'I went from veganism to Keto diet and I lost 27kgs'

Everything changed when I got married in 2014. It was wonderful – I had the impression of finally being able to relax, having met someone who would have me. loved for who I was inside, not only outside – but I also lost

My life seemed to me to be a constant celebration – constantly eating out or taking a few Cocktails every night – which was great fun, but not good for my body (or my emotional and mental health)). A lower back injury caused by a car accident at this time also made the workouts painful.

Basically, it was the perfect storm. I slowly fell into a rut – and the thing about the ruts is that one day you wake up and you are there.

Here's the thing: I knew exactly why I was gaining weight – and I still could not stop myself.

Years of pageant coaching have led me to become a kind of health coach for my clients. I would tell them to eat at home, for example, because in this way you can control what goes into your food.

Related: What is the ketogenic diet and should you try?

But the busy schedules my husband and I kept meant that we were eating constantly. (Chips sounds much better than a salad when you're tired and overwhelmed from working a 16-hour day.)

I was also vegan, which did not help me – all that I ate carbohydrates, which made me constantly hungry

When I did not recognize the person who was looking at me in the mirror, I knew I had to change.

My husband loves to take a tropical vacation, and that has made me so unsafe to be on the beach or at the pool in my swimsuit. When someone asked me what I was doing to make a living and that I was answering that I was a pageant coach, they were looking at me, perplexed, all of this being reinforced by the fact that I had to do whatever something different.

go pescatarian. Adding fish to my diet slowly helped my body out of veganism.

After about six months of pescatore diet, I added chicken or beef to the paleo and removed most carbohydrates. After six months, I started to feel better and more focused – but I had lost only a few pounds.

As I had worked so hard to bring meat back into my diet, I decided to give something else. a sudden: the keto diet

My body began to change drastically on the keto diet

A quick primer on the keto diet if you're not familiar with it: It's a rich in fat, low carb, moderate-protein that forces your body into a state of ketosis (where you burn fat instead of carbohydrates).

RELATIVELY: 5 common mistakes made by people in the ketogenic diet

It was hard at first (I had to cut out my beloved starchy carbs, with any sweets), but eventually I had the sway of things and actually started to enjoy it. I lost about 35 pounds in the first six months

Here's what a typical day of the keto diet looks like:

Breakfast: Coffee with butter and butter Grbad ghee with MCT oil
Lunch: a huge salad of arugula, romaine lettuce and greens mixed with goat cheese, caramelized onions, lemon chicken and with rosemary, pecans and a homemade balsamic vinaigrette. : Roasted salmon in crushed pecans crust and Dijon mustard with asparagus topped with truffle oil
Snacks: Keto bark (Lily chocolate mix with walnut oil coconut, crushed macadamia nuts and unsweetened shredded coconut flakes)

Once I started losing weight, I felt comfortable to train myself to new.

I found an amazing orthopedic doctor who sent me to physiotherapy for my back injury and I started receiving cortisone injections. help with my pain

I was able to start training slowly, about three days a week at the gym, doing a mix of light weights and cardio slow but stable. After a few months of that, I lost another 7 kilos.

Keto is not always easy

Sometimes I slip back and I eat something that is not keto-approved – but I do not punish myself. I just think that tomorrow is a new day and I have to start from scratch.

I never feel deprived of keto, which is huge for my happiness. I always make sure to have handy tasty keto snacks: single serving guacamole, cheese, walnut bars, I can even have tasty pork crusts. And while I cook a lot at home, I always make sure to check out the restaurant menus beforehand when I decide to offer myself a dinner.

But it's not just a question of weight loss. a commitment to exercise helped me start putting myself first, which ultimately made me a healthier and happier person.

RELATIVELY: 7 Things That Will Happen to Your Body

This article was originally published in Women's Health US