When Sunny Parker ’s son Jordan called to tell her about his engagement, she was thrilled for him. Yet, she instantly worried for herself. At 368 pounds, Sunny had prediabetes, high blood pressure and a heart condition that meant she was always uncomfortable and often exhausted. Sunny had starved off some weight recently, yet she still struggled to find even plus-size clothes that fit. Please give me enough time to get ready for your wedding, she silently begged as he excitedly shared details of the proposal. She imagined herself at the ceremony and shook her head. Not on Jordan’s happy day! Finally, he mentioned a date a year away. Sunny knew it was time for a change, and once she discovered keto and intermittent fasting, the rest was history. Learn more about how Sunny successfully combined the keto diet and intermittent fasting to lose weight and improve her health.
How Sunny started her weight loss journey
Starting at age 11, Sunny had joined and rejoined Weight Watchers dozens of times. She’d tried umpteen other plans too. She’d be lighter for weeks or months; inevitably, though, she’d begin downing mountains of low-fat cheese, popcorn, whatever “diet” food was on hand. Eventually, she carried 368 pounds on her 5'3" frame. I need to do something different this time, she thought, heading to a bookstore and beelining for the diet section. Scanning titles, it was one “been there, done that” after another—until she hit Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It by Harvard-trained science writer Gary Taubes . She didn’t put the book down for days.
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How Sunny started her keto journey
Sunny read that slashing calories triggers excess hunger, slows metabolism and leaves you so depressed, irritable and tired that eventually you can’t stand it anymore. Yes! Sunny thought. The author said that the real problem wasn’t calories but the insulin we make to manage blood sugar . When our insulin levels go up, we store fat. When they come down, we mobilize fat for fuel. Low-fiber sweets and starches raise blood sugar and insulin the most. I was told those foods would make me thin , Sunny realized. So I wasn’t weak-willed? I just got bad advice?
To find out for sure, Sunny switched to the keto diet Taubes recommends, eating only foods that had little impact on blood sugar and insulin: bacon and eggs, salmon with cream sauce, steak with buttery broccoli. Though she read she might feel tired and headachy for a few days, she felt fine and incredibly full. Still, she found herself wandering aimlessly, peering in empty snack drawers. After years of constant carbs, it was if she’d lost her best friend. Hang in there , she told herself. Then, exactly three weeks after she started, Sunny woke up strangely elated and invigorated. When she headed to her kitchen, she had no desire to peek in the fridge or pantry. “My cravings are completely gone,” she marveled aloud. Down nearly 20 pounds, she was suddenly bursting with hope.
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How keto and intermittent fasting speeds weight loss
As her son’s wedding drew near, Sunny’s progress slowed. Even so, she celebrated 50 pounds lighter at the event. “Losing weight is enjoyable for once,” she marveled to friends. She even got within 40 pounds of her dream weight before life threw a curve ball: A home remodel project went very wrong. For 18 months, she stress-ate low-carb comfort food and regained weight.
When life calmed down, she vowed to get back on track. She heard about The Obesity Code by Jason Fung, MD . Picking up the book, she was again stunned by the science. She’d been told eating every few hours revved metabolism. Nope. “Every time you eat, even if it’s a low-carb meal, insulin rises at least a little,” Dr. Fung explained. “And when insulin is present, you burn no fat.” On top of that, he added, skipping a meal sets off chemical reactions in the body that spike metabolism, increase energy, reduce hunger, even bolster immunity and strength. Wow , Sunny thought.
Sunny decided to give it go. Your hunger really switches off, she thought as she began bumping her breakfast to 10 am, noon, 2 pm. Then she’d have dinner at 7 pm and stop eating for the day. Sometimes she’d eat just one large keto meal daily , other times (after getting her doctor’s okay) she sipped only water all day long.
Eventually, she settled into a pattern of a few fast days a week interspersed with “feast days” that included three keto meals plus a snack. “It turned out to be the miracle I needed,” says Sunny, 63. “It’s like my metabolism got off a slow boat to China and got on a rocket. I thought, ‘Oh, it’s going to stop next week.’ But I kept on losing.”
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Why keto and intermittent fasting work well together
A keto diet slashes intake of foods that turn into blood sugar. With little sugar to use as fuel, the body must turn fat into compounds called ketones to use as alternate fuel. Research published in Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome reveals this may help us burn as much as 7.5 more fat from our bellies, thighs and hips. Plus, as blood sugar drops, so do levels of insulin, a hormone that locks us in fat-storage mode. “The less insulin you make, the more fat you burn,” says Jason Fung, MD. That’s where fasting comes in. Even low-carb meals trigger the release of some insulin. Says Dr. Fung, “To lower insulin as much as possible, keto plus fasting is the ultimate combination!”
What’s more, fasting triggers our bodies to get rid of cellular waste and damaged cells. As a result, metabolism increases, energy amps up “and overall health is rejuvenated,” notes Dr. Fung.
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Sunny now, health restored and 255 pounds slimmer
The benefits went well beyond weight loss too. “My heart condition, atrial fibrillation, didn’t respond to surgery but went away after I started fasting. I got off of eight medications. My prediabetes is gone. Even the skin that sagged after my weight loss is getting visibly tighter!” Now 113 pounds and a size two, Sunny’s maintaining a 255-pound loss. “I’m living proof it’s never too late to turn your life around!”
5-ingredient keto meals to get you started
“A big secret I learned to hurry the scale along is to keep your food simple. Eating a lot of fake sweetener and low-carb bread tends not to work out well. You want to stick to natural options like greens, eggs, meat, olive oil and butter for the fastest progress,” says Sunny, who at one point outgrew plus-size stores and had to sew her own clothes. Now she wears a size two. “I already wore a size 10 in middle school, so I’m now smaller than I was as a preteen!”
Going keto like Sunny did means aiming for 70% of calories from fat, 25% from protein and 5% from carbs as you enjoy simple meals like the options at right. For help with diet math, use the free tracker at CarbManager.com . To seriously amp up her results, Sunny eventually used guidelines in Dr. Fung’s The Obesity Code , to fast a few days a week. Be sure to get a doctor’s okay before following her lead.
Sausage-Kale Soup
Simmer 6 cups broth, 1 lb. browned sausage, 3 cups kale, 2 cups mushrooms and seasoning to taste for at least 1 hour. Makes 4 servings, 6 grams carbs.
Easy Stuffed Peppers
Brown and season 4 oz. ground beef; stuff in seeded pepper with 2 Tbs. cheese. Cover with foil. Bake at 400°F until cheese melts. Makes 1 serving, 3 grams carbs.
Sheet-pan Salmon
On pan, liberally rub 5 oz. salmon and 4 oz. asparagus with olive oil; season. Bake at 325°F until fish is done, 12–15 minutes. Makes 1 serving, 2 grams carbs.
Read more on keto and fasting diets:
How a Mother-Daughter Duo Used Keto Diet Smoothies for Weight Loss
Dr. Will Cole’s Twist on Intermittent Fasting for Weight Loss Helps Burn Fat
Baby Step Keto Helped This Woman Over 50 Lose 176 Pounds: How She Did It
This content is not a substitute for professional medical advice or diagnosis. Always consult your physician before pursuing any treatment plan .
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