“Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.” -Mahatma Gandhi
I was going to sit down last night to write something about how great I have been feeling, but before I even got around to it…..BAM I started feeling like crap. I guess my MS is acting up today and I am not impressed. I have a ton of stuff I am doing this week/weekend and I don’t have time to screw around with resting but rest is what I obviously need to do today. Nice one MS! Thanks for that. MS has a nasty habit of 
pulling the rug out from under your feet and just when you think you have got it sussed, your body can let you down in some quite spectacular and humbling ways. It always seems to know when I am cruising along nicely and gives me not so gentle reminders that it is still with me, trying to exert its power over my body. Again, it was just what I needed to put me in my place; to remind me that I am at the mercy of my wonky immune system. MS obviously is jealous because I have been busy living life and trying to get some things done. Oh yes, she’s a jealous little thing all right.
What I would have said, is that this KETO eating plan I have been following for over 2 months now seems to really agree with me! I have more energy than I have had for the
last 15 years and on some days (definitely not all) my pain levels seem to be more tolerable, my foggy brain seems to be a little less foggy. My issues are still there – the fatigue, the lack of coordination, the tingling, the burning, the vision issues, the weakness and mood changes are all still there, but since I have been intentionally (see my new year’s post) feeding my body differently, even these things seem to be just a little bit easier to handle.
Funny story though – My husband and I have been very consistent with our new found way of eating but in the back of my head, I was worried that this eating plan wouldn’t work for me because of my Multiple Sclerosis and because of what we have been conditioned to know about food and what’s healthy for us over the years. So I decided to make a doctors appointment to get the stamp of approval from her. But, 3 days before my appointment, I found a little sticky 
note that she had written for my husband with a diet that he needed to try……Low carb, high fat, moderate protein, which is exactly what we are doing! She had even written down a website for him to check out (dietdoctor.com), which by the way has awesome information on this way of eating. The kicker here is that the note was written 2 damn years ago. Seriously? WTH babe? If I had seen the note Back then I would already have that bikini bod I am working on now. Just kidding, my bikini days are long over, but I would be that much closer to my goal and possibly that much closer to feeling better, but here I am today just rocking it!
My daughter came to me and told me she was going to do the KETO diet and that I should do it with her, so I’m always up for a good challenge and thought half heartedly sure, why not. I’ll be honest though, when I realized I couldn’t have popcorn I almost quit, Are you kidding me? How can I live without popcorn? I have tried every diet you can think of and I have lost 5, maybe 10 pounds and always gained it back but after a couple of days doing KETO and seeing some immediate results, I finally found the drive and desire to make something work for me. And now that I have a better understanding of what “low carb” means and what eating an overabundance of carbs does to my body, it is easy to see why I have 50+ unwanted pounds hanging around! I figure I was eating anywhere from 500 – 1000 grams of carbs a day (which would be ok if if I was an athlete, but clearly I am NOT) and they turned to fat because I wasn’t working them off. Now I am eating 20 grams of net carbs a day. That’s an amazing change in itself. Part of the KETO way is to ditch sugar so I have done that as well and I 
don’t even miss it. It really is a perfect way of eating for me, I love meat, I love cheese and I even love pork rinds and I have always loved my veggies, so it works for me. I have to admit though, at first, I was thinking high fat was going to give me a heart attack or something but I have learned that there are good fats and there are bad fats and I am working on cutting out all of the bad fats that I had become accustomed to and replacing them with good fats. I also worried about the effect this would have on my inflammation and on MS in general, but once I got the ok from my family doctor, if it helped me feel better, I decided there would be no stopping me. I worried about cutting fruit out of my daily diet due to its sugar content, but it’s ok to have a handful of berries (which 
are the lowest in carbs) a couple of times a week. Once I get to my goal weight, I will likely up my carbs to 50 per day and add a fruit each day but for now, I’m having no fruit or sugar of any kind (except stevia, monk fruit or erythritol).
