Get to know her!
- 5 ft 10 in height
- Female
- 23 years old
- Keto-ing for 25 months
- Started at 240 lbs
- Lost 100 lbs so far
- Wants to hit 140 lbs
- Prefers a “Meat Lover” diet
Tell us a little bit about yourself!
I studied chemical engineering at school, and I now work in nuclear consulting. My typical week revolves around work, the gym, and maintaining my social media presence. On weekends, I tend to spend a lot of time with friends and explore the beautiful city I live in. Here is my Instagram account and my YouTube channel.
Habits & Mindset
What motivated you to try keto?
I’ve struggled with my weight my entire life, yo-yo dieting since I was 12 years old. I struggled with binge eating disorder for a long time and felt like every time I dieted I was pulled back into my binging tendencies. I was completely lost and hopeless. I really thought I was never going to find a way to be healthy – physically or mentally. I was doing a 16 month internship in May of 2015 and I decided that was my time. No more excuses. I wanted to approach weight loss from a fitness perspective instead of a dieting perspective since I had issues with dieting. That’s what lead me to trying Crossfit, and thank goodness for that because my Crossfit coach recommended that I try keto. I had heard about it before and had absolutely no interest in trying it, because I thought there was no way I could give up carbs. I challenged myself to 30 strict days (because I can never pass up a challenge from anyone) and now it’s been over two years and I know I’ll be eating this way for the rest of my life.
How often do you cheat on keto?
The only time I ever deviate from keto is when I travel out of country on vacation. To me, traveling is about experiencing the culture of the country you visit and that involves eating their food. I also find this helps me stay 100% committed when I’m living my regular life. There’s no reason for me to cheat on the diet because I recognize that next time I travel, I’ll be able to eat whatever foods that I’m craving. In addition, it’s EXTREMELY rare that I feel tempted to cheat. I love eating keto and following an if-it-fits-your-macros style of keto makes it even easier. Additionally, cheat days would be a very slippery slope for me because I am a recovered binge eater. My binge eating disorder started as a result of frequent cheat days from a highly restrictive diet. However, if people can have cheat days without any struggling to get back on the wagon – all the more power to them. You’ve gotta do what works for you to make this a lifestyle and sustainable in the long term.
How do you get (back) into ketosis?
I literally just go back into my regular routine. I don’t do anything differently my routine before my trip. I don’t restrict extra heavily when I come back, because that’s unhealthy for someone with a history of eating disordered behaviour. I don’t worry about trying to get back into ketosis more quickly or anything like that, because this is a lifestyle – I’m going to be doing it forever so there’s really no rush.
Do you track your weight/ketones/blood glucose/macros or anything else?
I track my weight and I track all of my macros. I used to weigh in weekly, but since I’ve hit my goal weight (in December of 2016) and now all of my goals are fitness based, I weigh myself much more occasionally just to ensure my weight is staying relatively stable. The number on the scale doesn’t mean much to me anymore. I track all of my macros by hand on paper because I find it’s more accurate, and the apps are laggy which annoys me. Again, to each their own!
How supportive were your friends & family when you started?
Initially there was a lot of backlash. People were skeptical, which I understand because the low fat movement has really brainwashed society as a whole. I also think a lot of people didn’t believe this was something I would be able to do long-term. My best advice is to let your results speak for themself. What’s interesting is that a lot of the people who told me keto wasn’t sustainable or that I shouldn’t be doing it in the beginning of my journey have since asked me how they can do it too.
Has your weight loss ever stalled?
This is an inevitable part of the weight loss process. Sometimes the answer is to keep chugging along and be patient, sometimes the answer is to start tracking macros, or recalculate your macros, and sometimes the scale is just a finicky little bi*** for no reason. I have a video that goes into a lot more details on my YouTube channel.
What other benefits have you noticed?
I just feel so much healthier in general. I don’t get that after lunch crash that I got with a high carb diet, my mind is much clearer, my skin is better, and most importantly I don’t have binge eating tendencies anymore.
Did you encounter any obstacles to pursuing keto?
No. I think people love to use anything as an excuse as to why they can’t follow the keto diet. In reality, there are no true barriers unless you have a legitimate medical reason. When you stop looking for excuses, you’ll start finding results. When I started keto I took every bullshit excuse in my repertoire and threw them out the window.
Have you had any side effects to keto?
I experienced keto flu in the beginning because I had no idea what I was doing. Eventually I did some proper research and learned that it’s 100% avoidable and electrolytes are the answer! Sodium, magnesium and potassium are so important since ketosis puts your body into a very diuretic state. I actually have another video about this on my YouTube channel.
Food & Fun
What’s your typical day of eating look like?
A typical day for me is a glass of salt water and a caffeine pill before my 5am gym session, a coffee (with collagen) and a Kirkland protein bar before work. Lunch is whatever meal I’ve prepped that week (usually some sort of lean meat and vegetables with fats added as required). Dinner is similar to lunch except a lot more food. I tend to hoard my macros so that I can eat the majority of my calories in the evening when I’m less busy and more hungry. I’m currently eating around ~1700 calories and I usually save about 1100 of those for dinner. I like to eat my dinner then have a ‘macro capper’ which is basically a whole bunch of yummy keto snacks (pork rinds, low carb chocolate, cheese, nuts, etc) to hit my macros for the day.
What’s your favorite home-cooked keto meal?
I’m a pretty simple girl and just like to make really good meat. So for me, this answer has to be chicken wings. I could totally eat chicken wings every day for the rest of my life and never get sick of them.
What’s your favorite restaurant meal?
The best meal I’ve had was at Hys steakhouse here in Toronto. I had a 20 oz ribeye with Bearnaise sauce (HECK YES I ate the entire thing) and shared creamed spinach, sauteed mushrooms and parmesan/bacon brussel sprouts with my friend. I love to order a good steak when I’m out for dinner.
What’s your biggest non-keto temptation?
Honestly, nothing. All of my old favourites have some sort of keto-fied version that erases any sort of temptation.
Anything else you’d like your readers to know?
If you’re reading this and thinking about starting the keto diet – start now! When I started this journey I never would have believed I would be where I am today and I know that if I can change my life this way, anyone can.