Nurse Says Weight Watchers 'Publicly Shamed Me,' But Low-Carb 'Saved My Life'
I received a rather enlightening comment in response to Episode 58 yesterday to my latest podcast at "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore."
Nothing thrills me more than to see someone who has finally been able to overcome the low-fat/low-calorie dogma that dominates our culture while sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and other such garbage carbs keep getting a free pass by our health establishment. Such is the case with a nurse from North Carolina named Peg Hatley.
As you will see from her comment below, Peg thought there was something wrong with her because she couldn't lose weight and improve her health on the highly-touted, government-indoctrinated high-carb, low-fat diet.
Peg kept banging her head against a brick wall trying to figure out what the deal was until she was finally convinced by a doctor who was "low-carb friendly" to start livin' la vida low-carb in March. The results thus far have been stunning to say the least.
Here's what Peg Hatley wrote at my podcast web site:
Jimmy,
I listened to the interview today with Dr. Temmerman and I knew I needed to write a comment. I am a home health nurse and your podcast keeps me away from fast food drive-thru and blowing all the wonderful things that are happening to me on my low carb diet. You and your podcast help me stay on track.
I have only been low carbing for 3 months; it took me a long time to get over the “indoctrination” from my nurse’s training. I have been overweight, with diabetes and high blood pressure for years, all the while, driving from patient’s home to patient’s home, teaching them how to eat the diet that was killing me!
Yet, no matter how hard I clung to the low fat/low calorie diet, it didn’t help me--and it wasn’t helping my patients. I thought there was something wrong with me! In fact, when I repeatedly failed at Weight Watchers and the staff of WW publicly shamed me in several meetings by saying I was either lying about what I was eating, or not “trying hard enough.” I thought it was my fault and so I tried harder.
When my doctors told me I must not be writing down “everything” I was eating and I needed to stick closer to their prescribed low fat diet, again I thought it was my fault and tried even harder.
All the while, my blood sugar, weight and blood pressure climbed higher and higher. And I got more and more passionate with my patients about the low calorie/low fat diets that they were trying to do. It was INSANE!!
Then I changed doctors and this one I have now who is very low carb friendly. She immediately steered me to low carb and I protested at first. She persisted and the rest is the best part of the story.
After only 3 months my blood pressure is normal. My blood sugar is normal. I have energy and am not grumpy all the time. I’ve lost 9 pounds and plan to stay on this low carb lifestyle for the rest of my life! But best of all, I am no longer shamed and ashamed. It wasn’t my fault at all! I was just on the wrong road.
Thank God for doctors like the ones you have been interviewing. My doctor saved my life! And thank God for you! Keep doing what you’re doing! You are helping a lot of people.
Incredible story, Peg! I'm so proud of you for being willing to try something different from what you had been taught to better yourself and the proof is in the results. What an awesome turnaround you have been able to enjoy, something you can share with your patients, too!
Even people who are considered successful on programs like Weight Watchers still struggle with their weight. But when they hear about livin' la vida low-carb for the first time from someone who has done well on it like one of my readers shared at a Weight Watchers meeting last year, it's like a light bulb finally gets turned on for them. Peg knows what I'm talking about!
What makes it hard is you have magazines like Consumer Reports naming Weight Watchers among their top-tiered diets (while scorning the Atkins low-carb diet as the unhealthiest way to eat!) when clearly it does not work for everyone. Sure, some people do well on it, but I wonder about their long-term results. Can they stick with it being hungry all the time on that high-carb, low-fat, low-calorie diet?
It's always been about finding the diet that's right for you and then sticking to it. That doesn't mean you won't need to tweak it every now and then to adjust to the changes in your body. But if you start with low-carb and it works, then stay with low-carb. However, if low-fat keeps you slim and healthy, then do that. It's an individualized thing that each person needs to decide for themselves what is best for them.
That is what Peg did at long last to improve her weight and health thanks to the low-carb lifestyle. She is another in a long list of people who have FINALLY seen the light at last. Welcome to the wonderful world of livin' la vida low-carb, Peg!
If you have recently "found" low-carb and would like to share your story of success on it, then please feel free to e-mail me anytime at livinlowcarbman@charter.net.
Nothing thrills me more than to see someone who has finally been able to overcome the low-fat/low-calorie dogma that dominates our culture while sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and other such garbage carbs keep getting a free pass by our health establishment. Such is the case with a nurse from North Carolina named Peg Hatley.
As you will see from her comment below, Peg thought there was something wrong with her because she couldn't lose weight and improve her health on the highly-touted, government-indoctrinated high-carb, low-fat diet.
Peg kept banging her head against a brick wall trying to figure out what the deal was until she was finally convinced by a doctor who was "low-carb friendly" to start livin' la vida low-carb in March. The results thus far have been stunning to say the least.
