UPDATE note: I initially wrote this article back in March 2015, 7 months after being diagnosed with a fatty liver. I decided to edit it to add some relevant links and updated information, but the original text remains (mostly) unaltered.
I am back with some great news – especially for me, but also for those who have been diagnosed with a fatty liver and are wondering whether it can be cured or not.
I just came back from my ultrasound appointment and doctor visit and they both said that my fatty liver has improved tremendously, with the doctor saying that it’s looking “almost like a completely healthy liver”. Yay!
This proves that with some research, some additional will power and lifestyle changes here and there, your fatty liver CAN BE REVERSED. And it only took me 7 months to get to here, before getting the official confirmation that my NAFLD was fully reversed.
And trust me that knowing that you can become a healthy individual once again is extremely satisfying. This article is here to give you a bit of inspiration and support based exclusively on my experience reversing it.
How did I do it? How did I reverse fatty liver in seven months?
For those who are not regular readers of this blog, I’ll start by saying that a bit over seven months ago I have been diagnosed with a fatty liver (NAFLD).
It wasn’t very advanced (I was told it’s stage 1.5 – so not really 1, but not 2 either) but it was still a fatty liver.
I also had fat in my pancreas and fat was deposited on my kidneys, while the liver itself was enlarged and fatty. I was feeling miserable overall – tired, grumpy, bloated and much more, all apparently regular symptoms of fatty liver disease.
Since I was close to my 30th birthday and the idea of having the fatty liver evolve into cirrhosis and maybe even worse brought me down to tears, I decided to do everything that I can to for a new chance at living a normal life again. I decided to completely change the way I eat and live and reverse my fatty liver.
I was sure that it’s possible – even though the first doctor I met told me the opposite. Glad I didn’t listen to her!
I knew that the main reason behind me being overweight and having so much fat accumulated in my body was the way I was eating, so I decided to switch to a completely healthy diet.
It was not extremely restrictive, created with moderation in mind, but one that completely eliminated some dangerous foods: I stopped eating fried foods, I stopped drinking alcohol completely and also stopped touching all types of soda, I stopped adding any sugar to my food and kept the carbohydrate intake under control.
I moved to fat-free cooking even though now I am sometimes adding a bit of extra virgin olive oil to my foods but only after they are cooked and I started to notice the results immediately.
Read more about my fatty liver diet here – I strongly recommend it to everybody as it’s pretty obvious that it works!
Losing weight
I started to lose weight instantly and even though it wasn’t the easiest job in the world – I still had cravings and felt a bit hungry at times – it was all worth it.
I also allowed myself to cheat every now and then: not during the first month when I wanted to live a completely healthy life, but afterwards once in two weeks or maybe once per week I allowed myself a small piece of cake or ate a bit more than usual.
Three months later I had my first pizza (vegetarian, because I am no longer eating cold cuts, salami and such) and yesterday I drank half a glass of Coke.
Fortunately, I didn’t like it at all I don’t plan to drink any soda anytime soon. The secret is to stick to your new life plan. The new person you are building. The healthy person. The better one. Yourself 2.0.
Finally, a few months after tackling my bad eating habits, I started going to the gym – three times a week for 60 minutes of cardio exercise only. If you can do it more often, it would be even better!
The exercise itself won’t help you lose much extra weight at this point, but helps to keep you healthy and especially helps with the insulin resistance you might have developed to a lower or higher degree already due to the fatty liver and bad eating habits.
Exercising is a must do when dealing a fatty liver – and something you have to do after you get rid of it. Read more about the best types of exercises to reverse fatty liver here.
You don’t necessarily have to go to the gym although I believe it’s the best way since it gives you extra motivation and helps you create a schedule and stick to it. You can do exercise at home or outside.
But whatever you do, exercise! Aim for at least 30 minutes of additional workout per day, even if that means brisk walking.
When I don’t go to the gym, I simply go out and walk at a brisk pace for 30-60 minutes. For somebody who used to do almost no physical exercise before, that alone is a big improvement.
The idea is to do anything that keeps your body moving and increases your heart rate so you burn extra fat and become more fit.
As pills or supplements, I only took milk thistle and recently started drinking organic green tea: they might or might have not helped, but they certainly did no harm and I see no reason why you shouldn’t try to get any additional help you can.
What were the results of my lifestyle changes?
As I said, my latest ultrasound appointment went extremely well, just like my blood tests did.
I was extremely worried and pessimistic that the doctor would have bad news, but she actually congratulated me and encouraged me to share my story with everybody else suffering from a fatty liver to prove them that it can indeed be fixed.
So here I am doing just that, telling you that you can do it too! You can reverse your fatty liver!
In order to make it a lot easier for you to do that, simply go through the archives of the Fatty Liver Diary website: I share here a ton of useful information about reversing your fatty liver and I am 100% certain that you have all the information you need already published on this blog.
Just go through all the articles, read the titles, see which ones seem like something you could use and read them. They’re all based on my personal experience with reversing fatty liver, as well as countless hours of research!
