I started my weight loss journey in 2016. My youngest daughter was almost two and I was at my heaviest weight. I knew I needed to do something but honestly, I didn’t know what to do. When you’re addicted to sugar it’s hard to limit portion sizes. I did a Beachbody program for a year and lost 35 pounds. It seemed like I was trying so hard but I was still overweight. I then tried a ketogenic diet. Once I started to eat a low carb/high-fat diet, the weight fell off. I lost 30 pounds in three months. Different plans work for different people, but keto truly worked for me … in more ways than you might think.
Infertility
I am in several keto/low carb support groups on Facebook, including PCOS Keto Warriors. There are hundreds of women in these groups who swear a keto/low carb lifestyle helped them get pregnant after years of battling infertility. If you have PCOS, a keto/low carb diet can also help offset some of your symptoms. Those symptoms vary from person to person but for me, it helped regulate my cycle.
Type II Diabetes
When you eat a ketogenic/low carb diet, you limit your carbohydrate and sugar intake. This allows your blood sugar, aka glucose levels, to stabilize and your insulin levels to drop. In one study the final results were, “The LCKD [low carb ketogenic diet] improved glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes such that diabetes medications were discontinued or reduced in most participants. Because the LCKD can be very effective at lowering blood glucose, patients on diabetes medication who use this diet should be under close medical supervision or capable of adjusting their medication.”
Epilepsy
When traditional medication is not working for a patient, a ketogenic diet can sometimes help prevent seizures in people who have epilepsy. According to THIS article, “The ketogenic diet was first developed in the 1920’s as a therapeutic diet for those with epilepsy. Epilepsy is a chronic neurological disorder that causes unpredictable seizures among other health problems. Epilepsy affects people of all ages, and the types of seizures vary widely per person. Fasting, which leads to ketosis in the body, has been used as a treatment for epilepsy since as far back as 500 BC, and the ketogenic diet was created as an alternative. Those following it could still achieve the benefits of ketosis for epilepsy without abstaining from food.”
Mental Clarity
I have personally noticed that when my body is in ketosis I am able to think more clearly and I have more energy. While following a low carb diet during the last ten weeks of my pregnancy, I have more energy than I did while I was eating a SAD (Standard American Diet). A recent article I read states, “Many who try it [ketogenic diet] often report substantial changes in their cognition, largely in a positive sense. People have reported less lethargy, increased alertness, greater mental clarity and sharpness, quicker thinking, improved mood, increased productivity, and a natural need for less sleep. Biological anthropologists argue that these findings are not surprising considering that the diets of earlier human beings were likely ketogenic and thus our bodies are better adapted for this lifestyle.”
Cancer
No, a ketogenic/low carb diet will not prevent or heal you or your loved one from cancer. I wish there was a cure so easy and cost-effective. But as the US National Library of Medicine states, “A diet rich in carbohydrates has a pronounced stimulating impact on tumor growth.” There have also been numerous studies done where tumors shrunk or ceased to grow any further after the patient started a ketogenic lifestyle.
Eating this diet has been challenging for me but the rewards are many. I was able to conceive my daughter immediately after being on this diet for five months. I have more energy, better mental clarity, and just feel better all the way around.
If you need recipes, Pinterest has a lot for a ketogenic and low carb lifestyle. This way of eating is easy to follow even though my family eats a Standard American Diet. I’ll just eat the vegetable and meat portion of our meals and I make biscuits or toast for my family to eat. They have their pantry with snacks they enjoy and I have a small cabinet of almonds, sunflower seeds, and low carb snack bars. This way of eating isn’t for everyone but maybe it will work for you too!
