Metabolic damage, or ruining your metabolism to the point where your body temperature is low, you can’t lose weight and certainly can’t keep it off?no matter how hard you try, and so forth – is one of the primary areas of focus of 180D. In fact, I’ve gone so far as to write an eBook that is basically a road map for restoring metabolic health FOUND HERE.
Scott Abel and many people who train?fitness competitors have seen this phenomenon repeatedly as well, as figure competitors get’very lean with hardcore dieting, immediately?balloon up after the competition, and are never able to return to that level of leanness ever again despite monumental efforts. If they do, it gets harder and harder and harder each time they do it. My sister was telling me just last night of a friend of hers that used to be a figure model, and is now a big hunk of burnin’ burnin’ love. Typical.
And keep in mind,?THESE?ARE FIGURE COMPETITORS, some of the most physically capable specimens on earth for achieving cosmetic fitness.
Other, mortal humans as we have seen run into metabolic damage even more readily, and are sometimes even born metabolically damaged with a subnormal body temperature and propensity to store fat. They experience major diet-induced metabolic damage without ever coming close to seeing their abs… or even their toes.
I’ve always liked?Diana Schwarzbein’s simple litmus test’the best…
“If eating well makes you gain weight, then you have a damaged metabolism.”
Anyway, here are some of Scott Abel’s videos on the topic, warning of the dangers of very low-calorie diets (what he calls an “absolute calorie deficit”), low-carb diets, doing lots of steady-state cardio, and other major errors that are being made in the name of health and physical attractiveness that result in serious health consequences, and a complete backfiring of body image goals long-term. Enjoy. I think’this might’sound very familiar to those who’ve been with 180 for the last several years…
You can read a great article by Abel on the topic of metabolic damage HERE
Oh, and AaronF, who has?Cosgrove’s book in his Amazon cue… you’d probably best be served by watching all of Abel’s videos on youtube for great metabolic exercises. Nobody’s better than Abel in that?department that I’ve come across, and videos beat pictures any day…
I wonder how willing Scott Abel would be to just give me a big ole hug.
Great illustration with Kirsty Allen -She fits well to the saying; A picture says more than a thousand words!
I have experienced it first hand, what competition can do to your body -It aint pretty, I tell ya!
Abel is da bomb! He really knows his stuff!
The Schwarzbein quote is so right-on, and makes me think of my mother-in-law. She's been on Weight Watchers on and off for several years, with the last couple years being on it. On Thanksgiving last year, she was talking about making turkey stock for soup, but that once it starts to make her gain weight she switches the stock out for tomato juice!!! Oh. my. god. Can't tell you how hard I bite my tongue whenever she talks like this.
She's lost a large amount of weight, but she's still fat. I think she's lost so much muscle that she can barely walk up stairs or keep her arms held up long enough to cut her husbands hair. Just a couple months ago her heart stopped in the middle of the night — she was technically dead for about 15 minutes. I think this has a lot to do with her metabolism and the state of her adrenal gland output (or lack thereof.) She's only 60!
Kay, that's my rant for the day.
Great post Matt! Thanks for the info
It was exactly what I was saying yesterday in the comments about Cosgrove's book. She went from being fitness model to having 29% body fat really quickly. The thing is she doesn't make that connection despite everything she's done to free women from the cycle of starvation dieting. She still beats up on her fat period like mad instead of realizing that it was her body's desperate attempt to restore balance after dieting. Instead she blames negative family members, poor habits, etc. I appreciate that she is out there telling women her experience with being a fitness model, but I wish she had just a bit more awareness about the damage it can do.
I think Abel would dish out a hug for you Blake, followed by some tough love. Weiss I would think would give out more hugs, but you never know.
Great rant Gina. That is typical, and those who do lose weight via such methods often exalt themselves for being healthy or good boys/girls, when in fact they are far from healthy despite weight loss (which can make people healthier, but often makes people less healthy).
Roger that Jenny.
Cosgrove definitely ran the gamut of harmful diets in the name of cosmetic fitness. She's come a long way since the beginning though when she was bingeing and purging.
Like the picture of Kirsty Allen, works really well with the article.
Do you have any information on what all the different metabolism boosters do to your metabolisim?
<a href='http://turbofitnesssecrets.com/fitness-tips-tricks-and-secrets/guest-post-by-kelly-weight-loss-workouts-for-women/">Bryan C</a>
Little off topic here but relevant because Abel is part of the post topic. Can anyone give me a quick break down of what his cycle diet is?
