The keto diet: “I have come back from the dead”

May 31 2018 by , medical review by in Autoimmunity, Diabetes stories, Intermittent fasting, Keto, Success stories

Kellie has lost 187 pounds (85 kg) and reversed type 2 diabetes with a keto diet and intermittent fasting. And as if that wasn’t fantastic enough, a test for lupus, an autoimmune disease which previously made her bedridden, came back negative after the diet switch!

Her whole family is now eating keto, and her husband and son have also transformed their health. This is their story:

Dr. Andreas,

I stumbled upon Diet Doctor early on in my journey in 2016. I was 340 lbs (154 kg) and bedridden from lupus. I was a 12-year vegan following the 80/10/10 principal and fruitarian for six months. My weight sky rocketed and I was then diagnosed as pre-diabetic. I decided that I had to change something or I was going to die.

I researched paleo and ate my first fish since 2005. I cried… I felt guilty BUT I also felt something I hadn’t felt in over a decade… satiety. Unfortunately with paleo I still had immense cravings and was making paleo brownies daily. Someone in my over eaters anonymous group suggested keto and the rest is history.

I went from bedridden to doing muay thai kick boxing and boxing. Keto and intermittent fasting reversed my pre diabetes and my ANA is now NEGATIVE. I used to have positive SSI and now it’s negative. I have come back from the dead.

My entire family is keto now. It has reversed my young son’s type 2 diabetes, and my husband lost 140 lbs (64 kg) and was able to get back into the military.
Thank you for your low carb mission. You have changed lives and given life back to many of us. My entire family is keto now. It has reversed my young son’s type 2 diabetes, and my husband lost 140 lbs (64 kg) and was able to get back into the military.

Kellie

Kellie’s husband

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Thank you for sharing your fantastic story, Kellie! It’s very inspiring to hear about whole families doing keto together.

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Do you have a success story you want to share on this blog? Send it (photos appreciated) to andreas@dietdoctor.com, and please let me know if it’s OK to publish your photo and name or if you’d rather remain anonymous.

It would also be greatly appreciated if you shared what you eat in a typical day, whether you fast etc.

28 comments

2 comments removed
3
Vicky
May 31 2018
Great looking couple! Nice Job
1 comment removed
5
Leno
May 31 2018
The photos of the husband look photo shopped .......all his moles disappeared in the after photo..In any diet balance and exercise are always gonna be your keys to success.

Reply: #27
6
WarblingLisa
May 31 2018
Congratulations, Kellie, to you and your husband. It's wonderful keto has improved the health of your entire family. Thanks for sharing your story with us!!
7
Kathleen
May 31 2018
Congratulations, Kellie. Super news!
8
Kellie
May 31 2018
Hi Lizzy not a bunch of crap a bunch of truth. I have been documented every step of my journey with my various doctors, pcp, rheumatologisrs, endocrinologist and gyno through regular lab work. If u have ANY questions feel free to ask ?
9
Kellie
May 31 2018
@leno my husband actually does several videos and live videos.. Feel free to watch them on his
IG @theketorock . I can ASSURE u he is every bit as gorgeous in person. If u have any questions i am on
IG @QueenTasiLeao
10
Kellie
May 31 2018
@leno oh and one more thing.. His 1 mole in the before pic is covered by his sunglasses.. Haha ?
11
Kellie
May 31 2018
Thank u Lisa and Kathleen! I wish they had posted a pic of our youngest son (who is now 10) too. He was pre-diabetic. We got him on keto and he lost 20lbs and his A1c is completely normal
12
Terrie
May 31 2018
Been doing keto for 6 wks nothing i think its bs to cant be good for your heart and arteries eating all that fat
13
Kellie
May 31 2018
@terri keto is a tool to help supress hunger, regulate hormones, insulin levels and burn off glycogen stores. U still need to be in a caloric deficit. There is A lot of actual research and data out there that has proven unequivically that animal fats do not cause heart disease. Any credible cardiologist will tell u to reduce carbohydrates and sugars. In fact there are many articles promoting LcHf written by cardiologists and talks given that are on youtube.
Best wishes! And keep doing ur research.
14
Ryan Mesler
May 31 2018
while you can reverse diabetes by switching from processed junk to whole foods as seen in the magic pill, what you don't realize is the damage your arteries are undergoing because they're being pumped full of fat.

olive oil is pure fat too, refined and bottled for your convenience. the health "benefits" of olive oil are grossly exaggerated and are nullified by the damage they cause your arteries. short term AND long term.

fact is, ketosis is an emergency mechanism your body uses when you're starving. it is not meant as a lifestyle or a diet solution.

there are plenty of studies by real doctors that can back all of this up.

Reply: #31
15
Eileen
May 31 2018
Kellie you are an inspiration. Keto for life!
16
Kellie
May 31 2018
@ryan actually ketosis is a NATURAL mechanism ur body goes through when depleted of glycogen stores. Pregnant women go into a natural state of ketosis and babies are born in a state of ketosis. Pretty neat huh? And considering my BuN, CrP and all antibodies have dropped to normal levels, and also my critically low vit d levels(when i was vegan) of (an 8!) rose to a normal level of 64... After 2 years keto and without mega high dose of prescription Vit d.. 50,000iu a day. (that is what i was prescribed by my endo when i was first diagnosed and as a vegan at that... And those levels didnt budge putting me in the Critically low catagory). If u want to talk stats i would LOVE to talk stats. Because i was so sick i became a professional patient on a positive note i let ALL of the kab results do the talking rather than resort to conjecture and random FB posts by Random people.

