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:

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the heads up!

[carlo3b]

You are on!! Welcome to a better body.. LOLOL

[tubebender]

DON'T MESS WITH MAMA...

[ChicagoHebrew]

The couple reported losing hundreds of pounds, but eventually found their 11 year old son.

[XBob]

Normally, people focus on their total cholesterol level. But studies show that even among people with the same cholesterol level, those who have lots of large cholesterol particles have only about a third the risk of having a heart attack as those who have mostly small particles.

Doctors say you can make your cholesterol particles larger through a low-carbohydrate diet, exercise and medications, including niacin. Researchers are already working on a drug that would both lower cholesterol levels and increase particle size.

===

"as body fatness rose, low density lipoprotein (LDL, the "bad" cholesterol) particle size decreased and concentration rose. Most importantly, the people with high numbers of small LDL particles were likely to have insulin resistance -- a strong precursor to diabetes." http://www.diabetesincontrol.com/issue86/item9.shtml

[SWake]

A) I wanted to try it (it was very good).

B) It's made by a semi-local company (Tyler, Texas) (and at least one FReeper works there).

C) I can afford it.

Thanks for the tip about heavy cream. I'll give that a try when I've finished off this carton.

[XBob]

71-" I don't have the willpower for Atkins."

Try it, you'll like it. That's the best part of Adkins, if it suits your body, you won't be hungry at all after the first 2 days. It's absolutely amazing.

After the first two days for me, I discovered I was going to eat out of habit, not because I was hungry. And after about 3 weeks (the time it takes to change a habit) I found I had to prompt myself to remember to eat, or I would totally forget about it.

I have personally found that the Adkins diet seems to work particularly well on people of Northern European ancestry (those whose ancestors didn't have pasta, fruit, and grains much), and had to survive on fish, and carribou, and reindeer, and cured/frozen meats. The bodies of Those from warmer climes (ie southern europeans and south asians) handle carbs much better.

[XBob]

76 - "Actually, I went off of the Atkins diet for a period of about 2 weeks, and I'm going back on it tomorrow."

Good luck. I haven't been successful that way, getting back on. It just doesn't seem to 're-engage', and I have had to wait about 2-4 months of frustration before it will work again for me.

[XBob]

88 - "Albeit I miss my Meyers Rum daily ration and a Cold Corona every evening."

I have found that for some reason Rum (of any brand) (and bourbon) increase my blood sugar (could it be that it is made from Sugar Cane), however, grain alcohols, scotch, vodka, whiskey actually decrease my blood sugar and go well with Adkins. I know this is blasphemus for a Meyers Rum drinker, but perhaps you could try some grain alcohol or vodka with some rum flavoring.

[XBob]

94 - "I guess I could load up on pork rinds for a week"

How about trying to not "load up" on anything? If you follow the diet plans, they give you recommended portion sizes. And you souldn't be hungry.

Try keeping a notebook for 3 days, documenting everything you put in your mouth, and the calories and carbs in each item.

Adkins can perform magic, but not miracles.

[Smokin' Joe]

I'm not a doctor, but I'll take a crack at it. Tachycardia is a faster than normal heartbeat. It may be caused by a variety of factors, eiither from electrolyte imbalances, valve damage, drug effects, blood loss, or even stress. Up to a point, the heart is still functional as a pump, beyond that, cavitation like effects occur and efficiency declines rapidly.

Ventricular fibrillation occurs when the muscles in the ventricle are not working together; the nerve impulses which control the muscles have them contracting out of synch. The result is a loss in the heart's ability to pump blood, and can be fatal.

[XBob]

107 - " think all these Atkins critics work for Archer Daniels Midland."

You don't know how close you are. The famous "Food Pyramid", promulgated by the Agriculture Department (note - Not the FDA), was invented in 1972, by two lawyers from North?South? Dakota (great wheat growing states) for George McGovern.

It was not developed by anybody in the medical field, and there was no research to support it.

I call it the "Sell Wheat Pyramid".

[XBob]

115 - It sounds like you are in pretty good shape now. Why are you trying to lose any more weight? Do you have any fat left to lose? or do you want to lose muscle?

[XBob]

194 - "The human body cannot tolerate diets so heavily laden with meat, protein and fats. "

How right you are, LOL - the Eskimos, Finns, Laplanders, and Russians, Norwegens and Swedes died out thousands of years ago.

[geege]

I've been on Atkins for about 1 month.....I've knocked off a few pounds....I only want to loose ten but I've noticed that I've been getting stomach pains??????? I think it's this diet so I decided to just cut down on carbs....no crotons, no ww pizza,no pasta.....I do use the Atkins bread which is great for grilled cheese sandwiches and PB&J......Now I hear that there's a low carb beer from Miller so I may try that and see how it tastes.....good luck to you.....

[XBob]

sober up or get off our web site newbee.

[Huck]

I have some extra weight on me. I'd like to lose 10-12 pounds. Why? I don't know. Gives me something to do. Seriously, I just want to be in real good shape. It feels good. I think I am more effective in many areas of life if I am in really good shape. As for "loading up", my stomach is a bottomless pit.

[CDHart]

"and can be fatal."

Thanks for the info. We were certainly scared as it was a 45 min. ride to the nearest ER. Next time, if there is a next time, we will call the ambulance!

Carolyn

[Mamzelle]

I don't know if the induction phase is necessary for losing weight, but it sure helps to curb the carb habit. Reading your post--sounds like you've got "starch withdrawal" symptoms even worse than mine when I started.

[BibChr]

You're an inspiration, Maven, and you figured large (NO pun intended! < g >) in helping me get going and find my footing in Atkins. I'm sure I'm not alone in that. You hang in there.

Dan
(c8