Chef succeeds on Atkins Diet

Another personal testimony from the Atkins UK forum :-

Hi Folks,

A have been following some of the threads on this forum for a couple of months now but have not posted until now, so this is my first post here. 



I am a 44 year old male. A little over 2 months ago I weighed in at 20st. 7lbs. I am a chef. So I am always surrounded by food. The jeans I used to wear had a 40' waist and basically for the last couple of years I felt that I wore a uniform. My wardrobe consisted of XXL black T-Shirts and my large waisted jeans. I was very unhappy with my weight. The struggle to bend over to put on socks and the belly squashing up and then getting out of breath just doing that. It made me sad. The colour in my face at rest was always a crimson flushed colour, which I presume was from high blood pressure. I also play music in a band at weekends and the uncomfortable feeling of being onstage in a total bog of sweat with the lights, just got me down. I mean being physically able to wring out my shirt and have the sweat drip off after the show. 

The turning point for me was going on holidays at the end of Sept and being in the sun, feeling incredibly hot, depressed that nothing fitted me. It strengthened my resolve though. As I lay on that sun-lounger on my holidays, I started to formulate my plan. I decided on the day that I would start Atkins. The day after returning from hols. We returned on a Saturday and then Sunday morning I got up and had eggs and bacon for breakfast. I went on the Kindle website and downloaded the Atkins book. I spent the afternoon reading the basics to get me started. I felt informed enough from that first skim of the book on that first day to set up the next couple of days. And when the shopping was done to prepare for what I was embarking on, I devoured the rest of the book cover to cover. I felt good, I mean really good. I was excited about what was in store for me. I was still huge (in my own head anyway), but I had made the decision. The decision to make some changes in my life.

I have now been doing Atkins since the first week in October. I have been incredibly vigilant about what I'm eating and quite enjoy the meals. I love the fact that I'm eating so much more green veg than I used to and love to quickly stir-fry up my greens with my meal, be it fish or meat. Even in work with all the food that I prepare for my menus, I still stay true to the program. But this is the best bit. I have absolutely no carb cravings. I can make desserts with the lightest of pastries and have no desire to consume them. I do have to taste things, so I use the tip of a tea spoon and put a trace on my tongue. Then when I have assessed to food for taste, I have a glass of water and rinse my mouth. I make sure that I do not consume sugar. But that isn't even a worry, because the best bit is I don't desire to consume sugar. 

To cut a long story short, the tale of the tape. A little over 2 months and I now weigh 16st. 7lbs. I have lost 4st. in weight. I am wearing jeans with a 36' waist. I have gone from belt hole 2 to belt hole 8. When I play on stage I sweat a very modest amount. My faced is no longer flushed in colour. I have a normal colouring on my faced and my blood pressure is at normal levels. I can bend down and easily do things like put on my socks. And come back up again without getting dizzy or out of breath. I get a shock nearly everytime I have a shower and catch myself in the mirror. This body that I used to have for many years, and was very used to, has changed to a shape that I never had thought would be possible on me. I exercise a modest amount. I like to go for walks and the odd cycle. I would like to get myself fitter but I am taking that bit slowly. I am going to continue to lose some more weight. I want to get to 15st. on induction and then transfer to phase 2 to try and get myself to 14st. That is my target weight. At that stage, if I pull it off, I will have lost 6 and a half stone. Wouldn't that be something!!!

My life has changed utterly now. And I love it. I am a New Me!!!! Thanks for reading this. I hope it helps someone who is thinking of making the decision to take action. The hardest part is making the decision. Once you have started, you won't believe how easy it is. If I can do it, surrounded by food in kitchens all day long then, really everyone can.

Regards,
Dave