I was actually bit by my sister's dog and that seemed to set off a reaction within my body. I had developed on the hand and then I was bit on a really bad rash that no doctor could figure out. I didn't know what else to eat so I started eating steak. I was kind of documenting my journey on Instagram and I would have people say, "You know, maybe you're allergic to gluten, maybe you're allergic to this." And I was like, "No, I've never had any food allergies before, it could not be that." I mean, I feel the best I've ever felt. I used to feel nine months pregnant when I was eating a ton of carbs. You know, I would wake up in the morning and maybe feel good as soon as I woke up but as soon as I would start eating anything, my stomach would feel so bloated. (upbeat music) - Hey, Amanda, welcome. Glad to have you here. You're gonna share a success story with us. I guess we'll get started with just tell us a little bit about your background and where you wanna start. - Sure, I wrote the notes down so I had the right dates on everything 'cause it's been a journey. I've struggled with my weight pretty much my whole life. Even as a child, I remember always being like the bigger one. In February of 2021, I did a mental toughness program and lost a lot of weight. I tracked macros but wasn't really worried about the ingredients and really what I was putting in my body as long as it fit under the protein, fat and carbs, I was pretty happy. I wasn't eating junk food but I wasn't really paying attention to the quality of the food, I guess you could say. And in September of 2021, I was actually bit by my sister's dog. Nothing big but it was enough that it broke the skin and that seemed to set off a reaction within my body. I developed on the hand and then I was bit on a really bad rash that no doctor could figure out. I once my family doctor, I went to a dermatologist and they put me on steroids. I think I had every steroid cream under the sun, antibiotics and nothing would clear it up and it spread down to my leg and that kind of set off a reaction. In May of 2022, I started having really high heart rate. I went to a cardiologist and they did a heart rate monitor on me and it was like your heart rate was almost up to 200 but it wasn't for very long so we're not going to do anything about it. My family doctor had me on anxiety meds and every time I went back, she wanted to add another one and I was like, no, something is not right. And she tested my thyroid, my TFH level but never did a full panel. And looking back now, I should have done more research and known to ask for that. So in June of that year, I had a food sensitivity test done and it came back that I was sensitive to a lot of the foods that I was eating. And after that, I ended up going to more functional doctor 'cause I didn't even know what food to eat at that point. I was told to eliminate dairy and gluten, so I did that but then I was going down the gluten free aisle and filling the card up with everything that had all sorts of fake ingredients, I guess you could say. And to end, I started, I didn't know what else to eat so I started eating steak. I would add in rice but I pretty much ate meat for almost every meal, even for breakfast, I will eat steak. And I was able to come off of all the medication I was put on, my rash totally went away. And I don't know when you want me to stop but that is the quick version of the story. - Okay, so you got some reactive rash secondary to perhaps a dog bite and you had been eating, I guess it's not like a standard diet up to that point and then try to go food free, of course. Most of the gluten free products that are in the store are pretty much kind of garbage anyway. Yeah, there's no food but there's some other called the community that's probably problematic. So you started eating steak just out of, 'cause you couldn't eat anything else or was it, or was there something direct and did you know about the carnivore diet that has been around that for a few years? Do you kind of meditate like that? Would you just discover that in your own? - I actually had, I guess I did leave a little part out that my doctor ended up doing a full thyroid panel and said, you're almost into full Hashimoto's with your levels. And she didn't want to put me on medicine for that. And so she really encouraged me to eliminate the gluten again. And I had followed you for a while and I had a couple people reach out to me on Instagram 'cause I was documenting my journey on Instagram and I would have people say, maybe you're allergic to gluten, maybe you're allergic to this. And I was like, no, I've never had any food allergies before, it could not be that. So that kind of put the idea on my head. I had some people say, maybe you should try carnivore, really helped clear up my thyroid issue or my skin issue. So I think that was probably where I got the idea from. And once I started eating it, I felt so much better. I couldn't imagine going back. And even over the past year and a half, I have had a few times that I don't follow it fully and I feel awful. Like I've gotten to the point, I don't even want to eat other