By Rob Archangel, 180DegreeHealth.com staff writer
Hey party people- Rob here, giving you a heads up about a live internet radio appearance with Matt tonight on Dr Marty’s Wellness Experience?. I reached out to Dr. Marty a couple months ago about Eat for Heat and he wanted to have Matt share some of the tips and tweaks for increasing the metabolic rate by adjusting our food and drink patterns.
You can call in live at 7pm EST and listen at (347) 633-9769 or tune in later to catch the archived edition here.
FIRST!
CLICKING on link now… interesting
Off-topic question: why would body temperature drop during excercise? Just walking can lower my temperature a couple degrees.
Nira, how are you checking your temperature? If it’s orally, then it might not be accurate. Things like breathing in cold air, drinking, eating, and even talking a lot can affect that reading. I find that it’s normally best to test your oral temp 30min after having done any of that so that your mouth can reach equilibrium.
I’m just a novice with all this but I have noticed the same thing and my understanding is that the body will lower its ‘burn rate’ to ensure that you have enough energy to complete the task, especially if it’s endurance exercise.
Michael, At first I thought that perhaps I was a closet mouth-breather, so out of curiosity I decided to track very carefully this week. The temperature drop is directly related to the length of exercise. Interestingly, any type of physical movement will drop my temperature, with a one hour walk causing a dramatic 2 degree F. drop. Even just moving around a little bit will cause a minor drop, so it would seem physiological.
Jen, Perhaps it is the body’s way of optimizing energy. I’m curious if this is a sign that my metabolism is sub-optimal or if this is simply a normal response. My temperature also rises while sleeping, which goes against standard thinking as well.
Nira, since you seem to have ruled out those factors I mentioned, I would say your temp dropping after exercise is most likely a sign of a less than optimal metabolism. You said your temp rises when you sleep. If your daily temp is highest right after you wake, that’s another strong indicator of a sluggish metabolism.
Try taking your temp before and after eating a meal. If your temp drops after, that usually means you were running on stress hormones.
If you haven’t already, you should look into Matt’s work about restoring your metabolism. If you get cold and/or urinate a lot, his work on limiting fluid intake and ‘eating for heat’ will be a life changer.
I do an easy 15 mile bicycle ride most every morning. My temperature, taken in the ear, will drop as much as 4 degrees. I thought it might have something to do with my age (85) but maybe not.
85 and still doing a bike ride in the morning… that’s wonderful, Bob. I’m 40 and my temp drops a little after easy exercise, but it seems to rebound higher an hour later. (I’m not obsessive, I just don’t have a thyroid — my temps used to be mid -95’s before talking to Matt in August– so I like to keep tabs on how things are going).
I think you would be a wonderful resource for some of the younger people on here on how you’ve stayed active and engaged. Please comment more!
I agree with Susan – I’d like to hear more about Bob!
Susan- I don’t have a thyroid either and I haven’t been able to get my temps above 97.9 no matter what or how much I eat. They’ve risen from the low 95’s. did you have to do anything in particular to get your temps up and how long did it take?
