Eat for Heat is now available as a paperback through Amazon HERE. Small, skinny little fella, it’s a quick read and continues to be of huge game-changing importance for those who dare to make the subtle changes it discusses.?Perhaps the best and most accurate review came just last week…
“Weird that eating like this actually works?
I don’t get it. I really don’t. Half the things I’ve learned about health and nutrition are incorrect. Especially when you are in a low metabolic state, which seems to be anyone who has any sort of chronic condition.
I came across Matt Stone, actually from a Danny Roddy blog. I had been “Peating” for about 4 or 5 months, and actually felt worse than I ever have in my adult life. I have felt cold for awhile… ever since I was in my late teens. But doing the Ray Peat OJ, Milk, Gelatin thing, it took being cold to a new level. Temps were a steady 97.0 to 97.4, on average. I had a 95.5 temp one morning when I woke up, and my teeth were chattering (yet it was 71 degrees in my house). If it was under 60 degrees outside, I was shaking like a leaf.
Anyway, I saw Matt Stone on Danny Roddy’s blog, and decided to google Matt Stone. I read a few of his articles and thought, this guy seems like a tool, but he very well may be onto something here. I decided to buy this book, and I have to say, it’s fascinating. It really makes no sense to me, based on my knowledge of nutrition, but talk about a rapid turnaround in body temp and how I feel on a daily basis. It’s insane!
Within a week, I was sporting temps of nearly 98.0 after 5 months of low 97’s. I started wanting sex on a daily basis, instead of once or twice a week. I started wanting to exercise more. I noticed I was more active, seeking out more things to do with my days. All signs of being in a better state of health, for sure. I actually took a picture with my iPhone the first time my body temp hit 98.6, because no joke, I haven’t seen that since I was in high school. Now when people at my office crank the A/C down to 65 degrees, I’m not even bothered, whereas before, I would have needed a winter jacket, and I still would’ve been cold.
The only issue I’ve had, and he mentions this in the book, is that there will come a time where you will start running TOO hot. I never thought I would experience that, but I started breaking sweats in 68 degree rooms, and realized I needed to start incorporating more cooling foods and fluids back into my diet. Cooling foods are your traditional health foods, like fruit, vegetables, water, etc. It took awhile to find the right balance, because when I started drinking water and eating fruit again, my temp dropped to 97.4. But, back on the diet, it was normal again within a day.
This book may make a profound impact on your health, should you be in a low metabolic state as I have been for awhile. And if you’re coming over from a Ray Peat diet, you will probably feel warm for the first time since you began the diet, without crazy thyroid drugs and popping aspirin like skittles. I was always cold following his guidelines. And as I learned in Eat for Heat, I was drinking way too much fluid, and had way too high of a potassium to sodium intake.
It’s really crazy the little tricks of the trade that Matt has come up with to get you out of your chronic condition. When your body temp normalizes, so do your hormones. You start to feel like you have your life back. I feel normal for the first time in over a decade, thanks to Matt’s books. I would like to treat him to a nice big stack of pancakes.
Good stuff, Matt Stone!”
You can order it HERE.
First!
Awesom e review, I can relate in many ways. Since I can’t buy Matt a stack of pancakes, maybe I should send him a gift card for IHOP :)
I would have loved to get this in paperback rather than ebook. I always have to go on the computer to read it and there are times when I like to take a book outside to read. Oh well. Matt, if you are reading this, I still don’t sleep well at night. I have been doing eat for heat for 4 months and feel stuck. Will I ever get my metabolism up if I keep waking up all night? I would like to do a consultation but still trying to see what I can afford to pay you. Your price is a bit steep for me right now, but I don’t want to be a cheapskate.
A few other things you can try Linda are…
1) Getting up early and going outside in the bright light as early as possible (helps set biological rhythms so your cortisol is lower at night… better sleep)
2) Remove all electronic devices from the bedroom that you sleep in
3) Sleep grounded/earthed
4) Darken the room you are sleeping in
In the future, all books will debut with both a paper and eBook version. Right now we are working on coming out with paper versions of all the other books – all of them updated, revamped, current, and congruent.
