Bec has lost 132 pounds

I’m 24 and currently living with my boyfriend and pet rabbit in Sydney, Australia. I’m currently working in soul destroying office at the moment, but I’m studying a certificate in floristry to I can become a fully qualified florist. I’m still kinda working on what I want out of life because I’m always changing my mind, especially since losing weight! I used to be terribly depressed but since losing weight, I feel like the whole world has opened up to me. I no longer feel like just hiding away from everyone and everything… I wanna go out, meet new people, travel the world, try new things… The only thing stopping me at the moment is my bank account!

I tried to commit suicide. As hard as it is for me to admit that, it was a turning point in my life. I’ve suffered from depression since I was a kid, and it got steadily worse as I grew older and gained more weight. I felt completely hopeless, like there was no way out for me. I would just sit in my room and cry most days. My weight made me the unhappiest, and of course, I had tried so many different diets in the past but with the combination of depression and poor knowledge about food and exercise, I never really succeeded. I discovered the keto subreddit and saw people that were as big as me losing weight. They all raved about how easy and life changing it was… I decided to give it a go. As soon as I started losing even just those first few kilos, my life started changing. I had more energy, my skin cleared up, I didn’t wake up feeling sick all the time… and I was actually losing weight. I was so happy, I felt like this was a whole new start for me.

I’m 5’7″ and when I started, I weighed 150kg. The first time I stepped onto the scale and saw those numbers I couldn’t believe it… I was so upset. I was barely out of high school and I had done this to myself. I was so disappointed in my self and wanted to just give up already – how could I possibly reverse the damage I’d done? But I decided to let it my motivate me instead. I didn’t wanna be that depressed, hopeless, negative person anymore. I threw myself into my dieting and exercise and currently, I’ve lost 60kg. I now weigh 90kg and hope to get down to my goal weight of 65kg by the end of this year.

I used to wake up feeling sick and exhausted all the time and everything was always painful. I constantly had headaches and my back was always sore. After the first few weeks of keto, almost all of my health problems started going away. I had so much more energy and my headaches disappeared. I would wake up feeling refreshed and well rested instead of exhausted and my skin started clearing up. I felt like a completely new person, inside and out.

These are two of my favourite chicken recipes!

http://www.budgetbytes.com/2011/09/balsamic-bruschetta-chicken/

http://www.budgetbytes.com/2009/12/pepperoni-stuffed-chicken/ (I just leave out the breadcrumbs for this one!)

I love everything on the budgetbytes website! Not only is everything cheap to make, but it also so easy and really, really tasty! I cook for myself and my boyfriend, who isn’t on keto, so I usually make “normal” meals but I don’t give myself the rice or pasta sides.

Don’t give up. Seriously. Sometimes you might look in the mirror and see saggy skin, or stretch marks and think badly about yourself, like there’s no point. But you know what, it’s so worth it. Nobody cares. There will be so many guys and girls that love you an insane amount even though you have wobbly bits or marks on your thighs – and if people do care, they aren’t worth your time. Your weight and poor health will hold you back from everything you want to do, but a bit of saggy skin won’t. I have a bit of flab on my arms and tummy from losing so much weight, but with time it will shrink back and even if it doesn’t, who cares! Life is too short to worry about things like that, so don’t let it hold you back. 🙂

There will also be times when dieting gets difficult, and it’s normal to feel that way, don’t worry. I don’t think many people could eat completely perfectly forever and never crave junk food. That’s why I don’t think you should think of keto as “diet”, think of it as a lifestyle change. I plan to eat low carb and low sugar for the rest of my life, but life still goes on around me. Friends have parties, you go on holidays, co-workers invite you out for drinks… There may be times when you do eat junk food, just don’t freak out about it. Life’s no fun when people stop inviting you out because you become that person that whips out MFP at the dinner table or refuse to eat any of the meal they’ve lovingly cooked because it’s not keto-friendly. I personally don’t believe in completely depriving yourself forever, but I don’t believe in month long binges either. Just learn to manage keto with the rest of your life so you’re not just living to keto, you’re ketoing to live.

Just do it! I went so long for letting silly little things hold me back, things that don’t even matter in the end. If you want to keto, get on those websites, blogs and subreddits and start throwing yourself into it. It can be hard to get into it at first (and confusing!) but the keto community is great and always willing to help out new people wanting to give keto a go. I also found it really helpful to have a little keto buddy, someone that was doing it with me that I could go to for support and understanding. I started keto with my mum and she was, and continues to be, my biggest supporter. I couldn’t have done it without her. Family and friends are important, but sometimes they can be a pain as well… Be prepared to have some of your friends, family and co-workers inevitably tell you keto is bad for you – but don’t let it get to you too much, just smile and nod and continue to keto on. 😉