My journey, with a couple of pictures


(Dirty Lazy Keto'er, Sucralose freak ;)) #1

For starters, this is not a before and after keto, but rather, 9 years ago, and then 4 years ago, before and after an all out hardcore 5 year diet and exercise regime. Just don’t want to mislead anyone.

So 9 years ago, at the age of 45, I was in horrendous shape :frowning: I was around 300 lbs, my BP and bad cholesterol levels were rediculous high, and my Fibromyalgia symptoms drug my life quality down to about a 2 or 3 out of 10.
I avoided self photos like the plague, hence the reason my before shot was grabbed from a screen shot, and I was wearing a “tent” to hide my huge gut. I was so ashamed of my body.

Then my 5 year extreme makeover. I worked out 6 or 7 days a week, and hiked tons of steep hills, often with a 30 lb pack. My diet was zero processed foods, bread, potatoes, rice, grains, or dairy. (but i did eat oatmeal twice a day) What I did eat was tons of meat, eggs (a dozen a day) veggies, fruit, and nuts, and I mean tons ! I had worked up to 4000 to 5500 call a day ! I was breaking even at about 4200.
I’m 6ft tall, and was weighing 227lbs, at 10-11% body fat. (Funny to me, the BMW index said I was still overweight :grinning: I’ll let you decide by the pics. I do have really wide shoulders and a 42" chest, so I carry a higher weight well.



So, after all that… I had an ugly back injury :worried: Ruptured a disc. 2 weeks in bed, and a year to mostly recover.
5 years of hard core diet and exercise, “mostly” down the drain :worried::worried::worried: At least my BP and cholesterol has remained good, and my Fibromyalgia is still probably 80% better.

So here we are, 4 years later. Just like before my heath and fitness flip, I hate to get my picture taken. I don’t look quite as bad as I did 9 years ago, but nothing like 4 years ago either. Maybe somewhere between the shots I’m posting here.
I don’t expect to ever be in the shape I was before the injury… My back is 95% better, most of the time, but will never be 100%. Also, I know the time and effort it took to be in that kind of shape, and I just don’t have that kind of time to devote to it anymore (not single now for one thing)

But I do want to lose about 30 lbs for starters, then I plan to reevaluate. Maybe lose a little more, but I want to really build my legs, heart, and lungs back to where I’m doing hard core uphill hikes, with a 30 lb pack… for hours without having to stop.
Hoping to achieve this on a keto diet.

For myself (with my OCD) the hardest part is “deciding” I want to do something, and taking that first step. But once that happens, I become so obsessed that it’s easy… Although the rest of my life usually falls off to the side. Oh well. We will see what happens on this next chapter of my life :slight_smile:

So far, I feel like this keto thing will be… a piece of cake :grinning: lol …okay… I guess I should just say, no problem :slight_smile:


#2

Those are some impressive results!

I know well the pain of a ruptured disc & how slow the recovery can be - best of luck to you Chris :slightly_smiling_face:


(Little Miss Scare-All) #3

Hey! Great before and after! Killin it! Keep up the great work! It looks like you can punch a hole through a brick wall.


(Ashley) #4

You’ve been there once you can get back to the end result again! Great job getting back on that horse!!!


(JJ) #5

Well done! Amazing results.


(KetoQ) #6

Chris –

Wow, impressive transformation.

I had my best success with keto when I was more obsessive about it. When I’m all in … I’m all in.

Good luck and good health.

Cheers,
Q


(Dirty Lazy Keto'er, Sucralose freak ;)) #7

Thanks all. Like I say, I don’t even expect to put that much muscle on again… maybe my legs, which don’t even show in those pics, but they were 29" and hard as wood.
I just want to get leaner overall, and get my cardio back.


(Little Miss Scare-All) #8

Good luck on your #goals!


(Marianne) #9

I think if you decide to start keto, you will be very surprised at how easy it can be, how well you can eat, and how good you will feel. I would just suggest you keep your carbs under 20 g./day, make sure you eat enough, get enough fat and have enough salt.

I’ve seen many men on here (and some women) who enjoy a degree of fitness and due to the fat and inflammation loss and muscle gain that this WOE promotes, they look pretty ripped.

If you enjoy information and researching, you may want to check out all the articles and videos on dietdoctor.com. Ninety five percent of the content on there is free without having to join, which speaks volumes. I honestly don’t know of any other website that does that.

Good luck.