Valentin (Canada) – 23 kg in 4 months
Valentin (Canada) – 23 kg in 4 months
Hi Michel, My story starts in 2006, with my weight at my highest of 93 kg (205 lbs). We’d just had emigrated from Romania to Canada and I was starting to gain weight by every month (by the way, your article “Metabolic Atavism Theory” was quite good and interesting!).
I was 35 years old with a height of 1,78 m and I just wanted to do something about my ever-growing weight. I didn’t follow any diet before and I was careless about what, when and how I ate and drink. A friend of mine recommended Michel Montignac, saying that it’s “good but though and I don’t know if you can follow it too much time. I am following it 6 days and 1 day I ignore it”.
I was curios and I went to the website. I’ve printed everything off and started to read. And then I applied everything in my day-to-day life. In addition to my new diet I’ve incorporated more exercise too, with 2-3 times a week going to the gym at the beginning and after my second son was born (couple of months later) only once a week. Now I now that if you want to lose weight only through the caloric theory it’s insane and has a rate of failure of 95% (only 1 lbs of fat = 3000 calories!).
Watching you diet is much more important and effective at weight loss then exercising.
I ate only foods from Low and Medium GI food table. Only a couple of times I remember trespassing to High GI. I’ve stopped eating sugar and salt in all their forms that you can find them in foods. I’ve stopped eating high processed foods. I’ve been reading all the labels from the food I was buying since them and I don’t intend to change this habit ever.
I’ve stopped drinking beer from every other day to once a week let’s say at most and switched to red wine. More vegetables and fruit were incorporated in my new lifestyle. I’ve switched the accent from a lot of meat with some side dish to a main course of vegetables and some meat on the side (if any at all). More fish, poultry and meat organs were included in my meals and less beef and almost none pork. I’ve re-learned to chew more the food, knowing now the importance of the mastication. I am now a slow-eater to the, sometimes, despair of my wife! I don’t think and I don’t care of calories, knowing now that the theory has flaws and Michel explained it very well on the website.
I think now in terms of natural, less processed possible, organic, high fiber, no-salt-sugar, high water content of my food. I indulge only in dark chocolate with >70% cocoa.
And this is what MM has been trying to tell us for years now, this is the essence of his method, if you are asking me. I’ve studied after this Food Combining and applied the essence of it to MM method. I went even further and studied physiology and nutrition, and the relationship between diet, nutrition and health, buying and reading many books and articles connected to this field.
And the results were spectacular. I’ve lost 23 kg (50 lbs) in 3-4 months. I feel and look great now at 70 kg. All my health challenges cleared up in months. I was suffering with stomachaches, bloating, flatulence, constipation and the whole array of digestive problems that comes along with an unhealthy diet and lifestyle. I didn’t even have a cold in these past two years. I am a health-conscious person now, eating healthy and keeping active as much as I can. I am like in MM method Phase 2 for the rest of my life. I want to add at the end here that I am not perfect and didn’t become a “health freak” as many tend to become. I will have some foods with which I am not used to and harsh drinks in some social events, because there are times when you can’t just avoid it and there are no choices in sight. But those are the exceptions and not the norm, and as long as you keep them this way, good health will result and will be preserved. (and a normal waistline!).
Now I know that losing weight shouldn’t be a goal in itself, and that only a healthy lifestyle can get you to a slim body and in a good state of health. And that we have health in direct proportion with the degree of commitment toward a healthy diet and lifestyle.
And it all started with Michel Montignac. Thank you for this from the bottom of my heart.