LifeByChocolate by Durk Pearson & Sandy Shaw™

By Edwin San Anselmo, CA. on 4/6/2009

I have written to you before and reported on my successes with Durk & Sandy’s 21st Century Weight Loss Program. And now here’s another update. While I lost about 25 lb of total body weight from November of 2006 through to about September of 2008, and held that weight loss until May of 2008, in the next ten months (through to February of 2009) I regained 11 lb, so that my total loss over the period was about 14 lb. That’s not bad, especially after 28 months, but it’s not what I want . . . but then, I confess, I had fallen off the program.

As I’ve thought about this (and failed to), I had defaulted back into the rather stale idea that gaining weight is simply part of getting older. This is possibly because everyone around me seems to show it, especially around their midriffs, that it seems so “normal.” But because I exercise, I’ve pretty much kept my shape, certainly far better than my nonexercising, but diet-conscious friends. But I don’t like being heavier and refuse to be steamrolled by the “inevitability” of anything, no less the aging process.

Fortunately, I keep a record of my supplement and Glycemic Control food purchases, so I could see that I had reduced my consumption of product by about 50%! Breakfasts are easy and have stayed relatively the same: Durk & Sandy’s Glycemic Control Quick Flakes, microwaved with some milk for 2 minutes and topped with their Functional Gourmet MCT Oil, Butter Buds®, and berries. Delicious and satisfying! And my use of the MealMate supplement has remained constant.

However, my ShapeShifter Teas consumption had slipped from 2 cups to 1 cup per day, and my use of Glycemic Control Flour had virtually been eliminated. Also, my use of the Glycemic Control Nuggets had gone down substantially, as had my consumption of the snacks such as Glycemic Control LifeByChocolate, Glycemic Control No Crumb Left Behind, and Glycemic Control Cocoa ’n Nuts & Spices Cookies.

With some resistance, because there is a discipline involved, I resumed the program. While my compliance is still building, since getting back on the bandwagon, I have lost another 3–4 lb which takes my total loss back down to 17–18 lbs. I’d say that’s proof of the concept. And I feel great!

Variety is the spice of life, so would you please consider making more choices available. One of the customer reps at Life Enhancement had talked about a Glycemic Control Brownie and (if only it would be true) a Glycemic Control Pasta. Wow! Now that’s something worth living for.

Lastly, I have been a faithful user of InnerPower Plus, which I typically take before going to the gym. That too, undoubtedly has helped to keep my muscle mass high and my fat percentage quite low, still about 15%. That’s pretty good for someone approaching 65.

By EDWIN San Anselmo, CA. on 4/29/2008

The other day, I popped a button on a shirt. It was a smaller size shirt than I typically wear (XL vs. XXL), but I can’t recall popping a button on a shirt before. So, on a hunch, I measured my chest. It proved to be nearly 2 inches larger then when I last measured it. This perplexed me at first, because my weight has remained stable for about 8 months, following my adoption of Durk & Sandy’s 21st Century Weight Control Program back in November of 2006. Then I was 25 pounds heavier. Now when I look at myself in the mirror, I’ve definitely developed a T-frame, something I never had before. But it hadn’t occurred to me fully what was happening. So I stepped on a scale I acquired that measures body fat electrostatically: 14.5%! That’s great, and about the midpoint of the healthy range for someone between the ages of 18 and 39—and I’m nearly 64. What is going on? I had read the studies about mitochondrial biogenesis from resveratrol, in which mice had developed defined muscles by taking large amounts of resveratrol, but that was for human-equivalent amounts of about 3.6 g/day, and I have been taking only about 200 mg/day. But I am also taking other PGC-1alpha inducers, within the context of the Program. What I do know is that I’m maintaining my weight. But there’s more: I seem to be shifting more toward lean body mass. Have I increased my exercise regimen? No—I’ve actually decreased the amount of time I spend in the gym. So the only thing I can attribute my success to is Durk & Sandy’s 21st Century Weight Control Program, to which I’ve been faithful now for 18 months. [See letters published in Life Enhancement in January 2007, May 2007, and March 2008. – Ed.] I’m thrilled with the results!

By Edwin San Anselmo, CA. USA on 1/30/2008

In November 2006, I started Durk & Sandy’s 21st Century Healthy Weight Program with the Glycemic Control barley and resistant starch products, ShapeShifter Teas, and the MealMate supplement. I then added, when they became available, LifeByChocolate, No Crumb Left Behind, and Cocoa ’n Nuts & Spices Cookies. I have not been the same.

