Posted:
04/2025
Treating
Depression & Anxiety
Started Journey
10/2019
Social Links
"I did keto on and off to begin with some benefits, but I didn't see significant changes until I committed to giving it a go for 3 months with the goal in mind of achieving a long 100km bike ride at the end. Within a short while I felt like a switch had been turned in my brain and that it was lighting up properly again, not only that but my physical energy was much better too. I completed the ride with no problem and have continued on a ketogenic diet now for over 5 years with no return of my mental health symptoms."
Everything improved, especially energy and clarity of mind.
Animal based ketogenic diet, circadian rhythm strategies & heat therapy.
I didn't have a care team. I saw my general practitioner (GP) who referred me to a psychiatrist who I saw once only. I was offered anti-depressants on prescription but I never took them as I wanted to find a way to recover without using medication.
Nothing was tracked until I started a ketogenic diet myself and used ketone urine strips initially. I did use a variety of supplements before I started keto but didn't find I needed them so much after that. I did use vitamin D over winter. I used Epsom salts in the bath.
I used a liberal ketogenic diet without testing initially and would have days off in the beginning. Once I committed to staying keto for 3 months, I really noticed the difference and so have very rarely been out of ketosis since then, only if I ate something by mistake or when traveling struggled to get what I needed. Since then, I have learned many strategies to cope better, e.g. taking coconut oil with me or sachets of MCT oil, using high fat beef jerky and cheese and nuts when traveling or hiking. I ate a late breakfast at around 10am, a small lunch or sometimes no lunch, early dinner at around 5:30pm, and had a long overnight fast period. I did weigh and track everything for a few days, but at the beginning, I wasn't particular about my macros. I just wanted to be in ketosis.
Initially, I used urine strips, so I was just aiming to make sure I was in ketosis, but I now use Keto-Mojo and aim to be over 1.2mmol/L ideally. I don't test every day now, but if I don't feel great I will test and make sure I am at that level and if not aim to get it up as quickly as possible.
Black out stick out blinds for room, layered bedding for comfort, cool room, red lights if waking at night, blue-blocking glasses for one hour before bed, relaxation routine including gratitude practice and deep breathing just before bed. Early morning sunlight with walk every morning before work.
Initially it was yoga and stretching, then walking as a I felt better, then back to gentle cardio. Now I do cardio twice a week, weights twice a week, stretching every day, a walk every morning and bikes/bigger rides on weekends.
Avoid caffeine almost completely (very rarely before 11am), avoided gluten, reduced alcohol and now abstain from alcohol. I had to set boundaries where there was negative social interactions which were badly affecting my mental health. This was probably the most difficult thing I had to do. I did get some counseling support to help me do this.
A huge amount of support from my husband in every way. Support from a couple of very good friends who were like-minded individuals. Support from a FB group relating to fatigue conditions. I did do a course of CBT which I think helped a little bit with this, but I don't attribute my recovery to this really.
Ketones with urine strips. I did have an Oura ring (now on Apple watch due to green light at night affecting my sleep with Oura) which helped me track sleep and activity. As a nutritional therapist, I did start ordering my own metabolic health panels (things like C-reactive protein, lipids, liver markers and thyroid). More recently I have also used the SiBio continuous ketone monitor as a trial, which I loved. It was very interesting to see what it did overnight and when I was climbing mountains. As a result of going carnivore keto, I have ended up as a lean mass hyper-responder so I am following Dave Feldman's research with interest.