Today
Eric Power got a scratch on his leg in 2019, but didn’t think much of it until he noticed it wasn’t healing. When he had it checked, he discovered that he had diabetes.
Surgeons had to remove the tissue surrounding the scratch and he had to be hospitalized for several days. That health scare motivated him to change his life.
“Having this near-death experience was a wake-up call. It was the decisive moment for me. That my children saw me in a hospital bed for the first time was decisive and made me aware. “I want to be close to my family,” she said.
He had been overweight his entire life, exceeding 300 pounds (about 135 kilos) for 30 years and reaching a maximum weight of 435 pounds (about 200 kilos). In addition to obesity and diabetes, she had other health problems, including hypertension, high cholesterol and asthma.
By eating a low-carb, low-calorie diet, intermittent fasting, and hiking, Power lost 200 pounds. At the time, he felt his weight was too low, so since late 2020 he has kept it between 240 and 250 pounds (108 and 113 kilos), where he says he feels comfortable.
Lose weight transformed all aspects of his lifefrom your health to your relationships and career.
Here’s how he did it.
A diet low in carbohydrates and calories
“As someone who has struggled with their weight their entire life, I knew I had to watch my diet,” explains Power. “Weight loss is the result of many small good decisions. It’s that moment when you look in the refrigerator or the pantry and make the right decision.”
Power said he used an app to track his diet and measure his fat, protein, carbohydrates and calories. Additionally, he also made sure to eat enough protein and limited himself to 20 net carbs and between 1,600 and 1,800 calories a day.
He stopped eating bread, pasta, rice, legumes and potatoes. Now he eats strawberries and avocados, but he hasn’t had apples in years. He does not eat vegetables rich in carbohydrates, nor corn and carrots.
“At first, all I wanted was to simplify things. I wasn’t that creative. What he ate was very limited,” she recalls. At first, he ate a lot of eggs, nine a day, because they are low in carbohydrates with protein and healthy fats. Also turkey sausages because he could eat six for the same amount of calories as two pork.
“It’s very hard at first, but after the first month or two, you don’t want the other things anymore. It’s like the fog is clearing.”it states.
Over time he expanded his diet. For dinner, eat grilled chicken, shrimp, beef, or pork with low-carb vegetables, such as asparagus or broccoli, sometimes with blue cheese on top. Also add flavor with low-carb barbecue, teriyaki, and parmesan sauces and make a burger salad inspired by McDonald’s Big Mac.
If that’s not enough, Power has found low-carb substitutes for some of the high-carb foods she stopped eating. “I had to find new things,” she says.
Cheese tacos, egg lasagna, and cauliflower macaroni and cheese are now part of their meals. She does what he calls a cheesecake of lime low in carbohydrates with only three of them net per serving. It is his favorite gift for his real estate clients when he closes a sale.
You’ve mostly avoided packaged keto products like bars, chips, and breads. “I think things like keto bread make it harder to kick the habit. If you are still eating everything between two slices you are closer to returning to that old lifestyle,” she assures.
Since late 2020, when he no longer needed to lose weight, he has added a little more carbohydrates, increasing his intake to 30 or 40 a day.
intermittent fasting
In early 2020, Power added intermittent fasting to her plan. “Old Eric would wake up, make a 1,500-calorie breakfast, and eat and eat and eat all day. He would have a bowl of cereal before going to bed. “He never gave my body a break,” he says.
Now, after deciding to change his life, the man eats every day from noon to 8:00 pm, so that his body has 16 hours to rest and recover. Additionally, he says he doesn’t eat as many calories a day when he eats in a smaller interval. “Intermittent fasting not only helped me lose weight, but also to control diabetes”Explain.
Avoiding temptations
Power knew that, in certain situations, he would not be able to resist carbohydrate-rich foods. That’s why he stayed away from the supermarket and shopped with an app so he wouldn’t search the aisles for donuts.
He didn’t go to restaurants until he felt confident he was prepared to make the right decisions. “I basically stayed at home. I didn’t trust myself to go out into the world. Now I can go and order a salad with chicken,” he says.
Make walks a routine
Power didn’t start walking right away: He lost about 100 pounds before incorporating some physical activity. The first day he got on the treadmill he did it for an hour. “I felt good, but the second day killed me,” he recalls. He continued on, although he could barely go a mile or two.
Now, before his first meal of the day, he covers just over three miles (almost 5 km) in an hour. He uses a strategy he calls “push, rest, push,” in which he walks three or four days in a row and then rests two or three. “Exercising seven days a week didn’t make sense for my time or my body,” she says.
Early in his journey, Power created a Facebook page called My Weight Loss Journey to count your progress. “I made live videos where I was vulnerable and to show the world what I can do,” she says. You can also follow her progress on the @mrlowcarb Instagram account.
Power knew he needed medication to control his health problems, but he didn’t like how it made him feel and was determined to get off it. So, while he lost weight, he had blood tests every 90 days to check his progress.
“I can look at those results on an app and see them go from red to green, as well as watch a track of all my previous blood tests to see all the numbers dropping into a healthy range,” he says.
She has not taken any medication since February 2020. “I felt so healthy then, but I am much healthier now. “I weighed a lot more then, but I could still stop taking medicine,” she says. “It’s amazing to think how quickly I was able to heal my body using only food.”
The changes you have seen in your health:
- His A1C, an indicator of diabetes, was 13.1 when he was diagnosed with the disease. She is now systematically in the five points and no longer needs to take metformin.
- His body sugar levels have dropped to around 100.
- His cholesterol readings are normal, so he no longer takes Lipitor.
- His blood pressure is 110/70 without medication.
- The most difficult number to lower was triglycerides, but he reduced them from 350 to between 70 and 80. His kidneys are healthy, which means he no longer needs metformin.
- His good kidney condition is especially important to him because he has a brother who has had two kidney transplants.
- He used to have asthma attacks, coughs and colds when he was overweight, but he hasn’t gotten sick in years.
“Now I look forward to going to the doctor and having blood tests once a year. “My doctor is my biggest fan,” she says.
His greatest victories
In addition to improving his health, Power has seen many changes in his life now that he is healthier:
- You can sit in the exit row of an airplane because you don’t need a seat belt extender.
- He is able to tie his shoelaces: his children did it for him.
- You can ride all the attractions at Universal Studios, which is close to your home in Melbourne, Florida.
- As a baseball and softball coach, it is now easier for him to get around the field.
- He has become a better example for his three children.
His relationship with his family, his friends and his wife has strengthened. He has been married to Corey for 26 years, whom he asked to join him on his low-carb journey. She accepted and lost 85 pounds (about 39 kilos).
One surprising change was how her weight loss and improved health changed her career as a real estate agent. “I hate to say it, but the world treats fat people differently. I was successful when I was overweight, but my business has never been as fruitful as it has been in the last three years,” he explains.
Your tips for losing weight
Power shares some of the most valuable advice he has found on this adventure:
- Spend four to six weeks on the process and trust it. “The hardest thing for most people is to change habits,” she says.
- Put yourself first. There are many people on Facebook who say they can’t lose weight because they have to cook for their family or because they are busy with their work. “I think one of the biggest pieces of advice I can give is to put yourself first,” he insists.
- Get blood tests so you can track the process over time.
- Seek support, whether online or in person, from others who are walking the same path.
