In October of 2007 my life was in a down hill spiral.
I had no energy, no drive.
I couldn't play with my daughter or even do basic housework.
My first thought was depression, but as a certified counselor I knew I didn't have enough symptoms to be diagnosed.
The desire to lead my normal life was there, just not the energy.
With this decided it seemed pertinent that I find the cause.
I looked at every aspect of my life to determine where things went wrong.
As I looked at the path my life had taken I realized that I had become stagnant.
I stopped exercising long before I was unable to exercise and I gained weight.
No I got fat! I gained almost 60 pounds over the course of 3 years.
I had never been slim, but I had always been healthy.
I thought to myself, "Surely this can't be just because I don't get as much exercise.
" So I began to look at other things that could cause me to gain weight.
I looked over the side affects of my medications and found nothing that suggested weight gain.
Then, reluctantly, I looked at my diet.
I was so sure that I was feeding my family a healthy diet that I didn't want to believe otherwise.
Wow was I wrong! I found that I was consuming almost double the amount of calories as I truly needed.
Even with this much consumption I was still not getting the nutrients I needed.
I decided then and there that for the good of my family and me it was time for a change.
I started investigating diets.
I must have looked at a dozen online diets.
They all seemed the same.
Cut back on food until your starving then so much time exercising that you don't have time for anything else.
There were some problems with this method.
The first problem: I don't have the willpower to stay hungry.
The second: I have a family and a job to think about.
I can't spend 2 hours a day exercising and still achieve everything else I need to achieve.
In addition to this I didn't have the energy to walk around the block.
There was realistically no way I would stick to a full blow exercise program.
Then I found the South Beach Diet.
It was wonderful! The South Beach diet is a three phase program developed by a cardiologist named Dr.
Arthur Agatston.
It promised that it would keep me full and healthy, while little by little increasing my energy level.
I decided to give it a try.
The first couple of weeks were a little difficult for me because I couldn't eat any type of starches.
I love potatoes and pasta.
When I read this all I could think is, "No way can I make it 2 weeks without a noodle.
" It was much easier than I thought.
There were lots of delicious foods available on the diet.
After the first week I didn't even think about it.
I had no cravings! I fixed full meals that both family and I could eat.
Even, dessert! The exercise necessary was just as easy.
I started by taking the stairs wherever I went.
By my fourth day I was feeling better than I had in months.
I started walking my daughter to school every morning.
By my seventh day I felt amazing, but still wasn't sure the South Beach Diet was all it claimed to be.
I had noticed a rise in my grocery bill that seemed to outweigh the decrease in my weight.
After thinking it over I decided, "In it for a penny, in it for a pound.
" A few days later I knew that I had made the right choice.
After dinner one night I realized that I actually felt restless.
Not because I felt guilty about what I didn't get done that day, but because everything was done and I still had energy.
I took my daughter for a walk for the first time in almost a year.
Soon I found myself becoming more and more active.
I bought a workout DVD to use in the evening instead of watching television.
I walked to the grocery store and to visit friends.
I was burning more calories than I was taking in and thanks to the South Beach diet I was doing it in a healthy way.
I had lessened my intake of calories, bad carbohydrates, and bad fats.
I was making my heart healthier and the pounds were falling off! Better yet the extra money that it cost to buy fresh food I was saving in gas.
I could shop at the local farmers market and keep the money I normally would spend on gas right here in my community.
The best decision I have ever made was to add South Beach diet to my life.
It taught me what foods are healthy and how to use them to improve my life.
This diet also gave me the energy I needed to learn that a little exercise goes a long way.
You do not have to spend hours a day exercising.
You do not have to starve.
You just have to make simple changes slowly.
Buy healthy fresh food.
Walk anywhere you're able.
Play active games with your kids.
Go dancing instead of going out to a movie.
Bake a low calories low carb recipe from scratch instead of using the box.
I promise you'll feel better than you ever have.
I am a year and a half user at the time of this writing.
The second phase took about six months, but eventually I managed to lose almost 80 pounds.
I weigh less at 31 years of age than I did in my late teens.
The best part the South Beach diet provides me with support for as long as I choose to use it.
The third phase provides rules for maintaining weight and if I do start putting weight back on I simply go back to the the south beach diet phase1.
Note: Based on a TRUE LIFE STORY.
For privacy reasons name is not disclosed here.
Details available upon request for the interested people.