A 2+ year update on my keto diet journey. So many health improvements!
Top: 2/1/18 248 lbs –> 12/1/18 204 lbs Middle: 2/1/18 248 lbs –> 12/1/18 204 lbs Bottom: 12/1/15 280 lbs (heaviest weight) –> 2/1/18 204 lbs.
I haven’t done a keto update post in a while, so I thought it would be fun to share for the new year! This past September I hit a couple huge milestones: 2 years since I started keto and 50lbs lost!! When I started this way of eating in 2016 I didn’t expect to be able to stick with it like I have. But I really love how I feel while on keto, and I’ve made some major health improvements that I hope to continue.
In Sept. 2016, after 4.5 years of infertility, I was finally diagnosed with PCOS and insulin resistance and put on a ketogenic diet by my doctor to treat my out of control PCOS symptoms and infertility. I was pregnant just 6 weeks later and my amazing daughter is now 17 months old. Such an amazing answer to prayer!
Timeline:
- September 2016 – November 2016: Strict Keto at 20% deficit (261lbs down to 236lbs)
- December 2016 – I’m pregnant! I stayed keto with doctor approval and monitoring until morning sickness got too bad and then switched to general “low-carb” (under 150g/day) for the remainder of my pregnancy. I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes about halfway through and managed to keep it diet-controlled until delivery. (241 lbs)
- August 2017 – My daughter is born! Keto dropped my breastfeeding supply, so I stayed general low-carb (under 100g/day) until we were done nursing. (233 lbs)
- February 2018 – I finished breastfeeding, so I was free to go back to strict keto with 20% deficit. (248lbs – I gained weight while breastfeeding and it was worth it!)
- February 2018 – Present – Strict keto with only a handful of higher carb days. (248lbs down to 204lbs)
Benefits I’ve seen since starting a ketogenic diet in Sept. 2016:
- My A1C is down from borderline diabetes levels back down to very healthy levels (It was 5.9% in 2016 and is now down to 4.8% in October of 2018).
- My fasting insulin has dropped from 12.2 mcU/ml (insulin resistant) down to 6.6 mcU/ml (normal).
- I have been taken completely off my Metformin and likely won’t need it again.
- My awful cystic acne is all but gone.
- I haven’t had a new ovarian cyst (that I know of) since I started keto.
- My cycles are happening perfectly normally again. Before they were anywhere from 20 days to 65 days long, so a consistent schedule is so nice to have back again!
- I have so much more energy than I ever did before. (Which is great, because my toddler is super high energy.)
- I can fast for hours and not be starving. Which is convenient when life gets super busy. Sometimes I practice intermittent fasting or One Meal a Day (OMAD).
- I sleep so much better at night and don’t hit the afternoon exhaustion slump like I used to when I was regularly carb-fueled.
- I’ve dropped 3 clothing sizes (Women’s 20 down to a 14 and XXL down to M.) and my body shape has changed a lot. (I’m sure pregnancy had something to do with at least part of my re-composition.)
- I no longer get “hangry” mood swings – my blood sugar is stable, so my mood usually is too.
- I have lost and kept off 57lbs. (261 lbs down to 204 lbs)
- I have learned so much about fueling my body rather than just eating food for the sake of eating.
Measurement Changes:
I started taking monthly measurements when I re-started strict keto in February 2018. I’ve lost a total of 32.75″ this year!
- Waist: 38″ –> 33″
- Bust: 49″ –> 40.5″
- Hips: 51.5″ –> 44″
- Thigh: 27″ –> 22″ (Measurement taken at fingertips, not widest point.)
- Calf: 16″ –> 14.5″
- Bicep: 16.5″ –> 12.5″
- Neck: 14″ –> 12.75″
- BMI: 35 (obese) –> 29.7 (Overweight)
Reflection:
I lose weight very slowly despite strict tracking (and I did put weight loss and very strict low-carb on hold while pregnant and breastfeeding), but I’m okay with slow and steady because my journey back to health is a marathon and not a sprint. I hope to make it down to one-derland soon (which I haven’t seen since 2007), but the relief from PCOS symptoms alone is worth it to keep going. #KCKO friends! 😄 (p.s. sorry about all the watermarks, but I don’t want any products stealing my photos to advertise their junk.)
P.S. Check out my post on 10 Things I Wish I’d Known Before Starting Keto if you want my best tips for getting started!
I found your website by chance, thank god! It is 1:04 am and I have been reading about your 1st week experience, diagnosis for PCOS and the blessing of your pregnancy. If beign completely honest, I cried. I cried because I felt I was not alone and that if you could achieve this, I had a chance. Thank you for beign so candid, it truly does give the rest of us hope.
I’m glad my story could help encourage someone else! Let me know if I can help you on your own journey. I know keto isn’t for everyone, but for some of us it’s quite an amazing help!
This is all so great! I found your blog looking for blackberry/lemon recipes and am so happy I did! What an inspiring mama you are!
Congratulations on the baby and the new found sense of life!!!
I too found you by looking for a crunchy chocolate chip cookie recipe. I’m going to make some with Lily’s Sea Salt Caramel Chocolate Chips. Thank you so much for the recipe! I’m interested to hear about where you are with your weight loss.
I have been living Atkins since 1/1/2012. Almost 2 years ago I changed my lifestyle to more of a modified Atkins diet (MAD) at the suggestion of my neurologist to help control my partial seizure epilepsy that became uncontrollable in 2017. I lost about 10 more lbs and love the keto lifestyle. All together I have lost 57 lbs! I went from an XL (tight) to a size medium and probably 6/8 in jeans.
Thanks again,
Robin