It was supposed to be her hour of peace, a quiet yoga class with no interruptions – no kids, no housework, no cooking – nothing except the gentle murmur of ‘ommmmm’.
But as Melbourne mother-of-two Carla Veith-Carter bent forward into a downward dog, sudden excruciating pain shot through her lower back.
She was left frozen on her mat for the next six hours, unable to move.
‘I lay there practically half the day,’ Carla tells me.
‘I couldn’t even turn my head. I was just lying there paralysed in the most agonising pain imaginable, like being stabbed a hundred times. People were holding heat packs to my back for hours, but nothing worked. I had to wait it out.’
Sadly for Carla, this wasn’t a one-off, but a debilitating disorder she had been suffering from for years. The cause of her pain was fibromyalgia, a chronic disorder marked by excruciating musculoskeletal pain, fatigue and brain fog.
While doctors still aren’t sure of the cause, research shows fibromyalgia affects pain receptors in the central nervous system, causing heightened pain sensitivity.
Carla, a former psychology student, would often be crippled in agony for hours at a time, and wouldn’t leave the house without her cocktail of strong painkillers, including codeine, anti-inflammatories and Valium, which she says ‘barely took the edge off’.
Carla lived in constant pain due to fibromyalgia. While she ate a healthy diet, she was unable to exercise, meaning she piled on the kilos
After being told by a doctor she had to live in chronic pain for the rest of her life, Carla refused to give in. She learned the keto diet was known to reduce inflammation so decided to try it
Not only did Carla live in constant pain, but her limited activity meant her weight had crept up to 92kg (203lbs or 14.5st).
Despite her heathy vegetarian diet, she found it hard to shift the kilos without the additional boost of regular exercise.
‘I tried everything – vegetarian, fruit for breakfast, low fat – but I was lethargic, had adrenal fatigue and the pain would leave me on the couch for days,’ she recalls.
‘Walking around the block would feel like climbing Mount Everest.’
Pain was part of her daily life, and would often hit at random times, like during yoga or walking a short distance. Even lifting her arms above her head while she was drying her hair could trigger an onslaught of agony.
Carla and her husband Adam have two children, Ethan 16, and Orlando, 19, who was born with non-verbal autism and needs round-the-clock care.
‘I had to push through the pain because I was on constant high alert that Orlando was going to do something dangerous. I couldn’t leave him for a second. Once he stuck his body through the slats in our stairs; I was petrified he was going to end up hanging himself.
‘He isn’t able to be toilet trained either, so I was scared I was going to get into a spasm while cleaning faeces off the wall. I was just living in a state of sheer exhaustion and agony, and felt I was always one step away from the nut house.’
Carla’s son needs constant care, which was a nightmare for Carla, whose spasms would often leave her unable to move. ‘I felt I was always one step away from the nut house,’ she says
At 40, some devastating words from a doctor brought Carla to tears – then spurred her into action.
‘I was told by doctors a diagnosis to my pain was pretty much “pointless” as there was no treatment. This was going to be my life forever, and there was nothing they could do.’
But Carla refused to let this be the end of the story.
‘I have always believed knowledge is power so I threw myself into arming myself with information. I knew that food was medicine so I researched online and knew I had to give up sugar, but that wasn’t enough,’ she says.
‘Then I tried low-carb, and tried that for a few years, and while that suited me, it was only when I discovered the ketogenic lifestyle that my world and body was completely transformed.’
The keto diet is a low-carb, high-fat approach, originally developed to treat epilepsy.
Carla found people with chronic pain sharing stories online about how this way of eating reduced the severity of their symptoms.
Not only that, but they were saying they now had clearer minds and more energy.
‘I did more research and discovered the keto diet is highly anti-inflammatory. It also increases calming neurotransmitters and dampens an overactive nervous system, which is basically what fibromyalgia is,’ she says.
‘After a few weeks I had significantly less pain, better sleep, improved mood, much more energy and all sorts of ailments like allergies, eczema and hay fever just magically disappeared.’
When the amount of carbs consumed is drastically reduced, the liver starts to break down fat for energy, and produces ketones as an alternative fuel source, which is known as ketosis.
When the body starts burning fat instead of sugar, inflammation decreases, and in turn, Carla’s pain started to go away.
‘I was told by doctors a diagnosis to my pain was pretty much “pointless” as there was no treatment. This was going to be my life forever, and there was nothing they could do,’ she says
‘I had nothing to lose. It was Covid, I had plenty of time so I measured my food and took it extremely seriously. It shocked me how much sugar and carbohydrates are in food, simple sauces like tomato and BBQ sauce, wholemeal bread, yoghurt, even the high-protein ones you think are healthy.’
Carla swapped wholemeal toast and tofu stir fries with rice for eggs, avocado, meat and low-carb vegetables.
The weight started to fall off and her pain reduced drastically.
‘I felt really crappy at the start – sick and exhausted – but that’s because I made the mistake of cutting out the carbs cold turkey. But after a few weeks, I had more energy, my brain fog lifted and for the first time in years, my pain had practically gone. I was absolutely dumbfounded.’
Since then, Carla’s weight has dropped to a healthier 68kg (150lbs or 10.7st) and the frequency and level of her pain has decreased from 100 per cent to 10 per cent.
This, of course, has drastically improved her mental health.
‘I feel human again. I have no fear when I wake up of where and when I’ll end up paralysed on the floor in pain. I barely get pain these days and when I do, it’s easily manageable,’ she says.
‘I have a million times more energy and am a much happier person. They say people turn to keto for the weight loss and stay for the other benefits.’
Now 50, Carla believes sugar and carbs are like ‘poison’ to her. On her wedding anniversary four years ago, she ended up in pain after deciding to treat herself to popcorn and cake
Carla, now 50, had one ‘carbohydrate relapse’ on her wedding anniversary four years ago where she treated herself to popcorn, cake and ice cream because it was a special occasion.
‘We were supposed to go on a long walk, but I couldn’t even move [because] I was in so much pain,’ she recounts.
‘I’d gone from going on hikes at home to barely moving because of what I’d eaten – just one day of dessert, bread and popcorn. I worked out pretty quickly carbs were like poison for me.’
Carla is now educating others on the keto way of life, and is a health coach and nutritional consultant.
Her clients have had remarkable results, too. ‘One person has managed to come off their meds, another has completely reversed diabetes and many reduce pain and inflammation,’ she tells me.
‘For me, keto is a lifestyle not a diet. It has completely transformed my life.’
If you plan on making any significant dietary or health changes, it’s important to consult a doctor for medical advice beforehand.
