I was diagnosed with type two diabetes. The doctor was trying to get me to do insulin and oral meds. I refused, and he told me I do not have a choice basically. I was around 34 when diagnosed. I was 5’7, 262 lbs wearing almost a 44 waist. I started doing research on different diets and workout plans. I started doing hundreds of hours of research on a ketogenic lifestyle.
Now I am 185 lbs, wearing an almost 32 waist pants. Lost 77 lbs so far, but the most important thing is, my A1C went from 10.1, to 4.6 with no meds. I reversed my diabetes! This is the best I have ever felt in my life! Will never change this lifestyle. It literally saved my life. I am happy again, and I love the fact that now I am craving broccoli and salmon instead of pizza and fries.
1. What tactics did you employ to help you get to your goal? What did you find helped you get to your goals best?
So I desperately needed a change in my life when I found out I was diagnosed type 2 diabetic. My father and grandmother both had the same thing. Both had to do insulin every day and take oral meds as well. I did not want that. I said I was too young at the age of early 30s to start doing meds for the rest of my life. I started going to the gym every day, stopped eating fatty foods, fried foods, and I was losing some weight, but blood sugar levels were still high. I started researching online literally for hours upon hours.
Sleepless nights, workout programs, diets, etc. Injured myself at the gym pretty often, and ended up with a herniated disk in my lower back. Ran into Keto in my research. I started doing Keto the wrong way. Eating way too much fat. All the meat and cheese I could eat. Dropped a few pounds until I hit a wall. After a lot of research, I started counting macros of moderate protein, very low carb, and higher fat in my diet. Started working like a charm. Changed my life around. So far in my journey, I have dropped over 75 lbs, reverses my diabetes, and feel like a new person.
2. What is the most impactful change you’ve made to your diet and why do you feel it’s been the most important?
Quitting anything with sugars is the most important thing for me. Anything with carbs, or sugars, really doesn’t have any benefits for us. Found out that over 100 million of our population in the US, has pre-diabetes, or is diabetic. It’s a multi-billion dollar industry.
Ever since I changed fuel tanks from sugars and carbs to burning fat for energy, I feel so much cleaner, so much more energetic, and just so much healthier and happier. Reversing my diabetes diagnosis when my doctor told me I couldn’t do it without meds was just the cherry on top of everything.
3. What is the best single piece of advice you can give to someone that is just starting out?
For someone that is just starting this lifestyle, I would advise a few things. Keep going strong first of all. Don’t give up. In the beginning, it is tough. Getting into ketosis could take a few days, can be very difficult to get away from sugars, but once you get used to this way of living, it becomes a lot easier. Another very precious piece of advice is, always make sure you replenish electrolytes. Really I can’t stress how important this is.
When people say they get the Keto flu, or they feel fatigued, tired and then they give up, it is because of electrolyte depletion. Once you’re into ketosis, and especially when drinking a good amount of water, coffee or tea, you end up going to the bathroom a lot. You pee your electrolytes. Most important are three of them. Sodium, magnesium, and potassium. Very necessary. Try to get them by eating whole foods, and also supplement to make up. You will feel so good if you’re on top of your electrolytes. Third I would say, throw away your scale.
Weigh yourself once in a while to keep tabs if you want, but your weight can change so much within hours, that can frustrate a lot of people. You might look at the scale and be heavier, but your clothes are getting bigger. It’s mind-blowing. Don’t weigh yourself every day.
4. How do you feel your life is now that you’re at your goal?
Well, I’m very close to my goal. If I lose 10 more lbs, and I will, then I will be at my goal. My life is absolutely fantastic. I had health problems before, now I feel amazing. My self-esteem is through the roof. My clothes are so much smaller now. I do not feel depressed like I did before. I always thought that that was who I was. A person that will never lose weight, and take meds, until it was time to go.
This is not just a diet. This is a lifestyle. This lifestyle is what saved my life in many ways. Now I can live happily and go after all my life goals! Never been happier.
5. What do you consider the biggest change in your day-to-day life?
I don’t have to puncture my fingers like six times a day to see my blood sugar levels. I don’t need to spend money on diabetic strips and supplies. I try and talk to people and help them understand the importance of a low carb ketogenic lifestyle. I always look in the ingredients for different products to see if there are any hidden sugars or carbs in them. It has made me so aware. I love it.
6. What did you do to find support throughout your journey?
A lot of research to find correct information about my new lifestyle. Lots of videos, and reading. I joined different groups online so I can find support and ask questions. I talked to so many people with success in their life journey. So much information out there. It’s a beautiful friend. So many ups and downs. Such hard work. In the end, it pays off to the highest levels.
7. What do you currently do to manage your day-to-day diet?
I’m so used to it by now that it comes naturally. I like to eat clean food. Not a lot of processed stuff. Love greens, and good clean protein. I like to try also different things for a few weeks at a time. Mixing ketogenic eating, with intermittent fasting in some cycles, can be very beneficial. Sometimes I like to go a couple of months going dairy-free.
I like to push myself and try new things while I’m on Keto. It makes things more interesting, and it makes you push harder into so many different directions while still being in ketosis of course.
8. What is your favorite keto recipe from www.ruled.me that’s become a staple?
I really love the bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin. There are so many great recipes on www.ruled.me. I have tried quite a few of them and I was very impressed. It is always a great website for great food and lots of awesome useful information.
9. If there is one thing that you could do differently during your journey, what would it be and why?
There’s nothing really different I would do during this amazing journey. I just wish I could have learned about this lifestyle earlier, and not go through everything I went through in the past. The pain, humiliation, and all the injuries I suffered trying to lose weight.
I love lifting weights. I still do, just have to be more careful since I have suffered some back injuries in the past from trying to push my body too hard to lose weight. If you have a chance to help people please do. Give them all the info they need to get into ketosis. They will not regret it.
