Before and After – Mikhaila Through the Ages
Here goes.
I’ve had a number of people comment, “Hey where’s your scar, that’s not a real pic of you,” or, “This isn’t Jordan’s daughter, she doesn’t have scars”, orrrrr “this diet can’t be that good, you looked good before, (or better)”.
A) Most of my Instagram pics are from after I went low carb. So yeah they look pretty good. Thank you.
B) The bikini pics are pre-baby, and low carb, so yeah, they’re going to look pretty good. Thank you.
Anyway. Perhaps these rather irritating people have a point. So here are some pictures that I don’t like, I have never liked, but do show what kind of changes my body went through when I went low carb and then carnivore. My Instagram posts are mostly from after I went low carb. So there are no photos I don’t like there. Obviously.
And I don’t have any “before” photos. Which is why I used my passport as an example HERE.
There was never a point in my life where I stood in front of a camera and took a picture of my body because I thought it would change. I wasn’t thinking, “Hey maybe I should take a before pic as I will cure my crippling depression and autoimmune disorder. Now seems like a good time.”
I have scrounged around on my best friends Facebook and found what I have found. All untagged photos that I didn’t like, but showed what happened to my body when I went to university and survived off of beer, pizza, pierogies, and ichiban.
Here I am before shit hit the fan (the first time) – a month before they told me I might need a hip replacement (August 2008):
And here are some surgical pics to get that out of the way. My scars are healed now obviously. It’s almost been a decade (these photos are from 2009). They’re not obvious in photos because they’re not obvious anymore. My ankle scar was horrid for the first 4 years but now it’s faded:
My hip scar right after surgery.
My hip x-ray post-surgery.
My hip scar now (2018).
What an MRI looked like pre-surgery.
What my ankle looked like on an x-ray pre- surgery (age 17 no cartilage in between the joint).
My beautiful but swollen ankle before surgery.
The next time I saw my ankle. Yes, I was terrified.
My ankle x-ray post-surgery.
My ankle scar now (2018). With some very chipped nail polish.
Here are pics of a skinny post-surgery teenager (2011 summer):
Weight wasn’t my issue then. I had just had surgery and lost a bunch of weight. I was skinny. I was still sick.
Swollen eyes in this pic. It shows a good before pic for the following university pictures.
And then university happened (late 2011- early 2012):
Then there was a LOT of the above (2012).
And a lot of the above (2012).
Here are some pics of me after I gained 30 pounds in the year after the above pics (2012 winter-2013 spring). This was just before my skin really freaked out:
Gallons of beer consumed nightly. Joining me is my wonderful best friend Rebecca Connors.
I dropped out after year 2 (2013) due to serious mental health issues, came home and upped my meat intake and lowered my noodle intake. I lost about 10 pounds after that and felt quite a bit better emotionally. Something to be said for not surviving off of beer and pizza. Some of my Instagrams are from then. This is when my skin really started to freak out. For pics of that go HERE. There were times in between with skin that wasn’t clear but was coverable with makeup. Those are the ones on my Instagram.
The rest (and all the bloating) came off when I went low carb (old bikini pics are from then):
https://www.instagram.com/p/_s9Ma6pFLq/?hl=en&taken-by=mikhailapeterson
The above photo was 2 months after the original elimination diet.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BJoUAZgjfdG/?hl=en&taken-by=mikhailapeterson
The above was a year after the elimination diet.
And after the pregnancy, my pics are from my carnivore days:
Now I can just link to this article when that person comments “where’s your scar” as if they have uncovered a conspiracy theory. Or “perhaps this isn’t Jordan’s daughter” or “your body never changed”. I was fortunate to figure out my issues before I seriously gained a lot of weight. But gaining 30 pounds in a year is serious enough. Not to mention the crippling depression and arthritis and fatigue and skin issues and itching.
For the most part, of course, people have been wonderful. And this was probably a necessary post. Thanks for the support! Hope this helps some people.
Did you have those surgeries because of the allergy/food reaction issues?
yep
From writer of When Harry Met Sally and many more novels, Nora Ephron: “Oh, how I regret not having worn my bikini for the entire year I was 26. If anyone young is reading this, go, put in a bikini, and don’t take it off until you’re 34.” And hey why stop at 34!
The same goes for men. Wear a Speedo! After the self-conscious phase wears off, it’s simply awesome. It’s like being able to lounge around in public – legally – in your undies. Toss in the occasional gluten-free beer, and life is good. ?
