My story starts like a lot of you. For decades I had used food as a coping mechanism for stress, depression, and anxiety. Eventually I ran into health issues including sleep apnea, pre type 2 diabetes, sky high blood pressure, and kidney stones. After doing some heavy research, I decided to go into the Keto diet.
As a Strongman competitor, I had the exercise part down pat. My major issue is I was always hungry. I could eat every hour with no issue. I needed help with being satisfied with my meals. Typical meals consisted of some form of protein and a carb like rice or pasta. This increased my strength exponentially, but it also put on body weight in the form of fat and muscle. I needed to cut the fat.
I started with getting ideas and recipes from Ruled.me. The first three weeks were rough. I was so dizzy and overstimulated by places like grocery stores due to the Keto flu. The second week I noticed I no longer had sleep apnea. The third week I no longer craved food. I had to force myself to eat a meal.
The first month I dropped 30lbs. After that I noticed my heart started to pump easier. Every month after I dropped a solid 15 lbs. 5 months in, I started adding intermittent fasting. Eventually I dropped from 406lbs down to 205lbs in a year, 135 of those pounds were in the first 9 months. 201lbs down, 15lbs to go.
My blood pressure went from 140/95 to 112/60. I’m no longer showing signs of diabetes. I wake up every day feeling like a new person. Your website has truly changed my life!
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 made sure to take weekly tape measurements as well as weight measurements. Every week my chest, stomach, and waste size would get logged with my weight. I also weighed myself for seven days after a cheat meal (placed once a month) to understand the weight fluctuation cycle. For me I noticed I held onto that weight for 3 days afterwards, and then my weight would plummet below pre-cheat meal weight.
2. What is the most impactful change you’ve made to your diet and why do you feel it’s been the most important?
Learning to love veggies has to be at the top. I used to only eat potatoes/pasta/rice and a meat. Very little in the way of healthy greens. Adding lots of leafy veggies to this diet is key to a proper balance.
3. What is the best single piece of advice you can give to someone that is just starting out?
Don’t worry about your cholesterol or blood pressure numbers. They WILL go down after being on the diet for a month.
4. How do you feel your life is now that you’re at your goal?
I’ll start by saying I’ll never have an end goal. I’m not that type of person to settle, anymore. It might change from being at my ideal body weight, to being my ideal body composition. I now understand that weight is only a number, and it’s how I look and feel that is important.
That being said, I have unlimited energy, and I only slow down an hour before bed. The best feeling in the world is going to a store, and being able to find clothes that fit, and fit well. 3 years ago I went to Salem MA on vacation, and I couldn’t find a XXXL hoodie, and it really hit hard on me. I wanted that hoodie to remember my experience. Now I don’t have that issue. I feel like a whole new man!
5. What do you consider the biggest change in your day-to-day life?
Mainly not having the urge to eat every hour. I can go 18+ hours without eating. The fats really do satiate you easier than carbs. I know there’s a lot of science about ketones keeping you from getting hungry, and it’s true for me.
6. What did you do to find support throughout your journey?
I watched a lot of success stories on Youtube and your site. The thought of losing 50lbs seemed insane to me. I can’t believe I lost 4 times that weight.
7. What do you currently do to manage your day-to-day diet?
I fast until noon, on work days. On lifting days, I’ll do an 18 hour fast, break it at Noon, hit the gym right after work, and then eat dinner afterward. On days that I don’t work out, I fast for 23 hours, and I eat a huge steak salad with a butter and MCT oil coffee for lunch.
8. What is your favorite keto recipe from www.ruled.me that’s become a staple?
THAT is a tough question. It’s a three way tie between the Creamy Lemon And Dill Pan Seared Salmon, Hearty Crock Pot Chicken Stew, and Buffalo Chicken Crust Pizza.
9. If there is one thing that you could do differently during your journey, what would it be and why?
The only thing I would do differently is jumping on the diet sooner.
