Low Carb Success Story: April Wyatt
By
Julie Westly
As
published in CarbHealth Magazine, Mar. 2003
April Wyatt, from Ohio, is 41 years old and 5 feet 10 inches tall. April began low carbing July 1, 1998, doing a combination of Protein Power and Atkins. Since 1999, April has subscribed mostly to the Atkins plan. April’s low-carb life began at 352 pounds and a size 52. Today she is 200 and wearing a size 16! Her goal is to weigh 180 and wear size 14.
“I was always a large child,” April told me, “meaning I was tall, yet I was also very heavy from the age of eight until I was in my senior year of high school. A friend had lost weight over summer vacation watching his carbohydrate intake. When school began and I saw him again I barely recognized him due to his tremendous weight loss. I started counting carbohydrates that fall and by Christmastime I had gone from wearing a size 22 and weighing 225 pounds to wearing a size 16 and weighing 187. I continued to count carbs the remainder of the school year and stayed a size 16 until after graduation. I eventually ditched the low-carb way of eating and started gaining weight.
“By the time I was 22, I weighed over 200. I went to Diet Center® and lost weight, but it was very expensive. I got back down to a size 16 by the time I was 24. I was living on my own and decided for some stupid reason that it was time to get married. So, I picked the first guy to come along and married the idiot. I had gained back weight by that time and was wearing size 20s again. He had me convinced that no one else would want me as a wife (I still have self-esteem issues; I won’t go there just now). The weight continued to pile on. Fourteen years and four pregnancies later, I weighed 352 pounds and wore a size 52 dress. Yeesh.
“I wanted to go to college to get my degree. I had lots of kids to put through college and I knew that minimum wage jobs weren’t going cut it. My husband didn’t work because he drew Social Security disability for a bad back (yeah, right), so it was left up to me. I began college in 1995 when I was seven months pregnant with my fifth child. I lost 52 pounds during that pregnancy, but packed it back on after she was born. I was back up to 352 pounds in no time. By July 1998, I was the biggest I had ever been.”
Like many of us, April had tried to diet in the past. “I tried Weight Watchers,” she said. “I had no choice. My mother said we were going and we went. I was eight years old and very overweight. This continued off and on (mostly on) until I was 17 and my mother gave up trying to make me lose weight.
The good things about it were that the few times I would step on the scale at the weekly meetings and actually lose weight for the week, my mother and father were very proud of me and I felt loved. The bad thing about it was that I had to brown bag my lunch to school and it was very humiliating taking a can opener and a can of tuna out of the bag and eating it in front of my peers. The worst thing about it was that I didn’t lose much weight and if I did, I didn’t maintain the loss; I felt like a failure and felt that my family didn’t love me because they wanted me to change and be someone I wasn’t — thin.
“I don’t remember how I felt physically. I do remember the emotional aspect of all of it as if it happened moments ago. I distinctly remember my fifth-grade math teacher, Mr. Miller, whistling at me in the hallway and saying: “Looking good, April!” after my mother made it be known to the whole dang school that I had lost ten pounds in one month. I remember feeling loved, accepted, and wanted when I would lose a few pounds, yet I still ache when I relive the feelings of disappointment and failure when I didn’t. Now, as an adult, I realize what the drawbacks were for me trying to follow an eating regimen as a child. First was the problem of peer pressure, since they could eat everything and anything they wanted and not gain weight. Second, the difficulty of coming up with lunch ideas a child could live with. Third, having to measure and weigh every morsel of food before I consumed it, and, finally, not being allowed to enjoy family gatherings because I wasn’t permitted to eat the desserts.
“With hindsight, I understand that the reason Weight Watchers didn’t work for me as a child was that the menu contained too many carbohydrates, just whetting my appetite enough to make me crave more. I also lacked the discipline at that young age to make a commitment to any way of eating. It was demeaning and humiliating to me as a child to have to attend weekly meetings with adults. I had no one with whom to identify.”
Next, April tried a low-carbohydrate diet. “I tried it because my friend, Joe, had lost a tremendous amount of weight during summer vacation. I tried it for about a year. I lost weight for the first time and kept it off while eating foods that I really enjoyed eating in quantities that were satisfying. The bad part was that at the time I tried it there were very, very few sugar-free foods on the market. Emotionally, I felt empowered and in control. I lost weight rapidly without much effort. Physically, I felt wonderful because I was lighter and could actually be physically active, which I enjoyed. I also gained the respect and love of my family for having accomplished my goal. It was difficult to follow at times since there were really no low-carb or sugar-free foods on the market in the mid-seventies. However, it was easy to follow in that I could eat meats and cheeses and vegetables in satisfying quantities. It did work. I only regained weight when I didn’t make it a way of life and stopped counting carbs.”
Later, April tried Diet Center®. “I tried Diet Center® because my mother had lost quite a bit of weight following that plan and she was a counselor for Diet Center®. I followed the plan for well over a year.
