#95 Chris Esquilin – Lost 125 lbs with Keto

Meet Chris:

Show Notes:

ABOUT CHRIS

• I am 30 years old, I live in Charlotte, North Carolina
• I have been on the keto diet for almost 2 years now and I have lost 125 lbs. up to this point
• Before keto, I have actually been over weight for as long as I can remember
• In all throughout school and high school, I just had weight problems and I have tried to go on multiple diets
• I would lose 20 lbs. or 30 lbs. and put it right back on
• Before keto, I have gone up to 350 lbs. and at that point, I just have to make a change

HOW DID YOU FOUND KETO

• I have some friends that kind have been on the paleo community and doing that on and off
• I had found out about Maria and Craig Emmerich through my wife. So, we actually followed a little bit keto for a few years. I was just so skeptical about it
• A few years ago, my younger brother jumped on keto and dropped like 30 lbs.
• And I gave keto a try because it worked on my brother, so that was kind of the start
• I am a huge meat eater and we were going through the stuff that I could not eat, and knew that I can eat bacon, eggs and chicken and it’s good enough for me and I was sold
• My brother started on the keto journey and he inspired us to get started
• My wife also struggled with weight issues and she told me that we will do it together
• We have both tried different diets here and there and we can never get to agree with it
• It was Christmas of 2017 and we started 2 or 3 days afterwards
• The funny thing is, we wanted to start it before New Year’s because I didn’t want it to be another New Year’s resolution
• I am an all or nothing kind of person, so we just jumped into it, cold turkey
• For me, I really did not experience keto flu, but it hit my wife very hard
• It probably kind of very smart to ease it into it, but I want to dive in
• Throughout this journey, I did not count on macros. I was just focusing on the keto foods, keep my carbs as low as I can and figure out the rest
• To be honest, I thought it’s just going to be a 30-day thing
• I remember that 20 lbs. dropped off for the first month and I believed in this and kept it going
• My wife dropped 80 lbs.
• She struggled with a lot of auto-immune, hypothyroid and Hashimoto and I am just amaze that she’s been able to see the results
• After that first 30 days when I saw that results and saw how good I was feeling, I knew that I am on this for life. So, I have no plans to stop anytime
  
  
• I went to the doctor when I hit 350 lbs. and he told me that I am lucky because I am still young, but he tole be too that if won’t change I am going to see some issues
• On my family side, we have a history of high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease and that’s the path I am going down if I won’t make a change

BENEFITS

• I got a lot less of pain from standing up because I work retail
• I have always been in the sports since I was younger. Just even playing volleyball or basketball with friends, I can now actually move and it’s great
• I did not realize until I got older that I always had self-esteem issue and losing weight is now amazing. Just seeing these changes are huge for me
• I can see changes in my confidence and I am feeling great
• A lot of people come up to me and tells me I am looking good which helps me to keep moving forward
  
  
• For probably 2-3 months, it was strictly diet
• Once we started doing the diet I felt great and had more energy, so I started incorporating exercise
• I fell in love with gym and I started that about 2 and half in
• Right now, I am about 225 lbs. and I really want to get down up to 205 lbs.
• But right now, since I have gotten down to this point, I haven’t really been paying attention on the scale, I have just been focusing on body composition and lifting in the gym
• I started really to see some changes. I just want to continue eating healthy
• I just keep on working out, worry a little bit less the scale and just see changes in the mirror and how my clothes fit
• In the beginning, the scale has been helpful and see my progress, but I think one of the traps is that sometimes we can become so obsess with the scale
• I just try not to be caught up on that and work it out being healthy and I know that I will get to my weight goal eventually
  
  
• I did not really have any slips up
• I have heard the terms, moderators and abstainers and I am for sure an abstainer
• I have been really strict of not having any slips up
• My wife has a lot more self-control than I do, but I struggle with that control
• Even though we weren’t tracking macros, one of the things I slow down on was keto desserts
• I definitely transitioned to eat a lot more of whole foods and focus on those
• The longest fasting I have done has really been more like a 18/6 window
• I haven’t really done like a 24 hours or 72 hours, so most of the time it is just like a time restricted
• It’s super nice to not have to eat all the time
• To me, keto has been the natural diet that we have been eating for years because if you will think about it, we never had these foods available all the time
• And I think it is something we take for granted to
  
  
• Definitely one of my favorite meals is bacon and eggs
• I will never get tired of that and I could eat that everyday
• My parent got us an air-fryer for my birthday and that is new favorite thing
• Bun-less burgers are also my thing

WORDS OF WISDOM

• Focus on the stuff that you can have and how amazing it is
• You’re eating real food, vegetables, meat and eggs
• If you focus on the things you can have, you don’t crave carbs when you have gotten rid of it
• Go as long as you can and really commit to it
• If you do, you will definitely see the changes
• You have to make it a lifestyle

HOW CAN PEOPLE FIND YOU

• Instagram: ketochris89

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