Lost 60 Pounds on Keto and IF so far

sashamerle · June 2019

Hey Guys,

I thought i would introduce myself here, I actually haven't used myfitnesspal for a long time, but just read all the success stories tonight and wanted to post my own. Maybe it can be motivational to someone who is struggling or stalling with their weight loss.

The basics:
My starting weight was 253 pounds in the middle of January and I am now (middle of june) down to about 192 pounds. I am female but also 6'1.

background:
My weight has always fluctuated, and since I am quite tall changes are not very easily noticeable. Gaining or loosing 10 or even 20 pounds is not going to be noticed by people. This also means that I can drop 2-3 pounds in a day when I am starting on a diet.
But anyways, I used to be a skinny tall child and first started gaining weight at around 15, but dropped it all again at around 17 and kept it off until i guess 20. Then i gained a large amount for the first time up to 253 at least at 20-21. I got that off again down to around 174 pounds at 22 I guess and kept it off for 3 years, i now blame my youthful metabolism and a lot of dancing

I finally gained everything back at 25, dropped some again during an exchange semester in asia, and gained it all back after that. I kind of gave up after that. Dieting was just too hard, and I just liked food too much. I never ate too unhealthy I would say, of course I had treats quite often, but my general diet was healthy, just too much. I also couldn't do calorie-restricting anymore, that was how I had lost all the previous times (low calorie, low fat and little food in general), but the hunger was just too much. So I just kind of settled into my new bigger life, which was still a great life, because weight is not everything.

Why did I loose it:
I had a general health checkup and my Physiscian told me I had a fatty liver, she didn't make a big deal out of it, just mentioned it and also did not say anything about my weight. But at home, of course, I googled. And it FREAKED me out. I got very scared. So I researched what to do, and everything I read said (i was quite sure the fatty liver did not come from alcohol)- very little carbs, no sugar, no unhealthy fats, lots of green vegetables. I started the next day, not even with the goal of loosing weight, but just getting rid of my fatty liver. But I lost 60 pounds since then, with very little hunger. Its still a complete miracle to me.

How I lost it:

I do not eat breakfast, I have lunch (around 12-1) as breakfast and then an early dinner at around 4-5.
I absolutely DO NOT count calories, but I have very little appetite on this diet, so i naturally easily stay below 2000 calories each day I would guess.
I limit my carbs a lot, however I do not really count them, and I consume the ones in leafy vegetables.
I DO NOT eat sugar, also very little fruit. (This means like a handful of berries every two weeks).
I still drink alcohol (moderately, but before starting also only moderately)
I do not eat meat, only seafood, but thats just personal conviction, not a dietary one

Overall:
- I am not sure I am on keto, since I do not really count my carbs, just try to keep them very low, and I also do not really watch that my protein and fat are really high. (I did buy the keto sticks, and those do turn quite pink/purple whenever I remember to use them)
- I lost, believe it or not, 17 pounds in the first two weeks. I literally could not believe my eyes when I saw the number on the scale.
- I feel very good on this diet and haven't really had any cravings, I slipped up probably 2-3 times and only when I was at friends who served me dinner and I did not want to be rude and decline.
- My goal is to maybe loose another 10-20 pounds, but I don't stress about it, now that I have already dropped quite a lot its much more slow going (maybe 2-3 pounds every 2 weeks).
- I also do not really gym-exercise because I hate it, ha. But I do bike to work every day (10-15 minutes one way) and have always been quite active, even at my heaviest (hiking, swimming, skiing, biking, etc.)
  
  So anyways, even if you have given up, or your weight has stalled or you feel like you can't loose the weight, nothing is working, maybe just try something else. Me for instance, I would have NEVER done keto because I thought i would simply always be hungry on that, but truth be told I have never been less hungry in my life. Also: Each body is different, do not beat yourself up if something does not work for you!
  
  And also I can tell you from being very skinny (for my height) and from being overweight: weight is not everything!
  
  Good luck to all of you, I know how much discipline and hard work it takes
  
  Sasha

solieco1 · June 2019

Sasha - I love your story and even more your attitude! Great work and thank you for the inspiration.

leggup · June 2019

Did you doctor tell you what diet plan was conclusive to helping with the fatty liver? I'm very surprised by low-carb (unclear if you are actually low carb.. depends on vegetable intake), low fruit. Fruit and whole grains are fantastic sources of fiber, which you want to get plenty of if you have a fatty liver. Fruits are also rich in antioxidants that can protect cells from damage from fat build up in liver cells.

Very often, though, a fatty liver is related to alcohol. I hope you talk to your doctor about dietary recommendations or get referred to a dietitian (not nutritionist).

sashamerle · June 2019

Hi there,

so no my doctor did not say anything in this regard. But like I said she pretty much just mentioned the fatty liver in passing during an ultrasound. Quote: "oh you have a fatty liver but thats normal". I obviously should have followed up on that but I was there for something else and did not think about it until i got home. I should also mention, that the checkup included bloodwork, and from what i can gather (but I am not in the medical field, so might be wrong here) an advanced fatty liver is visible in your blood results, for me everything was normal there. So I don't think I was/am an advanced case.