It was extremely similar to the low-carb diet and I enjoyed the foods and lost weight rapidly. However, it was very expensive. I felt wonderful emotionally and physically because I lost weight, almost got to goal, and felt loved and wanted by all that I knew. It was easy to follow just as the low-carb plan was. The hard part was coming up with the money each week to pay for the counseling and nutritional supplements. It did work until I stopped. I have found since that time that when you decide to manage your weight that you must make it a way of life and not think of it as a diet that you’re going to stop some day.”
Then April returned to low carbing. “I’ve known about low-carb dieting since its inception in the seventies when it was considered a fad diet. It has been my experience that it is only through trial and error,” she explained, “that I have I hit upon what exactly my body will respond to. In illustration, I proffer the following: At the beginning, I had never heard of Dr. Atkins nor the good doctors Michael and Mary Dan Eades. I simply knew that what had worked for me before, the only solution to satisfactory weight loss for me, was limiting my carbohydrates. I began by limiting them to 20 grams per day and the weight came off quickly. During periods of weight loss I have found that in order to maintain the weight loss and also to keep losing weight, I must periodically tweak my eating regimen. I have had to do that three times now during this journey. Up until two months ago I found that I could lose weight if I kept at or below 35 grams of carbs per day. If I wanted to simply maintain the weight loss I could stay within a range of 36 to 60 grams of carbs per day. If I consumed more than 60 grams per day, I would gain weight. This is a fact and innate to my body.
“As recently as two months ago I found that I could not lose weight even by staying below the tried-and-true 35 grams of carbs per day. Now I must also keep track of my calories while raising my carb intake. Daily I consume no more than 1800 calories and stay within a carb range of 40 to 70. Of course, I never consume insulin-raising carbohydrates, which contain sugar, natural or otherwise. I also find that the more physical activity I have, the more weight I lose.
And, leaving the most important comment for last, the amount of weight I lose is measured in direct proportion to the amount of water I consume daily. The more water ingested, the more weight I lose. I aim for at least 120 ounces of water per day.
“I like what I see in the mirror, I like how I feel inside my body, I like how people respond to me (knowing the flip side of the coin, that is, what it is like to be discriminated against when one is fat). Most importantly, I like knowing that I am finally in control of what I eat. The food no longer controls me. The bad part is also that I don’t like how people respond to me. The irony here is that I have very little patience with intolerant people and those who shunned me previously now accept me — that simply makes me bitter at times.
“My main point is that I have done extensive research as to why this way of life works for me. Knowing that I am a carbohydrate addict and knowing that carbohydrates act quite like a drug with me, I am armed with the information I must know to make my body respond to what I want it to do. Another important facet of success with this way of life is knowing just that: it’s not a diet. It’s a way of life. Therefore, I am totally committed to it and will never abandon it. Since I glean more and more information daily concerning this way of life and how I can adjust it to make me successful in my weight loss endeavors, I feel that it is satisfyingly easy. Yes, through the four plus years I have been doing this I have proven that I will continue with my commitment.”
I asked April if she had run into things that were low-carb legal that she couldn’t eat, also known as intolerance foods? “Yes,” she replied. “Precisely the low-carb and protein bars so popular lately. Again, through much trial and error I have found that not only do these bars make me stall, I gain weight when I eat them. I know for a fact that they have hidden carbohydrates and my body does not respond well to them.”
April has enjoyed many health benefits as a result of her low carb lifestyle! “My cholesterol levels have improved significantly,” she said. “My skin and vision are clearer, I no longer feel like a mastodon lugging my weight around when I move, and I am no longer short of breath when I walk. I used to have alarming heart palpitations and I no longer experience that sensation.”
I asked April if she had had any positive or negative feedback from friends or coworkers that she would be willing to share. “I’m glad you asked this question,” she laughed. “For nearly a year I kept it a secret from my co-workers. After I was nine pounds from my original goal of 180, I got a new job. My co-workers did not know that I had once weighed 352 pounds. One day everyone was gathered around my work station and they were talking about how they’d like to lose some weight and were expounding upon the merits of the low-fat lifestyle. I simply sat quietly and listened. When there was a lull in the conversation I interjected, ‘I believe that the low-carb lifestyle is the only way to lose and maintain weight effectively.’ Again, I sat silently while enduring the barrage of caustic comments against low-carb diets and fads. While still silently withstanding their denunciations, I simply opened by desk drawer, withdrew my `before’ picture, and without uttering a word held it up for all to see. Conversation ceased while they gaped at the picture and I simply said, `It worked for me.’ Now, two years later, my boss is a low-carb fanatic. He has lost 30 pounds, he has stopped taking his blood pressure and cholesterol medicines, and his proctologist has just told him last week that he doesn’t need to come again until next year. Bill, another co-worker, lost 20 pounds to reach his goal and has lost another five. Several of my family members are also proponents of low carb simply because they like how good they feel. I am a humble and modest person, but I do take full credit for introducing these people to low carb. The influence that one person has over others can never be underestimated.”
