My journey started in March 2020, as soon as my physiotherapist said I was able to start exercising after my injury. In March 2019, I tore my patella tendon away from my kneecap whilst visiting family up in Yorkshire. Needing an operation to re-attach it, spending over a week in hospital afterwards, I looked up ways on the net how to get fitter. Months of rehab followed before being given the all clear roughly a year later.
I was a big guy to begin with, I was 21st before my injury and gained a further 12lbs whilst recovering. I was the original carb fiend; chips, rice, bread, pastries, sweets, and the occasional Guinness or two. I would over indulge most days and going for seconds or thirds were common place, I was fairly active in my job, on my feet most of the time, just as well - if not, I’d be even bigger.
Even though I was looking for ways to get healthier, I wasn’t as serious as I should have been. Then came my ‘no more’ moment. I thought I could smell gas coming from my kitchen, sitting in the front room I got up and sprinted in there to check the cooker. In the kitchen I doubled over, gasping for breath for about 15 seconds. Not sure if it was because I was so unfit or possibly coronavirus, either way it scared me into regaining control and taking positive action into my health.
I came across a few fitness plans online that specialised in keto/lc. Those being Bellyproof and Kinobody. I studied these diligently and learnt about controlling insulin spikes, cortisol, growth hormone, fat breaking and burning to name a few. Terms and approaches to diet and exercise I’ve never heard of before. The whole ‘eat less, move more’, notion is completely out of date compared to the science of today. Coincidentally, as this happened during lockdown I could devote nearly all my free time to it.
Luckily, having some old equipment from my shed I was able to set up a small circuit incorporating the living room and garden. Training fasted, then eating my first meal roughly 3 hours after. Reason being; fatty acids are still floating around and need to be burned, if not could be redistributed back to fat cells so remained active after the session. Losing 36lbs in the first 6 weeks was proof enough that this was more than working for me, and so I further immersed myself into the keto/lc lifestyle. Looking up seminars by Dr. Jason Fung or keto related topics by Thomas Delauer on Youtube (I still do to this day as there is so much to learn), switching between 2 a day meals and Omad depending on how busy my day was, eating between 20grams of carbs to 50 grams of carbs per day, and fasted generally between 18 and 24 hours, some 30 fasts for the greater autophagy results (recycling of cells).
My work colleagues soon noticed by the way my uniform was hanging off me and became unwearable in the weeks that followed. My friend introduced me to the Keto Fitness Club group in June 2020; a fantastic group and great to be amongst like-minded people. Mark and Ella were especially welcoming.
I completed my transformation on 20th Sept 2020, losing 7st and 5lbs, coming from 21st 12lbs to 14st 7 lbs - not having a weight goal in mind, I just wanted to get fit before my 40th birthday in October. I documented my journey on Instagram, my page is called @ketokonneh giving hints, tips, and before and after pictures, as well as inspirational messages to help others going through the same process. This also fuelled my F2FFriday posts, as I thought they could help people on both sites and show that this is definitely the lifestyle to be on.
I’m more l/c to moderate carb these days and maintaining between 14st 7lbs and 15st, having a weekly cheat meal where I could indulge into what I liked, then back on l/c. For the future, looking into online coaching and currently studying for my level 3 PT qualifications alongside my day job. With the hope of launching my own keto/lc fitness program aimed at key workers, busy mums and dads who have limited time so they can get the best results possible.
Thank you for reading and all of your support throughout, hopefully I’ll be able to make Kestival 2022!
