Five months ago, I was diagnosed with a NAFLD (non-alcoholic fatty liver disease) and ever since that moment, my life has changed completely and I really feel like I got reborn.
I got extremely scared when the doctor diagnosed me and told me that it’s a bit too soon to have it – I am just 30 years old.
I have then checked the internet to find all the details about this disease and I found out that if you completely ignore it and don’t change your life completely – and forever – worse things can happen.
I have a wife and a 1.5-years old and I want to spend as much time with them as possible, so I’ve decided to do everything that I can to reverse this and stay healthy.
This is how my fatty liver diary started – to help others in the same situation cope with their fatty liver, learn everything that there is to be learned about it and reverse it with the right diet and exercise.
Since starting this blog, I have learned even more about fatty liver and I shared with you some of my opinions regarding the best diet for fatty liver, some breakfast ideas for those suffering of NAFLD, snack ideas and much more.
And I don’t plan to stop here, but I’ve decided to get a bit more personal in this article and share with you my “5 months later” update.
Because I hope that others can follow my example and make the required changes to their lifestyles to turn this around.
Here is how things stand now, 5 months after being diagnosed with a fatty liver:
1. I have lost a lot of weight, mainly from the complete diet overhaul. When I was diagnosed with a NAFLD, my weight was 211 pounds and now I weight 185 lbs.
The recommendations are that you lose at least 10% of your weight to improve your health and fatty liver. My goal is to get to my ideal weight, which is 165 pounds.
I’m in no hurry though – and you should not be either. Take it slow, but keep on working on your weight goal!
And trust me, after losing so much weight, I feel incredible now. I have more energy, I love to look at myself in the mirror and all the compliments from people around me really raise my morale.
Being fat is unhealthy on so many levels. This is the first thing you have to work on and never give up even though it’s not always easy!
2. I haven’t touched alcohol in 5 months. Not even alcohol free beer and I plan to never drink anything again.
I was a social drinker, but I really enjoyed a cold beer during the summer or a glass of whiskey on ice every now and then. I thought it will be really difficult to never touch alcohol in my life, but it’s actually been a lot easier.
I do get some cravings when I see other people drinking, especially when going out, but it’s completely doable and also an extremely important part in your fight against the fatty liver.
3. I started going to the gym, after initially avoiding this because my fat-free diet already had me lose a lot of weight per week, and you don’t want to go too hardcore here.
However, for the past three or four weeks, I haven’t lost much weight – maybe a total of two pounds – so I have decided that it’s time to hit the gym.
It’s not the easiest thing for me since I am not used with it and finding the time to squeeze it in my schedule is also really difficult, but you always have to think about what’s best for your health.
Not to mention that there are some really nice bodies to look at while you are there, and so far I love it and I plan to keep on going to the gym to increase my overall health.
4. I always care about what I eat and when I allow myself to splurge. Even though splurging is not really the correct term, because I won’t allow myself more than a candy every now and then, I decided that it’s best to enjoy at lest some of the things I used to enjoy in the past otherwise I’d feel really miserable.
I was on an extremely strict diet during the first three months, and then I decided to have one day per week when I treat myself with a candy, a piece of cake – and I even ate a pizza once.
After all, it’s all about moderation and a piece of cake per week won’t hurt you that much. Just don’t make that two pieces and then a daily habit!
5. I feel a lot better, overall. Before being diagnosed, I was pretty miserable: tired, grumpy, feeling horrible because I was so fat and I had moments when I was completely exhausted and thought I have to sleep three for three days in a row to get my strength back.
Now, after switching to a healthy diet, losing weight and improving my condition, I feel a lot better.
And even though I notice the improvement, I know that it’s not a complete recovery. But still, getting rid of that horrible exhaustion feeling is worth it!
6. I hate the way I used to be. I lived to eat and I always considered myself too weak or unable to change that. Sweets, high fat foods, all sorts of bagged goodies, fast food and so on.
I loved to eat and I thought that nothing will change that for me. And even though I surely still love to eat, I understand that you should not live to eat – there are so many things to live your life for, and more important than the joy of eating a perfect bit of meat.
I hate that I was so narrow minded and so weak and that I personally destroyed my life with my horrible eating habits and I hate how I used to be.
But I am glad that I made the changes and I plan to stick to them until I get healed completely.
And then I will just carry on doing the same thing: enjoy life for all its other reasons and have food provide me nothing but the means for food. As Woody Allen said: I eat to live, I don’t live to eat!
So this is my 5 months update since I’ve been diagnosed with a fatty liver. I can say that I am a completely changed person now and since I was able to completely change my lifestyle and eating habits, then you can do this too.
It’s not the easiest task in the world, but it’s obviously doable and it’s worth all the early sacrifices!
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.