Back in the fray

The most writerly things I've done over the last week were: I wrote blog posts for the blog tour of a Taste for Poison, the third book in the Memory of Scorpions series. I've also followed the comments on the Counterpunch/Belonging tour. I've checked edits on a long book and sent it back to the editor. And I'm currently outlining the historical novel I abandoned out of fear/anxiety/nervousness and that I want to finish before the year's up.

I'm still no further with the translation of that short story, and I've not been great at putting new words on paper. I do hope to wrap the outline today, though, do that's some progress.

Health-wise, I've decided to make health/wellbeing a priority while working as a full-time writer. The previous weekend clued me in on a health issue I've been having for apparently way too many years, and that's a dopamine-related hormonal imbalance. I'm not even trying the NHS with that; when I went to the GP with my low thyroid function, they told me I'm "low, but within acceptable limits" (piling on the weight despite a fairly sensitive diet being apparently "completely acceptable"). So I'm not even going to try with the dopamine issue. Instead, I've changed my diet slightly and have started supplementing a dopamine precursor (L-tyrozine). I'm not sure whether it's supposed to work that quickly, but mood and motivation and energy are up. Also, all cravings for "nasty carbs", sweets, sugar and chocolate are gone. So I've been sugar/snacking/sweets-free since boosting my dopamine levels. Interestingly enough, L-tyrozine also supports the thyroid, so I might have found that magic key to several, subtle issues. I'll let you know how it goes. (Also, L-tyrozine is nothing secret or special - it's an over-the-counter amino acid.)

To give my body a chance to shed the weight and fix itself, I've also started intermittent fasting, fairly commonly known as the 5:2 diet (you go extremely low calorie on two days of the week, and eat normally on 5). I can't cope with being hungry, so I'm going with the 16:8 model, which appeals much more to me. It means I fast for 16 hrs every day and eat "normal" for 8. Apparently there's an even more hardcore version that goes 20:4, but I'm not ready for that (I can possibly switch to 18:6, which feels very doable). I'm not hungry, provided I eat something with lots of protein as my last meal before the fasting period. So that's cool. I'm starting to observe some changes, but whether that's due to only eating home-made food, the lack of snacking, or possibly a more active thyroid (I have no way of knowing), I couldn't say. I'm making sure I drink plenty and stay hydrated. I'm not in starvation mode (which apparently only kicks after 30-60hrs of no food), though it takes me a bit longer to get going in the morning without my coffee.

The science behind intermittent fasting is pretty impressive - the idea being that the body goes into ketonic (fat-burning) state after 12 hrs of fasting. You end up spending 4 hrs a day eating into your fat reserves. It's only a few hundred fat calories per day, but it adds up.

I've tried it all - calorie counting, exercise, Weight Watchers, every powder and shake and bar. Intermittent fasting is cheap, natural and easy. No expensive artificial supplements drenched in artificial sweeteners that make you hungry after an hour. It appeals to me on every level. It's also something you can do when you're meeting friends or living with a non-dieter. I'm just shifting the end point of the fast to the shared dinner.

Lastly, there's chatter in writing circles about how the "blog is dead, long live Twitter/Instagram/Facebook". Some writers are shutting down their blogs or stop blogging. I agree that the blog is no longer a "must-have", but I consider it a "nice to have". First of all, I mistrust Facebook tremendously - I'm not going to post my thoughts there only to be shut down once Zuckerberg's algos realise it's not my "real" name. Secondly, sometimes I have thoughts and updates that don't fit into 140 characters. The blog for me is "thinking out loud", and it's on a platform I might not control (Blogger can shut me down), but which I feel much more confident that I won't get screwed like it's happening to people on Facebook. And I love Twitter, but you can't develop a very detailed thought in the format.

So, for the time being, I'm going to keep the blog.