O M G, if someone would have told us we would be hosting a 160+ person networking event at Fogo de Chao this time last year, we would have laughed our asses off because that’s something we would have never done! We are introverts by nature, so the thought of being around other humans for more than 10 minutes freaks the hell out of us, and still does even after we just finished last weekend’s successful event. We were pushed way beyond our comfort zones and we have zero regrets. If you have the opportunity to attend any type of community meet up whether it’s for keto, low carb, or maybe even a hobby or interest you have — we highly recommend and encourage you to attend regardless if you have a plus one or not. If you are shy like us, it will feel uncomfortable, but the connections you can make with people who have similar stories is 100% worth the effort.

The meat up originally began as a mixer for the low carb friends we have met through Instagram and it honestly turned into this huge event that connected people from all over the country. When we first pitched the idea to Fogo in Sept, we were like “let’s shoot for 20 people and aim for an intimate evening for foodies — little did we know, once we released the RSVP link, we had over 100 RSVPs in the first 24 hours! To say we were “shooketh” was an understatement. Fogo was incredible to accommodate so many guests and we are so grateful for the sponsors who donated the prize bags and giveaways – given that we reached out to them only about a month prior to the event. We had about 30 registered people not show up and/or cancel but ended up with 40 additional people who were added last minute by tagging along or walking in to the event. It could have been super stressful, but we ended up having so much support from the Fogo staff and our friends/family, that it honestly was the most stress-free event we have ever planned or participated in. It felt surreal seeing so many ketobaes in one room and watching everyone connect over their love of food and the keto lifestyle. It warmed our hearts hearing so many stories of success and just witnessing guests of ketobaes start to believe in the cause.

There are so many special moments from the event that we could talk about, but we wanted to highlight the fact that there are ketobaes who flew and/or drove from hundreds of miles away and even other states to attend–or hearing about how keto has literally saved lives of some of the people who we met in the room. It almost brings us to tears thinking about last weekend. It’s crazy how changing eating habits and your mindset can change your life. We are so honored and blessed to have met so many kind people through our platform.

There are days when we feel really defeated by the motions of social media and the bad stuff that comes with having a large platform. Days we don’t want to post or share anything because we feel some type of way because we don’t know if its worth it – but Sunday was a reminder that even the little tips/tricks can help give someone a fighting chance to sustain a low carb lifestyle or continue their journey. We heard a lot of “thank yous” at the event from attendees, but we wanted to THANK THEM for giving us purpose and a reason to keep fighting the good fight every day.