My name is Kyla (@thegalaxxygoddess) and I’m 30 years old. I’m from Saskatchewan, Canada, and I work in office administration. After realizing that my weight was holding me back, I started following a keto diet and fasted at intervals and eventually lost 105 pounds.
I quickly started gaining weight after moving to a new city and starting college. I did not make balanced decisions with food and over time started eating worse. I also led a sedentary life. I feasted most on fast food and sugar, and I was worse when I was stressed.
At 24, I hit my heaviest weight of 308 pounds. I started to get sore and tired, which was not normal for me. But since I put on the weight over time, it was not obvious to me that my weight was the reason I was not feeling well. I also started getting knee pain very often. It brought my weight to my attention, and I knew I had to start on my health and live a less sedentary lifestyle.
When I was on vacation in September 2014, I had trouble with the amount of walking we did. I had to take breaks while we were visiting – it was not as I wanted to live. So I stabbed myself for the first time with my weight loss and in 2015 lost 50 pounds. However, my weight loss did not hold up.
My * real * turning point came in July 2020 this year.
At 30, I got tired of my own excuses. The pandemic really made me look at how I live and what I want to change.
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In July 2020, I decided to follow the keto and alternate fasting route after doing a lot of research. For me, this combination worked pretty seamlessly.
I never intended to do long-term keto (I could not go without bananas!). However, it helped suppress my sugar needs, which was my biggest problem. Now I am sugar free, except natural sugars from fruits.
I have now adjusted my way of eating to follow the keto diet to simply focus on eating whole foods. It’s a better way to eat for me in the long run because I do not want to go without certain fruits and healthy grains, but I am so grateful for keto because it started my weight loss.
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Fasting has really helped me to have a routine with food and can limit me less when I eat.
The dining window I usually stick to is 12 to 18 or 19 hours. Food now has less understanding for me. It really is only food, not good or bad. I do not like it anymore.
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Here’s what I’m eating one day now.
Breakfast: Fasting (water and coffee only)
- Lunch: Chicken or eggs with garlic butter and cauliflower rice
- Snacks: Pistachios, almonds or berries
- Dinner: Taco salad (minced meat, cheese and vegetables)
- Dessert: Coconut with almond milk or a cup cake
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For exercise, I initially started walking a lot during the week and continued it through most of my weight loss journey.
I also added the Bowflex Treadclimber machine a few times a week. Now I start working out more often with weight training because I have little nutrition.
I never got a super regiment with a schedule for exercise. But now I focus on, where possible, moving more and resting in my daily life as needed.
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These three changes made the biggest difference in my weight loss results.
- I added a lot more water to my daily routine. I’m pretty sure I was chronically dehydrated for a few years – I got really bad from not drinking enough water. So I now try to get in two coffees, two 30-ounce water and two or three green teas every day. It seems to me the perfect amount. If I had hydrated well, I would have been a little less hungry.
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- I started tracking my food in a journal. I started locating my food in a journal when I started using keto. It helped me understand the amount of food I ate portions until I learned the amounts that were right for me. It was such a useful tool in the beginning because it made me more responsible for myself and my goals.
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- I changed one thing at a time. For me, it was easier to make small changes that eventually came together like a puzzle. It took me years longer than many, but the changes were significant and taught me so much. When you lose weight, it is easy to become extremely overwhelmed with all the new information and adjustments. But if you break it down and learn it piece by piece, it’s less scary. For example, if you drink a lot of soft drinks, try cutting it out for a few weeks and then move on to the next change. They all count together.
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Overall, I lost 105 pounds. It took me about five years of trial and error.
I had to keep winning and losing to really figure out what worked for me. But I feel like I have determined the balance I need. I feel really amazing entering my thirties. I feel more like me, which was the greatest gift of weight loss.
This weight loss journey was a rebirth for me. It changes my life in more ways than one, and I’m excited to fully experience my life now, before I know I was not. I just existed. My emotions and food ruled me. It really does not have to be that way. Now I know I have more control over my life path than I realized – and I will not give up.
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