In the Marines, fitness wasn’t optional. It was your ticket to promotion and the difference between making it or not. Twenty-mile hikes at route step (forty inches heel-to-toe), regular PT, and at 5’9″ and 160 pounds I was a lean, mean, fighting machine.
After I got out in ’72, the pounds crept on. I fought the battle of the bulge every day. For a while Jim Fixx was my hero—I ran to keep the weight down—but I loved to eat and I had a serious sweet tooth. An injury in my 50s gave me the excuse to stop working out altogether, and no diet I tried stuck. There were many.
Then Dr. Atkins’ first book hit. A doctor saying, “go low-carb, eat protein and fat, cut the sugar and starch,” and watch the weight come off? I’m a carnivore—BBQ guy—so when he said I could eat meat, eggs, unprocessed cheese, butter, and vegetables, I was all in. The rule was simple: forsake the “white” stuff—flour, sugar, rice, potatoes, bread—and the biggie, alcohol.
Within weeks I felt like I was melting. In six months I lost 70 pounds and started feeling human again. The diet wars came next—loud voices from the low-fat crowd and the sugar industry, twisting lines like “you could eat a pound of bacon” without the rest of the sentence: “but you wouldn’t.” Meanwhile, I kept losing as long as I kept carbs down (I lived under ~30g/day).
Then I made the classic mistake: success → “I’ve got this” → back to old ways. I gained it all back—and then some. The part nobody tells you? Whatever you do to lose the weight is a preview of what you’ll need to do to keep it off. Maintenance isn’t a new plan; it’s a lighter version of the same plan.
Over the years I’ve watched “new” diets come and go—South Beach, Carnivore, you name it. Different labels, same core idea: control carbs. It was “okay” to call Atkins crazy, then quietly cash in on his research.
Here’s the distilled version of what actually worked for me—and what I wish I’d done differently.
What worked (for real)
- Low-carb, not zero-carb. Protein first, non-starchy veg second, fats to satiety. Keep sugar and flour out of the house.
- Simple rules beat complicated macros. If it’s white and refined, it’s off the plate. If it comes in a crinkly package and tastes like childhood, it’s a trap.
- Alcohol is a progress killer. For me, cutting it was non-negotiable when losing.
- Eat food you actually like. Eggs, steak, pork shoulder, rotisserie chicken, sautéed greens, butter, olive oil. If it feels like punishment, you won’t stick to it.
- Win the grocery store, and you win the week. If it doesn’t come home with you, you can’t eat it at 10:30 PM.
- Accept tradeoffs. I didn’t outrun my fork. My back limited hard workouts. So nutrition did the heavy lifting.
What backfired
- “I’ll just run it off.” Injury ended that. Movement helps, but food is the gearshift.
- Low-fat products. They took out fat and pumped in sugar. My hunger went up, not down.
- Treats in the house. If it’s within arm’s reach, it’s already gone.
- Magical thinking. “I’ll be different this time” without a maintenance plan. Not how this works.
- Sugar free “candy” with the Tols. Sorbitol, Malitol all took their toll. Eat enough of it and you got to stay close to the throne room or else suffer embarrassing moments you cant control.
The Sarge Playbook (cutting phase)
- Plates, not counts.
- Half: protein (eggs, beef, pork, chicken, fish).
- Half: non-starchy veg (greens, cabbage, eggplant, okra).
- Fats to taste (butter/olive oil), no sugar sauces.
- Carb cap: Start at 20g net carbs/day for 2–4 weeks. What Dr. Atkins called “Induction”
- Drink: Water, black coffee, unsweet tea. (Skip alcohol while cutting.)
- Sweet tooth policy: Fruit is dessert. If you “trigger,” pick berries only, or skip entirely. For some reason raspberries were ok.
- Eat windows: Not required, but a 10–12 hour eating window helps many folks.
- Weekly check-in: Same scale, same time, once a week. Adjust only if two weeks stall.
Maintenance (the part I blew)
- Reintroduce slowly. Add one carb source at a time (e.g., rice or bread, not both).
- Set a line. For me, ~75–100g net carbs/day holds the line without backsliding.
- Guardrails: One planned indulgence per week, never two days in a row.
- Alcohol rules: If it’s back in, set a cap (e.g., 2 drinks/week) or keep it out.
- Holiday plan: Two plates—protein + veg first plate, taste the rest on a small second plate.
Field notes for the Philippines (and eating out)
- Carinderia strategy: Ask what’s fresh and still hot. Stick to adobo, grilled fish, laing, tortang talong. Rice? If you must, half-cup max.
- Lechon & belly: Great protein—just watch the sauces and portions.
- Fast food swap: Jollibee Chickenjoy + coleslaw, skip the spaghetti and sweet gravy.
- Desserts: Halo-halo is a treat, not a habit. Share one.
- Social life: Eat before parties; at the event, stick to meat + veg first, then choose your one indulgence.
Two-week starter (no math)
Eat from this list:
- Protein: eggs, chicken thighs, pork shoulder, ground beef, steak, fish, sardines/tuna, longganisa (watch sugar), tapa (watch sugar).
- Veg: cabbage, spinach/kangkong, ampalaya if you’re brave, eggplant, okra, cauli/broccoli.
- Fats: butter, olive oil, coconut oil, avocado.
- Flavor: salt, pepper, garlic, calamansi, vinegar, soy (light), chilies.
- Drink: water, coffee/tea (unsweetened).
- Experiment. Parmesan crackers, cauliflower “mashed potatoes” Melted cheddar for taco wrappers. Grilled vegetables.
- If you need sweet in your coffee or tea use Splenda or Stevia.
Avoid for two weeks: rice, bread, noodles, chips, pastries, soda/juice, beer, sweetened coffee, “low-fat” anything, alcohol.
Move how you can: Walk 20–30 minutes most days. Gentle core/back work if your body allows. The point is momentum, not macho.
If nothing else, remember this
- Carbs drive appetite—for me. Keeping them low switches off the snack gremlin.
- You don’t have to be perfect—just consistent.
- Maintenance is the mission. Don’t “graduate” from the plan that worked. You just switch to a lighter version and keep your guardrails.
- Carb starvation is real. Face it head on and remember this: Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels!!
Light disclaimer
I’m sharing what worked (and didn’t) for me. I’m not your doctor. If you have medical conditions or take medications, especially for blood sugar or blood pressure, talk to a clinician before changing your diet—low-carb can change medication needs fast.
Again, I’m no doctor but I can safely say this. Stay away from any kind of “diet pill” I saw what Phen Phen did to a friend and it wasn’t pretty. I’ve had personal experience with diet surgeries, Gastroplasty, stomach bands and liposuction, lazy ways for the got to have it now crowd to lose weight.