Growing up I was always a little heavy. My mom kept a ton of junk food around the house and let us eat whatever we wanted, but it wasn’t until high school when my weight gain ballooned. In 1 year, I gained 80lbs from a medication I was put on for depression; at 17 I was 230lbs. Since then, nothing I tried could get me down to a healthy weight or keep it that way. I would count calories and macros and exercise 5 days a week, and the weight would go down and back up again even if I didn’t stop doing those things.
It took me 9 months to lose 25lbs after the birth of my second child. I was weighing food, pre-logging, meal planning, and working out hard. It was a lot of work, too intense, and not a sustainable way to lose weight in the long run. The entirety of my day was dedicated to weight loss, but still, it wouldn’t come off. I’d read stories about people losing weight just by cutting out soda and walking more. I hadn’t had a soft drink or fast food in years, why was it so hard for me?
After the birth of my third child in April 2016, I was 262lbs. At 5’9”, I had a BMI of almost 39. I decided that I needed to make a drastic change. So, a few months later in July, a friend of mine told me about keto, I researched it thoroughly and decided to give it a try. I figured that it would be another way of eating where I’d lose 10lbs at first, and then would stop losing again.
Instead, I was shocked at how easy Keto was for me. In 3 months, I had lost 25lbs with what seemed like minimal effort. I couldn’t believe it took me 3 times as long to lose the same amount of weight before, even though I was eating the exact same number of calories. The only thing I was doing differently was changing the macros. I wasn’t even exercising while doing Keto, so I was eating at less of a deficit now but still losing weight faster!
Keto has changed my life. It’s been a year and a half since starting and I’m 92 pounds down. At the age of 32, I now weigh 176 pounds. I’m 7 pounds away from being in the “Healthy” BMI category. I went from a size 18 to a size 8, and I never thought I’d be this healthy in my life. I’m happy with my body now which is a feeling I’ve never felt before. I just had a checkup and my health is excellent, my doctor asked me how long I plan on doing Keto for and I answered: “Forever, why would I ever stop?”
1. What tactics did you employ to help you get to your goal? What did you find helped you get to your goals best?
I used the 30 day Ketogenic Diet plan from ruled.me for the first few weeks, then after that, I got the hang of what I should and shouldn’t be doing. I needed to make sure that I drank “Keto-ades” otherwise I’d get dizzy. I also used myfitnesspal and my Polar A370 fitness tracker. What helped me reach my goal best I’d say was the 30 Day Guide. Without it, I don’t know if I would have continued or even started the diet to begin with.
2. What is the most impactful change you’ve made to your diet and why do you feel it’s been the most important?
The ketogenic diet has made it easier to stay under my calories. I’m not as hungry as I used to be. Eating carbs, I’d get sick and shaky if I didn’t eat something every three hours. Now I can do intermittent fasting without any issues.
3. What is the best single piece of advice you can give to someone that is just starting out?
Make sure to drink a lot of water and get in the sodium, potassium, and magnesium in. The keto flu is avoidable.
4. How do you feel your life is now that you’re at your goal?
I feel amazing! It’s nice to know that I’ll be around longer for my kids.
5. What do you consider the biggest change in your day-to-day life?
Not being hungry all of the time was the biggest change. I don’t even really think about food. I don’t snack or eat out of boredom or emotionally eat anymore. Sometimes I even forget to eat!
6. What did you do to find support throughout your journey?
I used the low carb forums on myfitnesspal. I also got support from my good friend.
7. What do you currently do to manage your day-to-day diet?
I follow recipes on ruled.me everything I’ve cooked from your website has come out amazing. I just got an instant pot, so I’ve been enjoying those recipes now as well.
8. What is your favorite keto recipe from www.ruled.me that’s become a staple?
This is a tough one because I’ve tried a lot of the recipes and each one was amazing. If I had to pick, I think I’d have to say the matcha instant pot cheesecake!
9. If there is one thing that you could do differently during your journey, what would it be and why?
I don’t think I’d do anything different with the diet, but maybe I’d try and work out more.
