I know that sometimes I write far and in between, but I am still here and I’m still doing this “Keto thing”. It has become a normal and regular part of our lives. My husband and I are both fully committed to this lifestyle of low carb, high fat, intermittent fasting lifestyle. Fasting more than 36 hours, three times a week, is becoming easier and easier for me to do. We both downloaded the LIFE Fasting app so that we can join together in our fasts.

Some people start to freak out when I talk about fasting, but I don’t think they realize that they fast too. We all do. It’s natural for our bodies. I do it a little longer than others because I’m fighting back type II diabetes and insulin resistance. Typically my husband doesn’t stretch out his fasts longer than I do. He longest fasts are typically only 24 hours. Mine stretch typically to 42-46 hours. We have different bodies.

So what does my typically week look like? Well, let’s start on Monday.

If you want a more in depth look on fasting and how to do it, I highly recommend reading Dr. Jason Fung’s Complete Guide to Fasting and The Obesity Code. I have also read The Diabetes Code as it pertains more to me. Amazing information. I’m also part of a support group on Facebook that is connected to the fundamentals of Dr. Fung’s information. They have great resources on there. That’s where I found out that it’s okay to have a few olives to tie you over during a fast since it is mostly fat. Another resource said that as long as you don’t go over 50 calories, you fast shouldn’t break. At the beginning, I definitely needs a few olives or some bone broth, but in the last few weeks I’ve been doing okay without.

I also take supplements: a women’s multivitamin, beef liver capsules, magnesium glycinate (make sure you aren’t getting magnesium oxide because the body doesn’t absorb it very well – hence why the really good magnesium is much more expensive), biotin, collagen, and probiotics. I only take the probiotics on my feasting days after I’ve eaten something. I take all of my supplements right before I go to bed so that I don’t get nauseous (this happened one morning during a fast – it was a horrible feeling).

I drink a lot of water. Right now I drink Eternal – I like the taste and I like that it naturally has electrolytes in it being an alkaline spring water. If it’s not available (it sells out rather quickly), then my second choice is SmartWater. If I start to feel a little off, or if I start to get a headache, I first take some pink salt – yes, I put some in my palm and then lick it. Most of the time is does the trick, but there are times that I still don’t feel quite right and there’s only one option: STOP THE FAST. So I eat something knowing that I can fast again tomorrow if I’m feeling better.

One observation I have been scared to put out there – but I think it’s a good time to do it – I used to get sick at least twice a year. It would usually be a sinus cold due to the change in weather, usually around spring and fall. For a while it was three times a year because I would get sick right around the holidays too. I started Keto in December 2017. Now that December I was real sick (you can read all about it in previous posts) – for the whole month! I had the “Keto flu”, plus a sinus infection, plus a serious ear infection. I was so bad off. But you know what? I have not been sick since then. Now I do take antihistamines (Benadryl at night and a Zyrtec in the morning), but I always have and I would still get sick. I started to get a sore throat back in March when the pollen levels were really high here, but it was right before a fasting day. During the fast the sore throat went away. I’ve had a co worker coughing next to me; sick patients all around me (I work in a doctor’s office); I’ve been on two 11-hour flights; my kids have been sick… But not me. And come to think of it, neither has my husband. I think he may have had the sniffles a while back, but nothing serious.

I have become a true believer.

Between the massive drop in inflammation from not eating carbs and sugar, and from eating less processed foods to the fastings we are doing, I truly believe we are boosting our immune systems. Our bodies are able to do what they are made to do and fight off the common colds.

More evidence to this: I have a longtime patient who would come in on a regular basis with severe exacerbations from COPD. Supplemental oxygen, antibiotics, prednisone were all added to try to help this patient stay out of the hospital. This patient told me not too long ago that they started keto last year. They came off oxygen, can go do their recreational activities again, and haven’t been in the hospital since. They also come in much less frequently and really only for follow-ups. I’m telling you. There is some real truth to this lifestyle. I really hope this kind of information starts getting out to the medical community for these patients. I would love to see how many more people can have a better quality of life just by changing up their eating lifestyle. Much of the diseases and disorders out there have to do with inflammation. How about adapting an eating lifestyle that naturally reduces inflammation? How much better will people feel?

This is the kind of information that makes me want to go back to school and maybe work on a degree in nutritional sciences. The only thing that stops me is knowing that there are still protocols and standards that are the opposite of what is happening here. Standards of care are much farther behind than we might think. I guess for right now, I’ll just do what I can for myself, for my family, and from this computer.