@Kim,
I was in the 97’s for a long time, too. I switched from synthroid to ‘thiroyd’ from Thailand that I ordered from Amazon (no I’m not kidding ;-). I immediately felt better, and discounting the placebo effect, my temps rose about a point just from that change. But they were still in the high 96’s to mid 97’s. I had been dieting for 2.5 years (with little success) before talking to Matt in August, when I discovered that my noon temp was 95.5 and mornings were sometimes 94.9) I didn’t really have any major problems except daytime energy slumps. Anyway, being the type of person who reads Nourishing Traditions for fun, I imagined that I would increase my carb and calorie intake with brown rice mixed with organic calves’ liver shavings and raw milk but instead I started eating ramen noodles– lots and lots of ramen (chicken flavored…mmmm). and marshmallows and hershey’s bars. Enough salt and sugar to jumpstart anyone’s metabolism! I gained a about 10 lbs (from 173 to 183). This junk food fest and weight gain increased my temps to 97.9 still only rarely breaking the 98 barrier. For about 6 weeks, now, I’ve been doing Maffetone method aerobic training. My temps will go down immediately afterward, but overall they are now between 98.2 to 98.4. It may be coincidence, but I have to say that this is the first time I’ve enjoyed exercise in a long time and I sometimes have to talk myself out of going to gym– telling myself I just need to rest and hang out with hubby. Maffetone is very in line with 180 degree thinking– low stress, health before fitnesss. For a long time, I was such a believer in Grok theory that I had convinced myself that treadmills were useless at best, deadly at worst. I’m still early in the experiment, but my energy levels and temps have definitely ramped up (this happened about 3 weeks into doing 4-5 easy workouts per week). Just as an aside, the whole point of Maffetone is to maximize your aerobic system and ‘mitochondrial biogenesis’. How exactly this would help with metabolism, I’m not sure, but I know mitochondria are important. I think this may be my 3rd comment about aerobic base training– I’m sorry if I’m becoming a troll. I just feel like I’ve unlocked some new part of the puzzle. We’ll see how I feel in 6 months. I used to tell everyone to go primal, too ;-)
I just felt like I was reading about myself. Everything from taking “illicit” thyroid meds to the NT lovefest. ;) I’m on Armour but I did feel better on Thiroyd so maybe I will switch back. My endo will have a fit. I’ve never heard of Maffetone. I’ve avoided cardio since diving head first into Paleo but maybe I’ll have to revisit it. When I was a veggie I loved my gym workouts. I haven’t been able to bring myself to eat junk food, though I’ve been eating a homemade white flour/sugar filled dessert every day after dinner. I just read those ingredients and can’t do it. So, do you think the exercise is making your temps rise? I haven’t exercised in about two years because of pregnancy complications then a herniated disc but I’m getting to the point where I’m hoping I can soon.
Also I looked on amazon & couldn’t find it.
Susan could you share more about “thiroid “. I’ve been wanting to get on armour but it requires a prescription. My naturalpath wants to put me on some Chinese herbs that are supposedly as strong as armour. Just trying to figure out what to do. Also how much do you take of the thiroid? Thanks!
Christy– It looks like they may be phasing it out on amazon. I bought the 1000 pack. Now they’ve only got Thyroid-S listed from NDT (which I used and worked well, you just couldn’t dissolve it under your tongue.) I am going to order some of it now, too. They have also set up a web page Thyroid-s.com which has a lot of information. I won’t say this stuff has been a miracle or anything– but, I feel better than on synthroid. My energy is much more consistent. I got more of the boost from eating more carbs and calories per 180degree.
Kim– I’m totally with you. I still struggle with temps and energy. It’s much better, and I don’t feel like I’m in hibernation anymore, but I just don’t have a lot of oomph. I really want oomph. I’m with you on the paleo and cardio. I used to enjoy smugly tsktsking all those people huffing on puffing while running– then I stumbled upon something about aerobic base training by a guy called the ‘soc-doc’. It totally nailed me. He was talking about paleo myths and that most people who talk about how bad marathons are for you couldn’t even run a 5k. I could barely run a 1k! He has a really informative set of articles on his web page. Maffetone method is low heart rate aerobic training. It feels slow. When I first started I could only walk a 19:42 minute mile at my target heart rate. I’ve cut 1:30 seconds off in 4 weeks. You’ll have to read about it, but the reason it appealed to me is that argument that most people do ‘aerobics’ anaerobically and that is very stressful to the body and that’s why they don’t see results. He pointed out that a hard work out like crossfit may give some initial gains, but they won’t last or they will stall out if you don’t have a good aerobic base. This is exactly what had happened to me despite working out hard, hard, hard for a year. I’ll report back in few months, but it really gels with the section on exercise in Diet Recovery 2. I love the treadmill. The other day, I did a 60 minute walk monitoring my HR and I didn’t even use my ipod or watch t.v. Just sort of stared out the window. It has been very zen for me.
Christy, I also wanted to say that I would be very cautious about supplementing with thyroid if you don’t have an actual thyroid problem. B/c I don’t have a thyroid, I obviously need supplemented hormone– and the dessicated version has proven to be more effective– most of my temperature and energy gains have been from eating more calories and carbs and prioritizing sleep. It seems that truly aerobic (low hr for me 130-14- bpm) exercise may be bumping me up some more, but I’m early in that experiment, so I’m not sure.
meant to say 130-140 bpm ;-)
Thanks Susan for all your feedback and thoughts! I went to the Thyroid-S site you recommended and looks like they are having some trouble with being being able to order from Amazon as well. I contacted them about ordering directly from them, but may go ahead and order the product shown on Amazon.
