Here’s the story of Tracy, another very inspirational story that came across us at Ketogenic Living Facebook Group. Take it away Tracy – thank you for sharing!
My name is Tracy Daubert, and I am a 23 year old Early Learning Educator. I can honestly say that I have always struggled with my weight, even in my early years. I remember trying to lose weight even as early as grade 6; I was constantly uncomfortable in my body and had very low self-esteem. That low self-esteem continued well into my high school years, and continued to drop as the pounds continued to creep up with my age. Along with that came undesired side effects of being heavy; sweating all the time, never finding the right sizes, and never feeling comfortable in my own skin.
I couldn’t help but sadly wonder, “Why is it that all these girls I go to school with can eat pizza and chocolate, not count calories, stay a size two, and continue to stay their weight?” I had the attitude that, if anyone else can eat whatever they like and be healthy and keep a healthy weight, than I could too. However, that was definitely not the case for me. As I continued to not care about what I put in my body, more pounds snuck their way in.
My weight loss journey really started when I got engaged in September of 2012. One of my first thoughts after getting engaged? “I absolutely will not walk down the aisle this size. There is no way I am letting that happen.” Thus, started my journey. I didn’t necessarily have a number on the scale that I wanted to get down to, but it was important to me to get down to a size that I felt comfortable in.
Throughout my life, I had always been told by doctors, media, and family that “Fat is bad, don’t eat fat, Fat makes you fat.” I feel like I had been programmed to believe that this was true, so what was my way of eating? Low fat. The first diet I tried was a regular, low fat diet. That meant, no bacon, no fatty meats, lots of low fat/no fat dairy, and other processed ‘low fat’ products. I also restricted my food intake to very small portions. Did that work? Nope. Then I gave the famous Body By Visalus shakes a go. I was inspired, full of hope, and was sure that this was the key to my weight loss, because so many others I knew had had success with these shakes.
Did they work? Nope. THEN I gave Calorie Counting a try. Did that work? Absolutely not. Yes, I would lose 10 pounds, but gain it back the next week. My weight would teeter totter, and I was constantly losing and gaining the same ten pounds. Might I add, that I never stayed on these plans for long because my sugar and carb cravings were ridiculously out of control and I never saw lasting results. I was angry at myself for not having self-control when it came to food. After a whole year of giving all these ways of eating a try, I was at my wits end. I had lost hope that I would ever feel comfortable in my own body.
At the beginning of December of 2013, I had noticed that an old high school friend had a Facebook status stating “Me and my fiancé have lost 50 pounds together total!” Of course, being interested, I asked my friend what her secret was. In comes: KETO!
My mind was blown as my told me about this lifestyle. Bacon? Full fat cheese and sour cream? Butter?! No way was this for real. For the first time in my life, I was told that the right fats actually help you lose weight. I was literally floored by what keto was all about, and I was honestly, quite skeptical. But all I could think was: what do I have to lose? I had tried everything else and nothing had worked. So, mid-December, I researched keto extensively, and decided to give it a go.
From September of 2012, I have lost 56 pounds total, and 36 of that was from December of 2013 to April of 2014. Keto has not only helped me lose weight, but it has:
- Cured my acne
- Cured my digestive problems
- Changed my unhealthy relationship with food
- Given me self confidence
- Educated me on clean eating
- Helped me sleep though the night
- Given me energy I never had before
- Stopped my out of control sugar/carb cravings
In February of 2014 I was also diagnosed with PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome), a hormonal condition which affects 1 in 10 women. It comes along with many undesirable side effects, such as weight gain/trouble managing weight, acne, and infertility. Women with PCOS have an extremely hard time losing weight, and I was surprised that a low-carb diet is recommended for management. The best part is that when I got diagnosed with PCOS, I had already started Keto with much success! Getting diagnosed gave me a lot of answers as to why I had always struggled with my weight, why low carb was working for me, and I continue to feel so lucky to have found out about the Keto lifestyle when I did.
I am thankful to have the support of my family and friends, and I finally am gaining confidence of my physical self. My keto journey is certainly not over, as I continue to lose weight and I hope to down to a size that I feel happy with. A lot of my success on Keto comes from food prep and using My Fitness Pal, an app for logging daily food intake. I also owe a lot of thanks to Craig Clarke and his site www.ruled.me.com (awww, thank you Tracy!), which has encouraged me, educated me, and has answered every question I’ve had about this lifestyle.
