Integrated Fitness U.K.

calories 415  from fat 48

total fat 5.33g

sat fat 1.463g

poly sat fat 1.336g

mono sat fat 1.493g

sodium 17.589g

cholesterol 111mg

potassium 1.7g

total carbs 46.1g

dietary fibre 9.7g

sugars 29.05g

protein 48.47g

veg and tuna fried in 1 tbsp of evoo.

 calories 297.5  from fat 128

total fat 14.535g

sat fat 2.161g

poly sat fat 1.853g

mono sat fat 10.0525g

sodium 39.32g

cholesterol 40.5g

potassium 3.015g

total carbs 6g

sugars 2g

dietary fibre 2g

protein 34.535g

RDA's: Vit A 120%  Vit C 70%  Calcium 4%  Iron 18%

Sea bream pan fried in 1 tbsp olive oil.

 *nutritional information does not account for added hot sauce or pink sea salt.

calories 647.5  from fat 432.2

total fat 48.87g

sat fat 6.2353g

poly sat fat 5.096g

mono sat fat 29.5475 g

sodium 26.5g

cholesterol 101mg

potassium 1.62g

total carbs 18.105g

dietary fibre 13.85g

sugars 3.96g

protein 40.75

RDA's: Vit A 100%  Vit C 57.5%  Calcium 7%  Iron  16.5%

Winston Churchill whom I'm pretty certain needs no introduction suffered from sporadic drawn periods of depression. He referred to these as his black dog. It would sit and watch over him never leaving him alone and always following him around. To those who have suffered the agonies of depression then this over romanticised view is an all to familiar friend.

 Depression comes in many forms and can be tailored to fit the wearer. I would imagine no two bouts are the same but I'm no expert.

 My own fight with mental illness is not just limited to depression, after I broke my neck in 2002 my own black dog came into my life and it came along with it's own sound track, paranoid audio hallucinations.

 Before I broke my neck I was the clown of my social group and had been all the way through school, always the one to get into trouble to make others laugh I never took anything too seriously. Life was far from perfect coming from a broken home I was badly bullied by my mothers partner but my grandparents more than made up for it and I had a good standard of living and wanted for very little. I enjoyed my life. I played Rugby, Ju-Jitsu and Vale Tudo and had an active social and work life.

 All this came to an abrupt end on the 2nd April 2002 when I was involved in a road traffic accident.

 After a six month period of recovery I returned to work a very different man than I left. Not only was I carrying excess weight (I gained about 48lbs during my recovery) but my mind had altered.

  People where talking about me behind my back, I could hear them from around corners and through doors. I couldn't always make out what they where saying but I knew it was me they where talking about. Friends I once knew became strangers to me, they where watching me through pictures and mirrors and small holes in my ceiling at home looking for moments in which to laugh at me and belittle me behind my back. Under a wave of fear and suspicion I quit my job closed the door to my flat and drew my curtains. With out knowing it at the time I had met my own black dog.

 My days there after consisted of very little. Pain killers and war documentaries where my staple, my reality became the walls of my living room and the television with which I fed my mind. I ventured out only to attend doctors appointments and to shop for food. Hiding all the time behind a chain of cigarettes which seemed to give me some sort of shield against the reality I passed through.

 I was convinced the world had conspired against me and my flat was my prison, I had been put there to rot and to be isolated from the outside world.

 I don't know what the catalyst was which brought me to the mental health team, I think it was a referral from my local doctor who recognised something wasn't right during a routine appointment. Which ever way I got there I got there.

Hi my name is Daniel.

 I'm 31 years old and this blog is going to be about myself and my journey in healing my body and mind in the most sustainable and achievable way possible.

 At the age of 18 I suffered a broken neck in a road traffic accident and naturally it changed my life in both positive and negative ways. Of course only one positive far out weighs all of the negatives, that I am alive to tell my story.

 In the intervening 14 years (as of writing) I have suffered massive ups and downs. I have dealt with addictions, losses, severe mental illness and physical imbalance. I stood on the path to recovery before and lost my way. After convincing myself I was making progress I ended up back where I started.

 This blog details how by taking the bull by the horns and dissecting my life I have made changes for myself and my family.

 All eye's forward, it's been a long time coming!