As I see it, you are in a calorie deficit most of the week and then have a huge eat/cheat day where you eat like it's no one's business. And this puts you out of a total calorie deficit for the week. So not under eating at all for the total week, just a few days of the week.
If that makes sense.
Thanks
Hey Matt,
I just was listening to Sean Croxton's guest Dr. Ellen Langer, she is all about 180 degree thinking!
Her basic premise is that people are looking for certainty and for example, a paitent will hand their health over to their dr "certain" that the dr is "certain" that their care is best. She says think for yourself, don't hand over anything to anyone, be mindful, pay attention to yourself and adjust as neccesary.
She also said trying to get someone to change their diet is harder than getting them to change their religon. "raises hand" guilty as charged.
I am getting ready to eat my morning yam with some coconut oil and think for myself with mindfulness. Maybe an egg too.
Oh and I know you are talking about me (and tons of other exercise addicts) when you say '…That is typical, and those who do lose weight via such methods often exalt themselves for being healthy or good boys/girls, when in fact they are far from healthy despite weight loss (which can make people healthier, but often makes people less healthy).'
Guilty your honor.
Tail between legs.
Ready to eat the food and rest the god pod.
Finally.
I am a bit stubborn you know. :)
deb xo
Bryan-
Most "metabolism boosters" are stimulants that boost metabolism temporarily with increased catecholamine output. This is fleeting though, with horrendous rebound and health consequences if abused.
Will-
That is about accurate, although his cheat day is only something to be practiced AFTER you've attained super leanness. Only when you are very lean do you enter true supercompensation in which intramuscular fat is depleted. Therefore, when you do eat 4-5X normal calorie levels on the calorie Spike day you restore glycogen and intramuscular fat first (which is comprised of well over 10,000 calories) before you gain fat in adipose tissue.
He believes that eating such amounts of calories is…
1) Impossible if you are NOT in supercompensation, because your appetite is not strong enough
2) Will make you fat if you are not using the caloric excess to restore intramuscular fat and glycogen
Debbie, I'm sure there are others, but my own feeling was after about six months or so here, I was ready for Dr. Certain. It didn't work out so good for me and I came back quickly. I think it's really tempting to try to rush these things.
Also, hey, a car analogy in the first video!
These are really sad stories. The osteoporosis thing is really scary. But it's exactly what we've seen here talking about the starvation study.
Hey Jenny,
With my Dr (oncologist) I knew pretty quick that all he was good for was blood testing. So I followed my instincts and got my ass in gear healing…just went a bit too far..now am in the rebuild/repair stage.
It is sad but true that MOST cancer paitents just follow dr's orders due to fear and pressure from family/friend/loved ones. I wish more people would take a time out and just think about their current lifestyles and how that contributes to illness. There is a lot you CAN control.. and Only you can control it. Even if they do have a diploma on the wall, they can't feed you, make you sleep and keep a good mindset. It's an inside job.
xo
deb
Well, it's a whole can of worms, isn't it, Debbie? Doctors are authority figures. And that's not to say, we are better off without them. I like my anti-biotics and my access to modern surgery thank you very much. My father's cardiologist probably prolonged his life by twenty-five or thirty years by prescribing meds and doing surgery, but he also set him up for a host of complications, including Type II Diabetes by recommending all kinds of crap like low cholesterol "food" and highly processed grains. My father was too good at following orders: he was an early adopter of low calorie, low fat dieting, doing cardio, etc. If he would have sat around drinking his daily whiskey and soda for stress relief, doing yard chores for exercise and eating his natural diet of meat and potatoes he would have probably enjoyed those last 25 years a hell of a lot more. And he wouldn't have spent the last five in a wheel chair, I'd bet.
This was ridiculously informative. I read this to my girlfriend in a "see, I told you" sort of voice. She punched me. Worth it though, I got the point across.
It's sad what's happened to Kirstie Alley. Oprah too, although the damage to Oprah's metabolism is not so obvious.
So, how do you get lean (not stooopid low carb lean) but have nice abs and what not with out messing with your metabolism? Eat RRARF till your healthy and then cut back to maintenance?
Will, my advice is to not worry about the six pack. Many people can probably become "six pack lean" in good health with sufficient food, rest and "intense but brief" sprinting/weightlifting exercise, but I don't know if you can. Everyone's different.
Just get healthy and happy.