food because it upsets my stomach. - So you said early on that you'd always struggle with your weight, make the chub of your kid and stuff like that, has the diet now, I guess sounds like you've been on a year and a half for a mostly carnivore style? - About a year and a half, yep. - Has that changed kind of the way you think about food or your relationship with food or how do you get nutrition and make any place you want it? - For sure, I now see food. I lift, I guess I didn't really talk about my workouts. My workouts haven't really changed over the past three years. I used walking and lifting to lose a lot of my weight. So my food, I knew it was my issue. And I guess I see food now more of like a fuel to get me through the day and not, I feel sad. So I'm gonna go to the kitchen and eat a bowl of ice cream where I think I ran to food a lot in the past to deal with emotions of having a stressful day. And I've learned how to turn the gym and lifting weights and going for a walk or reading instead of turning to food. - Yeah, it's kind of like you get to your belly rate. So let's go, you go and get the food to feel like something's going to be like you feel by when you're sad or something like that. - Right. - Unfortunately, many people utilize it. You said you'd lost weight walking and lifting weights. And then how did the food make an additional difference in the weight loss or was there any additional changes? - For sure, I don't know in the beginning, I lost like 40 pounds pretty quick. When I started, it was 75 hard that I did. And I went through the phases and I had lost a lot of weight. But once I had the autoimmune issue come into play, I pretty much gained all the weight back, if not more. When I look back at pitchers, even from last February, my body was so inflamed, my waist, everything. So I almost had to re-lose that weight again that I had lost. When I was diagnosed with the thyroid issue, I was pretty much back up to the weight that I had just spent all that time losing. And once I eliminated a lot of, I will have butter, there's some dairy my body can tolerate. But as soon as I start eating the gluten, my body gets super inflamed again. And with that comes the weight gain. - So when you did the 75 hard, it was the two workouts a day and reading a book and somebody came in with all the details. - It is. So I usually start my morning with a walk, a 45 minute walk outside. And I would do as my second workout, I would usually do a strength training workout. - So after doing that, losing a weight, do you think, well, I wonder what drove you towards the hypothyroidism or what caused you to regress in your diet? Why do you, do you think it wasn't something that's sustainable? Is it not sustainable for you to work out every day and eat whatever, I don't know what the 75 hard diet is. I'm not even sure what it is, but I mean, it's exciting. - Yeah, you actually can pick your own diet. It's just supposed to be a clean diet. So I had done micro or macro counting for that. But after having the food sensitivity test done, I think I was eating a lot of food that my body just did not agree with. What were your macro goals when you were doing the macro counting? Was it like certain amount of protein or do you remember what it was? - Yeah, 'cause I haven't done it for almost two years now, but I believe my protein was maybe about 150. This is just me pulling the numbers off my head. Carves might have been about 100. I was definitely eating more carbs than what I am now. And my fat might have been around 50 grams. - Okay, so 150 grams of protein is 600 calories, 50 grams of fat is another 450, so that's 600 calories. And then, 100 grams of carbs, important. So it's like a little over 1,000 calories a day. That's pretty low. Is that really what you're reading about that low? - Yeah, I feel like I said, I haven't really tried. I don't track my food anymore. With eating mostly meat and steak, I get full and I don't really even crave snacks in between. I pretty much eat three meals a day and I don't weigh anything anymore. I eat until I feel full and then the next meal comes. - You take to eat more now on the carnivore than you do on that 75 hard deal. - I definitely consume more protein and fat and probably less carbs. I'd have to weigh it out to see calorie-wise, where I would be. - When you're doing the 75 hard macro counting, will you hungry more? Do you recall why is there a difference in your level of supply to your hunger, do you think? - I think when I eat carbs, I definitely get hungrier faster. - Yeah, I think it's the first thing why people all milked up the coordination. And then it came in. - Yeah, I think even eating likes. Yeah, I just think of, I have two kids and you think of breakfast, the standard American breakfast, a bowl of cereal. And now that I know what I know, that is the worst way to start your day. - Yeah, it's just the history of cereal. I was like I said, I think at some point it was an agricultural waste product and they said, I don't think we put sugar on it, it throws some vitamins, no confetti to humans. Let me, 'cause you said you'd develop Hashimoto's