In 2019, I was nearly knocking on death’s door. I was told that I needed to be hooked up to a feeding tube and to remove my colon due to such severe inflammation.
That was my moment of surrender. You see, up until this point, I had been living a ketogenic lifestyle for 15 years (with a few spots of non-keto in between). Keto really helped me during a time when I was bedbound and dealing with non-epileptic seizures from Lyme disease (2017). It was all that I knew to make any difference with the overwhelming symptoms I lived with daily. But here I was, practically digging my own grave. I was involuntarily throwing up due to ulcerative colitis and had blood in my stools. I couldn’t gain weight to save my life.
I was 69 pounds at 5’6 fighting a chronic CDiff infection that almost took my life. I had already taken thirteen rounds of antibiotics and received three fecal transplants, none of which made any difference. CDiff came back with a vengeance every time.
In this moment of desperation, I realized that the ketogenic diet had become an idol in my life. I was trusting it more than God himself. That’s what I knew I needed to surrender.
In that moment of true surrender, a massive weight lifted off of me. I received wisdom and it was like my critical thinking skills started working again! I tried the carnivore diet ONE more time, but this time in a way where I wasn’t drawing inside the lines. I had tried carnivore eight times prior and felt worse each time. I had severe histamine intolerance and eating only beef made me feel horrible. But that’s what everyone and all of the forums kept telling me to do!
This time I didn’t do that. I shared my story with the dietician at the hospital who got me in touch with the chef in the kitchen, who started sending up multiple entries of meat, hard-boiled eggs, and butter which I was hoarding in my room.
I gained four pounds in one week. The bloody stools and vomiting stopped. My blood sugars stabilized and I had no more need for glucagon shots.
Eventually, the doctor visited me to tell me that they didn’t have anything to tell insurance anymore because I was stable. She instructed me to “Go home and do my weird all-meat diet.”
My Results on a Carnivore Diet
So that’s what I did. In two weeks I felt a significant increase in mood and energy. In one year, I reversed (not just put into remission but truly reversed with labs to confirm) every diagnosis and gained 65 health pounds.
Diagnoses Reversed:
- Narcolepsy
- Addisons
- Hashimotos
- Chronic Lyme Disease
- CIRS
- Fibromyalgia
- Central Sensitization Syndrome (common in RA)
- Peripheral Neuropathy
- CREST Scleroderma
- Raynauds
- Celiac
- Ulcerative Colitis
- Delayed onset T1D
- CDIFF
- Gastroparesis
- Diverticulitis
- Slow transit colon
- Ibs
- ADHD
- OCD
- Insomnia
- Depression
- Anxiety
Hope for the Future
Moving forward, I had a backbone now. I knew that I was not alone and I knew that I would somehow make it out of this horrible nightmare.
God provided along the way, and I kept my head down and ate only meat (non-aged lamb, goat, and veal), salt, and water for a year. I earned my health and life coaching certifications in 2020 and have been a full-time health coach since
God has delivered me from so much brokenness, near homelessness, and broken relationships and brought me into a place of abundance where I can serve and help others now along their own healing journey.
I was once told by my doctors that I would never have children (I did not have a cycle for sixteen years) and that I should not expect to live past thirty years old (due to CREST Scleroderma which was rapidly taking over my internal organs, primarily lungs).
I am thriving at 31, and pregnant with a son that my husband and I are so excited to welcome this New Year.
What do I Eat Now?
After one year, I reintroduced egg yolks and butter. I got arthritic symptoms after having butter for 3 days so I took that back out for another 6 months.
After two years I was eating whole eggs, butter, and a little vegetation as garnish (romaine lettuce, cilantro).
At my Spring retreat of 2021, I had my first strawberry slice.
Today, I tolerate so many different foods but with mindfulness for everything that I have learned and using the now functioning intuition that God created me with.
Some things that I never thought I would introduce that I have successfully: Homemade popcorn, homemade sourdough, fruit, tomato sauce/tomatoes, dairy.
I still eat 98% meat every day because I know that is where my bioavailable nutrients come from! That’s what I truly crave.
It has been nice to add in variety but I am totally fine without it. I have no more food addiction or struggles with binge eating. I have total food freedom!
If you would like to learn more about my story, I wrote a book called “My Tailored Journey!” This book was very difficult for me to write because it required me to relive the trauma. But anyway, it was very healing. I believe that it’s very important to share the message of hope. I know that I’m not the only one who has felt completely helpless, hopeless, unseen, unheard, and in the dark.
