#93 The Routine - Diet and Disaster Pants. *caution graphic content*

I've been writing this blog for almost a year now....crazy to think I have so much to say. Then again to those who know me well, you know I'll never shut up.

One thing that I get feedback, or questions about is my exact regime. What I do daily to battle cancer. As you have read, my initial diagnosis was not a very positive one. Chemo didn't work, the tumor grew and spread to 19 lymph nodes under my arm. This put my odds of reccurrance at 50-65% over the following 2 years. Basically it was the Drs telling me that it would be a challenge to get rid of the cancer, that it likely had spread to distant sites and would set up shop there and wait until I was weak and spring up again.

I decided to take a very very aggressive approach to battling these odds. I have mentioned the supplements, therapies and treatments I've used but I have never outlined what a day looks like.

Now that the holidays are over, and indulgences are dwindling, I thought it may benefit those struggling with cancer, those who may struggle in the future or those who know someone who is struggling...for me to document what a day/week/month looks like. Starting from the beginning.

Over the holidays, I ate and drank and pretty much had a regular diet, treating myself....enjoying.

Now I need to head back into ketosis. This is a HUGE challenge, and I mean that genuinely.

The type of ketosis I need to enter is referred to as "therapeutic ketosis". It's more severe than just regular ketosis. It means I eat less than 15mg of carbohydrates a day. I monitor my blood sugar levels and I monitor my ketones. I eat very little protein and a lot of low carb greens and healthy fats. LOW calorie. So tough.

This diet is tough for a total of 5-10 days and if done correctly, the body adapts. It's amazing. When I started it in July, I began with a fast. 2 days of drinking nothing but chaga tea, electrolytes and alkaline broth. It was hell. I was so hungry. Day three I started juicing and to introduce plant fats, some animal fats (grass fed ghee) and nuts and greens. I went to bed hungry, woke up less and less hungry. I over the next 3 weeks completely transitioned my body to burn fats instead of carbohydrates. I ate zero sugar. Cancer eats sugar. I don't eat it...they don't eat. Some skeptics and scientists will assert that there are types of cancer that can transition to using ketone bodies for fuel, but it's a lot more difficult for them and most of the actual evidence "in vivo" meaning - in a human - not a mouse or a petri dish (which is called "in vitro") would state that really cancer cells struggle to use ketone bodies for fuel.

Diet is very important. There are foods that just straight up feed cancer. Sugar, bad proteins (non grass fed beef, non organic chicken, non organic any meat really, and especially processed meats) pork, eggs and sadly cheese. Goat cheese is ok in moderation, but cheese/dairy makes things grow. Humans, baby cows, cells. Cancer. Dairy is evil. If you don't believe me, change nothing for one month but eliminate dairy. I guarantee you, within a month you'll feel better and will be like "holy shit". Dairy sucks.

Anyway having said all that, I'll outline what I eat when I'm in ketosis. What a day looks like for me. Prepare yourself to be unimpressed:

I wake up when I wake up. As you know, Jason is amazing and he respects my need for sleep more than anyone I've ever been with. He knows that when I'm sleeping my body is repairing and working. He lets me sleep. He feeds the kids, gets them to school and I wake when my body is ready to wake.

When I wake I know I will be fasting until around 1-2pm.

I take my supplements and meds (which I will detail in the following blog).

I drink a glass of water and consume some MCT oil and CBD oil. I recommend the bulletproof brand Brain Octane Oil. This fat because of it's chemical makeup (8 carbon chain) as oppposed to a longer carbon chain (12 carbon), is referred to as a Medium Chain Triglyceride. Some MCT oils claim to be medium chain but a good portion of them are 10 carbon chain, which still technically medium.....not processed as effectively. The difference this makes in the body is quite significant. A long chain fat travels like all our macros (carbs, protein, fat) do. Long chain fatty acids need to travel through the stomach through to the intestines where they have to be broken down into smaller chains and packed and sent to the liver for digestion.

Medium chain triglycerides can be sent directly to the liver, brain for immediate use because of the nature of their carbon chain size (small or medium) they don't need to be broken up by enzymes or packed into chylomicrons (fat spaceships) that take them through the lymphatic system to the liver for use. Long story short -they are immediate fuels, they don't interrupt a fast, and when taken with L-Carnitine as super powers....more about this in the supp blog. MCT oil is like rocket fuel when in ketosis.

I will however, caution anyone starting off using MCTs. They, when taken in larger quantities than recommended can bring about a very dire condition called "disaster pants". To illustrate the reality of this situation I will share a story. A cautionary tale. One I'm not proud of. Bear in mind, I'm a certified and trained nutritionist, I know what to do and what not to do....yet......

A few weeks before Christmas I decided to take a "swig" from my Brain Octane oil bottle. It wasn't measured. I was feeling over confident and quite bold. Another word would be stupid. I just swigged probably 2tbsp of 8carbon MCT oil. Down the hatch.

I then set about for my 5-6K run. I got about 2 K and the revolt began. It began with gurggles...low in the belly....then progressed to cramps and the immediate need for me to evacuate my bowels. I was currently running down one of the busiest streets on the mountain. I was like a rabid racoon looking for a bush to hide in and die. Friends, I'm not proud to say I had to take to a small gathering of shrubs and release the troublemaker. I ALMOST made it. Shit my pants and in the bush.

I wrapped my jogging jacket around my waist and called Jason immediately to pick me up and stood dejectedly on the street corner. He made me sit in the back. And I basically sat without sitting. I went home. Straight to the shower. Lesson learned.

So.....I caution you. If you're going to attempt keto, MCTs and this new lifestyle for weight loss in the new year or therapeutically for disease fighting. Be careful. The revolt is swift and unforgiving. Take 'er easy good buddies.

Anyway....after my usual exercise I don't eat until 2. When I do I consume a fresh pressed juice. Kale, celery, ginger, lemon, maybe a few broccoli stumps, wheat grass, spirulina, chlorella, maca and ginseng. I then don't eat until dinner

Dinner time consists of organic salmon, fresh wild fish, greens (sprouts, salad, bitter greens, cauliflower, broccoli, brussel sprouts, collards, kale) and fat - cocounut oil, nuts, hemp seeds, avocado. At least 1 avocado a day for sure. I try to go 3 days a week eating just plant based. My caloric intake is low. I don't eat a lot, I eat 70-80% fats, so I'm not hungry nor is my energy low. Every 2 weeks I'll have a nice grass fed tenderloin, truly enjoy with a glass of organic red. Once I'm in ketosis, it's all good. Getting there is hard. I'm gearing up this week to do it.

I have a colonic Wednesday, after that I'll fast for 2 days and start the therapeutic ketogenic diet.

There are so many options when in keto and really you aren't that hungry after the first week or so....macadamia nuts, even a handful last me an hour or two. The body is amazing. Digestive enzymes are important too....liver supports for the fat. I'll detail my supplement list next blog. But ketosis is key.

There are a few books I like "Keto for Cancer" is one. Anyone interested can email me.

I'll blog about how I feel when I start the keto plunge Wednesday and you can see how truly challenging it is, but also how do-able it is when you get through it.

Anything is possible.

I tell myself this.

What we tell ourselves, generally tends to be true.

Stay tuned for blogs from the edge. LOL