My Glow Up Story!
 
In the last 3 months I have not only completely changed my relationship with my body, but also dramatically healed my relationship with food!  
 
I have unlocked a major cheat code within my body which allows me to easily stay on track to living my best life without feeling hungry, without cravings and without feeling like I am on a diet!  
 
This is especially important because I had been on a 3 year downward spiral in which I was constantly trying to lose weight but GAINING!!! This weight felt STUCK to me no matter WHAT I did, until I made the below changes!!
 
My Current Results: 
 
First 30 Days: I LOST 15 lbs 
Second Month: I LOST another 5 lbs (20 lbs total)
Third Month: I LOST another 4 lbs (24 lbs total) 
 
Start weight: 171.8
Current weight: 147.8
 
And my body composition keeps changing as I continue this new lifestyle! The best part is, I feel like this is a permanent change as I do not feel deprived, I do not feel like I'm waiting to “finish” or to start eating like I did before! I feel completely FREE and like I made a lasting shift that not only produces fat loss but also improves my overall health!
 
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My story began a few years ago when I originally lost 60 lbs with keto, (see my start photos below!) then over the course of 3 years that weight started creeping back in a painful YO-YO ever since. I would lose 5 lbs then gain 7, lose 7 and gain 10, over and over.
 
It felt like no matter what I did, or how strict keto I was, or how much I fasted this weight kept packing back on.  I felt like I was constantly on a diet but at the same time GAINING weight.
 
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A few months ago I hit my breaking point, I realized something.  If I was going to live the rest of my life on a "diet", constantly feeling bloated and struggling against my body that was not a reality I wanted to experience for myself. 
 
So I decided, if there was a way for me to ditch the diet but stay exactly the same forever I would be happy with that! As long as I didn't gain anymore of the weight back AND I could eat whatever I wanted.
 
Basically I leaned into accepting myself as I was, but didn't want to be on a "diet" anymore.
 
At this same time I decided to test my microbiome to try to get to the bottom of my intense bloating and painful stomach issues I was also experiencing… 
 
The results that came back from my test were SHOCKING, It reveled that the foods I was eating 98% of the time following keto were also the exact foods I SHOULDN'T have been eating for my personal microbiome to thrive,  because of this, my gut bugs were setting war on me, keeping me stalled out no matter what I did, in pain and bloated from production of toxic methane gasses!.  
 
It was an eye opening experience, I tried everything to figure out WHY I wasn't able to move forward with my goals EXCEPT I never thought to look at KETO being the actual issue!
 
This was my realization that I needed to quit keto… 
 
For short term application, keto was a great way for me to get control of my body goals etc and helped me make progress when I needed it at the start, but for a long term lifestyle I needed to switch gears the moment I hit a wall and started regaining the weight, to a more sustainable lifestyle with balance focused around supporting my unique body and microbiome. 
 
I also needed to abandon my false beliefs around carbs making me “fat” and I started doing some additional research in the metabolism and energy balance and started consuming content by PHD's on the topic. 
 
The first month of eating a more flexible lifestyle (September) my goal was to maintain and not gain weight (I know a lot of people who leave keto and put on a ton of weight initially, so it was my goal to avoid that slide backwards)  I achieved that by following the foods flagged by my microbiome to focus on and avoid the foods on my avoid list (a complete list of the foods from my test results are in my Instagram stories) 
 
In this first month I was FINALLY released of all the stomach pains, bloating, cramping and swelling I had been experiencing for YEARS, It is the greatest feeling ever to just not be in pain!. 
 
The second month (Starting October 10, 2022) I decided to combine my new flexible eating lifestyle with the goal of fat loss from what I learned about the metabolism and negative energy balance. 
 
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In just the first few months of OMAD + calorie deficit I have lost an incredible 24 lbs of stuck on weight! AND it keeps going! I no longer feel guilt around food and have healed my relationship with food! I am eating all the carbs and I feel absolutely incredible!! 
 
I have NEVER felt better and it all actually feels effortless.  I do not feel like I'm on a diet and I have never once felt hungry or deprived, I feel like I am working with my body instead of against it and swimming downstream vs. upstream.  
 
I've learned, when my gut bugs are fed the correct foods and feel satisfied, I also feel satisfied!  The gut brain axes is an incredible thing!
 
