I learned of CR via a 20/20 program about aging in
circa 1988 where I became familiar with Dr Roy
Walford's work and his then recently published "The
120 Year Diet" (1986). I bought the book and after
reading ordered 6 more and passed them to friends.
First Attempt
I began CR right away but my wife was doing her own
diet...neither of us was overweight then. After
repeated kitchen fights over what to eat, what to buy,
etc., I gave up after about 4 months or so and
resigned myself to die at my wife's hands :)
Fourteen years later, I had gained about 18 pounds and
was miserable. Though healthy and active, I felt old
at 53 and didn't feel healthy. I felt my vitality
slipping away with the years. My wife had been
nagging me to get a prostate check since I had turned
50 because old men are supposed to get this checked
she claimed.
Finally, I relented and went for a general physical.
All was well except my cholesterol was 273. I knew it
was 283 when I retired from the USMC fourteen years
earlier and still before that it was in the 240s; so,
I knew I had a 20 year history of high cholesterol.
My Dr. wanted me to try controlling it with diet
before resorting to statin drugs...which I was all in
favor of, and knew right away I was going on the 120
year diet.
Preparing For The Second Try
I couldn't find my old copy of the book so I went to
order another at the book store and learned of an
update retitled, Beyond the 120 Year Diet and
ordered 6 copies. I announced my decision to pursue
this diet to my wife and she said she would do it with
me. She had also gained about 20 pounds over the
years.
I set a date of Jan 1, 2002 to begin the diet.
In the interim, I bought a computer, got high speed
Internet and finally found the Calorie Restriction Society on the Internet
after starting as a complete computer illiterate.
In preparing for the diet change, I decided that if I
was to maintain this program for the rest of my life,
I had to eat foods that I was familiar with and liked.
Tofu and watercress were not a part of my normal
diet.
A New Diet - Keeping The Best of The Old
Using the tables of foods in the rear of Walford's
book, I went down the long lists and check-marked
everything that was a part of my then normal diet.
"Normal" had to be something that I ate at least once
a month. I found that my core diet revolved around
about 50 foods that I simply ate in various
combinations as meals. Some were good foods and some
were bad foods.
I also came up with another list of
foods that I ate only occasionally, that were good
foods, but were not part of my normal diet. Fruit was
a glaring example in my case though there were many
vegetables as well. These good foods were place in
the "repertoire" of my revised diet.
The revision was simply eating more of the good foods
and a lot less of the bad foods. This way, I didn't
feel like I was on a diet at all and I didn't have to
adjust to new flavors and textures. Sugar was
replaced with Splenda since it tasted most like sugar
to me.
Tracking Nutrients - An Eye Opener
I had also bought the DWIDP sotware and used it
religiously for the first several months. This
trained me on what to eat and how much. I still user
it but not as frequently, since I now have a good
knowledge base to draw from.
I was stunned by how nutritionally deficient my ad-lib
diet was.
Results
I lost 28 pounds over the following year and a half
and have stabilized my weight at 150, I am 5'10". My
choleserol dropped to 170 after only 5 months on CR.
My doctor was amazed.
Now, approaching age 59 on Feb. 25th, I can't begin to
describe how good I feel. CR gave me my life back. I
feel young and vital again and my work productivity
has dramatically increased. I am a self employed
landscape contractor and I can accomplish now in three
days what used to take me twice as long.
The heat of the Carolina summer does not slow me down
and I don't spend the day drenched in my own sweat any
longer. I don't need to break for lunch since I only
eat twice a day.