Picture Perfect: How I Lost 33
lb!*
January 28, 2005
By Kim Droze
This Valentine's Day, why not do something good for
your heart -- drop a few pounds and get in shape! Your
loved one will enjoy that gift year round. Click here
and fill out a free profile.
When Kerry D. first started reading Dr. Atkins’
New Diet Revolution, she never expected the popular
page-turner to add sensational new chapters to her own
life. But after more than eight years following the
low-carb eating regimen, she's now enjoying her own
super success story.
Since reading Dr. Atkins’ bible for low-carb
lifestylers, the 36-year-old stunner from Lake Arrowhead,
California, has dropped 33 pounds and launched a modeling
career. Kerry's currently compiling a low-carb cookbook,
too. Not too shabby for a woman who thought she was
doomed to life in the fat lane after watching her weight
skyrocket to 192 pounds during her third pregnancy.
Kerry admits there were times when she thought the
extra pounds had become a permanent part of her life.
However, that all changed when she and hubby Tim turned
to the low-carb way of life. The mother of three has
gotten down to a svelte 129 pounds on her 5'7"
frame. It's a healthy weight she’s maintained
for more than five years now.
When Kerry first decided to give the Atkins Nutritional
Approach a shot, she was on the brink of diet despair.
Although she had tried her hand at everything from the
cabbage soup diet to metabolism-zooming diet
pills, Kerry’s efforts proved futile. She
whittled down to 162 pounds but ended up losing more
than weight.
"I did lose but I would feel terrible," says
Kerry, who suffers from lupus, a chronic autoimmune
disease. "I could get thin for a little bit. Then
all the weight would come back. It wasn’t worth
it because I didn’t feel good. I would try a pasta
diet with no meat and feel horrible. I’d go to
the doctor and he would ask me how I was walking around
with no iron in my diet.
"I got down to 145 pounds and then I couldn’t
keep it up. There are only so many rice cakes you can
eat before getting bored. I could stay like that for
a month and then I would start gaining weight as I got
back to my normal routine."
After years of fad dieting, Kerry decided she needed
to take a different approach. The Atkins Nutritional
Approach was appealing to her from the get-go because
it sounded healthy. Kerry realized she was simply eliminating
processed foods such as white rice, flour tortillas,
breads, pasta and rich desserts.
And what she was adding to her diet more than made
up for all the banished foods. Shrimp cocktail with
aioli, steak with béarnaise sauce and other mouthwatering
meals were every bit as enticing as the high-carb foods
that once bloated her diet. Within two weeks, Kerry
had lost 10 pounds and several inches off her waist.
Her new eating regimen was reaping major rewards. It
seemed incredible that she could achieve weight loss
success while eating the foods she liked.
"This isn't a diet," she says. "It’s
a lifestyle of eating in a healthful way. A diet deprives
you. You’re losing weight but you’re giving
your body nutritious foods. You’re not popping
some pill or doing weird stuff to your body that’s
going to make you look old. You’re eating fish
that are rich in essential fatty acids and chicken and
vegetables that include important vitamins and minerals."
For breakfast, she often enjoys two eggs, sausage and
coffee. Lunch might be a medley of gourmet foods ranging
from tuna salad to homemade cheese, bacon or ham soufflés.
Kerry also whips up low-carb cheesecakes and chocolate
mousse from scratch, enjoys roasted chicken with mayonnaise
and prepares prime rib roast with gravy and a side of
asparagus. She always makes sure she has nuts and cheese
on hand for a quick low-carb snack.
The sheer enjoyment of food was good enough reason
for Kerry and Tim to follow Atkins. It had always been
a dream of hers to create a cookbook and now that fantasy
is becoming a reality. As they concocted low-carb dishes
to die for, the couple realized that they were on to
something big. While discussing her success on Atkins,
someone suggested she write her own cookbook. From there,
Low Carb 4 Life was born. (Click here to visit Lowcarb4life.com.)
"I’ve always been a real critic when it
comes to food. Growing up in L.A., I’ve always
gone to the best restaurants. My grandmother also had
a restaurant in the Midwest before coming to California.
Cooking has always been big in our family. Then I married
a man whose mother is from Sicily and known for being
the best cook in town. I had to become a good cook.
"I always enjoyed looking for the best recipes.
Now I look for the best recipes with the lowest carbs.
When you hear the word diet your mind thinks 'Ew yuck.'
With low carb, you think 'Yum.'"
Kerry’s low-carb cookbook isn’t the only
work in progress. She’s also had the opportunity
to step in front of the camera since dropping more than
30 pounds and whittling from a size 12 to a size 6.
She got her start when a friend asked her to model some
clothing for an internet site, something she wouldn’t
have considered when her weight was at its highest and
her self-esteem at its lowest.
Following the Atkins Nutritional Approach has been
a life-changing experience for Kerry. Not only has she
improved her eating habits, she’s also integrated
physical activity into her life.
Three times a week Kerry walks, rides her bike or does
some form of aerobic activity. She also relies on resistance
training to improve muscle tone. Although she's far
from a fitness fanatic, Kerry maintains that exercise
is still a part of her life.
"I'm not obsessed with exercise. I think if somebody
has problems with their health and can't exercise they
can still lose
weight. But if you're physcially able, it's important
to do some cardio and get your heart going. Even if
you can't do anything else, you can get in the pool
and swim or at least walk around."
Source:www.ediets.com
|