sirenines, the beginning of it. I mean, do they look at, there's certain antibodies they look at, things like TBO or anti-fourer. Were those numbers ever looked at and eliminated? And it has this diet helped it in any way. - They did, they've actually fallen. I was able to lower the antibiotics by a few. I know that's hard to do. So my doctor, I have to, I should have pulled up my insect numbers for blood work. But even after, she has me come back every three months and my numbers drastically improved. Even my hormones were all wacky. My testosterone was really high. My progestrogen was basically nothing. And we were able to eat pretty much even those numbers out, but I go back every three months to have them checked. And there was a point like six months ago, my TSH started to creep up a little and she was like, just make sure you're following what you're supposed to be doing. So the, and I had really not changed anything except my diet for those numbers to. - To come now. - Yeah, to go down. - It was a recent set of those exact studies and there's numbers of thyroid antibodies and saw that low-carb guys would really bring them down. So not surprised. Does your functional doctor know you're in a cardboard eye? No, are they, are they, can I know, right? Is it more than that, or what do you thought? - She does, she does. And she's actually very supportive of it. Another thing, I get that in the beginning say too, I have hereditary high cholesterol. It's a gene mutation in the LDL. My son has it also. He just had genetic testing done. So we know like the exact gene and it's a miscoding on the gene that comes from my mom's side of the family. And a handful of people on my mom's side of the family died pretty young of heart disease and heart attack. So growing up too, I always was told, I remember the low fat, no meat, the cardiologist telling my mom, you shouldn't eat meat, you shouldn't eat cholesterol, don't eat eggs. So I grew up under all that also. So it made me a little nervous when I went to do, I've been on Lipitor since I was 16. And so it did make me a little nervous, adding meat into my diet 'cause it went against everything I was told growing up. And I do still have to take Lipitor to keep my LDL under control. But I know all the stuff you publish, it has about that your LDL really isn't the best predictor for heart disease. So I'm always interested when you post stuff regarding the LDL. But my HDL and triglycerides are the best that they've ever been. - Yeah, it was all probably an independent effect. So some level of degree, depending on who you study or even some of the so-called thing. Do you know, so did the diet impact it? I don't know where you're, 'cause one of the things we see and we seem to think that there's a pretty good quality for us is as people get leaner and leaner, their LDL cholesterol tends to grow up higher based on this so-called Lip and Energy model. It was proposed first by David Feldman and then we studied and looked at it in a number of papers now that as you get leaner and leaner, you have a tendency to grow up higher and higher if you're in cholesterol in an equitable current state. And I don't know if the Lipitor, if you start out relatively overweight, a lot of times it doesn't make an impact. It has no, it could even go down, which is what we sometimes see and I don't know. As your cholesterol changed much from the LDL side to the total side, it's been pretty stunning since you started your diet. - It went up, so I played with my doctor's permission with my medicine 'cause I wanted to see, I'm currently prescribed 80 milligrams, that's what I, when I went to my functional doctor, that's what my family doctor and cardiologist had me, which is the max dose, 80 milligrams and also Zeddia. I had stopped taking the Zeddia and just was doing the Lipitor and I cut it in half and my LDL stayed within a really good range. So it would be 40 milligrams and then I had it done again three months later and I wanted to see what it was not having any Lipitor in my system. And it was, I just looked like 248 without any medicine, just my LDL. I've played, so now she has me back on the 40, I'm actually due to get blood worked on in the next week or two. But I was looking back, sorry, go ahead. - I was gonna say in that extra weight, you would gain back after you're in the 75 heart. Has most of that come back off? Are you back down until we know it really? - Yeah, I'm about five pounds. We were just away and I'm on vacation right now. And so even just with eating out, I know I have a few extra pounds on me right now, but I have gotten most of the weight back off. - Yeah, so it could be that as you get leaner and leaner, you can see how that continued to increase in a little bit of cross fall potential. And then what you have to do about it is you have to continue with the doctor. Or you vacationing in the US or something. - We were at Naples, down in Naples. - Naples, Florida. - Yeah, Naples, Florida. - Yeah, it's pretty good, good, good to choose. - Yeah, lots of seafood. - Lots of seafood, good beaches, yeah. So what about, has there been any