Meet Jason, seven months in on keto and IF

Jason had gained more and more weight over the years with a number of health issues added, without really realizing he had problems. When he heard about the keto diet and intermittent fasting he felt intrigued.

He started keto in May of last year and a couple of weeks later, he added intermittent fasting. Read on for his inspiring and relatable story:

I did not realize how bad my life and health were until I got healthy. I am a 46-year-old from Vancouver Canada, a married father of a 10-year-old son.

I can make so many excuses why I got so large – usual story, former athlete, tore my ACL, became sedentary and lazy. Finishing food off my sons’ plate when he didn’t finish his dinners (mm pizza crusts). Ballooned up to 310 pounds (140 kilos), sleep apnea, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, lots of inflammation and joint pain.

Started doing keto on May 12, 2018. I had listened to a few Joe Rogan podcasts with Dr. Peter Attia and the Bell Brothers and other guests in a few days in a row, and they were talking about keto and intermittent fasting on his show. So I read up on it and started the next day. I didn’t wait and plan. My personality is to do it now, or something will pop up as an excuse. During my research, I found your website Diet Doctor and got completely engrossed.

It was easy to plan the first couple of meals because I had salad, veggies and meats in the fridge. I’ll also make low-carb protein shakes. Here in Canada, there is a brand that has 0.5 g carbs per serving. I’ll add a tablespoon of roasted organic almond butter to that to increase my fat intake (and a nice flavour), and add unsweetened almond milk. Results were pretty good; two weeks in, I could feel clothes a bit looser, and the scale had moved downwards by 10 pounds (4.5 kilos). I was expecting the scale to move due to water loss.

I started walking my son to school instead of driving, and I would keep walking to the gym. I would do 20 minutes of stationary bike for the first week, then added some weights selecting a body part and do that for about 20 minutes, then would walk home. That was four times a week. Now, I do 37 minutes on elliptical, and a good 45-minute workout. This is sandwiched between a 2-mile walk in each direction.

I started intermittent fasting about two and a half to three weeks in, as I was feeling pretty full on the higher fats of the foods I was eating anyways. Again, I heard people talk about it on the Joe Rogan podcast so I started 16:8 for a bit, then gradually found 20:4 was good for me. Now I’m a big fan of OMAD (one meal a day). I’m basically OMD Sunday-Wednesday, then I’ll fast Wednesday at 5 pm until Saturday at 5 pm. My aim is 22-hour fasts on OMAD but won’t beat myself up on time. It’s all about habits, and the gym is a habit or routine for me. I’ve been very, very strict. Have been fat adapted from the start. I’m not eating (much) dairy and haven’t played around with those fat bomb recipes I see everywhere.

During my time-restricted feeding, I will have coffee with heavy cream or black. If I get Starbucks, I’ll order an Americano with heavy cream and add stevia. I’ll have a Zevia-carbonated water from time to time, but I was never a big cola drinker (I was into energy drinks, which was worse). I have made instant pot bone broth and enjoyed that as well. My main thing is that I drink a lot of water. I’ll fill my 750-ml bottle endless times. Sometimes I’ll add stevia. I know some will say I break the fast if I have coffee or Zevia, but this is about weight loss and it’s working for me. Keeps me on track. I’ll do one seven-day true water fast once a quarter to for autophagy.

I’m down from a size 46 jeans to a 30/32, depending on style and cut and weigh about 170 pounds (77 kilos) down from 310 (140). I think 170-175 pounds (77-79 kilos) is my sweet spot, as I’ve played around from 165-175 (74-79). Just feel a bit stronger at 175 than 165.

My plan is to continue eliminating sugars and carbs out of my diet.

In summary, this is what has worked for me. I truly believe if I can do it, so can anyone. I have traded in my sugar addiction for an addiction to knowledge and research. I take in so many informative podcasts from Joe Rogan, Peter Attia, Rhonda Patrick, Diet Doctor Podcast with Dr. Bret Scher, and any podcasts with Dom D’Augostino or Jason Fung as guests.

