One Year Anniversary!!!

Today is my one-year anniversary for living low carb. This time around, of course.

It's the longest that I've ever been able to stay on program. The first time I did low carb it was mostly because I had reached goal in only a couple of months, and then didn't know exactly how to maintain. Course, I didn't have a very supportive spouse back then either. And he literally fought me every step of the way. So that just made matters worse.

The second time, I found myself in the middle of a divorce after only doing low carb for a couple of months. By then, I'd lost enough weight that my borderline diabetes had gone into remission, so I felt it "best" to maintain that loss, through a low-glycemic diet, rather than quit.

When I was ready to resume low-carbing for a third time, I had the supportive spouse I needed, but after only a few months, I was struck down with Meniere's -- which left me completely bedridden and disabled, as many of you already know.

So this is the first "real" opportunity I've had to stay on program.

On January 3, 2007, I weighed 256.5 pounds. It was the heaviest I have ever been in my life. And my body wasn't very happy about it. Inflammation was rampant and pain was an every day event. In fact, I was in so much pain back then, that I couldn't even go to the bathroom in the middle of the night without having to first put on my tennis shoes. Because I literally could not walk without good supportive shoes. Not even for a few steps.

Before that, the heaviest I had ever weighed was 220. That's what I weighed when I was diagnosed with borderline diabetes. When the doctor made my then un-supportive husband sit down and see reality for what it was--you either pay for low-carb foods, or you pay for diabetic supplies...which is it going to be??? And since I'd weighed that much for quite some time, I was a bit apprehensive about that. I didn't know if I was going to stall at that weight. But I didn't.

My pre-Meniere's weight was 180 pounds. And today I'm just shy of that-- 180.6. So I've been able to shed myself of all of the weight I gained from that health issue. I am a bit nervous about approaching that weight, same as I was when I approached 220, but I'm hoping that weight will come and go without a blink, the same as 220 did.

It has certainly been a year of getting to know myself. Of learning about several of the low carb programs that are out there. And of adopting the most positive aspects of those various programs. Which has certainly been the key to my success so far. Because the Meniere's not only interfered with my activity level, but it also interfered with my metabolism as well.

At that time, they were still saying they didn't know what caused Meniere's, even though autopsies were showing a lot of Herpes virus in the inner ears. What they knew about the disease/syndrome was very little. Only the hordes of symptoms that accompanied it. And diagnosing the problem was more a matter of eliminating everything else first, which is why I have never officially been diagnosed with Meniere's.

Which has made my own personal treatment pretty much a shot in the dark. Cuz without a diagnosis, doctors weren't about to treat me as if I had the disease. Which at that time called for water retention pills to alleviate the excess fluid in the ears, tranquilizers to help with the anxiety caused by the vertigo, a low-sodium, non-caffeine, sugar-free diet to help with the vicious vertigo attacks, since each attack destroys a little bit more of your ability to hear.

In fact, the doctors I had at that time were so rude, that even though I could not walk under my own power, they accused me of being lazy for wanting to be placed on state disability, and told me to go back to work. That I wasn't disabled until a Specialist told them I was disabled. So it's been a pretty hard road for me. Even though they did prescribe Meclizine for me.

Lately though, research has begun to point towards elevated Insulin, and Insulin Resistance, as the most likely culprit. So I'm very hopeful that research will continue along those lines this coming year, so that we can eventually get to the bottom of not only what's wrong, but also learn how to correct the problem. Not just treat the symptoms.

Here's to a better year!!!