Jil traded low-fat diets for a high-fat diet

Jil had tried to lose weight for a long time and had been on low-fat diets without any success. She stumbled upon a Facebook post from a person eating delicious foods and still losing weight. She reached out and asked her about it and found that she was on a keto diet.

Jil started researching the keto diet and found the Diet Doctor site. She cleaned out her cabinets and went out to buy the new low-carb foods. Read on for this insightful and inspirational success story:

January 1st, 2018, I started my keto weight-loss journey. I have tried so many other low-fat diets, even munching on things like butter-free popcorn, lots of beans, fruits and low-fat cream or milk in my coffee. I was thinking I was doing the right thing by going low fat. Boy, was I wrong!

I stumbled across a Facebook post where the girl had lost weight over Christmas time, yet she had cake and whipped cream for dessert, cheese, nuts, salads with dressing etc. It sounded so foreign to me, how can you lose weight eating like this? I took the bull by the horns and found out she was on keto. So, I investigated the keto diet.

I have one of the inflammatory types of arthritis. I had so much swelling and puffiness in my body, it was difficult to walk short distances, or even go up a flight of stairs. I am unable to exercise very much and I was quite concerned as to how I was going to lose weight without exercising. I know it’s good for your heart but it’s difficult for me to do. But I knew being overweight was bad for my health, my arthritis and my emotional well being (I would hide when I had to walk past a mirror). I knew that being over 50 was also going to make this a challenge.

I’m also a vegetarian so the bulk of my prior eating was lots of vegetarian chili, beans, quinoa, rice, pasta, lasagna, cheese toast, etc. I thought I was doing the right thing.

Then I came along to the Diet Doctor website and was amazed to find the easy-to-navigate website showing the foods that I should and shouldn’t eat and also the reasons why I may have been gaining weight (eating way too many carbs). The videos were very helpful and I was excited to start.

The first thing I did was that I cleared out all of the high-carb foods in my home. My husband was very supportive although he did not need to be on the keto diet. I sent a lot of items away to the food bank and then even threw other items into the garbage. I wanted to be sure there was nothing in the house that would call to me during the late night hours!

We went out shopping armed with a list in hand, lots of cauliflower, salads, almond flour, cheese, coconut milk and even whipping cream to put into my coffee! Could this really work?

I search the web for excellent low carb recipes and started a Pinterest board which I segmented into six categories: regular keto items, salads, keto type bread, sweets and drinks, information and tips, and snacks.

I found it so helpful to categorize the items. This way I could list the items needed to go grocery shopping and ensure that I always had good tasting keto foods to enjoy at all times.

Well, now it’s one year and five months later and 85 pounds (39 kilos) lost – and I am loving life! It is so much easier to get around, I don’t cringe when I walk past mirrors, my arthritis has never been better! I found eating the keto diet lowered my arthritis inflammation so much better than any of the other strong medications that I had been on before. I can actually see my knuckles now, not from the weight loss but from the inflammation reduction!

I didn’t really have any challenges other than when people asked what I was doing to lose so much weight, they thought the increased fat would be harmful to my heart. I found that I had to keep educating people, again and again, it’s a little bit frustrating.

I wish that I would have known about the keto diet years ago. I feel so much better now. I’m actually walking quicker than my husband now and he keeps telling me to slow down, haha. I can even run up the stairs and it is just so much easier to move now.

Yippee! Thank you so much for your amazing website and videos. They have been absolutely life-changing and I was thrilled to find them. I am so much happier now and I’ve only got 15 more pounds (7 kilos) to lose and I know I can do this!

Thanks for listening to my story, I hope it helps encourage others.

All the best,
Jil

Comment

Congratulations on all your success, Jil!

Best,
/ Andreas Eenfeldt, MD

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