Mental Health Update!

Hey y'all!

Greetings from snowy NC, well snowy and icy NC. Things got nasty here late yesterday afternoon and much like the rest of the Eastern seaboard, our entire state shutdown. This meme basically sums up North Carolina and snow:

Image found via Google Images

Moving on! I'm putting in an update on the mental health front since I saw my therapist on last Tuesday (the 10th). I told her about my start on the Ketogenic diet and she immediately knew what I was talking about, which made me happy. She asked how I was doing and I told her my depression has never been better, On a 1-10 scale, I'd rate myself a 7 (I'll go into detail more below on why it's not higher). My swings have been very moderate if not non-existent all together. In the morning I'm alert now, I'm more productive. By noon most of my work has been completed and I'm now asking for more responsibility where as previously I was struggling to get my daily tasks done by quitting time. YAY!! We're seeing results finally! I will no longer be a slave to my depression and no one should ever be a slave to their depression EVER! I feel like I owe Freeze so much gratitude and thanks for starting me on this path.Without him I wouldn't have even have known about this diet and what it could possibly do for me.

Image found via Google Images

I have my first rheumatologist appointment in April since starting the diet, so I'll be talking to my doc about the affects of Keto on my arthritis, My mom has Rheumatoid Arthritis and I was tested for RA factor when I was 22 a doctor found the RA factor in me too. So, while I'm not as advanced as my mom is, I still see a rheumatologist twice a year and it happens to be the same doctor she sees. He actually tried to get her to go gluten free last year to see if it would help her pain levels any. She didn't really stick with it, but so far I have seen a dramatic reduction in my pain. I've only had to take pain medication twice and that was when two major cold fronts came through. That brings down my mood level. Pain makes me grumpy and unhappy. Other than those few occasions, I could not be happier with my progress.

Oh and I'm down 8.5 lbs last time I checked, but that was 2 weeks ago. Yay progress!! 

Why I Haven't Started Going Back to the Gym.. Yet

It may come as a shock being that I am morbidly obese, but I love the gym. I always have.  There's a rush in the feeling of burning your muscles, and I miss it. I miss the elliptical; I miss knowing I was improving my body more every day.

And I haven't gone back since August.

There's a reason! Not an excuse, per se, but a reason.

In May I ran a 5k (color run), and by ran I mean I started running and heard a pop in my knee and walked the rest of the way. I really thought it would be easy, I was up to an hour on the elliptical and clearing 4-5 miles every time.

Lesson 1: Using an elliptical /= running on the road.

It was a hard lesson to learn... as I soon discovered I had messed up my meniscus in my left knee! (Which also happens to be the same ankle I've had injured for years and the same shoulder) My left side is my bad side! :-P

Anyway, so I made a goal to myself upon starting keto that I would go back to the gym when I got down to 350.

But here's the honest truth: I am feeling a ton better. 30 pounds down and I am walking way more, more active, not huffing and puffing going up the stairs, not begging to sit down after standing for a while... I just feel better. Which is crazy for the fact that I still weigh 379lbs!

So I'm going to go back sooner then later. My goal is this week to sign up at Golds Gym near my house and go cancel my Planet Fitness membership which is farther away.

Im going to take it slow and get back into the groove; then it's onward. 34 days into keto.. I'm thinking it's time to get to the gym.

So what's my goal for the year? Idk.. let's say 100lbs. By the end of 2015 I would like to weigh 300 (i started at 410 the first week of december) so I'd say to be at 300 by the end of 2015. If I can get there, I will feel super accomplished, then keep pressing forward.

Here's to months of bacon, meat, cheese, and other yumminess on my way down the mountain of a scale.

See you at the bottom

-Freeze

Bio: Who is Freeze?

Hi! My name is Freeze! Thanks for checking out the blog. I have had an entire life of struggle with obesity. I have never been lazy, and would be considered a very active obese person... but I was just never able to really get the weight off. As you will see in the archives of this blog, quite a few years ago I did manage to lose a significant amount of weight; that was regained after a lot of life happenings steered me off course.

As I've gotten older (currently 27) I have begun to finally feel the physical affects of morbid obesity. 2013 was the first time I ever felt tired from standing around or walking short distances. 2014 was the first time I ever cussed out loud because the only bathrooms in my apartment are both upstairs, while everything I use is downstairs.

I knew it was time for something drastic. I tried Juicing (After watching Fat, Sick, And Nearly Dead,) but it just didn't work for me as a sustainable option.

It was then through research and hours of scouring that I discovered Keto. It was actually by accident. I was reading through reddit's Progress Pics subreddit when I saw a guy, similar age, who was huge. Then his after shot where he was ripped up and healthy. I read through his comments and found out his diet was keto, and he would eat wings 3-4 times a week. I was sold. I decided to do research,

I did keto for 4 months and lost 55lbs! Then I got gout. After recovering from that it took me until December of 2014 to finally hunker down and commit. No longer scared of having a goutbreak; I delved in. I discovered my gout trigger (diet soda during keto) and cut it completely out.

My goal with this blog is to continue to update it with recipes I may accidentally discover, with real results as they happen, progress pictures; the good and the bad stories; and everything in between. Lastly, my goal is to find the best deals on keto-friendly things around the internet and provide them to you, links and discount codes included. This will range from actual food items (like MCT Oil) to kitchen wares that are essential.

So one blog at a time, let's see some real results, here at RealSults.

-Freeze