I have been on keto for 2.5 years. I have lost about 120lbs from my heaviest. I won’t go back. I’m 42 years old. I can wear the same size and style Levi’s I wore when I graduated high school. Not too many people can say that. It has been a journey that I am glad I went on. No regrets. The further you get away from sugars/carbs, the less it bothers you. I never thought I would say this, but I could careless about food. Now it’s just something you have to do to survive. Many days I go all day and then realize I haven’t eaten. I grab a quick something and go on about my business. Keep it up guys.

RH, I did but I had already done that more than a month before I started Keto. Around 10 years ago before I just completely quit trying, I ate high protein, low carb, lifted weights and did cardio for a year. I lost 40 lbs, then gained 10 pounds of muscle back. I was lifting more weight at the end of that year than I was when I was in college and could wear a elliptical out for an hour. Even in that good of shape I felt good but didn’t have much energy. This Keto Diet is responsible for my energy. I don’t know what is doing it or why but I’m not sure at this point that it matters. When I get down to my target weight I’m going to add a few healthy carbs back in limited quantities to see if any of them were causing any problems or if it’s just carbs in general

What are you calling healthy carbs? That calisthenics guy I posted about calls the broccoli ,cauliflower and spinach healthy carbs,

Anything with a glycemic index below 50. Sweet potatoes, green vegetables, apples, etc...

fr8skr, that’s awesome man, I’d love to hear more of your story.

I got real cranky and went into carb withdrawal just reading this. I admire the dedication some you have!

I will try to give the short version.

As my 40th birthday loomed in the near future, I knew that I needed a life change. I have struggled with my weight all my life. After hearing about the keto diet I began to do some research. Got the ins and outs, pros and cons. On Oct 29, 2016 I decided that I would give it a try for 30 days. If at the end of the 30, if I was happy with the results, I would continue on. Now, right at 2.5 years later, I’m 120lbs lighter and much happier. I can wear the same style and size clothes I wore when I graduated high school. I’m no small guy to begin with. Currently I’m 6’4 and around 280lbs. The heaviest confirmed weight on my scale was 380lbs. I know that was not my heaviest. So I just add an extra 20 on for easy math. Roughly 400lbs. I don’t put much value in what the scales say, but more about how I feel and look. Don’t want a beach body. I’m out of the breeding pool. I just want to be happy with how I look and feel. Comfortable in my own skin. So here is how I did it. This is my daily regimen. I am pretty strict, but if I give myself an inch, I will take a mile. I know this, so I credit my success to this.

It’s pretty cut and dry:
1. No more than 20 grams or sugars or carbs a day.
2. One half of my body weight in ounces, daily water consumption. (280x.5=140oz of h2o)
3. Cold pressed coconut oil pills once a day.(for MCT)
4. No natural or artificial sweeteners period!!!

In 2.5 years I have eaten 2 hamburgers with a bun, one order of fries, two fountain cokes and miss none of them.

If I get into something that has sugar I can immediately taste it. It makes me feel like crap for two days.

Now I’m trying to lose about what I feel is my last 20 lbs or so slowly. I think that will put me at my ideal weight for me. So now to tweak my weight loss I will eat on occasion more fresh vegetables that have sugars in them, but in moderation.

I am no longer enamored with food. Could care less. Never thought I would be able to say that, but I can.

The 3 things I miss the most that are the hardest to stay away from are: cornbread, black eyed peas, and cat head biscuits. In 2.5 years I have had 2 slices of cornbread, 1 bowl of peas, and 3 homemade biscuit. All of which were awesome!!! Unfortunately I know they will take me back down the path I don’t want to be on. So I make the sacrifice. It’s worth it. When I look at my son, I know It’s best for me, so we can spend a long life together

So that’s the not so short version. If any of you guys would like some insight or help, pm me. I will be glad to help! Stick in there!!! It’s worth it!!

I have been on it since 8/14/17. I will never go back. It’s not what you lose so much to me it is what you gain. I feel good. My blood is tested every 6 months and my numbers are perfect. Yeah I pass on some stuff, and eating at other peoples houses is hard, but I’ve dealt with that easily. Yes you get low carb flu for 2 weeks but then you get no carb excitement for the rest of the time you are on the diet. And I hate to call it a diet. For me it’s been an entire lifestyle change. If I would have known 20 years ago.......

