What made you
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dmariet116 wrote: »Many reasons brought me to keto. I seen a coworker literally melt away in a matter of months on a low carb diet. That got me reading. I always was strictly a CICO believer. It's basic nutrition 101! You eat too much, you get fat! Right?
I wanted to learn more. I read soooo many amazing books, Sugar Blues, Wheat Belly, The Art and Science of Low Carb Living.... Wheat Belly not only opened my eyes to wheat stimulating your brain's opiate receptors (addictive) but also it opened my eyes to the crap they are trying to feed us! GMO's, courtesy of Monsanto, are literally POISON. Sugar Blues taught me that sugar is so incredibly addictive that it actually was the main spark in the the African slave trade to keep up with the demand for this poison!!! Even the Catholic Church eventually joined in, purchased sugar plantations and gave their blessings before eventually condemning the practice of slavery.
I learned too that most health problems are a direct result of a poor diet. I made the decision that I do not want the FDA, USDA food pyramid, government propaganda, Big Pharma and Monsanto running my life any longer. I am tired of being tired. I am tired of my knees and ankles swelling and hurting. I am tired of the crazy addictions to sugar and wheat... Add to that migraines, anxiety, insomnia, depression. I am tired of being fat, sick and nearly dying. Mostly I am tired of blaming myself for failing after years of struggling and eating in the way we were told was "healthy"
I just eat real food. Keto has been a lifesaver even if it's only been 103 days so far. Was it a miracle cure? NO! I am still tired. I still have health problems, but they seem to lessen each and every day. I have effortlessly dropped 30 lbs. My knees and ankles are no longer swollen and painful. I try not to buy or eat any GMO foods and I am working toward avoiding all food additives. It's difficult to read and decipher all the long unpronounceable words in some ingredients lists. It's even more difficult to determine if something is GMO especially if it's fresh produce.
My next step??? I think it will be zero carb. Meat and water. I am not there yet, but this is the goal I am shooting for.
Me too, What you said!!!!!!5 -
I first discovered keto when it was suspected that I had a pituitary tumor. It turned out that I am fine (yeah) but I was intrigued by the idea and science. Plus all of the nutrition books I had read (like Taubes and Yudkin) seemed to point that way. It made sense, but I still didn't do it. LOL
Pretty suddenly, after a year of steroids for autoimmune issues, I developed prediabetes. I started cutting back on sweets, which led to eating more, and I gained weight. I finally embraced keto.3 -
Thank you all for sharing your stories. Some amazing results and ways you all found your way to LCHF
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I began MFP as a way to log my food post weight loss surgery, in January, 2015. This was my second wls, as the first surgery had been botched (long story). I also knew that something had to change! I couldn't expect different results by doing the same thing! I just didn't know what to do! In my search I stumbled upon a blog titled something to the effect ,"Ketogenic Diet vs Weight Loss Surgery" by @DittoDan. I began to lower my carbs before I was even allowed solid food again! I began to see improvements with my fibromyalgia, and cervical dystonia pain! Frequency, and intensity of migraines improved. Weight loss became a side effect of the woe! I quickly realized that I wouldn't ever be eating any other way! The health benefits far outdid the weight loss!
Fast forward a year and a half! Health benefits are still the primary motivation to remain low carb high fat! I've managed to lose to my goal weight during that time!! The control I have over food choices is something I never dreamed of! I had heard of using food for fuel, but now realize it to be true for me! I have tested some higher carb foods (veggies mostly), and now see how even the carbs in some of them can cause headaches for me. Plus, I've seen the negative side effects of artificial sweeteners for me! Without this woe I wouldn't have ever figured this stuff out!
I'm so thankful to MFP, and especially this group!! I've learned what it takes for me to be healthy at this point!
Another thing this woe did for me was take the "finish line" mentality away! That thinking of "once I reach x weight I will be able to eat x food" has been abandoned! Why would I ever return to eating the foods that made me fat, and unhealthy, to start with, as I had so many times before?!? I learned that isn't the answer for sustainable weight loss!
We all have foods that we don't think we could live without when beginning this woe! We love, insert food here, and can't see how we wouldn't live without them forever! Somewhere along this journey I realized that if the food I choose to eat doesn't love me back, it's not deserving of being put in my body!15 -
After a few years of emotional setbacks, grief, etc, I went to bed one night after Xmas, 2014, and thought I was having a heart attack. Of course, I called no one, didn't wake my husband, figured if I woke up the next day I'd deal with it then.
