This summer I’ve been working out in between writing stints. After all, flaccid arms are no good for writing a new novel manuscript, and I’m up to 37k words already. I also finished final edits on the ghost horror novel I’ve been working on for the past 3 years, getting it as polished as can be, as I plan to put it out on submission. Exciting!
Write ghost novels and exercise (in Halloween clothing)
Also, on the keto/intermittent fasting and exercise front, I’ve lost 10lbs since 18th June. Not bad for 10 weeks, hurray!
BTW, does anyone else find that coffee is a great painkiller for working out? I find it’s a great companion when doing weights/boxing workouts and helps me to push myself further. Anyone relate?
Last month I wrote a post about managing insulin resistance long term with keto, intermittent fasting and exercise, so this is a follow up about how this has positively impacted my writing. While I was off for 7 weeks over the summer holiday (from my day job working in secondary education) I spent 5 days a week doing weights, boxing, resistance training and swimming, in conjunction with keto dieting and intermittent fasting, and so I felt I should mention how this has improved my concentration.
I follow the Warrior Diet (fasting for 20 hours and eating during 4 hours) and OMAD (one meal a day, aka 24 hour fasting as detailed in Dr. Jason Fung’s book ‘The Obesity Code ‘, which I do 2 or 3 times a week. I plan my exercise during my fasting hours, as our ancestors would have done (hunting and gathering for most of the day and eating once in the evening). Obviously I’m not a palaeolithic woman (lol, I could make a video in a cave woman outfit next time, ha ha) but this eating plan works for me; it has accelerated my fat burning and lowered my insulin resistance. Obviously 20 to 24 hour fasting is advanced, so if you want more information, you can read this article on Bodyspec titled, The Ultimate Guide to 20:4 intermittent fasting. As for me, and my author-fitness lifestyle? Here goes:
Less brain fog
Carbs really make me sluggish, both in mind and body. I find that when I eat heavy starchy carbs, particularly wheat, I feel fuzzy-headed. Fasting switches my body from glucose burning (all carbs break down into glucose) to burning ketones from my own body fat. With an empty stomach and plenty of my own fuel, I’m much clearer headed, perfect for concentrating on my writing.
Better memory
Related to brain fog above, I didn’t realise how forgetful I was while in carb-burning mode until I went low carb/keto and once I was fat-adapted within a few weeks, my short term memory improved. Another win for writing, as it’s easier to keep the continuity in your stories if you can remember all the little plot points without having to read back over everything all the time. Plus, I’m better able to remember snippets of info or ideas to include in my stories without a goldfish-brain letting me down before I even get near my computer.
More energy
It’s a myth that the human body needs carbs for energy. If you have enough body fat to burn, that gives you all the energy you need. While fasting, I have enough energy to sustain me for both a boxing workout and writing; although I have to admit that I don’t fast on weight training days as I get too hungry and crave protein.
Better sleep/less cortisol
This one is a biggie for my writing. While eating starchy carbs, I found that my insomnia was bad. I often had to wake up several times overnight to pee, as carbs make the body retain excess water. Now that I’m in ketosis, I don’t wake up to wee, soy insomnia is gone. Better sleep equals better writing. Hurray!
In summary
My ability to concentrate on my writing and retain information related to my plot or new ideas has significantly improved over these last 7 weeks while back on keto and intermittent fasting. I’m confident that I can stick to my diet and workout routine now that school term has started again, as I’ve set manageable habits over the summer, so here’s hoping the impact on my writing will be for the long term too.
Hi there, I’m a human being who writes books the old fashioned way without using any generative AI. I also don’t use AI in my photos or videos to make myself look thinner/younger/more attractive. I don’t even use filters. What you see is what you get, wrinkles and rolls and all, lol. I do all of the graphics and text in my videos manually myself via my Canva subscription.
I believe in doing things the old-fashioned way and fostering authenticity with my readers. What I can give you are my (reader approved) scary ghost books and psychological horror reads. I also support authors who write books the old-fashioned way, by exercising their brains and not using cheap prompts that steals copyrighted work. And the only data centres I support are libraries.
In fact, having seen so many social media accounts using AI filters for trivial purposes like making users look prettier or younger, I would say, why not go for a nice long nature walk instead? Fresh air, exercise and de-stressing works wonders towards improving one’s appearance, and beauty sleep is far better for you – and the environment – than using AI generated beauty filters.
Speaking of the environment: why did I film this video in a grassy meadow in Belfast? Because nature will suffer if more data centres are built in Northern Ireland, depleting water and other natural resources – as well as raising the price of electricity for ordinary households. Let’s say no to this!
