In today’s interview I get to speak with long-term zero carb diet advocate, Kelly Hogan.
We talk about her personal experience how she finally overcame her excess weight struggles, fixed her fertility problems, plus, other niggling health issues by eating a carnivore diet.
At the start of her carb-elimination journey Kelly weighed over 260 pounds and was trying everything to keep her weight down.
A low carb diet helped bring her weight down, but it was still a challenge to maintain her ideal weight.
With a support of an active online community, and her own experience of feeling her best the less carbs she ate, Kelly finally took the plunge and tried the all-meat diet.
Kelly explains she was able to feel more satiated, quit the gym, keep the weight off long-term and feel better than ever.
Even her monthly cycle, which had stopped previously, had returned!
If you know someone who is interested in learning more about:
- How to maintain a healthy weight and improve their overall health using the zero-carb diet
- How initial weight gain issues that Kelly discovered when going all meat resolved
- Kelly’s experience with eating zero carb diet when pregnant
- How to eat a zero carb diet being a busy mother of three
- What do Kelly’s kids eat
Then this interview is for them.
I enjoyed this interview with Kelly and found her personal story immensely inspiring.
By sharing her experience with a zero-carb diet and the success she has had in massive weight loss and fertility, I hope more people are able to pick up some helpful tips they can implement into their own journeys.
Special thanks to Kelly for joining me on the show.
Enjoy the episode!
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Speaker Links
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Show Notes with Timestamp Links
Find summarised highlights of what we talk about during the interview.
Use the clickable timestamp links to jump direct to those points in the audio file below:
[00:19] – Introducing, Kelly Hogan, a mother of three based in North Carolina who is a very public advocate of the zero-carb diet. Her story is about how she lost nearly 130 pounds to help her achieve a more ideal weight and help resolve long-standing health issues.
[01:34] – Kelly shares her health journey and weight struggles before the low-carb diet. Being on the heavy side throughout her life, she reached 260 pounds when she went to her doctor for help with her boils. He advised her she needed to lose at least 100 pounds and handed her a pamphlet that changed her life.
[07:35] – After losing 80 pounds in the first years she stuck with it for a further five years; eating very low carbs and including some vegetables in her diet. Even though it worked, and she lost 130 pounds it started to be hard work. Restricting calories, working hard at the gym and eating low fat lean meat (she thought she needed to!) stopped her menstrual cycle.
[09:26] – Kelly began googling: How low carb can you go? She uncovered, Vilhjalmur Stefansson, Owsley Stanley, a.k.a. “The Bear,” and Charles Washington, as well as a whole community of people who only eat meat and don’t necessarily work out. She explains how after resting, eating meat and watching her scale go up she almost quit. But her body told her not to; she felt good, and her cycle came back.
[13:55] – At the time of Kelly’s first pregnancy there was not a lot of information available on zero carb diets and pregnancy. Now it is easier to find people like Kelly, Charlene Andersen and Amber O’Hearn sharing their stories.
[14:56] – Some common concerns around fibre and constipation were not an issue. She also experienced no morning sickness and was right on track with her weight gain (with all three of her children).
[18:17] – Kelly’s advice for other women is that fatty meat is important and most importantly, to trust your body. Your body intuitively knows what’s best. Don’t try to force anything, find a cut of meat that you like and reflect on how you feel. (Jordan Peterson and his daughter Mikhaila Peterson both talk about how moods are improved with this diet.)
[21:32] – What does Kelly eat? Meat, eggs, and cheese (but restricts dairy as she gets congestion and is a bit addicted to it). Some people eat one big meal and others spread it out, she tends to eat a pound of meat twice a day. She explains how if she gets hungry she will eat again because she believes in trusting your body.
[24:42] – Gary experimented with a strict carnivore diet and found it really satiates him. What kind of meat do people generally eat on a zero carb diet? Beef and bacon seem to be preferable, but any meat is good.
[27:11] – What about cooking style? Kelly’s husband cooks on the grill, she likes to put it in the oven under the broiler or in the skillet. She explains how she puts no time, thought or energy into food, it is just fuel.
[29:23] – What is the thinking behind eating only raw meat? In Kelly’s experience most people cook their meat, but some people claim they feel better on the raw meat; each to their own. Spices are also acceptable as long as it makes you feel good, but the focus needs to be on the meat. (Dana Spencer from Zero Carb Health doesn’t season at all).
[33:42] – When it comes to beverages some people are very strict and drink water only. But Kelly has coffee. While meat and water are optimal, if you don’t have issues it is ok to keep coffee. Alcohol is also not optimal, but Kelly has a non-sweet drink once a month.
[37:11] – Kelly had her blood work checked and shared the results on her blog; her triglycerides, HDL and ratios are good, but she explains how she tends to focus more on how she feels than obsessing over all the numbers. (Dr Shawn Baker was on previously to talk about blood work)
[40:50] – We discuss the carnivore diet and bone-thinning disease. Kelly has not had her scans done but there are other people who have been sharing their results; at Zero Carb Health one lady saw improvements in her bone health.
[41:58] – Kelly shares how she is raising three children to be low carb. Her children have not had any grains or added sugars and don’t have a sweet tooth. They eat meat, vegetables, eggs, dairy, and certain fruits. She explains the challenges of certain social situations, how she teaches her kids to listen to their body and how she eats out as a carnivore.
[51:41] – From a cost perspective, she explains how choosing certain cuts of meat can be cheaper than eating a regular ‘American’ diet. Her tip is to ask a butcher for the throw away fat trimmings. Kelly reiterates that people should listen to their body; eat when you are hungry as appetite will change day-to-day.
[56:37] – Support places Kelly recommends include a group she admins (Charles Washington is also there) called Zeroing In on Health, and Zero Carb Health. She also has a website myzerocarblife.com where you can email her and read blog posts about pregnancy, blood work and see some before and after pictures. Dr Shawn Baker has also been putting out resources from doctors’ perspectives.
