.When I met Debra Horne, she was in trouble. She has given me permission to tell her story to help others get out of trouble. She was 51 years old. She weighed 298 pounds, and she was on a scooter chair. She loved playing with her grandchild, but if she got down on the floor to play with him, she needed the help of another adult to get up. Our first conversation lasted about 45 minutes. During our visit, it became obvious that her grandchild was very precious to her. She wanted to be around when he got married. That was her biggest reason for wanting to improve her health.
She had type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. She had high cholesterol. None of it was very well controlled. I asked her to tell me what she usually ate for lunch. She said a liter of soda and a large bag of potato chips. By that time, I was leading a team that focused on cardiovascular and related problems like hypertension and diabetes. We saw patients like Debra every day. The root cause of her trouble was obvious. She needed to change her diet to make maximum progress and we talked about that. My message was simple. Soda and chips are highly processed addictive foods with almost all the calories coming from sugar. To slowly lose weight, she needed to change her diet so that she would be taking in much less sugar and slowly lose weight. I didn’t just tell her to lose weight. I didn’t just tell her what she could not have. I told her how she could improve her health permanently. “Just eat real whole food—lean meat, eggs, low-fat dairy, fruits, vegetables, beans, peas, and nuts. You don’t have to count calories or measure portions. Just change what you eat. For example, chili made from dried kidney beans and lean hamburger with no sugar or other carbs added is a very healthy option. You don’t have to be hungry.”
Her quality of life was already poor. We discussed the complications of obesity and diabetes and the situation she was in. When we were done, Debra looked at me and said, “If I don’t take care of this, I probably won’t be at my grandchild’s wedding—right?” I thought a minute and told her, “I wish I could tell you something different, but I am afraid to are right.”
The next time I saw Debra in the office, I walked in to see her, she looked at me and started crying. Of course, I was mortified. I am helpless around crying women. I asked her what I had done to upset her? She said, “Nothing. I had seen several doctors before I came here. I wanted to get better, but when they came in to see me, I could see it in their eyes. Here comes the fat girl, there is nothing I can do to help her. You listened to me. You helped me understand how I can get better.”
Debra is the most successful patient I have ever treated. She started eating real, whole food and she lost 150 pounds within two years and that was about fifteen years ago. She is still size eight. She no longer uses a scooter chair, and she walks two miles in the mountains regularly. I did not give her medications for her diabetes that would make her gain weight and she ate real whole food. As I have explained in the last two posts, that addresses the root causes of obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and their complications. It is just that simple and that is the only path to permanent major weight loss. Weight loss drugs that cost $1000 a month and weight-loss surgery will not provide permanent weight loss if you continue to eat sugar, fast, and processed foods.
It is so easy and you don't need to be hungry. It is far easier and cheaper than seeing doctors and taking drugs
Thanks to you and Debra for sharing this story. It’s a very powerful message.