How I lost 45 lbs Before My 40th Birthday
Today is my 40th Birthday!!!! First, let me just ask the age-old question (pun intended!) How did this happen to me? You know that age that seemed like it would never happen to you, 40 is that age for me. I thought I'd share something a bit different from my usual home decor or vintage style posts. This post has been a year in the making. Today in celebration, I'm sharing how I lost 45lbs before my 40th birthday!!!!
Allow me to back track about a year. Shortly after I turned 39 I saw a photo of myself that I found horrifying. Not only was it an unflattering photo in general it also served as a metaphor. It was one of those pics taken while you are on a roller coaster at an amusement park. Never flattering anyhow, but this one was particularly awful! I didn't like the way I looked and I felt like my life (more specifically my weight) was careening out of control just like that roller coaster. I needed to make some big changes before I turned 40. I knew that I needed to do something about my ever rising weight.
My weight had been steadily increasing by about 5 lbs every year for the past few years. But I ate healthy and I exercised almost daily. Surely those pounds would come off eventually? Right? I thought so too but they didn't! I never lost a single pound no matter how hard I tried.
And then I had a baby. So not only did I have an extra 25 lbs to lose. I also had about 10 lbs of baby weight left over when I turned 39. Here's the thing though. I probably could have lived with a little extra fluff. But my body was revolting. My knees were beginning to hurt. My hips hurt. I had developed bursitis between my legs and hips otherwise known as a pain in the a@#. Seriously, that's a thing! I knew that I needed to do something to help heal my body and get back to health. I was feeling desperate!!!!
Whenever I read a good weight lost story I want details. So I'm going to reveal to you how much I weighed. I'm 5'5" and I weighed 170 lbs and I was wearing a size 12. Now if you just read that and thought that's how much I weight and I'm fine. Or that sounds like a great weight! Or even, I wish I could be 170lbs. Let me just say that for me personally, this weight was too much.
Through a series of events I was lead to a way of eating known as The Ketogenic Diet. Basically, it's a high fat, moderate protein and low carb way of eating. I eat a lot of fat, a bit of protein and no sugar in any form. Not even fruit. Within the 1st week I lost 5lbs.
This is where I make a disclaimer: I am not a doctor or a nutritionist. I'm not an expert, far from it. But I have used this method of eating for a year now and my results have been awesome. So I can share what I've learned and hopefully you can use this info to help you reach your weight and health goals. But if you think you should check with your doctor please do it. Also having said that, your doctor probably won't know anything or much about Ketogenic eating, so head in ready with information!
Now a 5 lb weight loss to me was a huge deal. Remember, I had spent the last few years gaining 5 lbs a year. I ate more salad and chicken breasts than you can imagine. I tried going vegetarian. I tried being a vegan. I ran 4 miles a day. I walked in the evening. I never lost a single pound. Not 1!! So 5 lbs got my hopes up and motivation going!
It didn't take long for me to change out pretty much my entire pantry and fridge for food items that were ketogenic approved. I'm talking bacon, butter, heavy cream, grass-fed meats, low carb veggies, oh and did I mention BACON! I kept track of what I was eating using a keto calculator to estimate the amount of fat, protein and carbs I should take in a day. And I kept track of it on My Fitness Pal. I started off at around 1200 calories a day. My macros (aka fat, protein and carbs) were around 75% fat, 20% protein and 5% carbs. I also used a blood ketone meter to test my blood sugar and blood ketone levels. I committed to this way of eating day in and day out. And guess what? I was rarely hungry and never felt deprived.
No more late afternoon pantry raids. No more snacking on the kid's gold-fish crackers. I really lost the cravings for sweets. I actually began to crave cauliflower. If you had told me that a few months into this way of eating I would crave cauliflower, I really would have told you to take a hike.
By January I had already hit my goal weight of 145. I thought it would take a full year to hit this! And then I stalled. It was time to take this Ketogenic way of eating to the next level. I began to incorporate intermittent fasting and eliminated nuts and dairy (my go to treats) By April I had dropped enough weight to be wearing a size 6. I have been a size 6 before, but only for about a week when I jammed myself into a pair of jeans. Then I looked at pizza and poof back to a size 8.
I purchased some new clothes thinking this is it, I've made it! My whole body feels amazing. But guess what? I lost more weight! I had become a fat burning machine as my body adapted to burning fat for fuel instead of carbs. A big bonus to this way of eating is that it spares your muscle. So while I was losing fat, I wasn't losing strength.
Fast forward to today, my 40th birthday and I am smaller than I have ever been. I don't even think I was this small in high school. I am now weigh 125lbs and I am size 0. What the what!? But more importantly to me, I am healthy!!! I have not lost my muscle tone. My knees don't hurt, my hips have healed and I have boundless energy. I can keep up with my 3 boys without a problem now.
I'm now in what I would call summer maintenance mode. I'm not losing more weight and my eating is a bit more relaxed. I'm still 100% Keto but I've add some dairy and nuts back into my diet. My goal now is to gain more muscle and really tone up my body through strength training. I'm sure you probably have a million questions about this way of eating. I will definitely be going into more specifics about how I have incorporated this way of eating into my life and my family's life in future posts. But until then I will link up a few of my favorite Keto essentials if you are ready to get started asap.
You can also follow my Ketogenic Inspiration Pinterest Board for tips and recipes
