My 2-year ketoversary

On October 11th, 2021, was my 2 year ketoversary. I feel so blessed to have discovered this new WOE (way of eating). 3 decades of following nutritional guidelines and standard medical advice left me morbidly obese, insulin dependent and physically impaired.

At my worst, with sustained glucose levels in the high 20s mmol (about 500 mg/dl), a good friend (you know who you are) recommended Dr. Stephen Phinney. The videos gave me the hope. The hope I needed to make one last effort to get healthy. I was extremely lucky to be supported by my family, my doctor and I found great support groups.

Along the way I found more great resources. Dr. Stephen Phinney from Virta Health got me started, Dr. Jason Fung got me off insulin, Dr. Ken Berry provided continued support and got me off immune suppressants for RA. These and many more doctors courageously make information available for free to help undo the damage done by nutritional guidelines and interest groups.

I reversed Type 2 Diabetes, a disease thought to be chronic progressive. On insulin my A1c was 8.5. This would have led me down the path of complications like blindness, cardiovascular disease, loss of limbs. I have been off insulin for over a year now with an A1c 4.8.

An A1c of 4.8 is considered healthy. I am achieving it with no hypoglycemic events.

I reversed NASH. Medications and poor diet left me with inflamed non-alcoholic fatty liver. Confirmed with biopsy in 2017, it is now reversed, confirmed with fibroscan and liver panel.

I reversed rheumatoid arthritis. I know, this one is also considered chronic progressive. The sad part was, I was put on immune suppressant at a super high dose. The dose is usually tapered down to a therapeutic level. In my case they forgot, so I stayed at an organ transplant level for over 15 years. Tweaking keto a bit more allowed me to get off immune suppressants. No more pain climbing stairs, no more fluid in my joints, CRP levels back in the low range. This video by Dr. Ken Berry explains how many autoimmune conditions can be improved or reversed with a carnivore diet.

They show a weight drop of 106 pounds. The first selfie was taken the day before I started keto. At that time I had already watched many lectures on keto and knew this was going to work. I was pumped. I had hope. I was on fire. But I could not have imagined in my wildest dreams where I was going to be 2 years later. The before full body pic was a picture I actually posted on my timeline. I sucked my tummy in to look thinner. It didn't work.

I don't even recognize me in the before pic

Before and after

These were a good fit 2 years ago

I often hear "well, if you go back to a normal diet, you will just gain back all the weight". They are not completely wrong. If I go back to eating the recommended standard American diet, I will most certainly put my weight back on and get sick again. But there is nothing normal about that diet. This "normal" diet is not healthy. It is not an option to go back to. My keto lifestyle may eventually shift into a low carb lifestyle, but I will never return to the standard American diet.

I am also told that this lifestyle is not sustainable and too restrictive. But the reality is, being in pain, chronically fatigued and physically impaired is far more restrictive. I don't even feel that my food limitations are restrictive. You know, nothing tastes as good as healthy feels.

During the past 2 years I have been in many keto groups on Facebook and started an account on Twitter. I made a few deep connections (again, you know who you are). I consider them great friends and will hopefully soon be able to see them in real life.

While I found great support in all the groups, I felt that one group was missing. Some groups were targeting weight loss, others type 2, others PCOS. None of them made the connection to the root cause: Insulin resistance. At that point I decided I should create a group about reversing the root cause, treating insulin resistance with diet and exercise, not medications. I was very lucky to get Joy Sypher on board to help me start the group, provide content and bounce off ideas in general. We are also fortunate to have a great team of admins that works tirelessly in the background to keep our group on topic and supportive. No one wants drama. Find our group here.

The more I dive into the subject of insulin resistance and metabolic health, the more I learn. As you may have noticed, I love to share and help others. Even though we have two pages with affiliate links on the website to help offset the cost of this site, this was never meant to generate income. Hearing stories how the group helps others improve their health is what makes my day. BTW, Amazon will probably kick me from the affiliate program, because we didn't have three qualifying purchases in the past quarter. LOL you see, it's not about the money.

I would love for the group to keep growing. I can't wait to see where this journey will lead me ... not only health wise, but the lives impacted and the connections I will make.

This is my new lifestyle. I will probably make a few tweaks here and there, but the general direction will stay the same. I love this WOE, love my improved health.

Keto and intermittent fasting is not for everyone, but it certainly saved my life. If anyone is interested in improving their health, I would be happy to chat with you. Join our group to join the conversation.

Final thought: The road to success is not a straight line.

Written by Roxana Soetebeer
Published October 16th, 2021