I asked April if she would like to share any hints or tips for new or veteran low carbers. “Again, I’m glad you asked this question,” she continued. “Here is a post I made to a low-carb message board along those lines:
“You asked for some pointers. Here they are. I call it my top ten list for achieving weight-loss success with low carb:
1. Write Down the Carb Content of Everything you put in your Mouth.
And, I do mean everything. The sugar-free gum I chew has two grams of carbs per stick. It’s bubblegum and I like to blow big bubbles, so I chew three sticks at a time. That’s six carbs already right there. If you’re only allowed to have 20 per day, that’s a large hunk just for something frivolous. It’s wise to spend your carbs on natural foods. Please, please, please write down everything you put in your mouth. I’m sitting here looking at my steno pad from 1998. The date is Thursday, 12-31-98. I wrote down everything. I weighed 286 that day. It’s very easy to just guess at the carbs you’ve had for the day, and most often you will be wrong. You will think you’ve only had 20, when really you’ve had nearly 50. You must count the sugar substitute you use, the cream you put in coffee, the mints you suck on, etc. If it goes into your mouth, you must count the carbs, no matter how small. Don’t eat low carb bars or anything else with hidden carbs in them. You can find a hidden carb calculator online at http://www.geocities.com/msweathe/fiber-calc.html. All you have to do is punch in four numbers from the nutrition label from any foodstuff and it will tell you if there are hidden carbs in that food. Low-carb bars say they have only four carbs, but they really have 18. Don’t eat them. Also, learn to read labels on foods. They lie. Think about it. If it says it has zero carbs and sugar is listed in the ingredients, how can it not have carbs? Think about that. Use the hidden carb calculator. If you are losing weight just fine by eating foods that say zero carbs on the label, yet there is sugar somewhere in the ingredients, keep eating it. But, if you have stalled or you are gaining weight, eat nothing that has sugar listed in the ingredients. You’ll break your stall and continue to lose. Guaranteed.
2. Stay Off The Scale.
I only weighed myself once per month. Please don’t weigh yourself each day. Daily weight fluctuations can be very discouraging and they are due to myriad reasons. Weigh only once per month. This is non-negotiable for your frame of mind just now.
3. Eat Natural Foods.
As mentioned above, the wise person will expend their daily carb allotment on natural foods: meats, fowl, veggies, etc.. Stay away from the low-carb shakes and bars. Stay away from processed foods such as bologna and hot dogs. Eat instead a steak with sautéed mushrooms, a few ounces of cheese and a small salad with Ranch dressing. Don’t eat low-fat foods. Low-fat foods often have sugar added to them to make up for the fat taken out. Remember: low fat = high carb. I reiterate: count every gram of carb and keep a tally for the day. The meal I just mentioned above tallies up to just a few carbs and it’s a large meal. It will keep you feeling satiated, whereas if you ate a low-carb bar at 18 grams, you would still be hungry.
4. Walk.
Or, do some other form of exercise. When I began I walked three miles a day. Exercise starts your furnace burning and long after you’ve stopped the movements, your furnace is still on and burning. Trust me. Exercise is key to weight loss.
5. Take Your Measurements.
As with weighing, just do this once a month. When you compare weight loss against inches lost, you will be astounded to realize that in the times when you’ve not lost weight, you will have lost inches. Please take your measurements.
6. Take Your Supplements.
Each morning I take a multi-vitamin, potassium, calcium, Vitamin C, and L-Glutamin. The L-Glutamin controls sugar cravings and the calcium and potassium stop leg cramps from occurring.
7. Drink Water.
Again, this one is non-negotiable. You will not succeed in weight loss if you don’t drink enough water. The rule of thumb here is that you have to drink half of your body weight in ounces of water each day. If you weigh 200 pounds, drink at least 100 ounces of water. The amount of weight you lose is in direct proportion to the amount of water you drink. Trust me. I’ve been doing this over four years now and I know of what I speak. Drink the water. Diet sodas and coffee and other drinks do not count to your water tally each day. Drink the water in addition to them and remember this: Caffeine is a diuretic and you must drink additional water to make up for that.
8. Stay Away from Sweets.
This is a biggie, especially if you crave them. I can eat sugar-free Jell-O with Redi Whip on top (all very low carb), yet the sweetness of the taste of it triggers a craving for something full of sugar. Most people don’t have this problem. If you do, I implore you to stay away from anything that tastes sweet until you can get a handle on your cravings. L-Glutamin will go a long way in helping you to ward off sugar cravings.
9. Get Support.
Talking and discussing with others what works and what doesn’t with this way of life is key in getting your mind geared towards losing weight. Your mental attitude is all-important in weight loss. Dr. Atkins calls it the psychology of weight loss. I call it the weight-loss mindset. Finding fellow low carbers is a tremendous help. The low-carb communities online are wonderful support systems. I’m glad I found them.
10. Persevere
If you give up, you’ll look back two months from now and say: ‘Hmm. If I had kept on going, I might have been twenty pounds lighter now.’ As with anything in life, if you persevere you will attain.”
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