This is me and my story!

Years ago, when I was almost at my heaviest, I met the most handsome guy, a Brazilian named Rodrigo. We were both studying at UC Berkeley, me as an exchange student from Norway doing my Masters in Physics and Mathematics and Rodrigo studying project management.

I remember the first time I laid eyes on him. Never would I have imagined this person would forever change my life in the most profound way.

He was so muscular, fit and completely out of my league. Honestly, I even told myself that this was not the type of person I was attracted to because I never thought someone like him would be attracted to someone like me… (I know, such a cliche, but it’s true!)

I mean, I was the opposite of fit, I had bad skin, was so shy and had such low self-esteem that I didn’t even dare to speak with my American classmates (having zero social skills didn’t help of course)… And I certainly did not regard myself as pretty.

So what happened next came as a shock!

After spending months in Berkeley barely speaking a word with Rodrigo, he started showing interest in me! I couldn’t believe it!!

And it didn’t take long before we became a couple <3

It was so surreal that someone like him actually found me attractive! Well, I was in for a surprise…

At first, it was like a dream. We grew closer and closer, did a bit of travelling and enjoyed a LOT of tasty food. (That’s where I discovered frozen yogurt!)

I thought things were going so well and that we were both in love, when:

He called me FAT!

I couldn’t believe it! Honestly, I didn’t even regard myself as fat at that time, so it really shook me, especially coming from the one person I wanted to find me attractive!

Well, to be honest, he didn’t actually call me fat, he said I was ‘overweight’, which translated to ‘fat’ in my mind. It just felt like a punch to the stomach.

And so my journey of becoming the person worthy of Rodrigo began…
(I know, that shouldn’t be the reason to change myself, though at the time it really was!)

First, I managed to lose quite a bit of weight simply by not eating so much crap, like cookies, chips, and frozen yogurt topped with a mountain of candy.

It gave me a confidence boost. However, that soon disappeared when I saw a video of Rodrigo’s mom in a bikini… That 50-something-year-old woman looked amazing! And I was about to travel to Brazil to meet her, in the summer at the beach. I certainly did not want to be fatter than Rodrigo’s mom!

So: I stopped eating…

Well, not completely, but a lot of days I would eat one meal only, and some days nothing at all.

And it worked! I got super skinny!

Though I still wasn’t happy… I actually looked too skinny and not healthy. PLUS: believe it or not, I wasn’t happy with my belly! 🤦‍♀️ I was skinny everywhere, except for that stubborn belly fat which I thought looked even worse when being so skinny elsewhere…

Now, when Rodrigo and I moved in together in a tiny apartment in my hometown in Norway, we started eating similarly to each other. And at that time, Rodrigo was learning about a low carb diet.

So we went low carb and THOUGHT we had found the best possible diet.

We were both lean and I’m sure most people would have said we looked great.

I still wasn’t completely happy when looking in the mirror, though… But then again, who is?? Right!?

Call me ungrateful, but I just somehow knew I could do better… There was something missing, I just didn’t know what.

And what happened next is something I could never have imagined…

Rodrigo’s weight loss blog became one of the most popular weight loss websites in Brazil, helping thousands and thousands of people lose weight and become the healthiest they’ve ever been.

Rodrigo had found a way for people to lose weight while eating tasty food till satiety, and even without exercising. PLUS: keeping the weight off while living a truly enjoyably healthy lifestyle.

And best of all: It’s based on SCIENCE.

We knew this was a winner because we lived that lifestyle ourselves. We had tested different “diets” and seen results, but we had never felt and looked as good as we did now! And it was EASY to maintain as well!

Removing the obvious unhealthy foods only got me so far. Starving myself made me skinny, but not happy with my body and certainly not healthy. A low carb diet was fine, though something was still missing…

Now, we had a whole new approach:

Rather than eating food to make us look a certain way, we focused on being the healthiest we could be!

And with that, looking our best was simply a byproduct!

Now, to get there, a lot of myths and misconceptions had to be broken and replaced because what we’re usually told is the best diet is far from what we have discovered truly works to make us feel AND look amazing.

Diving deep into the SCIENCE of nutrition, Rodrigo uncovered myth after myth. He became a true expert.

Actually, these days, even doctors and nutritionists look to Rodrigo for advice!

If you speak Portuguese, I urge you to check out Rodrigo’s website: www.emagrecerdevez.com

Now, what’s the secret you may ask?

In a nutshell:

Eat real food that’s nutrient-dense and bioavailable.

WHEN we eat also matters.

Now, explaining exactly what to eat would take a while, so it doesn’t fit on my ‘about page’ hehe 🙂

For years now, Rodrigo and I have been discussing the science behind nutrition on a daily basis, looking at studies, discussing how to identify the best evidence and whether it all makes sense. (All those years of analytical thinking in Physics and Mathematics helped.) We have tested different diets and optimized our lifestyle so that we can be as healthy as possible while also, of course, enjoying a flexible life together.

And here’s the thing. Knowing what I know now, I wouldn’t feel good keeping it to myself! Rodrigo does an incredible job spreading this knowledge in Portuguese, and I think it’s my duty to do the same in English.

So I went and got a Certificate in Nutrition Science from Stanford.

And now, I use critical, analytical thinking to find the best science on nutrition and healthy lifestyle, break myths, uncover the TRUTH, and bring this knowledge to YOU in a simple, no B.S. way. The Viking Way! I am from Norway after all 😉

I believe everyone should know how to eat tasty food till satiety while looking and feeling amazing!

So often, what we think we know turns out to be a myth. Which means we need to stay humble and open to new knowledge. There’s always more to discover!

So I hope you’ll join me in discovering the real TRUTH of how to live the best and most enjoyable healthy lifestyle. Based on science. No B.S.

You may find weekly no B.S. videos here on this website, though make sure you also subscribe to my YOUTUBE channel!

And remember to follow me on INSTAGRAM and Facebook as well 🙂

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It’s now more than 10 years since I first met Rodrigo. And I truly believe that without him, I would still be a chubby, shy, socially awkward person, not happy with myself, but without the knowledge to do anything about it.

In the beginning, I thought I was losing weight and trying to be more attractive and fit for him, to be worthy of him. But he loved me even when I was ‘fat’ (overweight). Sure, he did call me overweight, but he was only trying to help me see my potential. And I am forever grateful for that!

The truth is, it was never really about him, it was about ME. Even though I didn’t know it at the time…

I was the one who was not happy with myself, even when I was skinny. I was the one who needed to become a person I could be proud of, a person I could identify with in the mirror and actually think: Damn, I look pretty good! But even more importantly: I FEEL amazing!

Who doesn’t want that, huh??