I am a long time lurker on ZIOH. Just joined a few weeks ago for real. I have been zero carb for a little over two years. So many changes in my life. I still remember listening to Charles Washington, Kelly Hogan, Jordan and Mikhaila Peterson and Dr Baker on various podcasts early 2018. It took me three months of research to jump in. I was struggling with years of depression and anxiety, joint pain, back pain from degenerative disc disease and general “rage” against the world. I had been addicted to pain killers for almost 10 years because of the pain. I was “forced” to go to rehab by family and friends.

My “rage against the world” was caused by me having issues with the people that made me to go rehab. I was so triggered when for months after rehab, people would say, “don’t you feel so much better that you are off the narcotics?” Ummm, no, I was taking them for a reason.

Man, I just wanted to sleep through the night, I wanted to live a normal life.

The disdain and rage caused me to research. I know we don’t push fasting here, but it led me to zero carb. I found that the longer I went without eating, the less pain I was in. When I ended up eating, the pain would return within an hour to two hours. So, I began to google, “do foods cause inflammation”? That is when my life changed.

I “mentally” ate up anything and everything zero carb. So, now I am grateful for the peeps in my life that MADE me go to rehab. .

I did the vegan thing, joint pain got worse, gut distress and binge eating was out of control. I tried keto, but the carb addiction thing is real, if I ate a piece of low carb “anything” my binge eating would go crazy. I finally settled on zero carb after the Joe Rogan-Dr. Baker podcast.

I cannot tell you how much my life has changed. I sleep through the night, my sleep apnea is gone. (I hadn’t slept in the same bed as my wife for almost 6 years). My depression and anxiety is GONE. My joint pain is gone, my back pain is at a 2 instead of a constant nagging 8. I actually look forward to the future. Just three years ago I remember having “secret” conversations with God saying I was cool if I died because I didn’t want to keep living like this. I didn’t want to kill myself, but I was okay with dying. Seriously, I can’t even comprehend my mindset at the time.

I am so excited that I found this way of eating. Can’t wait to see abs by Christmas. Pic on the left I weighed 300 pounds, on the right, I weigh 191.