Thanks Matt. I might have to sleep in the spare bedroom to get away from electronic stuff. I don’t think hubby will like that but…..
At least try to keep major stuff and as many cords and cables away from your head.
All the plug ins are on DH side of the bed. And he doesn’t have any problem sleeping. And he has to get up at 3am to go to work. And he drinks coffee all day and in the evening!
I’ve always been confused why Peat calls darkness stressful and why he equates melatonin with serotonin. I understand that chemically they are similar, but it is melatonin that switches on in the dark and levels are decreased as you get older. Even ignoring melatonin, it doesn’t make sense to me why lying in the dark would be stressful when this is what you do to go to sleep and it feels relaxing. ?
It’s a confusing topic. Suffice it to say that mammalian physiology peaks when daylight length is longest, and total metatonin exposure is reduced, generally-speaking. That seems to be one of the driving reasons why he feels that way about melatonin and darkness. I tend to think of using bright light and dark dark as a way to better synchronize daily hormonal rhythms. More bright light early, less bright light late.
I agree about the dark dark and bright light. I find that sunlight early is a lot better than computer/bulb light first, which I why I prefer to wake at dawn instead of before. I used to sleep in my soundproofed room – totally dark and silent.
My impression is that there is a time a place for most things and that thinking in absolutes is misleading. I would be very interested if anyone was thinking of doing a post on this topic.
out of all those suggestions, waking up early on purpose is the only one I’ll straight up say doesn’t work. if you need to sleep till noon because you can’t fall asleep until 3am+, you have other problems, probably diet related. no electronic devices, grounding, and darkening the room all are definitely beneficial, especially minimizing any artificial light source past sunset (lightbulbs, screens on phones, etc…).
I didn’t mean to wake up early so much as I meant to get bright sunlight as quickly as possible once you’ve awakened. Whenever that may be.
Hi Matt,
Wohoo! Paper! I am not at all a fan of reading on any electronic device so this is great.
The more I think about your simple message in this book, the more I can hear my grandmother who grew up on a farm in my head saying: “Well, of course you eat this way! How else can you get a full days work done? “.
To Linda: I am still struggling with that too. It is not always about food. I am thinking that my work place has more EMF’s than my body can handle so I am looking into how I can protect myself. Maybe this could be a factor for you too? Just a thought to ponder…
I have thought about that. DH doesn’t think so & Son thinks I am nuts, but I do think there is something to it. I hate how much electronic stuff we have plugged in all over the house. I wanted to try that earthing mat for the computer but everything is so expensive!
I have used my earthing mat for a year and a half and I know everyone’s experience is different but I feel much better with it. I have also been sleeping grounded for that time too and love it. I went through some adjustment at first though. As I mentioned, having followed all of Matt’s advice and still having sleeping troubles, I think it is my workplace that is causing the problem. I have just found something online that I can carry with me at work to protect me. I have my fingers crossed it will work.
Good luck. Perhaps tell your husband that a rested wife=a happy wife and that this will improve home life and relationship :)
Those who are having trouble sleeping and suspect it is through magnetic fields (ac electrical activity) could benefit from looking outside of the home for the source of any. An example is if your home is near a substation that generates high voltage. Look for anything nearby or underground that may be generating a field and how strong that field may be. Melatonin production is disrupted by light, which is why you are blackening your room but other types of electromagnetic phenomena besides light will also disrupt it.
Pink, with all due respect, how often is it the case the EMF are responsible for someone with serious insomnia? My guess is that it’s not often the case. I worry about this because I think these type of “leads” can send people off on a “wild goose chase” after something that “may” play a minor role while the real culprit does not get addressed.
I think this type of “lead” has an analog in the insidious dietary path most people on this list have taken. Most people here will have had some affliction that got them started down the slippery slope of diet fanatacism. Maybe they were feeling tired and somebody told them how great they felt since eliminating dairy. So the person eliminates dairy. Well, they don’t feel any better. Another person recommends the person also eliminate wheat, etc. etc. Meanwhile the real culprit- say, stress-goes un-addressed.
