#46 Katrina Harris – Lost 198 lbs on Keto

Meet Katrina Harris

Katrina has struggled with her weight for most of her life. She struggled her way up to just over 400 pounds and, even when she found Keto, she continued to struggle.

Katrina followed a low carb way of life for years, but not wholeheartedly. She gave herself “permissions.” If it was a holiday, she ate whatever she wanted. If it was a special occasion, she ate whatever she wanted. If it was a vacation, she ate whatever she wanted. If it was a weekend- you guessed it- she ate whatever she wanted. She regularly cycled in-and-out of ketosis, and she struggled.

Everything changed for her on Labor Day weekend of 2014, when she realized she had a sugar addiction and decided to give up all artificial sweeteners. Moderation does not work for an addict, and Katrina knew she was addicted. Once she cut out sweeteners, she noticed that her hunger and cravings were suddenly gone, and the 40 pounds she shed felt like they came off by magic.

When she plateaued in early 2015, she deepened her resolve by adding exercise to her plan. She joined a gym and committed to stop cheating. That made all the difference. Katrina experienced steady and consistent losses during the next year. She worked out, lifting heavy weights with minimal cardio, 5 days a week without fail.

As the weight came off, Katrina discovered she has a little known, generally misdiagnosed, and progressively debilitating fat disorder called lipedema, which affects as many as 17 million women in the USA alone. While little is known about lipedema, it is a condition believed to afflict those with the disorder with a bodily resistance to diet and exercise. “I’m glad I didn’t know about lipedema when I started, because I might have given up and not even tried,” she stated. To date she has lost almost 200 pounds and is getting close to being at goal.

Katrina lives in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband and two teenage daughters. She works from home as a travel agent, specializing in Disney destinations, cruises, and all inclusive resorts, and one day a week she teaches Latin to high school homeschoolers. She is also teaching online Keto classes for those with lipedema through the Lipedema Project.

SHOW NOTES:

• I live in a suburb here in Atlanta
• I have been a Keto for almost 4 years and I have lost a 198 lbs

• The first diet that I was when I was 10 years old
• And I had bee trying just about anything, and I would be successful just a little while and then get myself sidetrack
• The big difference this time is I don’t cheat, ever.
• And it honestly did not occur to me before someone told me, and that someone is Mary Robert
• She said to me that she did not cheat and I just remember saying, “What? How is that possible to do a diet and not cheat?”
• And that is really the change with me
• To finally embrace Keto as a lifestyle and not just a diet
• I have done everything. From weight watcher to Atkins
• But it really wasn’t until Keto that I actually had results and did not cheat anymore
• I can really tell the difference, mentally and physically to be clean all the time and seeing the results
• There was always and excuse, like we are going out to dinner and then in the morning and start over
• Or it was my birthday and it transforms into my birthday week or birthday month
• There was anything became an excuse to cheat
• There was this one time that I told my client that I have lost 70 pounds doing Atkins, and I have done beautifully
• And I still cheat but not very much, and then I went on a cruise and decided that I will just do whatever I want to do, and when I get off the cruise I am going to go back to plan. Except, it took me 5 years to get back on plan
• I gained the 70 pounds back

HOW DID YOU START KETO?

• I used to be a diet coke addict where I would drink 2 liters a day and I got kidney stones
• My neurologist told me that caffeine is one of the markers of having the
• And so, I decided that kidney stones are bad and I will just switch of having water
• I hate water, I am still not a huge fan of water, and so I used to put flavorings in it. I forgot what brand it was, but they stopped making it
• Labor day weekend of 2014 is when I ran out of my stash and that is what I use for day 1
• And when I went sweetener free, that was the game changer for me, because I noticed a week or two that I was not hungry all the time
• And between that and not cheating, to me that was successful
• For 18 months I have no sweeteners. I try to stay away from it

WHAT DOES YOUR DIET LOOKS LIKE?

