By Joey Lott
Here’s a story demonstrating health brainwashing that I hear or read time and time again. Undoubtedly you’ll recognize this story as well.
Pat Smith feels unwell and can’t figure out what to do about it. Pat goes to healthcare professionals and gets tests done and gets a whole bunch of different diagnoses over the years. Sooner or later, Pat learns about some (restrictive) dietary rules that someone claims will help Pat to feel better. Pat begins to restrict. Pat feels worse. Pat’s ‘support group? (which is generally composed of some internet forum or Facebook group dedicated to the particular form of restriction) encourages Pat to tough it out and consider further restriction. Pat takes the advice, and the cycle repeats over and over until Pat is gluten-free, sugar-free, dairy-free, salt-free, grain-free, meat-free, fat-free, and very definitely wellness-free.
I know this story because that was my story for a long, long, loooong time. And subsequently, I’ve communicated with and ‘coached’ lots of other people who have the same story. Okay, sure, there are variations on the story. For example, sometimes Pat starts out feeling okay but just wants to feel even more okay – like superhuman. Or other times Pat starts out just wanting to drop a few pounds. But it’s the same basic story all the same, and it leads to the same dead end.
I have seen this pattern play out so often, in fact, that I have written a couple of books specifically outlining the pattern and why it is such a really bad idea to continue with it. The first book was specific to chronic Lyme disease and in it I give my own account of recovery from chronic Lyme disease by and large due to eating a lot of food unrestrictedly. The other book, Hungry, is a more generalized look at the subject. Suffice it to say, I am a believer in the “miraculous healing power” of just eating food without restriction (along with sufficient sleep and learning how to relax). These things may not always be all that is required to heal, but with very few exceptions they are essential to recovery, and without dedication to eating, sleeping, and relaxing I find that people just dig themselves deeper into ruts.
Because of my publication regarding recovery from chronic Lyme disease I was invited (by which I mean, I suddenly was just added) to a Facebook group that is one of those ‘support groups? that I alluded to earlier. The idea being, I suspect, that I might lend support to those wishing to recover. I really am not a Facebook person, and that coupled with the fact that it appears to me that most of the group’s conversations have to do with restriction in some form or another, I generally don’t read much of what goes on in the group. I’d posted a few suggestions in the past that were duly ignored or rejected, and so I just haven’t bothered participating.
However, recently the person who had added me to the group in the first place tagged me in a post, asking for me and a few others who have healing stories to share our ‘secrets? to healing. I knew better, but I took the invitation and wrote the following:
I have communicated with a number of people who have recovered. One of the common themes is giving up on the restrictive mindset that is so prominent in most Lyme discussions. I am not suggesting that some exclusions on an individual basis may not be appropriate – at least for a while. However, a lot of people are eliminating everything – gluten, sugar, starch, carbohydrates in general, meat, protein, fat, salt, etc. – simply because that’s what others say to do. But all that restriction makes people sicker most of the time. There are very few exceptions in my experience. Sure, there might be a handful of people who get better after they cut out everything, do a month long fast, but that usually backfires, and for good reason.
A lot of people are weak and have brain fog and anxiety in part because they don’t eat enough. Find the foods that work for you – even if they are completely counter to what most people suggest you should eat, even if that is nothing but pure sugar and gluten in your case – and eat as much as you can. Eat carbohydrates because that helps hormonal balance and helps with sleep. There is a great deal of research to back this up. If in doubt, start researching peer reviewed published double blind clinical human studies and you’ll see.
Also, while some herbs work for some people, they don’t work for everyone. And I don’t think they are generally going to be a substitute for eating enough and getting sleep working again. The herbs can help sometimes, but they are best in addition to eating enough and sleeping enough.
Oh, and the common fixation on “killing the bacteria” is, in my opinion, misguided. We all carry around lots of bacteria. in fact, 90 percent of the cells in our bodies are bacteria – not even human. And we’re talking about countless species. Trying to manage that is like herding cats. It’s an endless headache. Instead, provide the body with the calories, nutrition, and rest that it needs. Nourishment rather than warfare. It’s okay – or at least inevitable – to have bacteria in your body, including some that are considered “bad”. But what matters is how nourished and functional your body is regardless of the bacteria. The body is very intelligent and capable when given enough nourishment.
That’s my two cents. And to reiterate, it is possible to feel better. It does happen.
