Just wanted to introduce myself. My names Rachel I am from the South, raised on peas and cornbreadš. Iām in my mid 30ās now, married with teenagers, and they can attest that Iāve tried many fad diets. So much that I was determined that I wouldnāt try another one. End of March this year, I decided enough was enough. We would not have any unhealthy foods in our home! No sugar, no junkfood etcā¦
I purged our home of unhealthy foods March 30th, switched to whole grain breads, rice etc. No sugar. No sugary cereals. Only, Veggies, fruit, lean meatsā¦
At my heaviest, I was 285. After about a month of healthy eating, my husband had lost 15 pounds, my daughterās had slimmed up some. But after the second week or so, I couldnāt lose any weight. I had lost 10 lbs pretty quickly (water weight). But then it stalled. I was limiting calories, eating whole grains, meat and veggies, plus walking/exercising. And I felt like I was starving. I was so frustrated.
I then decided to limit my carbs. I wasnāt doing keto or any other diet, I just felt like carbs were holding me back from losing weight. After a few days, I felt amazing. I had a ton of energy, and never felt hungry, I was amazed. Then I started feeling really sick, so I added some carbs back into my diet.
After days of reading and watching everything on keto, I decided to give it a try. The right way this time, I started drinking water with electrolytes right away. So now Iām back to having no cravings, not hungry. And Iām in awe. Never in my life have I not craved carbs. So I kindāve accidently stumbled into keto and ketosis.
Iām now down to 264. 10 pounds in 2 weeks. Iām sooo excited, and canāt wait to lose the other 120 lbs!
My hope is in a year Iāll be at my goal weight (if not before!).
Iām eating as little carbs as possible (yesterday I only had 14 g) and trying to eat more protein than fat, to speed up weightloss. Also, if Iām not hungry I donāt eat. Iāve been eating mostly 2 meals in a day. Sometimes more or less. Anyways, thatās my story 
P. S. Iām so glad I found this forum of fellow keto folks!
Hi everyone, newbie here š
Welcome Rachel.
I enjoyed your story and look forward to hearing about your future success. Please stick around and keep us updated. 
Unless you are going carnivore this may hold you back. Fats are what make up for calories that use to come from carbs and make you feel full. I recommend tuning into the 2 keto dudes podcast and start from episode 1, lots of good science in there.
You are doing amazing and obviously what youāre doing is working!
I donāt think you need to ātryā to eat more protein than fat, but I wouldnāt worry if you are. Itās pretty hard for the average person to overeat protein. And if youāre looking at gram counts in that equation, youāre probably right on the money where you should be with getting sufficient protein and sufficient energy intake.
Thanks everyone! Iāve read and watched so many different Drās and experts, but still learn something new every day.
Wonderful story; so happy for you! I am constantly amazed by the benefits of keto.
Wonderful youāve found your own way, everyoneās body is different. Iām so glad itās working for you!
Iām now down to 257! I did have my first cheat day 
yesterday. Wasnāt planning on it, but I guess 1 after over a month isnāt too bad. I ate maybe 70 carbs. Crazy thing is, I didnāt feel like I was thrown out of ketosis, my weight didnāt go up, and I feel great today. No crazy cravings today either 
only thing I noticed was a slight headache yesterday evening. And I did wait 14-15 hours before eating again. I donāt plan on making it a regular thing, but nice to know I didnāt ruin my hard work so far 
You got this!
Unplanned carbs happen - no biggie as long as a) you didnāt go crazy and binge out or b) use it as an excuse to do multi-day carb fests and c) got right back to keto food.
You are good on all accounts!
Welcome to the forum, Rachel, I am sure you will love it here. There are so many kind, helpful and friendly Ketoers!
My cheats consist of having a drink(s) when going out with friends. I have never cheated beyond that since starting, because I havenāt felt the desire or need. When I go out with the girls, I will usually have two blunts of brut champagne over several hours. It is such a treat and I donāt seem to suffer any ill effects from it whether with being in ketosis or how I feel. Itās usually only a once every 2-3 week occurrence and I am okay with that. Gotta enjoy life. As you get farther along, I find you lighten up somewhat on the guilt and need to do keto āperfectly.ā
I realize this is an old thread revived, still Iād like to add for your consideration a little experiment I did some time back.
@RachelGoesKeto @gingersmommy Personally, I think so-called ācheat days/mealsā can have longer lasting repercussions than you might first think, and especially until one is well fat adapted. See this thread.
However, that said - alcohol/ethanol is a special case. In the presence of ethanol the liver will ignore everything else and metabolize the ethanol. Ethanol is such a simple and easily used fuel that all your cells and organs will immediately cease utilizing anything else and switch to ethanol. This means that if you are in ketosis, you will remain in ketosis and once the ethanol is completely burned out your liver, cells and organs will recommence utilizing ketones and fatty acids.
In fact @fatpants semi facetiously suggested here using ethanol to extend a fast, an interesting idea. No, Iām not recommending it.