Here’s to literature, art and culture as it has been done for tens of thousands of years… and here’s to our beautiful natural environment.
Why do I use folk horror in my books? A fellow Belfast writer asked me this recently, and honestly I hadn’t thought about it before, as I primarily write ghost stories and psychological horror. She had a point though, as I do use elements of folk horror in most of my books. In The Blue Man, book 1 of my Belfast Ghosts series, beryl crystals sourced from the Mourne Mts (shown in the photo above and video below) are used for a folk ritual to exorcise the titular Blue Man, and folk horror elements also appear in books 2 and 3 of the Belfast Ghosts trilogy – The Fairy Lights and Matthew’s Twin – as well as Gods of Avalon Road (Pagan Mayday ceremony) and Love you to Death (scrying using obsidian).
Thanks to the fellow Belfast writer for raising such an interesting topic – and thanks to you for watching me swiping my hair and tears on such a windy beach walk while making the video, lol.
Hello from Halt in Belfast! I’ve donated a couple of my books, which are signed for you, if you happen to be passing through Halt or stopping for food – but please remember to exchange a book if you take one of them, as it’s a book swap. One of my books was taken by a reader from another book swap in Belfast (a bookish staff member told me) and that person didn’t leave another book on the shelf in return. Sharing is caring here in the book community, so let’s be the best bibliophiles we can be and remember to always take a book, leave a book… enjoy!
Book exchanges probably aren’t a new thing in other places, but they seem to only be popping up in Belfast in the last few years. Since so many bookstores have also closed over the same amount of time (Blackwells and Papers, Books, Scissors were two of my favourites) I’m pleased to see that organic book swaps are appearing to replace them. A healthy society is one that thrives on reading, art, music and culture.
As for my books in the latest pop up reading space at Halt, if you grab one, feel free to tag me on my social media or leave a comment.
Happy solar eclipse! The Lanyon building at Queen’s University Belfast was packed at 7.08pm tonight for the 93% eclipse. I managed to see it for a few seconds before the clouds rolled in… and a spooky face appeared too. Don’t you love pareidolia? It’s certainly fuel for creative writing.
The next eclipse won’t be til 2090 with this kind of coverage, and since I’ll likely be a ghost by then, I’m glad I saw it tonight with my eclipse glasses.
This week from 2nd to 9th August was the first ever Fleadh in Belfast celebrating Irish culture and music. There was Trad music and dancing all over the city as well as pop up pubs, and the whole city centre was pedestrianised allowing singing, dancing, music and community. Here I am pictured with Guinness in one hand and my award winning Belfast Ghosts novels in the other. They’re inspired by Irish folklore and mythology and are all standalone Irish horror books, all set in Belfast, so are ideal to read with a pint of Irish stout.
Speaking of Guinness, pop up pubs have appeared all over Belfast this week turning empty shops into thriving businesses for the Fleadh. Back in June, I lamented on Instagram about how my favourite fabric store, Sew n Sew, closed for business after being there since 1985. Sew n sew, along with all the other small businesses on the same side of the street were forced to shut because the building was sold to be made into a posh hotel. Imho we don’t need another posh hotel, we need independent shops, community and social housing; like turning the empty space above the row of shops into flats. But a pop up Peter Keegan’s pub was a great use of space in the interim, especially supporting such a positive event that brought over 1 million estimated visitors to Belfast.
I have to say, it felt weird to be walking down the middle of Chichester Street in Belfast city centre with a pint of Guinness in hand. Weird-good, I must add. The Fleadh was an amazing festival, and it was lovely to see families playing trad and folk music together all over the city, and children as young as five doing Irish dancing. I would love it if Belfast was pedestrianised all the time to allow for more Irish music and culture; it really goes to show what can happen when money goes towards the arts. More of that, please!
Happy Lughnasadh! In case you don’t know what that means, it’s Irish Gaelic meaning ‘commemoration of Lugh’, a Celtic celebration held on the 1st of August to mark the start of the harvest season and named after the Irish god, Lugh. If you live in the UK, you might be more familiar with Lammas, a word derived from Old English/ Anglo-Saxon, meaning ‘loaf-mass’. Lammas is also celebrated on the 1st of August to mark the harvest season. Lughnasadh and Lammas; don’t you love linguistics? I sure do. Writers are always interested in language; fun alliteration with all those Ls too. Lol.
Feile na Habaan: festival of the river
Like my fish themed dress for the river festival?