To be fair, three people ?liked? my comment, which in Facebook-ese I think means that they had positive opinions about what I wrote. However, the many comments that followed the conversation immediately and consistently steered toward restriction. Everyone was quick to chime in with their suggestions about the importance of restricting without any acknowledgment of the value of eating enough. And while no one had the gumption to directly challenge me, at least one person did so in an indirect, passive-aggressive fashion, alluding to ?previous comments? and how she felt the need to respond about the importance of restricting.
I don’t care about other people’s opinions, and that includes their opinions about me and their opinions about my views. I don’t care what names people want to call me or if they want to make crude jokes about my mother or my grandmother or anything else. So that’s not the point of this story. I’m only sharing this somewhat personal account because it illustrates how brainwashed the majority of us are. People who are ostensibly looking to get help – people who are genuinely feeling horrid – will outright reject a statement that is backed not only by personal and anecdotal evidence, but also by a lot of credible scientific literature (obviously not all the literature is super credible, but if you read it carefully it’s possible to find the stuff that is) simply because it doesn’t fit with popular sentiments.
You’re reading this, and so in a sense you’re ahead of the curve. You’re already questioning dogma. So that’s good news. But to whatever degree you’re still clinging to beliefs, here’s my point: I’m just saying WAKE UP. Be willing to admit that when you’re looking for help it’s because what you’ve been doing hasn’t been working. And a big part of what you’ve been doing that hasn’t been working is believing popular sentiment.
Here are some examples of popular sentiments.
- ”Fat is ugly”
- ”Fat is unhealthy”
- ”Thin is healthy”
- I need to lose weight in order to be healthy”
- ”Fat people are lazy”
- ”Modern wheat is a scourge on the planet, and anyone who touches the stuff will suffer intestinal inflammation”
- ”The only way to lose weight is to restrict calories”
- ”The only effective way to lose weight is to eliminate high GI foods”
- ”The only effective way to lose weight is to eliminate grains”
- ”Starch is bad and sugar is good”
- ”Sugar is bad and starch is good”
- ”Starch and sugar are bad”
- ”We need to cleanse those colons with lots of fiber to be healthy”
- ”If only I could lose weight, then I’d be happy”
- ”All that sugar is going to cause diabetes”
- ”If I eat enough to feel alright, I’ll get even fatter”
- ”Only young people can eat enough and not get fat”
There are plenty more, of course. If you’ve got some good ones, add them to the comments section.
Now, of course, sometimes some of these things are apparently sort of true. Or, rather, less absolute versions of these statements may have some kernel of truth to them. For example, some people really do have serious inflammation problems with gluten. Those people probably shouldn’t eat gluten if they want to feel well. Reportedly it’s something like 2 or 3 percent of the population. And yeah, maybe it’s more than we think. Maybe it’s 4 percent or 5 percent. Maybe it’s even 10 percent. Maybe you are one of those people. Fine. Don’t eat gluten. That’s the smart thing to do. Please do listen to your body.
Or here’s another example. Maybe you are descended from a group of people who have adapted over hundreds of thousands of years to eating only whale blubber and stomach contents. Maybe you are one of the few people who really will thrive on a very low carbohydrate diet. I don’t know. It’s possible, at least, no matter how unlikely.
But don’t make the mistake of generalizing and believing those generalized statements. Because you’ll probably be wrong. I mean, hey, you might be wrong even about what you think you know. And that includes even if you have genetic tests that supposedly prove it. Why? Because sometimes we’re wrong. Sometimes we are mistaken. Sometimes huge numbers of people are wrong – all the while believing that they are right.
Look at it this way. There are some people who fervently believe that veganism is the only healthy diet, and some of those people may even be healthy. There are some people who fervently believe that a high fat, low carb, ?paleo? diet is the only healthy diet, and some of those people may even be healthy. How can that be? Might it be that they are all mistaken? Maybe it’s got nothing to do with what they think it’s got to do with.
