My Keto Journey: How I Restored My Cycle and Energy

A stranger in my own body

For a long time I felt like a stranger in my own body.

I was caught in a frustrating loop of PCOS brain fog, severe afternoon crashes and constant "hangry" irritability. It felt like I was fighting an uphill battle against myself. My natural cycle had vanished completely for over a year, since I started medication before my surgery. I knew something fundamentally had to change, and that real healing wasn't going to come from another crash diet or white-knuckling through hunger.

Even after the surgery, I carried a kind of weight in me: making sure these cysts wouldn't grow back. Because if your hormones are imbalanced and your insulin resistance isn't reversed, your health is still in danger. I've written that surgery out in full, if you want the whole story first.

Eating by the clock, not by hunger

I used to do what everyone else said: three meals a day, protein smoothies, healthy juices. But some days I wasn't eating because I was hungry, I was eating for the clock, because I thought three meals a day was important. The truth is, it isn't.

Finding the root cause

I was determined. No matter how difficult it got, I wanted to find the root cause and actually reverse my symptoms, not just hope for it.

On the 6th of April 2026, I did my first fast. I drank water and green tea for the whole day and didn't eat anything.

That same day I started researching fasting properly: how to do it, the benefits, all of it. I was so curious. I came across Dr. Boz on YouTube, talking about how she healed her mother from cancer with the keto diet. She's followed keto for more than five years, and it's a story that changed my perspective on a lot of things. I encourage you to watch this interview.

From there I found Dr. Eric Berg. If you're new to fasting, his videos are worth watching, especially the one he made on intermittent fasting for women. He has so many informative videos on keto, intermittent fasting, cancer and other health issues, and if you read the comments, there are so many testimonies from people who reversed their diabetes just by watching and changing their lifestyle.

I found his keto diet plan for beginners, which walked through combining fasting with keto, and from there I kept researching on my own: insulin resistance, stress, and how a keto or low-carb diet helps reverse it, along with PCOS and the autoimmune diseases that begin with hormonal imbalance. This became my passion. I started reading multiple books, learning everything I could, and it turned into something I genuinely couldn't stop researching.

Breaking the fast

I fasted for two days. On the second day I had bone broth. That second day was very difficult, I felt so hungry. On the third day I had my first meal, around 12:00pm, and this was it.

That was the beginning of my keto journey. I continued eating low-carb, moderate fat and protein for about two and a half months, and I felt so much better. I started seeing results within that very first month: my weight slowly came down from 76kg to 70kg, the puffiness went away, and so did waking up with a bloated stomach. I had more energy, my mind felt clear with no more brain fog, and my body wasn't sleepy through the day anymore.

Building an environment to heal

The turning point was realising my symptoms were tied to blood sugar instability and insulin resistance. This is really where most hormonal imbalances start. Unstable blood sugar leads to insulin resistance, and insulin resistance is one of the biggest drivers behind PCOS itself, present in roughly 50 to 70 percent of women with the condition, something research backs up. And if you don't take it seriously at that stage, it doesn't just stay where it is. That same insulin resistance is what can eventually lead to prediabetes and type 2 diabetes. My body didn't need restriction, it needed peace and consistency. So I stopped the glucose rollercoaster and built an environment where my hormones could actually heal:

• Hydration first. I started every morning with intentional hydration: warm lemon water with sea salt, cinnamon water, green tea, or ginger-cardamom tea.
• Nourishment over deprivation. Eggs, beef, prawns and poultry, paired with colourful veggies and 1 to 2 tablespoons of healthy cooking fats like ghee, butter and coconut oil, became my daily foundation.
• Outsmarting cravings. Instead of ignoring hunger, I made smart swaps: almond-flour crackers for crunch, homemade lentil bread, and keto desserts enjoyed right after a balanced meal to prevent blood sugar spikes.
• Cycle-synced fasting. Rather than forcing a rigid window every day, I fasted longer (16 to 18 hours) when my energy was high during the first half of my cycle, and dialled it back to gentle 12 to 14 hour fasts the week before my period, to signal safety to my body.

