The Great Big Public Keto Before And After Thread!

[Christina_Cork]

This was me when I found keto in January 2016. I spent the first month of the year researching as much as I could about it. I had started to gain weight at about 8 or 9 years old. I was always the fat one and every year I gained more and more weight. My heaviest I was at 118kg/261lbs and I was miserable.

I had PCOS, hypothyroid, chronic anxiety (15 years on anti-anxiety meds) and my knees were starting to give out on me. I had tried every single diet that was going out there. Weight watchers would work for the first week and then I would regain the weight. Despite begging the leaders for answers I was told that I was doing something wrong. I was at my lowest point.

Whilst I was researching bariatric surgery I happened upon the term nutritional ketosis. I’m so grateful that I googled the term because it’s transformed my life in more ways than one. I’ve lost 105lbs so far, still got around 15/20 to go to be happy. I’ve been the same weight for over a year now but I know that’s a sign that I’m insulin sensitive again so I’m keeping calm and ketoing on. I’m off ALL medication - no thyroid meds, no anxiety meds, PCOS is completely gone and the crippling anxiety attacks are a thing of the past.

Not only has my weight and health changed but my direction in life has too. I’ve become a keto warrior and will bore anyone who asks as I talk and talk about the benefits, not only to overweight people but to everyone at every age. My own 72 year old mother has now gone keto and is recovering movement in her hands caused by arthritis.

I’ve made keto my life’s mission. I quit my, frankly horrendous thanks to the boss from hell - YES YOU JESS - corporate drone job and went back to school. I’m 1 year into my 3.5 year Nutritional Therapy Sciences study. I’ve just qualified as a Nutrition and Health Coach which I will do whilst studying. I’ve also been accepted onto the Professional Training in LCHF/Keto Nutrition and Treatment course being run by the Noake’s Foundation’s Nutrition Network and will be starting that on the 1st of May. I spend my days reading and listening to podcasts and watching videos learning as much as I possibly can so that I can share it.

Keto saves lives and we need to get that message out there in spite of all the obstacles. What I learned about keto I learned from Richard and Carl. I cannot express my gratitude in writing so I’ll save it for Ketofest. Prepare for bear hugs, I’m really good at them.

[buffy]

Wow! Congratulations Christina on both your weight loss and your new life! You look like a completely different person. Wishing you lots of success with your training ; exciting times ahead

[Rajseth]

Why do you post pictures of your daughter as ‘after’ pictures - we are not dumb, you know

[Christina_Cork]

Oh you charmer

[Brenda]

Holy SHIT

[Brenda]

Prepare for bear hugs, I’m really good at them.

Cool.

[tammy_steve1219]

https://www.ketogenicforums.com/t/keto-for-life/38644?u=tammy_steve1219

[OldDoug]

Christina, congratulations, and WOW. That is the way to do it.

[J_A-M]

I feel myself running out of likes already. I love this thread.

[Jennifer_Kleiman]

OK I’ll have a go.

Pics on the right – me in summer 2014, just found out I was diabetic with an a1c of 12.1, microproteinuria, carrying around 245 lbs on my 5’2" frame and most of it around my middle. Central adiposity, what’s that? I got on 2000mg metformin, glipizide, amaryl, the doc kept pushing lipitor at me. Didn’t mention anything about keto but eventually I snapped out of my passive daze and started reading about diabetes.

Let me be clear, up until that point I was a happy fat chick, had been my whole life since childhood. Never had really tried to lose weight. I liked food, I didn’t mind having curves, I was sensuous - Reubenesque ok? I never liked gym, I was an intellectual. My family’s all obese so no pressure there. But, well, I got a wakeup call one day, in fact the very day the picture on the right here was taken:

I’m smiling but inside I’d just had the humiliating experience of very nearly not fitting into the safety harness of the newest rollercoaster, and just heard from one of my older relatives who was obese to the point she had fallen and had to call 911 and have a team of 6 paramedics come to help her to feet. That was going to be me.

Thank god for keto and intermitting fasting. I read about keto on reddit, asked my indifferent doctor about it (doc: “well, some people seem to like it but I dont know”), then nearly killed myself by failing to reduce my medications (doc: “yeah hypoglycemia is a known side effect of glipizide, just keep some candy on you at all times”). Got a new doctor! Got off glipizide, then read Fung’s website and started fasting, got off the metformin and after a year my kidney functions returned to normal so no drugs at all now.

