Ann’s Weight Loss Success Story

Ann, at 61 years of age, has lost 102 pounds with Eat Like a Bear! She started on June 1, 2020, at 280 pounds. As of April 2, 2021, she weighs 178 pounds. Below she tells how Eat Like a Bear! has made a difference for her:

My Motivation

I have spent my life trying to lose weight and was always looking for something that would work. I have failed so many times and spent so much money doing it over and over. I had struggled with fibromyalgia as well as severe osteoarthritis for the last 20 years. I had difficulty walking a block, even after having both knees and hips replaced. I was so tired of being in pain every minute of my life. I always assumed my weight was to blame.

My Frustrations in the Past with Trying to Lose Weight

I went on my first diet at 12 years of age: Stillman’s diet. I was 132 pounds and got down to 110. This began almost 50 years of gaining and losing. I hit 200 pounds in medical school. I hit 300 pounds at the age of 50. I have tried every diet that exists – Atkins, Nutrisystem, liquid protein, Weight Watchers, Richard Simmons’ Deal-a-Meal, Bright Line eating, Corrine Crabtree’s program, weight loss clinics, an eating disorder clinic for binge eating, counting calories, etc. Six years ago, gastric sleeve bariatric surgery. I was a successful pediatrician, a good mom and wife, but I just couldn’t get this weight thing right. I would lose weight for a short time or a few months and then I would gain it back and then some. The biggest factor was that food would call to me. I couldn’t stop thinking about eating. I couldn’t stop wanting to eat. I hated being hungry. I felt angry that I couldn’t eat like “normal people.” And I self-medicated all the stress in my life with food. If that was gone, then I had no other coping mechanisms. But the addictive nature of wanting to eat sugar was what would do me in every time. I love candy, cookies, cake, pie, etc., and one bite and the whole thing would fall apart.

How Eat Like a Bear! Was Different

I didn’t have the extreme food cravings and food thoughts all the time. I didn’t have to think about eating three meals a day and risk blowing it with each meal. The lack of cravings and wanting to eat all day long was huge and, really, the biggest difference. The rapid weight loss at first kept me super-motivated, as well.

When I Knew Eat Like a Bear! Was Working for Me

About two weeks after I had been following the Eat Like a Bear! program, I suddenly realized my body didn’t hurt anymore. I couldn’t believe it. I had lost 10 pounds, but that wasn’t nearly enough to explain this. I wanted to cry, I was so happy. It had to be this way of eating and what I was eating. As a doctor, I never would have believed this would have such a huge effect on my body. Chronic pain is terrible, and I would have done anything to get it to go away. I couldn’t believe it. I also realized I wasn’t obsessing over food and dreaming of when I could eat a little chocolate or some other candy. The food thoughts were gone. This way of eating was a miracle! I am proud to say that almost 10 months later, I have never gone off plan. I got through my birthday, Halloween, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and almost through Easter without a bite of candy or other sweets. I have never done that before. Even after bariatric surgery, I was constantly trying to figure out how to eat that stuff.

What I Can Do Now That I Couldn’t Do Before Losing Weight with Eat Like a Bear!

I walk with my dogs one to two miles a day. I can walk up hills without getting short of breath or even tired. I can get on and off my horse easily, and no one has to hold down the stirrup on the opposite side when I get on so the horse doesn’t tip over!

My Greatest Non-Scale Victories

In 10 months, I have only had one fibromyalgia flare-up, and it was brief. I enjoy eating healthy foods. I can cook! I went from a size 26 to a 14! I can walk as fast as my nine-year-old granddaughter. I can bike. I can ride my horse. I don’t care what other people are eating and that I don’t eat like them.

What I Did to Lose the Weight

Because of my bariatric surgery history, I found I could not consume a Ridiculously Big Salad very well, even in longer than an hour. I would end up with not nearly enough calories in what I could eat in one sitting. So I ate two meals a day: a small meal at noon and a larger meal at 6:00 p.m. with my family. I quickly got sick of salad, so I switched to cooked keto meals in the evening. At noon, I ate a small number of cheese curds – I live in Wisconsin – or some natural peanut butter on celery or a small salad with 2-3 ounces of protein. I had never learned to cook, as my husband was an excellent cook and enjoyed doing it. Me not so much. Unfortunately, he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease two years ago and by last summer really couldn’t cook anymore. So I learned how! I figured, if I was only going to have one main meal a day, it had better taste amazing, and that meant I needed to figure it out. I am proud to say I can now make just about anything. My stuffed red peppers and my meatball soup are amazing and 100% keto.

Tips for Newcomers

Give it a try. Make it your own. Don’t let past failures stop you – this is different. Hunger passes. A big drink of water and getting busy help. Keto flu is real, but it passes quickly and doesn’t come back.