Carmine DiCesare's Story

In June 2017, Camine DiCesare hit his highest weight of 225 pounds (102 kg) after a vacation in Italy. He was never considered obese or overweight, but as he was growing up, he would struggle to shed any extra pounds.

“I could never achieve the body that I desired. I played sports year-round throughout my life and spent hours in the gym every week, yet my body fat and weight continued ticking higher,” he said. “While my activity level was great, I never truly paid attention to my diet or nutrition.”

DiCesare slowly eased his way into keto after learning about it in 2017. But when he had lost 25 pounds (11 kg) by the end of 2018, he began to plateau. He admitted to being inconsistent and unorganized regarding keto back then, but he wanted to make 2019 his healthiest year yet.

While browsing Instagram, DiCesare stumbled upon Dr. Berg’s posts and started following his account.

“I have really appreciated the material and knowledge that he shares daily,” he said. “I had the basics of keto down at that point, but where Dr. Berg really helped me is tuning into the deep detail of a ketogenic lifestyle. His posts are always intuitive, and each teaches a valuable lesson.

“I’ve applied a vast amount of knowledge that he has shared into my daily routine and it has made a significant difference while undoubtedly contributing to my overall results. Whether you’re just starting off or [you’ve] been eating keto for years, I think Dr. Berg caters to and can help everyone in the ketogenic community.”

Along with the support of his family and friends, especially his girlfriend, DiCesare also found motivation in Facebook groups and on Instagram.

“There is a lot of shared knowledge in [social media] posts,” he said. “[But] I recommend always doing your due diligence and research though, don’t believe everything everyone posts.”

He also understood the need to “filter out the noise” and stick to keto even if people in your life don’t understand. Maintaining a social life also proved to be tricky for DiCesare; it was when he was out to dinner and hanging with friends that he found himself slipping.

Still, seeing the results encouraged him not to give up.

“Once you start to lose weight and see a change in the mirror, it really pushes you to keep moving forward,” said DiCesare. “Physically, I feel phenomenal. I am full of energy every single day and at work I’m always mentally focused. My joints and body don’t ache nearly as much after workouts/in general.

“It is amazing how much changes once you start to shed off weight and pay attention to your nutritional intake. Medically, my vitals are better than ever so that’s always a positive as well.”

Since starting keto back in 2017, DiCesare has lost 60 pounds (27 kg), going from a size 36 to fitting comfortably into a size 32. The only thing he would have done differently: get more educated on keto from the start.

“Following someone like Dr. Berg and learning from him right off the bat gives you a huge advantage,” he said.

Favorite Way to Exercise: “My goal was to lose the excess fat while putting on lean muscle and get into a healthy workout routine including cardio, weight lifting, sports, swimming, and yoga,” said DiCesare. “Normally, I work out five to six days a week. For cardio, I enjoy interval training. [And] yoga is incredible. Flexibility is extremely important and I’ve found it to be a great way to balance out my weekly routine.”

Favorite Keto Menu:

• Butcher Box grass-fed ribeye seasoned with salt, pepper and garlic, reverse-seared in duck fat on a cast iron skillet 
• Roasted seasoned Brussels sprouts, feta cheese, Butcher Box bacon, and chopped avocado, drizzled with avocado oil 
• Two sunny-side-up eggs 
• Scoop of mixed nut butter from Trader Joe’s with a piece of Montezuma’s Absolute Black 100% Dark Chocolate for dessert