When Kathy first discovered a low-carb diet, it was a life-changing discovery.
After decades of struggling with weight and high blood sugar, she was able to overcome morbid obesity and recover from type 2 diabetes.
But after a while, she found herself eating too much fat and overeating low-carb and high-fat foods. During a difficult time in her life, she regained almost all of the weight she lost.
But when her doctor, Dr. Ted Neiman, started recommending a plan that was higher in protein and lower in carbohydrates, she decided to double her protein intake.
The result has been a loss of 130 pounds (60 kilos) so far and a revitalization of her health.
“Combining high protein with intermittent fasting has been a huge success,” Kathy says.
Cathy’s story has been edited for length and clarity.
What is your name, age and where do you live?
I’m Kathy, 56 years old, and I live near Seattle, Washington.
How did you decide to follow a low-carb or keto diet?
Fortunately, I live near the clinic where Dr. Ted Neiman works as a primary care physician. After my old doctor left the clinic, the clinic set me up with an open appointment to see Dr. Nauman.
When he entered, I was disappointed by his young appearance, but I quickly forgot all that. He’s kind of really laid back but intensely involved. I wasn’t ready for another lecture about my weight and worsening diabetes, but I sat up and paid attention when he started saying things that were shocking and new to me.
He explained to me all the ways I was suffering from Metabolic Syndrome. (My face got a little hot because of that.) But he quickly moved on to how to change this with a low-carb diet. (What? Isn’t this supposed to be the diet that will kill you?! Haha.)
He described the hunger pangs I would experience after a meal and how eliminating carbs could solve this problem. He adjusted my medications and added metformin, which is known to cause weight loss or weight gain caused by other medications. He also added Wellbutrin (which years later became part of the formula for the weight-loss drug Contrave) but I only took Wellbutrin for six months. He suggested low-carb books and resources to me.
His solutions achieved rapid weight loss of 10 pounds in just a few weeks. Suddenly I felt strong. I felt motivated.
This first date represented one of those moments that completely changed the course of my life.
But I’m actually two feet from my low-carb journey. In the first case, I was able to move out of the morbidly obese range into the obese range, and my HbA1c dropped from the diabetic range to the pre-diabetic range.
However, during a long period of difficult circumstances including the tragic death of my husband, I experienced extreme fluctuations in my weight. I came out of it all and almost back to square one. (I regained almost all of my weight back between 2015 and 2017.)
The second phase of my low-carb journey began in 2019 after Dr. Neiman revised his recommendations for a high-protein approach.
I was now in my mid-50s, and it seemed like losing all the weight would be harder than ever. But I was wrong.
I started eating higher protein in the summer of 2019. I lost more weight and lost it much faster than I had before. I have finally achieved my goals of being obese and getting a normal A1c level below 5! And I can easily enjoy my eating plan, even during vacations and vacations.
While Dr. Naiman can’t be everyone’s doctor, he explains it all in his book The P:E Diet. You can also find him on Twitter, Instagram, and of course, Diet Doctor.
Editor’s note: You can also search for low-carb doctors, nutritionists, coaches, and other health providers near you on our website.Find a provider“Map.
Did you have any health or weight issues before following a low-carb or keto diet?
I’ve struggled with my weight my whole life. The doctor said I needed to lose 20 pounds when I was in first grade. I was pushing 200 pounds when I was only 13 years old.
My problem with high blood sugar began in my late teens, and I was diagnosed with diabetes and morbid obesity in my mid-30s.
I have joined commercial weight loss programs several times to lose some weight, then gain it back plus more. I tried a liquid diet and diet pills.
I even had gastric sleeve surgery at one point. The surgery did nothing to reduce my appetite. In fact, it made my issues with food worse, and I ended up heavier than I was before. I’ve never felt worse about my weight than I did at that point.
After these failures, I kept going back to the standard American diet because I felt like nothing was working anyway.
What does a typical day of eating and/or fasting look like for you now?
I love intermittent fasting (IF). I like to mix up my work or social life schedule. I rarely eat breakfast and often postpone lunch until the afternoon.