• I don’t drink coffee. I don’t do the bulletproof coffee or anything like that.
• Right now, I am just having water
• On a normal day. I’ll probably have lunch which would be like leftover
• I eat a lot of avocado, bacon and pork belly
• I do like to cook
• I make all kinds of things.
• I have a deep fryer and I make Keto chicken nuggets sometimes
• I don’t eat a ton of vegetables, but I do eat every once in a while
• I use coconut oil to deep fry
• I make fried shrimp, calamari, mozzarella cheese sticks with Keto breading on it
• It can be a labor intensive because I am cooking for a family of 5
• My family is not Keto. I am the only one that is
• When I first started out, I never even heard the word Keto, and I did not know what I was doing was Keto until later
• So, I never was much of tracker. I never even know what a macro was
• And I was not until probably the year end that I realize, that I am doing is Keto
• And then, I did some tracking just to make sure that I was not high on my protein, and I do that now too
• Last summer, I went like a month of being carnivore and I wanted to make sure that my protein was not really high, so I tracked everyday that month, but normally I am not much of a tracker
• I did not have a change in my weight loss and my gut did not like it for the first 3 weeks, but after that my body got used to it
• I really like meat and I don’t like a lot of vegetables, so it was not that hard
• And I keep thinking to try it again for a longer time to see if it makes a difference
• I am all for self experimentation, you got to find what works for you
  and I do think plants cause issues for some people, and it is worth trying to see a difference
• I would say my ratios now are, I never do 20 grams of carbs and they are total carbs, not net
• As far for the protein and the fat, I would probably say that I am 15% protein and definitely 80% fat

THE BENEFITS

• Keto saved my life
• At 400 lbs, I was not diabetic or pre-diabetic, I did not have high cholesterol, high blood pressure – I had nothing
• What I did have was massive anxiety all the time about how I was going to fit into whatever situation
• I did not go to sporting events because I know stadium seats are too narrow, or any kind of those things because I knew I was not going to fit
• In my other job, I work as a travel agent and my specialty is Disney and I did not go to Disney without have an electric scooter until 2 years ago
• All of that are gone
• I now go to concerts, plays and sporting events all the time now
• I fly 10 fly a year now
• It’s about all these things that are completely different because I don’t have about 200 pounds on me
• There’s two really big things
• On my mom’s side of the family, there is a really strong history of arthritis and I thought I had early arthritis because my joints hurts all the time, my knees hurts, my hips and my back, but no it was not arthritis, it was a lot of inflammation in my body
• So, I don’t have these aches and pains anymore
• For me, I would not say that I have this abundance of nervous energy like I want to clean my house because that is not happening, but sleep is where I find energy
• When I go to sleep, I actually fall asleep very quickly versus before.
  It probably took me an hour or more to unwind to go to sleep
• And then, in the morning I almost always wake up before my alarm goes off, and I wake up ready
• I don’t feel like I need a nap every afternoon, so that’s where my energy comes from and I have good quality sleep now
• I do exercise
• I do heavy lifting, and I started at the gym at 330 lbs, and I lost about 70 lbs in my first 6 months
• I joined the gym and hired a trainer all at the same time, but I am on my own now
• I love doing the leg press
• I can press 550 lbs

ADVICE:

• I would tell a newbie to be simple
• Don’t get all into the recipes
• The simple you are, the better
• Get the sweeteners out of your life
• There are couple of different things that you can do
• One is using flavored coffee
• You can also use the flavored MCT powders or even coconut oil
• You can also add a tiny pinch of salt because that can help with the bitterness
• You can absolute add heavy whipping cream or coconut cream

HOW CAN PEOPLE FIND YOU?

• Facebook: Keto.Katrina
• Instagram: keto.katrina
• ketovangelistcoaching.com/katrina-harris
  

RECIPE FOR THE CHICKEN FINGERS:

Is Stevia healthy?

Find out here → https://www.marksdailyapple.com/stevia/

Pervious episode of Be Well, Be Keto with Mena Freed

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