So yesterday marked a pretty awesome NSV.
I’ve been living a keto lifestyle for a year and a half. In that time I’ve had countless improvements in my health.
I’ve lost over 100 pounds.
I’ve cured my sleep apnea and haven’t used a cpap machine in a year.
I’ve shrunk my waistline by 10 inches from a 42 to a 32.
Found my energy and focus improved.
Taken my blood pressure from life threatening levels to completely normal.
Gained more control over my mental health.
Improved chronic sciatica pain.
The list goes on….
But in that time, I’ve also dealt with many doubters, who despite seeing my successes, expressed unfounded concerns over what I might be doing to my body by eating so much fat and protein. Despite studies that I was able to quote and reference and seeing right in front of their eyes that I was changing for the better, and all of this on the advice of my doctor, that I was still going to clog up my arteries and that it wasn’t sustainable.
I’m now 39 years old. My own mortality has been something I have dealt with since I was 8 years old. My mother died of breast cancer at that time. She was 43. Just 4 years shy of my current age. Then, at 21, my father died of a sudden heart attack. He was 58. His youngest brother died the same way just 18 months before at 50. All of this led me down a path of depression and eating that saw me eventually tipping the scales at over 300 pounds by my mid 30s.
With all of this in mind, once I found this lifestyle, despite my then poor health, I was perhaps also skeptical that this way of eating wouldn’t in fact put me at a greater risk given a family history of both cancer and heart disease.
So, on my 39th birthday last month, I had a full panel blood test done. Yesterday, I got the results….
Perfect.
Everything. Was. Perfect.
Overall Cholesterol, triglycerides, A1C, HDL, LDL, Sodium, potassium, uric acid, EVERYTHING….
PERFECT.
This lifestyle isn’t for everyone, and in no way am I giving medical advice, but for me at least, these numbers I’m looking at don’t lie. This is the optimal way for me to live. I AM doing the right thing for myself, for my future, to make sure I do every single damn thing in my power to avoid dying before I’m done LIVING.
Just thought I’d share this one. Have a great day everyone.
1. What tactics did you employ to help you get to your goal? What did you find helped you get to your goals best?
Trusting the process. I did my research and could see that people had experienced positive results. So even if I had stalls or setbacks along the way, I trusted that I was doing the right thing.
2. What is the most impactful change you’ve made to your diet and why do you feel it’s been the most important?
Measuring my servings, without a doubt. Now that I’m at more of a maintenance weight I allow myself some meals where I don’t measure everything out and track my meals, but going in it was staggering to realise just how much I was eating vs what I actually NEEDED to eat.
3. What is the best single piece of advice you can give to someone that is just starting out?
Do your research. Ruled.me was a great resource for me and I still reference it on the regular. There’s so much information out there but not all of it is good. So don’t be afraid to ask questions but to really dig into the answers you get to weed through it all. There’s also a fantastic selection of keto related podcasts that I binged on and just soaked up all the information I could get my hands on. I really wanted to trust the process and to do that I needed to really understand what was happening in my body.
4. How do you feel your life is now that you’re at your goal?
I still have struggles when it comes to food, but overall, I just feel great. I never knew I could feel so much better.
5. What do you consider the biggest change in your day-to-day life?
It’s a pretty long list…
6. What did you do to find support throughout your journey?
The keto community online. Be it on Facebook or Instagram it really is filled with some incredible people and truly inspiring stories.
7. What do you currently do to manage your day-to-day diet?
The same thing I’ve done since starting keto, KEEP CALM AND KETO ON!
8. What is your favorite keto recipe from www.ruled.me that’s become a staple?
The Handcrafted Mayonnaise. It’s so easy and so good!
9. If there is one thing that you could do differently during your journey, what would it be and why?
I wouldn’t have waited until I was over 300 pounds and 37 years old until I started.