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Here is a photo of my face changes since switching from keto to eating an abundance of carbs! It is CRAZY to me how quickly my body is responding and though I wasn't trying to lose it this fast, I am excited to be here experiencing this momentum and getting back to my fittest self!
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SO you are probably wondering exactly how I did this, here is my EXACT strategy I followed to build this new lifestyle and achieve my fat loss results (and I am still going!)! 
 
  1. I have NO RULES on food other then following the foods that were flagged by my microbiome to avoid (temporarily!) I do not restrict myself otherwise and because of losing the restriction I no longer feel the urge to overeat on the “cheat meal” foods or snack! I can eat WHATEVER I WANT!  As soon as my microbiome healed, I started craving more whole foods and in month 3 I made a shift towards a more plant based lifestyle, but this came naturally and wasn't forced and I mostly choose these types of foods for the longevity and health promoting benefits but I am as always free to eat whatever I want!
  2. For fat loss, I stay within a calorie deficit and I do not worry about macros or over complicating things! The entire time I have been eating an average of 1,300 calories a day (my goal is to stay between 1,200 calories up to 1,600 calories).  I track my food in an app called Carbon Diet Coach but there are many free apps out there too! I like the Carbon Coach app because it gives me my maintenance level and actively coaches throughout the experience and numbers change as my body changes!
  3. I combined this lifestyle with intermittent fasting and for me I LOVE and thrive on an OMAD routine (one meal a day).  I've found it makes it easier for me to stay within a negative energy balance and to allow complete freedom of the foods I eat within that meal! Also fasting has additional benefits as far as anti-aging and autophagy goes so I wanted to incorporate this into my new lifestyle!  I have been fasting 23 hours of the day and consuming all of my food within a 1 hour eating window! (If I was not fasting but stuck to the same calorie goal I would simply eat 2-3 meals but try not to snack in between to allow plenty of time for insulin to fall)
  4. I stopped working out so intensely and started jumping on a mini trampoline (rebounder) for the lymph drainage and mood boost! I started with 2 minutes at a time and now I can jump up to 30 minutes without issues! This has become addicting and I share all the other benefits of rebounding in my Instagram!  I also lift weights at home to make sure I am maintaining my muscle mass while in a calorie deficit.
  5. While focusing on fat loss I DO NOT drink alcohol, I can add it back in when I hit the point where I will be comfortable maintaining! I found alcohol makes it more difficult to stay within a negative calorie balance so I simply ditched it!
SUPPLIMENTS: 
 
I use a specific strategy of supplements EVERYDAY while fasting to help me boost my results and avoid hunger and cravings. 
 
1. For fasting I use an advanced form of ketones every day and sometimes twice a day If I feel like I need an additional boost! When I drink this in the afternoon it helps me get ahead of cravings, hunger and help me avoid snacking at night. And when I drink this in the morning It helps boost my mood and energy and overall feeling of wellbeing and productivity! It also helps me easily skip breakfast when I drink the ketones in the spot when I used to eat a meal! 
 
If I have the ketone before 4 pm I drink caffeinated and after that I will drink decaf! 
 
I off FREE samples of the technology of ketones I use and I have large variety kits so you can try the different flavors! 
 
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Microbiome Test 
If you are interested in testing your microbiome to find out how your body is responding to the foods you are eating as well as to get a target to follow CLICK HERE!  
 
Save an additional $100 off all intelligence tests with the code ASHLEY
 
If you go with the Health Intelligence test or the full body intellegence it will also break down your cellular data and show exactly what you need to do to improve your rate of aging and it is very comprehensive! It also gives you your real age in comparison to your biological age so you can see if what you are doing is helping you reverse aging or speed it up! 
 
I also recommend adding the custom supplements to this as these will be created for you based on your personal data and what your body may be lacking to help you achieve your peak condition, this is optional and the test alone will give you everything you need, however this is an advanced technology that is in my opinion worth every penny!

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More examples of what I eat in a day can be found in my story highlights in Instagram
 labeled “OMAD”
 
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Thanks for being apart of this journey with me and follow along for updates in Instagram as I continue to reach my goals with this lifestyle! 
Ashley
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