Day 8 is going well so far. Was very tired first thing, but perked up. Mood is good. Not anxious to speak of. No carb cravings! I gotta cut back on caffeine and artificially sweetened drinks. They are zero carb, but I believe causing at least some insulin response due to the cephalic insulin response.
Day 6 was a lazy day for me. Watched sports. Spent time with family. Didn’t do much, but felt well overall. Fully adherent to the plan.
Day 7 has been good. I unfortunately slept poorly last night, but once I got up and running, I felt good. Mood is stable. Energy is fair to good. Anxiety is modest. I’ve noticed very minimal cravings. I was traveling in the car today and had to get some food from a convenience store. It was very easy to leave aside the carb laden sweets and stick with some cheese curds and meat sticks.
Home in the studio after a long day of travel
Here are the Day 7 stats…
Sleep
8 hours with several awakenings
Energy
6-7/10
Depression
2/10
Anxiety
2/10
Optimism
7-8/10
AM Weight
253
Breakfast
3 fried eggs, 4 strips of bacon
Lunch
8 oz hamburger patty, bacon strips, salad with blue cheese dressing
Day 5 it is. I slept hard. I feel strong today. I did a bit of an intermittent fast. I ate last at 8 PM last night and didn’t eat until 11 AM today. 15 hours is VERY long for me. A joke I have made with family is that “I have to eat before I eat, so I don’t get hungry too soon after I eat.” So, skipping an early breakfast and waiting until 11 was somewhat of a substantial development for me. Mood has been overall good day, save for a bit of irritability. However, not feeling despondent and certainly not anxious or filled with doom. Physical energy has been strong. Oh yeah, an apparently I’ve lost 7 lbs in 5 days… so there’s that.
Day 5… with the Myspace angle
Day 5 stats are as follows…
Sleep
7 hours with 2 awakenings (stayed up late)
Energy
6-7/10
Depression
2/10
Anxiety
2/10
Optimism
7-8/10
AM Weight
250
Breakfast
Coffee and cream
Lunch
3 fried eggs, 4 oz leftover steak, 3 strips of bacon
It’s Day 4, and I’m starting to feel my fire come back. Still woke somewhat tired today, but sleep quality was better. Energy level, motivation, and overall optimism about life are starting to improve. No appreciable anxiety this morning either.
Day 3 started off difficult. Woke up tired and irritable. I slept marginally well with one significant awakening. Energy, however, was good today throughout the day. No sugar cravings today to speak of.
I am a board certified adult psychiatrist in practice in Duluth, Minnesota. I have been in clinical practice for about 10 years, focusing on treating patients with complex treatment-resistant illness and co-occurring disorders.
I have treated hundreds patients who have marginal response to medication treatments and who deal with chronic mood and anxiety problems as well as physical health problems. There is a growing body of evidence that systemic inflammation plays a large role in physical and mental health. Patients who have been able to adopt and adhere to a ketogenic lifestyle have achieved significant success where conventional treatments had been partially effective at best.
I have had my own challenges in life, struggling at various times with poor physical health, depression, anxiety, and unhealthy alcohol use. I take antidepressants and anxi-anxiety medications. I am moderately overweight. I have extensive family history of immune-mediated illness, and I have had manifestations of this at times in my life with recurrent rashes, random joint pains, and severe bouts of fatigue. I believe systemic inflammation plays a central role in all of my challenges and that a dietary approach to decrease inflammation will likely be globally beneficial for health.
This page exists for the primary purpose of chronicling my own progress and educating the public on the physical and mental health benefits of ketogenic eating plans. Wish me luck.