In my opinion, EMF may play some small role, but I doubt that it plays a major role in most people’s insomnia. People can try it, but I think this kind of advice sets people off in the wrong direction. I believe in your good intentions, but I am very skeptical of this advice. That’s why you see me scoffing at the articles at grounding and special shoes, etc. These may play some small role, but, it’s not major, and only serves as a distraction, in most cases.
This is coming from somebody whose achilles heel is his sleep. I’ve been trying to cure my sleep problem since I was in my early twenties. I’ve tried everything.: several schools of homeopathy, acupuncture, allopathic pills, herbs, chirporactic adjustments, Weird Peat’s Wake up and drink the sugar, gelatin and salt routine and many more, including eliminating all EMFs. I still wake up in the middle of the night and have difficulties returning to sleep. The best advice I have got is to just get up and do something and try not to worry about it. I know beyond a shadow-of-a-doubt my sleep problem has something to do with stress and most likely some teenage trauma, but the solution has eluded me. I suspect that my case is very common and that most people with sleep problems are a result of some stressful event or events…either in the present or in the past. Cutting out electricity, wearing ugly-ass sandals made by somebody in San Jose, CA or drinking gelatin OJ with salt and sugar in it is not going to make a dent, in most cases.
Hi Thomas,
I can see your point and to a large extent I agree with it. I think that my post may have given the wrong impression as sometimes I find it hard to articulate what I want to say. In this case, I actually was attempting to allay obsessiveness over electricity by explaining the reason for the recommendations. Unfortunately, I can see how my post may have been read to leave the opposite impression, so I am glad that you posted. I do not want to encourage people to get hung up over every single lead which will distract them from finding what they need to focus on. I simply wanted to say here is a recommendation and this is the reason why, check and move on.
I do disagree with your classification of the role of EMF and light. I have an electrical background, so I find this stuff interesting. To say that electrical cables carrying a current generate EMF and that light is just a small band on the EMF spectrum is well established. I also assumed that it was also established that the pineal gland responds to the dark and light cycles and secretes the hormone melatonin when it gets dark. I do not think that it is fair to put that on the same level with some of the more speculative claims made for grounding.
I think that it is good advice to set things up to encourage your hormones to get back into sync with your diurnal cyles and minimising light and EMF which can interfere with that before you sleep makes sense, but I agree that it is not the only factor.
I can relate to your frustration over insomnia. At least for me, I know what the source of mine is – noise, especially low frequency sound. There are some places where I simply cannot sleep and earplugs are useless as I can feel it also. There are people all round the world complaining of “the hum” and I am one of them. This is also my biggest source of stress. To the skeptical people out there, it is real, we don’t believe in it we can actually hear/feel it and the constant sound is exhausting and stressful. If anyone here wanted to do a post on the positive and negative effects of sound on health, I would be interested. I was also helped by taking melatonin but found that I did not need it if I darkened my room. This is also why I am so interested in what has been written on melatonin.
I have fixed the sound problem as best I can and I do sleep better in the dark, so I fit my van with black curtains and am very careful not to park near any transmission lines, although when I travel I sometimes end up in a noisy (vibrational) place and I sleep badly that night. Just as this was working out, I lost a lot of weight and was eating too much protein and not enough carbs, I began to wake up in the middle of the night and pee (and in a van too!) It was hell being constantly tired all the time again, this time for another reason that was a mystery to me. It wasn’t until I became exhausted and had to take time out that I found out that my symptoms were very common, especially in people suffering from diet stress and I have this blog to thank for that.
Correction: I meant to say electrical cables carrying an AC current generate EMF.
I have had sleep issues for about 20 years and tried many of the things you have – namely homeopathy, many kinds of supplements and sleeping pills (both OTC and prescription). I had been taking benadryl for the past 2 decades and Trazodone for the past 4 – both helping somewhat but recently I started taking SAM-e. I’ve quit all medication and have been sleeping well most nights. Dosage is a little tricky because if I take too much, I get insomnia again but honestly, I thank my lucky stars that I discovered it. It’s not for everyone, but it has helped me.
