Friday, October 25, 2013

How did Wheat Belly diet work out?

I thought I would let you know about my experience with the Wheat Belly diet. I wrote last winter that I had stopped in November eating wheat to see if I could finally lose some pounds. It has now been nearly a year.
I weighed 213 pounds when I began to follow the advice of Dr. William Davis and his book Wheat Belly. My goal was to break the 200-pound barrier, something I had not been able to do no matter how much I exercised, limited food portions, ate "healthy whole grains," restricted my fat intake, etc.
I recognized that basically I had been getting a pound heavier every year of my life and I wanted to take back control of my body. I was developing a pot belly and that had to go. By the way, I am six feet, three inches tall.
About the same time, two people close to me, in separate cases, had been told by their doctors that they needed to lose 40 pounds. They both made the same comment, "If I lost 40 pounds, I would weigh the same as I did in high school!" What a ridiculous notion when you're 60! Ten pounds, maybe, but 40 pounds? Get real.
The doctors' advice: cut down on food portions, eat less fat and exercise more. In other words, do exactly what I had been trying myself for years. It didn't work, at least not for me, so I was ripe to try the Wheat Belly advice.
One thing about me, when I make up my mind to do something, I carry it through, come hell or high water. For instance, two years ago I decided to stop drinking alcohol, just in solidarity with people I know who were suffering from alcoholism. I have not touched a drop since and, you know what? I don't miss it one little bit. I'm not kidding.
Beer, of course, is made from wheat or barley so it makes sense not to consume it if you are avoiding wheat. But all alcohol is also basically a sugar and along with wheat I had added sugar, even natural sugars such as those in fruit, to the list of foods I would not eat.
So what do I eat? Meat, eggs, every vegetable there is, including potatoes, rice, cheese, coffee, tea, Diet Coke, milk, popcorn. I ate all I wanted, often having seconds, especially on potatoes.
I lost about a pound a week. By mid-summer I had added four new holes to my belt and my size 38 jeans were bunched around me like a blanket. I ordered 36-inch jeans from Cabelas. By the time they arrived they too were extra big and I had to shrink them in the dryer to wear them.
By this time I was starting to make trips to the vet in Dryden where there is a clothing store. I found 35-inch jeans fit the best. A month later they too were large. I was a 34-inch waist.
It was mid-October and I weighed 177 pounds. That's what I weighed in high school. I had lost 36 pounds!
I went farther than I had hoped. I don't think I had any body fat at all. So now I have put back on a few pounds and weigh 180. I would like to settle at 185 which is my ideal BMI (body mass index).
So, it worked. I lost that weight without ever once going hungry, without any extra exercise at all.
Sure, my life at camp and here at home is pretty active, but remember, I was leading that life when I was heavier too.
How do I feel? Almost like I did in high school. Aches and pains are gone. I have oodles of energy.
It makes me think that we don't get older, we get fatter. Fat is what makes us old.
Do I miss wheat or sugar? Honestly, I do not! I don't even think about those things any more. It's like they don't exist for me.
I know there are some of you out there in the same boat I was in last year. I hope my story will help.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Dan, I'm glad the Wheat Belly Diet worked for you. I too have lost somewhere between 50 and 60 pounds. I, however, did it the so called old fashioned way. I cut back on portions and exercised. I do an hour each day on a stationary bike and also do some light weights just to keep my muscles toned a bit. I have put about 6 holes in my belt and still wear it to remind myself not to get gain all that weight back. I have read the Wheat Belly book by the way. Interesting reading. I guess it's whatever works for the individual. I would like to hear from other guests of Bow Narrows that have tried the Wheat Belly Diet and see what they have to say. Thanks for the update.
Dave M.