Cusick I like you. Your words are the truth, Ruth.
Jenny: Yep, have to say, five yrs in a wheelchair is the pretty much the opposite of fun. In my case, there is no treatment, just pallative care or a bone marrow transplant.. yeah, no thanks on both.
I plan to live much longer than my onc told me I would. According to him, I am half way to death at the four year mark, coming up in April 2011.
Not so fast Einstein, my numbers are about the same as when I got diagnosed so who's the expert now?
Master of My Domain,
:) xo
deb
Matt, I'm so glad to have come across your stuff. It's all helped me relax and not be so confused in my nutriton world. Keep it up, it's entertainment, too!
Debbie,
echo your sentiments about cancer healing and 'inside job'.
And the fear and pressure a diagnosis initiates.
Would it be possible to email you and discuss your situation further?
I have a register of examples such as yours that is good to cite during initial discussions with cancer/illness diagnosed folk, who are eager to work the 'inside job'.
Kind thanks.
J.R. Certainly! I would love that. I have two blogs, one is http://www.debbiedoesraw.blogspot.com from my raw vegan days.. my newer one is http://www.grassfedmomma.blogspot.com
My email address should be on my profile.
BTW everyone, I am reading Ellen Langers newest book called "CounterClockWise" I recommend it highly. She is right on with her mindset ideas about health and life in general. I think it is worth a read. Got it at the library.
deb
"Will, my advice is to not worry about the six pack. Many people can probably become "six pack lean" in good health with sufficient food, rest and "intense but brief" sprinting/weightlifting exercise, but I don't know if you can. Everyone's different.
Just get healthy and happy."
In the words of Captain Hammer, Corporate Tool, "what am I talkin' about, I don't go to the gym, I just look like this naturally."
yeah! and what about Starla? She looked pretty flippin' ripped in Napolean Dynamite :)
wanted to share a nice starcha licous dinner idea.. or breakfast.. or lunch..
take two russets, peel and chunk and boil till softish
drain
warm organic corn tortillas (.99 at whole foods) in a pan
cooled potatos go in a pan with some refined coconut oil, bit o butter and a tbls or more of trader joes taco mix.. or do your own spices it has
sea salt, cumin, cayenne pepper,paprika, onion, garlic, blk pepper, red bell pepper, oregano, chilli pepper and smoked paprika
cook that sucker up, serve with cabbage or lettuce, veggies, refried beans ( I like the amys mild pepper ones) and chow down.
It's a 180 fiesta on a plate.
Ole' m-fers
deb
damn… Scott Abel is a badass!!!!
troy
I'm starting to watch the Abel Body Coach em ups, just because they are entertaining. I love their Midwestern Hans and Franz vibe. Like when Coach Weiss said, "yeah, yer not balancin' a friggin' checkbook here people." Oh man I almost fell out of my chair. Also, I love the ominous, cheesy synth music and the fact that seem incapable of going 2 minutes without making an automotive analogy.
http://www.scottabel.com/publications/2010-More-on-Metabolic-Damage.pdf
Enjoy
Andrea
I have to say, I think Coach Weiss is pretty hot. He looks like the picture of health and manliness. Coach Abel looks pretty good for his age, too. Clearly they have healthy metabolisms and are doing something right.
Amy
Great post, these guys speak a lot of sense and wisdom. Some of the rare relevant but simple stuff available on YouTube, the second video you posted especially the story is cringe worthy.
Also for anyone wanting a good simple metabolic hit give this Abel/Weiss manoeuvre a go http://youtu.be/iwG2h7j8PQM
Having a solid metabolism is a godsend, and it is something we should not F*&% around with….. Duck Fiets
Katelyn says:
Matt, off topic, but what do you think about this post from Ned Kock at HealthCorrelator, about not worrying about omega 6 in pork?
http://healthcorrelator.blogspot.com/2010/09/low-omega-6-to-omega-3-ratio-grain-fed.html
Totally agree with everything. I'm dealing with the terrible consequences of low carb on an every day basis now….
heh, heh…Ned Kock..heh heh
heh heh.. are you sure it's not Ned A. Kock? hehe heh..
