Baby Step Keto Helped This Woman Over 50 Lose 176 Pounds: Here’s How You Can Benefit Too

Low-carbohydrate ketogenic diets have helped countless women achieve impressive weight loss and major improvements in their overall health. But for many of us, the prospect of cutting back on comforting carbs is daunting, and we’re not exactly sure where to start. That was true for Krista Simpkins, 51, who learned about keto from a friend and decided to give it a shot. With her baby step keto approach, Krista was able to shed 176 pounds in all, plus heal ailments like prediabetes, high blood pressure and joint pain. Here, read why a baby step keto approach is effective, plus more of Krista’s inspiring story.

What is baby step keto?

To get started on keto, top keto expert and Healthy Keto Plan author Eric Berg, DC, recommends 2–3 meals a day, each one a plate filled with 50% low-carb veggies, 25% protein and 25% fat. Eat just enough to feel comfortably full. “Eating less often and replacing carbs with fat drastically lowers blood sugar and the fattening hormone insulin,” he explains. “You also begin to make ketones from stored and dietary fat. They become your main fuel instead of blood sugar.” Research in the journal Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome shows keto speeds fat burning by 900%, amps up energy and improves countless health woes.

But for a lot of us, lowering carbs by that much is a major change that may take some adjustment. That’s where baby step keto comes in. Instead of flipping the way you eat entirely on its head overnight, you can introduce one change at a time – like removing all the processed food from your diet.

Dr. Berg suggests making one baby step change every two weeks or so. Start by eating one healthy keto meal each day. When that feels comfortable, cut out snacks. Next, add another keto meal; eventually, go full keto. As hunger drops, replace breakfast and lunch with brunch. “Every small step makes your life better,” promises Dr. Berg. And it all adds up to losses of 5, 10, even 15 pounds a week! “I’m with you, and I believe in you.”

Baby step keto success story: Krista Simpkins, 51

“You guys go on. I’ll catch up,” shouted Krista Simpkins, 51, waving her family ahead as she collapsed on a bench. She’d been trying to keep pace with her grandkids at a Florida zoo—but at 315 pounds, sometimes even sitting felt uncomfortable. Her swollen ankles throbbed, her energy long gone. Krista frowned, struggling to catch her breath. In the distance, her loved ones snaked farther and farther away. This is ridiculous, she thought. I should be with them making happy memories. Something has to change. As a faint breeze blew, Krista realized: It’s ME that has to change…

Krista couldn’t remember a time when her weight hadn’t held her back. She’d gone straight from children’s clothes to plus sizes; pounds piled on through every season of her life, leaving her exhausted and achy. “Your blood sugar and blood pressure are dangerously high,” doctors eventually warned. By then, she’d tried dozens of diets. Nothing has ever worked, so odds are nothing ever will, she’d thought—and kept loading up on processed junk. Now she was paying the price. Should she try Weight Watchers a fifth time?

Before she decided, she heard a newly slim acquaintance raving about a “keto” diet. Googling the unfamiliar term, she sat mesmerized as Eric Berg, DC, broke it down on YouTube. He explained that all the carbs we eat spike blood sugar and the hormone insulin. “Excess insulin prevents fat burning,” he said. “If you can’t lose weight, excess insulin is the reason.” Is that why low-cal diets don’t work for me? Krista wondered. “Lowering carbs improves insulin naturally,” Dr. Berg continued. Plus, it prompts the body to make a special fuel called ketones that turbocharge fat burning and energy. Krista felt a flicker of hope.

How Krista got started with baby step keto

Dr. Berg teaches folks to blitz their bodies with insulin-improving strategies, but Krista’s instincts told her it’d be okay to ease in. To start, she gradually got rid of all the sugary, processed foods in her kitchen — the stuff Dr. Berg said was locking fat on her body. That was easy, she thought as she finished.

Her next little step: figuring out the veggie situation. Dr. Berg insisted she needed nutrients from seven cups a day to optimize her results. Krista wrinkled her nose. I’m not forcing myself, she decided. So she watched more videos until she got to one where Dr. Berg suggests sneaking spinach into milkshakes. I can do that! she smiled.