downside? Has there been any negatives, any kind of issues if you've had since you started? - I feel the best I've ever felt. I used to feel nine months pregnant when I was eating a ton of carbs. I would wake up in the morning and maybe feel good as soon as I woke up, but as soon as I would start eating anything, my stomach would feel so bloated by the end of the day. I love not feeling like that anymore. And I've even learned with going out to eat. Most restaurants are pretty good now. I feel like 10 years ago, it would have been a lot harder, but I just try to stick with a meat. And then if we go out to eat, maybe to get a side of rice or a side of vegetables or even just to stick to the meat, depending on what restaurant we're at. - Yeah, and what about, I think you said you've got, obviously your husband and a couple kids, I can't remember what I'm filming, yeah. - You know, we have a 10-year-old and a 15-year-old. - Okay, has there, since you made this transition over the last year and a half or so, has there been any impact on the family's dietary practices? - For sure, I am probably the only one that follows the exact diet that I do, but my daughter watches me like a hawk, she'll say to me, does this have protein in it? She knows how to read the back of the label. I actually came home from the gym today and she was back in her room doing a YouTube workout video. So my kids know that I eat meat, I eat steak, and I feel like they definitely, there's times I'm like, oh my gosh, they're watching everything, I do. My son is very active, he's a hockey player and he's 15, so he's into the gym and he has post-workout shakes that he uses, and I can't say he follows the diet exactly, but he likes cars. - We're one of the ones that any kids are watching you and it doesn't matter what you say to them, that's what you actually do in front of them, and I have the exact same impact so probably the most. It's a good job in here and setting, for example, going to the gym and I talk to my kids about them all the time, and it's to the point that they're sick, they know what my response is gonna be in, so sometimes you don't want dads depending, but that's, I think that's not all the kids, but you repeatedly set the example for them, and that's what, this age is when they start laying down their belt patterns and often what they start doing now is what they're gonna do the rest of their life, and so sometimes you steer them away from that ultra process of garbage, which may be over or in college too, and it's really just garbage, I think, in many ways. Even fruit and thyroid disease, you lost weight, you know, I guess you would have just been blown in, this is obviously better, the rash is gone, was the diet, you think the diet was the main contributor including for the rest? - I do, it was crazy, I don't think I sent your team after I emailed, I was like, oh gosh, I know, I have a picture that I have pictures of, like how bad my hands really were, that I sometimes share on Instagram, I can send over, but as soon as I stopped eating, the gluten and dairy, and really started just eating me, my rash immediately cleared up. Every once in a while, especially if we eat out, and I'm not 100% sure what is going into my body, I will get like a little cut, a little, like the start of the rash. So that is the cause and it stinks because my body, that's, I'm gonna have to stick with what I'm doing if I wanna feel good, but it was so strange, it was in the hand where the dog bit, so I never really got a clear answer, but it was almost like I probably had an underlying auto immune issue, and then from what I've read, the, any trauma into the body can set it off, and that's almost what seemed like it happened. - You've gotten like, I said, just a silver lining in the cloud, and it's yeah, if you stray, you bought it it's quickly, but that's something I think. In some ways it helps keep you healthier, 'cause we're like, okay. - It does, it does, it's just annoying every now and then. But yeah, I was upset when it first happened, I was like, oh my gosh, if this dog went a bit me, I wouldn't have these issues, but the more I learned, I was like, it was a blessing in disguise, because it was probably just brewing in my body, so I was glad that I was able to become aware of it, to be able to fix it before something else happened, 'cause what I've read in inflammation, it just leads to disease and in the body, so I was thankful that I was able to correct it before it got full blown. - Yeah, you might have said, thank you for the little dog providing it, and I was kidding, it's, what are you, so you mentioned that you said social media, what is, what do you do on social media, sharing your story, or what's going on in social media? - I do, I always share pictures of the kids and things that we were doing on Facebook, but when I started 75 Hard, I became more active on Instagram, and met up with a lot of people who were doing 75 Hard, and a lot of like-minded people, and I have shared pretty much my fitness, I don't share every aspect of my life, but my fitness, I do share on there, and it's funny, because I'll