I need to tell y’all something: I didn’t plan to lose 42 lbs. I planned to survive the day without falling asleep on the kitchen floor.

It was January 2022. I was 35, postpartum with my third baby (Mason was 8 months old), and I weighed more than I ever had in my life. I was exhausted in a way that coffee couldn’t fix. My brain was foggy. My joints ached. And every evening, I was making two dinners — keto for me (which I’d tried and quit three times before) and regular food for Dave and the kids.

Something had to give. And honestly, it was me. I was giving everything to everyone and nothing was left for myself.

The Moment Everything Changed

It wasn’t a dramatic doctor’s appointment or a scary blood test. It was a photo.

Olivia’s 8th birthday. I was in the background of a picture my sister took, and I didn’t recognize myself. Not in a “wow I look different” way — in a “who IS that?” way. I looked swollen, tired, and honestly… sad.

I showed Dave the photo that night after the kids were in bed.

“I don’t even recognize me,” I said.

He was quiet for a minute. Then he said, “I see you. But I know you haven’t felt like yourself in a long time.”

That was it. No big speech. Just the truth. And the next morning, I decided to try keto one more time — but differently this time.

What Was Different This Time

Every other time I’d tried keto, I did it alone. Separate meals. Separate snacks. Hiding in the pantry eating cheese sticks while my family had spaghetti.

This time, I made one rule: I will not cook two dinners.

If the family eats it, I eat it. If I eat it, they eat it. We find meals that work for ALL of us.

That single rule changed everything.

Instead of feeling isolated and resentful, I started experimenting. Could I make keto lasagna with zucchini noodles that the kids would eat? (Yes, with enough cheese.) Could I make chicken Parmesan with pork rind breading that Dave would actually like? (Yes — he prefers it now.) Could I make keto tacos that the kids would inhale? (Yes, with cheese shell cups.)

I stopped thinking “keto for me, regular for them” and started thinking “meals we all eat.”

The First Two Weeks Were Brutal

I’m not going to sugarcoat this (pun intended). The first 10-14 days of keto were hard.

I had the keto flu — headaches, fatigue, irritability. I was snappy with the kids and foggy at work (I was still at my marketing job then). I craved sugar so badly I dreamed about donuts.

But I’d done this before. I knew the flu would pass. I knew that on the other side, I’d feel amazing. And I was right.

Around day 14, something shifted. I woke up and felt… clear. Like someone had wiped a smudgy window. My energy was steady. I wasn’t hangry between meals. I wasn’t craving sweets.

That’s when I knew this time was different.

What I Actually Ate

Here’s the thing — I didn’t do anything fancy. No special products, no complicated recipes. Just real food.

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs with spinach and cheese, or a keto smoothie (almond milk, spinach, avocado, protein powder). Sometimes just bulletproof coffee if I wasn’t hungry.

Lunch: Big salad with grilled chicken, avocado, cheese, and ranch dressing. Or leftovers from dinner.

Dinner: This is where the magic happened. Sheet pan chicken with roasted broccoli. Keto tacos (ground beef with taco seasoning, cheese shell cups, all the toppings). Zucchini lasagna. Pork chops with green beans. Steak fajita bowls.

Snacks: Macadamia nuts, cheese sticks, pepperoni slices, pork rinds. I kept a stash in my purse so I was never caught hungry.

The Weight Started Coming Off

Week 1-2: Lost 5 lbs (mostly water weight — I know this, don’t get too excited).

Week 3-4: Lost 4 more lbs. This is when I started to feel it in my clothes.

Week 5-8: Steady 1.5-2 lbs per week. My face started changing. People at work noticed.

Week 9-12: Down 20 lbs total. I had to buy new jeans. That was a weirdly emotional shopping trip.

Week 13-20: 2 lbs some weeks, 0.5 lbs other weeks. Slower, but still moving in the right direction. I didn’t stress about the scale — I focused on how I felt.

By month 6: 42 lbs gone. I was back to my pre-pregnancy weight. Actually, lower. I hadn’t felt this good in years.

What I Did Differently From Before

  1. I didn’t restrict calories aggressively. I ate until I was satisfied. Keto naturally makes you less hungry — I leaned into that.

  2. I didn’t make keto a separate life. It was part of our family. The kids know what “mom’s keto food” means and they eat it too.

  3. I didn’t quit when I messed up. I had birthday cake at Olivia’s party. I had nachos on vacation. I didn’t spiral. I just ate keto the next meal.

  4. I didn’t try to be perfect. I aimed for “consistently good” not “occasionally perfect.” That shift in mindset is everything.

What I Wish I’d Known From the Start

  • Electrolytes are non-negotiable. Salt, magnesium, potassium. If you feel like garbage in week 1, it’s probably electrolytes. I use these electrolyte packets and they save me every time.

  • Meal prep is the difference between success and failure. If I don’t prep, I grab whatever’s closest — and that’s usually not keto. My Sunday meal prep routine takes 2 hours and saves my entire week.

  • Your kids will surprise you. I assumed my picky eaters would hate everything. Turns out, they love keto pizza, keto chicken tenders, and cheese chips. Don’t underestimate them.

  • The scale is not the only metric. Energy, sleep quality, how your clothes fit, mental clarity — those matter more than the number.

Where I Am Now

It’s been over two years. I’ve kept the weight off. I quit my corporate job to be home with the kids (a luxury I know not everyone has). I started this blog because every week, another mom at school pickup would ask me what I was doing differently.

I’m not a doctor. I’m not a nutritionist. I’m a mom who figured out how to make keto work for a real family with real schedules, real budgets, and real picky eaters.

If you’re where I was — tired, overwhelmed, not recognizing yourself — I want you to know: you can do this. Not perfectly. Not overnight. But you can do it.

Start with one meal. Don’t make two dinners. See what happens.

Love y’all, Sarah 💕

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