In May and June of 2018, I was researching the Keto diet and by July, was essentially eating Keto and doing Intermittent Fasting. I began to lose weight and felt really great, but around my birthday at the end of July, fell off track and started to question whether I could "actually" give up so many foods in the long term. Like a diet anxiety attack - was I ready for this!?
Well, I started feeling cruddy again pretty quickly and got ready for a full commitment as the month of October rolled around. I committed fully. The first 4 days, I felt pretty sluggish - known as the Keto flu, but knew if I rode it out I would come out the other side with lots more energy. Day 5 I felt AMAZING. I worked out. I had steady energy from morning to night. The promised land had arrived! Except then, I felt cruddy again. Like, for the entire rest of the month, I felt cruddy. There were several days I couldn't get out of bed. My energy was non-existent. I kept reading article after article and trying to troubleshoot my diet. I was doing everything right. I tracked my macros. I got a monitor that verified I was in ketosis. When I found Zipfizz, an electrolyte replacement drink, it definitely helped. I could get out of bed, but I was a walking zombie. I couldn't think straight. By the beginning of November, I was super discouraged, my house was a mess, and I had only lost 4 lbs. all month. Clearly, this Keto thing was NOT working. On Nov. 8th, the Camp Fire broke out and we left Chico on Nov. 9th. We wouldn't return home until the 25th and I did not remain on Keto while we were gone and have spent the month of December just trying to get through Christmas and gearing up again.
After painting the dismal picture of what life was like on Keto, you may wonder why in the world would I want to do that again?! In the midst of all the negatives, there were a couple really significant positives. The first, and something the Keto diet is known for is that my cravings for sugar and carbs were GONE. After the first week or so, they weren't even tempting. My hunger was curbed in general and my ability to 'only eat when I was really hungry' seemed natural, instead of the struggle it normally is. Normally, if there's food, and I know it's food that's going to taste really good (which is everywhere) my desire to eat it can actually make me feel physically hungry, stomach growls and all, even when I wasn't a minute ago. Cravings are STRONG in my world, so to have them gone was a freedom I can't understate. This proved to me that my hormones were beginning to balance. My hunger and fullness signals were beginning to function again. That's important, right?
The second, and even more miraculous side effect was that my panic attacks seemed to vanish. I have been plagued with panic attacks since I was 19 years old. I've tried everything - drugs, psychotherapy and even hypnosis to rid myself of them, but they've been a constant for more than half my life. 99% of my panic attacks happen when I am driving, and I can't drive on most highways or bridges. As I'm sure you can imagine, my world is quite small because of my anxiety. About 2 weeks into the Keto diet, I was driving and something happened on the highway - I think someone cut me off - which would have normally sent me into a panic attack, but there wasn't even the slightest twinge of anxiety. Another day, I was about to take my typical backroad to get out to Durham to pick up my daughter and just felt like maybe I didn't need to exit the highway. I haven't been able to drive that stretch of highway in a decade or more, but the entire time I felt calm and steady. I realized after that that Keto made my anxiety just seemed to evaporate.
So, here I am, diving back in. Bracing myself for the suckage, and believing that my body may require more than a month to adjust to a different fuel source. I want the benefits - all the benefits that Keto has to offer. Hoping somehow this next month is better than October was...