Now, any of us could be wrong. In fact, we probably are wrong about a lot of things. Maybe eating enough and sleeping enough really isn’t that important. Maybe it’s all just about the alignment of the stars and we’re fooling ourselves by thinking otherwise. But that’s okay. In spite of the fact that I advocate for eating enough and sleeping enough, I’m not married to those as being absolute truths for ever and ever for all people everywhere in the universe. They are just the very best working theories that I’ve got at the moment, and they seem so sensible to me particularly in the face of the horrific track record that restrictive eating (or not eating, as it were) and/or insufficient sleep have on health and particularly since without exception everyone I have ‘coached’ who has taken me up on the suggestion to eat adequate calories from a wide variety of foods (including starch, sugar, meat, dairy, salt, etc.) and sleep enough has found that, lo and behold, they feel better. Maybe not 100 percent. But better. So all I’m saying is, ?Hey, just give it a try. Be willing to let go of your beliefs and just try eating and sleeping some more.
In a sense I know that I am ?preaching to the choir? here. But I also know that we can have doubts along the way. I know because I’ve had doubts along the way. I know because most people I communicate with about these things have doubts. I know because the doubts come up time and time again here on the blog in the comments section. And I want to offer you some reassurance that if you’re feeling better by eating and sleeping and relaxing, that’s a good thing. Yeah, you’ll probably get fatter for a while. That usually happens. Sometimes for years. And yeah, you’ll probably have doubts. That usually happens. But remember how much it sucks to starve yourself and be stressed out all the time, and don’t do that to yourself again no matter how much the popular sentiments may poo-poo your choices.
Should you eat gluten if it consistently makes you feel like death warmed over? Heck no. Don’t do that to yourself. You don’t need to prove anything to anybody. This isn’t a contest to see who can eat the most unrestrictedly. Rather, it’s an invitation to start listening to some of what one might hope would be ?common sense?, which is when you’re hungry, eat and when you’re tired, sleep and when you’re stressed, relax. It’s not always so easy, particularly when we’re deprogramming from years of being brainwashed and half starved. But it gets easier the more we do it. And the more we do it, the more skilled we become at it too so that we naturally find that without having to think or plan for it, we just take care of ourselves well. We get better at recognizing our hunger cues and accepting that our cravings are appropriate and good. Might we make ?mistakes? along the way? Might we feel not so hot on occasion because we tried something that didn’t work out so well? Sure. That happens. But consider the overall trajectory. Keep the big picture in mind. See how things really do get better in many regards by decluttering our belief systems and trusting in the cues of the body.
And here’s another idea. Try it on for size. See how it feels. You ready? Here it is: let’s be generous, gentle, and kind to ourselves and to others. Let’s stop hating ourselves for being fat or tired or hungry or lazy or sick or skinny or misshapen or whatever other imperfections we want to dream up. Let’s stop judging others for being fat or tired or hungry or lazy or sick or skinny or misshapen or whatever other imperfections we want to dream up. And that includes judging or hating others for being ?attractive? or ?healthy? or ?energetic? or ?young? or whatever else.
One more thing. Don’t create a new dogma. Don’t turn the idea of eating enough, sleeping enough, and relaxing enough into a rigid system with rules. Things change. Don’t worry about the future. The future won’t be what you expected anyway. Leave the future for the future. Right now, just do this. Just eat now if you’re hungry, and eat what sounds appetizing. (Though I also know that sometimes for some of us nothing sounds appetizing, in which case, just eat what you can and rest and relax as much as possible.) Let’s not try to do any of this ?perfectly?. Let’s just take care of what needs to be taken care of now. Is there hunger? Eat. Is there tiredness? Sleep. Is there stress? Relax. That’s all. That’s enough, isn’t it? Because goodness knows we’ve got enough other stuff that needs to be done between taking care of kids and paying the rent and cleaning up after the dog that got sick in the house and on and on.
Anyway, as cliche as it is, maybe there really is something to the notion of being the change you want to see. If you’ve gotten the short end of the stick from trying to get ?healthy? according to popular sentiments, then maybe you owe it to yourself and to future generations to stop living according to those lies that only serve to hurt people. Crap, I’m not trying to put a lot of pressure on you. I’m just saying that it’s got to start somewhere, so why not you? Why not now? It might be nice.
About the Author
Joey Lott is health researcher and a more than 10-time Amazon bestselling author. Get his future health books for free, including his upcoming title Big Fat Lies at www.joeylotthealth.com. And get his latest #1 Amazon?bestselling book, The Problem with Paleo for 99 cents through 2/17/2015 HERE.
Joey, you just know how to say it..boldly and succinctly. Thanks for the encouragement, since we hear a lot of the opposite so much more.
