Valerie Liberty Found Her Freedom In Low-Carb Living--And Lost Over 100 Pounds!

Valerie Liberty (left) shares her story on CBC's "The Gill Deacon Show"

I love hearing about inspirational weight loss success stories (yes, even those of us who ARE big losers ourselves like 'em, too!), but it's even more special when the people who lose the weight did it by livin' la vida low-carb. We low-carbers have to stick together and support one another because we've got enough people telling us how our "fad" diet is so "dangerous" to our health that it's gonna kill us--despite our HUGE successes! ARGH!


Bright, articulate, and drop-dead gorgeous--that's Valerie Liberty!

Such is the case with that blonde bombshell you see above named Valerie Liberty from Oakville, Ontario Canada. Believe it or not, she used to weigh at one point in her life 314 pounds. Yep, she sure did! Like so many of us who have finally found our answer in the low-carb lifestyle, Valerie ended up playing the grueling rollercoaster game with her weight going up and down and up and down throughout most of her life. That's one ride I was happy to get off of for good.

When she tipped the scales at well over 300 pounds, Valerie finally said enough was enough and decided to have what many believe is the be-all, end-all "cure" for morbid obesity (or at least that's what we're told about it)--GASTRIC BYPASS SURGERY! Sure enough, the surgery worked and Valerie lost 100 pounds. But she was absolutely miserable and within five years had gotten back up over 300 pounds again.

Yikeseroo!

Through what had to be fortuitous circumstances that I know she is eternally grateful for now, Valerie was introduced to the Atkins low-carb diet in 2003 when she decided to make it her permanent lifestyle change. Not surprisingly, in just ten short months of livin' la vida low-carb, she lost an incredible 100 pounds off of her body and has been able to maintain (and even lose 30 or so pounds more!) in the 2 1/2 years since.

Why? Because she didn't just go on a diet. Valerie absorbed like a sponge all the information about the Atkins diet that she could and is now a walking, talking encylopedia of what livin' la vida low-carb is all about. Plus, she LIVES this way now rather than those former poor habits that made her morbidly obese. That's lifestyle change personified, baby!

Today, she proudly weighs a petite 167 pounds--NEARLY HALF THE WEIGHT SHE USED TO BE! WOO HOO! You go on with your bad self, Valerie. :D That's totally amazing and I am so proud of you for FINALLY finding what works for you and then doing it. You are a fine example for this way of eating and nobody can ever take this accomplishment away from you.

Because of her stunning triple-digit weight loss success, Valerie Liberty was invited to be a guest on the Tuesday, May 22, 2007 episode of the Canadian television program called "The Gill Deacon Show" to discuss what it was like to be morbidly obese and then lose 100 pounds. Most of the questions were quite typical of the mainstream interviews I have done with media types who want to know what made you finally want to lose weight and why you didn't do it sooner.

Will these people EVER understand that some of us aren't naturally wired that way and we have to be shown how to eat better? Sigh. Even still, Valerie was fantastic and got in some EXCELLENT points about livin' la vida low-carb that were RIGHT ON TARGET! I couldn't stop yelling "OH YEAH!" throughout the interview because it was THAT great!

Valerie was kind enough to post the 12-minute interview (split into two 6-minute segments) on YouTube featuring her and another lady who had lost 100 pounds on Weight Watchers. I have a comment to say about that woman in just a moment, but first watch these two video segments from the show. ENJOY!

PART 1:


PART 2:


Isn't Valerie Liberty simply amazing?! She claimed on the Active Low-Carber Forums web site on Wednesday that she was "pretty nervous," but it certainly didn't look like it to me. My favorite line by her in the interview (and there were many bright spots!) was when she made the following statement:

"There's no room in my life to go back to the way I used to eat."

RIGHT ON, girl! That's exactly how most of us low-carbers feel because we don't want to go back to the miserable way we felt on a high-carb, low-fat diet. As Valerie so accurately stated in the video, you're just not hungry on the low-carb lifestyle because your blood sugar is under control and the body will regulate itself better without all the sugars and starches.

It was a bit ironic how Valerie made the point that if Weight Watchers didn't work for you, then try something else. You'll notice the other lady who was on the show with Valerie said she chose that as her weight loss method. Wasn't it odd, though, that she had lost a lot of weight on that plan before, gained it back, then lost over 100 pounds AGAIN, but then GAINED IT BACK AGAIN prior to her appearance on the show?!

I know Valerie just wanted to reach her hand across that table and say to the woman, "Look, lady, it doesn't look like you can stick with Weight Watchers, so why not try the Atkins diet instead?" Perhaps after hearing how confident and informed Valerie was on "The Gill Deacon Show" this week, that other woman will reconsider her dietary choices and start livin' la vida low-carb, too. It would be the best thing that she could ever do for her weight and health.

CONGRATULATIONS, Valerie! You are a true superstar for the low-carb community and I'm personally happy to have you out there espousing the virtues of this incredible way of eating to the masses all across North America! You keep on shining the light of truth and never let go of what got you to where you are today. You are beautiful in so many ways and I know you will continue to make this a lifestyle change you can live with for a very long time (like forever!).

I'd love to hear from Valerie Liberty via e-mail if she finds this blog post about her. If you know Valerie, then let her know that Jimmy Moore from the "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" blog would like to contact her about her low-carb weight loss success. My e-mail address is livinlowcarbman@charter.net. THANKS!

5-26-07 UPDATE: I got this really sweet e-mail from one of my regular readers who said she was motivated and inspired by Valerie Liberty's story because she also started gaining back weight following gastric bypass. Here's her story:

I AM WRITING TO YOU TO THANK YOU FOR INSPIRING ME AND TO THANK YOU FOR PRINTING VALERIE’S STORY. I ALSO HAD GASTRIC BYPASS SURGERY 6 YEARS AGO AND I GAINED BACK 45 0F THE 80 LBS I LOST.

AFTER READING YOUR BLOG AND TRYING TO FOLLOW YOUR ADVICE, I HAVE SO FAR LOST 20 OF THOSE POUNDS. I AM REALLY STRUGGLING, BUT I NO LONGER FEEL SO HOPELESS. THE LOSS IS SO SLOW PROBABLY BECAUSE I AM IN MY 60’S AND EACH YEAR IT JUST GETS HARDER. BUT THANKS TO YOU, I WILL KEEP TRYING. THANK YOU AGAIN!

WOW, thank you so much for sharing your success on the low-carb lifestyle. It is a day-by-day journey even after you've done it for a while. But don't give up, you are doing FANTASTIC! I'm proud of you and wish you continued excellence on your new lifestyle. YOU CAN DO IT!!!