Just a few weeks later, at her first checkup in ages, Traci Howard weighed 315.4 pounds, her blood pressure sky-high. “The skin tags on your neck are a warning sign you have blood-sugar issues,” Dr. Mark said. “We'll run tests, until then, let's change how you eat.” He went within the basics of a “keto” diet, explaining it lowers dangerous and fattening high sugar. Ignoring her doubts, Traci promised, “I'll commit 100 percent.”
So Traci went home and hit the web. She learned that her genes and starch-heavy diet had likely left her with cells so damaged, they might barely get energy from carbs. The majority of what she ate became fat. “No wonder I'm so heavy,” she thought. A keto diet would train her body to fuel itself with fat instead of sugar. “It can't hurt to try,” she thought.
To support her mom around the first day of her new diet, Traci’s daughter Lauren made a cheesy keto chicken casserole. “Delicious,” raved Traci, who at that time had been placed on medications for type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure.
Lauren also made “fat bombs,” high-fat, low-carb candy that kills hunger for hours. Traci sailed through the first day. The next day, she'd eggs and avocado in the morning and headed to operate. Lunch was a cheeseburger without any bun.
Feeling a little run-down, she did a Google search and located her body might need extra electrolytes; she got them from salted nuts and bone broth, which lifted her energy nicely. After nine days, she stepped on the scale. She was down 15 pounds!
In eight weeks, Traci was taken off meds, her diabetes already gone. After decades obsessed with food, she now rarely considered it. When it came time for you to take a long-planned cruise, she ate her fill of prime rib and buttery lobster at the ship's restaurants. “Did I backslide?” she wondered. Not at all. She actually shed 11 more pounds! Simply mind boggling how easy this is since I've figured out what my body system needs, she marveled to herself.
Around the same time frame, a new concern came to her: “I could finally get to a healthy weight, consider I'm past menopause, will I have loose skin?” Again, she considered the internet. Everyone seemed to say that a protein called collagen was key to prevent sagging.
She began going for a supplement and making sure she got lots of collagen-rich foods like poultry and meat. “I could see my skin improving right away, and my hair improved too,” she recalls.
“Eventually I ended the supplements and merely got collagen from my diet. I wasn't eating keto breads, bars or junk. I was eating steak, shrimp, and natural protein.” As she refined her plan, the pounds disappeared faster than ever before – 29 pounds in 24 days, deep into her journey. She shed 75, 100, 150 pounds. Today, Traci, 55, is a whopping 191 pounds lighter.
“Everyone says there's no hope after menopause, but keto can literally reverse the hands of your time. My friend who's 66 lost 17 pounds in three weeks,” Traci shares. “As for me, my blood sugar levels has dropped from 580 to 82. I haven't been sick once since starting keto two years ago. I do not even get headaches. With the collagen I recieve, I do not need surgery on my skin. I'm healthier than I was at 18!”
Go keto, and your body will forgive everything you've done into it through the years, she says, adding: “Age does not matter whatsoever!”
Traci’s Collagen-Boosted Plan
To get slim like Traci, make use of a keto diet (about 70 % of calories from fat, 25 percent from protein, and 5 percent from carbs; free apps like CarbManager.com make tracking easy). To amp up collagen levels, experts suggest incorporating bone broth, chicken and an optional 10 to 15-gram supplement daily. To further rev your collagen production, get plenty of ascorbic acid (from lemon, peppers and tomato), plus copper and zinc (from beef, nuts and seeds). Always obtain a doctor's okay to test any new plan.
Breakfast – Crack eggs into pitted avocado halves; bake at 425 degrees to desired doneness, about 20 minutes. Enjoy with nitrate-free bacon and sliced tomato.
Lunch – Simmer cooked chicken, zucchini noodles, assorted low-carb veggies, fresh lemon juice, olive oil and herbs/spices to taste in chicken bone broth.
