Having lost over 80 pounds, which on a 5’1” frame is a gracious amount of weight, I’m now able to do things I simply couldn’t - or wouldn’t attempt - before. For people of normal weight there are everyday experiences and habits, movements and processes that are so mundane as to be out of any kind of consciousness. But for fat folk things can be oh so different.

Today I head westward for a conference in San Diego. A couple of airplanes and terminal changes. No biggie. But from the clothes that I wear to standing in the boarding line to walking through the aisles to my seat to the space I take up, it’s all different. So different. And today’s trip drives that home for me. The last flight I took before starting the ketogenic diet and losing weight was to visit a friend in Chicago. The visit was great. The travel was a misery. I was aware that as I entered the plane and people in their seats looked up as I walked towards them they were thinking ‘please don’t let her sit next to me. She’ll be spilling over the arm rests.’ And they were right. I had trouble enough navigating the aisle, much less shoehorning myself into the seat. And the seat belt? Mortifying. I pretended to have it clasped when the attendant walked by.  But it wasn’t. It didn’t reach around me. I felt like an engorged tick, about to pop. My legs had to dangle. I’m short and my bum and thighs were really padded so my feet didn’t touch the floor. I felt like someone in an inflatable suit, jammed into a kitchen sized trash bin.

That was then.

Today every aspect of my light to San Diego was the opposite of the one to Chicago. I easily made my way through the terminal to the gate, boarded the plane and didn’t get even the first nasty glance from other passengers. One man even smiled at me. And not only did I fit comfortably in the seat - and had to cinch the seat belt to pull it taut enough - but I had room to spare between me and the seat in front of me.  So much that I could cross my legs.

I’ll tell you, of all the mini-milestones I’ve experienced over the course of my weight loss, being able to cross my legs has been one of the most emotional for me. I never tire of doing it.

I never will.

The information I present here is based on my own experiences and personal research. While I’ve been fortunate to have much person-to-person exposure to leading researchers, physicians and journalists regarding the ketogenic specifically and LCHF (low carb/high fat) more generally, we are all responsible for our own choices, including what we put in our mouths. I welcome questions, comments and even civil criticism. I’m still learning. So, i you have something to add, go for it. Thanks!  - Casey