I definitely have a thyroid and probably adrenal issue. I’ve got so many of the symptoms associated with low thyroid and metabolism and it runs in my family (both mom and grandmother have low thyroid). I’ve been trying to follow Matt’s principles for the past year – adding in many many more carbs than I ever ate before (I’ve been low card for many years – even tried Paleo). I’ve been about 75 pounds overweight for most of my life. So adding on another 10 pounds or so has been grueling and I’m bloated all the time and don’t have any more energy. Maybe I’m not following these principles as well as I should since I fear gaining more weight (already can’t fit into most of my clothes) – but I just sense in my gut that I need some thyroid support. Had another friend with similar symptoms to mine and she got back on Armour and feels amazing once again. That’s why I wanted to go that route, but I’d have to get a prescription and don’t have insurance right now. But thanks again for your thoughts. I just don’t want to feel like I’m 80 years old and unable to loose weight! It’s bringing me way down!
I cannot get my temp consistently above 97.6. It has jumped above 98 once. I’m focusing on eating enough sugar, salt, starch and saturated fact. Trying to get enough sleep (I have a baby that doesn’t like to sleep) and not doing much exercise. I’ve been doing this for about three months. It’s gone up from 95.3 but seems stuck now and hasn’t budged in over two months. I am nursing. Could that be part of the problem? I have been able to recently introduce wheat after three years on a gf diet. I’m happy about that! I’ve also noticed that I have to eat constantly to keep my moods stable and anxiety at bay.
Kim,
I wanted to share my experience. I just implemented some of the concepts found on this site and have been tracking temps. I realized one night that about an hour after I nursed my baby in the evening I got very cold. When I took temp it had dropped nearly a degree – then realized a trend. I’ve nursed her for 8 months but have decided to start weaning. I think my body has hit a wall with a nursing. Another thing I noticed was how diluted my urine was with consistent nursing (we’re down to once a day). I’ve also have the need to eat constantly but in my case I get dizzy and shaky if I don’t stay on top of it. Between the kids and me I feel like I’m always in the kitchen!
In a blink of an eye,you’ll be on national television! :)
Btw, I’ve been reading more and more articles about experiences similar to ours:
http://transhumanity.net/articles/entry/caloric-restriction-is-not-on-my-menu
Great article– it led to look up some other things on calorie restriction. I love this quote from an article in Nature:
Meanwhile, there is a dearth of evidence that caloric restriction slows ageing in humans. Observational studies have found that people of average weight tend to live longest3. Nir Barzilai, a gerontologist at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, says that the centenarians he studies have led him to believe that genetics is more important than diet and lifestyle. ?They?re a chubby bunch,? he says.
They’re a chubby bunch– classic.
ok I just listened to this and you could tell that Dr. Marty was very uncomfortable with everything that Matt was sharing! It was almost comical! He even said before one of the breaks that he was going to go to task with Matt on some of the stuff he had just shared about “anti-stress” foods like sugar, starch, salt – but then he never did. He kept trying to get Matt to tell callers what to eat and Matt did a great job of not saying, “well – just eat some pasta or ice cream or cookies” because if he had, I think Dr. Marty would have cut off the interview right there!!!
Agreed– it was pretty funny. He seemed to want Matt to shuffle off asap. But, I’ve never listened to him before, so perhaps that’s just him. I also go the impression when he was asking about someone who was cold all the time, he may as well have begun it with “I’ve got this friend…”. Dr. Marty — go ahead and have a burger and milkshake and let the cognitive dissonance of how good it feels wash over you.
I saw this guy’s picture and immediately intuited he was a douchebag, so I didn’t even bother listening to the interview. It’s fun reading all of your reviews though :)
Hi All,
I’m super confused. I just read Diet Recovery 2, Eat for Heat and 180 Degree Digestion.
There seems to be large contradiction – 180 Degree Digestion seems to suggest that fructose and “sugary junk” is bad and causes problems, whereas Diet Recovery 2 tells you to load up on anything with sugar in it.
