I had surgery in 2009. I lost about 90 lbs. Then my Mom developed lung cancer and died. I imagine that you know the rest, but i will say that since 2010 I gained back all but 16 of those pounds. Fast forward to November, I went to my Primary for my blood pressure prescription, had blood work and geeze... my triglycerides are up, fasting blood sugar is 137, A1C is 6.5, cholesterol is over 225 and I feel really crummy. Everything hurts, like I'm 80 instead of 54. I'm tired all the time, and don't sleep well. I knew that something had to change. Before my vacation, a friend sent me a link, http://reddit.com/r/keto. He'd lost like 30 pounds - but didn't talk about it much more than that.

I was curious so I went to the site. Just a bunch of people posting about this diet, err lifestyle, working for them, some before and after pictures... kind of a decent community, but they were so young! I got more curious though, and started reading whatever was recommended. Grain Brain by Dr. Perlmutter, Wheat Belly. I watched videos... still do. And I learned something very important.

We're not fat because we eat too much or because we're lazy. We're fat because we eat foods that trigger an insulin response which keeps our cells from releasing fat. We're fat because we eat the way we were told to eat for health - low fat, adequate protein, high carbohydrate. We're hungry all the time because our bodies are starving. We're not releasing our fat stores like we should.

So I did the little macro nutrient calculator to see what I should eat with my 1650 calories (seriously), and have stayed under 20 grams of carbohydrate, eaten about 110 grams of protein, and the rest in good fats like coconut oil, butter, and olive oil since November 11. I've lost almost 20 lbs since then, I don't hurt, I sleep well, and I have a feeling of mental clarity and a sense of well-being that makes me want to dance and sing on a mountaintop like Julie Andrews in the Sound of Music.

You can say that you can't eat that many calories - and maybe you can't. But I'm NEVER hungry. I don't crave anything, and I'm losing weight. I can't wait to get my blood work done again. There's something very right with this.

My 27 year old daughter was @ 250 lbs. She started a week after me and is 231 today.

I had to share.

Sorry to hear you lost your mom

Thanks for sharing this info, you and your daughter are doing fantastic. Keep up the good work