Hey!! My name is Maddie and I’m a keto kid! My mom is Texas Granola Girl, my inspiration and the person who helped me start my Keto journey. I wanted to share my story so maybe someone out there won’t feel so alone. My struggle with food and my weight started before I can remember. I was always having weird stomach aches and pains. I craved all kinds of junk food and had no control over my eating. I would often make myself sick from overeating because everything tasted so good and I felt like I had to always clean my plate or had to be feel full all the time. I remember the feeling of being full was so comforting.
In October 2015, I was in the third grade and I went with my class to the school nurse for our wellness checks that they did once a year. The first thing the nurse did was check my weight and I remember the scale read 105 pounds. Unfortunately, I had to stand on the scale in front of my whole class….they were all watching. I remember thinking to myself “Is this normal?” or “Do I weigh too much?”. After I stepped off the scale, I could hear people talking about me. I already had problems with kids making fun of me for my weight…they called me “Maddie Fattie”and this made it so much worse. I was embarrassed, confused and sad. I went home that day in tears and told my mom what happened and what the nurse had said. My Mom cried with me and I remember her telling me I was just perfect the way I was. I didn’t feel perfect. School after was a struggle and pretty much hell.
The next year we moved to a new house and I started in a new school. I was excited to have a new start and get away from being “Maddie Fattie”. I was also excited that one of my best friends was at my new school. I was just starting fourth grade and it was around September that my mom had made a doctors appointment for a wellness exam. So I got called in and the first thing the doctor did was check my weight and I was shocked… my weight had gone up to 135 pounds. I was scared and wondering what was going to happen to me next. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do. I loved food and I didn’t want to give it up.
I remember sitting with my mom and the doctor and the doctor telling me I was overweight and if we don’t change something about the way I was eating, in a few years, I was going to have some very bad health problems. I remember being scared of not being able to eat what I wanted and that I was going to need surgery or medicine. My doctor told me to start by cutting out sugar and “white food” and she talked to me about how to do that. I was sad because I was going to have to give up foods that I loved, but I was also relieved that I didn’t have to take medicine and there was something I could do about it.
After that, I went back to the doctor every three months to see if I was improving and by fifth grade the appointments stopped. I was excited because I knew I was better and was down to 119 pounds. After the appointments stopped and I figured I was better now, so I started eating some of the same foods I had before. When I started eating sugar and all the junk again I got sick. I had stomach pain and would throw up but I kept on eating. By the end of fifth grade I was 145 pounds and I knew I had to do something about it. I had done it before and I knew I could do it again.
At the end of my fifth grade year, we moved to a beautiful ranch in Central Texas. My Mom had been keto for awhile and I saw what it was doing for her and I wondered what it could do for me. So I went to my Mom and asked her to help me. I wanted to be a keto kid and in December of 2017, I went Keto with her. Over the next few months I lost 30 pounds, no more stomach pains and I wasn’t as moody. My skin cleared up and I was just happier. I had more energy, I enjoyed eating and I finally felt in control.
I don’t feel deprived and I know I can still eat the foods I like but now we make healthier versions! I have never felt better than I do now. It’s amazing how eating this way makes such a difference in the way I feel both physically and mentally. If I could go back to myself in the third grade, I’d tell myself that I am enough and don’t let people tell you or make you feel like you’re not. Whether you believe it or not… you’re enough too.
Being keto kid and eating this way has opened my eyes…I still get to eat pizza, cookies, cake, ice cream and the foods I used to love. My mom and I try to take our favorite foods and make them keto friendly so everyone can enjoy them and I’ve gotten to taste test some delicious foods along the way.
Here are my top five favorite keto recipes that we’ve created. Hope you enjoy them as much as I do!
Maddie, you are a very strong and brave young lady. Reading your story reminded me of having the opposite problem with weight but being teased because I was so skinny. Unfortunately it is a similar problem when you are a kid. Kids can be so cruel. But you are so brave to talk about this, and better yet take positive action to change your diet and your life. I wish I knew about keto years ago, I became diabetic and was on insulin which made me gain weight. If I would have not been carb addicted I could have avoided 15 years of insulin weight gain. Stick with the program and follow what your mom does and you will be healthier than your friends and happier because you have control of your future ! Gods blessings.
Thanks so much Joanne!