Courtesy of Dan Brown/Virta Health
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Dan Brown. It has been edited for length and clarity.
At my heaviest, I weighed 305 pounds. I now weigh 155 pounds — 12 pounds lighter than I did when I graduated high school at 18.
It's a great feeling. I just completed a four-mile hike up and down a mountain in Wyoming. Five years ago, I'd have been the guy sitting in the parking lot at the bottom.
I'm 59, but I beat a lot of the younger folk. I'm proud of that.
As a young man, I was relatively fit, playing football, wrestling, and track. But then, after I got older and had kids, I fell into bad habits.
My son and daughter would go to baseball or softball games in two different towns simultaneously. We'd be so busy driving them around I'd slam down fast food whenever and wherever I could, a couple of burgers at a time.
Then, at home, I'd sit on the couch. I'd grab a bag of chips, watch a movie, and then realize the whole bag was gone. As for meals, I was raised where you couldn't get up from the table until you cleaned your plate.
I'd try to diet, concentrating on portion control. But I never changed the food I ate. I'd lose weight and then gain it all back. I once lost 35 pounds and gained 40. It made me feel like crap.
Courtesy of Dan Brown
I loved to hunt, fish, and do other outdoor things. But you need to be in shape to do most of that. I missed out and stayed home.
Things really went downhill when I turned 50. I'd been borderline diabetic for a few years — but I ignored my doctor's warnings to offset it with diet and exercise.
Then, like my mom, I was diagnosed with the disease. I took medication but didn't change my habits. My attitude was poor. I didn't care. At 5ft 8in tall, I weighed more than 300 pounds.
I was prescribed Ozempic in 2019, a couple of years after it was approved for diabetes by the Food and Drug Administration. In total, I lost about 30 pounds over the course of two years. I'd inject myself every week in the stomach.
Thankfully, I didn't have any side effects. But I didn't like being on an artificial drug.
Meanwhile, Mom didn't really take care of her diabetes. She ultimately needed dialysis three times a week. She hated it so much that there was one point she thought about stopping dialysis, even though she would have died.
Three years ago, she was lucky enough to get a kidney transplant at the age of 75. I was headed down that same path and wanted no part of it.
Courtesy of Dan Brown.
I did some research and found my insurance covered a nutrition plan based on the keto diet that provides coaching online. I'd tried and failed so many times. I thought, "Let's just see what happens and hope for the best."
I purposely started the week before Thanksgiving of 2021. Everyone makes their New Year's resolutions in January, but I thought, if I can get through the holidays, it's going to be gravy by the beginning of 2022.
I'm the cook in the house, so I made a traditional American Thanksgiving dinner with turkey, stuffing, ham, and mashed potatoes. Instead of cornbread and potatoes, I chose roasted broccoli, which was delicious. I avoided candies and cakes.
The plan is 30 grams of carbohydrates — vegetables such as cauliflower, lettuce, and spinach — and 15 ounces of protein per day. I get my protein from pork chops, chicken breast, or hamburger. Then, I have a tablespoon of fat per meal.
I also started exercising. I walked half a mile the first day and built up the distance as the months went by. It helped me beat cravings because instead of making a big bowl of popcorn or reaching for chips, I'd get up and do something. I woke early to lift weights, use the elliptical, and go on bike trails on weekends.
The weight came off crazy fast. It got to be a game. I'd think, "How much can I lose this week?" The most I lost in a week was five or six pounds, Then, as time went by, it would be around two pounds a week.
I lost a total of 120 pounds on keto. My cholesterol and blood pressure had been terrible. But they both came down. Suddenly, I wasn't diabetic anymore and no longer needed a prescription. I'm happy, healthy and looking forward to the future with my family.
The word "transformation" tends to be overused. But, in my case, it definitely applies.
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