I also really don't think my fatty liver is an alcoholic one, as I rarely drink more than 2-3 glasses of wine per week, if that. As for the fibre, I get a lot of fiber from vegetables, I eat a LOT of vegetables, and with vegetables I do not care about the carbs (exception:I do not eat potatoes, beans, artichokes or any of those really high carb ones).

I hope this clears it up a bit for you

Of course your right and I should at least get a follow up appointment to check whether its gone now. So maybe I will put that on my To-Do list!

leggup wrote: »

Did you doctor tell you what diet plan was conclusive to helping with the fatty liver? I'm very surprised by low-carb (unclear if you are actually low carb.. depends on vegetable intake), low fruit. Fruit and whole grains are fantastic sources of fiber, which you want to get plenty of if you have a fatty liver. Fruits are also rich in antioxidants that can protect cells from damage from fat build up in liver cells.

Very often, though, a fatty liver is related to alcohol. I hope you talk to your doctor about dietary recommendations or get referred to a dietitian (not nutritionist).

grinning_chick · June 2019

There must be a differentiation between if a person has alcoholic fatty liver disease (AFLD) or nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). It is not necessary to be a heavy drinker and/or an alcoholic to develop AFLD. And if it is AFLD, there should be NO drinking of alcohol, not even in moderation.

If your current primary care provider (PCP) won't address and clarify your questions concerning to your satisfaction, you need to fire him/her and request a new PCP who will.

efrensgirl2015 · June 2019

Awesome awesome job!!!!

sashamerle · June 2019

Hm i did not know that you can differentiate between the two just from the ultrasound. The doctor did not specify it for me and like i said she also did not seem worried about it at all.

It just seemed logical to me that it was NAFLD since I am overweight but only a moderate drinker. I am quoting Harvard health here (first google result for fatty liver and obesity): "The epidemics of obesity and diabetes are to blame. Fatty liver affects between 70% and 90% of people with those conditions, so as obesity and diabetes have become more common, so has fatty liver disease."

But you are of course right, i can't be 100% certain that it is in fact not AFLD, I will just ask her at my next checkup

Maybe I should not have brought up the fatty liver, that was just my "kick-off-moment" and I wanted to give it as background, but this now veering into a medical conversation I am very unqualified for

grinning_chick wrote: »

There must be a differentiation between if a person has alcoholic fatty liver disease (AFLD) or nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). It is not necessary to be a heavy drinker and/or an alcoholic to develop AFLD. And if it is AFLD, there should be NO drinking of alcohol, not even in moderation.

OooohToast · June 2019

Well done on finding a WOE that works for you OP !!

LRLemon · June 2019

Congrats, Sasha! Keto has done the same for me. After much research last June, I decided to eat low carb. All you say is true: I never knew the feeling of satiety until eating Keto (≤25g carbs/day). I used to think "satiety" meant feeling full, which is an uncomfortable feeling. I am so much more at peace: cravings, gone; hunger pangs, gone; constantly thinking about food, gone. I tried a calories-in-calories-out diet in 2014 and lost 80 pounds, but could not sustain it: carbs just kept me on a rollercoaster of cravings and eating and relying on will power couldn't last more than a year for me. I gained the weight back. I am no longer prediabetic. My blood pressure is normal. My triglycerides came way down, my skin has even cleared up! June 27, 2019 will be my 1-year anniversary of eating keto and all indications show I will have lost 100 lbs by then. For folks like me who are insulin resistant, restricting carbs, eating a moderate amount of protein and high saturated fat works efficiently. Today's science is proving out the value of keto for folks like me. It's taken a while, but the major health organizations are finally including mention of a low carb diet as a valid path to go.

KMD1214 · June 2019

LRLemon wrote: »

Congrats, Sasha! Keto has done the same for me. After much research last June, I decided to eat low carb. All you say is true: I never knew the feeling of satiety until eating Keto (≤25g carbs/day). I used to think "satiety" meant feeling full, which is an uncomfortable feeling. I am so much more at peace: cravings, gone; hunger pangs, gone; constantly thinking about food, gone. I tried a calories-in-calories-out diet in 2014 and lost 80 pounds, but could not sustain it: carbs just kept me on a rollercoaster of cravings and eating and relying on will power couldn't last more than a year for me. I gained the weight back. I am no longer prediabetic. My blood pressure is normal. My triglycerides came way down, my skin has even cleared up! June 27, 2019 will be my 1-year anniversary of eating keto and all indications show I will have lost 100 lbs by then. For folks like me who are insulin resistant, restricting carbs, eating a moderate amount of protein and high saturated fat works efficiently. Today's science is proving out the value of keto for folks like me. It's taken a while, but the major health organizations are finally including mention of a low carb diet as a valid path to go.

How wonderful and congratulations!!! I’ve had a mini-version of your success (just 15 lbs on a low calorie Keto plan since May 2) and applaud your choices and your results!!! By the way, I experienced quite a critique from others here when sharing my joy about it. I, too, feel wonderful... no cravings... plenty of energy and hope for the rest of this journey. Kudos!!!!!

Lost 60 Pounds on Keto and IF so far

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