July 19, 2026

Melissa Overcame Sugar Addiction, High Blood Pressure and Arthritis

Melissa has been fighting a severe sugar addiction for most of her life. She describes herself as a six-year-old stealing money from her father's jacket pocket to feed her sugar addiction. She continued using tactics of "lying, cheating and stealing" to feed her addiction to sugar well into her teen years. Melissa said in 1981, she was introduced to Equal, an artificial sugar, and thus also added it to her addiction.

‍
The Consequences of Sugar Addiction‍

Melissa says her sugar addiction caused her to gain a lot of weight. In 1984, when she gave birth to her daughter, she weighed almost three hundred pounds. At that point, Melissa entered a twelve-step program for her sugar addiction. She said the program helped, and she lost approximately fifty pounds, but she could never become "clean" from her addiction. Over the years, she also developed incontinence from her bladder, arthritis in her knees, and experienced chronic back pain.

‍
Discovering the Keto-Carnivore Diet‍

Fast forward to 2016, Melissa began to learn about the keto-carnivore diet. She said she started soaking up the information she was reading and hearing from keto-carnivore advocates like Kelly Hogan and Dr. Shawn Baker– to name a few. From 2017 to 2020, Melissa says she was meat and Equal based. She didn't realize her addiction to the artificial sweetener was holding her back and causing her to still have intense sugar cravings. She spent those three years falling off the keto-carnivore wagon frequently.

However, she kept picking herself back up and trying to conquer her addiction again and again. It was also during this time that Melissa was diagnosed with endometrial cancer. She ended up having a total hysterectomy. Her doctors wanted her to start radiation and chemotherapy treatments after her surgery, but Melissa refused. After all her research and what she had learned from the keto-carnivore community, she knew cancer is fed by sugar. She told the doctors she would follow the keto-carnivore diet instead.

‍
Breaking Free from Artificial Sweeteners‍

Finally, on June 3rd, 2020, at sixty-five, Melissa stopped using Equal. She said her sugar cravings were gone within the first day, and "the heavens opened up." After fifty-eight years of having a sugar addiction, she felt free. Melissa has been meat-only for nine months and says her arthritis and back pain are both gone, she is no longer incontinent, and she has more energy than she has ever experienced.

‍
Melissa's Current Keto-Carnivore Lifestyle‍

Today, Melissa says she eats prime rib strip steak almost every day. She also eats a lot of lamb and butter. Melissa tries to avoid cheese, she feels it can trigger her, but she does enjoy heavy cream in her coffee. And she tends to avoid pork as it makes her skin break out.

‍
Melissa is also cancer-free, despite not doing radiation and chemotherapy treatments. She says her doctors try to take credit by saying they got all her cancer during her surgery, but she knows the keto-carnivore diet is why she has been successful in her treatment.

‍
At sixty-five years old, Melissa is excited to finally live a pain-free life. She loves supporting the community and feels like she has "total freedom" from her sugar addiction thanks to the keto-carnivore way of life.

​Update: Not only have I accomplished the above, I have now (finally) lost 32 pounds of the 100 I needed to lose. Because I do not have a gallbladder, I have to eat a bit differently than most other keto-carnivores – less fat and less food at one time.

Disclaimer: These testimonials are from people who shared their success stories on keto carnivore diet which is Revero’s nutrition therapy method. They are not from actual Revero patients. Clinical results are not guaranteed and outcomes are specific to each patient.

‍

Share this post
Disclaimer: These testimonials reflect individual experiences. Some are from Revero patients. Others are from people who followed a keto carnivore diet on their own, consistent with Revero's nutrition therapy method, and are not Revero patients. Clinical results are not guaranteed and outcomes are specific to each patient.
Treat your chronic condition at the root
Revero's medical providers find what's driving your symptoms and build a personalized treatment plan from your labs and biomarkers, with daily coaching support.
Book Free Info Call

Start making real progress

Join Revero and get ongoing medical supervision, nutrition therapy, labs, and personalized health coaching designed to help you finally make real progress with your health.
A woman smiling towards the left direction.

Related

September 14, 2026

Bobby's Experience: Off Diabetes and Blood Pressure Medications, and Back in the Pool

Bobby came off insulin, two diabetes medications, and blood pressure medicine, and went from 230 to 190 pounds. One patient's experience.
Patient Stories
metabolic-conditions
type-2-diabetes
high-blood-pressure
July 1, 2026

Chris Improved His Diabetes and Mental Health

Chris was hospitalized with necrotizing fasciitis on Christmas Day 2016, weighing nearly 300 pounds with type 2 diabetes and multiple health issues. After discovering the keto-carnivore diet in April 2018, he lost 116 pounds (from 294 to 178 lbs) and completely reversed his diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, and seven other conditions while eliminating all medications.
Patient Stories
metabolic-conditions
type-2-diabetes
high-blood-pressure
July 1, 2026

Ed Lost Weight and Improved Energy

Ed started the carnivore diet in July 2018 and lost 40 pounds, achieving a healthy BMI for the first time in decades. He eliminated sleep apnea, improved mental clarity and mood, reduced blood pressure medications from three to one, and resolved chronic foot inflammation and skin tags. After nine months of strict adherence, he added back some vegetables like avocado and cucumber while maintaining 90% carnivore eating.
Patient Stories
metabolic-conditions
high-blood-pressure
high-triglycerides