Despite fasting’s healing effects I still had tons of loose skin & went through skin reduction surgery last year, having reached a stable weight of 145 lbs. Life is good. Current a1c 4.6, fasting insulin 2.4 at last test, working on some thyroid and anemia issues and experimentally lifting heavy things. I’ve got a cgm and still keep an eye on the glucose and I’d like to knock a few points off my bodyfat %, so I’ve got more goals to achieve & the rest of my life to live.

edited to add: Oh - and by losing 100 lbs my spine decompressed, I’m 5’ 4.5"ish high now! Ha HA.

[OldDoug]

a stable weight of 145 lbs. Life is good. Current a1c 4.6, fasting insulin 2.4

Jennifer - some great numbers there. Quite a journey.

[Celticry]

I’ve been pretty active for most of my life and have always loved food. I spent a number of years working on shifts and so the excuse to eat badly was readily available at every turn. I went from quite thin in College to close to 200lbs in 2014. I tried a workout regimen and accompanying nutrition plan for some time in 2015 but that never really helped; I saw some of the weight come off but the other issues including being tired and generally unhappy with my body never subsided.

In 2016, I did a lot of traveling for my job and quite a bit of binge eating and drinking. I got up to my highest weight which was 230lbs. The weight slowly crept up so I just kept telling myself it would come back down and that I would get it under control “soon.” I was on a trip in Kentucky, USA in August 2016 and spent most of the time without a shirt on. A few pictures of me were posted on social media and when I saw them in late 2016, I decided to start doing research into what I could do to reverse the damage.

Along came Keto! I found keto through a number of different channels including Tim Ferris and Dominic D’Agostino, 2 Keto Dudes, etc. I did a fair bit of research ahead of embarking on this journey in January 2017. The first 20-30lbs came off quite quickly by March of 2017. I spent a good part of April to August in and out of ketosis and keeping my weight hovering around 200lbs. After coming back from a trip to Mexico and not feeling great mentally or physically, I decided to get back on the keto horse and was as motivated as ever.

I am currently down to my lowest weight in 10 years at 187lbs. I exercise 5-7 times per week including ice hockey, flag football, running and basketball. I’m also training for a half-marathon that I’d like to do in November. I can truly say that I am in the best shape of my adult life. As I mentioned earlier, I’ve been active for a long time but it was always a struggle. It is no longer a struggle thanks to Keto. I’ve now fully embraced intermittent fasting and will do a quarterly 72-96h fast.

Some of the biggest motivators have been body composition changes, mental alertness and clarity, and overall endurance when exercising. The other motivator has been how keto has affected the people around me. I am seeing a number of people try and succeed with it including my wifey! My father is in the early stages of Alzheimer’s and I’m working to introduce him to Keto because of the research I’ve read into how it can potentially help slow the development.

All in all, I have never felt as good as I do today. I thought it would be a difficult way of life but it has been much easier because of the way I have embraced it. It is not a diet, it truly is a way of life that needs to be fully adopted. I encourage everyone I meet to do a bit of research and try it out.

I’ve included a few progress pictures from start to the present. There is no end point because I’m in it for the long haul. Thank you for reading and thank you to the Dudes for providing such incredible content!

2018 - Side by side with a photo from March 2016

[Jennifer_Kleiman]

<3 wish I’d done it 20 years ago but who knew life could be good without sugar? Well not me.

[OldDoug]

Ha! For sure, Jennifer. Every day I truly shudder to think of the stuff I used to eat. I remember picking blackberries in August when staying with my grandparents for part of the summer - I’d dump white granulated sugar into a bowl of berries, ending up with probably an equal mix.

A couple cans of soup, put in 80 saltine crackers - two of the wax paper “sleeves” of them.

Two large pizzas for supper, in my early 20s I’d eat them both.

[Jennifer_Kleiman]

I was just chatting about the marshmallow-covered sweet potato casserole of my youth. How did I not get diabetes earlier in life, that’s the real question. It is a joy to have found a way of eating that allows me to savor and take delight in food without it being addicting and unhealthy.

[Shallimar]

Ha ha. Yup. Not that long ago I could put away almost a whole little Ceasars pizza plus some crazy bread.

[viviandr]

Started at 274, tight size 24 (3XL). I did high protein lower carb (no breads, less potato, less rice) and lost 30 lbs. a couple of years later, I discovered keto on facebook on Dec 26, 2015. Started that same morning and in a few months lost another bunch of weight and diwn to 183. Happy where I am at size L shirts, and 12-14 pants. Pretty good for being fat for over 60 years!

[Katscan51]

You look amazing, thanks for sharing. I started at 215lbs and I am down to 178. Will just keep going until I get to under 150.

[LizinLowell]

Thank you! How tall are you? I’m 5’8”

[Rajseth]

to savor and take delight in food without it being addicting and unhealthy.

^^^^ this +100