I’d wager that most of you didn’t start or even look into Keto for the same reasons I did.
See, my wife was recovering from brain surgery and she began to have seizures. They were mild at first but began to increase over time. We tried various medications but they either caused other symptoms from the surgery to worsen or they just didn’t work at all.
One of the many doctors we visited mentioned a medical diet study done in the 1920’s that was shown to reduce seizures in children. This was several years ago and I began to do my research.
I read medical studies, published journals and spoke with several doctors in the neural field. I began to develop a diet program, taking into account all of the information I read.
What I didn’t realized at first was that I was building a very detailed version of what would become known as a Ketogenic Diet. At the time I had designed this the “Keto” diet was almost unheard of except the rumors that the stars may have had it as their little secret.
It entailed reducing carbohydrates and maintaining a high fat diet with only moderate amounts of protein in order to maintain a state of “Ketosis” in the body. This is the point where the body absorbs ketones for energy and nutrition in place of glucose, which is sugar.
As it turns out, the brain much more easily absorbs ketones over glucose and can metabolize easier and quicker. In short the brain function improves which can help stabilize function and help improves synaptic activity.
That, in turn, can reduce seizures. It can also help restore function and hormonal balance in the body, improving metabolism, energy and the ability to sleep.
Over the years of staying home to take care of my wife, I guess the stress, lack of sleep and spending hours working from home with no real exercise I had managed to gain a lot of weight.
I knew I was heavy, but I was so focused on her that I paid little attention and just bought bigger clothes.
I always do everything with my wife and I decided to do the Keto diet with her figuring it could help the slightly annoying weight I had gained.
Since I gain weight over my whole body and not just one place, I really didn’t think I has gained that much weight. Boy was I wrong.
When I finally jumped on the scale a number that once read 170lbs, now said 255lbs. I had gained 85lbs in just a few short years. Despite that, I chose to focus on her seizures and we monitored and charted her progress.
Her improvements were very measurable and what was once several severe episodes daily had turned into 2 or 3 mild seizures a week, which were no longer life threatening. Now, that was progress we just didn’t think was even possible but there it was.
Something you should know is that my wife is 110 lbs soaking wet, so losing weight was actually a concern. When we first started, she actually gained about 6 lbs, but that fell off quickly once she was in ketosis and she has maintained a stable weight throughout her diet. It appears that if you are at the weight your body likes while maintaining a reasonable level of calories, you can stay on the diet without losing or gaining weight.
Me, on the other hand had noticed a miraculous change and she actually yelled at me saying I had lost too much weight.
Sure enough, when I got on the scale, I was down to 165lbs and looked too thin. That was in just about 6 months and again, I never thought you could lose that much weight that quickly, but there it was.
I was also sleeping a lot better and had energy to spare throughout the day. Needless to say, that inspired me to do even more research to help me understand what happened, why it happened and how to control it.
My friends also noticed and asked me to help them as well. It wasn’t long after that, that the word “Keto” became mainstream and is now one of the most popular diet program available.
Unfortunately, most of the program you find are not as comprehensive and inclusive of everything you need to succeed. That is why I built this website.
I hope it helps you with your journey and keeps your stumbles minimal.