“I don’t look like a sick person; I look like an athlete.”
Elizabeth started keto in 2017 with an initial goal of weight loss. She lost more than 51 pounds (23 kilos) in six weeks, and it significantly impacted her health — in a good way! She stopped experiencing symptoms of a rare genetic disease that had affected her throughout her life.
The disease, known as myoclonic epilepsy with ragged red fiber (MERRF), presented itself as large lumps on Elizabeth’s body.
In 2020, she shared her story with us and, with great joy, revealed that all her biomarkers indicated she was in the best health of her life.
Today, Elizabeth is updating us to continue to motivate others on this journey:
“I’m five years out from beginning a low carb diet. At 59, I have maintained a healthy weight and increased my muscle mass considerably as I strength train regularly. I have also moved to a more protein-based diet (about 80%) and have incorporated extended water fasting (up to five days) and daily time-restricted feeding.
In 2020, I presented another poster at the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation related to my fasting protocol. I suspect I caught COVID late last year and had a lengthy recovery, but my healthy body and lifestyle kept me out of the hospital.
What’s new is that I now monitor over three dozen personal health markers on a regular basis using wearable technology. This allows me to really micromanage my health as I have a very rare, chronic, and progressive genetic disease, with no cure or therapy.
When I meet with specialists now, I’m able to answer their questions very precisely and with data to support my subjective experience. I’m a different kind of patient than I was five years ago, with a great deal more confidence. After all, I don’t look like a sick person; I look like an athlete. Not bad for someone who is living with a chronic, progressive, incurable disease who was told they could never return to work!”
You can read Elizabeth’s original story here.
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