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I have low a metabolism, but high temperature and pulse. I know the whole Ray Peat take on this issue, that adrenaline is keeping my temp and pulse “falsely” high.
I’m guessing the remedy is to eat the food to bring down the adrenaline– same as for low temp and pulse. But I’m wondering if this is something anyone else has dealt with and if anyone has tips or thoughts on the matter above and beyond the general ‘eat the food’ recommendations.
Thanks!For me, a really effective way to tell whether I am currently high adrenaline is to eat a big cheeseburger or some pizza, or even a brownie or something. If I get really sleepy afterwards, its usually a good indicator that I was primarily getting my energy from stress hormones prior to eating.
When you are chronically in a high adrenaline, high cortisol state, it can take some time for your metabolism to balance out, so eat three square meals a day like its your job, making sure to get more calories than usual, and over time you will notice improvement. there aren’t any magic tricks if you have a chronically low metabolism. you just have to be patient and eat.
Hey Hazmatt,
Thanks for the response. I guess I just have to be persistent. It’s frustrating not to be able to employ some sort of trick to fast track healing.
The indicators of my low metabolism are fatigue, cold hands/feet/nose, digestive problems, gallbladder pains, hair loss, skin problems, etc, etc, etc. I was low carb/low cal for a long time.i would also say don’t force the process. try to ease into it and go slowly, giving yourself time to adjust. don’t pound a huge excess of calories right after coming off low calorie for a long time. eat as much as you feel like until you start getting positive indicators, and think of it more as a long term process.
Thanks guys. I feel like I’ve been getting pretty good sleep, at least 8 hours if not more. Perhaps I need even more.
I actually haven’t been low carb for about 2 years– I’ve been Ray Peating it… sort of. But I still have all the low metabolism symptoms and probably wasn’t eating enough (certainly not near the 2,500 calories recommended at youreatopia). But 2 years feels like a long time not to have this stuff figured out yet.If you’re going by YourEatopia’s recommendations, remember 2500 is the MINIMUM intake. Refeeding according to Gwyneth’s protocol means much more for most people.
This comes from http://www.youreatopia.com/blog/2013/5/25/inpatient-underfeeding.html
?The notion of ‘starting low and going slow? with the prescription of daily calories seems unlikely to be important in preventing refeeding syndrome. Recent publications suggest this approach does not necessarily add to safety in the refeeding process but rather the contrary. It typically results in weight loss and protracts hospitalization and nutritional recovery. [MR Kohn et al., 2011].
*I would like to highlight the fact that the guidelines developed by Kohn et al., indicate an average intake of 2700 calories/day by the end of week 1. That is not the final intake expected, and as Philip Mehler has already identified in a meta-analysis, the daily intake in inpatient settings range between 3600-6000 calories/day [PS Mehler et al., 2010].”
If you haven’t already, read http://www.youreatopia.com/blog/2011/9/13/phases-of-recovery-from-restricted-eating.html
She always recommends working with a healthcare team when refeeding, which is important to think about. But she does give a lot of guidance, for instance digestion is likely to be impaired so eating many small meals and including yogurt are her recommendations. There are many more in that post.
Anna, just letting you know I’m in your camp as well. I rarely get cold hands feet anymore, and my temps are pretty solid. In fact, I went in for a check-up and the nurse asked if I felt ok as my temp was 99.1. I’ve had that happen twice now. But, I still feel like it might just be a stress hormone thing. I haven’t had a period since Jan. This is my Achilles heel–I’m still dealing with the typical low progesterone symptoms, belly weight, some acne issues, etc. The dentist told me I’m grinding the heck out of my teeth and I’ve woken myself up with my hands to my face a few times, once squeezing my cheeks together fish-face style, ha! I’m thinking that’s all stress release?! Trying to do more yoga, meditation…but I’ve just been assuming I have to be patient. I bet I’m not getting 2500 calories a day, either. Hm.
Thanks for the post Jessica, though I’m sorry to hear you’re in the same boat =(
Stress is definitely a big factor for me too, but I can’t figure out a regimen to help control it. The calorie thing is difficult. I hate having to keep track of calories and I hate cooking and food prep. Making sure to eat enough is as annoying as food restrictions.
Hm indeed!the biggest single determining factor for me in the speed with which my metabolic state improved was meal frequency. barring extreme lifestyle stress or lack of sleep, eating frequently throughout the day really helps break the calorie load into more manageable chunks and keep stress hormones squashed. you don’t need to be fanatical about it, and if your willing to buy pre-made (store or restaurant bought) stuff initially, and ignore its “health value”, it will be less work for you and make it more likely you will eat frequently.
This is helpful. I have noticed that I’m not much of a snack person, but do eat 3 times a day. Maybe I’ll experiment with adding some snacks into the mix. I’m also coming down from several years of extreme stress, and so patience is key. I have let go of the need for food to meet some kind of ever-shifting standard, and have been focusing on what sounds good and what is easy. I also don’t have the motivation for cooking and food prep. I assume that will come back someday.
Eating often is a big help. When I was purposefully overfeeding at 4500 calories per day+ the keys were a) eating my favorite foods b) eating right before bed. This cuts the hours you spend fasted by quite a lot (more time anabolic, less time catabolic). Basically, if I could stomach any food before bed I would try to eat as much ice cream as I could comfortably eat. Usually about 800-1000 calories worth. That calorie supplement was enough to really make the big difference and start experiencing massive improvement in those peripheral metabolism markers (sleep depth, mood, sweating, warm hands and feet, strong teeth, giant soft serve poops, sex drive, and so on).
Just to throw this out there…the one low metabolism symptom you mentioned that raised a red flag for me: gallbladder pain. I have been doing a lot of research on gallbladder pain recently, because it seems everyone and their mother is getting it removed instead of trying to figure out why it’s causing pain. Food allergy seems to be a common denominator to gb pain. Allergies cause inflammation. It may be as simple as getting tested for a food allergy, eliminating that food until your metabolism is back up again, which would help heal your body/metabolism. Low stomach acid is another possibility. Low stomach acid keeps you from breaking down foods properly for absorption. You can do a simple beet test for stomach acid…eat beets. If you pee pink/red for the next x hours, you have low stomach acid. Not drinking 15 minutes before meals and during meals keeps the stomach acid you have from not being diluted. You can also eat natural foods containing digestive enzymes to help aid in digestion: pineapple, papaya, kiwifruit, raw egg, raw milk, fermented foods/beverages (i.e., sauerkraut, kefir, kombucha, raw apple cider vinegar). Salt tea is another great adrenal-thyroid booster, and really gets me fired up and ready to go. 1/4-1/2 t Himalayan sea salt in a cup of hot water. Sip like tea.
Thanks for the idea, Matt. I wonder if eating something like that before bed might also alleviate the weird grasping at my face thing. I’ve had a taste for a root beer float, and now I have a good excuse to make one, being careful not to add too much liquidy root beer of course:) I think I must be on the right track. I’ve had more energy to be active and I’m actually sweating for the first time in my life when I exercise. People think I’m weird for being excited about getting all gross, but that’s why I feel at home around here.
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