First name: Sue
Age: 50
Where do you live? Cedar Falls
Profession? Finance / Operations for a tech company
Diet/weight history? I grew a foot between 4th and 5th grade, to my current height of 5’10”. I wasn’t fat but my height made me feel so much bigger than everyone else and I wanted to lose weight. My mom was diagnosed with T1 diabetes around the same time and her doc put her on a 1200 calorie diet using food exchanges. I decided to do it with her. (My first diet.) Since then I’ve almost always been on a diet…Nutrisystem, Profile, Slim Fast, I was a vegetarian for 6 years (gained weight), tried various medications, did extreme exercise boot camps, joined Weight Watchers dozens of times, and even tried variations of low carb. Even though I felt better eating low carb I’d panic and quit after a while, convinced I was killing myself eating this way.
Successes achieved on low carb? I’ve lost 45 pounds, gone off of two blood pressure meds and stopped my medication for acid reflux. I have more energy than I’ve had in years.
How long have you been low carb? I started November 30, 2021, right after Thanksgiving. So 5 months.
Why did you start low carb? Both of my younger brothers died from addiction – one from an opioid overdose at 28, the other alcoholic liver disease at 46. My father is also an alcoholic. After my brother Steve died 2.5 years ago, I started gaining even more weight. I was pretty depressed, and felt exhausted all the time. It finally hit me last fall that I, too, am an addict, just in a more socially acceptable way. And I was also killing myself, just not as obviously. I had to change things. I parted ways with my emotionally abusive dad and decided I needed to get well – mostly for myself, but for my kids and husband, too.
How did you start? I started working with Amy last November, and then decided to do the medical program with Dr. Tro, too.
How has keto changed for you over this time? Most of my meals are a lot simpler than at the start. I also worry a lot less about eating my vegetables. If I really want some, I’ll eat them. If not, eggs or burger patties are fine on their own.
What do you struggle with? Time restricted eating. I hate it. I want to eat three meals and snack whenever I feel like it. I miss eating to distract myself from stress and boredom.
What do you love about low carb? I love how quickly it helped me feel better. I had been tired and bloated and achy and frustrated all the time. And now I’m not.
Top tip? Prepare, prepare, prepare. Always have groceries on hand. Look at menus before you go out to eat. Take food with you to events. Don’t feel embarrassed – no one is paying that much attention.
Advice for people just starting out? The most powerful thing for me at the beginning was to stay low carb no matter what. It’s still my top priority every day. I have days where I do lots of things wrong, but I haven’t eaten high-carb foods, not even one taste, since I started.
Favorite low-carb meal on the go? Burgers. Never get tired of them.
Favorite low-carb meal to cook? I love Mexican food – taco bowls, enchiladas made with egg wraps, tacos with cheese shells, etc.
Favorite holiday/special occasion recipe? I love Rosette’s mixes. I’ve used the yellow cake mix for different recipes from her blog and it’s always a hit, even with carb eaters.
Favorite inspirational quote: “History does not have to repeat itself if you decide not to let it.” – Amy Eiges, wise keto / life guru
Anything else you want us to know about you? I’ve probably shared too much already 🙂