Alternatively, check out my Just diagnosed? Start Here! article which takes you through the basics (with all the important articles linked there), or get the Reverse Your Fatty Liver book and follow it for a step-by-step guide with plenty of bonuses.
Back to the ultrasound, the doctor found out that my liver was now normal-sized (the left lobe was initially about 1 inch larger and the right lobe about half an inch larger), while a lot of the fat disappeared from my liver – although there was still a noticeable but slight steatosis aka fat in the liver.
You can’t completely heal years of fat accumulation in just a few months, but you can clearly improve that condition a lot and keep on working on it. That’s extremely encouraging!
Also, my pancreas had minimal fat infiltration and had also reduced its size to normal, while the fat on my kidneys was completely gone!
In other words, my body recovered a lot and was on the right track to being as healthy as it was before I started to bombard it with all the extra fat and bad foods and plethora of bad choices.
And knowing that – the fact that your body can heal so quickly if you help it, is something amazing to know and extremely encouraging. Hopefully it’s the push you need to either start or keep on going.
My blood tests also looked a lot better. Even though mine were initially within the normal values, they were towards the top end and really close to being abnormal.
But now, after 7 months, my total cholesterol level was reduced by 12 points, while the high glucose levels started to look a bit better, going down almost 4 points. Everything looked better than before!
In other words, in just 7 months, my body made some incredible recovery and is on the right track to getting healthy. Apart from that amazing news, I also feel a lot better!
Having lost 36.5 pounds during this time also makes me look a lot better and makes me feel so good with myself – also giving me the strength to keep on going and lose the extra 11 pounds required for me to get to my ideal weight and hopefully stick there for as long as possible.
Just to show you the difference it makes, I will share some personal photos that I also shared on the About page. Me before and after:
All in all, even though it’s not the easiest thing on earth, it’s all worth it. Yes, you will miss the crap you enjoyed in the past – I sure did – but truth is that it’s not as difficult as it might seem at first.
The first 2 or 3 weeks will be brutal, but afterwards things will get better and you will no longer crave the bad things you probably will early on.
I was unhealthy, miserable, fat and a complete mess of a person – all built up over the years of poor food choices, lots of stress, no exercise and binge-drinking beer when going out with friends during the weekends.
I almost couldn’t believe it that just 7 months almost brought me back to being a completely healthy person and it proves how much our way of living matters – and gives me the power to keep on going.
Because no lifestyle change is good unless you stick to it. I used to be fat and unhealthy, now I feel amazing and I love it.
And you can do it too. Trust me, it’s a lot easier than you might think it is – so just get it done. Starting now!
I was diagnosed with a fatty liver back in 2014 and managed to reverse it by mid-2015. Since then, I’ve been studying it, continuously updating my knowledge with the latest scientific findings and practical approaches to give others the help they need to reverse their condition.
My approach to managing fatty liver is holistic, balancing scientifically-backed information with real-life, practical advice based on personal, direct experience.
I am also the admin of the Fatty Liver Support Group on Facebook and the Fatty Liver Subreddit.
Great news. I was recently diagnosed (after gallbladder surgery with basically the same thing as you. I have not had anything greasy or red meat in a month. Mostly because everything made me sick. But with my fatty liver scare I am going to continue my clean eating. Glad to find your blog!
I really hope you will find it helpful. Good luck and get healthy!
I was diagnosed with fatty liver disease around 15 years ago. My liver enzymes were always really high. My doctor told me to eat less fat. so I did and nothing changed. Just last year I was diagnosed with type2 diabetes. I adopted a low carb-high fat diet, reversed my diabetes without drugs and completely reversed my fatty liver disease, all in 4 months. There is no longer any trace of inflammation or damage. Sometimes the best way to heal is to ignore what your doctor tells you and do your own research.
Great, inspiring story, Violetta! Thanks for sharing that with us. Did you take any supplements or did something that you think mattered more or it was just the low carb diet that you followed?
I also took milk thistle seeds and burdock & dandelion root infusions. In the past, when I have taken these for my fatty liver, my enzymes came down, but the fat remained in my liver.
Sounds good! Keep it up and you will reverse it soon!
I discovered this page browsing for some fat liver diet recipes and wow, amazing insights. Instantly bookmarked it.
I was diagnosed last week with NAFL after a routine scan ; an intense health scare to me :(. I can totally see myself in your experience ( e.g normal blood tests results) so the diagnosis was a shock. I weighted about 87 kgs ( a bit overweight, ideal weight being around 80)
Changed my diet since the diagnosis, started already to lose weight, and signed up to a gym.
So far it’s great, feeling more energetic, can concentrate better and overall I feel good. Thanks for posting the progress and diets, it’s very motivational. I dream of my next scan ( due in 1 year) to recheck my condition. Hopefully it can be reversed.
cheers,
Catalin
Sticking to the new way of living is the most difficult part here – but it’s your health that matters and I am sure you will. It’s actually a new style of living that you won’t want to revert away from. Good luck and I am sure your next year’s scans will be way better!