Question… I’ve recently done the ALCAT test for food sensitivities (which yes, I know there are various opinions). However, I’m really wanting to give “Eat for Heat” a go, as I think it could be life changing for me. Do I just say screw the food sensitivities? I’m almost 3 months in to strict adherence of ALCAT with another 3 to go for my moderate/ severe sensitivities (ie, gluten, etc) – ugh! Eating whatever I want to get my metabolic rate up sounds much more fun. …just want to make sure that is what is advised! Thanks in advance to anyone who is willing to help! I’m just curious experiences of someone doing this with known food issues!!
As long as you are eating enough food in general, something like ALCAT won’t necessarily kill your metabolic rate. You do what you want. If you have a severe allergy/intolerance to something I wouldn’t necessarily go out and start binging on it right away, but sometimes eating lots of everything does indeed improve food intolerances very quickly.
Hi Matt, I’ve been reading your site with interest for several months and decided to take the plunge about 3 weeks ago and try RRARF. Since then, I’ve had nearly daily intense nausea and diarrhea. My low temps haven’t budged and I sleep much better although there’s still that pesky 3am wakeup. I should mention that I live in the tropics and breastfeed, so maybe I’ve been reducing liquids too much?
The review shown above is quite impressive but I’m wondering if maybe your way isn’t for everyone (I’d love to be proved wrong :)
Intense diarrhea and no fluids sounds like a poor combination to me. I don’t think breastfeeding women should be taking in more fluids as advised. It’s not about quantity, it’s about quality. The more concentrated breastmilk is the more powerful it is.
If I eat for heat, my temp goes up, my feet and hands get warmer. All good. If I don’t take enough sugar I wake up in the middle of the night. Starch doesn’t produce the same effect on me. So eating enough and drinking less do a lot for my well being. But here is the catch I can’t possibly eat and feel this well without putting on weight. Is it impossible to have both a healthy metabolism and maintain a decent level of leanness? (Meaning 10%)
I have been lower but felt crappier. Is well being and being comfortable in my skin incompatible? Is the price for health bearing more body fat?
Feel free to comment and tell our story.
Thank you :)
For many people the price for health is bearing more body fat. I don’t know if I would phrase it exactly like that, but adding bodyfat is certainly very metabolically-stimulating and pulls people out of many health conditions. That doesn’t mean that the fat is destined to stay there forever. In some, yes. In others, no.
Thanks Arnaud for this succinct question and Matt for your candid answer! I have been wondering this very thing. In the last month, I’ve discovered and begun to try some “Eat For Heat” suggestions as well as the advice in Diet Recovery 2. They have really helped! The not-too-much water thing especially … I would’ve never ever guessed to try that without you.
Anyway, Matt, your knowledge is vast & I’m curious: Wouldn’t some people claim that too much body fat suppresses metabolism, via pathways like the fat being “estrogen-promoting” or whatever that means, or inhibiting Vitamin D synthesis, stuff like that?
I’m finding your thoughts on these matters more and more persuasive as I read into it — especially because it seems to synch up better with common experience than most health dogma. … But I am still curious how you would explain to a noob how exactly body fat promotes a strong metabolism. Is it JUST by quieting the stress response?
Also, If there’s a post I should read that goes into this specifically, just point me there. Any other 180’ers have 2c on this?
(Backstory: Trying to fix a sudden digestive disturbance 6 months ago, I ended up down in a paleo cave-dungeon, inadvertently going low carb when I cut out grains and sugar … even eating potatoes twice a day apparently wasn’t enough carbs or calories for me.)
Ok, I slept in the spare bedroom last night with nothing plugged in. I even had a sleep mask, but it was loose and came off during the night. I’m afraid I slept badly, as usual. I guess I expected a miracle. I woke too many times to stay asleep so I went back to my own room. Of course I had to pee & I was hungry. I did get up around 6am and took my dog out. It was actually pleasant out. It’s going to be hot today. It seems I didn’t sleep so badly until I learned that not sleeping thru the night is not a good thing.
Linda, first of all, there is a lot of evidence that the 8 hour sleep cycle was born with the Industrial age. Traditionally people expected to wake up once during the night and there was even a term for “first sleep” and “second sleep”. Now that doesn’t mean you don’t have a sleep problem, but it does mean that you shouldn’t get nervous about waking in the middle of the night. Getting over the anxiety about waking in the middle of the night might help you sleep better. Check out this article and the essay by Eikrich: http://www.livescience.com/12891-natural-sleep.html
I wanted to say I would be happy if I only woke once during the night. Unfortunately, I tend to wake 2,3 or more times and nver feel fully rested in the morning. Yes, sometimes I’m worrying about something & when II wake up all I can do is think about it. Arg!!!
