50 pounds gone in 5 months

My name is Johanna,

I'm a 35 year-old female and come from Finland, Europe.

Having found Dr Berg on YouTube in April, 2022 (video about 6 things that make you look younger), what he said about keto & intermittent fasting being the only way to diet caught my attention. I had tried both, separately, and neither alone had brought me results.

I started doing keto w/ intermittent fasting in May 2022 after a year of struggle with unexpected weight gain.

I had weighed around 70kg-75kg (155-165 lbs) since my middle school days, being 175cm (5'8) tall.

I also returned to the same weight after my pregnancy in 2014. I avoided the typical unhealthy foods and included healthy foods in my daily diet, but didn't manage to reduce my belly fat even at the gym. As long as I remember I had a "pregnant" belly with love handles, and bread made it balloon. However, a bit over year ago I suddenly started gaining weight at an alarming speed and it got up to 90kg (200 lbs) in just six months.

It came with other problems such as severe water retention in my feet and hair loss. Not having changed the way I eat or exercise, (I had not exercised in years) this rapid weight gain was also a question mark to the doctors but they assumed I just ate too many calories for my activity level as they found nothing special on my blood work, except for a nearly non-existent ferritin level (storage iron). Although I finally was able to stop the weight gain by restricting my diet, I had not managed to drop much of the weight for months.

Well, Dr. Berg came along and I started to lose it, drastically. I felt the difference from the beginning. After a week I already felt like having lost a good amount of weight. It continued, I felt amazing, my skin got better, and not once I got hungry or craved for anything. After binge-watching Dr Berg on YouTube I just put into practice everything he said and it worked right away. I began even questioning the method as "nothing good comes easy" so how can this be? Weeks turned into months and I kept eating mostly same things twice a day without snacks: a big salad with feta cheese, extra virgin olive oil & apple cider vinegar, sauerkraut or kimchi, some fatty meat or eggs for protein, nuts, occasional avocados or berries with home-made kefir, cod-liver oil and my homemade kombucha. As a treat some xylitol gum. And the best part, I didn't have to drink "8 glasses of water a day" like some say you should.

Immediate changes followed: weight loss, loss of appetite (in a good way), loss of cravings, better mood and just me and my body being on the same team again and not fighting each other. I was never on any medications and didn't have any diagnosis or health issues, but in general I feel healthier now. On the summer time I was able to eat lots of home grown fresh herbs and veggies, use my electric bike instead of a car to go to work and get sunlight so it's all playing together, but keto / fasting are the most crucial part for the success.

My journey was a smooth sailing from the early on but I did plateau in my journey up to a month. I only lost a few pounds during this time compared to the 20 pounds / 10kg I had lost in the first two months. During the strawberry season I started to get food cravings and water retention in my feet most likely for eating too many berries so I started a five-day prolonged fast to fire start my fat burning after the plateau. It worked!

I have been doing one thing I was not supposed to - weigh myself almost every day. I couldn't help it but I totally see why I shouldn't. If the weight goes up a little or stalls a few days it does affect you. Also eating out or visiting people is difficult because just a little thing will throw you out of ketosis. And it's not worth it if you're trying to lose weight.

My goal was to get to 65kg (143 lbs) in five months.

On October 5th after an 18-day prolonged fast I met my goal having lost around 50 pounds on the method. My three advice for a beginner: - Learn and accept to eat mainly for the health and the nutrients the food provides, not for the taste. Your health is more important than your taste buds. You will learn to like the taste of healthy too! - Don't go look around the internet for other sources or click those YouTube ads regarding well-being and diets as you will only get confused and might quit everything all together.

Stick on this one plan that works and forget about the rest. Write "Dr Berg (add here what you need)" on YouTube when you want to know something. For example, "Dr Berg fatigue" or "Dr Berg plateau", and you will find a video about it. (You will find nearly EVERY topic you can imagine of regarding the health!) - Eliminate the "loop-hole thinking". No regular cheat days, no "keto friendly caramel-chocolate-granola-like bars" or partial fasting or partial keto.

Go all-in. Take it seriously. We don't have the time to play with our health. The results will captivate you fast and will leave you never wanting to go back! If things don't work out, cut more carbs, cut any processed food, and add more fasting. And do not omit the prolonged fasts every now and then! One week of fasting might just do the same as one month of if/keto. The before pictures were taken on my worst moment during the summer of 2021 right after my rapid 30+ lbs weight gain.