I think Scott Abel is kind of a hipocrit because he did steroids and he talks as if he didn't. He had to with the way he is built. He talks as if he's all natural. He uses his appearance as a way to look healthy. I'll change my opinion if he talks about how to balance health while taking steroids. Then again does he talk about how to heal metabolic damage? Or does he just say it is permanent? Supplements are necessary in the absence of the nutritious foods, but most are garbage. Most of the time a good doctor would need to recommend the right type of supplement. I do believe other than fixing bodyfat, changing eating habits, eating sufficient calories, changing self attitude, supplements or particular nutrition sources are required. Seeing a doctor for other ways of fixing the problem other than the choices I listed above may be necessary, but from what I heard most are inneffective. The only other choice, which probably isn't popular, is consuming organ/gland meats to heal particular organ glands.
Jillian Michaels has a team that recommends people run for hours but they also monitor caloric intake and health status to make sure they stay healthy. Without such close monitoring the person would have to stick to a simpler protocol for sure. You can run for hours, burn a lot of fat, and not lose any muscle. In this instance the person would need to consume extra protein to make sure to rebuild any possible lost muscle, and it doesn't take that much protein either. A pound of fat is over 3000 calories, whereas a pound of muscle is only 660 calories or so. So it does take a lot of work to lose the fat. People may cheat to lose extra weight in the competitions, but that was their choice, not hers, and they paid the price health wise.
If I were to load up my muscle and liver glycogen stores permanently and on a daily basis would that give me steroid like growth?
Personally I measure body composition to figure out how much fat/carbohydrate is burned during a particular intensity and duration of exercise. If the person is constantly losing muscle and taking in extra protein because they aren't taking in enough carbohydrate for the activity, they will probably develop organ problems from the excess protein metabolizing. That would involve not consuming fat before a workout and only taking in the percentage of carbohydrates burned for it so only body fat is burned.
In the absense of fat muscle protein isn't burned. Logical huh? Just take in the necessary carbohydrates for a prolonged run while not taking in any dietary fat. Marathon runners and especially cyclists do this all the time. The ones that follow these principals don't end up with health and metabolic problems.
Just so someone doesn't get the wrong idea the doctors may give medications to help people survive, live or function but in many cases it doesn't fix the problem and in many other cases it makes the problem even worse. I just pose common sense strategies to fix the problem permanently. Though even these apparently required advanced understanding in nutrition versus what is mainstream and currently accepted.
Damn! I wish I would have watched that first video before I tried to fix my broken engine by filling my tire with air.
Jeez!
(kicks dirt)
Not such a great point on Jillian Dan the Man…
(from Dietblog)…
"I remember watching the first season of the network show, ?The Biggest Loser? and being amazed as participants would weigh-in each week and lose 10-25 pounds a week.
By the end of the show, the winner was crowned and his name was Ryan Benson. In one season, he was able to lose a staggering 122 pounds!
So how is Ryan Benson doing these days?
A recent article in Time magazine checked in with some of the former ?Biggest Loser? winners, including Benson who has gained back roughly 90 pounds after the show was over.
He claims that as soon as the show was over, he regained ?32 pounds in 5 days simply by drinking water. This is incredible and points to the fact that when any person loses weight rapidly, (faster than 1-2 pounds a week) normally the weight loss is mostly due to water loss."
Comment on the first video: Sounds like the guy they talk about suffers from autoimmune diseases. I would say stop eating grains, legumes and nightshades and perhaps even more foodstuff. If you eat carbohydrates, stick to starchy tubers. Read this "How to reverse a leaky gut and autoimmune diseases" http://bit.ly/a9Gvjk
Hans, They used the word "ladies" repeatedly. I am pretty sure all people they refer to in these videos are ladies, coach.
I like the starchy reccomendation though.
:)
I would like to think that any kind of metabolic damage can be healed over time. It just seems to make more evolutionary sense.
People had to go through periods of starvation throughout history. Sometimes these periods were lengthy (months or years), and sometimes they were brief. If metabolic damage had no chance of healing or reversing, then I feel as if our species would have died off long ago, or at least wouldn't be as diverse as it is (since certain areas of the globe are more prone to starvation conditions).
What is your opinion on healing of ones metaboism.
