Vicki Gunvalson's Daughter And Her Husband Have Lost Serious Weight
Vicki Gunvalson of The Real Housewives of Orange County fame is cheering on her family as they shed some extra pounds — a total of over 85 pounds!
On Tuesday, March 5, 2019, Gunvalson posted a photo of her daughter, Briana Culberson, and Briana's husband, Ryan Culberson, smiling on Instagram. In the caption, the reality TV star wrote, "Just wanted to share this incredible photo of Briana and @ryan_culberson. Together they have lost over 85 lbs since last summer." Crediting their weightloss to the keto diet, Gunvalson noted that Briana "feels better and is healthier than she has been in a long time."
Adding that she misses seeing them, as they live apart, Gunvalson praised them, saying she "couldn't be more proud of both of them."
Ryan shared the same photo on his own Instagram page, noting that it was the result of the keto diet and asking followers, "What are you waiting for?"
The ketogenic, or keto, diet is a popular weight loss technique people have been employing in recent years, though it's been around for a long time. As explained by Healthline, the diet involves "reducing carbohydrate intake and replacing it with fat." In doing so, the body's metabolic state goes into ketosis, which basically means that it burns fat quickly for energy, resulting in weight loss.
Briana and Ryan have opened up about their embrace of the keto diet before. In mid-January 2019, Ryan posted side-by-side photos of his wife on Instagram, showing her before and after she started the keto diet. In a caption presumably written by Briana, who has been diagnosed with lupus, she explained that she's felt better since following the low-carb diet — just as her mother noted in her recent Instagram post. "The face on the left is of an average American diet, never felt good, having constant lupus flares, and on and off steroids for almost a year," the post read. "The face on the right is strict Keto, steroid free, and lupus flare free!"
Briana continued, "I've lost 45 lbs on keto so far but most importantly my health has greatly improved!"
Briana revealed that she was diagnosed with lupus back in 2016, during the season 11 finale of her mother's show, The Real Housewives of Orange County, as reported by Bravo's The Daily Dish. The diagnosis came after Briana had undergone multiple surgeries and had ruled out cancer with a biopsy.
In April 2018, Briana had surgery in North Carolina for health problems caused by her lupus. At the time, her husband explained, "Her lupus is causing inflammation around her heart and is causing it to go in and out of irregular heart rhythms now requiring her to have a cardiac ablation."
Here's hoping that Briana's health only continues to improve from here on out!
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Vicki Gunvalson's loved ones aren't the only well-known people who've successfully lost weight on the keto diet. Today show co-host Al Roker revealed in early March that he's shed "about 40 pounds" by following the keto diet.
After former The Biggest Loser trainer Jillian Michaels bashed the eto diet — telling Women's Health, "Like, why would anyone think this is a good idea?" — Roker defended the diet and his choice to follow it. "My point is, what works for you, works for you,” he said on the Today show. "There's science on both sides that says it's not a great idea and science that says it is a great idea." He continued, "I think it's up to people, with their doctor, with their medical professional (to make their own decision)."
He also slammed Michaels on Twitter, calling her "a woman who promoted on camera bullying , deprivation, manipulation and more weekly in the name of weight loss." Yikes. Clearly, Roker doesn't like it when others criticize his dieting decisions — not that we blame him!
Still, while the keto diet is popular, there are some who disagree with it as a way to lose weight. Vicki Gunvalson's RHOC co-star Tamra Judge has criticized the diet, after having tried it herself and experiencing the "keto flu." The keto flu is when some people starting out on the keto diet experience flu-like symptoms, including muscle cramps, headaches, and nausea, as their bodies adapt to their new way of eating, according to Healthline.
"It just doesn't make any sense to me because it's just not healthy eating," she told Bravo's The Feast. "So I worry more about what it's gonna do for, like, your heart, your cholesterol, and things like that."
Since we're no health experts, we recommend anyone looking into starting the keto diet speak to their doctors to make sure the diet is right for them.