Mr Lott,
I appreciate your article, especially the part of Lyme disease. Have you ever heard of Moringa Olifera by Zija? It has certainly helped me & a lot of people i know. Discovered from a Documentary on the Discovery Channel on Moringa Olifera. I also believe in colodial silver water & have seen it help Lyme disease as well.
Keep up the good work!! If interested in the above info, please feel free to respond.
Take care,
Nona
Wow, I majorly exhaled there. Thanks for speaking my mind :)
This is the best post that was ever published on this blog!
Love. Thanks!
Joey, I echo Rebecca’s reply in thanking you for the encouragement. Having also done so many restrictive diet plans for many years because I was told I had to lose weight, I also ended up getting sicker and sicker over time. Even went through fainting spells for a while. Now I am not restricting anything and getting fatter again (just as you mention) and am laughing my head off in the process. It’s not that I don’t care, but I am sleeping great, getting rest when I need it and feel better. Go figure.
Great post, Joey. Thank you.
thank you so much for that article, it should be part of a book on just that, learning to sleep and relax and eat well… i would totally pay a lot of money for that book. as a type A personality i have spent my life killing myself, and the more damage I was doing to myself, the better an idea it seemed to be. Now I am doomed to being sick almost every time I eat.. and totally insomniac and so stressed about the idea of LIVING that meditation is a ridiculous suggestion… if you write the book… we will read.
Great post as expected from the author
Joey’s got all the ladies with this post.
Dayum, this boy surely knows how to roll
Sympathetic, kind hearted, gentle, and telling us to eat and relax and love ourselves even if we are “fat.” You bet he’s got the ladies!
Without a doubt, Joey is the man of sympathy and real help.
I like what you wrote about doubt. The field of nutrition is full of misconceptions and partial truths, shifting paradigms and gurus. But also lots of unanswered questions. It took me great pains to lose very easily gained weight. During this process, I became extremely sensitive to carbs. I allowed myself several times to let go and promptly regained a lot. Now I am trying to increase my carb intake, but without the rapid weight gain. Not for beauty’s sake, but because the weight loss I achieved came with substantial relief of health problems and mobility. Whitten advises to take it slowly, and that is what I am doing. By the way, I chose the paleo approach, because it seemed to me the only way of eating that I could do without hunger of cravings. It improved my health, but my weight loss came to an end. I like this way of eating, don’t care for sweets, never did, but increasing metabolic rate is now on the agenda. At the same time I try to keep inflammation as low as possible. (Note: I was adviced to take bariatric surgery, and my insurance covers it). A bit of restriction won’t kill me, a lot of restriction is insufferable, can’t do that. Given my state of health, I practice caution. Fast solutions come with a price that I’m not willing to pay.
My point is, that switching to ad libitum might be a solution to tight-assed anorexics, but should not become a dogma.
Five years ago I started following Matt’s work. After many years of various restrictive diets and over-exercising I was ready for the message of ‘overfeeding’ as he referred to it then. Long story short, five years on, with a couple of minor detours (including one final weight loss period, dropping almost 60lbs, and gradually putting it back again) I have held faith with this method. I have learned how to really hear what my body wants. I’ve had the ice-cream binge period. I’ve gained weight gorging on all kinds of delicious food as the fancy took me. I learned about biofeedback from Eat for Heat and now drink far less, add salt to taste, eat freely of all foods and have naturally come to eat smaller portions overall. My temperature rose from low 96s to constantly being around 98 in the early morning and roasting hot through the day – my hands are sought out by cold friends to help them coax life back into frozen fingers! I’m exercising again after a period of complete inactivity due first to an arthritic knee then during recovery from a knee replacement. I’m trusting that my fat levels are slightly dropping without my chasing weight loss and that this is still likely to happen, even after all this time….I never weigh myself….I don’t care about numbers. I know when I need rest, sleep, food, drink….I keep all kinds of ‘naughty’ foods available and can live without them a lot of the time but if I want chocolate I have chocolate…I just stop when the desire is fulfilled and put the stuff away instead of being uncontrollable. Anyway, I’ll be 60 this year. My message is take on this advice and hold your nerve. It works.
