Friday, March 2, 2018

Ketogenic Way of Eating

If you are wondering what in the world #Keto means, here is the link that I used to research it: 
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/ketogenic-diet-101

I was tired of having no energy to keep up with my kids. We have a very busy life and I always seemed to hit that dreaded 3pm crash. Every Day it was the same.  I woke up tired. Exhausted feeling throughout the whole day. I just basically went through the motions. Then night time came, it was like BAM! my brain just would not shut off. I had a really hard time sleeping, getting to sleep, and staying asleep. My body ached. I had headaches pretty much every week. I was taking heartburn medication twice a day almost every day. Regular reflux medications didn't help and doctors didn't really give me answers either. I had been coughing multiple times a day for almost 3 years.  So, right around Thanksgiving of 2017 an AHA moment hit me. 

It was a beautiful time of fall and I was miserable. I didn't want to go anywhere basically. I had got to the point where I just wanted to stay at home and it didn't matter if I was missing anything with my kids. I was stressed and just tired. I was tired of being tired.  I was tired of feeling like junk. So, that AHA moment hit me. I was looking around and thinking, "There has to be more to my le than just this. More than just feeling blah and going through the same motions day in and day out." So I started to do more vigorous research. I had already been cooking more gluten free items because I was trying to tweak some foods for myself as my sister had been diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis , see link for more information on UC.( https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/ulcerative-colitis/symptoms-causes/syc-20353326 ) 

I found a forum where someone had been linked to celiac disease and ulcerative Colitis where there only symptom had been chronic coughing, like mine. Sure, my sinuses are a mess and probably need surgery at some point but I wasn't ready for any of that. I decided I wanted to be better not just for my family, but mostly for myself. I wanted to feel better. I wanted to look better and be happier.  Ultimately, I wanted to be healthier by my 40th birthday. My husband and I are about to celebrate 20 years of marriage. So, when I started researching Keto I looked at recipes on pinterest. I talked to others who had been eating the Keto way for a while. I jumped right in. I was amazed at how much better I felt just a few days in. At 10 days I realized I hadn't been taking as much heartburn medication. 3 weeks into eating this way, I had not had to take any heartburn medication at all.  My headaches were less, and I had already dropped some weight.  I had some cheat days here and there. I however, have not had a regular soda in 16 weeks where before I would have a fountain regular soda almost every day at that was maybe 52 ozs. On super stressful days I probably drank the equivalent of a 2-liter in a day.  

So here I am now in February. I have lost 30 pds and almost 4 pant sizes. I am still trying to tone up my Abs, very hard to do after not losing weight after c-sections and not healing correctly afterwards either. Yet, I am determined.  I am a fighter. If I wasn't, I wouldn't still be standing today. 

I think all of us have a fighter inside of us, even if we feel like we have no fight left. You are strong and brave. You are amazing and can do anything. 

If you are thinking of the KETO diet. Please talk to your doctor about it. Do research. Make sure it is something you can stick with and enjoy life.  It was one thing that I was determined to do regardless of how everything turned out with changing my eating. I was going to actually start being in pictures more regardless if I had hair fixed, makeup on, felt good, or was tired. I was going to start being present in the moment. Life is too short to worry about small things. I wanted my kids to look back and see me in pictures, sharing life with them not trying to remember where I was or why I wasn't in the picture. I want them to have good memories of me and our times together. 

This is our life. We only get one to live. So let's make it good. 

Influenster Loreal EverPure

I received a full size sample of EverPure AntiFrizz control Shampoo and conditioner from Influenster complimentary for product testing in exchange for my honest review. 

And now, the review of Loreal's EverPure Anti Frizz Shampoo:
#1 The product smelled pretty good. However, the shampoo did not do well on my hair. I have very hard to control frizz. I believe the product probably would work well in a more predictable weather climate than my hometown.  My hometown it seems the weather can never decide which season it would like to be in on a weekly basis.  Just this past week we went from crazy cold, to warm and flooding. Now, we are back to being a little chilly.  My hair has been brittle for a while. Stress may factor into it as well. Stress can do a lot of things to the body. Stress can wreak havoc in many different ways; Sleep deprivation, weight fluctuation, hair loss, dry hair, weak nails, etc. So again maybe the EverPure would have done better if it had not been such a busy and stressful month.

#2 The shampoo was extremely difficult to squeeze out of the tube.  It had more of a goopy consistency. Quite possibly, it could have been easier to get out if in a different type of packaging.  It felt more like a hair mask than an actual shampoo.  My hair even felt drier even while wet. Not sure if maybe I got a partially dried out or not mixed well sample. I think Loreal has great products and am generally happy with the products I try from them. I, however did not enjoy the EverPure Shampoo Anti-Frizz formula.  Unfortunately, from my perspective this would be one product from Loreal that I would not recommend to purchase. I did try it out for two weeks steadily to see if it would improve, it did not.

The Review of the Loreal's EverPure AntiFrizz Conditioner:
#1 The conditioner smelled nice. It was much easier to get squeeze out of the tube and the packaging design for it seemed to work well. It was creamy consistency and was very nice when applied. 

#2 I used the product in conjunction with the EverPure Shampoo for two weeks.  I was sincerely hoping that after the two weeks that it would improve the dryness and brittle feeling of my hair. My frizz was still terrible, but again it could be the climate and stressful month. I would however give this conditioner another try maybe on vacation.

So on a 1 to 5 star scale I would give the Shampoo about a 2 from my trial and the conditioner 3 stars.