Btw i wad also prescribed statins as a low fat high carb vegan because my LDL was so high. Go figure
17
Yvette
May 31 2018
You did it,) cheers to everyday being a better you.
18
Tanner
June 1 2018
A 380 lb fruitarian ? Lmao, lard isn't a fruit.
19
Kem
June 1 2018
Tanner most fruits turn into sugar. Do your research. Why you have to be so rude.
20
Kem
June 1 2018
I have lost 40 pounds since March 2, 2018 by just cutting out carbs. I do not do all the high fat as my doctor told me it is not good for me and it raises your cholesterol levels, I use the keto strip and my body stays in ketosis without the high fat intake. I now weigh 150 pounds and have 10 more to go and I am sure I will be at my goal by June 1st. Carbs are not good for our body and if you want to lose weight lose the carbs it works.
21
Alex jones
June 1 2018
lol if you're starving yourself of course you're going to loose weight. Like what is this keto nonsense. You can eat literal crap and loose weight if you're eating 1000 calories a day. Why not eat whole plant based diet and be satiated and satisfied and not worry about anything. The weight just comes off, like Greyhound lean and mean. Plants plants plants love your body and what you put in it.

Reply: #22
22
Reply to comment #21 by Alex jones
Jennifer
June 1 2018
"I was a 12-year vegan following the 80/10/10 principal and fruitarian for six months" Right there she said she was vegan if you read it.

Reply: #26
1 comment removed
24
Kris
June 1 2018
Thruth about ketogenic diets. You can accomplish just about all that is claimed in this article on a McDonald's diet. Losing weight reverses type 2. Doesn't make it healthy in the long term.
1 comment removed
26
Reply to comment #22 by Jennifer
Kris
June 1 2018
You can be a junk food vegan. I think Alex is talking about eating a whole foods plant based diet. Sounds like she failed Miserably for 6 months on a fruititarian diet. But we don't know what she ate and this is an anecdote. Check out my video link below for long term side effects of a ketogenic diet
27
Reply to comment #5 by Leno
Mark
June 1 2018
Great job, Kellie and fam! Ignore the haters.
28
Kellie
June 1 2018
@kris, i was vegan for 12 years sweetie and a raw foods chef. I was fruitarian as a last ditch effort to help with my lupus which rendered me bedridden. A fruitarian and 80/10/10
Caused a diagnosis of type 2, occular migraines (because of the fructose). So that high fructose diet failed Me... And the thousands of people that have tried it. The vegan, raw, fruitarian community is based out of pseudo science and fear tactics. Aside from losing 200lbs now, the horrific experience of being disabled from an equally horrific diet changed my career and field of study from unsubstantiated vegan propaganda to dietetics.

U should gather information before forming outlandish assumptions. Its reflective of small mindedness.
29
Kellie
June 1 2018
@alex in terms of "starving yourself", u must be in a caloric deficit of ur tdee in order to lose fat.. This is true. But, i eat to substain and enhance my activity level and athleticism. Which is Muay thai and boxing, training at arguably one of the best MMA gyms in the world.
30
Kellie
June 1 2018
@kris the people here are way too educated to fall for ur vegan propaganda. And people who are on my Social media know exactly what i've eaten for the past 2 years as i have posted daily and in several dozen live videos.
So, good try.
31
Reply to comment #14 by Ryan Mesler
Ken
June 6 2018
While opinions are enjoyable to hold and invite others to share, I challenge you to provide references for your claims, which sound a lot like old diet-heart hypothesis junk, which has been repeatedly debunked at vast expense by the very people trying to prove it. For extensive exploration of this subject I refer you to the work of ; Nina Teicholz, Zoe Harcombe, Gary Taubes and many others.
32
Liz
January 17 2019
Kellie, I have Lupus and have been on Keto diet for 3 weeks.
My body no longer aches, I am able to move effortlessly. I have lost 21 pounds and feel great! I do not eat a lot of fat, but I go consume a lot of salad and green vegetables. My choice of protein are eggs, turkey sausage, ribeye, seafood and uncared bacon occasionally.
Congrats to you. Dismiss the haters.
1 comment removed
34
Mark
May 3 2020
There can be a problem with vegetables and fruit. High levels of High methoxyl pectin is common in many fruits and vegetables, apples, esp green bananas and citrus, watermelon (esp near the rind) carrots, potatoes (not such a high level but we tend to overindulge - also I suspect that HM pectin has been bred up to make mashed potatoes nicer), turnips, pumpkin and butternut squash and more. The problem is the high methoxyl pectin breaks down into methanol and then formic acid which is a poison and an immune system irritant (see wikipedia). The vast majority of people have no problem with high methoxyl pectin. But if you do have a problem with it - you can end up with severe inflammatory diseases. Vegan, vegetarian and fruitarian diets would be the absolute worst diet for people with this sensitivity. To see if this is a problem, maybe stick to 400 grams per day max of green cabbage (not savoy), broccoli, chinese stir fry veg (wombok, bok choy, chinese brocc), zucchini, cucumber, lettuce, and about 50 grams max of peeled apple per day for a few days as a trial, with meat eggs and dairy if these cause no problem. If that works add back in more things.
Good luck!

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