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  Randy's stunning 231-pound weight loss transformation
Nothing inspires someone to make a major change in their life like weight loss quite like seeing average, everyday people just like them accomplishing great success. It is why I like to feature low-carb weight loss success stories early and often here at my blog because sometimes you need a little motivation and inspiration as you begin this journey for yourself.
Today I have another such story to share with you and this is quite an amazing one indeed! It's about that guy at the top of this post named Randy. In late 2003, Randy weighed in at 410 pounds--the exact same weight that I was when I began my Atkins diet in January 2004. Randy started his low-carb lifestyle a couple months before I did and set out to lose the weight slow and steady.
As a heavy child, teenager, and then adult, Randy could always conceal his weight because of his height. I can relate since my 6'3" body frame prevented people from realizing my weight had climbed above 400 pounds. And yet reality is reality and Randy knew he needed to do something after a specific even triggered that the time had arrived for him to do something about his weight.
"I think the straw that broke the camel's back was a trip to Sea World in Florida, and I was too big to sit in the chair for a rollercoaster ride," Randy admitted. "They had a chair set up outside the ride for you to get in, and I couldn’t. How embarrassing! I did not realize how big I had gotten until then."
It's funny how when you are overweight you just lose track of where your weight is because for the most part you just don't care. There's a sense of inevitability that obesity will always be your lot in life and Randy felt that until this experience at Sea World jolted him back into reality again.
After just a few short months of livin' la vida low-carb, Randy had dipped below 400 pounds and was well on his way to produce a slow and steady decline in his weight over the next four years. Part of his weight problem had to do with a "serious problem with food" that was a result of several issues Randy needed to deal with.
"I would eat to solve boredom, pain, depression, and anger--every reason except for hunger," he stated.
Unfortunately, as has happened to many people who have ballooned up to morbid obesity, Randy didn't have any sense of what a normal serving of food was supposed to be.
"For a family of three we would have to order two large pizzas and breadsticks and going to the buffet required three trips to the buffet table whether I was full or not," he exclaimed. "Leftovers? What are leftovers? I would eat until there was nothing left!"
In addition to his out-of-control weight problem, Randy had another reason to start living the low-carb life--diabetes runs in his family!
"My granddad had it, my dad has it, and my older brother has it. I knew at my weight that I would be next if I continued down the same path," he revealed.
Now that he's taken the weight off, Randy says, "Thank the Lord I don’t have it and if I continue this healthy way of eating then hopefully I will never get it."
I know the feeling, Randy. My situation is very similar because my brother Kevin has diabetes that resulted from his obesity and I was well on my way to a similar path before my weight loss success. Praise God for giving us the strength to overcome this mountain in our lives and allowing us the opportunity to share with others how they too can beat the obesity monster once and for all. It's what motivates Randy as he lives his life as a lean man today.
"The biggest enjoyment I get out of losing this extra person that I used to carry around on my back is now being able to help others learn more about this healthy lifestyle change," Randy explains. "I love being a motivator and inspiration to others."
Weighing in at 179 pounds now--an eye-popping 231 pounds lighter than he was in late 2003!--Randy has his sights on hitting 175 for a nice round number. But he's so happy now with the turnaround in his weight and health that his life will never be the same again.
"This is such a wonderful way to live and feel that it is hard to explain and put into words," Randy remarked. "I have never been skinny in my life and even when I look in the mirror I still see a heavy person looking back at me despite the fact that others don’t see that person anymore."
Boy, can I relate. It's gotten better with time, but people just don't understand the years of psychological torture that has been inflicted on fat people by others and even within the mind of the person himself. There's a healing process that has to take place so you can accept the new person that you have become and nobody ever talks about that. Although the outward changes can happen quickly, it can take years--maybe decades--for some to fully realize the change that has happened to them internally.
Today, Randy realizes he had a "disease" of being addicted to food and livin' la vida low-carb cured him of that condition by giving him a "better handle" on dealing with it.
"There are times that it is hard and I still want to eat that large pizza by myself," Randy admitted. "But all I do is remember where I was and where I am now and I like the present much better than I like the past."
Well stated, Randy! Leave the past behind you and push forward to that bright future ahead of you full of such promise and hope. That will drive you to keep up the fantastic work you have done for the rest of your long and healthy life thanks to the low-carb lifestyle. And the good news is, Randy KNOWS this is something he can do "for the rest of my life."
To all the low-carb naysayers, Randy has a message for you.
"There are so many false ideas about the low-carb way that certain people think it is all just meat and cheese," he said. "These people are just so misguided because I now eat more veggies than I ever did when I was obese."
And eating this way has produced one heckuva story for Randy to tell his grandchildren someday.
"I have lost over 230 pounds in four years which is just a little over one pound a week," Randy recalled of his low-carb journey since 2003. "I believe that is a very healthy weight loss plan and lifestyle."
Healthy and effective! CONGRATULATIONS Randy and keep up the great work on your low-carb lifestyle. We are all so very proud of you for being yet another example of the lifechanging ability of this way of eating on the lives of real people who buck the trend and give it a chance to work for them. God bless you buddy and NEVER GIVE UP! :)
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