Couple Loses Hundreds Of Pounds On Atkins Diet

wlky ^ | 11-04-03

[wheelgunguru]

Embarrassment, Health Issues Prompted Dieting

Many people have struggled to drop a few pounds, but what happens when you need to lose several hundred pounds?

Several years ago, Steve and Melissa Horstman of Boone County, Ky., decided that they didn't want to live with their weight problems anymore, and they used the emotional pain over being overweight to reach their goals.

Melissa and Steve met on the Internet several years ago and soon learned of their common bond: obesity.

"When you weigh 150 pounds over, you don't go out and socialize," Melissa said.

The couple met, dated and married, but humiliation struck again on their honeymoon when the airline pilot told Steve he would have to buy two seats next time because he was too big for one.

"It wasn't until after we got married that I saw on a daily basis how his weight was on his health," Melissa said. "I was afraid I'd just found him and we were just married, I was going to lose him."

Steve's weight topped out at 571 pounds. He recalls "just standing there in the winter and you're breaking a sweat just standing there because your back hurts and your knees hurt."

Despite the physical pain, Steve said the emotional toll on his health was greater.

"(It hurts) when you walk into a store and a 3-year-old looks up at their parent and says, 'Look at that fat man, Mommy,'" he said.

"It broke my heart every day," Melissa said. "I could see the people behind him. The looks, the whispers, the pointing."

Fad diets failed. Surgery was too expensive. So Melissa began looking into low-carb solutions like the Atkins diet.

Once the couple decided to try to the diet, major life changes were in order. First on the list: Eliminating the junk food that is tough to avoid for most people and irresistible to a 571-pound man.

"I could go to a certain drive-through and get eight sandwiches and four large fries, 10 to 12 cans of soft drinks a day, not the sugar-free kind," Steve said.

Steve weighed himself daily on a large scale in a local drugstore. The scale provided a printout, and Steve saved every one of them.

"At June 19, 1999, I was at 472 pounds," he said as he flipped through the printouts. "I'd lost about 100 pounds at that point."

Melissa dropped her weight, too, but for Steve, the diet was nothing short of a miracle. He was swimming in his size 6x shirts, and his 72-inch waist pants started falling off his waist.

Steve kept the belt he wore at his highest weight and punched new holes in it as he dropped the pounds.

These days, the couple is happy to simply blend in when they go to the mall.

From the time the couple changed their lifestyle, Steve has lost more than 320 pounds, and Melissa is down more than 100 pounds. They're proud of each other, and their confidence is at an all-time high.

"I always kid with her, 'How did that guy get that hot girl?'" Steve said.

"To go from people pointing and making faces and whispering to being hateful, to being mistaken for Howie Long ... He's extremely hot!" Melissa said of her husband.

Steve said he can't imagine going back to the overweight version of himself, and he's working to lose even more. His current weight is about 250 pounds, and he told Cooney it feels like "walking on air" when compared to his old weight.

"It's a terrifying thought," he said. "Just looking in the mirror and seeing the old me is motivation enough."

Redemption for Melissa comes in many forms, including a recent high school reunion.

"Nobody recognized me," she said with a smile.

Before:

After:

[SamAdams76]

You are a relative newcomer so I'll try to explain why debate is heated on this particular topic. The low-carb diet plans have been discussed on this forum for years now. All the pros and cons have already been addressed. You seem earnest in wanting to point out what the critics of this diet are saying but we have already been down that road many, many times. In fact, I used to be on the other side of the issue myself. I was a real skeptic.

But as I read more about this type of eating, I came to realize that the critics were wrong and that this is not an "all-you-can-eat-meat" diet at all. In fact, it is the most balanced diet imaginable. So, having been about a hundred pounds overweight most of my adult life, I decided to give it a try and within six months I had lost nearly all my excess weight (and I'm working on the rest right now).

Contrary to the skeptics, my cholesterol has actually dropped. I now eat more vegetables than I ever ate before in my life. This is because I am not eating processed foods and refined sugars. No high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated vegetable oils and bleached flour. I'm eating all the good stuff. Meat, vegetables, fish, nuts, olive oil, cheese, yogurt, eggs, berries, etc.

While I'm not proclaiming that this diet is perfect for everybody, it is very beneficial for a lot of people who have become addicted to our sugary processed and refined food products.

[Huck]

Well, the good thing is that low carb is getting so popular, consumers are getting more choices. I read that Heinz is coming out with One Carb Ketchup. That'll go great with my steak and eggs. You make some good points. Thanks for the input.

[Huck]

Go ahead and add me to the list. Thanks!

[Mjaye]

It has been over six months since I tasted chocolate in my mouth. <<<<<<

I took some "Heavenly Dessert" meringue cookies to work, and people freaked over them. Zero calories, zero carbs, nice and crunchy and they take the edge off any cravings. I've seen them in vanilla, chocolate and cappucino at the local health food store, and I know CVS carries them, as well. They're made by a diabetic chef, wish he'd market more stuff. May not suit everyone, but I really like them.

[hattend]

BTTT

[BibChr]

Good for you. Two pounds a week is wonderful. The success stories here helped move me to go straight-Atkins; but one of the things I liked was individuals messing with this and that, finding what works for them, as you are with fruit and veggies.

I think nuts have slowed me down. Like them nuts!

But I'm not discouraged. I'm not sprinting; it's a marathon.

Dan

[wheelgunguru]

You are a condescending nitwit

No, moron, you're the nitwit. Where'd you learn to spell, anyway? Riteous?

You can't be that freaking stupid, can you?

BTW, my stocks are in med tech, with a concentration on dialysis clinics. So, go ahead, you fat freak. Stay on Atkins, your kidneys will shut down, and I'll get your money. Or go off Atkins, stay fat and stupid, and I'll get your money anyway. I could care less.