LMAO
Awww. I’m really sorry that you had to prove anything. I hate it when I have to do that because I’ve never seen any advantage in not telling the truth. But yeah there are always those who think you’re scamming or trying to appear to be someone you’re not. And of course they don’t know you and maybe think you’re like them. Whatever, just the way it is. Thankfully they are the minority (I hope).
Love to you.
You are an inspiration to all of us. Thank you so much for sharing your experiences, you will never know how much it truly helped some of us!
Thank you so much for sharing. I cannot afford a sensitivity test right now with peace of mind, but when I can I will give it a shot. Meanwhile ill give the elimination diet a try. I wish I had come across this when I was younger, but better late than never. Hope its helpful for me and my family too.
Thanks so much sharing. Just came back from a friend’s place where he said food allergies are just a fad. Suggesting it was also just in our heads. “Everything in moderation mantra, life’s got to be lived”. So tired of hearing that! Can link your article now but I don’t think they want to know…sigh
What do you suggest for the constipation on this diet?
Carnivore veterans suggest upping your fat intake to avoid constipation.
See here: http://www.zerocarbhealth.com/index.php/2015/05/04/what-about-fiber-on-an-all-meat-diet/#more-91
Have you seen this article?
Glycosaminoglycans are a potential cause of rheumatoid arthritis
Julia Y. Wang and Michael H. Roehrl
PNAS October 29, 2002. 99 (22) 14362-14367; https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.222536599
Communicated by John J. Mekalanos, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA (received for review July 19, 2002)
Abstract
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, systemic, and inflammatory disease of connective tissue with unknown etiology. We investigated whether aberrant immune responses to glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), a major component of joint cartilage, joint fluid, and other soft connective tissue, causes this disease. Here we show that injection of GAGs such as hyaluronic acid, heparin, and chondroitin sulfates A, B, and C induce arthritis, tendosynovitis, dermatitis, and other pathological conditions in mice. We developed a technique by staining tissue specimens with fluorochrome- or biotin-labeled GAGs to visualize the direct binding between cells and GAGs. We discovered that inflammatory infiltrates from the affected tissue are dominated by a distinct phenotype of GAG-binding cells, a significant portion of which are CD4+ T cells. GAG-binding cells seem to be expanded in bone marrow of GAG-immunized mice. Furthermore, we identified GAG-binding cells in inflamed synovial tissue of human patients with RA. Our findings suggest that carbohydrate self-antigenic GAGs provoke autoimmune dysfunctions that involve the expansion of GAG-binding cells which migrate to anatomical sites rich in GAGs. These GAG-binding cells might, in turn, promote the inflammation and pathology seen both in our murine model and in human RA.
Hey Mikhaila. Just found your blog and am very impressed with your efforts. I have a few questions if you don’t mind!
1) Have you considered the possibility that this extreme diet elimination process has been throwing your microbiome out of whack which then made you react to foods that were fine in the past?
2) You went from low carb to carnivore, primarily due to residual anxiety after pregnancy. How did you measure the changes in your life to be certain of change between those two diets? It seems difficult to reliably gauge 8/10 happiness vs 10/10, and even more so to isolate that feeling to the effects of a diet when things like pregnancy, life, seasons, etc are at play.
3) What are your thoughts on vegetarians that develop a sensitivity to meat? I’ve heard many accounts similar, but opposite to yours, where people go off meat for a period, eat a little, then feel bad, and conclude that meat is an unsuitable part of a healthy diet, when in fact they perhaps just induced a sensitivity due to their body and microbiome adapting to diet.
Again I am amazed at what you’ve accomplished here, just interested to learn more. Response is much appreciated!
1) Have you considered the possibility that this extreme diet elimination process has been throwing your microbiome out of whack which then made you react to foods that were fine in the past?
Yes I have. Ultimately I didn’t have an option. I was obviously reacting to foods in the first place or I wouldn’t have had any illnesses. When you reduce carbs you reduce the amount of bacteria that digest carbs, but there isn’t a better option. I as reacting to foods in general. It may be a microbiome problem but there wasn’t anything I could do about it.
2) You went from low carb to carnivore, primarily due to residual anxiety after pregnancy. How did you measure the changes in your life to be certain of change between those two diets? It seems difficult to reliably gauge 8/10 happiness vs 10/10, and even more so to isolate that feeling to the effects of a diet when things like pregnancy, life, seasons, etc are at play.
While things in life can make you feel sad, they don’t make you feel depressed like a food reaction does. It feels like poison, not like sadness. I can’t be certain that next pregnancy won’t make me emotional again. It probable will but I think there were underlying food issues underneath. I think that because as soon as I eliminated vegetables it went away. That was during breastfeeding and nothing else changed. In the dead of winter so it wasn’t due to sunshine or something. It was food. I was also having arthritic symptoms, acne, and itchy legs. It’s not purely psychological. Anxiety was just the most bothersome symptom for me.
