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This is a bit geeky, but I did a comparision of my pre ETF eating and how I’m eating now, eating fully to appetite and following my cravings:
Before:
Breakfast – green smoothie with minimal fruit (because you know, fructose will kill ya).
Lunch – chicken, vegetables, sweet potatoes (because you know, complex starches/grains will kill ya)
Dinner – same as lunch.
Snacks – almonds, the occasional medjool date. (I wanted to eat cereal and toast, but avoided them because, you know, complex starches/grains will kill ya)
Eating this way I was suffering from fatigue, anxiety and a massive appetite that never seemed satisfied.
How I eat now:
Breakfast – fruit juice, or smoothie – who cares how much fruit is in it as long as it is satisfying. 2-3 slices toast (gluten free, still can’t tolerate gluten!) with almond butter and banana or with butter and marmalade.
Second breakfast (because hobbits know how to eat) – more toast or some yogurt with cornflakes.
Lunch: Lentil curry & rice, as much as I want until satisfied.
Dessert: yogurt, fruit, medjool dates, sometimes chocolate.Dinner: leftovers from lunch or just yogurt, cereal and toast.
Snacks: toast, toast and more toast.
Eating this way I find that my energy a lot better, and I’m less hungry at dinner.
I’d like to hear comparisons from others how they eat now compared to before when they were restricting / dieting?
I was low carb for six months –
Breakfast: Four-five egg omelette fried in butter, cheese and heavy cream. Tasted good but nothing beats an omelette with a piece of toast… man I was missing out! It tasted so bland. Served with green beans.
Lunch: Probably some cheese snacks. A piece of fruit. Raw veggies.
Dinner: Four steaks or other large portion of meat with green beans, asparagus and a cup of tea.
I was so frustrated and hungry, constantly. I craved white rice. I resisted raiding my fridge with all the fruit in there that was suppose to last me for the next few days as I was only limited to a handful portion.
I felt dead, literally. So tired, hypoglycemic, no motivation or interest, lack of productivity, brain fog, anxious. Any negative mental symptom you can envision I suffered with. Sex drive and stamina? Did not exist. In fact my libido was so low nothing interested me.
NOW:
Breakfast – Fruit juice, a lot of whole fruits, an omelette with an actual piece of toast! Sometimes a bowl of cereal.
Lunch – Maybe some hard candy, some more fruit, a cookie, anything yummy.
Dinner – A steak with green beans (reminiscent of my low carb days, but still love it), a portion of white rice or peas, corn, potatoes. Finished off with more fruit!
My sugar intake is quite high. This is a more Ray Peat inspired diet. Because of my low carb-induced insulin resistance symptoms I have had to somewhat eliminate starch to avoid a large insulin surge. My diet was more diverse before.
I’m still working on my overall mental acuity and clarity. I still don’t feel as good as I did prior to low carb and unfortunately I’m still unproductive, a little slow and unresponsive. However, compared to the hell my low carb experience was, I’ll take it. It feels liberating.
Ok, well I’ve only been eating “whatever-the-heck-I-want” for a few days, but was eating adapted paleo before.
Typical:
Breakfast – 2-3 eggs fried in coconut oil, banana with almond butter or sweet potato slathered in ghee
Or
Quinoa cereal: Boiled quinoa with sliced banana, walnuts, maple syrup added and cooked with it, served with almond milk
Lunch – large salad with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, grilled meat of some sort (chicken thigh, lamb, beef…)
Dinner – often same as lunch, maybe cooked veggie instead, or a stew with potatoes and carrots.
I have gained body fat and lost muscle (I do the CrossFit, so this was quite a startling development and sent me into despair and a search for WTFISWRONGWITHME. Found Matt.)
So the last few days (FYI, so you get the significance, I’ve been limited dairy for 25 years after identifying a sensitivity to casein, it makes me phlegmy and limiting wheat/gluten for almost as long because of a leaky gut identified way back when, and recently developing joint/tendon pain when I eat grains…)
Last Two Days:
Breakfast: Cereal with whole milk (organic)
Secondsies: Oatmeal with half and half, maple syrup, eggs fried in butter (grass-fed, I’m only willing to lower quality of my food to a certain extent! LOL )Lunch: Grilled cheese sandwich with whole grain WHEAT bread (and no symptoms!! WTF??) And that’s all, I’m out of food and I think part of me rebelling against anything naturally green…lol
Dinner: Pizza. PIZZA!!! Oh, and fireball…
Also, I’m not hydrating as much. Noticing how nice it is not to run to the bathroom every hour or more.
Not noticing a lot of change at this point, except in feeling a combination of freedom and fear. Heh.
I’ve only been doing this for a week, but the change in diet is quite substantial.
BEFORE:
Breakfast – coffee with half & half1st meal usually as late as 2-4 PM – a big salad with meat, cheese, creamy dressing
2nd meal, usually around 8-9 PM – large serving of meat with non starchy veggies, an apple or mandarin
8-10 cups water, loads of herbal tea, club soda with lemon & stevia
Felt cranky, tired, hormonal roller coaster, peeing every 30 minutes, heartburn and indigestion now and then, alternate between constipated and diarrhea, warm during the day but FREEZING at night.
NOW, the last week:
Breakfast (within an hour of waking) – coffee with half & half, added toasted gluten free bagel with butter, cheese, bacon or egg fried in butter
Lunch (mid-day) – same as before with added starch like basmati rice, brown rice pasta, corn tortillas, etc…
Dinner around 6-7 PM – same as before with added starchy veggies and rice/pasta into my diet.
Added sugary snacks like chocolate, small mug of ice cream before bed with a drizzle of Bailey’s, regular Dr. Pepper a couple times a day… cut back on water, drinking to thirst…
A week in, more tired now, falling asleep easier and earlier at night the last two nights (for a chronic insomniac this is HUGE!!), sleeping deeply, quite severe indigestion/heartburn, peeing every few hours in stead of a few times an hour, body temp differences feel more extreme… hoping things level out even more soon!!
I identify with sunnydae’s “freedom and fear”! I’ve been on a 2 year long food adventure, trying at different times gluten-free, paleo, and low carb. In desperation I began counting calories (again) before giving that up. Nourishing Traditions and Eat Fat, Lose Fat showed me honest saturated fats aren’t the bad guys.
This weekend I’ve enjoyed eating to fullness. And icecream and crisps and chocolates, as treats. And bread! I love carbs; I’m pleased to have permission to eat them and not feel guilty. I began to include nutrient dense foods as much as possible about 5 months ago, and as a result, my nails are long and strong again – for more than 15 years they have been weak and delaminating.
I struggle with choosing to eat the preservatives and non-foods that make up processed food, although, that mental wrestling sets up stress and perhaps its more that stress than the food that messed with my metabolism! A constant “I don’t know what to eat”.
I recently discovered the cause of our 2-years-and-counting infertility . I bought a $10 ebook on solving infertility problems by tracking base basal temperatures – my body temp is too low :( I didn’t agree with the suggestion my iodine intake was too low (I get plenty, thanks Himalayan sea salt!) but the ‘hypothyroid’ idea got the ball rolling. I avoid practitioners as much as I can and did a Google search for ‘low body temperatures and fertility’ which took me to a guest blog Matt did, which brought me to his book Diet Recovery.
God Bless Matt!
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