Food Fight!
Winning the Weight Loss War
Ronald K. Theel
Copyright 2011 by Ronald K. Theel
Cover Design by Jeremy Taylor http://www.jeremytaylor.eu
Smashwords Edition
Introduction
Flashback: April 2009
My weight had ballooned to 277 pounds on my six foot frame. Standing on the scale in my doctor’s office was downright painful! I had known that I was overweight, but now it was clear that I was definitely in the obese range. I was 56 years old and often complained about how difficult it was to lose weight as we get older. I guess that was my excuse: the aging process.
One month earlier, I had been diagnosed with epilepsy. I was certain that the two powerful medications I was taking had contributed to decreasing my body’s metabolism. I was lethargic and tired most of the time. In addition, I developed sleep apnea, a disorder that causes pauses in breathing or shallow breathing while asleep, due to the increased circumference of my neck.
I was advised by my doctor that I needed to exercise more and eat less. I thought, “Sure, doc. But how?” I knew that I was headed down the slippery slope to poor health.
Fast Forward: November 2009
Standing on the same scale in the same doctor’s office, the physician’s assistant recorded my weight as 216 pounds, a drop of 61 pounds since my last visit in April. She asked me if I saw the same numbers as she did: 216. I replied “Yes, that’s correct” and went into the examination room to await the doctor. When the doctor arrived, he started flipping through my folder and remarked that someone else’s records must be mixed in with mine because the weight was way off. He even went out to the scale in the hall and weighed himself to make certain that the scale was working properly. The doctor then asked me my birth date to verify that the folder was indeed mine and then said, “Wow, you’ve really lost weight!”
The doctor asked me if I was taking any prescription weight loss drugs. He then asked if I was eating and then forcing myself to vomit. I replied an unequivocal “No!” to both questions. He also asked if needed the services of a plastic surgeon to fix the loose skin that must have resulted from my weight loss. After all, I had gone from a size 44 to a size 36 in about six months. I replied that I had no loose skin and that I had developed an exercise regimen to help prevent this from happening. With a somewhat quizzical look, the doctor then decided to do a full series of blood tests to see if anything was wrong. The test results were all within a normal range. Throughout all of his prodding and probing, I let the doctor know that I hadn’t felt better in twenty years. I had regained my energy level and became a much more active person. Because my neck circumference had decreased by two inches, my sleep apnea had subsided and I was sleeping much better. The doctor ended the exam by stating that somehow I had accomplished what millions of Americans are trying to do: lose a significant amount of body weight in an amazingly short period of time.
The purpose of this book is to share the regimen that worked for me because I’m confident that it will work for you. In today’s world of supersizing our food intake, America’s waistline has also been supersized. Recently, a television newscast reported that 60 percent of Americans are currently either overweight or obese. This trend is even more alarming when we consider how it is impacting the lives of our children for childhood obesity is now at an all-time high as well.
Unfortunately, there is no simple answer to weight loss. There is no magic pill, no matter what the infomercials try to sell you. Likewise, there is no miraculous exercise machine. In fact, I don’t even like the term “weight loss.”Instead, think of losing weight as bringing your weight to a healthy level and then maintaining it. It’s not how much weight you lose, but where you ultimately want your weight to be. To be successful, you must know your final destination and then chart how to get there.
In the months following that eye-opening doctor’s visit in April, I decided to do something about my weight gain. I was ready to improve my overall health. I did not want my weight to control me; rather, I wanted to be the one to control my weight. I did a lot of reading and research about diet, nutrition, and how to boost the body’s metabolism. I’ll be sharing what I learned with you. I’ll also discuss the concept of nutritional synergy, including pairings of food and nutritional supplements. Some of these foods are non- traditional in our part of the world yet they are readily accessible and actually taste good. In addition, I’ll lay out a simple yet effective exercise program that is an integral part of my own weight management regimen. I’ll describe this regimen step by step and tell you what it involves during a typical day. In the remaining chapters of this book, you’ll find charts that succinctly review this plan, along with some caloric information and simple recipes.