have people send me pictures. I'm eating steak tonight, I'm thinking of you, that I know I've inspired some other people that were maybe not having the same exact issues of me, but health issues that weren't able to clean up their diet and solve improvement. - What is your account on Instagram that you utilize? - It is A, period, and then fitness journey 82, which is the year I was born. - Is that one word, A, period, P? - Yes, yep. - A, period, P, fitness journey? - A, for Amanda, and then period, and then fitness, fitness journey, or, yeah, fitness. I'm double checking the, yeah, A, fitness journey 82. - So it's A, period, P, period, fitness journey? - Just A, period, and then fitness journey. - Oh, there's no P in there, like this. - Yeah, no P's, all right. - Oh, I was just trying to find you real quick, fitness, or 82. Is that it? A, fitness journey, 52, 82? There you go. All right, I found you on self. There's two things that are going on over there. What has been, have you noticed any other sort of outside of the issues you wanted to correct? I guess that's why you did this arrest, the autoimmune hospital thyroiditis? Any other things that's kind of got better than you didn't expect? Some people will talk about all kinds of weird things, and just the other thing that they've improved, that you didn't expect, can I help her? - I definitely have more energy. My heart rate seemed to heal itself. I think that probably had to do with my thyroid issue. Something I've never, like, ran it by the eye doctor, really, but in the midst of all this, I had gone to the eye doctor for eye floaters that they never really were able to give me. Like, really, your eyes, okay. Sometimes that just happens as you age, but looking back to, I don't have those anymore, so I think that was probably a symptom. Like I said, my eye doctor didn't tell me to change my diet, that it would heal the eye floaters, but I do think that was part of just what was going on within my body, and I am an anxious person. I've struggled with anxiety forever. So I still do deal with some of that, but I feel like it is less. I came off anxiety meds. Every time I went to the doctor, they wanted to add another anxiety med, and I was like, I just stopped taking them cold, talky, and I feel like I'm able to manage that better. - That's amazing, but here's the pill after pill for this whole probably poorly understood condition, and a simple dietary shift is, it was also, that seems to be frustrating, and sometimes a lot of them being, and they're gonna fight out with all these years, of medicines, and suffering, unnecessarily, and otherwise, the condition would have gone better, and unfortunately, we don't have to try now, but. - Yeah, I know a lot of people go through worse, even though I just wanted to make sure I had the dates right when I talked to you, 'cause I knew I'd be nervous, and I wanted to have everything, and I was coming back through, and I was like, gosh, I guess it was only like a year and a half, really, two years that I went through it all, but I know some people go through health stuff even longer, before being able to figure it out, and how frustrating it is. - Well, you said Hershey, Pennsylvania, up to the chocolate capital, I guess, in a way. I can't remember, I think I remember referring to the story of that company of the company. Were you much of a chocolate person living there, or is it something that Hershey saw the chocolate? - Yeah, I mean, I grew up around the year, so we do get a ton of tourists that come, especially in the summertime, for chocolate, there's a place called Chocolate World, that's right next to Hershey Park, which is the amusement park that you can basically buy every product that Hershey makes, and people go crazy in there. I think 'cause I grew up around here, it's not as big of a deal, but there's some restaurants in town, that there's one that has a stake, that has chocolate sauce on it, everything, has chocolate in it, so for the tourists, it's a big deal, for me, it's just where I grew up at. - So, are you grew up there? So, are you, I think your mom was affected by a hyperpolegal, some sort of cholesterol, so you said you didn't defect in a cholesterol receptor, so I was like, "It's even clear," or "I'm imagining," but are you family members still around, like brothers, sisters, parents, and are they still around to see your change? - My mom is alive, she had six brothers, sisters, three of them are not here with us anymore, her dad actually died of a massive heart attack when he was 40 or 41 about my age before I was born, so I did never get to meet him. So, that side of the family, so it is a little scary 'cause there's my aunt passed away in January and she had double bypass surgery, probably around my age, and like I said, my son, who is 15, has been on two cholesterol meds since he was about nine, the cardiologist told me if you don't put him on medicine, he's gonna have a heart attack by the time it's 20. So, I know the family history, but then I also have been researching and advocating. I had a calcium score test done not too long ago and my score was