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Sherlock Holmes, the tortoise, the hare, Dukan Diet and me

Pick up the phone and call Scotland Yard - I have a mystery for Sherlock Holmes!

My mystery was not a crime - but it was one of a nutritional and physical matter.

Last year due to repeated foot injuries, there came a time that I had to lay off the running habit that I'd established over a five year period. I'd gone from thinking I could never run a mile, to running a 5k and not thinking twice about running 2-3 miles 6 days a week. Progress had been made - and I didn't want to loose the ground I'd worked so hard to gain.



I'd never say that I was the "hare" kind of runner, but loosing my "tortoise" daily run was a difficult loss.

However, the injuries meant I'd have to rest from running. Unfortunately, that six months of  PT and rest led to me gaining the twenty pounds I'd lost from running over the last five years.

The mystery continues...

In response to the weight gain, I consulted a nutritionist, logged my calories and after 3 months had lost 7 pounds. It was progress, but not quite as much progress as I'd hoped for. Over the summer I tried a vegetarian diet, but did not see a significant change.By the fall, I was determined to find a solution so I could get back to running (less mass = less impact) and tried protein shakes two times a day for a month. At the end of that month I'd lost two pounds. After a year of food diaries and only nine pounds loss, I began to consider a plan that my friend Kathy had been working on with the help of her doctor.

Maybe with the group support and a doctor's insight - this mystery might be able to be solved?


Image found at Deviant Art


While I was amazed by her progress (she is now 60 pounds down from her starting place), it took some convincing for me to try this high protein, low fat, low carbohydrate plan. I decided to give it a month and see how the Dukan Diet worked.

In that month, I lost a little over ten pounds. My energy level was improving and my foot pain continued to decrease with the loss of mass. (less mass=less impact)

From December to the end of May, I've now lost 40 pounds and am approaching my goal.
Over the last six months I have lost weight, but my blood pressure (upper number) has dropped 25-30 points and I've discovered that I have some sensitivity to gluten. These are all good clues that lead me to think I'm getting closer to solving this mystery.


Let me clear to say that this change was not motivated to meet an ideal or accepted by the world around me. I have been and will continue to be a strong, sturdy, and healthy woman -it just turns out with this change in my diet that I'm a tad lighter than I thought was possible.

While I'm posting the before and current picture to show a physical change in my physical state, this change was not originally motivated to "change" my appearance. But the change in my appearance is conclusive evidence that there is a distinct difference seen over the last year to six months.

I'm happy to say that my love of running and being active are things that can continue to be a part of my life. Slowly, I'm hitting pavement - but (maybe this is wisdom from experience) I'm much kinder to my body than I used to be.

Slow and steady could be the answer to this mystery...

Left side - May 2014              Right side - October 2013


Making changes can be a difficult. In the last year there were many times I'd wish the Sherlock Holmes of nutrition would have shouted, "The solution is elementary, my dear..." Tara. But finding a solution to this running and nutrition mystery was no sprint (tee hee) - it was and continues to be a marathon. 

That said, progress on this mystery has been made. 

From one turtle to another, the Dukan Diet has been quite helpful to me in solving some nutritional mysteries. It may not be a sprint to reach your health goals, but slow and steady...remember this.......
really does win the race of life.

(Please make healthy changes with the help of your doctor - don't just take my word for gospel. I'm not a nutritionist - obviously!)

Happy mystery solving and be kind to you!

Sincerely,
 Tortoise Tara

Comments

Unknown said…
I love,love,love this my friend!! I am so proud of you! Your before and after pictures are remarkable!!
Tara Lamont said…
Thank you Kathy - we make a great Dukan team.

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