I am amazed. I saw a patient this morning whom I had last seen about a year ago. He then weighed about 400 pounds and had all the problems that go with that kind of weight: diabetes, hypertension, arthritis. He couldn't walk and got around on an extra-large electric wheelchair. I remember he asked me how he could lose weight. (asked ME, a person carrying around about 80 extra pounds myself.

We discussed many options. He was not eligible for diet pills because of his hypertension. His insurance wouldn't cover a gastric bypass. Trying to follow a diabetic diet had failed for him because it left him terribly hungry. The portions were just too small.

I suggested he try the Atkins diet. It was the only thing that I could think of that was possible for him. It wouldn't make his blood sugars go up, and hell, it might just work. He needed desperately to do something.

So I see him today, and I gaped. He was WALKING. With a cane, to be sure, but it was the first time I ever saw him not in a wheelchair. He gave the biggest grin, and got on our scales. He hadn't been able to weigh on normal scales in years. (When we had to get a weight to qualify him for an extra large wheelchair, we had to send him down to the box factory nearby and use the industrial scales.)

He weighs 298 pounds. I am so jealous. If I had started and stuck with a diet when HE did, I would now be a normal weight.

But I am inspired. For someone that large to lose that much, and to be so much healthier...

And I am so happy for him. It was pure joy to see him WALKING and so happy. He has worked hard and stuck to his diet, and deserves his rewards.