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@napster4ever I wouldn’t say I was doing VLC…well, I was doing an anti-candida diet for about 2 years. I still had quinoa at breakfast and brown rice later in the day, but that’s about it. I don’t really know what percentage of my diet came from carbs during that time, but definitely not enough.
It’s interesting that you ask about BG control because I just got blood test results the other day, and my fasting glucose was very elevated. The range for fasting after 10 hours is supposed to be 3.6-5.5 mmol/L and mine is 8.6! :/ (Hemoglobin A1C was elevated too – 7%) I don’t really understand. I’ve only been eating more starch and sugar in the last 6 months or so. My meals are always balanced with protein, fat, and carbs, and then I’ll have dessert at the end or something. So high cortisol can affect blood glucose? My DHEA-S is elevated as well. Oh dear, I feel like a mess lol.
Thanks for your responses. corktree that was really helpful. I have to have more hormone testing done so I can’t take any supplements like ashwagandha, rhodiola, etc. that may affect cortisol, but they will definitely be something to consider in the future. For now I guess it is yoga and meditation until I find out if anything further is going on.
I take a supplement called Estrolief for excess estrogen (and before that I took EstroSmart). The liver support supplement I take is Hepasylin – it contains milk thistle, artichoke, dandelion, etc. I actually hadn’t heard that before about some herbs being estrogenic. These are just what my naturopath recommended.
Over the last 6 months I have improved my thyroid function. I used to be subclinical hypothyroid (my TSH was climbing higher and higher, approaching 4). Now my T3 and T4 are in optimal ranges (haven’t had my TSH tested again yet). I’m not exactly sure which contributed to the improvement, but these are the things I’ve been doing in that time, so it could be a combination of them:
-eating more calories (3000+ which I’m not force-feeding but actually hungry for)
-more salt, sugar, carbs
-more saturated fat from coconut oil and ghee and dairy
-taking a supplement to help clear out excess estrogen
-taking liver support herbs
-a low dose progesterone cream in the second half of my cycleHi NewAtThis, just wanted to respond to your question about indigestion. I am someone whose digestion improved by eating more calories. (I didn’t have acid reflux though, just bloating/abdominal distention mainly) When I first increased calories, I would feel this horribly uncomfortable too-full pressure in my stomach – and that was just from eating normal-sized meals that I used to be able to down no problem. I no longer have that uncomfortable feeling while eating the same amount, or more. I still get a bit of bloating, but I believe that is due to the estrogen dominance that I’m trying to deal with.
Also you mention you used to eat 1500 calories. To me, that jumps out as being too little…I had symptoms of not eating enough and a slowed metabolism at 1800-2000 calories, and I’m a 22-year-old female who was doing no exercise. But I also had a much lower BMI and couldn’t afford to lose any of the weight I lost while eating 1800. So yeah. Everyone’s different, just wanted to share my experience!
BauerPower – Yes, I think I meant more like is this ‘bottomless pit’ feeling what extreme hunger feels like. I agree that 3500 isn’t as much as I might think…I used to eat probably around 3000 before I started any kind of restricting. I have visited the youreatopia website, I’ve read lots of the articles and have been lurking the forums for quite a while :) I was just thinking that I’m going to finally post there and introduce myself!
Thanks for your replies!
I’m not really sure if I’m still gaining weight. I haven’t weighed myself in a long time. Pants that I got 3 months ago still fit, although are much tighter. Seems like I think I stabilize, then there’s another jump in weight, then stabilize, etc.
It is likely that my body did feel starved from the restrictive diet. Even though 1800-2200 calories may not seem that low to the average person, I was coming from a place where I had a large appetite and a fast metabolism and ate tons just to maintain my slim build. 1800-2200 would’ve certainly been less than I was eating previously. And the fact that I lost my period, had hair falling out, etc. on that amount suggests it was not the right amount for me.
Also, there were definitely times when I was hungry but wouldn’t eat because not enough time had passed since my last meal, or because I was at a friend’s house and the food contained sugar or gluten or some other thing I was avoiding (whereas previously I would’ve chowed down on candy, chips, ice cream and whatever else was available). So I was definitely restrictive and did some things that probably messed up my hunger cues…
I hope this will stabilize as I continue to try to eat to hunger cues…
I’ll also take a look at my diet to see if I’m getting enough protein. I do feel that I have a fair amount though, I always have some kind of animal protein at lunch and dinner, I have lots of dairy in the form of ice cream and cheese, I have lots of almond butter, etc.
