About

About James

The Keto Guru

Who am I? Hell, I still don’t know. I live a rather simple life. I wake up everyday, get a good run or bike ride in, go to work, cook after work, and spend time with my wife Lisa and daughter Brandi. This is the viscous cycle right? Eat, work, sleep, rinse, and repeat. Am I any different than anyone? I don’t think so. I just apply what I’ve learned in life in everything I do daily. I wake up every day wanting to be the best. Not in a competitive way, but in a self-rewarding way. That’s how I measure my self success.

My wife Lisa and I have been married for 19 years as of July 2020. We met working at Benchmark Electronics back in 1999. It took one date and we’ve never been apart since. Barely two months after I turned 21, we were saying our I do’s before our friends and family.

In early 2007, our life’s changed forever. After several years of failed attempts to conceive a child, we were blessed with our bundle of joy Brandi. Brandi is truly a gift from God. We became her foster parents when she was three weeks old. I can remember the day the social worker pulled into the driveway and took that car seat out to bring her into our home. There wasn’t a chance in hell that she was ever going to be given back, she had our hearts at first sight! Low and behold, on December 5th, 2007, Brandi officially (on paper) became a Hicks!

Fast Forward to 2015. I started traveling a lot for my job and it led me all over the world. I was eating like a king anywhere I went, anything I wanted. I just kept getting bigger and bigger. Finally in April of 2018, after a 4 month stay in Louisiana, I decided to give Keto a shot (thank you Barbara). And if you know me, I don’t half-ass anything. I give it my all on everything I do. So, I started a very strict Keto diet in which I limited myself to less than 15 grams a carbs a day. This led to explosive weigh loss results, 20lbs in my first month alone. I continued for many months before incorporating the use of exogenous ketones into my diet. Ultimately, after about 16 months into Keto, I hit the 100lb loss mark.

And then came the annual blood work for my job. Results were not very good. My cholesterol was near stroke levels. Was it diet related? Nope, hereditary in fact. High cholesterol runs on my moms side of the family. I’m not a pill-taker so it was to the streets and walking for me. Walking led to jogging and then that led into running. And I’ve found a comfort in running. I can’t really explain the feeling, I just know if I don’t run, my body knows it.

Lastly, cooking. Honestly, I blame Corona Virus 2020. Being at home for so many months has allowed me to have time to enjoy cooking fresh homemade recipes daily. I’m not the best, but my meals sure taste good to me. I’ve always had a passion for smoking meat on my pellet grills. But I’ve recently taken a liking to cooking inside. In fact, I rarely allow the wife to cook anymore.

I’ve babbled enough about myself. It’s only a snippet of me. But I wanted you to see what makes me do the things I do and who is along with me for my journey. I’ve had the full support of my wife and kid along the way. I’ve been moody, irritable, and many other names… and they are still here by my side. So I hope you enjoy my content. I will try to post often and provide good detail. If you ever have a question on where to start or get stuck on your journey, just drop me a message under the contact me link. I’m not going to be the guy that doesn’t answer people. I despise people like that. Just be patient, there’s a lot going on but know I will respond!!