I started my journey in January last year at 218 lbs after trying so many diets previously. I was borderline diabetic, extremely overweight and just outright uncomfortable with myself. I would see myself in candid photos and cry sometimes. I thought to myself that I didn’t feel like I was that “big” but the scale and pictures showed otherwise.
I had to try something. I somehow found info about the keto diet on Instagram and it seemed pretty easy! So I started and a few days later started intermittent fasting. Wow! Just in my first week I had already lost 9lbs! I was determined at this point knowing that it was working for me. By the 3rd week, I was 20 lbs down! I just couldn’t believe it!
I took pictures every week because I wanted to actually see the progress by comparing. My goal weight was 150 lbs. By May I hit a 50 lb weight loss! 4 whole months! I couldn’t be happier! By the summer, I was down to 163 lbs and I was so happy! Even though I never reached my goal of 150 lbs, I was extremely proud of myself for getting this far. I felt amazing, light and all my bloodwork came back normal! I was no longer a pre diabetic.
Ever since, I have been trying to sustain my weight loss by continuously doing keto with a few carb up days a month. During the holidays is when I indulge which causes me to gain the max of 15 lbs but as soon as I go back on strict keto, I lose that 15 lbs in 3 weeks and keep it off. I don’t know where I would be if I never found out about the keto diet. I am so grateful.
I want to add that this is by far the easiest “diet” I have ever done and clearly the most successful one. I have tried so many different diets including shakes and I just couldn’t see myself doing that long term. My kids hug me and are able to wrap their arms all the way around me and it feels amazing. I also used to snore (embarrassing) and very loud my husband said. Since I lost over 50 lbs, he said the snoring practically disappeared. I have had chronic back pain for over 10 years now and losing weight helped my back pain as well.
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 had to make sure that I was truly ready to commit to weight loss. Self-motivation is definitely a key to success. I kept telling myself that I NEED to lose weight and be able to keep it off while still enjoying real food and not just consuming weight loss shakes like I have done in the past (didn’t work). I logged all of my food every day for the first 3 months and logged weekly weigh ins.
I found doing this was a huge help to get me to my goals and kept me accountable for everything that I consumed. Also, I took weekly face and body pictures to do comparisons. THIS. This was what really helped me see my progress and motivated me to keep pushing to get to my goal.
2. What is the most impactful change you’ve made to your diet and why do you feel it’s been the most important?
I stopped trying so hard to make “keto” foods. I stick to my basics (meat, eggs, some veggies). I found that when I tried to make the keto bread and desserts, I had high expectations for them to taste like the real thing but they never did. I realized later that I don’t need any substitutions to be successful.
I feel that this has been the most important because when I seek to find substitutions for things like bread, it’s my body telling me that I am still craving it and the whole point to my diet is to stop eating these things to cut the cravings. I was also a sugar addict. I would eat anything and everything sweet which led me to being pre diabetic. It was hard to fight the cravings but I did it. I still eat dark chocolate here and there but not much.
3. What is the best single piece of advice you can give to someone that is just starting out?
Don’t think too much and just stick to the basics.
4. How do you feel your life is now that you’re almost at your goal?
I feel way more confident in myself than I have felt in a long time. I am finally comfortable in my own skin and knowing what to do to reach my goal is an amazing feeling. It also feels amazing to wear some of my old jackets and now have enough space to fit a toddler in there with me!
5. What do you consider the biggest change in your day-to-day life?
My biggest change in my day-to-day life is definitely my energy level. I used to feel sluggish every single day and was barely able to make it through a work day. I am not saying that I have all the energy in the world now but I don’t feel as sluggish as I used to feel prior to the keto diet. I also used to stop in my boss’ office every time I passed by because she has candy bowls. I found that I would grab a handful of mini reeses peanut butter cups and scarf them down in seconds. When I started the keto diet 2 years ago, I stopped. It was hard to go into her office without grabbing chocolates but I did it.
6. What did you do to find support throughout your journey?
I found support on the Ruled Me website mainly. There is so much information and resources on that website that I didn’t have to look elsewhere for it. I also searched social media. I joined keto groups on Facebook and followed keto pages on Instagram. Everyone in the Facebook groups have been super helpful and supportive!
7. What do you currently do to manage your day-to-day diet?
I try to do intermittent fasting when I can but I love my coffee with heavy cream in the mornings! I always bring my lunch to work whether it’s something I prepared the night before or leftovers from dinner. I also make it a priority to make dinner every night for me and my family. We rarely go out to eat anymore.
8. What is your favorite keto recipe from www.ruled.me that’s become a staple?
I absolutely LOVE the spicy jalapeno poppers! I make them all the time and cook them in my air fryer!
9. If there is one thing that you could do differently during your journey, what would it be and why?
One thing that I would do differently during my journey is to incorporate exercise. Yes, I did lose so much weight without it however it wouldn’t hurt to do some strengthening exercises and cardio to keep my heart healthy!
