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In my previous post Keto, Exercise and Habit Changing, I talked about switching diets and building up small habit changes to lead to a big lifestyle change. For this post, I wanted to convey the benefits we’ve seen and why we’ve stuck with these changes.

As I stated in the previous post, our lifestyle change was spurred by the Last 90 challenge by Rachel Hollis, but the reason it motivated us so much was that we knew we needed to make a change, we just hadn’t done it. The motivation was to just commit to it. That may seem cliche or simplistic, but that is what we had to do: commit to the change. No wishy-washy, half-in, half-out, just full commitment to stick to the diet. To get started, you have to want the change and set a goal. Our main goal was weight loss, but also overall better health. When we started this, I knew we needed to make a change, but I honestly never thought I’d feel this much better.

Danielle: I however am lagging a little further behind BUT my “goal” jeans are TOO BIG (yep, you read that right, the goal pair of jeans that have been in my closet since high school are TOO BIG….4 pregnancies & a lot of body issues later, they are being thrown out with a lot of other hurtful things that I used to hang on to but that’s another post, another day). I’ve lost 40lbs to date. (I really screamed that in excitement FORTY POUNDS GONE!) These forty pounds have taught me more GRACE than I would like to admit but it was a lesson that I continue to be thankful for. I had to learn to NOT look at the scale everyday, to forgive myself for a moment of weakness, and stay focused on making a conscious decision of what I was using to fuel my body. That last part took the most training because I promise you, I believe in the magic of eating dessert first!

Something Always Hurt

So far, with the combination of the Keto diet, supplements and the basic workout I talked about in the previous post, I’ve lost about 53 pounds. It’s a world of difference, here’s my before and after:

Prior to changing diets and losing the weight, some part of my body always hurt. My ankle would ache and swell, my knees would feel weak and sore, my shoulders would stiffen up and my lower back was in constant disarray. I had no idea the excess weight I was carrying was the main cause behind the majority of these issues. If you compare the two pictures on the right side of the image above, you can see a difference in the curve of my lower back. It’s still there, but not nearly as pronounced. That change (due to the weight loss) has been absolutely amazing for my back. I no longer wake up in pain or lay down to back spasms. Some mornings there may be a some stiffness, but no pain, and with some light stretching that stiffness is gone.

My joints are no longer stiff and aching. Before, my knees and shoulders would feel weak and achy, now they don’t hurt throughout the day and it’s no longer awkward to get up off the floor. No more grunting and groaning just to move, I don’t feel like I’m “falling apart” anymore. It’s amazing how my body feels like it can move again. I’m able to run and wrestle with the kids without feeling like I might not be able to get up off the floor.

Rest and Energy

One major thing I noticed a month or two into the diet change was that I felt like I actually rested when I slept. Before, I could sleep 8 hours or more and still wake up feeling exhausted. Now I wake up feeling well-rested and my energy lasts through the day. I don’t have that post-lunch, 2 o’clock crash that many people feel anymore. To be clear, I don’t feel jacked up or overly energetic all the time, I just feel good. My energy level is much higher than before and pretty constant throughout the day.

I also find it’s much easier to both fall asleep and to wake up. I don’t have to deal with lying awake at night trying to force myself to sleep and I’ve found it much easier to get up on time with my alarm.

Appetite and Cravings

A few weeks into the diet, I noticed a dramatic shift in my appetite. I’m someone who ate at least two platefuls at dinner and could put away 3-4 plates at Thanksgiving. Now, one plate at dinner is plenty and I don’t always eat lunch. I used to be “starving” by lunch time and again well before dinner. I’d snack in between and still eat full meals. Now, I may or may not eat lunch and when I do I don’t eat near as much as before.

Cravings for certain foods also don’t occur near as much. I’ll occasionally want something sweet, but not to the point of sitting down and eating a bunch of junk. I may grab a Reese’s cup or some Cool Whip, but that’s usually it. Being on the Keto diet has lowered my ability to eat a lot of sugar, especially things like cake icing. The taste just isn’t that appealing anymore, and a lot of stuff is just too sweet now.

Danielle: During “shark week” if I NEED something sweet….I eat something sweet so no one gets hurt BUT I do limit myself. I’ve found that 9 out of 10 times if I have a small piece of whatever I’m craving that it doesn’t taste nearly as good as I remembered.

No “Magic Pill”

One of the things that makes us so happy with the changes we’ve made is that we did all of this without any “magic pill” or “miracle weight loss drug.” We did it with diet, exercise and all natural supplements. Not fat burners or diet pills, true, dietary, vitamin and mineral supplements. For us, it was about a lifestyle change, not a “quick and easy” option, we wanted a change that sticks and we are happy with the great results we’ve seen.

Danielle: This part was very important to us because we are terrible about actually taking medicine and most importantly we didn’t want to have the added expense. So, if you are having success with something else…..awesome job! Our motto is any step big or small is a step in the right direction and working towards your goal.

Sticking With It

People usually say dieting is all about will power and it’s tough to stay on track, which can be true to an extent when you are getting started. For us though, it’s no longer a will power thing, it’s a “how good I feel” thing. It doesn’t take a lot of will power to stick with it, because we know how much better we feel now and refuse to go back to how we felt before. It’s a quality of life upgrade that we’re not willing to give up. We are happy with the changes we’ve made and continuing our journey to a healthier life.

Danielle: Ladies, this part is just for you. If you decide to enter a weight loss journey with your spouse you will learn one thing very quickly-it IS a COMPETITION even when its NOT a competition! Tim lost way faster than I did; the first month Tim lost like ten pounds whereas I continued to gain and lose the same 5-8pounds but I noticed inches were moving at the beginning for me even when the scale did not. I refused to quit, I refused to give up. So, I would adjust and try to mix things up. What I learned the hard way is that I wasn’t necessarily doing anything wrong. My body just had more to overcome to get the ball rolling. When I stopped obsessing about the scale is when I really started losing. You can do hard things! You’ve got this!