I have been following the ketogenic diet (commonly referred to as the “keto” diet) for roughly two months now. Initially, hearing that I would need to reduce my carbohydrate intake to less than 20 grams per day was startling and completely impractical. For anyone who has not noticed the surge of popularity surrounding the ketogenic diet, this diet consists of foods that are high in fat, moderate in protein, and have little to no carbs.

While I struggled early on to cut nearly all the carbs out of my diet, I have since gotten quite good at assembling three meals and one snack per day that are higher in fat and contain few, if any carbs. Let’s take it back to 2016 before I share my experiences following the keto diet.

I began my healthier lifestyle back in August of 2016. I remember the day before I started my journey– I had attended Demi Lovato and Nick Jonas’ “Future Now” tour and stood all concert-long in a crowd full of scantily-dressed tweens. I remember resenting how cute and care-free they looked. When Demi finally got on stage, she looked fierce and gorgeous, showcasing her thicker thighs and her short, confident hair-doo. I was jealous. It took me being miserable and feeling inadequate among all those people to kickstart my dieting efforts. Before the start of my diet, I was the “drive-thru guru.” I would skip breakfast and eat fast food for lunch and dinner, and if my meals were not “delicious” and “exciting,” I usually would not eat at all. I was not a binge-eater, but when I did eat it was often garbage. On Friday nights, I would go to CVS and buy a big bag of chips and a family-size bag of Hershey’s chocolate with almonds, and then I would retreat to my room to eat while I watched countless hours of TV. These snack habits left me unmotivated, bloated, and lacking energy all of the time!

I started with small changes — three meals and two snacks a day, more water, increased physical activity, less sugar, and a decreased caloric intake. At the time, I was working 50 hours a week at Speedway. I distinctly remember purchasing my three 30-ounce bottles of water as soon as I walked in and warming up my “Healthy Choice” prepared meal about midway through my ten-hour shift. It was miserable, but the progress felt great. I would go to the gym at 10 p.m. after my shift ended every night and usually would not return home until around midnight. It was a lot of work and effort, and although I went to bed and awoke exhausted every single day, it was well worth it in the end.

Today I am down 80 pounds and loving life more than ever! I know that sounds cheesy, but I have genuinely broken through more barriers than I ever thought possible. I play with my newly-protruding collar bone regularly, I wear short-sleeved shirts again, and I don’t mind having my chest and shoulders out anymore. It’s liberating. Weight has not only been figuratively lifted, but it’s been physically lifted.

It has been two years now, and although I still experience a small setback now and then, I am noticing consistent changes in my emotional and physical health. But more recently, I began to plateau, and as progress began to slow, I was forced to make some new changes to my diet. After meeting with a nutritionist at work, I realized I was consuming too many carbs and too much protein for my body. The smoothie I had grown to love as a part of my morning ritual turned out to be what was holding me back. As a recommendation, I began following a more keto-centric diet. The results I have noticed in just two months are astounding! I had my hair in braids for about two years, because I hated my hair’s dry, brittle and short appearance and after only recently shedding my “protective hairstyle” and washing, blow-drying, and straightening my hair, I could not believe how long and beautiful it had gotten! I used to spend countless hours watching youtube hair care videos and countless dollars on hair growth pills that never seemed to work when all I had to do was eat healthier foods!!

After only two months of following the keto diet I have noticed increased and sustainable energy, clearer skin, extended satiation periods, and noticeable fat loss in stubborn areas such as my midsection and lower back. I never knew that consuming more fat would help me to lose fat. I was initially introduced to the keto diet by an influencer on Instagram who had lost a whopping 140 pounds by just following the keto diet and incorporating mild exercise.

I am excited to see where I will be mentally and physically two months from now. As I continue my keto practices, I will develop meal “cheats” and recipes to help make eating more natural as well as strategies to help me target the best exercises for my body type and the amount of weight I aim to lose. I have also recently shifted my focus from monotonous cardio, which my body has more than gotten used to, to lifting weights. Not only is lifting weights more fun and challenging for me than cardio, but weights can also be increased and varied to help keep me from plateauing again and struggling to rev the fat loss back up. Plus, I love the ache of sore muscles. It makes me feel like there is progress being made with every workout, even if I can’t see it!

If you are even mildly curious about the keto diet, regardless of how much weight, if any, you are striving to lose, I wholeheartedly recommend speaking with a professional to see if the keto diet could be right for you! If you would like to learn more about the keto diet, visit the Keto Dash website! Here you can find additional information regarding the overall structure of the lifestyle, as well as keto shopping lists, recipes, and weight-loss manuals!