Loser.

[Queen Jadis]

I've been told more than one that I could instantly loose ~30 lbs. of ugly fat on the Marie Antwanette diet plan... HUH???

What does "let them eat cake" have to do with Atkins?, I am assuming you were referring to Marie Antoinette. Actually I am currently on the Atkins diet, I had thirty pounds to lose, I only have ten more to go. I love it!!

[Queen Jadis]

Your post was very civil and logical....interesting that it did not elicit a response. Some look to add to a discussion, some argue, some agree and some look for a fight. Just like in real life. BTW been on Atkins induction for two weeks with FANTASTIC results.

[Queen Jadis]

If you are doing induction you really need to do it properly. Either you have not read the book or you have chosen to bypass some of the rules, I can tell by what you are eating. If you can't get to a bookstore, I urge you to go to the link posted below to get the "skinny" (pun intended) on how to follow the rules of induction. I have been on induction for nearly two weeks following these rules with great results.

Induction Rules

[CindyDawg]

I need to ask you (or anyone else that knows) a question. Why is a baked potato (yeah, I know but I'm not there yet) twice as much with the skin? Is there something in the skin that absorbs with heat or is it only if you eat the skin? In other words, if I eat a baked potato , leaving the skin, is it too late, or only half as many carbs?

[Maven]

About 80# down since April, first on Atkins-like, then on Atkins-period.

Whoo hoo! Yay!

As you know, as of last December, I had lost about 190 pounds. This was a bad year - in many ways - and I did have some regain, but it wasn't low carbing that did it. However, I'm back on the straight and narrow again and feeling so much better (why do I keep forgetting that part? Ah well - at least my lapses get shorter and shorter since I started in 1998). I'm still down about 150 pounds so far.

My father has lost about 90 pounds since July 2002, and gone from a 54 waist to a 42-44. My mother claims she hasn't lost much weight, but the last time I remember her this small was in the 1960s when she was taking "diet pills." She's much healthier now.

And you and SamAdams76 - WOW! I'm so proud of both you!

Maven

[Maven]

The Atkins controversy deals with excessive protein intake which produces strain on your renal system.

What excessive protein? If you're doing it right, about 22-25% of your daily calories come from protein, with about 3-5% from carbs and the balance in fat. Atkins is not a high protein way of eating - it's a high fat one (preferably 50% or more of fat calories in the monosaturated group and almost none in the hydrogenated/transfats/polyunsaturated group).

Plus, any meat-intensive menu is going to raise your cholesterol level significantly.

Low carbing doesn't raise cholesterol levels. In fact, it tends to lower them. Last test I had showed an overall cholesteral level of 142 with triglycerides of 46, normal LDL and slightly low HDL (for which I've increased the amount of monosaturated fats consumed).

BTW, my wife is a medical professional who told me the docs, with whom she works, despise the Atkins diet because of the health problems they're seeing.

Tell your wife she has my deepest sympathies that the doctors with whom she works are so unenlightened. A doctor put me on low carb in 1998, and every doctor I've seen since has been supportive.

Maven

[Maven]

Can anyone recommend low-carb cookbooks that don't require hard-to-find ingredients?

The best low carb cookbook was put together by the folks at alt.support.diet.low-carb (ASDLC) - which you can find here:

Tina's LowCarb Cookbook

Many thanks to Tina MacDonald for putting it together from the ASDLC archives.

If you want some delicious low carb baked good recipes, like cookies, muffins, cheesecake, etc., just send me a private message, and I'll send you some of my own. One of my "rules" for creating a recipe is that it not have hard-to-find ingredients.

Maven

[Maven]

Am I the only one doing Atkins that eats pizza?

Try a "meatza," using spiced ground beef/pork/whatever as your base instead of a carby crust.

Maven

[Maven]

Any advice?

Cut down on the cheese, as it averages about 1 carb an ounce. Use it as a condiment - sparingly.

Rediwhip - about 1 carb per 2 tablespoons, or about 8 carbs in a cup.

Don't forget - coffee and tea also have carbs - about 1 carb per 10 ounces. Many people forget about that!

Calories do count and eating more than 10-12 calories per pound of body weight (or 12-15 if you're very physically active) may cause a stall in weight loss. Don't cut down too much though - or that can cause a stall, too (starvation mode).

Try this place to plug in your daily consumption, so you can see how many calories/carbs, etc. you've eaten:

FitDay

Maven

[tubebender]

the 1960s when she was taking "diet pills."

My wife looks back on those days in disbelief and wonder at kicking the habit. People go to jail today for what Drs were handing out then...

[Maven]

This is not a cheap diet for me (I bought a $6 carton of "LeCarb" reduced carb milk this morning ... very good stuff

You paid $6.00 for "low carb" milk??? Yikes!

Why not just take some heavy cream and mix it with water until it's milk consistency? Much cheaper.

Maven

[RedWhiteBlue]

I highly recommend "Crystal Clear" flavored water. I get it at Kroger @ 2/$1 in quart bottles, but I'm sure other stores carry it as well. It is delicious. Comes in about 8 flavors (all fruit flavors) is low sodium, and sweetened with sucralose (Splenda).

[Maven]

Re 1960s "diet pills":

My wife looks back on those days in disbelief and wonder at kicking the habit. People go to jail today for what Drs were handing out then...

I was just a little kid, but I remember how, uh, odd Mom was on those "diet pills." Normally, she's the sweetest human being I know, but I remember that on the "diet pills," she got mad once and broke a Melmac dish over her knee. Those are supposed to be unbreakable!

Maven
Mom was and is very sweet, but also very, very strong.