iDEAL

“ The energy and mental clarity alone is incredible and I’ve never felt that with any other way of eating or exercise regime I’ve tried”.

For this new High-Fat Story, we have Helen Maria Faliveno, from @hmfyoga. We virtually met Helen via Instagram and since then she's been inspiring us with her content and energy. She is vegan Keto, yoga teacher and often shares some of her recipes and lifestyle on Instagram, Blog, and Youtube channel. In this chapter, she shares how easy being vegan Keto can actually be and how eating LCHF changed her life and yoga practices.

Can you tell everyone a bit about yourself and what you do?

My name is Helen, I’m a yoga teacher based in East London with a passion for health and fitness.

How did you get into Keto? How’s your journey been like?

I heard about Keto through a PT, I did my research and saw that you can do Keto the vegan way too. In the beginning, I found it tricky counting macros etc, but after a year of Keto I no longer track and know roughly what I can have. I love to continually learn about Keto and the way my body reacts to it.

What has changed in your life since you’ve been on Keto?

The energy and mental clarity I now have on Keto is incredible. Before Keto I would be riding sugar highs and lows all day and by my last class of the day I was so tired and never felt like I gave the class my best. Now I have energy all day, my moods are levelled out and also my periods have been a lot less painful than before Keto.

We never heard about this experience with periods before, this is awesome! And how is it to be vegan and Keto? Is it hard to follow as many people say?

At first, I thought it was very limiting, as I lived such a carb and sugar heavy life before. But there are so many people doing vegan keto and sharing recipes and tips, it’s actually so easy! I search on Youtube for recipes (I share my own at www.youtube.com/hmfyoga ), there’s an amazing vegan keto Facebook group you can join and also just browsing on Instagram, you get so many ideas!

What fridge and pantry essentials do you always have on hand to make your lifestyle easy and delicious?

Oh so many things! Almond butter is a must, dipping celery into it is my all time favourite thing. I always have avocados, coconut oil, olives, almonds, dairy-free plain yogurt, cauliflower and edamame spaghetti in the house. I shared some of my favourite vegan Keto snacks on my YouTube too!

We love your youtube channel! Did Keto help you in any way with your yoga practices?

In the initial 3 weeks of going Keto I did lose some body fat (although this wasn’t my main goal) which did make me feel lighter and easier to get into arm balancing poses. I think the general rise in energy has helped me just be more active and actually want to practice yoga more.

Besides all the good stuff, can you tell us any challenges that you face or have faced on Keto? And how did you deal with them?

I do find eating out a challenge, however, when I eat out now, I just see it as a carb-up meal and get back on Keto the next day. I try not to stress about it, as that’s counterproductive. In the beginning, I was eating too many nuts, which gave me digestive issues, but I just cut down on those and introduced Apple Cider Vinegar, magnesium and potassium into the mix.

Nuts are so addictive, we can relate... Now, to wrap it up, what’s the biggest message you would like to share with people interested in the Keto lifestyle?

Do your own research and listen to your body. There will be people that want to slate what you’re doing, but you do you! As I say, the energy and mental clarity alone is incredible and I’ve never felt that with any other way of eating or exercise regime I’ve tried.

Thank you so much, Helen for sharing your story.

If you're curious about what she eats on a vegan Keto diet or other yoga-related videos, follow @hmfyoga on Instagram and subscribe to her youtube channel.

And if you want to share your own journey on a high-fat diet with our community, leave a comment below!

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#highfatstory Yoga Teacher Helen Faliveno