One week on MY Diabetes Prevention Program

Even though I had 6 months to do it, after only one week, I reached the halfway point for the weight loss goal outlined in the Diabetes Prevention Program.  I went through chapters 2 and 3 of the program, and everywhere it said to identify all the foods with lots of fat.  I did that.

Then I did the opposite of what they suggested and ate more of it.  This week I enjoyed soup made with ham bits and the all the fat around the edges and around the bone.  I actually cooked bacon and greens in the bacon fat, and then added additional butter to cook my breakfast eggs.  I ate it all and then licked the plate and didn't leave any for my cat.  I actually ate half a stick of butter with my dinner.

Here's a great quote from the handbook.  "Eating too much fat is what makes us fat." So I am sure that what is happening is the over three percent of the body weight I lost was just me gaining lots of fat like the experts say, and then correcting that gain through loss of even more water weight than usual.

Stay tuned.

In case I forget

Five years ago today I was at my highest weight, and after finally finding myself sick enough of it and having enough time, I started on a weight loss plan.

First, I got up for Denise Austin's TV show.  I know, people really make fun of her, but for several years I had been in school and working seven days a week in front of a computer and wasn't even doing basic exercising.  The last straw was when I found it was even difficult to turn over in bed.  How did it get so bad when I wasn't looking?

I started walking and following a low fat diet like they recommend.  This was very difficult, and it took me quite a bit of time to lose even 10 pounds and keep it off for more than a few weeks.  I struggled for two more years, stopping when I became unmotivated and then restarting, usually at a higher weight than before.

Twenty eight months ago I started a lower carb diet, and then lost the rest of my weight.  I haven't maintained all of the loss, but I did lose and keep off over 18% of my body weight.  (I also lost my long-term vegetarian lifestyle.  How eat-crow-ish that was.)

This week I have been pouring over the Diabetes Prevention Program and other studies, and have seen first-hand in the data how difficult it is for people to lose weight and keep it off.  It is easy to get discouraged.

But, then I look back at some of my older records of weight, and realize that I am already in the tails of the distribution of weight loss outcomes.  For that, I am pleased.

Oh and P.S. Coca-Cola.  Some calories are more equal than others.  Just sayin'

Week one on MY diabetes prevention program

 My HbA1c went from 5.8 to 5.4 after a year on a lower carb diet.  Does a low carb prevent diabetes over the long haul?  Stay tuned!

My first full day on the DPP went OK.  I exercised 70 minutes, under-dressed in the cool sunshine.  I ate a tasty and satisfying diet consisting of 60% artercloggingsaturated fat.

I already lost two percent of my body weight.  I heard Jenny Ruhl say that you can lose tons of water weight on a low carb diet.  OK, I am going to clarify that.  There is losing weight due to a reduction in glycogen storage, but probably much more due to a reduction in inflammation.  Either way, I am already at 1/3 of my goal, and at this rate I'll be there by next week.

I visited the NDEP site and found the script for the mandatory seminars (or here) that the lifestyle intervention arm had to sit through.  A dreadful pile of training documents, explaining the purpose of other documents.  Simply dreadful!  This is where I learned that this was all to prevent diabetes, not a weight-loss program.  Then they started in with the main intervention - weight loss!  I started in with section one of the "Lifestyle Balance Introduction Manual" while having Total Quality Management flashbacks.

Step one - Meet the Lifestyle coach.  This is where the coach coo's something like, "Oh, I'm your lifestyle coach.  Isn't that faaaaaaabulous?  We'll get to know each other soooooooo well during this program, like fer years, almost like we're sistas or something.  I am SOOOOOO happy to meet you!  Soooooo, lets all sit in a circle and hold hands and get to know each other, just like we did at summer camp.  Sooooooo, how do you all feel about being the chosen few in this treatment arm?  Isn't it soooooooo wonderful that you were chosen at random for the best arm?  If you are having trouble with anything, we can meet one-on-one and I can solve any problem for you.  Any questions?"

Of course, this conversation was just a little reverie for me, since I am in the low carb arm and there is no lifestyle coach for the low carb diet.  Coach [redacted] made it very clear that she was to remain as hostile and un-supportive as possible.  Other registerd dietitians made sure that it wouldn't be Steve Cooksey or other internet provider.  So, I am going to be my own coach.

Here's what else my coach made me do.  I received my lifestyle book. I had to discuss how I felt about all this.  I had to choose between starting with weight loss or exercise.  I had to sign an agreement with my coach.  First I chose the exercise part, but then realized that the order of the classes would work better if I chose to focus on weight instead.  I promised to work as a team.

Off to that section.  Here is a memorable comment in the script:  "eating too much fat is fattening."

OK, what did I eat?  I wrote down everything I ate and then, as instructed, I circled everything that I thought was high in fat.  Eventually I just circled the whole darn food log.  I am going to talk about my circling decisions next week, when my coach will work with me without hostility or ridicule.

Go team!!!!!!! (Oh, I do have a team, but it is private.  The members have decided to wall themselves off from the general nasty diet community so that we could be free to discuss our low carb path without ridicule and interference from others.)