Few people escape major illness once they have topped the 500 pound mark, and sadly I'm the rule and not the exception. I won't get into excessive gory detail here, but among my more serious problems was (and continues to be though to a lesser extent) ulcerations of the legs and feet due to type 2 diabetes and venous insufficiency. Finding shoes to wear which aren't excruciatingly painful is very difficult, and so walking remains difficult for me, especially now that one of my knees is about to completely give out. It is a blessing -- in a perverse sort of way I guess -- that this knee managed to hold without locking and buckling until now, because having that problem on top of all the others would have rendered me totally immobile. As it is now I can't carry anything breakable or weighing more than a couple of pounds lest I drop it, because I have to have something to lean on at all times just to shuffle around; but most of my excess weight is now gone and that has to count for something!

I have Dr. John McDougall and his McDougall Plan, which is a plant-based diet of mostly complex starches, supplemented with veggies and fruits, to thank for this slow but prolonged weight loss. I truly believe I owe Dr. McDougall my very life at this point. There is just no way I could have progressed this far without such a low calorie density eating plan, but the best news of all is that after several years of eating this way my appetite has dropped considerably which then lends itself to more natural weight loss.

I'm still kind of drained and tired from the news on the scale this morning, so I'm going to stop for now. Any DUers with questions, feel free to ask!