Is there some important point that I’ve missed? Can anyone resolve the contradiction?
Cheers
One thing I forgot:
The other confusing thing has to do with the recommendation to eat only fruit and veg for a few weeks as a way of getting the gut moving (in 180 Degree Digestion), whereas in Diet Recovery 2, this way of eating was described as destructive to the metabolism – something that would slow down the digestive system.
Totally confused.
Older information vs. newer information, that’s all. I’m assuming Matt will update his older e-books when he has the time so that this type of confusion doesn’t continue.
Indeed- since Matt is continually incorporating new information, a good default when there’s an apparent conflict between old writing and new writing is to defer to the new writing. And yeah, there may be updates to some of the other books down the line.
Thanks for the replies.
Have you read the 180 Degree Digestion book? It is very certain about the pure evil of sugar.
What could have caused such an about face?
The new book seems to suggest that the very people who were called sick in 180 Degree Digestion – McD’s munchers should be some of the healthiest people alive today. I’m not quite sure that’s the case.
The short of it is, as the importance of the metabolic rate has become more central to Matt’s thinking, he’s come to value the role of carbs, including starch and sugar in supporting and enhancing it. Incorporating sugars and starches in the right context can help the body function better and restore itself. Here’s a recent-ish post on sugar and dental/bone health: http://180degreehealth.com/2012/12/how-to-strengthen-bones-and-teeth-with-white-sugar
As for McD’s munchers, Matt never says there’s absolute value in those sorts of foods. It’s all about context. For those who have patterns of restriction and the attendant low metabolic rates that go along with it, such palatable, rich foods can be the fastest way to recovery. For a sedentary couch potato who’s eaten mostly Doritos and Twinkies, some cola in the diet won’t necessarily produce a hypermetabolic response. Eat for Heat and DR 2 both describe the contexts in which these foods can have a very therapeutic effect. No single dietary prescription applies to all.
I gotta say. Since October and getting over the fact that my low carb diet may have slimmed me down, it helped drop more head hair and I was pacing myself each day and accomplishing less as I had no energy. Fast forward to the last two days. No scale to check myself. Had to wear the same jeans three days in a row and the belt that was keeping them from creeping down from snuggness was cinched a notch tighter by the second evening…and I was eating all the sugar I desired. That’s right, I added sugar to my coke to taste. Took three packets of real sugar per glass on ice. Nearly drank three of those before our food came at Chili’s. Then could only eat 1/3 of my chicken fajita order, but I was a happy camper.
The more plain old sugar I seem to eat, the more energy I have. I’m done checking the scale and going to just eat what seems tummy right at the time. It usually fails me, when I fail to check the tummy and eat something that is ‘supposed to be healthy.’ After over 4 decades of dieting on and off, I’m done.
I don’t have time to waste having no energy to keep up with life and toddler/preschool grandsons. They won’t want to be cuddling with me soon enough.
Oh, and consider this. If you eat your meal and still want something sugary…perhaps start your meal with the sugary dessert with your meal so you can pick as you eat what bite of food is the ultimate pleasure. Don’t wait until you’ve eaten to fullness the other stuff, eat the dessert with your meal. Perhaps we would all be satisfied far sooner that way. I’m hoping as I too have 50 to 60 pounds in excess of my natural weight at age 30 after two children….eating high carb vegetarian.
Oh, and I’m warmer all day as I nibble or eat a meal high in sugar….and my temps have risen since October. I no longer need a sweater or to be dress as if I’m going outside for Fall weather…inside the house.
I am truly experimenting with eating what I want, when I am hungry. If I want sugar, I eat sugar. Yes, other times I want salad or meat….usually after the sugar is satisfied. After this weekend, I think I’ll be drinking a soft drink laced with extra table sugar before and with my meals. Now reading about the extra carbon dioxide with this combination makes sense. Ha!
Basically, I’ve been watching my grandsons and allowing them free rein in what and when they eat when they visit or stay overnight and especially a recent extended stay of several days. Even at age 2.5 and 4.5 they will ask for protein and fat when they want it. Otherwise, they run (literally as in are fueled for performance) on sugar…M&Ms and the like. Or carrots and Hershey’s syrup and milk as a bedtime snack.