As I’ve written to Life Enhancement before, I exercise most weekdays—aerobics for 30 minutes, if nothing else, but usually some weight training and stretching for up to another 1/2 hour. Confounding to me, although I had done this for 13 years, is that even a well controlled diet combined with a superior exercise program didn’t really work to maintain my weight. Although faring somewhat better than most of my nonexercising but diet-conscious friends, the sorry truth is that during those 13 years, I had added 25 lbs of weight (mostly fat). Was weight gain an inevitable part of the aging process, I asked?

I can now report, topping any previous spurious losses, that I am back to where I was 13 years ago, having lost about 25 pounds. And although I reached my low point about 5 months ago, the most amazing thing is that I have not regained any weight! This is unlike anything any diet has ever done for me.

My typical day is pretty much as I’ve reported before. I start with a quickly cooked (2 minutes) bowl of Glycemic Control Quick Flakes, microwaved with some milk, and then topped with Functional Gourmet MCT Oil and Butter Buds, along with blue or black berries. On my drive to work, I sip a cup of ShapeShifter Teas. Then with my lunch, I drink a cup of a low-glycemic-index juice or water into which I’ve stirred 2 tablespoons of Glycemic Control Flour. Later, in mid-afternoon I drink another cup of ShapeShifter Teas. On those days when I have had a third cup, I dip below my plateau. But unfortunately, I am rarely able to fit the third cup in, even if I use the dregs from my second cup, which have less caffeine.

I believe this is because I start my day with a combo of Memory Upgrade (containing high amounts of choline) and BLAST (containing substantial phenylalanine with some caffeine), which really gets me going, but shifts me into a high adrenergic gear, so that I am sensitive to additional caffeine or any other methylxanthine stimulant. Among the productive positive results is imperviousness to napping. Here I add hours to my day.

With dinner, I usually consume Glycemic Control Nuggets, microwaved for about 8–10 minutes in a vegetable broth, and occasionally blended with wild rice. With each meal, I also take 2 capsules of the MealMate formulation, as well as 2 more at bedtime. Although the number of recommended servings of ShapeShifter Teas is 3 cups per day, I have rarely consumed more than 2 per day. How much more progress I might make with a third cup is something to contemplate.

For a snack—so important to my other needs—I eat a small dish of Glycemic Control LifeByChocolate, or a portion of No Crumb Left Behind, or several Cocoa ’n Nuts & Spices Cookies. Yummy! One thing more: my workouts have been a lot easier, and I actually look forward to exercising. That’s thrilling!

By Edwin San Anselmo, CA. USA on 4/3/2007

I began Durk & Sandy’s 21st Century Healthy Weight Program back in November 2006, when I was privileged to have early access to all components of the program: the Glycemic Control products, the ShapeShifter Teas, and the MealMate supplement. [Regarding MealMate, see article. –Ed.] Although I exercise 4–5 days/week and have done so regularly for nearly 13 years, even a carefully controlled diet had not helped maintain my weight. The awful truth is that each of those 13 years added about 2 lbs of weight (mostly fat). Sadly, I had reconciled myself to accepting weight gain as an inevitable part of the aging process.

But then I began Durk & Sandy’s program. I can now report that, after 20 weeks, without any hunger, I’ve lost 19 lbs (all fat), and I cannot remember feeling better. I follow a low-glycemic diet for the most part, and I use the Glycemic Control products without fail at 3 servings/day.

Now, at the start of my day, I typically prepare a small bowl of Durk & Sandy’s Glycemic Control Quick Flakes, microwaved with some milk for 2 minutes and topped with Functional Gourmet MCT Oil, Butter Buds®, and berries. As I drive to work, I sip a cup of ShapeShifter Teas brewed in a French press earlier that morning. Then with my lunch, I drink a cup of a low-glycemic juice into which I’ve stirred 2 tablespoons of Glycemic Control Flour. Later, in midafternoon, I drink another cup of ShapeShifter Teas.

With my dinner, I typically have Glycemic Control Nuggets, prepared much like hearty rice (e.g., microwaved for about 8 minutes in a vegetable broth). With each meal, I also take 2 capsules of the MealMate formulation, as well as 2 more at bedtime. Although the number of recommended servings of ShapeShifter Teas is 3 cups/day, I have rarely consumed more than 2/day. How much more progress I might make with a 3rd cup is something to contemplate. For a snack, I eat a small dish of Glycemic Control LifeByChocolate. Yummy! One thing more: my workouts have been a lot easier, and I actually look forward to exercising. Amazing!