actually zero and my cardiologist was amazed that my score was zero given my family history. So, I've become a little more open. Like I said, I'm cautious because of my family history, but I feel as more research keeps coming out of how bad I hate that my son's on two statins 'cause I see the research of how it's not good to be on them long term forever. - Yeah, and your son is what you said, he's 15 years old, he's something. - He's 15. - What does, when you went on, I guess he's at 816, do you much in how old you are now? - No, I'm 41. - 41, so it was over 25 years ago. Was there, was it known that you had a genetic condition at that time or was it just something to make out later? - No, my mom knew, I guess I'd have to double check with her, but I think one of my grandpa passed away of a massive heart attack that the kids had gotten cholesterol done. And about half of my mom's brothers and sisters had the gene, which I guess it's about a 50/50 shot of being passed down. And so my mom had been followed by a cardiologist for a while, we actually used to go down to John Hopkins down in Baltimore. There was a specialist down there, and I remember going down with my mom, when I was super young, I still have the paperwork of them testing our cholesterol. And my sister's cholesterol was even worse. Her's was like off the chart, like over 400, which is about what my son's is without any medicine. Mine's not quite as bad. So I grew up knowing that I had the cholesterol. And once I was old enough, I was put on meds. And when I got pregnant both times, I did come off of them because you can't be, you know, you can't be, it's not good to be pregnant while taking them. But besides the time I was pregnant, I have been on them. - Yeah, okay, I've seen, so I've seen there's actually a recent article on the concern about women that are pregnant having to come off with the various looking women and drugs. Have you had side effects? Because you mentioned the Zeedia, which is often some people prefer that to look to the statin, your own skin side effect profile. What was the reason? What was the decision to cut the Zeedia and not the Lipitor? Was there a fault on that? - From what I understand, the Zeedia works more in your stomach, and then the statins work through your liver. So they had me on both of them to attack from what I understand, the cholesterol from both ends. So I was just trying to be on the least amount of medicine possible. So I just thought cutting that I know my cholesterol or my liver produces way too much cholesterol. So I was hoping with just doing the Lipitor, it would lower itself. My son's on Prevestat and Zeedia and the Prevestat, and I guess only goes through your liver once. - I'm not a doctor, so I don't know all the technical terms. But from what I understand, that's a little bit easier on your liver than Lipitor. 'Cause they had said when he was older, he would probably have to switch to Lipitor. - Did you experience anything through any side effects that you've developed, that you could think of? 'Cause you don't want to be on it, but I've just shown some people talk about muscle pain. So it seems to slightly increase risk for diabetes, any of those types of things? - I don't have any side effects. I do read about them and later in life, like people developing dementia from it. So that scares me a little, but I don't have any side effects right now from, but I know the leg cramps. I've heard other people say about the muscle, the muscle cramps. - Yeah, I just come to work some of the dementia stuff. There's some studies that point to that, some studies about McDonald's. It's one of those things you don't have for sure, but good to see you have a zero-cax or 41, which is you'd expect that. But again, given that you have a defect in your cholesterol clearance with receptors, I was like, you might be at high risk, but it's facing a conventional thought, but so far turned out pretty good. Are you, so that was your first CAC score. Is this something you'll repeat on a given interval? Did you just do it on your own out of curiosity was a doctor drawing that decision? - My cardiologist recommended that I have it done just to have a baseline. I've had the phallium stress test, and it's been a little while. He actually wanted me to have that repeated, like five years later, but he was pretty happy with my cholesterol, like my numbers over the past several years that he didn't really think it was necessary. So he had recommended the calcium test, and I had to pay out of pocket, but it was only, I think, $99, which was nothing to be able to have that information. I didn't really understand why insurance, it seems like a good baseline for people who are at risk of having heart disease, a pretty non-invasive test to have done. - Yeah, I have some chosen men relatively. I've had one, I think the one I had done was like 150 bucks, but given it today, when you go to the store and you buy, I like a grocery, say you get like a few things at the store and you already got a hundred bucks in, it's holy cow, it's got so expensive. So it's actually becoming a value, I'm surprised, I'm