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I think that if you go for walks, do some strength training, and also some stretching, you will be making progress towards your goals without risking fucking your body up further and consequently your opportunity. Be gentle with yourself and listen to what your body is telling you about what it can handle right now. As Jennifer said resting and napping helps, and it takes time.
I know it is never black and white – eg. you might have adrenaline pumping and want to run around the block, when what you really need is to sleep, but you can’t sleep because the adrenaline is pumping… but try to find the middle ground, in this example it might be to go for a walk to calm down.
It sounds like you’re already making progress in identifying what kinds of foods might be stressors and what might be healing for you, but if you’re faced with the 2 meal dilema, maybe try having a bit of both? Or even meditating on it?
I also know what it’s like to be in an unhappy place and feel the desperate need to DO something about it – take action, be proactive and all that… but taking it easy might be just what you need to do. Give yourself permission to take a break and clear your head.
Regarding estrogen dominance – before I fell pregnant I had my hormone levels charted and my estrogen was actually normal, but progesterone was low. This gives the symptoms of estrogen dominance. In order to produce progesterone the body needs cholesterol. The body also uses cholesterol to produce cortisol. This is why stress reduction is so important for balancing hormones. You might be interested in: http://www.paleoforwomen.com/hpa-axis-what-is-pregnenolone-steal/
Double doses of fermented cod liver oil sorted out my progesterone issues and I fell pregnant. I understand that Matt isn’t keen on fish oils and that you can’t afford supplements, so as a suggestion, maybe loads of homemade ice-cream? That’s what I’ve been eating since I stopped taking the cod liver oil and homemade is heaps cheaper. So that’s something you can DO.
Don’t know about the salt-heart beat thing, but like I suggested before, just salt to taste – the body knows how much salt it needs.
Anyway, just some suggestions, hope they help in some way.
I would go easy on the workouts otherwise you’ll just be adding to the body’s stresses.
I think the idea is that if you eat and drink what the body craves, those imbalances will sort themselves out. It’s us thinking that we know better and just thinking too much in general that cause the problems – eg. what you’ve noticed with oversalting – just salt to taste.
As for the scales – ignore them. If you’re adding muscle mass you’ll weigh the same (or possibly even more) and look heaps better.
Forget “normal eating patterns”, just eat.
Sounds exactly like what Matt says will happen until the body is comfortable that its needs are being met and then things shift. I also felt worse initially, but then the weight started shifting from belly to muscle. My advice would be: relax, don’t overthink it, eat what you crave, go for walks, and do a little strength training. Also, I’d hazard a guess that the girl in that photo spends most of her day eating and working out to put away that many calories and have that much muscle.
I also had problems with dairy and gluten, and thought I had a leaky gut. Tried the GAPS diet and felt like I spent all my time preparing food and still starving, couldn’t stick with it even thought there were some improvements. Refed predominantly on ice-cream as that’s what I was craving. Interestingly, I didn’t and still don’t feel much like gluten products, but don’t deny myself either – including pizza! At first I noticed worsening of some symptoms, but there were improvements in others and I was so enjoying just eating so I stuck with it and am feeling heaps better and still eating heaps of ice-cream!
Would be interested in hearing others’ experiences though, especially long-term, and wish you well on your journey.
blurg – I’m a 31 year old female with a 5 month old baby. I consume more than 3000 calories a day and am as slim as the woman in that photo (although I have very little muscle). In fact, when I was consuming less I had a bloated belly, and only now that I’m consuming more do I have the flat belly I haven’t seen since I was a teen and started worrying about what I ate. I think that all Matt was saying is that you can’t make a generalised comment like women can’t eat more than 3000 calories or they’ll get fat, because some women do eat more and aren’t fat. Why? I don’t know, but we do exist, and we don’t all work out all day every day.
metabolizer – see post #14464
blurg – immediately above that photo were the words “Of course, she trains very hard to obtain this type of physique.” So, not sure how you think it is being presented as “not hard to achieve”.
Boiling does evaporate the chlorine, but unfortunately only reverse osmosis or distillation removes fluoride.
Salted caramel icecream? Yum! Could you maybe post the recipe on the Eat the Food! forum and I’ll pick it up from there?
Sounds like you’ve made great progress in the last few days! All the best with your journey round the mountain :)
Another thought – TCC is another area where it helps to just relax and listen to your body rather than tracking and charting and calculating. The first month I stopped trying to time things and just did the deed when I felt like it, we conceived. Possibly a coincidence, possibly to do with other health factors, but I still think it helped.
Hi Michelle,
Regarding iodine – I also thought I was getting plenty, but blood test results showed otherwise. I starting taking supplements, then more and more supplements, and the levels in my blood continued to drop. This went on for over six months and my symptoms got so bad I thought I was going to die. When I stopped drinking fluoridated water my iodine levels shot up from borderline severe deficiency to normal levels in a couple of weeks and symptoms started to resolve. When I stopped using fluoridated water for cooking and making up tea (boiling concentrates the fluoride), I felt better than I’ve ever felt in my life. Fluoride interferes with iodine uptake and was used in the past to treat hyperthyroidism – Google it ;)
However, this did not resolve my menstrual issues (irregular, PMS, heavy, cramping) which had to do with low progesterone. That took double doses of fermented cod liver oil. I fell pregnant within a few months. I think Matt is spot on with eating the food and reducing stress – eat the food to make progesterone, and reduce the stress that burns up the ingredients the body needs to make it.
I didn’t track temps back then so can’t help with that – but I can tell you that 4 months post-partum I’m around where you are at 36 degrees. Even though my temps haven’t come up (and have even gone down further), I’ve seen improvements in my health from just eating the food.
Good luck!
Thanks again Hannah. I had temps back up around 36C or 97F yesterday, so I think it may just be a case of two steps forward, one step back. I will look into possible thyroid issues though if things get much worse.
Thanks for your reply Hannah. I started refeeding about a month ago after breastfeeding for 3 months with no problems. My diet was quite (self) restricted and driving me (and everyone else) a bit crazy, so when I started refeeding I threw all my rules out the window and enjoyed a lot of ice-cream (and lots of other things)!
My excerise has been gradually increasing since giving birth, from gentle walking to resuming most of the housework and a postnatal exercise class. I only do what I feel I can. I think I’ve got a pretty good handle on following body cues for exercise and fluids, but have been pretty messed up food wise for a long time.
It has been awesome just eating freely and I’ve continued to see improvements, particularly in mood and bowel function. I went 11 hours without getting up to pee last night, even with frequent waking for baby’s feeds. But I still have low temperatures, as low as 34.5C or 94F this morning and am still losing a lot of hair.
I’m still managing with the breastfeeding. I think that now that bub is 4 months he is easily distracted and fussy at the breast anyway. Slow let down can still be a problem, but I’ve been managing it by taking him away from the breast when he gets distressed and cuddling/playing/napping with him until we’re both more relaxed.
Hopefully I’ll see improvements in temps, hair loss and let down reflex as time goes by. The other improvements have been encouraging and it’s so nice not to have to worry about food so much anymore!
Re thyroid problems, I developed goiter years ago, low iodine levels, felt like I was going to die, and still had normal thyroid blood test results. Resolved quickly after avoiding fluoridated water and felt better than ever, but then my health slid again after moving to another country and I wasn’t at my best when I fell pregnant. Just been trying to manage since then.