3) What are your thoughts on vegetarians that develop a sensitivity to meat? I’ve heard many accounts similar, but opposite to yours, where people go off meat for a period, eat a little, then feel bad, and conclude that meat is an unsuitable part of a healthy diet, when in fact they perhaps just induced a sensitivity due to their body and microbiome adapting to diet.
I don’t believe this. I think there’s an adaption period in order to digest more fat, meat, etc. But it’s not a food reaction. They’re very different feelings. People can go from vegetarian to meat eating again. And from vegan to meat eating. You don’t develop a sensitivity to meat. That being said, some people don’t tolerate pork well, but that’s not because it’s meat.
The other point is… if you survive of meat, you seem to get healthier. If you survive off of grain you get scurvy and die really quickly. All foods are not created equally, and it doesn’t have much to do with removing them.
Question no. 3 is very intersting, how do you differentiate between a reaction and adaptation? I have noticed that everytime I eat steak the top of my mouth swells, and I also have those feelings of rage you described about nonsense (somebody is walking slow in front of me). On the other hand I’m not bloated! So how do you work this out?
Thanks for sharing the pics (shoulders back?) Amazing to see the changes. They really seem to show up in your face more than anywhere else. Glad you are on a better path Mikhaila.
Just out of curiosity, how tall are you? Also, do you plan to write about your workout routine at any point? Thanks!
Thanks for the post, Mikhaila.
I was vegan for 16 years. When I went back to eating meat there were no transition problems.
Mikhalia,
Sores, pimples and all, you STILL looked adorable. You have been through so much, and I admire your stoic attitude throughout all your challenges. As is said of smart kids: ‘they get smart early…to save time later,’ let us hope, that ‘you with a host of physical obstacles will be able to live problem-free later.’ At least, that is my hope for you.
Hugs,
Lisa
Many congrats to you for having both the cleverness and the willpower to take control of your own health.
I’m trying to follow your diet but I’ve had a few false starts already.
Here’s to your continued good health. Clink.
( actually enjoying too many toasts is a big part of my problem. ;0
Wow. I’m really sorry people are so stupid and you felt you had to shed light on every private aspect of your journey, but these pictures speak volumes. Thank you for sharing. And your daughter is an absolute doll!! Enjoy that little gem.
Congratulations Mikhaila. I also have RA ( 23 years) and depression since I was 17 ( and Fybromyalgia) . I tried to cut out all carbs a while back after seeing the TVO interview, but am really struggling . Mostly because with being unable to stand for long or use my hands , it is really hard when it comes to cooking , and just grabbing a slice of bread is possible, while cooking a steak is not. I did change to spelt whole grain bread, which seems to be better.
My husband also found research about drinking bicarbonate of soda – one teaspoon in water every day. For other RA warriors who might read your blog, it is really helping lower inflammation. And it does not harm.
This is going to sound weird, but good quality 80/20 ground beef, can be eaten raw.
Wow! Does not sound appealing, but worth thinking about. Thanks.
Dear Catherine – I also have (had?) RA and fibro. I am not fully carnivore like Michaela, but a LCHF diet has been miraculous for me, in terms of reducing pain and inflammation. I am off all drugs now. I hope you can find a way of managing the diet. Keep it really simple and make big enough portions of food so you always have leftovers in the fridge. Have tins of salmon, mackerel, corned beef etc in the pantry, cheese cold meats etc in the fridge, for food on the go. It’s hard at the start but it becomes second nature. Or teach your husband to cook ;-). All the very best – I hope your suffering reduces.
Makhaila, you are a phenomenal person helping so many by sharing your journey. May God bless you
Mikhaila,
What shocked my most about your photos is how strong and lean your body is when you are on the ZC diet. Also Charlotte had posted some bikini photos on the meatheals website and she also looked ridiculously strong and lean.Both of you have perfect body weight. I am 57 years old and had eaten improperly for 45 of those years. I always felt my body wasn’t at its proper weight and something was missing in my strength. Now after doing 2 weeks of the ZC diet my stomach is shrinking, definition is coming into my muscle and strength and flexibility are increasing! Crazy ride!! TY
On one hand it is a bit sad that you find yourself compelled to publish your private photos to prove who you are and what you’ve gone through. On the other hand, it is encouraging to see your long-term optimistic perspective, showing how bad it was and how much better it is now. I think you are offering inspiration for many people straggling with difficult health situations, showing them that their current suffering can be reduced and their lives improved.
