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3 Years of Strict Atkins Dieting, A Net Loss 18 Lbs And The Gout – No Thank You!
Yes, I was taken in on this one - I admit it; I was dead wrong! Now I’m paying for my error - I have gout!
This story begins in 1981 & Ralph’s (a friend) advice. I was carrying 175 pounds on my 5-foot, 7.5-inch frame. I wanted to get below 150 pounds. When I graduated from high school, I weighed 145.
At first, despite a diet consisting almost exclusively of meat, eggs and cheese and excluding bread, vegetables and fruits, I lost not one ounce. Ralph couldn’t understand, and I was becoming dubious. Ralph and I examined every morsel of my intake for the previous 3 weeks. No, I wasn’t doing anything wrong.
“Well, Tabacco, what are you drinking?”
“I imbibed nothing but water and a quart of grapefruit juice every day”, I proudly recounted.
“Grapefruit Juice!” He shrieked. “No wonder you haven’t lost any weight. You can’t drink grapefruit juice”.
So I stopped drinking the stuff, and the 25.5 pounds, that I wanted to lose, virtually melted off overnight. It worked!
I had paid Barney’s already for 2 Pierre Cardin 3-piece suits, but declined to be measured for them until I achieved my weight goal. I reached 149.5lbs; I was measured, and the suits were mine (a gray pinstripe and a dark blue chalk stripe - both wool).
Of course I forgot about the “Atkins”, and in no time at all I weighed 185 pounds.
Over the years I worked out with weights (I was a rather good athlete in my day). I stopped working out. I started working out again. I stopped again. Each time I stopped working out, I probably gained 20 pounds.
I finally bought a new bathroom scale on July 14, 2002. The old one had long since been thrown away. I weighed 244.5 pounds! I dusted off the Atkins and the weight began coming off, not as quickly as in 1981, but 1-1.5 pounds per month on average.
By August 13, 2004, I weighed 211 pounds - a net loss of 33.5 pounds in 2 years and 1 month.
But, by April of 2005, the “Atkins” was in remission, and regardless of how few “carbs” I took in, I was gaining weight.
I had created a computer database on July 14, 2002, to keep track of all my carbs, then subsequently added "fields" for the categories of fiber, sodium and cholesterol.
If I went “carb-crazy” on one particular day and consumed 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrates, I immediately cut back to the 20-25 gram level. I was dogged, persistent and conscientious.
Concurrent with the creation of the database, I also created a spreadsheet to visualize my totals in all these categories by the day and the month. Note: I have never counted calories.
Still, beginning around November of 2004, my weight began spiraling upwards. (If you are saying to yourself, “I bet he doesn’t have a spreadsheet for his weight fluctuations”, you’d be dead wrong!)
On March 26, 2005, I reached 227 pounds exactly. I was in a state of anguish. After 2 years, 8 months and 12 days, I had lost the net total of 17.5 pounds.
In March I talked with my brother, Ralph, in Cincinnati. He is the eldest brother. He was in a wheelchair with gout. I had heard of gout, but I didn’t know beans about it. I do now!
Ralph explained to me in great detail what it was, how it felt, and why my eating habits (mostly protein) most certainly would doom me to his fate.
Well, dear Readers, it didn’t take long. On May 26th, 2005, I had my first introduction to Mr. Gout! I just looked at my records. May 26th was the last day I ate a pan-seared burger, I had gotten back down to 217 pounds by the next morning (courtesy of Mr. Atkins), and - oh yes - I wrote down the date.
I had cramps in both feet, both forearms, calves, leg biceps, lower frontal leg muscles, toes - not all at the same time, but ever since in one or more of the aforementioned locations whenever I stray from my new diet – “eat anything I want, but careful with the meat”.
I crawled around on the floor for 4 days because the pain in the bottom of my right foot was so excruciating, I couldn’t walk on it. A dear friend, Odessa, in Cincinnati sent me a crutch, which came too late to help me during those 4 days.
I get pain in my joints, especially the backs of both knees. Sometimes I can’t distinguish between straight pain and cramps - they both hurt a lot.