always surprised, I know. You'd mentioned you've been working out the whole time prior to carnivore, and then after, has it changed how your body reacts to working out? Do you feel like you were stronger putting on more muscle, or has it been on the same? - I think it has helped in the gym, I can't say I've noticed like huge changes, but I definitely feel better after my workout. I think my body comp has changed, as I've been able to get leaner, that I think I had, this makes sense, I think I had muscle under there, but it was hiding. So I feel as I've changed my diet and been able to lean out, that I've been able to see more of the work that I've done progress I've made in the gym. - What do you, do you have any, I guess, not that your Hashimoto's is getting better, or not your lost weight, not your wife's not, I bet you're getting healthier. Do you have any thoughts on where you'd like to go with this, and you're still trying to achieve a certain thing physically, or career-wise, or anything like that? - I guess losing, I will say I used to be obsessed about being skinny, and that has changed. I just want to be healthy, I want to be strong, and whatever the number on the scale is, it is. But I would just say, I guess any girl, like I said, wants to lose weight, or to be leaner, but at this point in my life, I just want to be healthy. I feel like I have a few health things against me, and so if I can maintain what I'm doing, and feel good as I age, that's a win in my book. - I know, and you said no one else follows the diet, what's your husband's like? Is he happy, what's going on, or is he getting more meat? It's usually sometimes easier to convince guys to eat more meat, it's not the channel chain that was. - Yeah, I like to think that what I do does influence the family and those around me. It's hard sometimes having no one else really follow the exact diet, but I guess I've gotten to a mindset of this is what works for me, and this is, I don't care what anyone else in the house does, this is what I need to do to feel good, and so I don't mind cooking my own separate food, if that's what I need to do to feel good. - Who, like, even something different, I mean, I do most of the cooking at my house, it's because I'm always out of the grill cooking people's steaks, and my wife certainly likes steaks, and she's pretty much caramel. You traditionally want to do this been in charge of the household nutrition decisions, food decisions, or just every method itself, I think. - I guess it depends on what room, if they're making something that I can have, I'll eat it, but a lot of times they know I'm just gonna eat my own food. They'll make sure the restaurant we're going to has food that I can eat, but there's signs, I'm like, I'm fine just staying home and eating. If the kids want to go someplace that I don't really want to, like, a pizza buffet or something, I'm like, just go, I don't want anyone else to change and not do something because I can't do it. I try to influence the kids as much as I can, and like I said earlier, the kids definitely have picked up on habits, but I also know that their kids and aren't gonna eat completely carnivore and never eat pizza again, so I don't get upset. - I just do me, I mean, actually you can't speak to the whole family, because most of the families don't want to eat more. Is your impression that this is more or less expensive for you to do more? - I would have to say, like you said about the grocery store being so expensive, I don't really buy snacks anymore for me. Like, I really just buy meat. I know a lot of times people say, oh, you're gonna spend more money doing that, but I will buy rice and meat, and that is what I eat. And I think sometimes when we go out to eat, even fast food, you spend so much money that people don't realize, even getting a coffee every day of how all that adds up, that if you cut that out and really just eat carnivore, you're actually saving money in the long end. - Are you, what you can say, was that something that you, is that something, have you ever tried going without it, or is it something you just don't feel anything that you said, or? - I do have some meals that I don't have at my stomach. I guess when I was playing around with what kind of works and what doesn't work with the steak, that rice seems to not blow at me. So if I want something else with the meat, that's usually when I go to, then I'll mix it in together. I do try to stay away from vegetables I have learned to make my stomach. Well, there's some that I can have, but overall, I don't get five servings of vegetables a day, like they recommend. I'll have fruit sometimes, but I don't consume fruit every day either. The rice just seems to, with my digestive system to work, so a lot of times I'll just pair meat with that, if I want something else with it. - Were you somebody that, I don't like vegetables, I never had that. I just got from my mom, my mom came in the town this week, and she was telling my wife, how, as a kid, I would just sit there and feed vegetables. I'd never like, 'cause I don't miss it at all. I forced myself to eat it a little