Lilesville native loses 75 lbs on new diet

WADESBORO — Sherri Cook had tried everything.

At just under 300 lbs, struggling with fatigue, depression and anxiety, insomnia, lack of focus and low self-esteem, Cook needed a change but strict diets always failed and measuring the content of everything she ate wasn’t feasible.

She was tired of being tired. So, she looked into the keto diet and worried that it too would be another highly restrictive diet, but in the comment section of a website, she read about “dirty lazy keto,” or DLK, which was started by Stephanie Laska and outlined in her book “Dirty, Lazy, Keto: Getting Started: How I Lost 140 Pounds.”

After starting DLK, Cook, 56, said she lost 75 lbs in eight months. She built a relationship with Laska, who wanted to show that this diet could help people over the age of 50 lose weight. Laska then invited Cook to be featured with her in Women’s World magazine to talk about her experience.

“I just love this way of life,” Cook said in an interview. “I don’t have to count anything … I just take it one meal at a time and make it as ‘dirty lazy keto’ as I can.”

Whereas someone on the traditional keto diet would try to consume 55-60% fat, 30-35% protein and 5-10% carbohydrates, the DLK method only asks that you restrict the carbs, according to Medical News Daily.

Cook, an assistant manager at Dollar General, said this diet allows her to still eat processed foods, and the “dirty” part of DLK is that she can eat something non-keto and then make up for it, staying under 20 net carbs.

“After the first week I knew it was going to work,” she said, noting changes in her appetite, energy and sleep schedule right away. Her insomnia was forcing her to have to take naps during the day, and feel exhausted after work. But once she started DLK she said she had the energy to work all day without that crash.

She was losing about 10 lbs per month.

“I feel better … I have plenty of energy, I can focus more — it’s just a better life,” Cook said. “My depression went away, my anxiety is gone.”

Cook lost her brother to COVID-19 in April, and said being healthier has made a major difference in dealing with this loss.

“I truly believe if I did not have this lifestyle things would be a lot different,” Cook said. “It’s helped me cope.”

All of her extra energy has allowed her to add more of the things she enjoys into her life and be a bigger part of the lives of her loved ones. She said she’s spending more time with family now, is able to offer help to others and has been able to chat with more friends that hadn’t been able to keep up with in the past.

One of her least healthy habits was her daily bag of Cheetos and a Pepsi that she would have during work, and she doesn’t miss it.

Now, her favorite meal that has been a staple of her transformation has been to brown some hamburger with chopped onions, layer that in a casserole dish with slices of cheese, which is then baked until the cheese is melted, top it with lettuce and pickle slices and keto Big Mac sauce. Then, mix mayo and G. Hughes sugar free ketchup and pickled relish, and she and her family add jicama fries to go with it — her 7-year-old grandson says it’s better than McDonald’s.

Cook hasn’t added any new exercise to her routine, but says she gets in a workout each day at work unloading boxes.

Her weight loss plateaued around October but she has kept the weight off.

For those interested, Laska’s website, https://dirtylazyketo.com/, books, podcast and YouTube show are all ways that people can engage with the DLK method.

Cook’s advice for anyone looking to lose weight is to take it one meal at a time starting with breakfast and make it as “DLK” as you can, don’t panic thinking about a whole day’s worth of food all at once.

“Not one time in this whole process have I worried about my macros,” she said.