In my case I would say it started about 3 years ago. I never starved myself, but never ate enough for the amount of running I did for x-country (Ate like 2500-3000 ccals a day running like 50+ mies a week). I gradual started getting more and more tired and stopped the running pretty much all together. That first summer, even though I wasn't running anymore, I still felt tired. Now I incorrectly attributed it to something diet related when it was most likely just my body responding to such a long period of over exercising. I began eating pretty damn low carb and got really bad constipation. I had that bad constipation for about 2 years. I attribute that to me being 120 lbs at 5 10 for all that time. It was just hard for me to eat a ot due to the constipation. THis past summer I began eating around 3500 cals a day before I could even get my weight to budge. After a few weeks of that my weight began increasing about a poun a month for around 1.5 months. I then reduced my calories back to about 2500 a day seeing as my ravenous appetite went back to normal. I have continued to gain around a pound a week. I am now sitting around 140 pounds. IS it normal to have that kind of hypermetabolisim or period of overfeeding needed to gain weight at first?
Also, my bowels responded fairly quickly and I went from going once every 4 days or so to everyday. However not all days were good bowel movements. Some days they would be weak and incomplete. wHats worse too is that during that first 1.5-2 month period, I had good BM's 4 or 5 days out of the week, but now it seems like I only have a good BM once a week and all other days they are very sub par. THis is confusing as I thought my bowels would only continue to get better as I continued to gain.
Anyone else feel free to chime in as well :(
JB-
A metabolism can certainly be recovered.
But I think most of our metabolic woes are hereditary. Then we make matters worse by eating crappy diets rich in PUFA and fructose and refined grains and devoid of nutrients while not getting much sleep and living high-stress lifestyles.
Then we age and it gets even worse.
But the real killer is when we deal with our crappy metabolisms by overexercising and undereating. Again, these videos are about how someone with an outstanding metabolism ruins his/her metabolism. It's even more destuctive to those who are already metabolically impaired, which is most modern people.
I too was able to recover from my worst bout of metabolic suicide, but could have easily spiraled out of control if I would have kept repeating that cycle.
As for the BM's, it will probably take continued high calorie eating to completely fix the issue. Almost everyone has seen improvements with consipation, and some have seen complete eradication of issues lasting decades. So there's hope for you yet young ninja.
JB:
If you are being a good rrarf'er and eating your tatos, esp sweet potatos and coconut oil or butter or olive oil (hint FAT) you should be going like a champion.
Just my two cents on poopin'
deb
I seem to have some trouble with bowel movements as well. Every once in a while they get the way I'd like. Most of the time lately they're too soft. They also seem too light in color but I wouldn't really know.
The past several days I've been upping the calorie intake, or at least I think so. I'm not sure because I don't count. And eating when I feel like it. Diet is still not totally clean. Alcohol once or twice a weak and sugar here and there. I wonder how much occasional sugar affects it.
Guess I will have to just keep plugging away. Should I stick with 2500 cals since I am gaining about a lb a week, or is that not considered high?
Do you think my body may just be "holding on" to stuff since I was low weight for a while (ike a safety mech), and as I continue to gain weight slowly over time it will start improving most likely?
coconut milk/oil, butter, and EVOO are my main fat sources. I get 100+ grams of fat a day. GEtting around 300 grams of carbs, and around 1 gram per ppound of protein.
I think my bowels were basically asleep for so long it will take some time for them to normalize (fingers crossed :( )
Aaron and JB: Neither one of you mentioned eating potatos.. so are you? they are fiberlicous and make things happen, I swear!
also, with too much protien, I just clog up. esp dairy stuff.
deb
Tons of potatoes with the occasional banana. Lately really upping the squash, root vegetables, and popcorn.
Matt's resistant starch potato salad will set your digestion system back into balance. It really helped me. I used to still have occasional constiptation, but ever since living off that salad for two or three days this summer, I've been absolutely regular.
Aaron, squash is very fiberous. Maybe try cutting back on it. Beets last week had me freaking out thinking I had blood in my stool. I guess I'd never eaten so many of them before!
Ok I have to ask.
Where on earth is Chief? He must be off hunting squirrel or some such creature.
Matt is also might scarce.
Hmmm, which leads creedance to the Matt is Chief is Matt theory.
Jenny Beets can make you really Red, even your pee.
sweet taters every night for dinner for the past several months.
And I guess its not the general constipation people think of (not going for several days). I just have very weak BM's (end up passing gas, or very small amounts of stool) most days :(
I really do not want to live/feel like this the rest of my life. I dont think I was more metabolically "susceptible" when I was younger, seeing as I went 2-3 times a day in high school!
I think Matt is in Nashville. He sent me a Facebook message about something and he mentioned he was there. As for Chief….You're right! We haven't seen him since Matt left town!