^^^x2

It is a lifestyle change. You have to be committed. If you go back to your old ways, you will gain it back. Darryl summed it all up.

I’m seriously proud of all you guys 👍🏻
It takes a lot of self discipline to change your lifestyle. Keep it up men!

There was very little carb withdrawals for me. I inadvertently weaned myself off them by eating what most doctors would say is a healthy diet for close to a month before starting keto. I had oatmeal for breakfast, lean meats and vegetables and some fruit every day. That weaned me off the quick hitting carbs and kicking the slow uptake carbs was easy. I had about 2 days that I didn't feel good.

Thanks for posting the story fr8shkr. I hope to be posting the same thing in 2 years.

For those who have been on keto for a long time, say over a year, what does your doctor say about it? I know the keytones are supposedly hard on your kidneys, I also know being fat is hard on everything.

I am already to the point that I can tell that eating robs me of energy. Almost 2 weeks ago I don't think I could honestly say that I had ever missed a meal. Ever. Now 12 days later I enjoy not eating dinner/supper now. The longer I go without eating, the better I feel. I have never had much will power. Very little. That Sunday, the first day when I didn't eat supper, I thought about "needing" to eat about 40 times that afternoon. I made it without even a snack. I woke up the next morning in a better frame of mind. That very next morning, I knew that I could do it. I had done it once so I knew I could do it again.

Bad part is, I'm typing this after eating supper. I made some egg salad when I got home tonight. My wife and kids are out of town for the weekend and I decided I would kick back, relax and eat some egg salad and raw broccoli. I wasn't hungry. I knew I wasn't hungry but I wanted to eat. I'm now sitting here bloated, miserable and my heart rate is elevated. In reality I might have eaten 5 carbs in that meal. Probably less, so I guess it's the fat that kicked my heart rate up. Regardless, I don't like this feeling and won't repeat it.

You and me both. I have never done a "fad" diet before. I have eaten healthy for long periods of time, but I have never done anything that has given me the benefits of what Keto is doing. After trying several different methods of trying to lose weight that have worked for others and didn't work for me, I think that there is a perfect eating plan for everyone. Keto is working great for me, but it might not work great for everyone. Some people are okay with being hungry. Their brain is okay with being hungry. Mine is not.

There was a truck driver at the shop yesterday who ate 1/2 a home made ham sandwich for lunch. He said he was trying to lose weight. He said that he had recently been diagnosed as a diabetic and his doctor put him on a diet. He said he was starving all the time. I told him what I was doing and suggested he talk to his doctor about it. It's made my blood sugar drop, but it might not make his do that.

Me too fren! I don't get hangry anymore...just a little hungry sometimes and I eat a little cheese and pecans or walnuts ...I eat once a day most of the time like 1500 or 1600 calories and I'm good till the next day ...eggs are your friend. Lost 85 lbs in the first year ...now going on my 5th keeping it off and my bloodwork is amazing! Low carb high fat or "keto" is saving my life!

My son has been doing 90% of the cooking here for about 4 months now and stays on me about my eating. And I'm blessed to have him here doing this. So, aside from the healthy foods that he prepares I have been making a strong effort to lose more weight. From January of 2017 to March of that year I lost 40 lbs by just eating one meal a day but any food that I wanted. I walked the trail by the edge of the lake every other day. But, I hit a wall at at that 40lb mark and that's where I've been ever since. So, now I'm eating healthier than ever in my life and hoping to see results in the next 2 weeks. I take foods and prepare a salad for my lunch every day. Sliced deli meats (turkey/chicken breast - no processed meats) with organic medley mix greens, hot pepper cheese and vinegar/oil dressing. I top it with roasted sunflower kernels sometimes. I change the dressing once or twice a week just for variety and/or just eat the ingredients individually, minus the dressing. A few boiled eggs along the way as well. Low to 0 carbs in this salad and it's easy for me to have these foods in my cooler for lunch. Simplicity REALLY helps me stay in this.

Fr8, why no artificial sweeteners? There is no insulin response with them like real sugar. Natural sweeteners like stevia are great on a low carb diet to help sweeten things up.