Oh, and Joey – thank you too. It’s good to have so many great blog posts and I enjoy your writing. Just wanted also to say thanks to Matt for 180 Degree Health. It brought me back to sanity. It has demanded that I keep the faith….that would be my ‘warning’ to some people, maybe older people who have a longer history of weight concerns, diets and over-exercising. It can take time. I was often a bit dismayed by all the people saying how they gained a bit at first on re-feeding then lost it all spontaneously after a few months…and there was I still plodding along fat after years….it can take nerve to keep with it . But the writings were full of such logical and winning information and anecdotes and it spoke to my instincts so I stayed with it. So glad I did. I look forward to writing again when I’ve dropped a size or two!!
I have so many friends on diets right now. I have been in diet recovery for a couple months. I posted this on FB. Crapstorm to ensue. LOL
Wonderful content beautifully written! You had me at ‘Here’s’ I’m working with the Amazing Billy Craig so I’m well on board with eat to get better after about 34 years of restriction and fad diets! I’m 3.5 months in and already feel better than I have done in such a long time !
Always like your stuff Joey.
Of course there is a problem of being unhealthily too fat or too thin, and I cannot help but think that this is simply the bodies reaction to try and deal with chronic stress.
Restricting the food (adding distress) for health, seems similar to taking Tylenol for chronic headaches: It’s a short-term solution and the headache is still there; you just can’t feel it, until it always comes back.
How do we deal with (because you cannot escape it) the chronic stress so that our bodies do not need to over/under eat to try and resolve it?
My own experience was that learning how to experience stress in a healthy way and be resilient was the first step in the healing process. I didn’t start eating again until after that first step.
The two things go hand in hand, in my opinion for long term success in trusting the body’s intelligence. If we only become emotionally resilient, but don’t eat, we’ll eventually succumb to chronic stress again. If we eat but remain stressed, eating alone will reduce the stress hormones, but eventually we’ll struggle with the same old patterns of restrict/binge.
I’ve written a fair amount about resiliency. I’m working on a new book now that will address the whole person and developing resiliency. not only through nutrition (i.e. eating enough and learning to trust the body), but also through other important angles.
Sincerely,
Joey
I loled hard at j-lo :D
Thank you so much for the encouragement! It can be difficult to see yourself gaining some weight. I needed this!
I started following Joey and Matt’s ideas 5 months ago after years of restrictive diets. Subconsciously I ate less than I needed to because I liked being slim. But the price for being thin was unstable mood,difficulty sleeping,constipation, sensitive teeth and dry skin. Although I have gained a stone, the above symptoms have disappeared. I expect my weight will reduce again now that my average temperature has increased from 95 to 98F. But I prefer to be healthy than slim.
I’d like to add a few suggestions to the Joey’s list of ‘popular sentiments’ based on restrictive beliefs:
“Omega six fats are evil, Omega three fats are good.”
“Everyone eats too much omega six PUFAs.”
“There are no such things as essential fatty acids.”
“Full-fat is good, low-fat is bad.”
“Low-fat is good, full-fat is bad.”
“Salt is bad, low-sodium is good.”
“Low-sodium is bad, salt is good.”
“Phytates, lectins, and oxalates should be avoided.”
I mention these in particular, because my neighbor, who is 78 years old (25 years older than myself) has at least 10 times the energy I do, maybe more.
What does she eat?
A very limited diet of mostly raw foods, including: pistachios, walnuts, peanuts, pecans, bananas (one of his staples), romaine lettuce (with roasted garlic-olive oil dressing), 1% milk, and low-sodium, low-fat cheeses.
She’s very thin, but so am I. Yet she has the energy of a 40 year old, while I feel like a crippled 90 year old. I’ve been struggling with chronic illness, and am working on refeeding, and also want to thank Joey and Matt for their articles.
I guess I just wanted to point out that there are exceptions to everything, and my friend appears to be one of them.
Marcia,
Yes, this is true. The trouble starts when we try to live by external authority instead of trusting our bodies. So while your neighbor’s diet may work for her, it won’t work for other people and vice versa.
That’s why most of my writing is intended to debunk the restrictive attitudes.
Interestingly, I have a new book in the works (completed a first draft) about dietary fats. One of the things that I attempted to do is to show that none of the generalizations are 100 percent true. Saturated fat isn’t bad for everyone. Omega 6s aren’t good for everyone. Omega 3s aren’t good for everyone. Some people thrive on higher fat. Some on lower fat. In general, it does seem that there is sufficient evidence to suggest that high omega 6 is harmful, but everyone is sufficiently different that we can’t say for certain that it is always bad.