When I woke up the next day, I realized that was literally my wake up call, I needed to do something. I was 400+ pounds at 52 yesrs old. Time was not on my side.
I began researching weight loss surgeries, figuring that was really my only option as I hadn't dieted successfully ever. I quickly realized that I couldn't afford the surgery, that I really, truly didn't want it, but the pre-op [low carb] diet plan intrigued me enough to research it further. The more I read, the brighter the light bulb moment got. I realized more: sugar is the devil, my mom's liver cancer and death were most likely caused by fatty liver disease which was most likely caused by eating the same carb loaded, processed, crappy food that I was eating, and I was quickly headed down that same path.
I figured if WLS patients had to do a LC diet for 2-4 weeks prior to surgery, I could at least try it to see if it was even doable. I started tapering down my carb intake early January, 2015. I quickly realized I could live without bread, potatoes, pasta and sugar. It took a few weeks, but I managed to grt my net carb intake down to <20g per day.
Through my research, I discovered LCHF and it just made so much LOGICAL, common sense sense to me, I dove in totally and haven't looked back. That was 19 months and 198# ago. I will never go back. When I hit my good, normal weight, I will increase my carbs slowly until I find my maintenance balance. Until then, I will keep plugging away, everyday, eating good, real food and lots of healthy fats.
Life is good again! OH, and as a side note, I had a full lipid profile yesterday and ALL of my numbers were in the normal to ideal or optimal range. The last time I had them done (15 years ago) I was prediabetic and everything was in the borderline or high category. Tell me again how this woe isn't healthy. Yeah, I can't hear you.25 -
@MimiOfTheLusciousLawn - Thanks for sharing your story. You are an inspiration!1
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@MimiOfTheLusciousLawn : Loved your story!
What brought me to LCHF/keto was that I was trapped for years trying to lose the same 15 lbs which became 20 lbs, then 25 lbs., etc., etc. I finally took a good look at what was making me gain the weight and had to admit it was a sugar addiction which also included flour based products. Ok, then, find a diet that absolutely eliminates those items, but which doesn't prohibit eating in restaurants: voila! here I am.3 -
I gained weight on high carb low fat diets
I read of lower carb diets and found books on reversing type 2 diabetes.
It just worked really well and was pretty easy. The rest is weight lost and happiness gained.4 -
I am loving this thread!!!! Congrats everyone on finding your way!1
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I tried Atkins back around 2004 for about a week before I gave up. I grew up eating bread with everything. In 2011 I was diagnosed (at age 42) with type 2 diabetes and at that time learned about LCHF. I eventually had lost 60 lbs, and got my A1c down to 4.8. Then life crept in the way, I lost focus, and while I didn't completely revert back, I did enough that I gained back 45 lbs and at my last A1c July 7th had a 6.0 level. Because of the strong family history of Heart attacks, strokes, bypasses, etc. my Doctor wanted me to start on a statin for my cholesterol. I knew the bad side effects of statins, and I also knew that when I exercise and eat LCHF my labs all come back perfect so I immediately went back to strict LC. In 5 1/2 weeks I have lost 16 pounds so far. I'm looking forward to continued weight loss and having my Doctor check my A1c and Cholesterol levels in November.8
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I didn't. Blush.
I was raised on utter crap. Absolute, total crap. I was also skinny. I finished high school at 5'6" 94#. Because I was active. No dieting. I finished college at 5'6" 127. I finished grad school (age 25) at 130. I finished my 5th year of teaching (age 30) at 140. I finished my Ph.D. (age 35) at 160 or so...all the while eating fast food for breakfast, fast food for lunch, a snickers and Dr. Pepper for snack, and fast food for dinner (or the like). Lots of beer on the weekends at happy hours... I had been slowly gaining weight from birth to 35. I know, big picture, I've been quite quite quite lucky.
Still, one day, around January 3ish 2002 I decided I *had to* learn to eat. Food. Or I'd keep gaining. (Again, big picture, I'm so lucky).
I researched, read etc. And stumbled upon an NPR style article about "good carbs" etc. It so made sense to me. I read how folks were cranky and frantic before lunch. How blood sugar swings led to crazy eating. That was me. So I learned all about nutrient dense, high fiber carbs, high quality fats, nuts, seeds etc. lean proteins, and "whole grains". I went all in. I learned to cook, of sorts. In 3 months I was at 130. I limited grains, but otherwise just ate those things the NPR article and all my research suggested.
