Naturally, I was never a thin girl. I struggled with weight gain and loss and gain back and forth during my whole high school and college life. I've tried many diets and workout routines and after a year of being a workout-obsessed / smoothie-bowl loving vegan I decided to switch it up. Although I was in the shape I had ever been in, I noticed on the days I skipped my fruit and granola heavy breakfasts and whole wheat pasta filled dinners I felt like a big pile of .......
After the first semester of my junior year of college I had New Years Resolution to get healthy - real original right? I was a competitive swimming vegan at the time so when I told my family and friends this resolution they were both confused and concerned. I explained how although I was eating fruits and veggies and working out, I still didn't FEEL healthy and I was determined to FEEL like the best version of myself.
I started reading up on the latest health and wellness studies and sort of accidentally began eating low carb after re-introducing salmon, eggs, and healthy cheeses (like feta and goat) into my diet. I was still slurpin' down my smoothie bowls in the morning, but started adding heaps of spinach and switching out frozen bananas for avocados, peanut butter for almond or macadamia, and granola for a simple homemade seed, nut , and coconut blend. Although I didn't realize at the time, my body was becoming unintentionally keto-adapted - and I felt and looked better than ever.
It was a couple months into eating like this that I realized I was on a less-intense version of a keto diet. I wasn't pounding down spoonfuls of fat at every meal, but I also had cut out all processed foods, gluten, grains, and sugar-heavy fruits and veggies. My diet was simple - if it wasn't clean or green I wouldn't feel lean. After realizing how good my low carb lifestyle was making me look and feel, I decided to try a more keto-style way of eating. I began putting a spoonful of coconut oil in my morning coffees, always paying extra for guac, and told the 'bacon-is-for-fatties' voice in my head to take a hike.
I have now lead a mostly low-carb lifestyle for almost two years. In this time, I have noticed how my body not only looks BUT feels completely different from how it used to. I was in great shape before eating this way, but my brain completely depended on carbs to hype me up, give me energy, and make me a decent human being to be around. Below are a few of the many positive changes I personally and thankfully have been through thanks to this change in eating habits.
Cravings
"WHY ARE YOU DEPRIVING YOURSELF?" "HOW DO YOU NOT WANT DESSERT?" "ONE WON'T MAKE YOU FAT"
These are comments I hear daily from family and friends. I KNOW IT'S WEIRD BUT the thing is - I honestly do not crave sweets and if you become low-carb adapted you would understand. Right now if you put a piece of cake and the world's biggest cheese wheel in front of me I would eat the entire cheese wheel and rushed to the emergency room for my stomach bursting at the seams. JK but you get my point. I honestly don't have cravings for sweets and I rarely feel hungry thanks to a diet heavy in fats and protein. When I do have cravings, it's for savory, whole foods that will keep me full and satisfied (or for a spicy margarita if I'm feeling on edge).
Energy
If you were to stalk my fit-bit app on my phone you'd see I get an average of 5 hours of sleep a night. This has nothing to do with my eating habits and everything to do with my caffeine addiction and my Sex-and-the-City binge watching rituals. Although I run on such little rest, I still have energy to workout once (if not twice) a day, run around at work from 9-6, and call my mom to complain about what Trader Joe's was out of that day. Before eating low-carb, none of this was possible without a boatload of $11 granola and peanut butter-smothered fruit bowls involved.
Bloating
Now, I was never tested for celiac's disease but after cutting it out I can confidently say my digestive system wasn't team bread (more like team butter lol). I know I am gluten intolerant, because I literally cannot tolerate the way I look or feel after a bagel or slice of pizza. Since cutting it out I rarely experience bloating. I am in no way saying gluten is bad for you - there are pros and cons to everything and you can have a small amount when leading a low carb lifestyle if need be - but I personally feel my best without it.
"WHAT ABOUT FIBER?"
Contrary to popular belief, fiber comes in more than just whole wheat bread, rice, and fiber-one-brownie form. With a diet heavy in leafy greens, veggies like asparagus, broccoli, and cauliflower, and a heaping wad of avocado on basically everything there is no question whether or not my digestive track is flowin (did I mention the coffee addiction?).
Skin Inflammation
About a month before I gave up my fruit smoothie fidelity, a crazy red rash popped up all over my face. Luckily, I never had too many pimple problems in high school so getting blotchy red spots all over my face as a college junior was a little shocking. I tried everything at the time - topical creams, over the counter allergy medications, and even prescribed pills and creams and NOTHING helped. My dermatologist was confused, I was scared, and my roommates were scared to look at me. I took it upon myself to read into it and I had apparently run into a case of perioral dermatitis (sounds lovely doesn't it). This rash just-so-happened to pop up after a two week long winter break full of "healthy" vegan baked goods.
I started to look up more ways to fight the condition and found a ton of information claiming that giving up gluten would:
"Often patients who develop the rash have gluten sensitivity or mild, undiagnosed gluten intolerance. When these patients are switched to a gluten-free diet, their skin condition improves. Similarly, patients with no clinically diagnosed gluten sensitivity but who adopt a carbohydrate-free/low-glycemic-index and high-protein diet have shown dramatic improvement with minimal oral or topical treatments and less recurrence. Erythematotelangiectatic and papulopustular rosacea are known to be exacerbated by alcohol, hot or spicy foods, and chocolate. However, the common ingredient in these foods has never been identified as a link to the exacerbation of the disease. As all of the aforementioned foods often contain carbohydrates, could the common link simply be carbs or processed sugar? I have been recommending carb-free diets in addition to topical tacrolimus or metronidazole for my skin of color patients with perioral dermatitis to prevent recurrences, and I have seen excellent results."
............. IN other words, smack that shi- .....dermatitis right off my face and it did!
In conclusion, this way of eating has helped me crush my workout goals, feel energized, and effortlessly maintain a weight that used to be just a dream in my head. Since beginning my weight loss journey I have lost over 50 pounds. Although some of that was lost before loving low-carb, I feel better than I ever have and am less stressed about what foods I eat and never beat myself up about missing workouts. In my eyes this lifestyle is healthiest for not only my physical health but my mental health as well.
From left: 2011, 2015, 2018
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