South Beach Steve
“Weight has always been a problem for me. Sure, there were times in my life where I was not overweight, but the vast majority of my life I was fat. I had attempted to lose weight for vain reasons many times in the past, sometimes having a measure of success, but never quite making a decision that the change was a permanent one.
As I grew older, my health became a concern for me. I had two uncles die in their 60s of preventable issues, both heart related. I was on the same path, even at a young age. I was the classic definition of Metabolic Syndrome: I was fat around the waist, I had horrible blood work, I had high blood pressure, and I was pre-diabetic, if not diabetic. I was on two blood pressure medicines, a cholesterol medicine, a gout medicine, and was being threatened with blood sugar medicine. Basically, I was a walking disaster. It finally hit me that if I did not change something, I would be dead long before my time. I would never live to see my children's children. My wife would one day be a young widow. Or even worse, I would become unable to take care of myself and be a burden on others the rest of my life.
That is the point I knew something had to change, and it had to change immediately. I had already done a substantial amount of research on dieting over the years, so I knew what diets worked well for me - those that focused on low-glycemic foods. For that reason, I chose to start the South Beach Diet. I made the decision that something had to change on a Sunday evening while laying in bed. I knew that everything was different this time. I knew I had to lose weight. I knew when I woke up the next day my life would be forever changed. The old me would be behind me forever. That day was just under eighteen months ago. I am now 70 pounds lighter, and 90 pounds lighter than my all-time high. I have come off of almost all my medicines, save one, a high dosage of a B vitamin that is a voluntary medicine my doctor and I agree is a benefit to me. I am more fit than I have ever been. Instead of being called “big Steve”, I am being referred to as slim. People who haven't seen me in years do not recognize me. I have a renewed lease on life.
While some people may be able to focus on vanity as their motivator, for me it was life, or the fact that I was letting my life go that was my motivator. I was looking death in the eyes. Once it hit me how serious my health was, and that I was indeed following a path to willful destruction, the day the decision was made. The decision that turned my life around.”
Steve's incredible weight loss journey using the 'South Beach Diet' can be be found on his website at LogMyLoss.com
