I had reached a point where I was developing health concerns like IBS and chronic fatigue. I was in denial that it could be a result of my weight. I truly did not see myself as big as I was. I friend forwarded some pics from a birthday we attended. I was appalled! I saw a documentary about a food revolution and a return to natural eating so I thought, ‘what do I have to lose?’ As it turns out, I had 55+lbs of fat and some health issues that I lost by following a Keto lifestyle. The pictures speak for themselves.
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 followed the 75/20/5 rule along with 20:4 intermittent fasting. I utilized recipes from ruled.me, dietdoctor.com, tasteaholics.com and a few keto YouTube channels.
2. What is the most impactful change you’ve made to your diet and why do you feel it’s been the most important?
Eliminating processed foods because it ensures I’m not consuming copious amounts of hidden carbs.
3. What is the best single piece of advice you can give to someone that is just starting out?
Do your research, it’s much easier than it would seem and there is a ton of science to back the lifestyle up.
4. How do you feel your life is now that you’re at your goal?
My life is completely transformed. I have more energy, people say I look 10 years younger, I just feel a vitality that sense of healthfulness that I have never felt before. I didn’t know how bad I felt before until I no longer felt like that.
5. What do you consider the biggest change in your day-to-day life?
Intermittent fasting and being aware of my foods origins to ensure quality nutrition.
6. What did you do to find support throughout your journey?
I subscribed to established keto YouTube channels, followed blogs on keto sites like ruled.me, dietdoctor and tasteaholics. As friends saw my success they joined in too, which added an extra layer of support.
7. What do you currently do to manage your day-to-day diet?
I intermittent fast daily, water fast from time to time to help clean my body up after events. (You can’t let your lifestyle stop you from living!) And I try to source organic, local veg and grass fed meats when possible.
8. What is your favorite keto recipe from www.ruled.me that’s become a staple?
There are so many great, simple and delicious recipes on ruled.me that it’s hard to choose, but one of my favorites is Caprese Chicken Thighs. I have made many many variations of it, always a winner and guests never know they are eating healthy, and for those occasions when a sweet tooth may be screaming for attention the mug cakes are always a hit!
9. If there is one thing that you could do differently during your journey, what would it be and why?
I would have started sooner, I am so grateful for finding the keto lifestyle, I only wish that it was common knowledge and I could have enjoyed more of my youth as a fit and healthy person. Better late than never though. I feel younger and more adventurous now that I ever did as a teen/young adult!
If you feel like anything is missing from your story, please make sure to add it in here – it can be as long or short as you like. I’ll piece together the story that was originally sent in with some of the questions and photos sent from this follow-up.
I initially started keto after reaching a breaking point with IBS. I was frantically searching the internet for something that might provide a little relief and help me regain a little normalcy to my life. I was tired of being scared to leave the house because you never know when an attack may happen. One person on some random forum I don’t even recall now said Keto helped. I searched Keto and found a video about a ‘food revolution’.
I was skeptical as the information went against everything I had ever heard about healthy eating and nutrition. I spent a couple of days reading and watching everything I could and finally said, what do I have to lose?! Then I started searching recipes and that’s where I found a great community and yummy, filly, slimming meals! I cleared up my IBS and lost a ton of weight in the process which led to much-improved health.
