Introduction Thread

I've been doing this diet since June, 2011. I started 2011 out at 255 and, mostly through stress starving, dropped some pounds during the summer. I was 245 when I started keto. I heard about it on reddit ... and I honestly think it was surfing through random subreddits. Either that or someone's success story made it to the front page. Either way, I'm glad I did.

I work a desk job so for most of the day (3hrs in the car, 8 at a desk) I'm sitting down. I also own a small farm (if we're MFP friends you've probably seen me post pics before) with my fiancee. Mostly we sell poultry, eggs, and later this year lamb. Most of the meats we produce are sold for raw pet food (who knew there was a market for that?!) but we do sling a lot of eggs! (If you're around Hammond, LA or in New Orleans, LA, or somewhere in between, let me know.)

Between my day job and the farm I don't have a lot of time to work in an exercise routine, although the farm does give me some opportunities for exercising. Regardless, this was the diet I needed and it fit perfectly into what I do!

I was always the fat kid ... even when I wasn't fat, I still I had it in my head that I was. After 6 months on this diet, I hit my first goal of 200 lbs (actually on Christmas morning!). The last time I was here was in 2000, when I moved to New Orleans. Now I'm shooting for 185, which is how much I weight when I graduated high school. (I'm 32 now, for what it's worth.)

On a more non-keto side of things, I'm a man of many hobbies. I made front page with a wooden egg ring box I carved when I proposed, I'm quitting smoking for the 23rd time, I hung out with Hilary Duff at a bar while she played with my dog and had no idea it was her, I was the top downloaded new age artist on Napster for one day in 2001, I love cooking crazy things, I make my own wine, beer, rum, and whiskey, and I love dogs (we have 6) and tolerate cats (we have 4).

Oh, and I love you all for being the most supportive people I've ever known. Every single one of you are awesome.

Hit me up on MyFitnessPal (big_onion)!

congrats to both of you guys!! it's nice hearing about peoples experiences with keto.

i was originally introduced to low-carb when my SO showed me the 'something awful low-carb megathread'. after i read all that info, something just clicked and it all made sense. it makes it 100x easier for me to apply things in my life when they are explained clearly to me, so from that point on i knew i could incorporate low-carb into my life permanently.

but i was basically on a steady incline of weight-gain from age 13 (now 25). every year i put on more and more weight. my weaknesses were chocolate and baked goods, and i remember not being able to go a day/night without eating dessert. i think i was also heavily in denial about how big i was getting. i did try L.A. weightloss back when i was 20, and i went from 155lbs to 135lbs. but the diet was totally unsustainable because it was low-fat. how i managed to eat a diet with low-fat dairy is beyond me. low-fat cheese is basically the worst invention ever and the person who invented it should be burning in hell right now. ANYWAY, i maintained that weight for a couple months and then gained it all back (and then some) within a couple years. my highest was around an estimated 165lbs, though i refused to weigh myself at that point. for my height/frame that put me at BMI that classified me as overweight verging on obese. i looked like a potato.

but i started low-carbing in january 2011 (about 2 years ago) and haven't gained since. i maintained 125lbs for about 8 to 9 months in between, and then i got down to 120lbs somewhat recently, which i've been maintaining since the beginning of november ...low-carb is basically second nature to me and i'm much more aware of what i'm putting into my body. it's nice not feeling out of control with my hunger and cravings, and now i know what sorts of foods trigger these things, and i try to avoid them as much as possible.

the biggest benefit for me is fitting into nicer clothes and not feeling like a blob. change rooms are a much more pleasant experience, especially when you get to say to the sales associate "can you get me a smaller size?". another benefit is not being out of breath when walking up a few flights of stairs. being a healthy weight has also made me less lazy. now, i don't mind walking or biking everywhere.

welcome!

and i noticed no one has profile pics. if you want to add one, go to "profile" along the top, and then "modify profile" and you can link a URL.

i'm way better at facial/image recognition over trying to remember people by their name. thank god for RES on reddit because i had to give everyone 'tags'...otherwise i wouldn't have known who they were.

That's awesome, Dree! Great story and so glad for you and your SO. Don't you just wish everyone would try it?

Thanks, leftoverbun! And yeah, I do wish more people would get on board with keto. My family and friends are mostly accepting of it, mainly because of the transformations we've made, but many of them still like their sugar.

Although, I have noticed a lot more people are doing low carb these days than before. It's a start!

Also, welcome Bill! Your story is very inspirational!

Did everyone get here from Reddit?

I saw r/keto about a month ago, and have been lurking around there since, looking at tips and reading about people's success. I've been trying to lose weight by counting calories for a bit now (And have tried calorie counting several times in the past, too.) with incredibly slow, back-and-forth progress.

Starting around 210 I had gotten down to 190, but I weighed myself yesterday because I stopped needing to use my belt and found I'd put 6 pounds back on. (I need to buy a scale, I don't have one in my home.) I said, "Fuck this, I'm trying keto."

I promptly downloaded MFP and made a special grocery shopping trip. I know I won't be able to do this without support and advice, because baking and cooking (And enjoying the results!)has always been a major hobby of mine. If I want to lose weight though, I know now I need to not just count calories, but change my whole way of life.

I feel a little out of place because you guys have all been doing keto for a bit, but I'm hoping the positive influence and hearing about the success you guys have had will push me to keep it up. So, I'm 24, 5'4". My current weight is 196, my goal weight is 125.

I'm hoping you will be receptive of me even though I just started today. Most of my friends encourage very bad eating habits, I need a positive support group. I think a big reason my calorie counting has been so back and forth is because no one but my husband will encourage me.

Hi everybody! Thanks LSS for making this forum. My username at MFP is the same as here so feel free to add me.

I've been doing keto since July 1st, 2012. I had absolutely great results, dropping from a high of 298 down to 230. When I saw the scale creep so close to the 300 pound mark I realized that I couldn't let myself get that big. Even being at 6'2", no one can carry that much weight well. So I dropped all that weight by Thanksgiving and I kinda went on an extended break after that. I only recently jumped back on board a week ago. I had all the beer and carby food and crap that you can think of and as a result, gained about 19 pounds since late November. So, not happy with how I was feeling and realizing that I was headed backwards, I have since lost 7.5 pounds dropping me down to 241.4.

I heard about keto like most people here, through reddit. Some random mention of it in some thread I can't even remember led me to the keto subreddit and it all started from there. I had a few trial runs last year before I started keto seriously. I think the main reason that I didn't keep with it those times was because I wasn't as informed as I should've been. Funnily enough, when I was around 12, my grandma put me on a keto diet to lose weight. The only difference was that she made me drink a cup of fresh grapefruit juice after every meal, haha. I think if it wasn't for that, it would've worked very well. That much sugar really made me crave carbs and didn't leave me satiated at all after my meals.

Biggest benefit would have to be the sleeping aspect. I have had horrible issues with sleeping and while on keto, I seem to be able to sleep much more deeply and feel much more rested in the morning. Coupled with the full battery I have all day it isn't a chore to wake up anymore. Oh, and no heartburn. I have never experienced any heartburn while on keto and that was something that was really bothering me. Also the looking better and having more confidence in myself.

My dream is to be the leader of the world. I will start by becoming president and then unifying the world and paving the first steps for the Federation. On a more short term goal, drop to 200 pounds by July 1st. I can't even recall the last time I was under 200 pounds and I think if I can pull that off in a year, I'll be pretty freaking ecstatic. And I want to hit the beach and be a total normal looking stud. Next year comes the six pack.

Anyways, nice to be here! Good luck everybody!