# Goal!!!!!!!!!!



## MoonRiver (Sep 2, 2007)

Almost 18 years ago, I set out to lose 100 lbs. I lost 50 lbs on HF/LC in the first 3 months, then weight loss just stopped. I ate less carbs, I ate less calories, I exercised 5 or 6 days a week, I tried everything the so-called low carb experts said to do, and after another 15 years I was still fighting to maintain the 50 lb loss.

Then I had a very serious blood pressure problem, that I later learned was also a major buildup of arterial plaque, send me to the ER several times. The doctors (many) had no idea what was causing it, but through a series of serendipitous events, I discovered some of my genes didn't like saturated fat. I went on a low saturated fat diet and lost another 25 lbs, 75 total, and fixed the BP problem.

I started seeing my new doc a little over a year ago. I told her I didn't have the symptoms of a leaky gut, but it was the only thing I had identified that matched the problems I was still having with weight loss and cholesterol. She tested for Zonulin, which is a protein indicator of leaky gut, and sure enough I had leaky gut.

She recommended some supplements to fix the problem, plus foods to avoid. By then I was eating a mostly plant based diet, so my diet was fine. Within a couple of months, leaky gut was fixed and I was able to lose a little more weight, so now down about 90 lbs. Also lowered my cholesterol considerably.

I asked my doc to check for parasites, bacteria, and anything else she could think of that might still be causing the problem. That's how I learned I had high levels of heavy metals, mercury and lead, stored in fat and other places in my body. I had already started a 30 day detox for yeast (white tongue), so I added daily sun exposure with sweating followed by an Epsom Salts bath. That was enough to lose the last 10 lbs.

100 lbs gone. Has a nice ring to it. And by coincidence, it is also the point where I went from being obese to overweight. BMI is now 29.8 compared to 43.4 when I started.

I am now 220 lbs, but for vanity and to prove to myself that I can do it, my new goal is to get under 200. I know that to reach my new goal, I will have to successfully lower the levels of lead and mercury, so a double win.

What has been interesting is that I set out to lose 100 lbs, but ended up identifying and fixing several major health problems along the way. Too late to stop the plaque from building up in my arteries, so stents and a new aortic valve are in my near future.

For those having trouble losing weight, you can do it. It can be extremely difficult, so work with a good functional doctor if you can find one. My current doc has been invaluable. Anyone in southern, central or sw Virginia, I will be glad to share her name and phone number.


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## GTX63 (Dec 13, 2016)

Congrats.
Dieting is always been to me like climbing the mountain; getting there isn't as hard as staying there.


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## light rain (Jan 14, 2013)

Congratulations!
How did you find a doctor that would look for nontraditional health problems?
Can you walk a lot farther without getting tired at this reduced weight?


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## MoonRiver (Sep 2, 2007)

light rain said:


> Congratulations!
> How did you find a doctor that would look for nontraditional health problems?
> Can you walk a lot farther without getting tired at this reduced weight?


I used google to search for integrative doctors. Unfortunately, the only way I found to do it was city by city. Functional doctors might be another name to search by. Another term you might use is Osteopathic. A Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine tries to cure the underlying illness, not just treat the symptoms.

I got real lucky. I'd say my doc is 1 in a thousand. Every visit she nails it. I thought my previous doctor was pretty good, but this new doctor found and fixed things in a year the other doctor didn't in 10. 

I now have serious heart disease, so a walking comparison isn't helpful. I know I can walk at least 2 miles before taking a break, and have recently walked 6 miles over a day. I still can't do hills worth a darn.


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## crehberg (Mar 16, 2008)

Congratulations MR...that's a huge milestone!


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## MoonRiver (Sep 2, 2007)

crehberg said:


> Congratulations MR...that's a huge milestone!


Thanks. It was bitter sweet. 

I stepped on the scales this morning and it was 219.2, so I finally hit 100 lbs. Two hours later the hospital is calling to schedule me for stents, so I only had 2 hours to enjoy it before real life stepped in.


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

Good news! Congratulations!

Do you think that your high fat/low carb diet influenced your the BP problems and heart disease issues? I realize it was a long time ago that you were on that diet. It did help you lose weight, but do you think it resulted in some of your negative health effects?


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

Good job!
I hope your stents help.
Everyone I know who has had them could tell there was an improvement.


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## MoonRiver (Sep 2, 2007)

Cabin Fever said:


> Good news! Congratulations!
> 
> Do you think that your high fat/low carb diet influenced your the BP problems and heart disease issues? I realize it was a long time ago that you were on that diet. It did help you lose weight, but do you think it resulted in some of your negative health effects?


No question about it, but my case wasn't normal, although I don't know how exceptional it was either. 

I pointed this out on another board recently. Both glucose and fats eventually get broken down into the same substance and that substance is used to create energy (ATP). The exact same substance. If you can't eat both fat and carbs, something isn't working right. Your choice is fix it or don't eat whichever causes a problem for you. 

I can't eat saturated fat and don't know how to fix it, so I eat mostly plant based with primarily mono and poly unsaturated fats. People with type 2 diabetes have trouble with glucose, so they eat a limited carb, higher fat diet. 

The main thing is, if you have a leaky gut, you should greatly limit saturated fat. That goes for both plant based and keto. 

I'm hoping to do a video on what I have learned, but haven't figured out a way to do it without invoking another battle between vegans and keto-ans. Now that I have figured all this out, I know the keywords to search on and found several studies confirming what I theorized. It's a shame that doctors aren't aware of these papers. Even doctors who specialize in hypertension don't know this stuff. It's not only what caused my blood pressure problem, it is what caused my arterial plaque.


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## MoonRiver (Sep 2, 2007)

Bearfootfarm said:


> Good job!
> I hope your stents help.
> Everyone I know who has had them could tell there was an improvement.


They must have had angina, because that's really all stents fix, unless you are having a heart attack.


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

Congratulations on the weight loss.
Prayers and best wishes for your surgery to go well. May you have a speedy recovery.


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## bassmasterskip (Jan 7, 2015)

Cabin Fever said:


> Good news! Congratulations!
> 
> Do you think that your high fat/low carb diet influenced your the BP problems and heart disease issues? I realize it was a long time ago that you were on that diet. It did help you lose weight, but do you think it resulted in some of your negative health effects?


This is one of the situations with the Keto diet craze as it calls for a fat diet. This may be fine for some but fat is the arch cause of heart problems and adding a diet that is total fat without any variance is dangerous


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## bassmasterskip (Jan 7, 2015)

I have found that many doctors think they know our bodies better than us. I try to hold onto a doctor that listens to what I have to say and takes me seriously. When I was almost 400 lbs over a year ago and had Bariatric surgery and now 230 I had to make the decision to stop my diabeties medicine and blood pressure medicine as my numbers were going to low from the surgery. I am now diabetic free, normal blood pressure, no cpod and feel great and active but I let my body tell me what I need. If I need answers I ask the doctor.


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## nehimama (Jun 18, 2005)

Yay for you! Thanks for sharing your happy news with us.


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