Day 25.. Anxiety overload and overinformed

(Chris Cannon) #21

Thank u so much for your positivity!!

(Stickin' with mammoth) #22

Soooo true.

(Amy) #23

I’ve suffered with anxiety off and on throughout my life too. Overall, keto has helped, but the transition was rough. I didn’t eat enough calories in the beginning, which led to all kinds of problems.

Anyways, what helps my anxiety most these days is yoga and CBD oil (the legal kind made from industrial hemp). Both have helped me reduce cortisol and shift perspective.

I found it easiest in the beginning to just rotate 5 dinner recipes that the family all liked, supplementing their carbs with rice or baked potatoes. That way I didn’t have to think about it and my shopping list was always the same. Good luck to you!

#24

Hey welcome to the club. I’m a stay at home of 5 boys, and I homeschool one. I got real bad anxiety when I first started a carnivore diet but all the symptoms eventually subsided and I felt great. Life can be overwhelming sometimes especially when your a mom. My suggestion is during moments of stress remember it will pass. If your religious or spiritual at all say a prayer or mantra. I find prayer is key for me when dealing with life stress. Finances, kids, and sometimes a poopy pants husband, but in all reality it’s just called “life.” You know that old slogan when life throws you lemons make lemonade well it’s true. Whenever I’m feeling stressed I always remember there are people in other countries starving, in fear for their lives because they live in war torn countries, people who’s kids have terminal illness…so when I start thinking I got it rough I try to practice gratitude because it could always be worse. Also if I’m stressed I try to leave the dishes for tomorrow and accept my house will never be perfectly clean, I cut myself some slack and when your a mom you have to do that because being a mom is a tough but the most rewarding job ever. Personal expierence the anxiety will pass as your body adjusts to your new diet. Oh and regarding your husband he is a grown man make him take care of himself , he should be helping you out around the house and with the kids (I hope he is doing that) a wife is a helper for the husband not the husbands care taker. (I mean that with all love.) oh and I’m not sure if you track your menstrual cycles but I find I can literally always pinpoint my stress to my cycles. About a few days before my period it’s literally almost always connected to PMS…
AKA-Prepare to Meet Satan.

#25

I like your down to earth response. How long have you been on Keto diet? It’s all so new for us newbies that our expectations are over the moon.:grinning:

(Chris Cannon) #27

On my good days keto has really helped my anxiety…makes my focus much clearer. Its just those times i am driving from work to home and my blood sugar drops and then im off to the races!! My body goes absolute nuts! Luckily i do have good cbd oil…my dad had bought it for me…but i never use it until it seems “too late”…do youou have a certain regimen for taking your cbd oil?? And thanks for sharing…anxiety is very hard tondeal with for me…lots of people around me dont understand it…since i “look” fine.

(Chris Cannon) #28

5 boys??? God bless you!!! I have 1 5 yr old boy the others are girls…and he has added so much stress!! Lol…he has a severe bleeding disorder… And has been through so much! So i truly beleive my stress amped up around that period that he was born. Thankfully some new meds were released back in june and have literally been life changing for him and his lifestlye…im hoping it will allow some of my stress to go out the door soon. As for my hunsband…you guys are suoer blessed if your getting so much help from your partner!!. My marriage is not so simple… It is another stressor… BUT… His health is quite poor and he is disabled…and we also libe with my father that was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer… Soooo…you can see where all my stress comes from. Im doing lota of mental work now and realizing i can only control so much. And what i can control i take the best approach to reducing my stress…im 25 days in on all this amd i see small improvements… And its about the little things that make the big picture complete!
This is so huge that i found this forum. Im blessed for this.god bless all of you!

#29

Why don’t you try some recipes for keto fat bombs, which you can take to work and eat before you leave for the day? Not snacking is generally good advice for weight loss, but if you need a snack to deal with stress, there’s nothing wrong with a healthy one.

From what you’re telling, you’re quite the hero for managing to not break down completely. Give yourself a break and focus on just living and letting your new way of eating heal you up a bit. Let your weight loss stall for a couple weeks just to stabilise and assure your body that it is getting everything that it needs. If you’re lucky, things will sort themselves out naturally to continue losing. If not, you’ll at least have a body that is less panicked when you take steps to lose more again. You’re only now reaching the point where your body starts to adapt fully to ketosis.

(Christins) #30

I have big polar disorder and am no stranger to panic attacks! My husband and I started Keto 2 years ago due to his diabetes but I have lost weight and feel great too. The first week Keto was hell and I had similar problems to what you’ve described for the first 2 months tapering down in the third month. Two years later my cognitive functions are better than ever, my depression and bipolar meds work better, I’ve had no major episodes since starting Keto and I no longer take any anti anxiety meds at all! And best of all no more inpatient hospital stays!

As for stress eating, I keep chocolate fat bombs in the freezer at all times. The chocolate improved my mood and I don’t need the sugar anymore. This diet isn’t for everyone but it has dramatically improved my health both physically and mentally. I encourage you to keep at it. Remember your anxiety doesn’t mean disaster, be gentle on yourself and Keto on! I truly hope yours is as great a success story as mine is!

