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How I Lost 40 Pounds In 6 Months Without Exercising, Surgery, Drugs, Or Dieting
“Diet” is a four-letter word.
Blessed with a tall, thin frame, I never gave much of it serious thought.
Over the decades, I’ve watched my girl friends consume diet pills and engage in weight-loss programs such as the Atkins Diet, the South Beach Diet, the Paleo Diet, “the grapefruit diet” and even “the wine diet.” Two of them have had gastric bypass surgery, where the size of the stomach is reduced.
My parents were thin, as were all of my aunts and uncles, so I always believed that being overweight simply didn’t run in my family. I could eat anything and everything, any time I wanted, as much as I wanted and I’d never gain weight.
I’ve also never been an athletic person. Play softball or read a book? Give me the latter.
A few months after I joined the Peace Corps in 1999 and landed in the tropical country of Suriname, I noticed I had lost 12 pounds. I asked our PC doctor, “How come I’ve lost all this weight? I’m eating everything in sight and we’re really into those $2 bottles of French wine!”
With an amused smile, Dr. Legiman said, “You are walking a lot, and you are sweating.”
My personal surprise wake-up call
I guess there’s some truth to that thing about metabolism changing as you get older.
One day last year I accompanied my husband to the doctor, and while I was there, got on the scales to check my weight. I had bloomed up to 186 pounds, more than I’d ever weighed before.
I didn’t feel “fat.” I repeated my mantra, “Fat doesn’t run in my family.”
In exploring diet as a possible root cause to my husband’s chronic skin affliction, we discovered videos on YouTube by and about Dr. Steven Gundry, author of the best-selling book The Plant Paradox: The Hidden Dangers in “Healthy” Foods That Cause Disease and Weight Gain.
California cardiologist and heart surgeon Dr Gundry describes in his book a “highly toxic, plant-based protein” called lectins. They’re found not only in grains but in lots of foods normally considered to be “healthy,” like certain fruits, vegetables, beans…