Another interesting point is that the Kitavans, the Pacific islanders that are the darlings of many nutrition researchers (myself included), had no diabetes and no heart disease when studied, but they are said to have smoked cigarettes a great deal.
Increasingly, I’m suspecting that it’s never what we think it is. But still, my best guess at this point is that psycho-physiological stress is the biggest problem. I might be wrong, but a lot of stuff points to that. And there are lots of ways to produce psycho-physiological stress. I’ll be covering a lot of that stuff in more detail in another upcoming book (just getting underway).
Thanks, Joey.
My favorite line was in the post you cited where you stated, “Nourishment, not warfare.” I think that sums this up quite nicely. After all, it does seem like warfare out there, and who needs that junk in their life? I’d rather focus on nourishing my body, mind, soul, whatever. Doesn’t that sound more positive? Awesome post, again.
Matt and Joey have much to offer in terms of repairing a derailed yoyo metabolism. But that will not magically remedy morbid obesity. Nor will eating as you feel like reduce inflammation and hypertension.
There is no known, consistent, and certainly not foolproof way to remedy obesity, so that puts Joey and I in the same boat as every other health advisor on earth. Despite this, many have reported dramatic weight loss over the years. Whether a person was thin or fat when they began seems to make no difference. Some people lose weight and some people don’t.
You can absolutely reduce inflammation and hypertension with a rise in metabolic rate and decrease in stress. With a little attention to PUFA and methionine:glycine ratio, proper sleep, stress reduction, regular outdoor activity, and other things discussed on this site you can take improvements in those areas much further.
How would one fix constant dental pain, fatty liver and gallstones with diet?
I would start by doing something drastically different from what you’ve been doing to get there.
Obviously, you’re referencing medical conditions, and so it gets really tricky to offer recommendations. But what I can say is that in studies people with fatty deposits on their livers often have choline deficiencies. Choline is found in substantial amounts in egg yolks and liver. Fatty deposits have also been found in studies (and here I think it may only be in non-human studies, as I don’t think anyone has studied this in humans, so caveat lector) associated with glycine deficiencies.
For gallstones, the common medical “solution” is so horrific (in my opinion) that it’s worth being extremely cautious. There are some bitter herbs that have been shown to WORSEN the situation by sending stones down the biliary duct, which is when things get nasty. I’d recommend being very, very cautious with turmeric and artichoke leaf. Some other herbs are anecdotally beneficial for some people. One herb, chanca piedra, seems to dissolve stones for some people. But you’d have to do your own research.
Oh, and my 2 cents is to steer clear the hell away from the so-called liver/gallbladder cleanse/flush that typically involves epsom salts and large amounts of olive oil. Those are NOT gallstones that are expelled. That’s saponified olive oil. And if anything, it’s likely to send stones down the duct and cause serious pain and problems.
My Grandmother always said that being over-weight might kill you, but being under-weight will kill you faster, if you get sick.
More personally, I moved to a new state and began to feel terrible. I tried restricting after restricting, then tried eating to feel better, I didn’t. But the week I left moved, I started feeling better, loosing weight, and could eat almost anything I wanted. So it turned out the location (and whatever was there) was the thing making me sick. But I wouldn’t make any generalization, because no one else seems to have the same problem. Again, my Grandmother would say, “you have to listen to your body.”
Your advice to the Facebook group is similar to this answer I posted to Paleohacks. It was regarding this poor girl from Sweden that suffers from T1 Diabetes, Celiac Disease and other serious ailments. She’s going down the rabbit hole VLCing and implementing various food avoidance protocols and pulling her hair out. In the process, she has developed additional food intolerances, no doubt due to VLCing, and is probably developing comorbid conditions that will piggyback on her existing conditions. Last I checked, she was convinced FODMAPs avoidance is the Holy Grail. It’s truly sad how gullible these people are. But shortly after posting this and other less than Paleo-friendly posts, Paleohacks pulled my account.
https://www.paleohacks.com/food-intolerance/declining-health-type-1-diabetes-and-food-intolerances-how-do-i-eat-31466
“Nourishment rather than warfare”
I am in tears. That is so beautiful. You have no idea how profoundly that struck me today. Thank you.
Joey,
“?Fat is unhealthy?