That NPR article turned out to have been Dr Agatston on the beginnings of the south beach diet. So, as I transitioned to maintenance I just used his "phase 3". (fair disclosure: I moderate the SB diet group here as well)
I maintained for about 10 years easily following those principles. Then peri-menopause hit. The scale crept up. I lowered carbs a bit, and have been tweaking things since as things change.
I'm at about 135-138 right now. My GOAL is to live post-menopausally below 140.
The thing with me and menopause...I'm very "in-tune" with my body. (I always was. I always knew exactly when I ovulated etc.): I feel BEST if I eat fatty fish, lots of leafy greens, nuts, seeds, avocado etc.
And, alas, I enjoy wine. Which DOESN'T necessarily make me feel best, but gosh it's tasty. Same with caffeine. I'm thinking on that....
Case in point. I was in Europe for the month of July. I didn't gain weight, but felt I came back "out of balance".
So, I'm tweaking again. I'm going to focus on exactly that: fatty fish, leafy greens, nuts, seeds, avocado, and some good quality proteins (and precious little wine) for a while and see if I can get my estrogen back DOWN and in balance.
Hubs the vegetarian found this recipe. I added spinach and BOY did that work for me!
That's the thing with menopause: estrogen is ALL OVER THE PLACE. While progesterone just tanks. So I'm constantly tweaking my eating, to manage estrogen. Using supplements, and supporting myself with progesterone.
PS: I shifted my exercise from weight lifting, Pilates, and running (and walking/cycling) to YOGA, Pilates, Running (and walking/cycling). That feels very right for me.
so! TL;DR: I'm not LCHF but I like LCHF people! cheers9 -
Bump0
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@Sabine_Stroehm
Pleased to meet you! I'm going through the tanking part, as well....0 -
SuperCarLori wrote: »@Sabine_Stroehm
Pleased to meet you! I'm going through the tanking part, as well....
It's no fun!
I had my blood work done a few months ago. Doc said she wasn't hoping for reproductive levels of progesterone (25), but rather post menopausal (10). With supplementation? Mine was 1. ONE!
Ugh.
My estrogen that same day was 135 (with references of 400 in reproductive years and 50 post during the same "phase" of a "cycle").0 -
Dumb *kitten* luck.1
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Truthfully, what made me was a heart scare earlier this month.
I've known low carb was the way to go since 1981 ish, when my dad did Atkins to get rid of his belly. But I ignored what I knew cuz Carbs!
I actually started carb nite last year and lost 30ish pounds. Then went off over the holidays and in January my son was diagnosed T1 and I was so focused on him, I just kept sending my husband out for fast food. I put back on 20 and had just restarted low carb when my left arm started hurting.
Anyway...they did tons of tests and while my lipid profile isn't great, it isn't horrible either. One of the follow up tests my doc did was my A1c it was 6.5, putting me in the diabetic range.
And, I just sit here thinking what a dumb*kitten* I am because it's not like I don't KNOW.
So now, I'm in it for the long haul. I'm less worried about the number on the scale than I am about my FBG every morning. It shocks me how much glucose has to be running around in my blood for the number to still be 103 (which it was this morning) after 3 weeks in ketosis.
That's my goal...get healthy on purpose, and hot by accident/side effect.
@SuperCarLori I'm with you. I'm a dancer that can't dance because of my weight. I miss being graceful, limber and lithe. Although, I don't really count that as a vanity, more of my self-identity really.2 -
mandycat223 wrote: »Dumb *kitten* luck.
A perfect *kitten* description. (Even snuck by MFP's dirty-word goalie....)
I'm guessing almost all of us here have been dealt some sort of DAL along the way, some much worse than others
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The variety of DAL cards is just staggering. "How can I mess with thee? Let me count the ways," seems to be Mother Nature's motto at times. (Me, I've lost count....)
"If it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all.
Doom, despair, and agony on me!
(From Hee-Haw, ca. 1970)3 -
Needed to lose weight or have a gastric bypass because of uncontrollable T2D. Remembered that I did well with Atkins and started again. I love this way of eating. Later found that I have many food sensitivities, thyroid problems, digestive problems that this WOE alleviates.
I'm at 0 carbs now. Fat, meat, fish, poultry, salt, water. Eating anything else hurts my gut.0 -
About a year ago I decided it was finally time to work on the baby weight so I started counting calories, which had always worked for me in the past. It worked to an extent, but I was having a lot of issues with cravings and such--so I would lose 10 lbs, gain 5 and so on. I managed to lose about 15 lbs between September and March. Went in to refill my synthroid prescription and my doctor suggested looking up Tim Noakes.
