My story begins like yours. For decades I had used food as a coping mechanism for stress, depression and anxiety. Eventually I developed health problems including insomnia, pre-type 2 diabetes, sky high blood pressure, and kidney stones. After doing some heavy research, I decided to go on a keto diet.
As a Strongman competitor, I had the exercise part down. My main problem is that I was always hungry. I could eat every hour without a problem. I needed help being satisfied with my food. Typical meals include some form of protein and carbohydrates such as rice or pasta. This increased my strength exponentially, but it also increased body mass in the form of fat and muscle. I needed to cut the fat.
I started by getting ideas and recipes from Ruled.me. The first three weeks were tough. I was so freaked out by places like grocery stores because of the keto flu and had so much motivation. The second week I realized I wasn’t sleep deprived. By the third week I had no desire to eat. I had to force myself to eat.
The first month I dropped 30lbs. After that I noticed that my heart began to pump easily. Every month I dropped a solid 15 lbs. After 5 months, I started intermittent fasting. Eventually I dropped from 406lbs to 205lbs in a year, 135 of those pounds were in the first 9 months. 201lbs down, 15lbs to go.
My blood pressure went from 140/95 to 112/60. I am no longer showing symptoms of diabetes. I wake up like a new person every day. Your website has truly changed my life!
1. What tactics did you use to help you reach your goal? What helped you best achieve your goals?
I made sure to take weekly tape measurements as well as weight measurements. Each week my chest, stomach and waist size would be applied along with my weight. I also weighed myself for seven days after the cheat meal (held once a month) to understand the weight fluctuation cycle. For me I noticed that I maintained this weight for 3 days, and then my weight would drop back down to my pre-cheat meal weight.
2. What is the most impactful change you have made to your diet and why do you feel it is the most important?
Learning to love vegetables is at the top of the list. I used to eat only potatoes/pasta/rice and one meat. Little in the way of healthy greens. Adding plenty of leafy greens to this diet is key to a proper balance.
3. What is the best advice you can give to someone just starting out?
Don’t worry about your cholesterol or blood pressure numbers. They will go down after being on the diet for a month.
4. How do you feel your life is now that you are on your goal?
I will start by saying that I will not have an end goal. I’m not the kind of guy anymore. It can change from my ideal body weight, to my ideal body composition. I now understand that weight is just a number, and how I look and feel is important.
That being said, I have unlimited energy, and I only wind down about an hour before bed. The best feeling in the world is walking into a store, and being able to find clothes that fit, and fit well. 3 years ago I went to Salem MA on vacation, and I couldn’t find an XXXL hoodie, and it really hurt me. I wanted that hoodie to remember my experience. Now I don’t have that problem. I feel like a whole new man!
5. What do you consider the biggest change in your daily life?
Basically, there is no desire to eat every hour. I can go 18+ hours without eating. Fats actually satisfy you more easily than carbs. I know there’s a lot of science about ketones keeping you from getting hungry, and that’s true for me.
6. What did you do to get help throughout your journey?
I have seen many success stories on YouTube and your site. The idea of losing 50lbs seemed crazy to me. I can’t believe I lost 4 times that weight.
7. What do you currently do to manage your daily diet?
I fast till noon on working days. On lifting days, I’ll fast for 18 hours, break it at noon, hit the gym right after work, and then eat dinner afterwards. On the days I don’t work out, I fast for 23 hours, and I eat a huge steak salad with butter and MCT oil coffee for lunch.
8. What is your favorite keto recipe from www.ruled.me that has become a staple?
This is a difficult question. It’s a three-way tie between Creamy Lemon and Dill Pan Seared Salmon, Hearty Crock Pot Chicken Stew, and Buffalo Chicken Crust Pizza.
9. If you could do one thing differently during your trip, what would it be and why?
The only thing I would do differently is jump on the diet sooner.
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