It was January 2017. I was feeling really disheartened because I had just been to the gym and done yet another rigorous workout. Yet my stomach still felt bloated, my clothes felt tight and I weighed 61kg which may not seem much to others but for my 5 foot 1 inch (155cm) frame, I felt it was too much.
I had always weighed around 5I/52 kg and was not even now overweight by normal standards but I had always been slim with the occasional fluctuation up and down but suddenly when I hit 50 years old and the weight just stayed on and increased, even though I ate what I considered a healthy diet, I didn’t eat junk food or sugar and I exercised constantly.
I was really feeling down about myself and was just starting menopause and experiencing awful hot flashes and everyone told me it was normal plus apparently it was also “normal” to put on weight. But I didn’t want to accept that. Suddenly an advertisement on Facebook appeared , and this woman was asking ‘are you struggling with menopause?’ so I clicked on it. She (Deborah) went on to say if you want to understand how you can still live fabulously through menopause then watch my webinar. So I did. I was inspired by everything that was said although I was a little skeptical about not eating breakfast and not eating rice, pasta or oats or all the things that are the staples of life. But I signed up (secretly) and thought I’d give it a go.
I didn’t really do the program properly at first but I did give up breads and other carbs and I stopped having breakfast and started to have the psyllium husks and vitamin C in the morning as well as using ACV and flaxseed oil. I have protein and salad greens for lunch and for dinner I would be conscious of what I was serving up. I was also excited by the fact that I could eat and cook with butter and cream and avocado became my new favourite fruit.
I stopped doing hard workouts and just continued with my walking.
Surprisingly, the bloating eased and suddenly after a few weeks, I noticed that my clothes felt looser. So I hopped on the scales and was surprised to see that a a few kgs had vanished.
So I got a bit more serious and the weight just kept flying off. Then, in May 2017 I reached my goal of 50 kg. I was amazed. I had to go and buy a whole new wardrobe of clothing and it was incredible to wear tight jeans and fitted dresses that I had never felt comfortable wearing before. I was wearing Australian size 6 and 8 clothes: something I hadn’t seen for a long time.
However, as thrilled as I was with these results, I was not thrilled with the gaunt look my face had taken and the flabby arms that resulted. So, I decided to return to the gym. I am fortunate to have a Personal Trainer as a son and he decided to write a program for me and train me. I wanted to develop muscle and get stronger.
Now, 4 years since I took that first step, I weigh 52kg which I believe is my ideal weight that I can maintain, I have muscles, I have energy and I know I look better than I did 10 years ago.
How has TKS changed my life and impacted me? Well, I have a wonderful relationship with food and the joy of eating whole food to maintain nutritional ketosis means I am eating foods I would never have eaten years ago. I never buy processed or premade items from the supermarket, my skin is healthier and in the last 4 years I have had one minor bout of flu. I have abundant energy which is vital as a school teacher and at 57 years old, many younger teachers comment on how much vitality and energy I have.
I still do not do breakfast (unless it is a special occasion). I continue to have my psyllium husks and vitamin c in the morning and not only does it save time, I do not miss breakfast at all and I am never hungry. I seriously don’t know how I ever ate breakfast all those years but the old mantra that ‘it is the most important meal of the day’ was always in my mind. I feel confident in my own body and I know that I can eat normally these days because I know the right foods to eat and if I deviate I have the tools to fix it.
In these four years, I have not put on weight. I have only changed body shape due to all the weight bearing exercises I now do which are making me stronger. I always had stocky legs: now I have muscly legs. I hate to think what my body would look like and what stomach issues I would have if I had continued the way I was going. I was virtually starving myself and not losing weight and all the medical professions had told me this was normal.
My menopause symptoms were virtually non-existent once I started and I contribute that to this eating lifestyle and the lack of sugar in my diet. This has not been a diet; it has been a lifestyle change. I can’t believe I have maintained weight loss for 4 years. I’m so grateful to have discovered this eating lifestyle.
