Losing weight takes a lot of time, dedication, and energy. So when we heard that one woman lost 111 without stepping foot inside a gym, we needed to hear her story.
Brittany Wallace struggled with her weight since childhood. In early adulthood, her weight yo-yoed due to her first pregnancy, loss of her 5-week-old baby, and a second pregnancy. Wallace ended up weighing in at 276 pounds after giving birth to her second daughter. It was soon after that her friend turned her on to the ketogenic diet.
The keto diet is one that is used to train one’s body to turn other foods besides carbohydrates into fuel. According to Harvard Health Publishing, the keto diet relies on ketone bodies, a kind of fuel the liver produces from stored fat. This means those on the keto diet must eat a large amount of fats like nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, and protein fats from meat and oils at each meal.
Wallace started the keto diet in 2016 and lost about 70 pounds in under a year. Her weight loss plateaued for a bit, but after recommitting to the diet again, Wallace lost another 40 pounds. Her total weight loss in just over two years and three months is 111 pounds.
The goal is to be healthy, not skinny, Wallace told Women’s Health. And so far, the keto diet has helped her maintain a healthy weight. She eats about 20 grams or less of carbohydrates per day, and although her diet is strict, Wallace notes it’s not restrictive.
Breakfast consists of chia and hempseed pudding. Lunch is a piece of chicken and half an avocado. Dinner contains red meat and steamed veggies. And Wallace snacks on walnuts, dark chocolate (that is 85% cocoa or more), or SmartSweets gummies.
Although Wallace doesn’t usually hit the gym, she makes sure she gets her daily exercise. She walks five miles per day, and partakes in bodyweight and resistance band exercises at home for 45 minutes to an hour five days per week.
But she doesn’t worry too much about her exercise routine, telling Women’s Health, “If I have a lot going on, for example, I don’t feel guilty about cutting down my workout. Health is a priority, of course, but I don’t want my daughter to see me pass up on a meal or consistently sacrifice time or sleep for exercise.”
And even though she’s tracked her progress, Wallace admits that she still has a hard time seeing how much weight she’s really lost. However, her keto diet and self-realization journey is not over. The more comfortable she becomes in her body, the better she’ll feel.