So you don’t think anything on this chart is applicable to excess adiposity?
http://i60.tinypic.com/144b615.jpg
(click to enlarge)
Being obese in and of itself does not “cause” health issues, although there is a high correlation between what makes most people fat and what makes most people sick. Its not the fat in and of itself. Plenty of fat people live relatively well into their late 80’s, early 90’s, while plenty of thin people die of sudden heart attacks, or cancer or whatever, too young.
I’ve gained about 110 pounds in 10 months since starting to refeed. Does the weight gain eventually stop while consuming 4,000 calories per day? I’m starting to wonder if it will ever stop.
Usually it does, or your appetite falls down below 4,000 calories, or your desire for physical activity starts to increase. It’s a rare case indeed where weight gain continues to infinity without the feedback mechanisms kicking in and bringing it to a firm halt.
I have a question regarding methylation. There is so much about this on the internet. I started becoming interested in it because I have been experiencing depression and extreme anxiety ever since coming out of my mother’s hole. I am just unable to handle stress, I thought taking vitamin b would help but they make me feel bad. I started reading about methylation and at first I thought I was unto something but I getting doubts because I have symptoms of both methylation groups and I don’t know what to think…
What do you guys think (matt or joey ? ) Do you think there is any truth in that or is it just another internet exaggeration/ simplification ?
I am sorry that I post this question on this post as it is not 100 percent related but I did not now but I did not know where i should post it otherwise…
It is unfortunate that medicine is a field of dogma more than science. Medical doctors are pften not swayed by recent studies which contradict their indoctrination. I know several people who have chronic Lyme Disease and suffer tremedously. I sympathize with them.
It must be really bad.
Great Post and Nice Article.I like it.Thanks for sharing
Nice way of presenting the message that restrictive diets are so often a dead end. I would actually go further and say that dietary theory in general is a dead end; that food really isn’t terribly important (so long as you get enough, but not too much); that, in the end, paying attention to food for any purpose other than enjoying it is ultimately a waste. But it took me a long time to get to that point, and I salute what you’re doing here!
S Bratman (inventor of “orthorexia”_
I think in a general sense that’s true, and the people that congregate here are obviously the ones that found dietary experimentation to be a dead end. But there are many exceptions. There are still tens of thousands of people out there (maybe hundreds of thousands) that have overcome debilitating health problems by making dietary changes of various kinds. Not temporarily, but permanently. That shouldn’t be overlooked or dismissed completely. I still fully believe that dietary change can be an effective therapy for many people with many conditions. I don’t take it on faith that it is, I say that because it’s undeniable that it’s true. I’ve witnessed too many real examples to ever believe otherwise.
Joey, you’re a beautiful human being.
I resist food restriction and avoid it like the plague, but there are some things that won’t give. I am flat out allergic to crustaceans, certain fruit seeds, sesame seeds, potatoes, grains, legumes (yes, all of them), and have lactose intolerance, plus if I eat seeds and nuts, within about 2-3 days I have very annoying, unattractive eczema on my hands, around my hairline, on my face, and in other various places, sometimes in my ears. I don’t know what you call that. A sensitivity? A trigger? In the past, when I stubbornly ate crackers made of flax and pumpkin seeds in an attempt to go back on a raw food diet, the eczema was so bad my hands and ears were cracked, bleeding, and weeping fluids.
Oh yeah, and I almost forgot: alcohol, including sugar alcohols and nightshades trigger microscopic colitis – basically, diarrhea that lasts for days & depletes electrolytes causing horrible painful cramping and what I affectionately like to call “ass dragon” (said in what my son assures me is an offensive, vaguely Asian accent.)
Allergies run in my family. I am currently on allergy shots for dust, dogs, grasses (all of them), and a few trees. My mom has Oral Allergy Syndrome, my baby sister can die from a bee sting, my son has many food & environmental allergies & my dad can be killed by a walnut (among others).
I have lipedema (would love to hear Matt Stone & others’ take on this), and some of the ladies are like “cut out gluten and dairy!” I am already gluten free by default, and dairy is a big part of my diet in the form of homemade 24 hour virtually lactose free yogurt & hard cheese, along with butter & heavy cream, and, being as it’s one of my few non-animal flesh foods left, I refuse to give it up. I honestly don’t think it will help. I was dairy free for years, and that did nothing for me.
I guess my point is, if you don’t have to restrict, don’t! You have no idea how lucky you are. If a food gives you negative health consequences, our awesome allergist summed it up this way, “Food shouldn’t make you feel anything bad. If it does, don’t eat it.”
