How I Got My @$&# Together | Diet and Exercise

I’m gonna be straight with you – I never thought I would be someone that would hail diet and exercise as a life changer, and I say that because of my past experiences with it.

My Past Experience with Diet and Exercise

I’ve always struggled with my weight and have attempted to lose weight several times through out my life, and I never saw any results. In fact, I would gain weight. I put on 20 pounds right before my wedding when trying to lose weight. It was baffling and frustrating and no one had answers.

And if I learned anything from 2017, it’s that not all bodies are created the same. It’s evident that they don’t look the same, but they don’t all function the same way either. Unfortunately, not everyone within the medical community recognizes that. I’ve been to several doctors, including an expensive naturopath in 2014, that insisted I was simply eating too many calories, even after my insistent claims to the contrary.

So I gave up.

I stopped actively trying to lose weight and work out because I never saw results. I threw my hands in the air, insisted my body wanted to be overweight, and became a victim. I continued to live off of packaged, sugary foods and soda, constantly feeling depleted and never refreshed after sleeping. And while I was busy moving after a toddler, my lifestyle was basically sedentary. Sure, lots of walking, getting up and down off the floor, and carrying around a 25 pound toddler, but nothing that actually elevated my heart rate. I was also sleeping terribly, unable to fall asleep at a decent hour and not sleeping restfully. I’d wake groggy and cranky more times than not and never felt refreshed. I’d set my alarm to get up at 6am and hit the snooze button about 12 times.

I felt awful 98% of the time but was convinced I couldn’t do anything to change it. If you would have asked me, I would have griped and moaned about how I had tried everything and nothing ever worked…

Until something did.

The Thing That Worked

If you’ve read my blog before, then you know that my husband and I maintain a ketogenic diet and it’s been a life-changer for us. Literally. The way I eat has changed my life.

I’ve been keto since the beginning of August, sooooo *counts on fingers* for six months now, and I can honestly say I’ll never go back to my carb-laden diet. I have experienced so many benefits in my life by eating this particular way.

Hindsight is always 20/20, right? So when current me looks back on carb-Kalyn, it’s no wonder I was so miserable, overweight, and fatigued all the time. I was caught in a vicious cycle of refined foods and an inactive lifestyle. One fed into the other and ’round and ’round I went, over and over and over again.

Not only was the ketogenic diet helping me to finally lose weight, but I was also finally seeing results in the gym. Once I adjusted to my body burning ketones instead of glucose, I was lifting more and experiencing a noticeable improvement in my cycling classes. 

I also sleep so much better. Prior to keto, I had an extremely hard time falling asleep at a reasonable hour. I’d toss and turn in frustration for hours most nights before finally drifting off into an unrestful sleep. Then when my alarm would go off in the morning I’d hit the snooze button 12 times because I never woke up feeling refreshed. Even if I’d force myself out of bed early, I’d be groggy for hours afterward – it seemed to take me so long to fully wake up. Now, I generally go to bed at 10pm, take about 15 minutes to fall asleep, and wake at 6am, ready to attack the day.

I’m also able to have adult conversations now without sounding like a bumbling idiot. Keto has lifted the fog that had settled in my brain. Y’all should have heard me in conversations: stuttering, mixing up words, saying wrong words entirely, mispronouncing words, incoherent sentences strung together. I can only imagine how many poor strangers thought I was a day drinking mother out at Target with my toddler.

Diet and exercise have definitely elevated my energy levels too. I rarely have that dreaded 2pm crash anymore. Man – that crashed used to make me feel like I had hit a brick wall! Groggy, cranky, constantly yawning, low energy.

My skin has also cleared up a ton. As long as I’m maintaining ketosis, I don’t break out. My face is clear as a bell for the first time in my life and it’s pretty dang glorious!

If you can imagine, experiencing such success in this area of my life after such a long battle has greatly improved my mood. I am finally winning this battle and know I’m ultimately going to win this war and that feels indescribably amazing.

You can read more of my posts on the ketogenic diet here.

Finding What Works For You

All of the above to say that this post isn’t about the keto diet – it’s about eating in a way that allows your body to perform at its optimal level. Remember how up above I said that all bodies don’t function the same? Yeah? Well this is what I’m referring to.

Keto is great for me but it may not be for you, and that’s totally 10,000% okay. It doesn’t mean my success is any less amazing or that you’re a failure – it simply means that your body is different. So it is so important to listen closely to your body and consult a doctor if need be. Your intuition is strong and it shouldn’t be ignored.

Final Thoughts

Above all, don’t give up! If you try something and it doesn’t work, try something else. If you try 10 somethings and they don’t work, try something else. Your body is the only body you will have and it is worth being fueled well. It wants to help you experience your best, fullest life, but it can’t do that if it isn’t nourished, so keep chugging away to find a diet that works for you. You deserve it

As usual, thank you so, so much for taking 10 minutes out of your day to read my words. It means so much to me that you’re here!

Check out the other posts in this series!

How I Got My @$&# Together