I think I read that article on another blog. Interesting. I also think I am on the computer TOO much every day. It’s time to cut back & get outside. See you tomorrow. haha
Thomas, I always enjoy reading your comments. I sent my lifelong “insomniac” friend that link. She was thrilled at the possibility she could be “normal”. It might help her rest easier tonight. Thank you.
Linda, you may have answered your own question when you said you didn’t sleep so badly until you realized how bad it was to not get a full night sleep. Your stress and anxiety over not being able to sleep may be causing stress hormones that aren’t allowing you to sleep. There was an article on here not to long ago called it’s all in your head that really finally broke me through to the realization that most of my health were stress related. It’s usually the stress hormones that throw us into the death spiral of poor sleep, poor eating, poor bodily elimination, and the resulting stress of being in such poor health. It took me a lot of work, meditation, and acceptance of life as it is and not how I would like it to be before managing to pull myself out of my own death spiral. I now realize this is going to be a life long process. Unfortunately combing the Internet looking for the answeres to our health problems has caused many of us more stress and anxiety then it’s solved .
Jeff, you are probably right. Whenever I tell hubby I slept badly, he says “you’re always worrying about something!” It would be nice to not worry, but I think I inherited the worry gene from my grandmother.
Linda, I hear you. I feel like I inherited that gene from my mom:)
Linda, I feel like the purpose of this site is to let people like us understand that it’s ok to not be perfect . To not stress if you eat a slice of pizza when everyone else out there says it will sure make your “insert name of condition here” worse. To be over or under the specified perfect weight etc. If you have to sleep at four in the afternoon to get your rest and do your housework at four in the morning because you can’t sleep then so be it. Adapt to whatever philosophy and lifestyle you have to to lessen your stress load and get back to the place where you feel balanced. I would feel so guilty about sleeping during the day but when in health recovery rest is more important than when you get it. Like Thomas said, the eight hour sleep cycle was born of the industrial reveloution
Thank you, Jeff. While I was sitting outside yesterday afternoon, I fell asleep, being so tired from 2 sleepless nights. I was afraid it would just keep me from sleeping last night. Really, all this started because I am trying to heal my metabolism. I am tired of waking up with no energy, still low body temp & yes, I am going to say it, being fat!
Hi Matt, I’m having problems. Particularly I can’t take up my morning temps… In the morning my last temps were 36.4?C. During the day is around 37?C. I took a free week from exercise, I did only salsa dancing and one day of weightlifting and my temp was stable, but in the morning always 36.4.
I tried to eat lighter in the afternoon and evening. Monday I tried to eat an apple and some pretzels, but my feet became colder… I think that I can’t use too much fluid yet…
Yesterday I did an intense workout, after that I drunk a lot, my thirst was crazy! At least 4 liters of fluids (between a self made sport drink as you indicate in eat for heat, and coke), I peed a lot and clear but my feet were warm, then I went to sleep but I couldn’t fall asleep (perhaps for the caffeine in the coke and the intense workout?)… In fact I didn’t sleep, anyway this morning my urine was very yellow, I made my first and second breakfast, all seemed ok, but after lunch, I started to crash… partially, I peed every 2 hours, I thought “too much fluids”… but my feet and hands were always warm… Now I’m confused… I don’t drink water, only fluid with sugar, like soft drink, milk and fruit juice… I’m thinking to change soft drink with some fruit juice, particularly after intense workouts… But I’m stuck in this low morning temp and I can’t change it, it’s frustrating! I need some advice, please!
Bye and thank you very much for your attention! :)
Maybe you should not be doing intense workouts right now? I’m not Matt so I don’t really know.
After all this time, I just discovered adding salt to hot chocolate… Goodbye bitterness, the effect is amazing. <3 Salt. Never looking back.
I haven’t seen The Real Amy around here recently. She and I don’t always agree, but the place feels empty without her. Meanwhile still dialing all of the Amys in New York City. It suddenly dawned on me that her name may not be Amy. Amy come back!
