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@godschild – I don’t weigh myself often, but based on how I look and how my clothes feel, I’d estimate I gain around 4-7 lb each month. But I seem to shrink back down again a few days into my period (if not a few days in, then at least once it’s over). I’d say go with your instincts, regarding the salt (i.e. salt to taste and follow your cravings). That’s what I’d do, anyway.
@Kristi – I’m guessing it must have something to do with poor circulation/weak pulse/low blood pressure/slow heart-rate. I imagine that if those systems are not functioning optimally then the blood can’t reach the extremities efficiently enough to keep them warm.
How to remedy this, though? Salt and carbs are seemingly not enough to eliminate my need for a hot water bottle to bring heat to my hands and feet!
Dates and other dried fruit, juice/soda and fresh fruit (if you can handle the extra fluid), jam, syrup, honey, molasses, sweetened yogurt, cooked fruit (reduces water content and concentrates sugars). You can also sneak sugar in to “savory” meals – chicken with sweet and sour or barbecue sauce, extra sugar added to curries, chilli, meat cooked in Coke (not as weird as it sounds), etc.
I find that the single easiest way to get a lot of sugar in one sitting is cooked apples with added sugar and raisins. I can eat about 6 apples worth in one sitting – along with the additional sugar and raisins, that makes a pretty sugar-dense meal! And totally fat-free (although not for me, as I usually add a bit of cream!).
Hope that helps! :)
@David – Sounds tasty!
@Dutchie – Constipation is not really an issue for me since RRARFing last year. I do still have some digestive issues (mainly just abdominal pain), but I think they are directly related to the Endometriosis (as is the fatigue). Reducing/eliminating all Endometriosis symptoms is my ultimate goal!Thanks for the advice, everyone! I can’t workout on an empty stomach, as I’m prone to low blood pressure and low blood sugar. In fact, if I don’t eat something (or at least have a sugary drink) immediately before working out, I get the dizzies! It’s seeming like sugar and a little bit of protein is the best way to go, but without worrying too much or getting too obsessed with specific macros. So I’m just going to keep my sugar intake high and make sure to eat as soon as possible after working out.
Thanks again!
@Dutchie – It’s going very well, thanks! Still not reaching 400g, but have loads more energy even on 200-300g, and sleeping better, etc. I think that once I get to 400g I’ll be feeling even better! My diet is very varied, so it’s hard to give an example of a daily menu. I’m generally sneaking sugar into as many things as possible, as well as eating lots of cooked fruit! Cooked apples really seems to be the easiest way to get lots of sugar in one sitting. The other day I cooked up 15 apples with 1/2 cup sugar, and was able to eat half of the whole lot in one go! Homemade Sweet and Sour Chicken is a good choice for a main meal there’s loads of sugar in the sauce, and the vinegar masks the sweetness somewhat. I’ve also been drinking lots of heavily-sweetened homemade iced tea, which contains about 27g sugar per cup. Fried bananas with maple syrup and cream are a staple dessert or breakfast. (P.S. Thanks for the video link!)
@David – Have been guzzling sweet drinks/sodas as much as possible (can’t overdo it, otherwise I get cold). It’s definitely a great way of supplementing sugar intake. I try and drink something sweet with each meal.
@bixy – Chocolate milk is awesome! I also wonder what milk sweetened with caramel would be like? Certainly seems like a good idea in my head…@cookin – I have to admit, I no longer give much credence to “research” and “studies”, if the practical application doesn’t yield positive results. I’ve been completely sugar free before, and I felt terrible. Obviously, correlation doesn’t equal causation, and maybe there was another reason why I felt terrible. But I’m about results, not theories, and if the high sugar diet actually works (i.e. gives me more energy and improves or alleviates my symptoms), then I don’t care what all the research has to say. If it doesn’t work, I’ll keep rethinking my approach until I find something that does. There’s research into the negative effects of LOTS of things, and many studies contradict each other. If we let research dictate what’s good for us and what’s not, we’ll become completely confused and paralysed. I would encourage you to experiment until you find what yields the best results for you personally, not for a group of strangers who took part in a study once. To answer your question, I do have a bit more energy, and my daily rhythms seem to be working their way back into a more normal pattern. My fatigue issues are quite severe, so I imagine it could take a little while before I see major results. That said, I have already noticed some improvements, so I’m hopeful.
