Kim From Wisconsin’s Low Carb Success Story

Kim from Wisconsin is 27 years old. She began following Sugar Busters in April of 2001, and has dropped from a starting weight of 315 to 270 pounds. When Kim began Sugar Busters she wore a size 28W or 4X, and she is currently wearing a size 22W or a 2X! Kim’s goal weight is 160 pounds, and she would like to be able to wear a size 12.

“I’ve been overweight since puberty,” Kim said. “I’ve had PCOS since I was a teenager. I weighed 265 pounds in high school. I lost 60 pounds my senior year, but gained 100 pounds back while I was in college during a period of time when I was taking birth control pills and the pills were then followed by Depo-Provera.”

“My first weight loss attempt was with TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly). I was on the program for a year while I was in high school, and I lost 60 pounds. I tried TOPS because my grandmother was going to the meetings and she asked me to join TOPS with her. I enjoyed it because there was a lot of support from other ladies that were going through the same thing. The group also offered incentives for meeting goals and being top ‘loser’ for the week/month/year. I received ‘Top Teen’ in the state of Wisconsin in the statewide TOPS competitions for my weight loss in 1991!”

“The TOPS diet was relatively easy in the beginning when my drive was high and I stuck with it. The first 40 pounds came off pretty easily. I became tired of the diet after that, though, and it became harder to lose and keep the weight off. My body had become accustomed to living on tuna, rice cakes and cereal. I was bored with food in general. I felt hungry all the time, even though I felt better about myself. I looked good, and people noticed that I suffered no ill side effects.”

“When I was doing TOPS I was following a low calorie diet that was paired with aerobic exercise like walking and biking. I noticed that from a cardiovascular standpoint I was healthier, but I lost a lot of my strength from the loss of muscle tissue. Of course, when I went to college and got away from the group, I pretty much gave up on the diet. I was more sedentary when I was in college, and I ate junk in the cafeteria. That, combined with the stress of school, made my weight balloon back up.”

“I was at my heaviest when I got married in 1999. I felt miserable for about 6 months, and then I decided to give the Weight Watchers 123 program a shot. I joined in April of 2000. The program was easy at first. I lost the first 20 pounds pretty easily. Once again, though, my body adjusted to the diet and the limited calories, and I stopped losing weight. I struggled on with Weight Watchers 123 for another 6 months, losing or gaining nothing.”

“I joined the Curves for Women fitness club a year ago. It was there that I was introduced to the concept of a low sugar/carb-high protein way of life. I was desperate to find a diet that fit my body, but many of the low carbohydrate plans didn’t seem to.”

“I heard about Eat Right For Your Type and checked it out. It said 0 type blood people do well on high protein/fat diets better than they do on carbohydrate-based diets. It made sense to me, but I didn’t want to give up all wheat or dairy products as the book suggested.”

“A friend recommended the Sugar Busters plan, so I read the book. It was pretty simple to follow, and it allowed me more freedom and flexibility that other no/low carb diets did. I eliminated sugar of all kinds from my diet, and now only eat lean meats, veggies (no potato, corn or carrots), fruits (no watermelon, banana or pineapple), whole wheat (no sugar added) breads and pastas, plus brown/wild rice.”

“When I get tired of low carbing, I take a month off and just eat sensibly. (I still don’t eat table sugar, though.) I don’t lose, but I don’t gain weight doing this, and that is OK with me. When I first started, it was easier to stay on plan. I have been bored lately but I’ve recently found new resolve. I’ve gotten serious again and started back on the lower carb regime. I feel better when I’m low carbing.”

“I was and still am addicted to carbs, especially sugar. As a teen, I craved sweets almost nonstop. The more sugar I ate, the more sugar I wanted! The trouble was that when I ate sweets, I would get very tired and would feel awful. It was a vicious cycle.

“I think the hardest thing about giving up carbs is they make you feel full (at least for a short while), and they give you a boost of energy (that doesn’t last long). I do think that following a no sugar diet for the rest of my life is possible, though.”

I haven’t suffered any negative side effects from this way of life, and I feel pretty good. Keep in mind that I also go to the Curves club at least 3 times per week in addition to low carbing. I think exercise is very important for any dieter – even those people like myself who hate exercise, like myself. And exercise definitely helps with maintenance!”

“My husband isn’t much support for me. He still bring me cookies and French fries on the weekends, and I often find it hard to say no. But my friend commented that I’m looking thinner. That makes me feel better about myself.”