From 315 Pounds to a New Life: Joe’s Wake‑Up Call That Led to Keto 

Did you have any problems with your weight or health before going on keto? 

I struggled with my weight since my early teenage years. Since then, I have tried many gimmicky diet products and magic pills to try to lose weight. A “friend” would come along and sell me a magic nutritional chocolate weight-loss shake for $5 apiece and tell me it would cure all my problems. Of course, I didn’t know anything about nutrition, so I would try it, and it would work until it became unsustainable. After losing the same 40 or 50 pounds, I would fall back into my old habits and gain all the weight back plus more. Year after year, I would get bigger and bigger until I finally gave up hope. I finally accepted that I would live my life as a single, unhappy, unhealthy, and overweight man, but that was about to change. 

At my heaviest, I was 315 pounds (5’11”), and at the age of 25, I was experiencing numbness and pain in my feet, chronic fatigue, and depression, and I was unable to enjoy the outdoors. Doing simple tasks like walking to the mailbox would make me exhausted.  

How did you discover keto? 

When my grandmother died in September of 2017, I had a wake-up call. During her final stages of life at a nursing home facility, I had the opportunity to see many men under the age of 50 who had various health-related problems, including complications from diabetes, stroke, heart failure, etc. I specifically remember one man who was in his 40s and had suffered a stroke. He would never walk again. He was overweight and diabetic. It was at that time that I realized that if I continued with my old habits, there was a good chance that I would end up in a similar situation. 

I knew it was time to change, but I didn’t know where to start. For the first week of my lifestyle change, I didn’t know what to do. I thought I would go on a paleo diet, then I thought I would just start exercising. Then I thought I should do a water fast or some type of “detox” or another gimmicky trap diet. Then I discovered Dr. Berg’s YouTube videos. I must have spent 20 hours that week watching his videos. I put my plan to follow Dr. Berg into action and started working hard at my new way of eating. I replaced compulsive eating with healthy habits. I realized that feeling hungry is not something to be afraid of, and I did it all without someone breathing down my neck trying to sell me another unsustainable weight-loss shake. 

How has your health improved since you started keto?   

Since discovering Dr. Berg and healthy keto/intermittent fasting (IF) in September of 2017, I have lost over 130 pounds. I am now 181 pounds, and all my goals are within sight. I have never felt healthier or happier. 

One of the greatest things about this way of eating is that it fits perfectly into my life. It is truly sustainable, and it makes me so happy that I have found something that I can sustain without effort. Additionally, and more importantly, I am healthy. Our health is so important because without it, we have nothing.  

How does an average day of eating/fasting look for you on keto? 

I have developed healthy habits like daily exercise and a normal sleep schedule. I have stopped craving foods like bread, pasta, cereals, donuts, bagels, waffles, etc. (cue Dr. Berg). I exclusively eat organic, grass-fed/grass-finished, pasture-raised, etc., and best of all, I don’t even spend more money on food than I did before. Instead of buying massive quantities of health-destroying junk, I buy small quantities of healthy, high-quality food. My cravings have shifted, and I now crave wild salmon, pasture-raised eggs, and spinach instead of fried seafood, waffles, and potatoes.  

Any other details you want to share?   

Dr. Berg’s advice has truly changed my life. Now, at 26, I feel younger, more confident, and healthier than I did when I was 16. I am a more effective and motivated tax accountant, and my concentration has improved. I finally found a partner, and we are in love. I am in the process of starting my own business. None of these great improvements in my life would have been possible without the health-changing guidance and knowledge from Dr. Berg’s daily videos. 

My health is still a work in progress, as I would still like to lose a bit more weight and tone my body, but I know that will come with time. Every day is an improvement, and every improvement is a battle won. I am armed with nutrition and empowered by knowledge that I wouldn’t have without Dr. Berg. I will never stop doing what I can to improve my health. Thank you, Dr. Berg.