The keto combo with IF has been great, that’s 80% of the battle. The other 20% comes from moving around. Even if it’s just long walks. I started parking my car at the farthest spot possible. My steps increased from 3,000 a day to 15,000 now.

I have had a couple of nights where I have gone for wings and had some booze. I had either a low-carb beer or vodka soda. One night we went and had regular beer and ciders at a beer festival and I didn’t beat myself up about it, it was fun and worth it. I fasted for 24 hours, ate keto and was back in ketosis right away. But that was two months into my journey, so I was fat adapted.

As far as supplements I take, I’ll take a shot of apple cider vinegar at night and in the morning, and a tablespoon of MCT oil. Yes, I’ll do them straight up. Other supplements: creatine before a workout, vitamin D3, a magnesium electrolyte supplement, and a fish oil capsule, and CoQ10, all in my feeding windows. I am now looking into supplementing with NMN (Nicotinamide Mononucleotide). Hopefully a Diet Doctor podcast article soon about that.

I am no longer on blood-pressure medication, do not snore or have sleep apnea any more, and as of this month, my doctor allowed me to come off my statin RX. LDL was a bit high at 4.5 mmol/L but I was at an optimal 3.5 ratio with HDL at 1.92.

So many excuses as to why I got huge to start with (ACL surgery, finish kids meals, not active etc) but don’t look at the how did I get here, look at the how do I get OUT of here.

I receive text messages and all are from friends and co-workers wanting help. I take as much pride in their success as I have had on my own. They want me to start my own blog, and even my doctor wants me to speak at conferences he goes to and shows off my biomarkers. My urine ACR (Albumin/Creatinine Ratio) was a dangerous high 112.6 and is now 2.0 after going keto and losing 145 pounds (65 kilos).

One of the mitigating factors when deciding to change things, was my sister who is a type 1 diabetic and needed a kidney transplant. It was determined that I was NOT a viable donor due to the bio markings of protein in my urine. They said if things kept going the way they were, I was going to need all my organs. I felt terrible that I could not donate my kidney to her. Fortunately, an amazing cousin was a match for her.

My life now is pretty amazing. I get inspired when people say that I inspire them. Considering how fast everything happened — a lot of people saw me six months ago, and see me today — they are shocked.

My weight loss was super fast. 30 pounds (14 kilos) in first 30 days, 90 pounds (49 kilos) in the first 60 days. Then the remaining 50 pounds (23 kilos) over the next four months. That’s 145 pounds (65 kilos) in seven months. My goal was always 170 pounds (77 kilos).

Not sure why I set such a lofty goal, I think I just put in perspective of being a huge MMA (mixed martial arts) fan and figured Welterweight was the right weight class for me. Seemed unrealistic at first, but I wanted the goal really far away, so I would not stop short of my potential.

The biggest challenge was just starting it. Once I was determined to change my life, I was off to the races. I would go for high-sugar Starbucks drinks a couple times a day, once I found an alternative (americano) I knew I could do this. I missed sushi, but I will have a poke bowl with a bed of salad instead of rice, add some good spicy fermented veggies like kimchi, I didn’t miss sushi at all!

I wish I knew how much I could use avocados!! I smash my avocados into guacamole and add that to so many things. I’m fortunate enough that I make all the meals in the house five out of the seven nights, the other two I work in the evening, so I have 100% control my food intake.

My family hasn’t complained at all about the great meals I am finding. I’ll still cook them up homemade burgers, but I eat mine on a lettuce wrap, or cook up tacos, again in a lettuce wrap. It’s pretty easy, and when the weight comes off quick, it’s easy to stay motivated.

Thank you! Diet Doctor is the site I recommend on an almost daily basis when people ask where they can start.

Jason

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Comment

Congratulations Jason, that’s one of the most fantastic health transformations I’ve seen and read in a while. Truly impressive.

In my experience, people who go all in (like you) with very few off-plan moments are generally the ones who get the most extremely positive results. Perhaps that’s to be expected.

Thanks for sharing your story!

/ Andreas Eenfeldt, MD

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