Hippocrates had it right. When I started eating meats, veggies, full fat dairy, and eggs, my health improved dramatically. I was around 270 lbs, wearing a size 24, and taking OTC and prescription pain meds.
My life was limited by the pain.
The physical pain of my back–limited amounts of standing, walking, and no bike riding, nothing that would risk a fall. And I was getting epidural steroid shots, which didn’t really help. We were looking at disability insurance and thinking about canes, walkers, and eventually a wheelchair. I wasn’t yet 45 years old.
The emotional pain was limiting too. There were many things I couldn’t do with my children–physical play and even climbing the stairs at night to tuck them in bed. The plus size clothes and never feeling attractive were also painful. The wife I couldn’t be pained me even though my husband never complained.
My physicians? They could help me dull the pain, but they offered no cure. Of course, they encouraged me to lose weight. “Eat less, move more”.
My “personal failure” of eating less, moving more and never succeeding became like compound interest over the entire four decades of my life. What was wrong with ME? Why couldn’t I lose the weight? Why wasn’t I trying hard enough? I’d proven over and over that I was not lazy, not dumb, not content with my health, so why would I continue to fail?
Perhaps I was failing. Perhaps conventional nutrition information failed me?
Let’s be clear. I LOVE medical professionals. God bless the work they do. You won’t convince me that any of our health care workers want us to be sick. Any negative comments like that will be removed because we won’t tolerate bashing the medical community. BUT, I do believe that many of them simply do not know. They are following what they have been told AND, if they haven’t lived obesity, if they don’t personally know that pain, then, they too seem to wonder, “What’s wrong with these overweight people? Why can’t they follow my advice? Why won’t they take care of themselves?”
Doctors, nutritionists, nurses, let me tell you, we did try. Obesity is a problem we all own. The medical and nutritional community, the food industry (if there’s some shade to be thrown, that’s where I tend to throw it), and each of us.
This is a big problem in public health, and not because obesity is THE problem, but obesity is the symptom of bigger health issues. It will take all of us to help find solutions, but I’m starting with food.
Tell me. What “problems” have you solved with low-carb or keto? Tell me about the “personal failing” you’ve felt when you couldn’t lose weight in the past.
And tell me….can you see why I abhor the ultraprocessed, packaged frankenfood pushed as “keto” or “low carb” or “sugar-free”? 99% of that stuff is part of the problem, not the solution.
“Let food be thy medicine”.
Categories: Cooking Keto with Kristie
Thank you for being so honest & open.❤️
Thank you for the post Christie,
I was a yo-yo dieter. I started in my 20’s with only 40 pounds overweight and had brief periods of normal weight by literally starving with tortured constant thoughts of food. By 62 I was 70 pounds over my current weight of 130 pounds at 5 foot 4 inches. DietDoctor, your video, several books, especially from Phinney and Volek changed everything in 2016. I lost 70 pounds, pre-diabetes, a fatty liver, severe leg edema, depression, brain fog, severe fatigue, joint pain and put my lupus into remission. Will be 67 soon. Just happy to have found this lifestyle and grateful to all people from researchers to lay people for all they do to better the lives of so many who decided not to drink the kool-aide of “Eat less, move more”.
I followed religiously the SAD and exercised daily and weighed close to 300 pounds. My doctor, I think, thought I was lying about how much I ate and exercised. Many doctors, I should say, not just one, believed that. One suggested bariatric surgery, another a nutritionist. I just recently came across the food log the nutritionist had me complete—whole wheat bagel for breakfast, black coffee, low fat salad dressing,etc. So depressing.
My husband, who has always stood by me, believed my weight problems had to be some sort of chemical imbalance. He was right, after all. Keto is putting the right “chemicals” into my body and keeping out the bad.
Hi Kristie. My sister told me about your wonderful way of eating. I have reversed a fatty liver completely, all blood tests back to normal and lost 11 kgs. Now 65 kgs and feeling great. I didn’t need to lose as much weight as others but I think your Keto WOE is the most realistic to follow and I love my dairy so it was easy for me. Thanks so much for everything you do! It even helps us across the world in Australia!
I have been following Keto for 16 months now and have completely reversed my bad lab tests. My type 2 diabetes was never too out of control, but my A1C was still anywhere from 6.3 to 6.8. Now it is 5.4. I have reached a plateau and the scale is no longer moving even though I still want to lose another 10-15 pounds, but if I can maintain where I am, I will be okay. I am back to being as active as when I was 40 (I will be 70 in a couple months). I hike and kayak and it feels good. Kristi, you were one of the first Keto educators I came across and truly loved your approach. I also have several of your cookbooks and love them.
Kristie, your transparency and love for people regaining their health is an inspiration. My friend introduced you to me 2 years ago this month and I began the Keto journey in March of 2019. My goal was healing enough to have my hip replaced. Your story is my story and i cried buckets when i watched your story videos on YouTube. I achieved my 1st goal, to heal enough for the surgery (my joint was completely collapsed and I was confined to a chair for nearly a year with limited walking from the bed to the bathroom to the chair) on February 18, 2020. I’ve continued my journey to this year and have achieved my second goal to no longer be considered by my primary care physician as morbidly obese. My next goal is a reasonable maintenance weight and increasing my walking to 5 miles (I’m up to 2 1/2). I’m not on Facebook so I miss seeing posts on YT, but that’s okay. I can catch up occasionally, here on your blog. Thank you for all your work and God bless you!