How all this started

So how did I go from eating mac and cheese two or three times a week, bread every day, fried foods, drinking Coke and Pepsi (not as much as I used to, but a few times a week), etc, to having an almost totally wheat and sugar-free diet?
Last October I was diagnosed with stage 4 lymphoma in my sinuses and on the side of my neck. During a rough regimen of chemo I actually gained weight because when I had an appetite I'd eat whatever I wanted to. In the end I got a good prognosis (I still have maintenance chemo bi-monthly), but had gained about 15 pounds in roughly 10 months.
I went to a new primary care physician after kicking Dr. That's-probably-just-a-swollen-gland-come-back-in-three-weeks-if-it's-not-better to the curb. She ordered some bloodwork and it showed my total cholesterol (non-fasting) was 284, told me to exercise 30 minutes daily and eat a lower fat diet - cut the eggs, cheese, whole milk, red meat, etc.
I started down that road even though I'd been on SugarBusters and South Beach-type diets in the past, and when I stuck with them I lost weight and my cholesterol had gone down. A couple weeks later my brother, who is just two years older than me, had a heart attack. He's doing fine and on the mend now. His son started researching nutrition and came across an article about the true cause of heart disease. I forget if he sent it to me or if I saw where he posted it, but that was maybe the second week of August, give or take a few days.
Here's the link, which I've posted in another blog entry:
http://www.sott.net/article/242516-Heart-Surgeon-Speaks-Out-On-What-Really-Causes-Heart-Disease
In short, he says inflammation, not cholesterol, is the cause of heart disease. And here's a key paragraph: "What are the biggest culprits of chronic inflammation? Quite simply, they are the overload of simple, highly processed carbohydrates (sugar, flour and all the products made from them) and the excess consumption of omega-6 vegetable oils like soybean, corn and sunflower that are found in many processed foods."
Then on August 24 a friend sent me a link to an hour-long video concerning modern wheat and how it's actually bad for you. Yes, wheat - the stuff in bread, breakfast cereal, and most products in the grocery aisles at your neighborhood Wal-Mart, Publix, or other grocery stores. And here again is the link to it:
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbBURnqYVzw
The article by Dr. Lundell and the Wheat Belly video seemed to go hand in hand. My wife and I discussed it and decided to take the wheat and sugar-free plunge. On September 11 my cholesterol level had gone down from 284 to 190. No, on the 284 reading I hadn't been fasting, and the September check was done at work, not at the doctor's office. But even if the July reading was off 20 points due to not having fasted, it would be 264. And even if the work-place results were skewed by 20 points, the number would be 210. And a drop from 264 to 210 in a few weeks is still pretty good by any measuring stick. I had similar drops in glucose and triglycerides, as noted in another blog post.
Long story short, we're sticking with our current eating plan.
We're eating more vegetables than ever, cheese, eggs, meat, but no fast food, no fried food, no sugar or wheat, or as much as that's possible.
Do I ever get hungry? Yes, but my blood sugar hasn't plummeted like it used to, making me shaky.
On July 24, my most recent maintenance chemo date and my first visit with my new doctor, I weighted 256. This morning, back at the Kirklin Clinic for a stress test, I weighed 238. My clothes were lighter this morning since I wore shorts for the stress test, so let's say 240. I'll still take it.
I'll have another blood test at Kirklin in a few weeks so am looking forward to seeing the results.