I've you've struggled with dieting since you were young or have a history of yo-yo dieting, you'll relate to Nissa Graun (@eatingfatisthenewskinny on Instagram), now 40 years old and a mother of two. Find out how Nissa was able to lose a total of 110 pounds and maintain that weight loss for almost three years.
Nissa told POPSUGAR that she struggled with her weight going up and down since she was 12 and said she lost and regained the same 20 to 50 pounds each year for more than 20 years. At age 12, she was doing low-fat diets, and over the next 20 years, she tried every other diet imaginable. "I never hit a goal weight and was never able to maintain the weight I lost," she said.
While she was struggling with her weight fluctuating, Nissa said she was constantly on calorie-restricted diets. She did 60 to 90 minutes of cardio most days of the week. "Even with all of this exercise, none of the mainstream diets I tried led to permanent results. I was always hungry and felt bad while following them, which caused me to quit and regain all of the weight I lost," Nissa said.
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Nissa's Journey Begins
Image Source: Nissa Graun
After her first pregnancy, at age 34, she found herself 100 pounds more than her ideal weight at 245 pounds. She felt helpless and said, "I realized my health was a mess. As a new mother, it was heartbreaking to have so many health problems like diabetic blood sugar levels, daily headaches, depression, and more, while also being 100 pounds overweight." She struggled for six months postpregnancy to lose weight with her old calorie restriction methods, but the scale wouldn't budge.
She then came across a book that taught her how to improve digestion in order to make following a low-carb diet easier. She added in daily intermittent fasts of 12 to 14 hours to improve her health and speed up weight loss.
After her first pregnancy, Nissa was able to lose 90 pounds in one year. She got pregnant a second time, regained some weight, then lost 65 pounds within eight months.
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Nissa's Diet
Image Source: Nissa Graun
For the first 90 pounds, Nissa followed a low-carb approach, eating no more than 25 grams of carbs with each meal. She added more healthy fats and protein to replace her previous higher-carb meals. She also added intermittent fasting for 12 to 14 hours each day.
In her yo-yo diet days, Nissa typically averaged 1,200 calories while doing 60 to 90 minutes of cardio every day. Once she switched to low-carb, she ate closer to 1,800 calories per day and switched to only three to four fasted 45-minute walks each week. "I had to eat more and exercise less to get the scale to budge," Nissa said.
"When I lost my second round of pregnancy weight, I stepped up my low-carb approach to a keto plan and 16:8 fasting approach for better results," Nissa said. Her macros were typically 30 grams of carbs, 80 grams of protein, and 160+ grams of fat each day. "I worked up to a full 24-hour fast one to two days each week to keep my body guessing. This really helped speed up results," she said. Now, she typically sticks to 16:8 daily.
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What Nissa Eats in a Day
Image Source: Nissa Graun
Here's a typical day of eating for Nissa:
10 a.m.: bulletproof coffee made with 4 ounces of coconut milk, 2 tablespoons of butter, and half an ounce of collagen protein
1 p.m.: turkey and bacon roll-ups made with 4 ounces turkey, 4 slices bacon, 1 ounce ranch dressing, and topped with veggies; 1.5 ounces keto trail mix and one to two homemade minty melt fat bombs
Snacks: "I snack on various fat bombs throughout the day to stay satiated and keep fat high. I probably eat three to six fat bombs daily. The fat bombs I choose include keto cookie dough, chocolate almond butter cups, or minty melts."
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Nissa's Workouts
Image Source: Nissa Graun
During her yo-yo dieting years, Nissa was used to doing 60 to 90 minutes of cardio six to seven days a week. This time around, she quit gym cardio machines and added in three or four 45-minute walks each week. "I eventually added in two 30-minute resistance training workouts to improve my health," Nissa said.
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Nissa's Nonscale Victories
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For decades, Nissa dealt with chronic health symptoms such as anxiety, depression, daily headaches, migraines, and constipation. She was diagnosed with gestational diabetes and still had diabetic blood sugar levels six months postpregnancy.
After following a low-carb plan and adding in 12 to 14 hours of intermittent fasting, Nissa's fasting blood sugar levels were in normal ranges within three to four months. "All of the other health symptoms I dealt with for decades vanished within six months of following this plan," Nissa said.
"I was still wearing XXL maternity clothes at least nine months postpregnancy. I currently wear a size 6 jeans and a small to medium top."
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More Nonscale Victories
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That's not all; Nissa said she now has tons of energy to keep up with her kids. She also has the knowledge to maintain her weight loss for the first time ever and said, "I've easily maintained my weight for almost three years."
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How Nissa Stays Motivated
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Nissa finds it easy to stay motivated with this lifestyle because "keto meals are delicious." She said, "I listen to my body and eat until I'm satisfied, so I never feel deprived."
She added that sticking with a 16:8 intermittent fasting schedule makes life easier since she doesn't have to focus on cooking, preparing, and cleaning up after an entire extra meal every day. "The keto and IF combo saves me time, money, and helps with motivation since I feel so good while following this lifestyle," she said.
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Nissa's Advice
Image Source: Nissa Graun
Nissa said to quit rushing into quick-fix plans that won't last. Focus on making this your lifestyle by allowing your body time to adjust. Start slowly, and add more healthy habits over time.
"I tried to rush into keto plans in the past, and I failed miserably when I had an 'all-or-nothing' mentality. I started with low-carb and 12-hour daily fasts and worked up to a more intense program for better results as I felt ready." Nissa added, "If I tried to rush into my current plan instead of allowing my body time to adjust, I wouldn't have made this into my lifestyle."
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Final Thoughts
Image Source: Nissa Graun
Nissa said that you don't have to get your plan perfect to see results, but you do have to get it going. She said, "Even if you're not 100 percent perfect every day, keep putting in the effort, and you'll see results."