@Dutchie – We don’t own the farm, we just live in a small cottage on the property. But the farmers grow naartjies (mandarins), cape gooseberries, rose geranium, horseradish and persimmons (sharon fruit). We do have our own little veggie patch in the garden though! And we’re thinking about getting some chickens!@Dutchie – Oh, and in terms of the Lyme thing, I was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome at the age of 11, at which point I doubt I’d ever even seen a tick before, as I lived a typical sheltered, British existence! Didn’t spend much time outdoors! Only moved to South Africa a few years ago.
@Dutchie – Yes, my husband is half Afrikaans, hence the surname! I do like blackstrap molasses, and have used it in cooking for a while (particularly in tomato-based sauces). Yes, I find I am eating less of everything else (starch, fat, protein) since upping the sugar, mainly because I don’t have much room for anything else! 400g sugar alone is more calories than I’m used to, so by the time I’ve eaten as much sugar as possible, I’m not all that hungry! I still have been eating starch, fat and protein at lunch and dinner, just less than usual. Hard to tell if I’ve gained weight or not – my clothes still fit, so if I have it’s minimal. I don’t own a scale, so no idea if I’ve actually gained some pounds.
Yesterday I managed about 300g! Hopefully I’ll be at 400g by the end of the week.
Not sure what I think about Lyme Disease. It seems like everyone’s being diagnosed with it, regardless of whether or not they’ve been bitten by a tick and had the initial “tick bite fever”. I live on a farm in South Africa and get loads of tick bites every year, but I’ve never gotten tick bite fever. I don’t know, it all seems a bit suspicious to me.
On the plus side, this recipe is SUPER high in sugar, and pretty tasty too! http://www.carnation.co.uk/Recipes/67/Ultimate-Fudge
I worked out that one square (if you cut the whole thing into 16 pieces) has 41g sugar! If you have it with a glass of milk (13g), that’s 54g in one small snack!
Stewed apples with lots of added sugar and raisins is also cool. I cooked up 11 apples with 1/2 cup sugar, and managed to eat half of that in one sitting (with additional raisins).
@j-lo – Beef with molasses sounds interesting! Not sure if I’ll ever be able to drink maple syrup neat – I had a spoonful of neat honey the other day and it was not pleasant! But thanks for all the great suggestions – definitely going to try sneaking in more sugar in places where it’s unnoticeable!@SarahD – Very interesting! Combining fluids and salt makes sense, although I struggle to consume enough salt to counter the “washing out” effects of the fluids. But in the past I have taken salt tablets, so perhaps I could try that again to make sure my salt concentration stays high enough!
@The Real Amy – Love that blog, some great info on there. Bikram yoga does seem to have a high success rate. I wonder if Pilates is effective too?
@Matt – Haha, I’ll try harder! I’ll get there – I think that just in terms of calories it’s a lot more than I’m accustomed to, so my stomach needs a little time to adjust… Also, I’ve had a really weird buzzy feeling since starting this (like you get when you’re in love!). Is that just what energy feels like?
@Dutchie – I’m not too worried about conflicting nutritional info as I just want a rough estimate of how much sugar I’m getting. Adding bacon to sweet stuff is a great idea! I am also finding that a slice of cheese as an accompaniment to the sweet stuff helps to get it down. Have also been adding a bit more sugar to savory meals, where it is masked by the salt! Still haven’t managed to get my total daily intake to above 240g though. I’m not actually sure it’s possible to eat 400g! Everything above 100g seems to make me want to gag, lol. I wish I had my husband’s capacity for sweet stuff! On the plus side, my temperature was 98.78 the other day, so I think all the sugar has been making a difference. If I can make it through the rest of winter without having to sleep with a hot water bottle, that will be a massive victory!