Some artificial sweeteners will cause spikes in some people. Like I said, if I give myself an inch, I will take a mile. For myself, I have to be strict as possible. I at one time would drink 4-5 Mtn Dews a day. That stuff is the nectar of the earth!!! Love them. If I say ehh 1 won’t hurt. By this time next week, I will be drinking 3 or 4 a day. Same goes for sweets. A lot of people do keto and drink diet drinks. I can not. I know my weaknesses, so I have chosen to eliminate all of the temptation. Also by doing this, it makes the program a lot easier to follow and keep up. So to answer your question, it’s personal preference. I also try to eat a minimal amount of processed foods. After you get away from it. You don’t miss it a bit. People said it to me, and I was like, “yeah right! I will call b.s. on that.” Nope they we right.

I'm going to update this thread every Sunday morning. That makes it easier for me to keep up with the thread and find it. At first I was doing it to get you guys to reply, which helped motivate me, but not I'm doing it just to document my progress. Motivation is great and I assure you that there will be a day that I will still need my aldeer brothers to pump me up, but right now I'm still on the keto "high." I started eating "Keto" on 4/4. I weighed 311. This morning I weighed 296. That's 15 pounds. The only issue is that I lost 12-13 of those pounds in the first 2 weeks and have pretty much been on a stall since then. I don't count calories often and just keep up with the recommended % in my head so I may not be getting the exact amounts of anything other than carbs that are preferred. All that I do know is that I'm not getting more than 20-30 grams of carbs any day. My energy level continues to be higher than I ever remember it being. My activity level has increased with my energy level. I haven't been in the house before dark in at least 2 weeks. Over the past week I have been having an afternoon energy "crash" like I had before I started the diet. I don't understand that and it's not a blood sugar related issue. That was my first thought, but I've checked it enough to verify that's not the issue. My 1 hour after a meal blood sugar level has not been over 96 in a couple of weeks. My fasting blood sugar is running 75-80. My blood ketone level is running from 1.2 - 2.3 mmol. I haven't figured out what dropped it to 1.2 when it was previously 2.3. All I know for sure, is that it wasn't carbs. I am starting to think that dairy products are causing it. The only dairy products that I'm consuming are cheeses and they're low in carbs so that has me somewhat perplexed. Perhaps it's too much protein. I'm having a hard time finding a source of vegetable fat that I can work into my diet. I had been trying to choke down an avocado per day but just couldn't. I just can't eat them plain on a daily basis. I made guacamole yesterday and it was really good, so that will help. I'm not exercising other than physical work. I've been too busy doing all those things around the house and farm that I'd let go over the last couple of years of "dead living." I'm going to try and incorporate some cardio this week. I'm going to start slow and increase over time.



I originally missed this post and I'm amazed to read what you wrote. I'm having the exact opposite effect. I had been having muscle spasms for a year or more. Particularly in my left arm. My whole arm would "draw" up. I don't know the medical terminology but my hand would ball up into a fist and my forearm would pull up next to my upper arm. When it continued over a month or so I got pretty alarmed. I thought it might be a symptom of MS and went to my Internist. I had some tests and that was not the case but I did have some marker in my blood that showed muscle damage. Also my both hamstrings would severely cramp, regularly. Not both at one time, but both legs would cramp, at different times and it happened multiple times per week.

Neither of those have happened in at least 2-3 weeks.

I'm starting mine today. Had a couple boiled eggs for breakfast and I've got some broccoli, chicken breast, avacado, and cheese packed for lunch later. I'm 215lb on what should be about a 185-190lb frame. Hoping to knock this beer gut and love handles down a good bit. I just hope that I can stick with it, I have very weak will power when it comes to this kind of stuff.

Not too bad or you would be a lot bigger. I'm about where you are now but I lost 120 lbs to get here. You will have to be stricter and do a bit more extra to burn it off than one of us bigger guys. At this weight I can change 5 lbs overnight either way,just depending on what way I ate,exercised and even crapped in the last couple days.

I've been eating like crap for a while now. Lots of sweets (thanks to the wife) and a couple beers almost daily. I've always had a high metabolism but over the last few months I've noticed it slowing down considerably and I've gone up two notches in my belt (a lot of it has to do with the fact that I took an office job and sit on my ass for 8hrs a day now). I'm starting keto mainly to try and get out ahead of it before it really gets out of hand.