It has been six years since I first started blogging about keto dieting and intermittent fasting. If you’ve been following my keto posts (I’ve linked them all below for reference) you’ll know I’ve had ups and downs each year since initially losing 42lbs/18kgs back in 2020, with my weight fluctuating between 14-17lbs through winter-gains and summer-dieting losses. If you’ve been following my writing posts and are wondering, what has keto dieting got to do with literary life, then I can tell you, pretty much everything. Staying strictly in ketosis keeps me from getting brain fog, which helps my concentration as a writer, rather than when I eat carbs and have energy swings and crashes.
That’s not to say I don’t have any struggles though. My problem with keeping to a healthy weight comes down to two things: my battle with insulin resistance and difficulty in managing my carb addiction. I’m an emotional eater, particularly during times of stress and/or illness. Pasta, bread, rice and potatoes are my go to comfort foods, and on the junkier side of those foods, crisps and pot noodles are the kind of high-carb things I crave.
2016: benefits of a high metabolism
In my twenties and early thirties, I was effortlessly slim; like a lot of people, I had a high metabolism. If I put on a bit of weight, all I did was eat tuna salads for a few days to get myself back to my target weight. I took my slender build for granted, and I didn’t seriously worry about ever getting overweight; nevermind having insulin resistance.
2018: weight gain and munchies
When I was pregnant, I indulged my sweet tooth with the excuse that I was ‘eating for two’. I put on 18kg/ 42lbs/ 3 stone and kept telling myself the weight would fall off easily after the baby arrived. But only 6kg/ 13lbs came off postpartum, meaning I was still 13kg/ 28lbs heavier than my pre-pregnancy weight.
What had happened? Well, my metabolism had changed. This was either because of postpartum hormones, or simply that I had a slower metabolism in my mid-thirties, or both. I also didn’t help myself by spending 9 months of maternity leave eating biscuits, cake and crisps while using the excuse that I needed extra energy for breastfeeding. The weight kept piling on and I ended up a UK size 18 at my heaviest, with a BMI of 30 (over 30 is clinically obese).
2020: keto diet and intermittent fasting
In 2020 I decided that enough was enough and I began to despair about my weight gain and failing health. I couldn’t run after my then-toddler son because of back and joint pain and my heart raced even just going upstairs. With impending COVID lockdown, I was afraid of gaining even more weight through being sedentary. After researching the quickest way to lose weight, I started a strict keto diet with 16:8 intermittent fasting plan, counting macros on a fat loss app. I lost 1-2 pounds a week, and over the course of 5 months between April 2020 and September 2020, I lost all of the 18kg/ 42lbs/ 3 stone weight gain.
2021 to 2025
As mentioned above, since my initial weight loss in Sept 2020, my weight has fluctuated with winter-gains and summer-losses of 14-17lbs each year. In January 2021 after overindulging during Christmas, a blood test revealed that I was insulin resistance (panic mode) and I began another round of strict keto dieting. This started a pattern of yo-yo dieting and bingeing as I indulged my carb/sugar addiction then panicked at my failing health and crash dieted. This worked for a while, until in April 2025 when my metabolic dysfunction worsened, detected during a hospital visit, and my weight loss plateaued. After hitting the library, I discovered a book which was soon to become my health bible: The Obesity Code. This started me on a journey of OMAD (one meal a day, aka. 24 hour fasting) during summer 2025, and initiated autophagy. The stubborn weight gain began to shift…
New health challenges in 2026
Earlier this year I found myself back in hospital for a new issue related to my metabolic dysfunction. I resorted, once more, to comfort eating carbs during the stress of this, abandoning both keto and intermittent fasting to satisfy my addiction. Of course the insulin resistance returned, along with 14lbs/6 kgs of weight gain. Health panic set in again, of course, and I decided that in order to combat my yo-yoing weight, insulin resistance and metabolic dysfunction, I needed a new action plan for the long term.
My long term health plan: keto, fasting, boxing and weights
Starting in mid-June this year, I have implemented a plan of low carb eating, 24 hour/OMAD fasting 3 times a week and boxing/weights. At the start of July, I ordered a weights bench from Argos, and since I’m off work for seven weeks over July and August, I have been working on a sustainable exercise plan that I can maintain even when I go back to work. I do boxing/cardio on days when I’m fasting and eat a heavy-protein diet on days when I do weights and body-weight/resistance exercises. Already I have noticed a difference in my strength compared to a month ago. I don’t expect that I’ll ever completely control my insulin resistance or carb addiction, but I hope that losing some excess weight will relieve the pressure on my joints, and that building muscle will protect my bones, as well as raise my resting metabolism. Besides, my hubby and son enjoy working out too, so it’s a triple win as we can all spend time together doing family fitness.
One year minimum of no starchy carbs…a tall order?
Will this help me to manage yo-yo weight swings long term? I don’t know. Addiction is tough. My goal is to reach a minimum of one year without starchy carbs – bread, pasta, rice and potatoes – something I haven’t managed to do in the six years since I first started keto, as I always crack and give in to my cravings. The longest I have managed to stick to a strict keto diet is for only six months. If I can manage one year, I’ll then reassess. It’s a tall order. Time will tell. I might have to refer back to this blog post at a later point to keep sight of my goal.
Here’s hoping.
Keto posts by year:
October 2025: Keto diet, intermittent fasting and autophagy
July 2025: Diet books for summer reading
May 2025: Keto diet spring clean time
Dec 2023: It’s a keto Christmas
April 2023: Keto diet, insulin resistance and artificial sweeteners
May 2022: My tips for sticking to a low carb lifestyle
April 2022: Easter eggs – a slippery slope for a sugar addict
Jan 2021: Sugar withdrawal and brain fog – bane for a writer
June 2021: Weight gain and weight loss – my keto journey
May 2021: Surviving sugar addiction – finding life balance
Dec 2020: Happy old year’s night – a round up of all things 2020
April 2020: Lockdown life: Keto diet and writing routine
Leilanie Stewart 
I get you, although at least you have some valid reasons for your weight fluctuations, and good for you in never giving up. I too have yo-yoed all my life, and I’ve never had the pregnancies or the insulin resistance. I’ve tried various diets, and ended with low fat as what works best, but as I’m ageing my metabolism is slowing and I’m largely (!) fighting a losing battle. I’ll keep at it though, although I doubt I’ll ever get into my skinny jeans again. Thanks for your bravery in sharing and all the best with the ongoing battle. 🙂
Thanks Laura, it definitely is a struggle and in my case, acceptance that it will never completely disappear, even with the strictest diet and exercise. I’m allowing myself a few other treats like occasional wine, as I don’t want to take all the joy out of life, lol. Solidarity to you in keeping with your diet too, as I am! 🌞
It’s such a difficult balance, as you say there needs to be some joy in life, otherwise what’s the point? I’ve just binged on kebab and wine this evening, after an interesting and wonderful day, so I felt I deserved it; but boy, will I pay for it later! Best of luck with yours, and don’t stint on the wine! 🙂
Glad you enjoyed your kebab and wine, a great combo. Here’s to celebrating the good moments in life! 🍷😉
Absolutely! 🍷🍷🍷