I started my Keto journey in 2018 at my highest weight of 274 lbs. I have lost 80 lbs and so many inches. I started in a size 22w and now wear a size 9. Keto has changed my life in more ways then I had ever imagined. Keto is the only way of eating that had ever worked for me.
My inflammation is gone, I have energy through the roof, my joints don’t hurt any longer and I have that want to keep up with all my daily chores (4 kids, small farm and the daily duties that come along with it).
When I started with Keto I never dreamed that I would be where I am today. I had tried every diet I knew to try and nothing worked. Keto seemed like a dream with all of the added health benefits that come with a ketogenic lifestyle. I chose Keto for many reasons and the weight loss was a huge added bonus. I have had 3 knee surgeries and need a knee replacement and have been putting it off.
Since starting Keto my joints don’t hurt, inflammation is almost nonexistent and I can do things again that I have been able to do since my athlete days. I am hereditarily prone to a lot of illness and for myself having 4 kids I needed to do what I could and can to either get rid of these or extremely decrease my chances of getting these (high BP, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, psoriatic arthritis) just to name a few. With the new studies coming out and those on the horizon, Keto was a perfect fit.
1. What tactics did you employ to help you get to your goal? What did you find helped you get to your goals best?
When I decided to start Keto I was fully committed to the process. Trusting the process was the hardest struggle for me. I had gone from “the standard American diet” that I had always know to Keto “which seemed backward”. Looking for other success stories and reading and rereading what their daily Keto diets are and were really helped me trust the process and learn that just sticking to it would pay off for me.
2. What is the most impactful change you’ve made to your diet and why do you feel it’s been the most important?
The second hardest thing for me to learn was to throw (light or fat-free) food out the door and eat full-fat everything. It felt so wrong but looked so good on my new changing body. Reading the labels on everything when I started was so helpful and educating. You have to not just look at the nutritional labels but the ingredients as well. Knowing what the inflammatory causing foods and additives are was a game-changer for me.
3. What is the best single piece of advice you can give to someone that is just starting out?
The advice I give to the people that I help is to make sure you keep up on your electrolytes every day. Making sure you remember that they are a minimum recommended daily amount. Also thinking of your macros as fat is a goal, protein is a limit and carbs are a hard limit.
4. How do you feel your life is now that you’re at your goal?
Once I got close to and even met my goal my life had changed I had only dreamed of. People look at me differently and treat me totally different. I wear clothes that I have not fit into since my sophomore year in high school, my energy levels are so high my kids struggle to keep up with me at times and even though I have two small babies that I am up and down with all night long I still sleep better then I have in years and wake with a much better outlook and goals in life.
5. What do you consider the biggest change in your day-to-day life?
The biggest change in my everyday life is by far the amount of energy I have. I accomplish so much more and have a hard time sitting idle.
6. What did you do to find support throughout your journey?
I found support throughout my journey was different at all different stages. When I first started I turned to a lot of the Keto websites for support and some Facebook groups. Ruled me was one of my clutch websites to read and reread for guidance and support, good ideas, recipes and ways to stay on track. Ruled me is stored as a favorite and bookmarked on my phone as the first site I visit daily. Ruled me is a site that I send to everyone I help to read and get information from.
7. What do you currently do to manage your day-to-day diet?
I don’t do much to manage my diet anymore. I have been Keto for 10 months and my food choices have just become a habit. I don’t crave carbs and the house is filled with Keto foods. I don’t force myself to eat and I eat when I am hungry. Since becoming fat-adapted there are days I only eat 1x but there are days I eat all day long but always with my carb limits.
8. What is your favorite keto recipe from www.ruled.me that’s become a staple?
The no-bake chocolate peanut butter fat bombs are by far my favorite. I haven’t made any from the Ruled me recipes that I haven’t like. But these fat bombs I always have on hand. They are a staple in my diet and daily grab and go or sweet tooth treat.
9. If there is one thing that you could do differently during your journey, what would it be and why?
If I could have done anything different during my journey it would be to have started sooner. This way of life is amazing and I wish I would have lived it longer.