Don’t judge people like me who have no choice but to restrict as “hypochondriacs” – we hate that. Thanks!
My Grandmother always said that when you are sick and tired, you have to eat a lot. Especially salt, sugar and fat (=butter, cream etc.). And she was always so healthy. I have started to follow her advice after many many years of being tired and sick. I should have done this years ago, because she was right. I DO feel better now.
This is one of the most intelligent viewpoints I have ever read. If only we all listened to our bodies.
I am hoping to get some input on this article on the American epidemic of chronic illnes from the Atlantic that my mom sent me: https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/12/living-sick-and-dying-young-in-rich-america/282495/
My mom and I are in agreement that it is a weak article and we don’t agree with its conclusions, but we would like to know what really is causing these problems. My husband, who is 45, was diagnosed with MS just over two years ago, and my previously biweekly migraines ramped up to daily in March of this year (2017) so I have recently started medication for those just so I can function. My brother was diagnosed with epilepsy a little over a year ago. Everywhere I look, people are broken and suffering. And these are not people who have been doing anything extreme with their bodies, with the exception of myself, but that was over ten years ago in my case (unless you count pregnancy and breastfeeding as extreme! My youngest is just over two now and stopped breastfeeding this spring.). Just looking for some insight and hope from this community. Thank you!
-Tess
I’m sure no one will read this comment as it’s been over 3 years since this article was published. But I’ll write it anyway! I have overcome depression, anxiety, bulimia and binge eating by doing just what you advise. I stopped dieting, I cancelled my gym membership and I go to bed early.
Since I started this, I now eat normally, I exercise because I want to and I feel good enough to. I have more respect for myself and others and I don’t get upset over little thing that happens. It was an amazing transformation. I have been looking for likeminded people just to talk to. But, even in the intuitive eating scene, there is still a sense that food must be controlled in some way. If I get frustrated over anything, its that people don’t understand that eating is not complicated! I hope to see more information from you and others who advocate eating what we want, realizing our inherent value and treating ourselves with respect and love. When more people think like this, the world will change for the better. Ah, maybe someday!
Hey, I read this comment! And I appreciate you taking the time to share your story. Agreed!
I am about 4 years into lyme disease, and it has brought me full circle. Everything I have learned culminates in this article, so thank you. I have more to add to this, and would love to speak with you.
My symptoms began when I decided to try to get healthy (lol). I started exercising and eating healthier. Eventually I was so stressed out about my exercise schedule and I was not eating enough for the amount I was doing. Enter full blow lyme – brain fog, severe joint pain, GI issues, headaches, burning spinal pain, missing period, freezing cold extremities and poor circulation, etc. etc. Ironically, the lyme diagnosis led me to cut out all sugar, gluten and dairy in order to heal. I did feel better short term, probably from resting. But when doctors were unable to help me with medicine, I took control by cutting out more foods and trying to “detox” – eventually I was high carb very low fat raw vegan, losing hair, bloating up, and yellow skin.
It has been a long 3 year road from restriction, to extreme restriction to “heal”, to where I am now – realizing that restriction got me into this mess and I am not going to fix it with more restriction despite what well meaning holistic doctors and nutritionists say. I am still vegan for ethical reasons (though I am considering exploring other options since this epiphany), but I have started to ease up on the restrictions. I threw away my scale. I eat when hungry, any macronutrient I want. Sugar is fair game. Occasional margarita or glass of wine? Yep. Processed foods are fine. I enjoy both whole grains and processed grains liberally. Earth balance and oil, all fine! I experimented with gluten, but sadly it didn’t work for me yet. Needless to say, I feel 1,000,000,000 x better. My hormones are balanced again, my body temperature and circulation has increased, my skin is way better, and I didn’t even gain weight – but if I did, it is a small price to pay for my health again! All it took was a mindset change, self-gentleness (not sure if I am at the point of love yet) and easing up on food restrictions.
If you have lyme and you are reading this – please think about your background. Were you in any way restricting, under-fueling, stressed, and maybe over-exercising? Did you hate yourself or your body? I can tell you – I did every diet in the book, from Paleo to HCLF RAW VEGAN. If I can go from that last year to enjoying christmas cookies with frosting and sprinkles this year (and feeling pretty much cured), it might be worth exploring…