On the afternoon of Saturday 1st August, my hubby and our son went to the Feile na Habaan, the Irish festival of the river (phonetic pronunciation: fay-lah-nah-han). The festival was beside the River Lagan in Belfast and included activities for kids such as a portable touch tank from Exploris Aquarium in Portaferry, showcasing local sea creatures from the Irish Sea. There was also traditional Irish music along the river walk, as well as food and craft stalls. The River Lagan features in my Christmas ghost novel, The Fairy Lights, as well as Irish mythology including the legendary Ollipheist dragon-like sea monster.
The Wickerman festival at Navan Centre and Fort
Later on Saturday 1st August, I went to The Wickerman festival 2026 at Navan Centre and Fort in Armagh with some fellow author friends, and we all dressed up in Celtic/pagan attire for the occasion. Like my oak and hornbeam headdress? I made it myself by gluing acorns and hornbeam flowers onto a hairband.
This festival celebrates the start of the harvest season, known as Lughnasadh or Lughnasa, honouring the ancient Irish god Lugh. There were recreations of an ancient Irish procession and battle reenactment, along with traditional music and fire dancing before the 30ft tall Wickerman statue was burned. Ancient history and folklore inspires my books; as a former archaeologist-turned-novelist, how could I not be fascinated by ancient customs and tradition?
July 2026:Managing my insulin resistance with keto diet and weight-bearing exercise
It has been six years since I first started blogging about keto dieting and intermittent fasting. If you’ve been following my keto posts (I’ve linked them all below for reference) you’ll know I’ve had ups and downs each year since initially losing 42lbs/18kgs back in 2020, with my weight fluctuating between 14-17lbs through winter-gains and summer-dieting losses. If you’ve been following my writing posts and are wondering, what has keto dieting got to do with literary life, then I can tell you, pretty much everything. Staying strictly in ketosis keeps me from getting brain fog, which helps my concentration as a writer, rather than when I eat carbs and have energy swings and crashes.
That’s not to say I don’t have any struggles though. My problem with keeping to a healthy weight comes down to two things: my battle with insulin resistance and difficulty in managing my carb addiction. I’m an emotional eater, particularly during times of stress and/or illness. Pasta, bread, rice and potatoes are my go to comfort foods, and on the junkier side of those foods, crisps and pot noodles are the kind of high-carb things I crave.
2016:benefits of a high metabolism
Slim without trying a decade ago (but just before kids!)
In my twenties and early thirties, I was effortlessly slim; like a lot of people, I had a high metabolism. If I put on a bit of weight, all I did was eat tuna salads for a few days to get myself back to my target weight. I took my slender build for granted, and I didn’t seriously worry about ever getting overweight; nevermind having insulin resistance.
2018: weight gain and munchies
Poetry open mic night during maternity leave: a break from baby, but not from biscuits and crisps
When I was pregnant, I indulged my sweet tooth with the excuse that I was ‘eating for two’. I put on 18kg/ 42lbs/ 3 stone and kept telling myself the weight would fall off easily after the baby arrived. But only 6kg/ 13lbs came off postpartum, meaning I was still 13kg/ 28lbs heavier than my pre-pregnancy weight.
What had happened? Well, my metabolism had changed. This was either because of postpartum hormones, or simply that I had a slower metabolism in my mid-thirties, or both. I also didn’t help myself by spending 9 months of maternity leave eating biscuits, cake and crisps while using the excuse that I needed extra energy for breastfeeding. The weight kept piling on and I ended up a UK size 18 at my heaviest, with a BMI of 30 (over 30 is clinically obese).
2020: keto diet and intermittent fasting
In 2020 I decided that enough was enough and I began to despair about my weight gain and failing health. I couldn’t run after my then-toddler son because of back and joint pain and my heart raced even just going upstairs. With impending COVID lockdown, I was afraid of gaining even more weight through being sedentary. After researching the quickest way to lose weight, I started a strict keto diet with 16:8 intermittent fasting plan, counting macros on a fat loss app. I lost 1-2 pounds a week, and over the course of 5 months between April 2020 and September 2020, I lost all of the 18kg/ 42lbs/ 3 stone weight gain.
It’s July 25th, which means…. Happy Christmas in July!
Despite Halloween being my favourite themed season, summer is my favourite overall time of year. I love sunbathing and sea swimming, which is why Christmas in July suits me much better than December 25th.
So, if you’re looking for a couple of spooky books, suitable for Summerween, check out my Christmas ghost novel, The Fairy Lights. Or, if you prefer short stories rather than novels, why not try White Witch’s Hat & other Yuletide ghost stories. Santa recommends both of these to chill you on those long, hot, summer horrordays…
Leilanie Stewart 