I was diagnosed with mild fatty liver disease 3 years ago, and type 2 diabetes with an LDL of 172 and an A1c of 7.2. I also weighed 298. My doctor didn’t give me much hope or advice other than just saying I would need various medications to slow down the disease, but not stop it, and there was no way to reverse it. I started looking up information on the web and learned I needed to lose the weight, exercise daily, reduce the carbs, and add a few supplements like milk thistle and inulin to my diet. I take a lot of inulin. I had to slowly build up to it because my body wasn’t use to that much soluble fiber and the results were rough at first, but my body eventually adapted to it, and now I take at least 15 grams of inulin with each meal. The studies I read seemed to indicate that inulin would help to reverse it, and I think it helped a lot. My latest LDL was 76, my A1c was 5.4, and the doctor said my liver looks back to normal again. I also lost over 60 pounds.
Congrats, Jeff! Well done!
I’m 24 years old and two months ago I was diagnosed with fatty liver and it was a total shock to me! I’m vegan, I have a two year old and I have put on a little bit of weight. I also have fat in the pancreas but the ultrasound tech said she could see my liver and pancreas perfectly. I’ve asked two doctors and one hospital doctor how bad my fatty liver was and they all said “I don’t know” one of them said “I had a patient die of fatty liver” I was completely mistreated and I felt so scared I cried, so I made an appointment with a liver specialist and they won’t be able to see me until March. I’ve been eating so healthy but I’m scared and just want to know that it’s reversable. I have health anxiety so I’m extremely scared 🙁 any advice would be great. Thank you in advance everyone!
Hello Chanel,
I am sorry to hear that you’re going through this, but as my story above proves it (and there are others on this blog who managed to reverse their fatty liver), this is indeed reversible. I too had fat in my pancreas as well, but with diet and exercise you will be able to turn this around.
The most important things for you right now is to eat as little processed food as possible (I am mentioning this because most of the vegan food in supermarkets is highly processed), with NO added sugar (or any other thing that’s actually sugar like glucose, fructose and other “ose” things) and as low fat as possible. Start exercising regularly and you will definitely be able to reverse it.
If you do things right, by March the liver specialist will actually see a difference!
Hi Mate, I was inspired by your blog 3 months back when I was diagonesed with Fatty liver Grade 2 (NASH). NASH was diagonosed purely by Ultrasound as liver was inflamed.
Fast forward 3 months, after losing 18 kgs my LFTs are back to perfect range and from ultrasound they were not able to see any noticeable fat in liver. Still mild hepatomegaly persists. I was told by doctor that I am most likely cured of fatty liver and he asked me to visit him again in 3 months time to see if things are going smoothly as planned. By the way I am from India and usually our foods are rich in carbohydrates, I somehow managed my own diet and was able to reverse my condition.
Diets do play an important role, and I can imagine how difficult it was for you to do this with a rice-rich diet. But things can change and you are a proof that things can be done, no matter how we used to eat. Keep it up!
Thanks a ton mate, ur blog was my goto website when ever i felt down, i was like imagining this can be reversed, meanwhile i am just 33 and having fatty liver (stage 2) really hit me hard, cried @ night, that it should not lead to Cirrhosis, thanks a lot for your blog.
I understand how you feel. I was 30 when I got diagnosed and went through the same stages. But it can be done!
I just found out that I have a fatty liver. I have three questions.
Is nutrisystem diet acceptable? I have been using nutrisystem to lose weight prior to my diagnosis.
Is baby food ok? There a very few ingredients. (Not in large quantity…maybe the apples or strawberries)
I have iron deficiency and I have to take an iron supplement. How detrimental is this?
Thank you.
1. I am not familiar with nutrisystem. Tried checking them out, but apparently they are blocked in Europe.
2. Yes, baby food is OK as long as there are no added sugars and chemicals (they shouldn’t be present in the first place, but you never know).
3. You should continue taking any other medication that you have to take. At the same time, you might want to bring as many healthy foods that are high in iron to your diet in order to be able to stop taking those supplements sooner. But until then, do as the doctors told you and take them.
Thank you! You were very prompt with your reply and it makes me feel better already. God bless you!!!
Is there anywhere on your website that explains why artificial sweeteners are not good for a fatty liver? I had stopped trying to use so much sugar in my coffee and tea several years ago, and I use artificial sweetener. I found out that I had fatty liver about 1 1/2 years ago and wanted to find out what affect the artificial sweetener might be having. I specifically use sweet n low which I know has had bad press for years, but my great-grandmother always used it and she lived to be 94 and had diabetes, so I never payed much attention to the hype.
I actually recommend sugar alternatives on this blog as I use them myself. I prefer to go for those that are considered generally safe, like Stevia, Erythritol and Maltitol. I also use low amounts of raw Honey.