A few years ago I was quite overweight. I switched to a keto diet and dropped a quarter of my weight in a year to enter a healthy weight range. I remained on a keto diet for two years and can share my personal experience.

I found long-distance running and cycling rather easy but sprinting and weightlifting caused me to nearly faint. Eventually I had to stop a low-carb diet because it was interfering with my exercise. During this period I also began taking ADHD medication again because I really couldn't focus and complete tasks.

What I think helped with my drastic weight loss was that I had a greater focus on the food and number of calories I was putting into my body. I also partook in intermittent fasting, which prevented me from snacking during periods when I clearly was not hungry. Further, I focused on eating satiating foods, which informed my body that it was full at a much quicker rate. Finally, I fully cut out processed foods and limited my alcohol consumption to moderately on the weekends.

I am skeptical of the low-carb diet itself being the trigger that caused weight-loss. I believe it indirectly taught me good dieting habits because I grew up without those being taught in my household. Ultimately, I came to the conclusion that a keto diet was not sustainable long-term.

After some time, I stopped eating low-carb. As a response to the pandemic, I switched to a pescetarian diet and quickly switched to a vegetarian diet as I don't care for the taste of fish. After a year, I switched to an entirely plant-based diet, which I still follow.

My doctor's visits during this process show incredibly improved blood work. I am as healthy as can be. I am able to exercise with tennis, weightlifting, and cycling without feeling like I am going to faint. I stopped taking my ADHD medication awhile back and haven't felt the need to take it at all; sometimes I exhibit classic symptoms of ADHD that leave my family scratching their heads since I still do have ADHD, but it has not interfered with getting my work done like it used to. My symptoms have been largely reduced for the first time in my life.

Perhaps supplementing B12 while eating plant-based helped. All I can say is I have never felt better in my life. My ADHD is severely less pervasive, and my sleep paralysis has vanished. My level of energy is incredible and has made me a better athlete that can execute bursts of speed impossible a few years ago.

I think switching to eating whole foods, getting more nutrients such as fiber in my diet, and eating more fruits and vegetables has led to a healthier life. I never made extraordinary changes overnight. I slowly transitioned from one diet to the next and ultimately arrived at plant-based after discovering how great I felt and seeing how strong my blood work was. If I could go back and tell myself something, it would be: don't skip the fruit. Carbs are fine. Focus on whole foods with nutrients you need. Eating food is an activity to fuel other activities. Not something you do purely for fun. The key to losing weight and remaining healthy is diligence. Being consistent in rejecting your family member that keeps pushing dessert on you is necessary. You have to accept that you learned to eat food incorrectly, but you can correct your bad habits. It is never too late.

There may be some merit to low-carb diets, but I found I had less than stellar blood work and a scattered mind. I was also consuming meat and dairy at this time, so I never dabbled in a low-carb plant-based diet. That sounds pretty tough though. Adding carbs back into my diet resulted in stronger blood-work and better mental and physical energy.

If anyone is interested in how I initially made the transition to plant-based, I found myself interested in the Mediterranean diet and somehow discovered the Greek Orthodox Lenten fasting schedule (nistisima). I decided to follow it for a few months and other than keeping oil and not eating fish, I continued to follow it full-time. I primarily eat Asian food at home, but I eat a lot of Greek food too.