Steve Merens's Daily Diary: April 13

This will have to be a quickie just to run the bugs out of this. I have to work the late shift so this will have to suffice.

I had 2 strips of bacon and two eggs for breakfast this morning with lots of water and a dose of fiber cleanse. For lunch I had Tuna salad with blue cheese and Old Bay seasoning to make the tuna taste spicy. I had two was a crackers and lots of fresh water. A slice of cheesecake (low-carb) that my wife has made for a treat for me. Well you will have to tell me how this came out.

--Steve

Later

I have finished the day after a long late shift. I had dinner waiting for me. Pork chops in a mushroom Cajun gravy and a large Caesar salad (no croutons of course). I had another small slice of the cheesecake. I admit it. I have a sweet tooth and the beauty of this way of life/eating is that I have never felt deprived. Even though I did not get to sing tonight, it was a good day over all. It was a rare day where all my meals were eaten at home. Tonight was Rani's Lo-Carb chat from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. on AOL. She is a host in the Thrive area on health and nutrition. Her chat dealt with the holidays coming up and how to prepare lo-carb alternatives to all the Easter/Passover fixings. So while she is doing that I have the opportunity to work on this missive for the "Make Me a New Me" project.

Boy has it ever made me a new me by using this diet I have gained a new self image and strength of purpose in my life. I have never really felt I had something to proselytize to others about. My faith is very personal and I share it with any that question it but would never seek another to walk the path god has set out for me. On the other hand this Way of Life (Lo-Carbing) and way of eating has so changed me for the better that I feel blessed to have this opportunity to reach out to as many people as I can. This diet works. I drink gallons of water to flush my system everyday. I exercise moderately and as I have lost weight (130 lbs since I started) I have increased my level of physical activity.

There have been lots of changes from having cold hands for the first time in my life to looking at myself in the mirror and stopping to see the stranger looking back at me. (Not a stranger any longer)

When you are obese you just shut down caring about how you look. I know I did. I just looked at my face that I hid with a beard and saw the slimmer me. Well all I can tell you is that if you choose this road I will cheer you on. I will suggest that you learn to cook and walk on the wild side of spices and tastes. It will lift you and I hope you will do the same for me when I need it. I have sent a very ambitious goal of losing an additional 30 lbs. That will bring me near to 200 lbs. I have never been this small in my adult life. It will be new territory for me. I look forward to hearing from anyone that needs that hand up.

I also realize that most people that are "dieting" are looking for a quick fix. Will following Atkins get you the desired look for that reunion, wedding, or other special occasion: yes. Will it be a life long Way Of Eating/Life only you can make that leap. For me it was linked to a mortality issue. I had a knock on the door that made me pause and follow my wife's lead to a better way of eating. Part of that was learning about Artificial Sweeteners one of which is called Splenda. It is a miracle plain and simple. It looks like sugar and tastes like it. It cooks without breaking down and your body will not convert it to fat the way sugar is retained in your body.

I have embraced a life style that has many in the food industry upset. I know that there is a lot of negative press out there about suppose liver damage and other side effects of doing an Atkins style diet. I must admit that the side effects I have had are:

1. I feel better than I have ever felt.

2. My important health numbers have all gone in positive directions.

3. My self-image has gotten such a boost that going out to shop for clothes is a treat. (If you have never been very overweight you can't really understand the pain of dressing in all black all the time because that is the only color available to you)

4. People come up to me and tell me I look great and I just smile knowing that I am in control of how I feel, look and deal with my life.

5. Now my younger brother is the biggest in the family not me. Had to tease him in public just to keep him on the diet to.) You see when I loose the next 30 lbs he will have to really get with it.

6. I have a much better chance of seeing my children graduate, get married and have grandchildren. All of which I would most certainly would have missed if I had kept on eating and living the way I was.

7. Now I have the energy and the confidence to exercise in public. I have met a lot of the gym rats/Taibo gymaholics. They sneer at those of us that have been fighting a losing battle against carb addiction. I say to them we are all trying to get to the same place, better health. They will always say that once you stop you will gain it all back. Well once they stop doing their routine, don't you think they will suffer to?

8. To those that say it is dangerous please come down off you ivory tower and look me in the eye and tell me I am in worse shape than I was more than a year ago. I can get just as many studies that show eating carbs trigger appetite responses that make eating the trigger foods comprised of pasta, potatoes and bread a killer for people like me.(A little bit will kill you make no mistake about that)

9. I was the poster child for the theme "I never met a Carb I didn't like" Now I am the national merit lo-carb person. I have lost my carb chains and have the opportunity to tell others my story of how I over came my addiction to a life killing life style.

10. Most importantly I am not hungry any more. Through the use of this diet I am full and content with the food I eat. I never feel deprived because my wife has made the effort to make alternatives to everything we love to eat.

Is the Atkins a diet for everyone? No! Should you go to a doctor and get advice on your health? Yes! Just remember that for the past 50 years the FDA and The Agriculture departments have been touting the food groups and pyramid scene. As a group we have all been getting less healthy. If you have been trying everything else and have had moderate success come over to the light side. Join me and do it one day at a time. As you see results you will gain confidence in your choice. Listen to your body as you stop feeling hungry all the time. If you join with me you will find alternatives to the tastes that you miss.

I know I have rambled on but I hope to help at least one person a day has the courage to look at themselves differently. Warmest regards.

--Steve