At a point in my life I reached absolute rock bottom, and wasn’t sure if I would be able to bring myself back up. At 320 pounds my entire life was affected negatively by my weight in some aspect.
Everything hurt, both physically and emotionally. My self-esteem was at an all time low and I did everything to try and avoid being seen in public. I started an at-home daycare to prevent being seen, I stayed indoors as often as possible, and rarely visited family. It seemed that no matter what I tried every conversation I had with others, my family included, led to my weight.
I was bombarded with people giving me weight-loss advice, and poking fun at my size. I was mortified when I took the Greyhound to see my mom and they asked me to pay for 2 bus tickets. I couldn’t believe I had gotten to that point.
The weight came on rapidly over a period of 3 years. I had a pregnancy resulting from an assault, and gave the baby up for adoption at the request of my parents. What followed was a deep plunge into depression over the loss of my child. I turned to emotional eating to try and heal my pain. I was mentally and physically in the worst shape of my life.
I went to my doctor after noticing white spots on my forearms, and I was told that my heart couldn’t keep up with the blood supply on the surface of my skin. If I didn’t lose the excess weight, I wouldn’t make it to 60. That was my wake-up call, I couldn’t let my situation get any worse. Although I wanted to make a change, I had no idea where to start. Exercising hurt, and my only knowledge of food and nutrition came from Canada’s Food Guide. Where would I start looking? How would I be able to separate truth from fact?
One day in March 2010, my brother came home from working in the oil patch. It was tradition for me to make him a fresh banana loaf and a pot of coffee when he walked through the door. I set them down in from of him when he sat down, but this time he said “Just a coffee sis, I’m not eating carbs right now”. Those words would change my life forever. After explaining the Atkins diet to me, I felt as though it was something I could be successful at doing. My brother was my biggest motivator, he became as invested in my weight loss as I was!
He introduced me to The Low Carb Grocery, and even paid for my first order when I was hesitant on spending money on food only I would eat. I realized eating different foods than the rest of my family wouldn’t be as difficult as I thought. I eat the same meals as them, just with substitutions such as Carbquick mix for my pancakes. I also used Joseph’s Tortillas for EVERYTHING! You can use them soft, or put them in the oven or microwave to toast them. The Low Carb Grocery gave me foods to look forward to rather that eating the same thing all the time. The fact that I can do my groceries from home or work at my computer is fantastic!
Now at 155 pounds, I’ve lost over half of my body weight since I began this journey, and I couldn’t feel better. I don’t have to take anti-depressants, pain killers, or arthritis medications anymore. With new confidence I even pursued my chosen career, going back to school and becoming a Peace Officer. I had no idea the strength and confidence I would gain from losing weight! Low carb diets are the easiest and quickest ways to drop the weight and keep it off. Tough out the first 2 weeks and you’ll love yourself for it! If you fall off the wagon it’s easy to correct the damage done and get back on track no matter how long you’ve been running beside it. Once you understand how ketosis works you will find your solution. It doesn’t matter if you’re 20 or 65 years old, it works! I am very much a different person than I was when I was obese. I am fit, healthy, and confident.
-Rossanna P.