Next up was her first keto grocery list. The internet suggested she make fat bombs, cloud bread, and other strange-sounding things. “Let’s keep it simple,” she said to herself, heading out for basics like cream, butter, salmon, steak, and cheese.

When she felt ready, Krista made her first meal: a cheese omelet. It held her easily until late afternoon, when she had a burger and cautiously sipped her first shake made with greens, heavy cream, water, ice and stevia. Pretty tasty, she thought, relieved. Dinner was steak, deviled eggs and another shake. In mere days, Krista was down 10 pounds. I’m doing it!

Baby step keto results

As Krista settled into keto eating over the course of a couple of months, her appetite shrunk along with her waist. She soon felt ready for her next baby step: skipping breakfast. Dr. Berg says every time we eat anything — even keto fare — we release at least a little insulin. That’s why he suggests no snacks. He’s also a fan of skipping one meal a day. “It turned out to be easy,” shares Krista, who still sipped her morning coffee. “I had zero hunger.” Swelling in her legs went down too. Her body loved her latest baby step!

Energized, Krista began trying new keto recipes. She found creamy casseroles, a version of her favorite Panera soup, even pizza. And she was soon celebrating big milestones: 50, 75, 100 pounds gone. Each time, she bought herself new clothes, thinking, I can’t imagine I’ll get any smaller than this. Yet she continued to shrink. In all, 176 pounds melted away and her health transformed. Two years down the road, Krista has traded her size 26s for 6s. “I’ve lost half my size. I’m smaller now than I was in middle school!”

And though she was once plagued with a laundry list of ailments linked to poor blood-sugar control – prediabetes, high blood pressure, constant back and joint pain, headaches – “Keto fixed it all,” she shares. Krista, now a keto coach, tells everyone about keto: “Just take the first step — honestly, this has seemed so easy!”

Meals for baby step keto

One “baby step” that can make the transition to the keto diet a slimming cinch: finding keto versions of your go-to comfort foods! “You can even do this ahead of time, experimenting to find recipes that really satisfy you,” suggests Dr. Berg. For more of his keto guidelines, tips and recipe ideas, check out DrBerg.com or visit the Dr. Eric Berg, DC channel on YouTube. As always, get your doctor’s okay to try any new weight-loss plan.

Mashed ‘potatoes’

In food processor, blitz 6 cups cooked cauliflower, 2 Tbs. butter, 2 Tbs. cream cheese, 1 Tbs. minced garlic and salt and pepper to taste.

Chocolate cookies

Mix 11⁄4 cups nut butter, 2 eggs, 2⁄3 cup cocoa, 1⁄3 cup Swerve and a pinch of salt. Form 12 balls on lined sheet; flatten. Bake at 350°F, 12 min.

Chicken tenders

Dredge chicken tenders in beaten egg and then a mix of almond flour and spices; pan-fry in coconut oil to cook through, one to two minutes.

Bonus recipe: keto lasagna

This easy, cheesy recipe puts the mmm in slim. Makes 6 servings.

Ingredients:

• 2 zucchinis
• 11⁄2 lbs. ground beef
• 11⁄2 cups no-sugar marinara
• 2 tsp. oregano
• 16 oz. ricotta
• 1 cup mozzarella, shredded
• 1⁄2 cup Parmesan, shredded

Instructions:

1. With veggie peeler, make zucchini ribbons; discard seeds. Salt; set aside.
2. Brown beef; add marinara.
3. Blot zucchini dry.
4. Mix oregano and ricotta.
5. In baking dish, layer half each of meat, zucchini and ricotta. Repeat. Add cheeses.
6. Cover with foil. Bake at 350°F for 30 min. Uncover; broil two to three min.

For more on losing weight with keto, check out these stories:

“I Lost 224 Lbs — More Than Half My Size! — With This Keto Hack That Cured My Cravings”

This article originally appeared in our print magazine.