Profile Image

Lauren Kennedy West

Posted:

01/2025

In remission from

Schizoaffective Disorder

Started Journey

01/2023

Social Links

My Journey

Video Thumbnail

My Strategies

Video Thumbnail

My THINK + SMART Profile

Key Symptoms Addressed

Negative symptoms, positive symptoms, and mood symptoms.

My Top Three Strategies

Ketogenic diet, exercise, and sleep (and if I can include 4, cutting out alcohol and drugs has been big too!)

T H

Therapeutic

Psychiatrist, GP, therapist, keto coach - psychiatrist overseeing final taper off antipsychotic medications + have a PRN antipsychotic for if I ever need it.

I

Integration

Panel of blood testing as recommended by my keto coach and GP (repeat quarterly) + supplements as recommended by keto coach: multivitamin, vitamin D, vitamin K, vitamin C, L-carnitine, magnesium, potassium, NAC, glycine, phos choline.

N

Nutritional

Medical ketogenic diet (2:1) with under 20g net carbs per day, moderate protein, and high fat.

K

Ketosis

Measure ketones and glucose through CKM and CGM as well as Keto-Mojo blood ketone and blood glucose measurement - aiming for above 1.5 mmol/L ketones (feel my best above this and great if I can hit 3s or 4s).

S

Sleep

Try my best to stick to a sleep schedule of going to bed at 10:30pm and waking up at 7:00am. Create an environment conducive to good sleep (cool, dark, 8sleep mattress cover). One cup of caffeinated coffee only before noon, exercise during the day, limit screens before bedtime, and try to avoid eating before bedtime as well. Track my sleep as well through various devices (8sleep, Whoop, Garmin).

M

Move

Running almost every day (easy pace, long runs, intervals, etc.), weight training, swimming, cycling, yoga, playing with my kids - trying to be active outside every day!

A

Avoid

Avoid alcohol and recreational drugs - working on really reducing caffeine intake (eventually will completely avoid this too).

R

Rebuild

Just recently finished completely tapering off of psychiatric medications under the supervision of my care team. Psychotherapy and personal reflection are important to me, and creating videos to share with others has really helped me process this experience and also create a sense of community and connection with others.

T

Track

Tracking metabolic measures (body composition, weight, BMI, HRV, resting heart rate, body temp) and mental health measures (positive and negative symptoms, mood symptoms, cognitive function, executive function, mental clarity). My keto coach has also been monitoring through standardized testing levels of depression, anxiety, PTSD, and cognitive functioning.