Friends and Stories – Two of my favourite things

I’ve told you before about my awesome friends. Yip, those friends who assumed that my initial abstinence from alcohol must mean that I was pregnant (at 48) and not diet driven as it actually was. The same friends who argued against my low carb theories and rolled their eyes when I just couldn’t keep my low carb views to myself. The very same friends who on realising that neither me nor my low carb life were ever going away, have supported and encouraged me on my journey. Often over a cheeky glass of red, while munching on carrot sticks, cheese and flaxmeal crackers, and yes sometimes a fry or two!!

Today I received this in my inbox from my friend Sonia. I need say no more. Read on and you will understand what a wonderful thing a good friend is, and how lucky I am to have so many of them!!

 I’ve never been one to religiously take on and hold to a regime of diet or exercise. Micro bursts of physical activity or eating regimes have peppered my life but the simple fact is that I have absolutely no affinity with the whole diet and exercise regimes of the modern first world psyche. It bores me terminally.

However the sad fact is that as I reached middle age my body simply refused to effortlessly burn of my energy levels (and fat levels) simply by breathing alone. So a few micro-bursts of lifestyle changes have come and gone over the past few years – Boot camp, trying to eat more fruit (yuck), trying to eat less (drinking less was never an option), and fasting a couple of days a week. Well the fasting thing was pretty successful. I did it for over a year and it achieved noticeable results not only in my physical appearance but also my mental agility. But – it clearly wasn’t enough. For a start it was getting boring (again) and I was still overweight (no – I am not going to give my weight).

Fortunately for me, Julia McPhee is a very good friend of mine and for over two years she has ‘persistently’ heralded the benefits of a low-carb lifestyle. Although I (and others) gave her no end of grief when she would harp on endlessly about it, none of us could deny the incredibly positive results we witnessed as our friend dropped weight she had been trying to shed for years. Always a sensible eater and a mad exerciser, the low-carb diet literally tipped the scales for her and she looks fantastic. Not only did she look fantastic when the weight first came off but she STILL looks fantastic over two years later.

Of course I didn’t take it on. No bread, pasta, rice, cereal, potatoes – for goodness sake – how ridiculous is that? More to the point, when it came to me, how much hard work would that be for me to implement not only into my lifestyle but also a family of a husband and two adult children? Then another person in our group embraced the lifestyle and his results were just as amazing.

So I gave it a go. I didn’t tell Julia of course. Couldn’t have her thinking she had won me over after years of me ridiculing her! Plus I didn’t want to broadcast it in case I just couldn’t do it. In case it was too hard. In case I got bored and gave it up…. In case it didn’t work….

I started really simply by stopping sugar in my tea and coffee. Then I moved on to stopping the bread. That was easier than I thought it would be, so I moved on to stopping the high carb vegetables, pastas, rice and pulses. I took simple, slow steps and before I knew it, I was eating a low-carb diet. 

I can do it. It is not too hard. I’m not bored. And. It worked!

In four months I have lost 8 kilos. I feel fantastic and everyone around me noticed – including Julia. So I couldn’t hide it any longer and had to concede that she is right. I am not as regimented as my friend. I do have little carb and sugar treats, but rarely. There are difficulties. Being lactose intolerant I can’t enjoy all that full fat yoghurt and milk, but this is a good thing because it means I can continue hassling Julia to find me a replacement food.

Now I am moving on to converting my husband. That will be a bit difficult but I am determined because I cannot deny the health benefits I have gained from this eating regime and I fully intend us to share those health benefits for many years to come.

If you are in doubt – just give it a go. You will be pleasantly surprised.

So to all my friends, you know who you are, old and new, if you think your story might inspire and motivate others, then share it with me. You have an obligation to, and you may make a difference to someone else’s life. I’m starting a page called simply ‘Stories’ because we all love stories, we’ve all learned from them and now its time to tell yours.