(squirrel-kissing paper tamer) #31

I also eat a chunk of 100% chocolate almost every night. It’s not even that delicious but I crave it and sleep better on the nights I have it around. Placebo effect? Maybe but if I feel good and it doesn’t derail me, then I’m sticking with it.

(Amy) #32

I take a 10mg capsule twice a day, except I don’t seem to need it during the day on weekends, only when I’m working (elementary teacher). I feel an energy boost right after taking it, than the calm comes a couple hours later, so I take it after dinner, then I’m ready for sleep 3 hours later. I’ve never slept better. It’s lessened my pains, as I tend to store my anxiety in my shoulders and hip.

I second the recommendation to keep fat bombs with you. My favorite one in the beginning was coconut oil/coconut butter/erythitol/dehydrated raspberries or chocolate/sunflower seed butter/ coconut oil.

(Stickin' with mammoth) #33

Excellent advice.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #34

Well, you’ve got it to lose, so don’t worry too much. But it will slow down as you approach your goal, so be braced for that, too!

Here’s hoping you lose lots of fat and not a pound of bone or lean muscle!

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #35

My ex and I had a rule that worked well for us: whoever was bothered most by the dirt did the vacuuming.

Also: whoever cooked, the other one did the dishes.

We missed out on a lot of great arguments that way . . . :rofl:

(Stickin' with mammoth) #36

Ha! Good one!

(Adam Sheather) #37

Hi Chris,

I am a dude & I had some of the symptoms that you had in the first month or so of being on keto.

I was feeling very vague, some short term memory problems, my heart was racing a bit at night.

I suspect I was doing some things a bit wrong & I had only just discovered I was type 2 diabetic so pretty much a carb addict. I hadn’t been getting tested but my hba1c was 10, (diagnosis of type 2 in Australia is 6.5).

I don’t think my body was used to running on fat for fuel at all for a very long time, just carbs.

I think I was OK with my sodium intake but maybe not as good with my magnesium - maybe OK with my potassium by accident?

Things settled down by themselves over time, so I think that the biggest thing was withdrawal symptoms from my body’s carb addiction.

Hopefully things will settle down for you too.

One thing that you could try if you think that perhaps you are not eating enough leafy greens & keeping your magnesium levels up is a long soak, (40 minutes or so) in a warm bath of epsom salts. You are supposed to be able to absorb the magnesium salts through your skin & just taking the time out might help settle your nerves a little.

If you are thinking that the withdrawal symptoms from carbs are too strong & you need to ease into a bit, I think most people would recommend a little berry fruit rather than coke. You could see if that is enough to take the edge off.

For me personally, things started to get better after about a month & I was feeling better than when I started in all regards by 3 months.

After 3 months, diabetes was confirmed as being in remission, fatty liver gone within a month & I’d lost about 12kgs, (26 lbs).

It’s been more than 7 months for me now. I have had infrequent scheduled cheat days, (feel bad for about 24 hrs afterwards) but diabetes still in remission, I’m down about 19kgs in weight & feeling better for it.

My Dad is on keto too now & losing weight & reducing his diabetes medication as his blood glucose drops.

I do a little bit of intermittent fasting just because I am not so hungry anymore but nothing really long term, maybe 16 hrs max but I definitely didn’t do it at the start - was enough of a shock to the system cutting the carbs so low.

My attitude when I started was to eat when I was hungry & stick to anything that was roughly 5% or less carbs. I didn’t worry about too much more than that for starters, other than making an effort to try & eat a bit of low carb vegetables every now & then.

Occasionally I experiment with low carb recipes but most of the time it is simple, meat, vegies, eggs, butter, plain yoghurt, nuts, cheese, salads with olive oil dressing, etc. I work 12 hour shifts, have my son & the ex at home & do most of the cooking, so try & keep it simple for the most part & every now & then when I have more time off I try things that are more elaborate.

Good luck with it. Don’t be too tough on yourself. Try & keep it nice & simple - not too much all at once to give your body a bit of chance to adjust. Hopefully it all works out well for you.

(Jill F.) #38

Hi @chris_cannon and welcome! 8 have generalized anxiety disorder myself and I found about 1 month in I was having feelings of panic. I realized that I was no longer eating my emotions so I had to learn a new “coping skill”. Be sure to try best you can to carve out a little time for you even if it is a bubble bath or 1 hour nap, etc. As busy hectic life coordinator mamas we can not pour from an empty cup!

#39

I am sorry to hear about some of your struggles but never forget your not alone, we all got them just in different ways. Try to remember also your struggles are only temporary, things get better with time just like with your son who now has meds that are helping him. I know this sounds simplistic but I try to live my life by this motto when the “poop fairy” comes around to mess stuff up…(pray, hope, and don’t worry.) Easier said then done but consider with the keto food just real simple stuff for the family for a while, bacon and eggs, ground beef with some cheese and onions, and chicken with a side of sautéed mushrooms. If your responsible for cooking and doing it all which is sounds like you may be then simplify everything like one of the other posters said you truly got to “keep it simple,” especially when your as busy and overwhelmed as you are, which anyone in your circumstances would be. We are all here to help on your keto journey and you can get some awesome recipe ideas on the recipe forum on here too.

(Christins) #40

Sounds delicious