So thanks for sharing. I wish you and your wonderful family a healthy life with minimal suffering and maximal meaning… /d
My guess is Mikhaila could live with people doubting her story, but she shares this to help others.
This is what we need in this world. People sharing their experiences. We have too many “experts” that are off the mark.
One of the toughest lessons in life for people who are decent, kind and caring is that there are mean spirited, hateful people who really have nothing better to do than go around looking down their noses at others. It’s sad and pitiful, but frustrating, as well. Some may say you should have just ignored the haters/trolls, but I think it’s good that you showed them the proof they so desperately didn’t want you to be able to provide. You’ve been through more in your short life than many twice your age and you’ve conquered so many of your health problems by being knowledgeable and highly disciplined and some will always be jealous of you because of it. Ignore them from here on because you’ve got nothing to prove to anyone anymore. Just do your thing teaching and inspiring others and loving your family. <3 <3 <3
Mikhaila,
I am curious on how your joints feel now after the surgery? How is your walking gait? Do you have any soft tissue inflammation or stiffness?
The last photo is after pregnancy? You look amazing!
Hi Mikhaila, im looking up to give this diet a try, but my main concern is that I can only afford processed meat and given that it has been placed in the same group for cancer risk as cigarettes im very thoughtful about if it’s worth the risks specially as a long term food regimen, what can you recommend me?, specially for a not expensive Fat intake option.
Thank you
What about chicken? If there’s nothing added to the meat it’s okay but if it’s processed chances are it’s not good for you… I wouldn’t recommend that. If I were you, I would buy chicken breast, or cheaper leaner cuts of beef and find a butcher that will sell you fat trimmings. Fry those up and eat them with the trimmer cuts. Fat trimmings are incredibly inexpensive.
There’s ground beef, chicken thighs, etc.
also, if you are not going meat only, sweet potatoes are usually pretty cheap, and they are better than a lot of foods as far as it being safe to eat the inorganic ones.
Fats. Avocados, again, if you are not going meat only.
Some suggestions anyway.
Hey Mikhaila, how come your first two hip pictures show the scar and xray on the right side but the 2018 scar update is on the left side?
It’s taken in a mirror
I fear over time, you are going to start swelling again, your diet is making you weak and you will get new immune responses as your body drives deeper into deficiency. You can email me if you want to know more –
Lol.
Mikhaila, I am 100% in support of you. We are seeing some silly stuff here: conspiracy theorists, biased thinking, disbelief. We are seeing your movement grow. “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win”
It’s like the people who say, “that wasn’t real communism.”
I find this fascinating . Thanks for sharing. Have you and your Dad considered that you might have celiac disease or gluten intolerance? It sure sounds like it!
I do have Celiac disease. Dad doesn’t though!
Wow yourl have really been through the mill. You poor girl so young as well. You look amazing and ur scars are cool 🙂 ya Im a weirdo lol deffo gonna give this diet a try. Would love some more pictures of what u eat on ur instagram esp what u eat for breakfast.
My doberman was simultaneously diagnosed with wobblers and sarcoma. After putting him on a grain free diet everything has cleared up. I can’t find any lumps and he is running and jumping. I figure I’ll try this on me.
hey- i listened to your dad’s podcasts with joe rogan.. on the podcasts he mentions you and your issues. first, i am sorry about everything you have gone through. second, i just got blood work done today to test for RA. i am really nervous about the results. i don’t want to go on medication like you do. is there a place on this blog where you break down your whole diet.. ive been on the keto diet.. but went camping last wk and ate a bunch of junk. since then i have been in more pain… so im thinking diet is the main issue. thanks for writing all of this
Hey! I’m going on Joe Rogan on Thursday and I’ll be delving into a whole bunch of detail there. It’s completely manageable with diet. I don’t have any symptoms. I have an extremely restricted diet but I love it. Try not to stress out too much! It was probably the junk that’s causing pain. Cheating isn’t worth it. And the keto diet would probably help but dairy was a huge trigger for me, so I’d definitely ditch that if you’re sticking with keto.
So being on keto I shouldn’t drink milk or eat cheese????? I’m stuck can’t get past 235 .
Hey! Just got done listening to your podcast with joe rogan. You talked about dairy being a trigger for you and I was wondering if butter would do the same? I love butter and I don’t want to let it go. Also whenever I did carnivore, which I only did as long as maybe 3-4 weeks, I had leg cramps like crazy even tho I was supplementing with magnesium and salting my beef. Any suggestions ? Thank you <3
Potassium not magnesium
Carbs store water, so when you go low or no carbs your body dumps the water. If you are not a real regular water drink this can cause some dehydration in those muscles you feel cramping. You are make fast hard changes to your diet you have to compensate for the lack of thirst and make sure you’re getting enough water.