bit when I was older, but I just never ever. Do you miss those things now, or what is your thoughts around me? Do you feel like I'm missing out on anything? I don't know if vegetables are not. If I never really know this for a small life, I don't care. I'm just like, I don't care less about that. - Yeah, I never really hated vegetables, but I guess when I first started cutting all this food out, I did, I'll admit, after I went to, I had the food sensitivity test done, that was the second doctor I was seeing. She was more of a nutritionist before I went to the functional doctor, and she was like, you really need to cut out, like, dairy and gluten. And I was obsessed with these yogurt parfaits, at Chick-fil-A. I don't know if they still have them, but I got them often. And I remember going there after her telling me not to eat any more dairy, and sitting in the parking lot, like crying, eating a yogurt, and not imagining being able to cut all this. I almost seemed impossible. One of my ever gonna eat. But once I started eliminating those foods, and my body felt better, I don't miss it anymore, 'cause I don't miss how it makes me feel, if that makes sense. It did hate at first. Oh, I can't ever have eyes. How am I gonna make it through summer without going to the ice cream shop? And how am I not gonna have this? I threw a little fit at first. I'm not gonna lie to you. I was upset and thought that it was unfair. I was gonna have to eliminate all these foods. But now, it's not worth how I feel, 'cause I've gone back a couple times, and I've had foods that I shouldn't have. And it's just a reminder of how it makes me feel. And I'm like, no, it's not worth it, Amanda. Yeah, fair enough, that's it. And that's, yeah, I think that's the reason. I think I'm feeling good, but I don't care what it tastes like. It's gonna mess you up. That's, yeah, I've come too far. I've lost this weight 20th now. I'm not going back to how I was. It doesn't matter how good the food tastes going down. It's just not worth feeling how I feel afterwards. Well, you mentioned doing a 75R, which obviously getting outside, doing workouts. Have you, like, is there been an overall, entirely, of your lifestyle, sleeping more regularly, not being sedentary? What is, what are the things you need to do? I have to say doing 75R kind of changed my outlook on life. I was one that made excuses a lot. I don't have time, I have two kids. I work full-time, I can't do this. And after doing that program, I had a newfound confidence that I built within myself. A discipline I guess you could say to is another word for it. And I am so thankful that my journey started with 75R and I developed that discipline 'cause I think that's what got me through the health issues. I think if I when I had that discipline, when I was told to change my diet, I would have been like, I can't do this. And also drinking water, during 75R, you have to drink a gallon of water a day. And that's something I struggle with. And I'll admit I did not drink a gallon of water every day, but it has made me cut out. I am a coffee person, so I just still drink coffee. But I cut out. I don't drink any drink that has calories in it. Like, to me, it's just wasted. It's just wasted calories. - You've mentioned working full-time. Is it harder to incorporate this diet at work? Are there co-workers or like, what are you eating for lunch? Or how do you manage your schedule? - I actually work at a residential school. So I actually work where I live. When I'm working, I have a work apartment. And so I guess it's a little bit easier 'cause I'm eating at work. So I can prepare my food and everything there. I don't have to take it with me. And I can go to the bathroom. When I need to go to the bathroom, I know with 75R, some people are like, if I'm drinking all this water, how am I gonna, I'm working? How am I gonna go to the bathroom? So there might have been a little bit of an advantage with my work situation, but I work a lot of hours also. So some days just trying to fit everything into the schedule. I'd be maybe sometimes out walking. I didn't have time to lift during the day, so I'm out doing my second workout as a walk about 11 p.m. And I was gonna last thing I felt like doing. - Okay. Tell you what, anything else you wanna share or about coming to the end of the time here, is there anything else that you missed out or are you left out that you wanna share this? - No, I think we pretty much shared. I just wanted to say if there's anyone out there that is struggling, that it's definitely worth it in the end to figure out what works for you and your diet and exercise to feel good. - Yeah, you have a lot more power over what's going on and then you might believe in changing your diet. Even if something is a quote-unquote crazy as a car or not maybe what's necessary. So thanks for that, Amanda, and I appreciate you sharing your story. And like I said, you're reminding the name of your Instagrams so people can check it out again. - It is a period fitness journey, 82. - A period fitness journey, 82. All right, yes, we'll check that out. All right, thanks for being here.
