I will admit that I made a mistake recently, and am in the process of course correction.
Back in 2017, I started following the Wahls Paleo Plus. It meant being in ketosis, as well as eating six cups of veggies every day. There are other things that I actually do follow as well, such as eating offal on a regular basis, having fatty fish, etc. But I primarily focus on being in keto and getting in my veggies.
Did I do this every day over the years? Nope. Tended to skip parts of it during the holidays every year. And then there would be days here and there when I wasn’t in compliance with my diet. For the most part, though, I always got in my six cups and stayed in ketosis. For a little over five years.
Then I had the knee surgery last October. And my diet went to hell.
At first, it was the opioids. I wasn’t hungry. Nothing looked appetizing. Eventually we hit upon what we call, “deconstructed salad.” This is basically a veggie tray. I was getting in some veggies most every day, but not enough, and not the right kinds of veggies. (Six cups divides down to two cups of leafy greens, two cups of sulfurs, and two cups of colored veggies/fruit.)
I was going to reset everything in January, but that was kind of a rough month. Then February happened, and that was a lot worse.
Over the last month or so, I did manage to get myself back into ketosis on a regular basis.
The ketosis is important because for me, being in keto means that I sleep. When I wake up during the night, I can fall back asleep. Nothing improves my sleep as well as being in ketosis. I’ve tried everything. This is the only “trick” that consistently works. And even then, there are still nights when I don’t sleep due to hormones. But instead of not getting enough sleep four nights out of seven, now it’s one or two nights per month.
However, being in ketosis wasn’t enough. Even though I was (finally!) getting enough sleep, I still didn’t have the brain I needed to write. I was still struggling to get in words. When it takes me three hours to get in 1500 word, there’s a problem.
Eventually, I realized my mistake: that being in ketosis wasn’t enough. I needed to get back to my proper diet, and six cups of veggies every single day.
I’ve managed that mostly for the last couple of weeks.
WOW.
It makes such a difference to me.
To be honest, I didn’t see that much change the first week. By the end of the second week, though, I was suddenly able to write again. Write like I used to, with speed and with joy. Getting in 3000 words a day in a little less than two hours.
The good news is that I now have a new equation for motivating myself.
More veggies = more words
Anytime I feel as though fixing all those veggies is too much bother, it’s going to take too much time or energy or what have you, I just have to remember that simple equation.
More veggies = more words
That is a primary motivator for me. I define myself as a writer. A writer writes. Period. While I was still writing, it was hard.
It’s grown easy again.
I will finish the current novel this week. (I’d say by Tuesday, but I’m unsure of how much I’ll really be able to write today. Had my fourth booster shot yesterday. Today, I’m tired, slightly fuzzy, and my joints ache.) Then I have two short stories to write, and the end of the last novel to rewrite. Then I get to start the next novel, say in a week’s time, and I am SO looking forward to it!
So that’s my mistake. Not adhering to what works. How about you? Have you made a mistake recently that you’ve either corrected or are in the middle of correcting?