It happened...
 

At a gathering, yesterday, someone complimented me on my weight loss. (At over 45 lbs down in 7 months, I've finally dropped inches, too, making it obvious.)

(I didn't drop the inches until the last 3 months, though... sometimes, the inches even went up. THen, suddenly, WHOOSH! 5" off my waist, last I checked.)

"You're losing awfully fast.... you need to be careful. It's not healthy."

:bash:

7 lbs/month is a little over the recommended 5, but not by much. (I didn't bring up IF, obviously, or I swear she would have decided I'm anorexic.) And the way I eat is 100% sustainable... I started a new job, and last week was training. One of my fellow trainees asked me to lunch, and I said, "Oh, I'm not having lunch today". Explained that I really only eat one BIG meal per day, and I was making (I forget what, but something good) for dinner for my kids, so was eating THEN. (I'm only HUNGRY enough for one "meal"/day, though I may snack around the time of the meal I "miss")

So we got talking, including talking about how much weight I've lost, and about how hungry I'm not.... and how I'm doing it. She said, "But keto is so restrictive..." And I replied, "But I eat like a QUEEN."

And it's true... the next day I DID bring my lunch: Some leftover shepherd's pie -- real lamb, raised on a local farm by a friend. Broccoli in between, because that's what we had... riced cauli top, mixed with basically alfredo sauce... SO FREAKING GOOD. Savored every last bite. (And sure enough, I wasn't hungry enough for dinner that night. I think I ate, like, a cheesestick at dinner time.)

That was Wednesday/Thursday.

And then yesterday, "You need to be careful... it's not healthy...."

Well, my doc is thrilled with my progress. My vitals are improving. I'm no longer obese.

Honest... nothing unhealthy going on here.

Congratulations on your victories so far. I've been eating LCHF since 1972. At age 74 I'm on no prescription drugs and have no disease. I walk for an hour every morning and can even jog. This WOE is sustainable, especially when IF is folded in.

Don't let the brainwashed phase you, no matter how well-meaning.

On the other hand, I'm looking at my numbers, and even with my "most restrictive" potential goal-weight (150 -- and I'm pretty sure I don't want to go that thin... I'm legit big-framed... I could pull it off when I was 18, but I think at my age, I'd just look gaunt) I'm well past the halfway point. 165 puts me officially out of the "overweight" category... at the rate I'm losing (which has been pretty steady) that's a little over 4 months away.

My goal, when I get to a size & shape I like and can maintain at, is to splurge on some custom-fit jeans. (eshakti will make them to your measurements...) Maybe *gasp* even TWO pair. ;) Can't think of a better reward. (My waist-to-hip ratio is... well, what USED to be considered ideal. Meaning modern jeans never fit right. I love the feel of well-fitting jeans, and hate bad-fitting ones, so this is something I'm really looking forward to. Resisiting the urge to do it sooner, as I pretty much have no wearable pants right now.)

Last night (where I was told I was losing "too fast") was a potluck event... I knew I wouldn't be able to eat anything there, and -- because funds are pretty tight just now -- couldn't really BRING anything, either. (My usual solution.)

Instead, I ate before I went. 2 slices of swiss cheese. (one of my favorite hunger-killers... nothing else does it for me quite as well.)

I had a little ceasar salad at the event, for social reasons, but... really? I could have skipped it just as easily.

On the other hand, the night before, the kids & I treated ourselves to dinner... I hadn't eaten, so was "starving"... had a fabulous meal (bacon-mushroom-swiss burger done RIGHT, with steamed broccoli, and some mayo to dip it in). Walked out feeling utterly self-indulgent....

That's what I love about this... When I'm hungry, I eat. I can be lazy, and grab "snack-food" (cheese.... nuts... seaweed snacks... salami) or I can be ambitious and make something (that list is pretty limitless). If I am around a lot of desert-eating folks and start feeling sorry for myself, I can make a cheesecake. (I've gotten to that place, feeling bad about the deserts I coudln't have -- usually after a party of some sort. Hard to feel deprived or sorry for yourself with a fork-ful of cheesecake in your mouth.) Heck... we're about to make chocolate cupcakes for my daughter's B-day. Recipe for 6 has 4 eggs, uses coconut flour, is super-rich, and doesn't leave you (or at least me) with cravings. And I only buy really GOOD chocolate (at least Ghirradelli), so they're amazing.

I can live like this.

I no longer meet the diagnostic criteria for diabetes. (I asked to address it with diet before starting medications.) My lipid panels are improving (We had a baseline to start from, and tested again 3 months later, when I'd only lost about 20. They weren't perfect yet, but doc was blown away by how much they'd improved) and liver is MOSTLY looking better. (We discussed the fact that the weight-loss itself can make some of those enzymes test a bit high... I really like my doc. She "gets" it. I haven't said "Atkins" or "keto" to her, but have described it, "No grains, starch, or sugar", and she fully supports it.)

No prescriptions... just real food. Mostly cooked from scratch. (Not completely -- a lot of those snacks I named are processed to some degree... but, then, they're just snacks. Salami? I'm eating maybe 5 slices.) Delicious food. And a staggering lack of hunger, a lot of the time. So I work with that.... plan which meals I'll actually eat. (When I cook a "fresh" dinner, I eat dinner. When dinner is leftovers, I may eat lunch instead, and skip dinner, since I'm not really hungry then.) That is such a great freedom, as opposed to the folks around me who seem hungry all the time.

Excellent news. I've been living like this for over 7 years after going strict LC Keto, and it's truly been a pleasure. I heard all the warnings from well-meaning friends initially, but after being consistent over this period and dropping all prescriptions after the first year, I never doubt the health benefits.

Goal weight is an interesting dynamic, as we're had several threads on this forum discussing this. My goal weight was where I felt I should be based on my past, but I'm hovering around it and no longer feel compelled to achieve it, as feeling healthy and energetic is the real goal.

Heck, my ticker and my profile show "goal weights" that are 20lbs apart.

I'd truly like to get under 165, so I can hit that magic BMI where docs can no longer blame my knee-problems on "you just need to lose some weight", and maybe actually get someone to treat it.

Aside from that, I'll "settle" where I settle. At some point, I'm sure I'll hit an equilibrum, where what I'm taking in and what I'm expending are about the same. If I like how I look & feel at that point, I'll stay. If not, I'll tweak a tad. (Maybe add some more deliberate/scheduled IF, instead of the semi-random IF I do right now)

>>> solid! <<<

This way of eating is helping me heal from from serious autoimmune issues. It is amazing how good the food tastes.

I had steak and eggs for breakfast!

i'm enjoying brisket for breakfast..
last night, i had shrimp.
restrictive? nope.
eating amazing foods and enjoying every bite.

you have found your juju! :wave:

These are great reports. Clearly you are "doing it right" and enjoying the results.

Best wishes!

You've got this!!

Ignoring the well intentioned, but wrong, advise.
A meal plan that keeps you happy and on track AND a snack that kicks butt.
A realistic goal, one that is dynamic.
AND a FANTASTIC reward for reaching goal.

You can do this!!

I think my biggest takeaway from my transition from a mostly plant based diet, to HFLC/Keto, is that I've had to really examine what I think 'healthy' is. We have been fed this idea by our governments and 'experts' for years now that a low fat, plant heavy diet is the healthiest way to eat, but yet obesity rates continue to rise, preventable diseases like type 2 diabetes continue to rise etc. Those 'healthy' recommendations have led to nothing but bad health and sickness.

Keep up the great work and don't let anyone make you feel bad for taking control of your health!