My Personal Keto Story
I am a mom, a military veteran, military wife, and a fighter who has overcome both PCOS and cervical cancer.
Like many women, my struggle with weight and dieting started early on, and my eating patterns were disordered. I was just 20 years old when I did my first “crash diet” to meet the weight requirement for the Army. Eating at a large calorie deficit and starving myself helped me get into the Army, but it was not sustainable.
In Basic Training I simply didn’t have time to eat and was working out heavily. It helped me get down to a low weight and body fat percentage, but as soon as I stopped exercising as much, the weight just seemed to pile back on. After an ankle injury I was sidelined and my weight began to skyrocket.
At this point, my menstrual cycle was all over the place, and I was diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome - PCOS. The doctor prescribed Metformin which caused me to gain a lot of weight. When I hit 182 pounds, I began to have issues with my back, ankles, and feet. I was becoming immobile due to my weight!
As an overweight 21 year-old I went in for what I thought would be a routine pap smear. Three days later I received news that would shake me to my core: I had some abnormal cells that looked pre-cancerous. After a series of appointments and biopsies, I was diagnosed with cervical cancer. The doctor offered only one option: a full hysterectomy, meaning that I would never have children. Instead of accepting this option, I did some research and asked to have cervical conization. This would still give me the option of getting pregnant in the future, however, due to this diagnosis, PCOS, and poor health condition, I was reminded that I would be unable to conceive on my own
The first boss I worked for after leaving the military was incredibly fit. She was following a low carb diet so naturally I was intrigued! When I asked my doctor about it, he shot it down, saying that my cholesterol would go up. What do they know?! I tried this low carb approach and dropped 10 pounds in my first month. It inspired me enough to keep at it for a full year.
My husband is an active duty member of the Army. His deployment pushed me into a depression, so I gave up my low carb lifestyle and just ate all of the food. To add salt to the wound, my doctor told me that I would never be able to conceive on my own. He put me on clomid, but I knew that a low carb diet felt really good for me, and with my husband’s impending return from deployment, I was determined to drop weight and become healthier. I was able to lose 10 pounds of what I gained while he was gone, and shortly after he returned, we found out we were pregnant with our son.
Throughout my pregnancy I was mostly eating a low carb diet. The pregnancy was healthy and I only gained about 20 pounds. We were all feeling happy, healthy, and full of life.
Unfortunately, my husband was deployed again. I was home alone with our newborn son, and the feelings of depression snuck back in… and so did another 30 pounds. My body hurt because I was carrying around so much weight, and I became determined to get healthy again without any medication.
After researching keto I went ALL in!
This was my solution to eating in a way that makes me feel good, lose weight, and never feel like I am starving myself. In less than a year I was down below my pre-pregnancy weight, and my menstrual cycle had greatly improved. And I am so excited to say that I have been able to conceive on my own!
Transformation from March 2017 - December 2017
Living a ketogenic lifestyle has transformed my health. I am so excited to work with women who have also struggled with PCOS and chronic and/or life-threatening disease. Keto saved my life, and it can save yours, too!
If my story has inspired you, or find yourself relating to the things that I have described please reach out to me! Let's work on our health together!