‘I Switched From Keto And Intermittent Fasting To A Whole Food Diet To Maintain My 105-Lb. Weight Loss’
My name is Kyla (@thegalaxxygoddess), and I’m 30 years old. I’m from Saskatchewan, Canada, and I work in office administration. After realizing my weight was holding me back, I started following a keto diet and practicing intermittent fasting, and over time, lost 105 pounds.
I started to put on weight fast after moving to a new city and beginning college. I wasn’t making balanced decisions with food and gradually started eating worse and worse over the years. I also lived a sedentary life. I indulged in fast food and sugar the most, and I made worse food choices when I was stressed.
At 24, I hit my heaviest weight of 308 pounds. I was starting to feel achy and tired, which wasn’t normal for me. But since I put the weight on over time, it wasn’t obvious to me that my weight was the reason I wasn’t feeling great. I was also starting to have knee pain pretty regularly. That really brought my weight to my attention, and I knew I had to start working on my health and live a less sedentary lifestyle.
Then, while on a vacation in September 2014, I had trouble with the amount of walking we were doing. I had to take breaks as we were sightseeing—it was not the way I wanted to live. So I took my first stab at my weight-loss journey and lost 50 pounds in 2015. However, my weight loss didn’t stick.
My *real* turning point came this year in July 2020.
At 30, I was getting tired of my own excuses. The pandemic really made me look at how I was living, and what I wanted to change.
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In July 2020 I chose to go the keto and intermittent fasting route after doing a lot of research. For me, this combination worked quite seamlessly.
I never intended on doing keto long-term (I couldn’t go without bananas!). However, it helped quell my sugar cravings, which was my main problem. Now I am sugar-free, besides natural sugars from fruit.
I have now adjusted my way of eating from following the keto diet to simply focusing on eating whole foods. This is a better long-term way of eating for me because I don’t want to go without certain fruits and healthy grains, but I’m so grateful for keto, as it jump-started my weight loss.
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Fasting has really helped me have a routine with food and allows me to be less restrictive when I do eat.
The eating window I usually stick to is 12 p.m. to 6 or 7 p.m. Food has less of a grasp on me now. It really is just food, not good or bad. I don’t obsess over it anymore.
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Here’s what I eat in a day now.
Breakfast: Fasting (water and coffee only)
- Lunch: Chicken or eggs with garlic butter and cauliflower rice
- Snacks: Pistachios, almonds, or berries
- Dinner: Taco salad (ground beef, cheese, and vegetables)
- Dessert: Coconut with almond milk or a mug cake
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For exercise, I began walking a lot during the week in the beginning, and continued that through most of my weight-loss journey.
I also added in the Bowflex Treadclimber machine a few times a week. Now I am starting to work in weight training more regularly since I have my nutrition down.
I never got super regimented with a schedule for exercise. But now I am focusing on moving more in my daily life whenever possible and resting when needed.
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These three changes made the biggest difference in my weight loss results.
- I added a lot more water into my daily routine. I am pretty sure I was chronically dehydrated for a couple years—I got really bad with not drinking enough water. So now I try to get in two coffees, two 30-ounce waters, and two or three green teas each day. It seems to be the perfect amount for me. Staying well-hydrated naturally made me a bit less hungry.
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- I started tracking my food in a journal. I began tracking my food in a journal when I started keto. This helped me understand the amount of food I was eating portion-wise until I learned the amounts that were right for me. It was such a helpful tool in the beginning since it made me feel more accountable to myself and my goals.
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- I changed one thing at a time. For me, it was easier to make small changes that eventually came together like a puzzle. It took me years longer than many, but the changes have been meaningful and have taught me so much. When losing weight, it is easy to get extremely overwhelmed with all the new information and tweaks. But if you break it apart and learn piece by piece, it’s less daunting. For example, if you drink lots of soda, try to cut that out for a few weeks, then move on to the next change. They all add up.
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Overall, I have lost 105 pounds. It took me about five years of trial and error.
I had to keep gaining and losing to really figure out what worked for me. But I do feel that I have figured out the balance I need. I feel truly incredible entering my 30s. I feel more like myself, which has been the biggest gift of weight loss.
This weight-loss journey has honestly been a rebirth for me. It is changing my life in more ways than one, and I am excited just to fully experience my life now since before I know that I was not. I was just existing. I was ruled by my emotions and food. It really does not have to be that way. Now I know that I am in control of my life path more than I realized—and I won’t give up on myself.
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