At this point I hadn’t been to a doctor in years, so I don’t know exactly what I weighed.  About a year before that I’d been weighed at 392 pounds so it had to be at least that and probably higher.

Those pants are size 62 (I am 68 inches tall) and are tight around the waist.  I still wasn’t monitoring my weight so I have no idea what it was.

Getting romantically involved with Julie had prompted me to start paying attention to my health again.  My weight was down to 385 pounds and my A1c (blood test for measuring blood glucose levels over time) was over 8, which is extremely unhealthy.  I’d been a Type II diabetic since 1994.

After a couple of years of doing everything the USDA, the ADA, and my endocrinologist said to do, eating lots of grains and avoiding meat and fat, my face was much less puffy-looking but I still weighed in at 375 pounds.  My latest A1c result had reached 9.3 despite being on three separate blood-sugar-lowering medications, which was alarming enough that my doctor wanted to have me start injecting insulin.  Instead, I read Gary Taubes’ book Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It and started a low-carb diet.

The low carb diet has done amazing things for me.  In this photo I weigh 275 pounds and my most recent A1c was 5.6, which is almost within non-diabetic range.  I take only one medication now instead of 3.  My blood pressure, triglycerides, and other key health indicators are also much improved.