I feel compelled to share my own personal story with the Ketogenic diet. I am a 54-year-old male who hit his breaking point this past December when I hit 292lbs, the heaviest I have ever been in my life. I have been a yo-yo dieter my entire life and this time I wanted to truly address the underlying issues to my weight gain and poor eating habits…my food disorder. It actually feels shameful to write, but my relationship with food was often compulsive and at times completely dysfunctional. I would wake at the early hours of the morning, rewarding myself with a bag of cookies, or some other treat, shoveling food in my face uncontrollably, ashamed and strangely euphoric at the same time. January 1st, I vowed to finally change!!! I relegated myself to a strict “Heart Healthy” diet, consisting of Oatmeal, yogurt and berries for breakfast, tuna wraps with lettuce for lunch, and a grilled chicken breast with a smattering of vegetables on a nice bed of rice, with some substitutions, and slight modifications, I stuck to this diet for a good 3 months and got myself down to 272lbs…20 pounds not bad right? The fact is, I felt worse than before! Food consumed my every thought! I was hungry all the time, miserable, and my diet was starting to lose traction. I had a work colleague who had undergone quite the physical transformation, and I decided to ask him what he was doing. “Keto,” he replied. So, I went home, jumped onto my audible account, and downloaded Jimmy Moore’s “Keto Clarity” This act was probably the greatest single life altering moment I have had in my life! Beginning in May of this year, I adapted the ketogenic way of eating and have lost an additional 36 pounds! As amazing as the weight loss is, and the added mobility, stamina etc…The true victory for myself came two weeks ago when I did my first “accidental” 24 hour fast. I simply forgot to eat. I was not hungry. I did not eat. Simple concept, but man oh man do you know how many years it has taken for me to have that level of “control” over my food addiction??? Well, yes you do, because I told you how old I was, but regardless, the euphoria I experienced that day, the day I actually only ate when my body decided I was hungry…was the most intense feeling I have ever had. A crushing victory over an opponent who has been calling the “shot’s” for far too long. I do not try to fast, my relationship with food has just been altered in a way that it no longer dictates my every waking moment. Truthfully, we appreciate each other a whole lot more now! Thank-you!
Keto: Finally, in control of my food disorder!
I had been a yo yo dieter f since 2011, counting calories sticking to a deficit calorie count losing for a while then regaining weight while eating less, and spending hours walking and in a gym to no avail. This last September I tried strict keto that lasted about 6 weeks and I just couldn’t keep my carbs that drastically low. I started fasting by just skipping breakfast at first, and slowly increasing my carbs by eating more fruits and vegetables. I have lost 50 pounds, but the most important thing is that I am basically prescription medication free for the first time since I was 30 years old, I am 75, the other thing is that I have gone from 2x shirts to medium size shirts, and 44 jeans to 34 jeans. My energy level is to much higher now, I stay active without spending hours doing boring exercise. I love hiking and camping again. My fasting average is 19 hours each day. I enjoy a flexible schedule and flexible diet, but mostly moderately low carb. I don’t eat processed carbs, fast foods or artificial sweeteners. I do eat fruit, vegetables, nuts, dairy, and all sorts of meat and seafood. And don’t eat anything with wheat in it.
You are not alone in your addiction and self-medicating with food. I crammed my mouth full of junk and I swear my brain turned off. In fact, that was probably one of the reasons I did it. I ate my feelings and my feelings were self-hatred.
You never know what will flip the switch for people. Sometimes it’s a number on the scale, sometimes it’s realizing we are much too young to be so unhealthy, sometimes a loved one can confront us out of concern, etc, etc, etc…
Just so happy you stopped the runaway train and did a 180.
Good for you! Literally and figuratively. Good for you!
You got this!
Yey, you are on the right track. I weighed 320 pounds before I came to my senses. Keto is wonderful, and the freedom of movement and creature comforts I have gained as I lost all that weight are priceless. Keep on Keto! It can’t be beat.
Most of us have been there and done that. Congratulations on taking charge of your life and eating healthy.
Nice work! I dropped about 170 pounds through Keto, carnivore and fasting. It truly is amazing.
@Doxsix Excellent story! Just one idea: Jimmy Moore’s Keto Clarity advocated a high fat diet, which works for a while. Some of us, like me, have found that lower fat is better.
@FNG Yikes! 170 pounds? That’s amazing.
Great write up. Just confirms what I already thought. We were mislead about food
400 ish down to 230 ish. I’d like to be down under 200, maybe 190. We’ll see if I ever get there. Things have really slowed way down for me.
The less you have to lose, the slower you lose. Just stay Keto and it all happens eventually.
@FNG You have done well! Perhaps consider incorporating intermittent fasting as the next step. Dr Jason Fung on YouTube has some good information on this. https://youtube.com/@drjasonfung
@Doxsix Welcome and congratulations to you that you waked up from your past diet, waking up is a big step, lots of people around me can’t wake up!
My longest fast was 26 days of water only. I have done some shorter ones and typically I do a daily 16/8 fast. Thank you for the kind words. I am excited about my progress and feel night and day different. I am just hoping over time I can continue to drop some weight to improve my older years to come.
Thank you for sharing your incredible journey! Your transformation with the ketogenic diet is inspiring. It takes immense strength to confront our relationships with food. Your success with Keto and the freedom it’s given you over your eating habits is truly remarkable. Here’s to your continued well-being and a healthier, happier life ahead!