Carl and Richard interview Tom Seest. Tom is a software developer from Illinois. In 1999 he injured his back falling down stairs. He was always active before the injury, completely stopping all exercise after. He put on weight. A LOT of weight. He estimates he was over 500 pounds. He started an Atkins diet in 2009 and was down to 490 by the end of 2010. He tried various combinations of low-carb, low-fat and low-calorie diets. In April, 2011 he took his first bike ride and went 2 miles. By the end of the month he was up to 20 mile rides. Since then he's logged 21,700 miles, and has cycled all over the US and in many other countries. He managed to drop 200 pounds with a combination of diet and exercise. In January, 2015 he started a ketogenic diet and has taken off an additional 90 pounds! We talk to Tom about his experiences coping with his situation.

Errata:

Carl mentioned that the fat you eat has no effect on insulin. This is effectively true but technically false. Dietary fat does raise insulin ever so slightly, but the effect is negligible. However, we strive to be accurate!