Aaron, the awesome creator of High Fat High Fun YouTube Channel is a 45-year-old husband, a dad to three teenagers, and fondly call himself a weirdo YouTuber. He was pretty clueless about nutrition and yo-yoed with his weight for decades until he discovered the Ketogenic diet in January of 2017. He thought that Keto was just like another diet to try and he wasn’t prepared for just how life-changing it would be.
Aaron shared, “It turned my health around, and changed my life to the point that I started this channel! High Fat High Fun is all about his experience with the keto diet, which is a way of eating that stresses very low carbohydrates, moderate protein, and high fat. Conventional wisdom would tell you that this is a CRAZY way to eat, but science (and my experience) says otherwise. Since starting, I've lost close to 80 lbs., and I've never felt better!”
The awesome transformation of Aaron
Aaron was at his heaviest weight which was 280 pounds when he started Keto. At present, he weighs 193 pounds and feels healthier than ever.
He also shared that he also had setbacks and challenges during his Keto journey. One of his biggest challenges has been overcoming the fear of his high cholesterol. Aaron said, “It’s always been high, even before I started keto. Since people usually see a rise in their cholesterol when they start a keto diet, I thought, “Is this diet going to kill me?” But taking my health into my own hands, doing research about what cholesterol’s role in the body actually is, and getting a calcium scoring test (CAC) really helped to allay a lot of those fears, and helped me realize that cholesterol (particularly for people with low or no arterial calcification) is not the boogeyman that it’s made out to be.”
Aaron's favorite Keto meal grabbed from his Instagram @a.d.keto
Aaron’s favorite Keto go-to meals? He loves the basics, and there’s no doubt about his favorite keto meal: it’s a medium-rare, reverse-seared ribeye. He is also a big fan of breakfast: eggs, bacon, and sausage which make up a huge part of his diet.
When asked about the common mistake he sees other people commit when trying out Keto, Aaron responded, “I think that people can fall into the trap of comparing their results to those of others. While it’s nice to see the numbers on the scale drop in the early going, it doesn’t happen for everyone. Bioindividuality is a thing. What has worked for me may not work for you. So developing a long-term mindset is really the biggest hurdle.”
Number 1: If you’re starting keto because you’re looking to lose weight, don’t worry so much about ‘being in ketosis’, or nailing your macros perfectly every day. The most important thing (and arguably the most difficult step) is getting away from the Standard American Diet, and losing the fear of dietary fat. There’s always time to dial things in and tinker with your macros as you go on. In the early going, I’d just focus on limiting carbs, finding a way of eating that’s sustainable for you, and looking at keto as less of a quick fix, and more of a long-term thing.
Number 2: Supplement with electrolytes! I had some pretty bad leg cramps in the first week or so, which I could have minimized or eliminated completely, had I supplemented with more Potassium, Magnesium, and Sodium.
Number 3: Find your people. Whether it’s in real life or on the internet, having like-minded people in your life makes an enormous difference. I can’t say enough about the keto community on Instagram. It’s an incredibly supportive place, where everyone seems to understand that there’s no ONE way to do keto. I’m incredibly grateful to have made many real-life friends there.