Here's what Peg Hatley wrote at my podcast web site:
Jimmy,
I listened to the interview today with Dr. Temmerman and I knew I needed to write a comment. I am a home health nurse and your podcast keeps me away from fast food drive-thru and blowing all the wonderful things that are happening to me on my low carb diet. You and your podcast help me stay on track.
I have only been low carbing for 3 months; it took me a long time to get over the “indoctrination” from my nurse’s training. I have been overweight, with diabetes and high blood pressure for years, all the while, driving from patient’s home to patient’s home, teaching them how to eat the diet that was killing me!
Yet, no matter how hard I clung to the low fat/low calorie diet, it didn’t help me--and it wasn’t helping my patients. I thought there was something wrong with me! In fact, when I repeatedly failed at Weight Watchers and the staff of WW publicly shamed me in several meetings by saying I was either lying about what I was eating, or not “trying hard enough.” I thought it was my fault and so I tried harder.
When my doctors told me I must not be writing down “everything” I was eating and I needed to stick closer to their prescribed low fat diet, again I thought it was my fault and tried even harder.
All the while, my blood sugar, weight and blood pressure climbed higher and higher. And I got more and more passionate with my patients about the low calorie/low fat diets that they were trying to do. It was INSANE!!
Then I changed doctors and this one I have now who is very low carb friendly. She immediately steered me to low carb and I protested at first. She persisted and the rest is the best part of the story.
After only 3 months my blood pressure is normal. My blood sugar is normal. I have energy and am not grumpy all the time. I’ve lost 9 pounds and plan to stay on this low carb lifestyle for the rest of my life! But best of all, I am no longer shamed and ashamed. It wasn’t my fault at all! I was just on the wrong road.
Thank God for doctors like the ones you have been interviewing. My doctor saved my life! And thank God for you! Keep doing what you’re doing! You are helping a lot of people.
Incredible story, Peg! I'm so proud of you for being willing to try something different from what you had been taught to better yourself and the proof is in the results. What an awesome turnaround you have been able to enjoy, something you can share with your patients, too!
Even people who are considered successful on programs like Weight Watchers still struggle with their weight. But when they hear about livin' la vida low-carb for the first time from someone who has done well on it like one of my readers shared at a Weight Watchers meeting last year, it's like a light bulb finally gets turned on for them. Peg knows what I'm talking about!
What makes it hard is you have magazines like Consumer Reports naming Weight Watchers among their top-tiered diets (while scorning the Atkins low-carb diet as the unhealthiest way to eat!) when clearly it does not work for everyone. Sure, some people do well on it, but I wonder about their long-term results. Can they stick with it being hungry all the time on that high-carb, low-fat, low-calorie diet?
It's always been about finding the diet that's right for you and then sticking to it. That doesn't mean you won't need to tweak it every now and then to adjust to the changes in your body. But if you start with low-carb and it works, then stay with low-carb. However, if low-fat keeps you slim and healthy, then do that. It's an individualized thing that each person needs to decide for themselves what is best for them.
That is what Peg did at long last to improve her weight and health thanks to the low-carb lifestyle. She is another in a long list of people who have FINALLY seen the light at last. Welcome to the wonderful world of livin' la vida low-carb, Peg!
If you have recently "found" low-carb and would like to share your story of success on it, then please feel free to e-mail me anytime at livinlowcarbman@charter.net.
Labels: carbs, diet, health, low-carb, low-fat, nurse, Peg Hatley, podcast, The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show, weight loss, Weight Watchers
posted by Jimmy Moore at
6/09/2007 02:22:00 PM
2 Comments:
Oh boy oh boy have I heard the EXACT same thing from Weight Watchers and doctors!!
I was on Weight Watchers for 2-1/2 years and although I didn't cheat, EVER, and only went off the plan 7x in 2-1/2 years, they accused me of cheating or not writing EVERYTHING down. How frustrating!!
And after being on about about 20 or more diet email lists over these dieting years, I can tell you that the people on low-fat diets such as Weight Watchers complain about being HUNGRY all the time AND you should see their food logs. The garbage they eat, but still say "Well at least I stayed within my points" is pathetic. And then everyone cheered them on saying "Yeah, you stayed within your points for the day". Like it's OK, to eat garbage as long as you eat within your scheduled points for the day/week. I was always like HUH???
And when I heard that Consumer Reports said it was one of the top tiered diets I was flabbergated. Do they really know what people are eating on this "great diet"??
Anyways, couldn't help but comment and add that I'm SOOO glad (and so is my family) that I've found this way of eating!
My experience at Weight Wathcers was the same.
In fact I found it was the 'typical' experience as I worked at the meetings for a year and a half.
WW is the most defended program, because everyone starts saying it worked for their counsin's bothfriend's Mother's husabands dog.
But when people really examine their own experience over time, they will see what a failed experiement it is.
Eseentially it is based on starvation. Starvation always works in teh short term.
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