I was a bit skeptical (because I'm a skeptic in general and I've noticed a lot of woo floats around any alternative type of eating), but I decided to give it a shot anyway because I really need to get into a healthy weight & activity range to avoid T2D (I had gestational diabetes last pregnancy, likely had a mild case that went undiagnosed in my first pregnancy (baby over 9 lbs is indicative of at least some impaired glucose tolerance), and my mother is an insulin-dependent T2D. Several of her brothers are either diabetic or insulin resistant as well. My own brother hasn't had a T2D diagnosis yet, but I am guessing he is around 400 lbs and he's having a ton of vascular issues. I don't want to go down that path--I was insulin dependent while pregnant and I hated it.
So anyway, here I am and I'm finding it's easier to stick to my calorie goals while low carb. Weight is coming off--another ~2.5 lbs and I will be at 50 lbs from where I was last September, 35 lbs of that since March 28. Only ~70 lbs to go...3 -
1. Vanity as well - I lost 40 pounds 10 years ago on WW. I have gained back 10 in the last 2 years due to a new health issue. I am not feeling WW anymore. Makes me STARVE.
2. New health issue. I have a rare blood vessel disorder called Erythromelagia. It is linked to many autoimmune disorders (although I don't have any of those yet) . I am hoping that a less inflammatory diet may help flare ups.
3. My mother and sister are both celiacs. I figured getting off gluten is probably a good idea. (and may also help my EM)
I am new here, but I love this forum. Y'all rock!
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I've been fat and sick. Now I'm less fat, and healthy.
For me, the tipping point was hitting 334 pounds and being diagnosed as pre-diabetic, at 24. Not cool. Knowing that I'm insulin resistant and have PCOS, LCHF seemed to be the obvious choice.
I'm no longer keto, but am still well within the low carb range, and I find I can't go much over 110g per day before I start to feel like crud.5 -
LCHF was just an accident in my case when I cut out sugar and all grains hoping for joint pain relief. That worked in just 30 days so still at it 2 years later. It has given me my life back.
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Spent most of the last two years taking care of an ailing husband. Though I have never been skinny my weight has crept up on me until I was truly uncomfortable in my own skin. Time is now. Only 18 days in and no sign of cravings or desire to "cheat". Much better than any previous attempt to lose weight. Apparently I am done with the excuses, and ready to make a true change. I can't take care of my family if I cannot take care of myself.6
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Vanity for me too, lol. I was wearing my husband's 32" waist jeans.... because my 26's didn't fit any more. (Slow 4 year weight gain due to chronic illness) I had already been gluten free and never ate many sweets so it wasn't a big deal.1
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I spent 6 months on CICO, exercising 6 days a week (3 of which I was exercising twice a day) and I lost 2lbs. To this day I don't know why I couldn't lose weight. But I went to the doctors has all sorts of blood tests done and all came back normal (Cholesterol slightly high) and he suggested I eat low carb. His actual words were "eat plain meat and salad for a month, and if you haven't lost weight we will look into thyroid problems" so I looked into LCHF and read up about everything (I didn't want to just jump in head first) and decided to give it a try. I lost about 20lbs in 3 months. Then Christmas happened and I derailed, then me and my partner started looking for a house to buy, after 3 months of looking and stressing out I still hadn't picked myself up. We finally bought a flat in May, but it needed a LOT of work doing to it, so ever since then we have been working on the flat until late at night (resulting in bad food choices) and we still haven't moved in. I'm upset to say since eating carbs I have put the weight all back on again, so I know that LCHF is the way of life for me, I just need to get myself going again.6
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I've always been overweight. Even as a kid. Dad was a single parent and did the best he could - serving up corn bread, hamburgers and lots of fried catfish with hushpuppies. I did Atkins my senior year in high school and lost 25 lbs. quite quickly. Then life progressed and I had years of gaining and losing. My height was at 233 in my 20s. My lowest was around 167 in my 30s. I am now in my early 40s and in the past 2 years have put on a lot and am now around 200 lbs. Dad passed away and I am finishing up a PhD in terms of life events - and although I walked several miles a day, I still seemed to stack on the weight. I have been on WW and Slimming World in the past couple of years and found them so hard - without much effect. I ordered the book 'Life Without Bread' and have started LC. It seems to be working, but losing very slowly (about a pound a week or so). I am okay with a pound a week as I not someone that can eat a very low amount of carbs (I only have one kidney and that WOE makes me extremely fatigued) - I need veggies and some fruit to feel okay - so the Life Without Bread Low Carb is right for me as it recommends less than 72 net carbs a day.
