GUEST BLOGGER: TERESA

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If I Could Turn Back Time – Weight Loss Surgery & Keto

     Would I have done things differently with my life if I had known about the ketogenic diet years ago?

I need to rewind several years back. I’ve battled with obesity practically my entire life.  I also come from a family of obese people, so that didn’t seem to help much. After I had my children, my weight skyrocketed. Of course, like most Americans, I tried many different diets and always seemed to “fall off the wagon” because I was never satisfied or constantly felt hungry.

I seemed to have endless cravings for food.

I became so desperate for help in my obesity battle that in 2006, I decided to have a weight loss surgery in which a lap band was put in place around the upper portion of my stomach to restrict the amount of food that I could consume. A port was then run from the band around my stomach to my abdominal wall so the doctor can inject saline into the band to tighten it up, further restricting my food consumption. My problem was every time they went to inject saline, I could barely get water down. So, I had to basically leave my band uninflated.

Mind you, I still had some restriction, but I felt like such a failure because I was still eating all of the foods I loved. I just ate less each time I sat down, but I quickly learned to eat more frequently to meet those cravings. Why couldn’t this band take my love for food away?

I did lose a little weight at the beginning. But overtime, I gained it all back, plus some. By 2009, I hit my all-time high of 353 pounds and decided that another weight-loss surgery would be my solution! I went to a different doctor who was more than happy to remove my lap band and convert me over to a gastric sleeve, which would remove most of my stomach including the portion that held the ghrelin hunger hormone. I just knew this was the answer and that I was going to finally lose all of this unwanted weight. I did lose my appetite for several months and I managed to lose 89 pounds.

Then it stopped! What???

My hunger and cravings for carbs and sugars came back with a vengeance. I quickly learned that I could once again consume all of the foods that I loved but just in smaller quantities at a time but more frequently. Again, my weight started creeping back up. I had no clue that I was addicted to carbs and sugars. I didn’t even know that was a “thing”. I decided to try different diets, which mostly consisted of calorie restriction or counting points (which still allowed for sugar and carb consumption). They just didn’t work.

I was always hungry.

I was failing AGAIN.

What the heck is wrong with me?

At this point, I felt as if I was exhausting everything I could possibly think of to battle my problem with obesity. I went back to the drawing board. And can you believe it, in early 2016, I wanted to go in and have ANOTHER weight-loss surgery. I just had a mindset that weight-loss surgery was going to cure all of my problems. This time, I wanted to have gastric bypass. I was ready for the mac daddy of all weight loss surgeries and boy was I desperate! But to my dismay, the doctors refused to do that procedure on me because I couldn’t prove to use my previous weight loss surgeries as a tool to help myself. Now there’s real proof that I really am a failure! The doctors basically told me so. At this point, I am ready to give up.

By the summer of 2016, I was back up to 322 pounds and a bariatric doctor put me on a low carb/high protein diet and I started to lose weight. I was ecstatic! After doing that for a while, I heard about Keto. I gave a weak attempt at that but had very limited knowledge about it and felt like a fish out of water. However, I did manage to lose weight. This time, I had gotten down to 251 pounds. I still didn’t have a full grasp of my problems. I didn’t get it that carbs and sugar were an addiction and I certainly didn’t understand the benefits of fats in my diet. I also didn’t realize that if I cheated I could possibly be setting myself up for disaster.

Well, I cheated.

I went back into my old thinking and just like before, because I failed, just I had done previously with every other weight loss attempt, I gave up. Instead of getting back on the Keto train, I completely derailed and gained weight again. Once again, I’m feeling like a complete failure.

By January 2018, I was back up to 319 pounds. I decided then and there that it was time to make a change, not only in my diet but in my way of thinking.

I decided to go back onto the Keto way of eating. It was the only way of eating that made sense to me. I knew I had to into this with a different perspective and I had to get my head in the right place.

• I got involved in different positive support groups on Facebook.

• I submerged myself in YouTube videos about the keto diet

• I started educating myself.

I realized I had an addiction to carbs and sugars. I also learned that fats are very beneficial in this way of eating. Fats are a great tool to keep me satiated so I don’t feel hungry all of the time like I was accustomed to from all of those weight loss surgeries and other diets I had tried in the past. I have also learned that if I go off plan that I can get right back on and don’t have to continue down that path of destruction.

I’m listening to my body now. In fact, I just recently went on a cruise and went off plan and my body paid for it. I felt physically and mentally fatigued. I didn’t like the way I felt and I was actually excited to get back on keto after my mistake. My body was thanking me when I went back on keto.

I now know that I CAN do this. I have more self-confidence in myself and now know that I am NOT a failure. There is hope for me!

From January 25, 2018, to April 25, 2018, after just three months, I have lost 50 pounds. Not only am I losing weight but I can tell that my health is improving tremendously. I have a long way to go and have a lot of health issues that I am working on improving, but I am doing it!  I wish I had known about Keto years ago because maybe I wouldn’t have had to go through all of these drastic surgeries and unsuccessful diets. Hindsight is 20/20 though, right?

I really feel that Keto is saving my life and freedom from the bondage that food had over me. I want to encourage anyone that I can to give Keto a try. It’s a powerful thing! Keto on and Keto strong!

 Teresa M. Davis 

ABOUT TERESA

I’m a 44 year old wife and mom of 3 young adult children. I am a Registered Nurse who specializes in women’s health. I reside in North Carolina. I love dogs! I have a furbaby of my own named Jasmine who is a chihuahua.

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