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10 Year Anniversary On Low-Carb Lifestyle by Amy Dungan

Amy Dungan September 26, 2011 Diets & Dieting, Health, Inspiration, Motivation, Personal Care Leave a comment 484 Views

10 Year Anniversary On Low-Carb

Ten years. It’s been ten crazy, fantastic, sometimes frustrating years that I’ve tried to live the low-carb lifestyle. What is has not been, is perfect. Or rather, I haven’t been perfect, and I’m okay with that. Food has always been an issue for me, and maybe it always will be. I don’t really know. I’m not going to beat myself up over it. What I do know is that when I work the plan, it works for me.

I also know that it’s been very good for my health. Irritable bowl syndrome, GERD, mood swings, trouble concentrating… all gone since starting the low-carb lifestyle. Even my depression disappeared for the most part. I’ve only needed antidepressants twice in the last 10 years, and that was when I was dealing with some extremely stressful situations. Once the situations were straightened out, I could easily leave the medications behind. Even with my weight struggles, I believe I’m better off than I was many years ago – struggling on a low-fat diet and always unhappy, hungry and feeling sick. When I lost my gallbladder 15 years ago, my doctor informed me it was because of my low-fat diet. I had a hard time believing it then, but now? I have no doubt a diet lacking in healthy fats and loaded with grains, starches and sugars contributed to many of the health problems over my adult life.

I realize this isn’t enough proof for many who still believe in the lipid hypothesis. I’ll admit, I wasn’t completely convinced myself until I’d been on Atkins for an entire year. Not only did I feel amazing, but a blood test proved I was in great health.

Results of my tests in late 2002 (with the lab ranges at the time)

Glucose: 79 (preferred lab range of 65-109)
Total Cholesterol: 149 (preferred lab range under 200)
HDL Cholesterol: 52 (preferred lab range 40 or higher)
LDL Cholesterol: 88 (preferred lab range under 130)
Triglycerides: 47 (preferred lab range under 100)
CHOL/HDLC Ratio: 2.9 (preferred lab range under 4.4)

Now, here I am, almost 10 years after embarking on this journey and once again sharing blood test results with you. My weight has fluctuated over the last decade, but my blood work still looks amazing.

Glucose: 94 (preferred lab range of 70 – 125)
Total Cholesterol: 196 (preferred lab range 120 – 240)
HDL Cholesterol: 71 (preferred lab range 31 – 85)
LDL Cholesterol: 90 (preferred lab range 70 – 194)
Triglycerides: 173 (preferred lab range 10 – 190)
CHOL/HDLC Ratio: 2.8 (preferred lab range under 5.0)

As you can see, different labs have different ranges, but overall are pretty similar. Not much has changed since my test 9 years ago. My HDL has gone up, which is a good thing. LDL, the “bad” cholesterol, only went up two points. My ratio is virtually unchanged and my total cholesterol is only higher because of the rise in my HDL. For those that believe the lipid hypothesis, and that saturated fat causes heart disease, this will be surprising after all the red meat and saturated fat I’ve consumed over the years.

The only thing that really surprised me is the triglycerides number. Normally a low-carb diet lowers triglycerides, so I asked around about the possible reasons for a higher number. As it turns out, it’s not uncommon for triglycerides to be elevated while in a fat-burning state. I was in a mostly maintenance phase during my test in 2002. This tells me two things:

Not to worry about these particular numbers.
Yay! I’m burning fat!

Again, I realize that even these numbers won’t be enough to change some minds. I’m just one person – a possible fluke. If that’s what they want to believe, power to them. I’m not going to chase them down and break their happy bubble. But this is one fluke that’s very happy with the dietary changes she made almost a decade ago. There isn’t a force on earth that will convince me that I’m harming myself by following a low-carbohydrate diet. I know a good many others who are getting similar results and feel the same way. The naysayers can keep their “healthy whole grains” – I’m enjoying my steak and veggies with absolutely no guilt at all.