Two and a half months

By two and a half months, the real miracle happened. After more than a year of absence, my natural cycle returned.

There were hard days when my self-control felt thin, and in those moments leaning on God through prayer gave me the patience to trust the slow journey. Seeing my body respond was proof that our bodies know how to heal, when we finally give them the care, fuel and grace they've been asking for. Discipline wasn't a punishment. It became the greatest act of self-care.

How God designed us to eat

Choosing to live the keto lifestyle was the best decision I've ever made. Keto isn't another diet. For me, it's how we're supposed to eat. Once I understood that, everything started to make sense. That's how God designed us to eat.

As someone who used to eat everything without restriction, it isn't an easy choice on some days. But discipline, and doing the best thing for my health, is the choice I make at every meal.

Loosening the reins, a little

After three months of strict keto, I started allowing small amounts of carbs back in. Not in every meal, more like once every two weeks: a little black rice, kurakkan (ragi) roti, sushi, sweet potato, a cutlet. Small portions.

Since I'd already done three months of strict keto, an occasional carb-up meal wasn't going to undo the progress. Ketosis pauses, but the body stays in the right rhythm, and my body can easily go back into ketosis once I continue eating low-carb meals. I learned this from Leanne Vogel's The Keto Diet: The Complete Guide.

Not to mention my low-carb snacks. Snack Studio has made that side of things so much easier, low-carb snacks with clean ingredients that are actually easy to find. I've written a full flavour-by-flavour review of my favourites here.

Five months in, and counting

It's been five months and counting on this journey, and I can't go back. I don't think I will.

My symptoms are reversing, slowly and gently. Even though I got my first period naturally, my second cycle was much longer, so my doctor prescribed Duphaston and Metformin. Duphaston simply helps bring on a period when your body isn't making enough progesterone on its own. Metformin is usually known as a diabetes medication, but it's also commonly given for PCOS because it helps your body respond better to insulin, which is exactly what I'd already been working on through food.

I was happy. I felt confident these medications would only complement my healing, because our bodies take time to heal. I was quite frustrated at first, but then I learned that it takes at least six months to a year of consistent treatment for the body to find its natural rhythm again.

My most recent blood test came back normal. To me, that's a massive improvement.

Where the numbers stand:

Hormone / Test	Your Result	Standard Reference Range	Status
LH (Luteinizing Hormone)	8.00 mIU/mL	Follicular: 1.2–12.7 · Luteal: 0.5–14.6 · Mid-cycle: 15.5–90.0	Normal
FSH (Follicle Stimulating Hormone)	6.12 mIU/mL	Follicular: 2.5–11.4 · Luteal: 1.2–7.0 · Mid-cycle: 3.3–21.7	Normal
Estradiol (E2)	44.31 pg/mL	Follicular: 30.0–150.0 · Luteal: 45.0–250.0	Normal (matches early follicular phase)
Testosterone (Total)	0.63 nmol/L	< 0.24–4.50 nmol/L	Normal
Prolactin	125.26 uIU/mL	51.0–580.0 uIU/mL	Normal
Fasting Insulin	18.16 uIU/mL	1.5–25.0 uIU/mL	Within Lab Range (Higher End)

Still walking it

I am so happy that what I started with such simple ambition is actually working. I am living the process of healing. I still have a long way to go, and I am grateful that I get to wake up every day and make choices for the betterment of my body, my health and my mind. Healing is a gentle journey. It requires a lot of patience, discipline and kindness toward yourself. And when it comes to food, I keep choosing, meal by meal, day by day.

What I do know is that my body is listening again. That blood test was proof of what I'd already started to feel: that real food, discipline and a lot of prayer can genuinely change your body's story. I'm holding onto that. And I will continue to walk this path.

I write about this as someone living it, not as a doctor. Nothing here is medical advice. Please talk to a professional who knows your history before changing anything about your treatment.