I went through an early menopause in my late 30s which I believe has impacted my ability to lose weight as fast as I previously did, so it does feel like a battle.5 -
I came to LCHF through odd bedfellows - diarrhea and you.
I'd been on generic metformin for T2D, and toward the fall of last year, I found it doing a real number (you know which one - and it was not an imaginary #) on my innards. So I started reducing the metformin dose and voila!, my BG started climbing. By Thanksgiving, my A1c had peaked at 7.8, which happened to approximate the Richter scale reading of my intestinal quakes.... I jacked the metformin back up and tossed back Imodium like popcorn.
No doctor ever gave me a reason for concern, but still, it didn't seem like a good long-term strategy. I figured I'd try to drop some weight and see if the various numbers got better. I'd had reasonable success diet tracking previously using the Sparkpeople app, but it had acquired some annoying features (haven't we all? I should talk...), so I decided to give MFP a try.
The LCD group caught my eye, and it became obvious right away (I mean under 30 seconds!) from the collection of discussion topics, that I'd better pay attention. Thousands of tips and insights (and hilarious stories) later, it's been a godsend.
** Thanks to everyone I've bumped into along the way. **
PS. I almost forgot The Trots. LCHF didn't put a dent in my Imodium habit. I happened to hear Dr. Bernstein urge people to get off generic metformin and try name-brand Glucophage XR, and eventually my insurance co. capitulated. Glad to say it's had a solid impact both on dosage and bathroom fireworks.
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I have been lower carb than most for most of my life outside of college when all I could afford was ramen and generic mac & cheese (more than 25 years ago). High carb food was just something I had in my diet because it was cheaper. I told people I would rather have steak with a side of hamburger than steak and potato any day.
Fast forward to last year when I got diagnosed with T2D and decided to attack it with actually tracking carb intake and cutting dramatically - it is amazing how many carbs are hidden in "low carb" foods!
I was vaguely familiar with Adkins, although I did not really research it, although a friend looked at how I was eating and said it was very close to Keto which is what he was doing at the time for other reasons. It just made logical sense that if my BG was high, I should cut carbs. In under 6 months, my A1c dropped from 6.6 to 5.9.
At that point, I figured I could up carbs and just follow what the ADA says. I stayed on the low side of their guidelines and 6 months later my A1c was back up to 6.2. Endocrinologist offered Metformin. I opted against it. That was 2 weeks ago. It confirmed what I was thinking which was the ADA, like government and any really large organization, is ridiculously slow to correct themselves and change course despite evidence out the wazoo they are wrong.
So right after that appointment, I went back to VLC again and started looking more into Keto and saw I wasn't that far away so figured I would push to that level as going from about 15% carb to 5% didn't seem unreasonable. I have also done a significant amount of research - thanks to many in this group for providing resources.
FBG immediately dropped. In the two weeks since switching, it has gone from consistently pushing 110 to having 9 of 12 below 100. The 3 that weren't were 100, 102 and 100. And 3 of my readings have been in the 80's!
I see no reason to ever go back to the "normal" WOE.5 -
After multiple diets and constant failed attempts to lose weight only to regain a lot of weight, my best friend got me into it. She had mentioned it before, but then I had gallbladder surgery and thought the fat would do me in (and it probably would have for the first few months at least). I basically got sick and tired of not having any control of the number on the scale despite not being an over eater. I decided I had nothing less to lose. I was never small, but I was always more energetic and fit through my teens and early twenties. So here I am. I'm not on a diet, I've made a lifestyle change and I couldn't be happier with it.3
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Well I was doing low carb but not really. I ate the healthy bread. And I am one crazy person for raw honey. But a friend of mine's stepmom lost 46 pounds in 4 months. She told me about keto/super low carb dieting. I knew I could always do this, but my first wife was not into it. Gotta have that bread and potatoes. So, I am married again. First one decided the grass was greener, but she left for weeds and crabgrass. Now, I love this way. I love the foods, the way the weight is just peeling off. The fact that I have this feeling that I can't cheat. I have this notion that bread or carbs or sugar might actually KILL ME... So now, beef, eggs, chicken, fish, broccoli, heavy cream, cheese, salad greens, etc. are the way to go.5
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