iDEAL

One more awesome #highfatstory for us to get informed or inspired. This time, we interviewed our creator, Louisa, who's also in love with healthy fats for almost 2 years. This romance led to the birth of Funky Fat Foods and a whole new self. Her life has changed for the best ever since she discovered the power of a fat-fueled life and the fabulous health benefits of dark chocolate. In this chapter, she shares her story, a bit of how her lifestyle's like and a message for Keto beginners.

Ready to get fired up?!

Hi Louisa, let's start by sharing a bit about yourself...

Hi there I'm Louisa Bakker, creator of Funky Fat Foods. Since I can remember, I've always been passionate about health, sports, and nutrition. My parents used to own a health store in Amsterdam and worked on the distribution of different mineral waters from around the world. In our family, we love to talk about food and health. This is something we do constantly (which can sometimes be very annoying to other people, haha)

And how did you get the idea to start Keto Cacao?

Since I've been on Keto, I was missing a tasty low-carb chocolate bar here in Europe. I'm a dark chocolate lover but I got annoyed with the still too high sugar content (like 20% sugar or more in a bar). Besides the sugar, all chocolate bars I had before were also either added with many fillers or with a bad aftertaste from sweeteners. Good taste is very important to me but as well the no bullsh*t ingredients. After I graduated in 2017, I went traveling in South-America. During this trip, I visited many cacao farms and was so intrigued by the beauty of it and also the amazing health benefits. I love dark chocolate but never knew about the tremendous cacao varieties. That's when I decided this is it. I want to bring the best of cacao into the Keto community all around the world. And here we are!

So how did you get into Keto and what has changed for you since you started?

Before Keto, I was already consuming mostly sugar-free but still a lot of carbs from fruits and starchy vegetables. I've tried every so-called 'healthy diet' you can imagine. But I always felt like crap. I never understood why I was constantly having cravings, feeling bloated, experiencing sugar crashes and unstable energy. Looking back, I was afraid of eating too much fat, as they are calorie-dense and back then I believed this would make me gain weight. Yes I know, I had a bad relationship with food.

Now, eating keto-based it completely changed my life. I haven't felt this good in.. forever! I feel more satiated after a meal, I have less body fat, no more sugar crashes, less inflammation, and way more energy + mental clarity. It gives me so much motivation to eat the right nutrition. I can say I'm definitely a different person ever since.

It's amazing how the right diet can change your life completely. What do you think about Keto being seen more as a weight-loss tool than a long-term dietary lifestyle?

Weight-loss is only one of the benefits of this lifestyle. Before eating high-fat, low carb I was obsessed with food. Constantly thinking what my next meal could be. Now I can finally say that I'm eating intuitively. I feel satisfied after a meal. It also balances my hormones which have been a big issue for over many years.

There is a lot of misconception about Keto that people think it's this weird thing. Because honestly, it's not that weird. I mean, eating low-carb, high fat (Keto) is a way we have been eating for so much longer than we've been eating high carb. It's been only a short amount of time since we're started domesticating grains and making that a major part of our diet. So to me, it's like the opposite of weird. The most normal thing you can do is to eat real food. It's about an adequate amount of protein together with a good amount of healthy fats. Truth is that protein and fat is what your body is mainly craving when you're not addicted to carbs.

Which foods you cannot miss in your fridge or pantry?

I never run out of MCT oil/powder at home for my smoothies or morning coffees, also avocado's, pecan nuts, macadamias, coconut oil/avocado oil, fatty fish, leafy greens and eggs. It's so easy to make a quick breakfast or lunch with these main ingredients and it keeps me satisfied and energized for a long time. Besides that, since starting my own chocolate brand I of course regularly have a Keto Cacao bar. It's exactly the snack I need after my workout or a long day at the office.

A lot of people ask if Keto kills social life, like, going out for dinner with your boyfriend or friends becomes a hassle. What's your experience with it?

As I eat Keto my boyfriend kinda just has to eat what I eat. Well, that is at least for dinners. He loves my Keto dinners and when he cooks for us, he makes it Keto as well. He recently started experimenting with Keto recipes to pleasantly surprise me. The other day he made these delicious Keto almond pancakes! Oh my, it was so creamy and a great texture. I will share this recipe soon.

To be honest, I absolutely don't have any problems when we go out for dinner. Basically, in every restaurant, you can find salads, fish or meat on the menu. The only thing is to make sure to ask the sauce on the side (or no sauce) as they tend to have sugars.

How do you keep yourself motivated to stay away from the sugary treats, especially on birthdays and special occasions?

If you have a bit of a sweet tooth like me, don't worry cause there a lot of Keto options for brownies, cakes or cookies. I love using almond flour in my pastries together with some pieces of Keto Cacao. Using already these two ingredients I don't even have to add any natural sweetener to it. It's easy to stay motivated this way because I feel still so good and satiated after eating LCHF pastries. That's really much better than if I go for something that's high carb.

Besides cakes and cookies, what’s your favorite Keto dish?

I'm a dinner kinda girl. But it needs to be a dinner that's substantial. I always make something quick, normally a big salad bowl with lots of olive oil, natural yeast, together with my favorite vegetable Brussel sprouts and add some bacon or fish with it.

What’s the biggest message you would like to share with people interested in following the Ketogenic lifestyle?

Keto for me is not about weight loss, it's about something beneficial for my health. Make sure to eat real food. Consume high-quality fats from whole food, from natural sources. Keto helps lowering inflammation, regulates sex hormones and fat-burning hormones. Also, keep asking questions, do your own research so that you can define an approach what works best for your body. There are different types of Keto diets, and you can try for yourself what works best and what is most sustainable. At least we should understand that a daily dose of good fats and skipping sugar can only offer benefits and do no harm.

If you want to give Keto a try, there may be some threats or ideas that have freaked you out, so much so that you don't think you can make it. But don't let yourself get tricked because there's a lot of myths out there. If you think you can benefit from a lifestyle like this, there are a lot of good resources online (and offline) available that you can go for help and guidance. I always watch videos and read articles from Dr. Berg and Dr. Mercola. There are also professional coaches out there to guide you and to give such advice to make sure you are on the right track. Like Sevi and Lotte, two certified dietitians who are often dropping by our blog to share great tips and knowledge about the lifestyle.

Which is your favorite Keto Cacao bar?

To be honest, I switch up constantly. I have different phases where I consume more than the others flavors. But currently, my favorite bar is the KC dark. I eat it after my workout or add some pieces to my bulletproof coffee in the morning. It has 75% single origin cacao together with MCT oil powder (100% derived from coconuts) together this gives instant energy and that's exactly what I need for a busy day.

Thank you so much, Louisa, for sharing your story.

If you want to share your own journey from carbs to fat with our community, follow us on Instagram and tell your story using #highfatstory or comment below!

Let's make it fatty!

Other blogs you might enjoy:

Keto Journey: Louisa Bakker founder of Funky Fat Foods