One Year, 105 lbs, and Zero Seizures.

Hey there!

I finally hit my 100 lb milestone and thought I'd share. Sorry, this is a little long. Here's a pic:



I started working out in August of 2016 in an effort to get my weight under control. It worked pretty well, and I was feeling much better, but I was still having seizures and the medications weren't helping (and never had).
I started keto in March 2017 solely to control my epilepsy.

I've been epileptic since I was 12 years old, and despite decades of anti seizure meds which did nothing to control my seizures but came with a whole host of lovely side effects (paresthesia, aphagia, facial paralysis, skin blisters, and mental fog, among others) and my neurologist insisting I needed brain surgery, I decided to be my own health advocate and take matters into my own hands. I've had three different neurologists over the last 20 years and none of them endorsed nor even encouraged keto as a therapy for me, since for adults they'd found a "low adherence rate". Because of this, they prefer to not mention it which doesn't even give us a chance to try it out for ourselves, which I found to be frustrating as hell.

So I did some research via Johns Hopkins University and The Charlie Foundation, bought a food scale, started with a two-day water fast then dove in. It was challenging at first, but after a couple of weeks it became routine and I didn't have any carbohydrate cravings whatsoever. After seven months, I'm now completely seizure free and off all epilepsy medication.

For me, one of the side effects of keto and the weight loss is more energy and stamina for exercise. I've always loved hiking and being outside, so in tandem with weightlifting (deadlifts, squats and bench), I found I loved getting stronger and healthier. I also noticed the weight loss made exercise much more enjoyable. I'm a dog walker, so I began taking a couple of my dogs on seriously long urban hikes as well as longer trail hikes on the weekends with friends.
I found I loved with the hiking and long distance walking so much, it became somewhat of an addiction. I started thinking again about the Pacific Crest Trail, which I used to hike sections of a couple times per month before I moved downtown and fantasized about hiking when I was in my 30's (I'm 41 now). It's a 2,600-mile hike from Mexico to Canada, and much of it goes through Washington State (I live in Seattle.) Most thru-hikers average 20 miles per day, so I began adding several 20-mile long treks during my week. Doing research on the PCT has become my new favorite pastime.

Because this controls my seizures 100%, I consider this a lifestyle change for me. I have no desire to go back on medication, and having been keto for 7 months now it's become my new normal. My neurologist is even on board, and sent me to a ketogenic nutritionist to help me with my meal plans (medical keto has a higher fat and lower protein percentage than the keto strategy used for non-medical purposes) and run regular blood panels.

MyFitnessPal has been so crucial in helping me track not just my macros but all of my workouts as well - I don't know what I'd do without it.