First off, let me say, I am not a man. I won’t be reporting a 30 lb. weightloss in 30 days. Not happening. I’m a 49 year old, pre-menopausal woman. I had 3 kids in the span of 5 years between the ages of 37 and 42. Not an easy task at that age from a weightloss standpoint. After my first was born, I did WW and had no problem taking the weight off. After the second, it wasn’t so easy and after the third, all but impossible. I’ve been a vegetarian for 30 years and a vegan for 3. I know a lot about nutrition, or at least what the nutritionists have told us was right. I’m not at all blowing smoke when I tell you I eat around 1200 calories a day and workout 4-5 times per week doing vigorous workouts. None of it mattered. Nothing worked. Nothing.
I went to my primary care physician and had a long conversation with her about my unhappiness with my weight. She commented that my BMI wasn’t all that bad and that, perhaps, “this is just who you are”. What??? That statement very much felt like giving up and the fact that I took the time to discuss this with her was evidence that I wasn’t ready to give up just yet. I was starting to feel like I was living in someone else’s body. I often felt anxious and jittery. Was this pre-diabetes? For a couple of years, I was convinced it was my thyroid – mostly because I couldn’t figure out why nothing would work. Then I’d have my thyroid tested and it would come back normal. I chalked it up to pre-menopause hormonal problems and figured I’d just continue to be overweight.
I decided to give the 10-day detox a try. Why not? I’ve bought so many books over the years in a desperate attempt to figure out what’s wrong….what’s one more, right? I was a bit worried that being a vegan would slow my weightloss compared to non-vegans. Given the results he reports in the book from his study group, it has not slowed my progress at all. I started the plan nearly a month ago exactly. With two days to go in my month, I’ve lost 12 pounds. I even got stuck at the same weight for a week and a half and still lost 12 pounds! And, much of that was without strenuous workouts because my body had a tough time adjusting to the low carb diet. I was lacking energy, etc… I did not cheat at all. Never once. I didn’t follow the menus completely, but followed the guidelines. Shake for breakfast, protein and veggies/greens for lunch and dinner. Only in the first couple of days did I feel hungry. After that, my body adjusted and I now feel satisfied after every meal. I take the PGX pills regularly. I love that you are able to season your food on this diet. So many other diets I’ve tried eliminate sodium almost completely. Eating becomes so boring, you want to gag. I get to use salt and pepper and onion powder and tamari, etc… It makes eating so enjoyable. Who knew that what I was eating before was so wrong for me? Whole grains, etc… I won’t lie and tell you my cravings are gone. I don’t know who those people are, but I’ve had 49 years of conditioning to create those cravings. They’re not going to disappear in 30 days. I still crave bread when I smell it being toasted and often crave something sweet (dark chocolate) after dinner.
For several years, I’d seen my blood pressure be slightly elevated at the doctor’s office. I’d always chalked it up to white coat hypertension because I could go back home and get a lower reading with my own cuff. However, those readings were always in the 135/85 neighborhood. Not horrible, but they could stand to be lower. After one week on this diet, I started getting readings of 125/75 and my lowest was 118/70. Pretty awesome.
I can’t say enough good things about how this book is written. It makes so much intelligent sense. I also bought his “Eat Fat, Get Thin” book, but have decided to stay on the 10-day detox (as he recommends) since I have 30 lbs to lose. If you’re a woman of that certain age who has struggled to lose weight no matter what you try, give this a try. If it worked for me, you’ll likely have success too. Thank you, Dr. Hyman!
