How one picture started my weight loss journey

My name is Stephanie Lincoln and I am the founder of Fire Team Whiskey. I am going to share my weight loss story with you.  I had amazing success with something called the Keto Diet.  My success actually inspired me to start my own Ketogenic based Health and Fitness company (Fire Team Whiskey). I wanted to share my knowledge about this way of eating with my Brothers and Sisters in arms/harms way. Here is my story. 

THANKSGIVING DAY, NOVEMBER 2015. This is the picture that started it all.  When I saw this picture it was like someone slapped me in the face. I was the heaviest I had ever been in my life. I was doing all the "right" things I thought. I ran 2-3 miles 3 days a week. I did power yoga another 2 days a week. I always got my "steps". My daily food consisted of veggies, hummus, salads, oatmeal, whole wheat toast, brown rice, lean meats, and fruit. Apparently, I was doing something wrong.  On top of all that, I was hypoglycemic, so I had to eat constantly (about every 2 hours) to keep my blood sugar from crashing. I had some nasty fainting spells and I was terrified to leave the house without food in tow. I because known as the "lunchbox lady" because I carried a lunchbox with me everywhere I went. After the slap in the face Thanksgiving picture, I was desperate to find a solution. I had yo-yo dieted like everyone else. Restricted calories. Starved myself. Slim Fast. Diet pills. You name it, I probably tried it at some point and time. And like everyone else, I would lose a little weight, then gain it all back plus a couple pounds. I didn't want to do that again. I was at my highest weight, I was not going to start yet another diet and get even heavier from my efforts.

Like a good nerd, I decided to do extensive research. Instead of going at it in the weight loss way, I wanted to see if I could target my hypoglycemia and then hopefully have the added bonus of weight loss.  I started Googling diets that were good for hypoglycemia and I came across this thing called Keto. Being the nerd that I am, I promptly ordered 3 books on the subject. My mind was blown! It made total sense. This was science. With a diet consisting of about 50% carbs (even "healthy carbs"), I was eating to make my condition worse not better! I didn't jump right into Keto mind you. I was very skeptical, so I decided to ease into it. First I started portion controlling my carbs. I started with cutting down to just two 1/4 cup servings of anything "carby" a day. I did that for a few months and really started to see a difference in my body fat. I was still having the blood sugar struggles though. I cut sugar from my diet. Then I cut grains. Then I cut fruit. I went full Keto in April of 2017 and I have been ever since. On occasion, I shift back to a few weeks of a Paleo diet. I also added intermittent fasting to my routine.

How has life changed? I don't count calories. I am not constantly hungry and struggling to keep my blood sugar up. I rarely have a sugar low (and when I do it is because I had more carbs than normal that day).  I went from 140 pounds and very tight size 8 to around 120 pounds and wearing a size 2. My skin cleared up, it looks glowing and healthy (I struggled with acne basically since my teens). I never have afternoon sleepiness, in fact, I have so much energy I have a hard time going to bed. I actually gained a reputation amongst my friends and co-workers as having no ability to hit a brick wall with my energy. Best of all, I don't miss sugar or carbs! I have found healthy ways to get my "sweet fix" or bread whenever I want it. Just Google the word "keto" before any carby food you miss and you will find tons of recipes to make it grain and sugar-free. 

I will never go back to that so-called "healthy" way of eating again. The traditional "healthy" way of eating made me sick and slowly gain weight. When people ask me how I stay so slim they assume I just don't eat or that I live off of mustard and celery. I love to tell people that my diet consists of about 80% fat and that I drink heavy cream lattes, and eat steak, guacamole, eggs, bacon, butter, and sour cream. I love to see their eyes pop out of their heads! Keto is a great way to eat because I am never hungry! On some days, almost the whole day flies by and I have no notice that I haven't eaten anything yet that day. Before, with my old way of eating, I would have fainted from low blood sugar about 4 hours into forgetting to eat. The Keto Diet not only helped me lose 20 pounds, but I have never felt or looked healthier.

P.s My blood work is absolutely perfect! Keto is a safe eating plan for almost everyone and I believe it has saved my life. I feel so passionately about the negative effects of grains and sugar that I started my own Keto and Paleo based Health and Fitness company. The Fire Team Whiskey Eating Plans take a person gradually to a Ketogenic lifestyle, basically the way I did it. I believe that if something is going to work for most, then you have to provide a gradual path for someone to get there. If you are ready to try this transition for yourself, enlist in Fire Team Whiskey today and start your journey! I hope we will one day will be featuring your before and after transformation photos on the Fire Team Whiskey website!

© Fire Team Whiskey, LLC, 2018, All Rights Reserved