Karen Gatt - The Clothesline Diet

It only takes
one step
to change
your life.

OBESITY HAS BECOME A PROBLEM OF EPIDEMIC PROPORTIONS IN the United States and is becoming a problem of similar proportions in other countries such as Australia where a Western diet is prevalent. Due to the spreading of the Western diet, countries that have traditionally eaten Eastern diets low in fat and salt are now experiencing similar obesity trends, particularly in China, where childhood obesity is becoming a major health concern.

In my practice I have several patients who are morbidly obese, weighing upward of 300 pounds or more. When interviewing those patients, I found several common lifestyle features: First, they consume enormous amounts of calories on a daily basis. Second, they have a sedentary lifestyle.

When I first heard about Karen Gatts book, I read it with great interest and found her experiences to be typical of the experiences of many of my patients. Many, like Karen, were overweight as children. As they grew into adulthood, they became more sedentary and continued their dietary indiscretions, eating highly processed high-fat foods as well as foods with high sugar content and without the nutritious benefits of the fruits, vegetables, grains and poultry that are the mainstays of the western diet.

Karen found herself in an intolerable situation. She realized her weight was not just a detriment to her health, but was also causing her problems socially, which is not at all uncommon. What is so refreshing is that she decided to take drastic action to correct it. Fad diets had not worked, and it became clear to her that a complete change in lifestyle was needed. Overnight she changed her diet and started to exercise. Her exercise was limited to just a few minutes each day at first, but as time went on, the pounds fell off and her endurance improved, as did her self-esteem.

Within thirteen months she shed 150 pounds, a phenomenal achievement, but it is especially significant because she represents hope. To those whove lost hope and think they cannot shed the weight theyve carried around all these years, or will never wear a normal-sized dress or pair of pants, Karens experience represents a light in the darkness of despair.

Her book, The Clothesline Diet , is the first of several she has written about her experience. Here in California, I invited Karen to speak to a group of my patients. She gave each and every one of them a spark of hope; if she could do it, so could they. As Karen makes clear, it is simply a matter of changing ones lifestyle.

It is my fervent hope that her enthusiasm and sincerity to help those who are struggling with their weight will spread to this continent someday. We as physicians can tell our patients to lose weight. However it takes effort and a strong will as well as strong family and peer support to do it. This is where Karen comes in. We in America can certainly use someone with her common sense and determination.

Albert Bodt, M.D.

Division of Nephrology

Department of Internal Medicine,

Kaiser Permanente Medical Offices

Lancaster, California

OH MY GOD. ITS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO BEGIN TO TELL YOU how much my life has changed over the past eight years. To go from being a mother of two toddlers who was so obese I could barely squeeze through my front door to Australias favorite diet mum, as the press have dubbed me, with people all around the world following my weight-loss plan isunbelievable! I still pinch myself every day.

When I first started on my weight-loss journey, walking around the clothesline in my backyard, I weighed almost 300 pounds. I lost 150 poundsthats actually a whole personon my own by devising a simple diet plan and walking tiny laps of the clothesline in my backyard. No pills, no potions, no gimmicks, no prepackaged meals, no points to count. Trust me, Id tried all of the fad diets so many times Id lost count, and none of them worked for me. But this diet did. Why? I think its because its a real down under dietits simple and straightforward with no bulldust. Im not a doctor or a dietician, Im just a mum who spent most of her life struggling to get off the diet roller coaster. I finally did it by following a simple diet I created myself, literally in my own backyard. Im not an educated person, but I made my dream come trueand if I can do it, anyone can.

Im not a doctor or a dietician, Im just a mum who spent most of my life struggling to get off the diet roller coaster.

In 1999 I hit rock bottom. I weighed nearly 300 pounds and my self-esteem was so low I often wondered if life was worth living. I was disgusted with myself.

Normal day-to-day behavior that thin people take for grantedlike talking to friends and going shopping or, for that matter, any activity that made me step outside my homebecame a terrifying ordeal. I had quite literally eaten my life away. I could barely walk to the mailbox, let alone play with my two toddler sons or try on a pair of jeans at the local mall. I avoided playing with my kids because I simply couldnt keep up with them; Id have to lie down and have a rest afterward. My poor knees felt like they were crumbling under the weight of my enormous body. There were days when I would do a load of laundry and actually feel as if I were having a heart attack from lifting the clothes into the washing machineand I was only twenty-six years old!

I made my dream come trueand if I can do it, anyone can.

My house had become a physical and mental fortress. It was the only place where I felt safe, away from the stares, whispers, taunts and sheer disgust that overwhelmed me every time I stepped outside the door. I hated having to get ready to go out somewheremy home offered me protection, and the mere thought of having to face the world sparked an unbearable anxiety for me. What was the point of making an effort to do my hair, or put on some makeup when, in my eyes, I was still the same ugly, overweight Karen no matter what I was wearing.

I hated how I looked and who I had become.

Most women, as they go to leave the house, will have one last look in the mirror to make sure their hair is in place and their lipstick is right. I always had one last look in the mirror, too. But not to admire myself.

I would turn to the mirror and spit at myself in sheer disgust because I hated how I looked and who I had become. I would stand there, staring at myself until the very last dribble of saliva had run down over the reflection of my face while tears rolled down my cheeks. I hated myself so much, and I loathed the way I looked and felt. I had reached the lowest point of my life, and I was drained of all self-esteem. This was my routine every time I left the house.

My wardrobe was a constant source of depression. Sliding back the closet doors to the racks of fat clothes would remind me of the life I didnt have and, worse, the life I did. All of the clothes were the samestraight fitting, size 24 to 26, an array of bright colors and patterns supposedly designed to disguise my weight. The theory was that the bigger the shirts, the more they would hide the rolls of fat bulging beneath, but in reality there were few clothes that could hide my rippling roly-poly shape.