So I’m feeling as though I’m finally back to normal. I know that doesn’t make a lot of sense, I haven’t technically been sick. However, I have regularly been having “off” days since the 11th (and today’s the 26th.)

As of yesterday, though, I no longer feel as though I’m going to have my period starting at any moment. I have both energy and brain this morning. Was able to do a full yoga routine this morning. Really looking forward to getting back to the novel. Etc.

It’s nice being back here. I wish I hadn’t had two weeks where I felt so meh. I just keep reminding myself that without being hard-core keto, it could have been so much worse. I could have had constant migraines. I could have been unable to function. Instead, I functioned almost the entire time. Wrote 16K words last week, despite the meh. I’m not having hot flashes, night sweats, etc. My symptoms are minimal.

I’m not sure what I would need to do to get completely rid of all my symptoms. When I go searching out on the internet, it appears that for most people what I’m doing should work. I’m going to keep looking, keep experimenting and tweaking to see if there’s a notch better, or if this is it.

I was thinking about my diet last night. I’ve worked hard at making sure that it feels like my life and not a diet.

Strange – I’d almost written that I was lucky – but that isn’t the case at all. I’ve been careful about my language and my strategies exactly so that it doesn’t feel like a diet. I didn’t happen into this. I made choices so that I continue to feel as though I’m living fully and not depriving myself.

For example, I get chocolate every day. It is not a “cheat” – it’s recorded and part of my calorie count.

It isn’t a lot of chocolate. But I don’t need much. Two small squares from a bigger bar usually satisfies me. It’s always good chocolate, no soy lecithin, 70% cacao or more.

Going on a diet and denying myself chocolate would be stupid. I’d be miserable. This helps it feel as though I’m not on a diet, even though I’m aware that I’m not consuming as many calories and I wake up hungry sometimes.

There are other things that I get to eat everyday. Like bacon. (Yum. Bacon.) Just not as much bacon as I once was because holy cow, was I eating a lot of bacon and other protein. Strawberries are starting to turn ripe in the garden. A quarter cup of strawberries with a quarter cup of coconut milk makes a divine dessert. I made a batch of keto naan. I get to have that with butter and cinnamon on a regular basis. Plus my amazing big-ass salads.

So yeah, while there are a lot of foods I no longer eat, this diet has become normalized for me. And that is all part of feeling like I’m back to normal again.

I hope your day is going lovely and that you also feel as though you’ve re-achieved your groove. Tell me about what really helps you feel “normal” as it were.