Keto Diet Success Story: How One Woman Lost Over 60 Pounds

Meet Lisa Grady, a fun loving lady who lost over 60 pounds on the The Keto Diet!  Today, she is here to share her Keto diet success story— and hopefully inspire those of you looking to try out this diet for yourself!

BEFORE WEIGHT:  Prior to starting the ketogenic diet 226lbs

AFTER WEIGHT: 162 as of today

POUNDS LOST: 64 on keto, 78 total

Tell us about your weight history.

"I was always a skinny kid. I started gaining weight during my teen years. I had four kids in my twenties, and gained more weight with each pregnancy. I used food for comfort when I was stressed, which was nearly all the time raising four kids on a shoestring budget. Easy cheap meals were a staple, and I ate more than I should have at every meal. By 2012 I weighed 240 lbs. My whole body hurt, and I was exhausted all the time. I did manage to lose 53 lbs in 2012 by cutting carbs and exercising every day. Unfortunately, I thought I could have a treat every now and then. Those occasional treats started me on the slippery slope back to my old eating habits. I gained back 39 lbs and stayed at 226 lbs until August of 2016."

What inspired you to finally lose the weight?

"Around this time last year I told my husband that I just didn’t care anymore. I would be fat the rest of my life. That even if I did start watching what I ate, I had no energy to exercise. I remembered how hard it was the last time I did it, and I just didn’t what to make that commitment. I didn’t want to be hungry all of the time. I didn’t want to count calories, and most of all I didn’t want to kill myself exercising. I wanted to lose weight and improve my health; it just seemed all too overwhelming. It was easier to eat a bowl of ice cream and not look in the mirror."

"My sister, Linda (who was also my best friend) passed away suddenly in August 2016. She had just moved from Pennsylvania to Florida to live near me and my oldest sister Karen. Needless to say, Karen and I were heartbroken. We had made so many plans for all three of us to grow old together. People always assume that Linda’s health issues were what prompted me to get healthy. This is far from the truth. I knew for quite a while that I had to do something, I just wanted a magical solution that did not require any effort on my part. My brother Tom came to Florida when Linda was in the ICU. Tom has always had trouble with his weight, too. I was shocked when I saw him. He looked great! He had told me many times via phone calls about the diet he was following, but I never really believed it could be that easy. No exercise? Eat all you want of foods from the approved list? Never be hungry? And again, the most important part, NO exercise? Karen and I jumped on the KETO bandwagon. It was something we could do together, and having something to focus on helped us mourn the loss of our sister."

Why KETO? (How did you get started and stick with KETO?)

"In the beginning I chose KETO because my brother had such great success. I have to admit that I was skeptical about eating tons of fat. It went against all of the advice given by doctors and the US government’s food pyramid. I did a lot of research in the first few weeks that I was on the plan, and I found that KETO is actually the way humans are supposed to eat. Finding out that the rise in heart disease, diabetes, and obesity is directly related to the low fat diet that the government and the healthcare industry has been promoting for the last 30 years was eye-opening.

I downloaded the weight loss app Lose It! and started logging my food religiously in the app to make sure I was following KETO correctly. After only one week on the plan I started seeing results on my scale! I use Lose It! to change my macros to match the ketogenic plan, and I log my weight in the app weekly. Being able to see the graph of my weight loss is extremely motivating; watching the weight practically melt off of my body without exercise has only further reinforced my resolve to continue to eat KETO for the rest of my life."

What are your go to foods? Or can you give us an example of what your diet consists of?

All meats are part of a KETO diet, the fattier the cut the better. My favorites are rib-eyes, short ribs, and pork steaks. Cabbage, broccoli, asparagus, and spinach are staples. Eggs, bacon, mayo, and heavy cream are a large part of my diet. Of course I cannot live without butter and bacon. I drink Bulletproof coffee every morning.

How long did it take you to reach your goal?

I reached my original goal of 175 lbs. on 2/5/17. I made that goal in August of 2016. I thought that 51 lbs was a great amount of weight to lose. When I lost over 50 lbs in six months, I was shocked. I decided to change my goal weight to 150 lbs, but this was just a number I plugged into Lose It! to keep me motivated. I really don’t have a goal weight anymore - I just want to be healthy.

How long did it take to see results?

I saw results within the first week.

What was the hardest part?

I’m not going to lie; the first two weeks of this program are very hard. It is especially hard when the people you live with continue to eat all of the foods you love! Ice cream, cereal, pizza, bread, fruit, beans, milk, and ketchup; resisting these foods in the first two weeks took a lot of determination. I was thrilled to find though that after two weeks my cravings for carbs went away and it was just a matter of not eating garbage out of habit.

How are you maintaining your weight?

I am still losing, albeit slowly. I have not lost a lot of weight in the last two months. I think my body is trying to adjust to its new size. I just bought size 10 pants. SIZE 10! At this time last year I was wearing size 22! Maintaining will be easy as I am going to continue to eat the same way I do now, and continue logging what I eat and my weight with Lose It! As I said before, I did a lot of research on diet and nutrition since I began this journey. I have come to the conclusion that to remain healthy I must continue eating KETO for the rest of my life.

Do you have any tips/advice for those trying to lose weight?

I am the first to admit that I am addicted to carbohydrates, and I am willing to bet that the same holds true for most Americans. The best way to kick an addiction is to go cold turkey. Jump into KETO with both feet. Cut out all but the healthiest carbs, drink bulletproof coffee every day, and eat tons healthy fats. And hold yourself accountable by tracking what you eat with Lose It!

Best Books to Learn More About Keto

The best book on KETO  is “Low Carb, High Fat Food Revolution: Advice and Recipes to Improve Your Health and Reduce Your Weight” by Andreas Eenfeldt. There are a few grammatical errors due to the book being translated to English, but the information contained in the pages is priceless and very easy for people without a medical degree to understand.

The best book for those in the healthcare industry is “The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living” by Stephen D. Phinney and Jeff S. Volek . I think every physician on the planet should be required to read this book. It would save millions of lives.

Thank you to Lisa for sharing her story!! What an inspiration!!!  

For more information you can find more books on Keto.