Sometimes I use 23-hour fasting (OMAD), but there are many weeks where I don’t do it at all. I aim for an eight-hour eating window and fast for 16 hours most days (8/16).
Here is a typical day:
- breakfast
Coffee (always!), either iced or with sugar-free almond milk. - lunch
Chaffel (eggs and low-fat mozzarella cooked in a mini waffle maker) topped with a generous portion of Greek yogurt and slightly thawed frozen strawberries plus a sugar-free syrup. - dinner
A generous portion of grilled meat (steak, skinless chicken thighs, salmon, roast, lean burger, etc.), sliced tomatoes and sauce, and grilled asparagus. - Dessert or snack
Low-fat frozen Greek yogurt “bark” that I make myself, drizzled with dark chocolate, low-fat Greek yogurt with berries, or a Fairlife protein shake.
In what ways has your health improved?
People have been very impressed with my weight loss, and I have now lost over 130 pounds (60 kg).
After a lifetime of high blood sugar and diabetes, there is no indication that I have any diabetes-related damage to my eyes. I’ve worried about this my whole life – my mother and grandmother both lost their sight to diabetes.
I am in a better mood on a daily basis. I am not anxious when life’s challenges arise. It’s hard to say how much of this is down to diet versus being more active, but it doesn’t really matter – I feel like these things go together naturally.
I love images that contain head-to-head comparisons. I actually made it because some people thought my before and after photos were fake.
Have you learned from any mistakes?
Yes. While I lost weight in the first phase of my low-carb journey, by the end I was eating too much fat and too little nutrition.
For example, I followed recipes that combined sweeteners, cream cheese, chocolate, and other ingredients to create desserts. I dipped spicy pork rinds in sour cream.
Some people can eat these kinds of delicious desserts, but I can’t. I ate a lot of these things, gained weight, but failed to recognize the problem. The myth that protein “turns into sugar in the body” and causes weight gain is true. I thought targeting fat was what I was supposed to do. This was my biggest mistake.
When Dr. Naiman talked to me about high protein, I felt like he was completely wrong, but I saw that he started the protein movement in the low-carb community and became curious about it.
I’ve looked at his charts (on Twitter and Instagram) and listened to interviews (Diet Doctor on YouTube is really great) explaining concepts like “protein is a building block” and not something the body uses to build fat stores. I learned how beneficial protein is for health and reducing appetite. I figured I was only eating half the protein he recommends.
So, I doubled my protein intake. I stopped picking up Costco sized butter and half cream. The combination of high protein and intermittent fasting has been a huge success.
Do you think exercise is necessary for success on low carb?
To lose weight? No, weight loss is 95% of the diet. But exercise increases the little fat-burning factories in your cells called mitochondria and sets you up for weight loss (a tip from Dr. Neiman). Exercise also makes you feel good mentally and physically.
As a larger person, I started hill walking and using a rowing machine (another tip from Dr. Naiman). I use the rower to do high-intensity interval training (also known as HIIT), which is a way to get a meaningful workout in just minutes. I do short HIIT sprints on the rower.
I also do Dr. Naiman’s “no gym” strength training exercises. Diet Doctor has a great video (cruise ship video) of Dr. Naiman showing how to get started if you are a beginner. I used the kitchen table to do standing push-ups. I started squatting by sitting and standing on the chair. I started the pull-ups on the floor below the dip bar (also known as bodyweight rows).
In general, I spend less than 10 to 15 minutes a day exercising.
What are your top three tips for people starting out on low carb?
- Reduce carbs slowly over a few weeks. I have tried Atkins induction twice and failed both times.
- Try eating bacon and eggs as your first meal of the day. This will help you get off the snack train because you won’t experience low blood sugar or hunger after a meal.
- Definitely get support in a way that works for you. Those first few weeks can be especially tough, so don’t give up! You will get over this hump, and then you will be on your way to better health!
If you’re still reading now, thank you for reading my story. I really hope this helps someone. I wish you all the best and good health. If anyone wants to follow me, they will find me on Twitter. I’m KeyTones@apowersurfer.
Kathy, your success with a high-protein, low-carb diet will inspire others who are questioning this approach. Congratulations on your tremendous accomplishments.
~Ann Mullins
