My Story

Finally! Hallelujah!

The Keto diet has been the only solution I’ve ever found that has worked for my weight struggles. It’s not difficult to follow, in fact, the best part is you never even feel like you are on a diet. You get to eat delicious, savory, rich food, and lots of it too. A variety of food, generous portions, and it won’t hamstring you when dining out. I’m a Keto, low-carb believer for life!

How did I come to a Keto diet?

Like millions who struggle with weight, I tried everything, and was always vigilant about what I ate. After extensive reading about nutrition, I arrived at a point where at age 48, I was eating barely 700 calories a day, of mostly fruit and vegetables, exercising 5 times a week, and still couldn’t understand why I wasn’t losing weight.

What was I doing wrong? I’m eating all healthy food. How much more of the “normal” everyday food I see other people eating could I deprive myself of? How much lower of a caloric intake would I have to go?

It was as if my body were saying, “Oh no, I’m not budging, don’t even try“. Did I have to accept that getting heavier and heavier was just part of getting older? Despite all my effort? What a depressing thought. I felt like I was at the end of my rope and tired of eating rationed food of very limited choices.

This frustration led me to go to a doctor who supposedly specialized in metabolism and hormones. I told the doctor to give me extensive tests and blood work, because “There has to be something wrong with me. No matter what I do I cannot lose weight. It’s like my body refuses to budge beyond this point.” My tests came back normal and healthy, and the doctor told me to “up the exercise”. (Oh great.)

Ironically around this same time, while surfing on the Internet one day I happened to click on a link for the “Keto Diet“. WOW am I glad I did. This diet explained everything and has changed my life.

Carbohydrates drive insulin, insulin drives fat.

Our bodies regulate fat tissue differently, and hormones play a great role in this, especially the hormone insulin. When you eat carbs your blood glucose level is raised and your pancreas secretes insulin. This insulin puts your muscle and fat cells into “storage mode”. Your fat cells store away the glucose as triglycerides. Insulin also prevents your fat cells from breaking down those triglycerides back into fatty acids and releasing them into your blood stream for use as energy. This is important: Insulin both causes fat absorption and prevents fat from being used as energy. The bottom line is: Carbohydrates drive insulin, insulin drives fat.

Everyone knows of at least one person who can eat anything and not gain weight. These physiological lottery winners have bodies that can break down sugars and carbohydrates easily. But people like me (and apparently by looking around a lot of other people like me) cannot process sugars and carbs easily. Our bodies are so carb sensitive, that we are at the other end of the spectrum. But, there is good news: KETO.

When you reduce the amount of carbohydrate and increase the fat and protein in your diet, it has the effect of switching your body into fat burning mode.

My Aha Moment

New York Times science writer Gary Taubes’ book “Why We Get Fat“, debunks the old thinking “calories in – calories out”, and how too much food and not enough exercise is why we get fat. One particular reference addresses a food as seemingly innocent as natural fruit.

Taubes writes, “What makes fruit worrisome from the perspective of Adiposity 101 is that it is sweet to the taste precisely because it contains a type of sugar known as fructose, and fructose is uniquly fattening as carbohydrates go.”

He further states, “If we’re predisposed to put on fat, it’s a good bet that most fruit will make the problem worse.“

Before I discovered Keto, I thought surely a wholesome food such as fruit can only be good for you. It’s from nature. It’s healthy. But understanding how some people (like me) can be so carb sensitive and that even the most innocent source of sugars such as fruit, was sabotaging my weight loss, was when it all made sense for me.

My previous diet habits avoided carbs and starches all together, but once I avoided fruit, and began following the Keto rule of thumb 60/35/5 (60% of calories come from fat, 35% from protein, and only 5% from carbs), the pounds came off effortlessly. Without doing a lick of exercise, I lost almost 4lbs in about 10 days, and went down one clothing size in just under a month. Hallelujah!

Not only did I finally find “the answer”, but this new lifestyle involved eating rich and delicious food I’ve always loved, and in generous portions too. No deprivation, no cravings, no obsessing about my next meal. Within one week, I had more energy, my insomnia was gone, and my hair stopped falling out. Another positive effect it had on my hair was that I could go longer without washing my hair.

One more very dramatic difference was in my overall mood. My depression was gone, and I’ve never felt so positive in mind and spirit.

All this from giving up sugar? Truly amazing.

As stated in my disclaimer, I am not a doctor, dietitian or giving advice. What I am doing is telling my story in hopes of someone maybe relating to my frustration and discovering there may be another way that works.