Hi Matt!
I have an appointment to talk with you in a couple of weeks which I’m super stoked about — but I just have a quick question re: calorie intake, etc. before then since I’m slightly impatient :) I unfortunately fell for the Paleo/Whole 30 lifestyle in an attempt to balance my hormones — went VLC to almost no carb and did the complete opposite to my body. After getting my annual blood tests back for cholesterol, thyroid, etc. the tests were (not surprisingly) out of whack — I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry since I was the “healthiest” I’ve ever been. Fast forward to now, I thankfully found your site and read Diet Recovery 2 — have been eating 2500+ calories (on average) since April and have gained almost 30 pounds from my lightest weight (which was at the doctor’s appt,117 lbs. Clearly my body was hungry.) Prior to this, I hadn’t had a period since January, but it came back this month with zero PMS symptoms and was completely normal. I have overcome my orthorexic tendencies and now just ETF, and LOVE it. I am such a happier person for it.
I’m not even concerned about the weight since I am pretty muscular, and know I was losing muscle mass with my weight loss. I kept my booty even when I had lost weight, but now I’m carrying more in my thighs and (not regrettably) my boobs. I’m more concerned about toning up and fitting into my clothes that I wore back when I was a normal human being (anywhere from 125-135 lbs). I think I have leveled out with my weight at this point, the scale has kept steady at around 145 lbs, hoping my body will level out and naturally get back down to its happy place over time — no rush since obviously I am in repair. Sometimes it’s hard and just plain uncomfortable to eat heating foods/a lot of food when it’s 110 degrees and 1000000% humidity outside. I stopped working out back when going on my “Whole 30” stint and have been pretty sedentary. I hear that I shouldn’t work out until I have had three consecutive periods, etc. but I really just miss biking, walking, and weight training. Also, not sure if I do in fact do these things, if I should increase my caloric intake. Any thoughts? It’s the weekend, and even though it’s steamy here in Florida, I just want to MOVE!
Thanks so much, can’t wait to ‘meet’ you! :)
Matt, I have considered trying to get a consultation with you as I have really resonated with your thoughts on metabolism. I read your book diet recovery and it is the first thing I felt like was speaking to me (I have always struggled with poor appetite and difficulty gaining weight, low temps, etc). I feel a bit stuck right now b/c I am on GAPS diet with my family to heal my son of leaky gut. This has made my situation worse. But I am also concerned for my son and can’t don’t have time to have the family on two separate meal plans. He tested for about 40+ food sensitivities on an ELISA test. I have considered using your way of eating instead, but don’t want to hastily ditch GAPS after the investment we have made. He doesn’t have any major issues b/c he has been on a very healthy/traditional diet for about 3+ years, but I want him to heal, not just maintain. Do you think eating your way could bring actual healing given the huge number of sensitivities we are dealing with? Thanks for any thoughts!
Oh, and I should add that my son has pretty good temps. I haven’t tested him right away in the am, but so far his day temps are 98.6-98.9 oral.
Question about metabolism: I seem to have the opposite problem with weight, it is pretty much impossible to keep on! However, my temperature runs low as does everything else such as bp, pulse, hormones, digestion (gastroparesis), energy, not to mention chronic constipation. Don’t most with low metabolism (which is what these symptoms seem to suggest) have problems losing weight? Thanks for any insight!
Have been toying eat for heat the past week or so. Originally coming from low-carb paleo to ray peat (lots of potatos, coconut-oil, Oj, Salt, Milk, Eggs) Noticed some dramatic changes/fluctuations in body temp so far. It can be quite scary but very liberating to drop the dietary dogma and eat whatever I feel like. Maybe I missed it but I dont think matt mentions the relevance of Pulse in eat for heat? MAtt do you think pulse is extremely relevant when taking Body Temp? Or did you leave it out for a reason? Also, is it quite common for people to feel pretty horrible in the initial stages of increasing metabolism? Lack of sleep, tingling, dizziness, shivering, decrease in appetite etc? My apologies if this has been covered previously.
My apologies, reading Diet Recovery 2 :)