Hey, just listened to the Joe Rogan podcast you were on, and your diet problems (gut/diet effecting autoimmune system) reminded me of something I heard a while ago.
https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/91689-parasites/
From the second story from this podcast, beginning at 22:40. They go through how modern changes in gut bacteria, specifically how people have stopped being infected by the hookworm, may have played a part in the rise of autoimmune diseases. I haven’t listened to it in a bit, but I believe the main idea as to why that would be is that the human body adapted to be infected with parasites all the time, and the immune system is much more powerful than it needs to be because of that.
Anyway, that’s all I got, good luck.
Thank you for telling your story. I’m curious on your blood type. I’d like to try the carnivore diet but being an A I don’t think i have the enzymes for it. According to the blood type diet if you are an O your results would align with your diet change but if you were an A the ideas would conflict.
That’s a good thing to think about. I’m type A as well but I instinctually eat a lot of red meat and it doesn’t seem to trigger me.
I believe the blood type diet has been debunked.
Hey, I just finished watching you on joe Rogan and immediately I said to my husband with tears in my eyes.. I want to meet this woman… when you described yourself before the carnivore diet, I feel like you were describing me!! The similarities are incredible. I am now 28 but feel like an 80 year old.. the thought of changing my diet so drastically is incredibly scary and I don’t know if personally I have the strength to do that… I envy you you in more ways then you know… I’ve learned so much about you and your father is a well known celebrity in our household.
If you do take the time to read this I will be incredibly grateful
Thank you
Nicole
Hey! You can always take it slow. Cut out the grains and sugar and dairy, you don’t have to do it all at once but it’s worth looking into incredibly seriously. Life like that is horrible.
How long did it take when you started the carnivore diet to notice that your allergies are gone?
My allergies definitely are not gone unfortunately. The autoimmune stuff and depression is gone. But I’m still allergic to the outdoors and animals.
Thank you for sharing your story on Rogan. I started monitoring and regulating my autistic son’s diet by eliminating food allergens- as he had many gastric issues (as many autistic people do along with auto immune problems). I also had to hunt and peck for answers rec’d minimal guidance from the medical community at large. I am still looking for answers- fascinating stuff- it’s a shame no one is researching this like they do Pharmaceuticals. Sadly, this is because there is no money to be made in eliminating pharmaceuticals. – thanks! Mommy from CT
Ps please ask your pops to write another book- this time perhaps providing advice for women.
You changed my life mikhaila, I had psoriasis, seborrheic Dermatitis and rosacea, alot of pimples plus stubborn body fat. Thanks KS to you it’s all mostly gone after 2 weeks. Special thanks to your dad, it’s thanks to him that I came across your diet. Am doing my but to sharing this and your diet plan ?
Hello, I read and heard of your story and your father’s. I really like his work!
I been in the nutrition industry for over 20 years and auto-immune issues appears more and more common. Here is a interesting link of certain bacteria can leak out of the gut and cause these issues
. http://www.bjmp.org/content/bacterial-infections-and-pathogenesis-autoimmune-conditions
This is what I recommend for these type of infections and to address inflammation as wellhttps://www.doctorshealthpress.com/food-and-nutrition-articles/15-benefits-of-grapefruit-seed-extract/
I hope you find this informative.
Jeramie
Food is mostly a survival thing, unless you bring it in the realm of enjoying the passion in the tasting life itself! Honestly it should be easier for us to pick good food for our selves, because it is logical, but since food consumption is such a social occassion, we kinda need to change the social enviroment of food to guarantee we are lured into doing good by our health as a default. This is why a parner, or family member who socially supports your health goals can be vital. Side note in which i can’t help but as a mystic blogger on wethepos.com with dark mischief like spiritual humor, a lot of magic, and spice occurs in the kitchen, we can’t undersell the passion aspect of food ever… even tho passion, and basting a turkey gets weird hahahaha!
Hi Mikha,
as others have pointed out before there seems to be a strong link between bacterial infection of the upper intestinal tract and rheumatoid arthritis / autoimmune desease.
https://raypeatforum.com/community/threads/rheumatoid-arthritis-may-be-caused-by-the-same-bacteria-that-causes-crohns.22223/
https://raypeatforum.com/community/threads/simple-intestinal-antiseptic-as-a-cure-for-rheumatoid-arthritis-ra.24847/
https://raypeatforum.com/community/threads/baking-soda-is-a-potent-anti-inflammatory-may-treat-rheumatoid-arthritis-ra.23590/
Wish you good reading