Vicky was always conscious of what she ate, cutting fat and filling up on carbs as recommended. But it didn't stop her scale from climbing up to 345 pounds (156 kg).
She now realizes that the diet was working against her best efforts, although she didn't understand it at the time. "Desserts and sweets were never my downfall. The food itself was bad, the pasta and the pizza."
In addition to her weight she also suffered from other health issues, like type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. She managed to improve her blood sugar and lose a bit of weight when she was first diagnosed with diabetes, but the low-fat, low calorie diet wasn't sustainable so in the end she couldn't maintain it.
But when she suddenly started to have blurry vision from the uncontrolled blood sugar, she made a resolution to get to the bottom of her deteriorating health. As an avid traveller, she feared not being able to use her vision to fully experience all the places she wanted to visit.
She went online to read about treating type 2 diabetes, and unexpectedly stumbled upon a presentation about the keto diet. The high-fat diet caught her attention, particularly because it sounded logical and struck a cord with her personal experience.
September 22, 2018 was her starting date, and less than a year later she was 125 lbs (57 kg) lighter, off all medications and had reversed her type 2 diabetes. She feels much better, has more energy and doesn't get headaches anymore.
A typical day of eating keto
To Vicky's surprise, she found that keto was easy to follow, although it was a great challenge to break free from her fear of fat. Now she fasts daily, and starts her morning with a cup of coffee with cream or butter.
Vicky often brings leftovers for lunch at work, otherwise she might just have some salami, cheese and a small salad. She uses plenty of recipes from Diet Doctor. The Indian butter chicken, Asian cabbage stir-fry and chicken no-noodle cabbage soup are some of her favorites.
Vicky and her husband often go out to restaurants. They find that keto is easy to stick to when dining out, especially since many young waiters are familiar with the diet. Sometimes they ask the waiter for keto-friendly options, or simply order a bunless burger, chicken wings or eat the pizza toppings.
Even though Vicky doesn't think that exercise is necessary for weight loss, she has started working out with a personal trainer since she enjoys her new-found mobility. "I couldn't exercise in the beginning due to my size, so the keto message was good for me, that you don't have to exercise to lose weight."
She recalls previous diets where she had to exercise while starving, it was hard on her body and left her feeling weak. So when she started keto, she made a resolution to only focus on her eating habits instead.
What has she learned from her keto journey?
One thing that Vicky has been blessed with is a keto-friendly doctor. If you want to embark on a similar journey, then Vicky advises you to find one who supports your way of eating. Her own physician was very knowledgeable about keto, and advised her not to measure her cholesterol in the beginning as it might be temporarily elevated.
Vicky found that the sugar addiction course and the keto for beginners course were especially helpful to set her on the right keto track, and she often recommends them to others. She also thinks that the visual guides are a good place to start. Generally, she recommends Diet Doctor to anyone who is interested in keto, because everything is presented in a logical way.
But if she were to sum up her best tips, they would be the following:
- Don't measure or worry about ketones. Trust your body (and scale) to tell you whether you are making progress, and don't get caught up reaching an arbitrary level of ketones.
- Keep a food journal! It is very helpful for learning the amount of carbs in different foods. If you're not losing weight, you also have to evaluate why, and a food journal is an excellent tool for that.
- Don't eliminate the things you love! Even though everyone is different, and some people cannot handle cheating, Vicky recognizes that some are more motivated when they know that they can have a high-carb food every once in a while. Personally, she didn't go off plan until she was a few months into her journey, in order to ensure that she could handle it without falling off the wagon.
Comment
Thanks for sharing your story, Vicky! I am encouraged that you have a keto-friendly doctor to help you on your journey. Not that it is necessary, but it can certainly help. Best of luck with your continued success!
Best,
/ Dr. Bret Scher, MD
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