I also knew that if this change of lifestyle was going to work for me long term, I would need to find some yummy things to cook………………………because I obviously love to cook so I went on a search for great recipes and I have to say that I am blown away by all of the amazing recipes I have come
across! It always makes me happy to be whipping up good food in the kitchen but now its a challenge to serve something amazing to people so when they say “you can’t eat this on your diet”, I can say, “oh yes we can!” I love it! (Psst, we are calling this a “diet” but this is actually a lifestyle change for us not a temporary band aid). My family is super supportive (my husband and one of my daughters is going KETO as well), but all of my family are supportive – its so nice to have my cheerleaders on the sidelines urging me on and making me accountable! It’s like Big Brother, I know they are watching me!
During my reinvention journey over the past 3 years, I’ve come to realize that I’m much stronger than I give myself credit for. I realize that up until recently I have viewed myself in an unhealthy negative light. I’m not a negative person at all but I had a negative viewpoint about my body and about my 
will power to make a change. But thanks to being intentional in 2018, I realize that I can do this – I realize that I am the one in control of my health, and even though I still have Multiple Sclerosis, I can do what is necessary to manage it based on my own intuition about what I need to do for myself. I’e come to a point now, that it’s not ALL about losing weight or inches (although that is awesome), it’s also about how I am feeling and I will continue doing what I’m doing until my body tells me I need to change it up. One thing I know is a given is that my MS continues to march on and I will do everything in my power to slow it down and live every day to the fullest. Sometimes the fullest is to sit on the couch and recharge my batteries and if that is the case, I will do it for as long as it takes. I will not go down without a fight! Of course I still have doubts about my future and where my health will take me in this life. But today, I am more sure of myself. Today, I am stronger than I have ever been before and I will take it!
Today, if you question what you can change, handle, or overcome, remember: You can do amazing things when you decide to do them!
If you are doing KETO, you probably know about FAT BOMBS, but if not, fat bombs are 
delicious high – fat, low carb and low protein snacks. They are a convenient source of energy and are ideal for those who need to add healthy fats into their diet to meet their personal macronutrient targets. AND, they are to die for! These Chocolate Peanut Butter fat bombs are my favorite right now. They are easy to make and take very little time to whip up. They also take care of my chocolate and peanut butter cravings, so enjoy! I am not a nutritionist but if it’s important to you, I have calculated the macros for this recipe and this is what I came up with: (Per serving, 12 servings per batch) Calories: 115, Net carbs: 2g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 10g. Please don’t take my word for it though, figure the numbers out for yourself please remember mine are NET carb numbers and you will need to read why the carbs from erithrytol are best to use (something about Carbs from erythritol and swerve don’t count as they are not digestible, so those carbs don’t count against your carb count). As I said, I’m not a nutritionist or a doctor so don’t take my word for it. If you are concerned, research it for yourself being careful where you look because…..it’s the internet and anyone can put anything out there all I’m saying is do your own research!
KETO Chocolate Peanut Butter Fat Bombs
These yummy peanut butter cup fat bombs will up your fat intake and satisfy your cravings at the same time!
Ingredients
CHOCOLATE LAYER
- 2 Tablespoons Melted Coconut Oil
- 4 Tablespoons Natural Peanut butter
- 4 Tablespoons Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- ¼ Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- ¼ Cup Swerve Confectioners Sugar
PEANUT BUTTER LAYER
- 2 Tablespoons Melted Coconut Oil
- 4 Tablespoons Natural Peanut Butter
- ¼ Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- ¼ Cup Swerve Confectioners Sugar
Directions
CHOCOLATE LAYER
- Combine all ingredients for chocolate layer, stir until smooth
- Pour in lined muffin tins and freeze about 10 minutes
PEANUT BUTTER LAYER
- Combine all ingredients for peanut butter layer, stir until smooth
- Pour on top of chocolate layer
- Freeze until firm
- Keep refrigerated or frozen until ready to eat
- Thank me later!
Enjoy!
Raegan
looks amazing.