I say otherwise, but my main motivation for going on the Atkins in the first place was vanity.
Since I dropped Atkins and began my “eat anything” diet, I have eaten a few 40-ounce cans of yams in one day with butter, 1-cup of brown sugar, and a whole bag of marshmallows – the ones I couldn’t fit into the casserole dish, I ate as is.
I have eaten pasta, fruit everyday including bananas, strawberries, grapes, blueberries, peaches and plums. I eat humongous cans of Bush’s Baked Beans. I eat waffles, homemade ice cream, lemon curd meringue pie (which will appear in a future blog article), and when I buy sandwiches at Checkers and McDonalds, I don’t throw the bun away – I eat it.
I know your question already, “How much weight have you gained, Tabacco?”
The answer is 19 pounds from the 217 I weighed on May 27th of this year – but I didn’t gain 19 pounds, I LOST 19 POUNDS since I went off the Atkins diet. I now weigh 198 pounds. Go figure! I will admit that I have cut back on the volume of food. For a while, the more I ate, the more I lost – probably carryover from the Atkins. But then I started gaining again. I went from 199 to 205 in about a week. So I cut back on the quantity, and 10 days later I am at 198.
I now know that I can reverse a weight gain if I have one. I know I can do it without Mr. Atkins. And I know I definitely need to watch the protein intake. Don’t worry; when I stray on the protein, Mr. Gout whacks me on the feet or legs.
My ultimate goal is 180 to 185 pounds or until I like looking at myself in the mirror while standing sideways.
T.A.B.A.C.C.O. (Truth About Business And Congressional Crimes Organization)
My son-in-law swears by pink grapefruit juice to cure gout. My son stopped
by the house and was limping from gout. My SIL, a football coach who likes
his beer, told him the "cure" is simple-get two large containers of PINK
grapefruit juice and flush your system, it works for me everytime. " Sure
enough after forcing the juice, the gout went away. Now they both swear by
it. Definitely worth a try.
Pink Grapefruit Juice, Huh? Hmmm!
"At first, despite a diet consisting almost exclusively of meat, eggs and
cheese and excluding bread, vegetables and fruits, I lost not one ounce.
Ralph couldn’t understand, and I was becoming dubious. Ralph and I examined
every morsel of my intake for the previous 3 weeks. No, I wasn’t doing
anything wrong."
I never said I was. I didn't even read Atkins. I used the name because it
is so prevalent and recognizable. However recently I did purchase an Atkins
book and found it totally unreasonable. I am not going to follow such a
regimen and prepare what somebody else says I should eat for breakfast,
lunch and dinner. I don't know how many women would, but I don't believe
any man would.
Thank you for your response. I agree with several of your points, however
you have touched on the point that needs addressing most: carbs are not bad
for you, and nobody sane or responsible ever said they were. An excess of
carbs is bad for you, as is an excess of fat, or protein, or booze, or
anything else, really. And heavily refined carbs such as sugar and white
flour- the types of things that Atkins (and every other healthy eating plan
out there) recommend cutting out - are not required in the diet nor
beneficial to it. Whole, natural carbs, such as those from vegetables and
fruit, are perfectly healthy for you.
Your reply is very intelligent and in concert with what the Atkins book, I
finally bought, says. The problem is this: I am a fairly intelligent guy,
and I overdid it. Lots of people will. "If 1 is good, then 2 is better".
That's the problem with Diets & Diet Gurus. Most people cannot afford to
buy the book, let alone the expensive foods, videos, exercise equipment etc
etc. Most people do it on the fly as I did.
Again thanks for replying, I love a lively discussion about this sort of
thing. I can't make any comments about the gout because I don't know enough
about it. However, if low-carbing exacerbates (or causes, who knows) your
symptoms, I would say you would be a fool to do it! So kudos to you for
recognizing that diet is a factor in these things, and taking steps to
improve your health. Too many people would just look for drugs to make them
feel better and not even consider what they are eating.
I only wish you would read my political Posts and comment there. It is so
rare to receive a comment from an intelligent person. I don't publish many
of the comments I get because they have nothing to say.
LOL, "Love in," haven't heard that in a while.