My story is exactly the same as JB. I am a male, standing at 5' 11" tall
I used to weigh like 195 pounds when I was 20 years old and a sophomore in college. I took up running one Summer, and after three months I was probably running six miles a day.
I only ate like 2000 calories a day at the time, and I lost all of my fat…and my muscle mass as well. By the end of a year I was down to 145 pounds, and I wasn't even able to have a natural bowel movement by the end of the next summer. My pooper had actually quit working. I spent all my money on doctor visits, and traveling around the region seeing specialists…none of them could help me. By the end I was afraid to eat food, I couldn't sleep, and my condition cost me the my relationship with a girl that I truly loved, but I just wasn't the same person anymore. This was the hardest part of the whole ordeal, seeing how my health affected all the other things in my life as well.
I started overfeeding about a month ago, and my appetite is still completely out of control. When I see food I literally have to eat all of it, my body will not accept anything less. My weight has ballooned to around 170 now and I still have some digestive problems, but at least I am having some kind of bowel movement every day. I have noticed that if I don't chew my food really well, I definitely have a much harder time digesting it.
When it comes to exercise, it is out of the question. Working on my master's degree and my job put enough stress on me, and right now I am accepting no less than 10 hours of sleep a night. Definitely not satisfied with the waistline, but I still have hope that one day I can have a normal life again.
Your stories and thoughts are truly inspirational on these message boards, and it is nice to know that there are people that are willing to help you through things like these.
Thanks for everything…to Matt and all of the people who contribute their time and experiences.
Hans Keer said,
"I would say stop eating grains, legumes and nightshades and perhaps even more foodstuff. If you eat carbohydrates, stick to starchy tubers." (Italics mine.)
Hans, if under "starchy tubers" you are including the common white potato, aka the Irish potato, you are contradicting yourself because the Irish potato is from the nightshade family.
TGraham: I would venture to say that at 5 ft ll inches and 170 you are hardly fat! sounds like your body is trying to rebuild your lean mass although you may get some belly excess in the meantime.
I would stay the course and ride it out. How is your morning temp?
Exercise could be push ups and other bodyweight stuff. I would think that like two 20-30 min intense sessions a week would be enough.
Just my thoughts,
deb
I had no idea what adrenal exhaustion was doing to me until I GAVE UP COFFEE. I put that in all caps because I have been drinking 4-6 cups a day for 12 years. (This was not a habit I gave up lightly.)
I'll sum up the results in one sentence: I never thought my best ab workout was going to be sitting around watching TV drinking ice water instead of coffee! I lost an inch off my waist in a very short amount of time after giving it up. (I still eat like a champ.) My abs starting becoming more cut within just 2 weeks of quitting the bean. I had no idea how damage it was doing.
– MJ
P.S. Matt – your blog rocks!!
If you need help with pooping, try taking 2 tsps of Natural Calm magnesium powder in a glass of water before bed.
Money back if you are still stopped up.
*The Money Back part is not really true*
I don't make the stuff I just use it.
regarding grains, I understand it is almost heretic in some circles to utter the word, but not everyone is grain intolerant. Grains vary. Some folk can tolerate oats. Or quinoa. Or spelt. Or rice. Or corn. Or buckwheat. Or rye. Or barley.
Some can tolerate more than one type, even rotate grain options.
Yes, I know some people can not eat any grains at all because of gluten (and other issues) and get sick and poorly.
But then there are others
that are intolerant to the thought of eating grains. Any grain.
Often, it is discovered that the body is quite ok with certain ones, in certain amounts, of particular eating frequency.
Grain need not be excluded, at least without experimentation, especially when trying to regain vigour after years of diets, self-imposed restrictions, over-exercise and narrow food selections.
And whole-grains are often good for improving bowel function.
J.R:-
*But then there are others
that are intolerant to the thought of eating grains.*
You are so right with that phrase. I think I am one of those. Dieting almost my whole adult life, I have definitely developed some kind of grain-fear.
How do you truly know if you are sensitive to them or if it's all in your head?
I keep telling myself I need to cut it all out of my diet (I don't want anything holding back my recovery) but always end up eating bits of it here and there. Always homemade though.
@JB
I started RRARF in July and had the best pooping in my life while increasing my temps up to the high 97's (which I can't get above 98 no matter how much I eat). Recently I've started trying to carb cycle a little to lost some weight, and I've gotten a little stopped up at times. I would have thought still eating the high carb meals wouldn't affect my digestion. I don't know for sure if it's the low carb or not. It seemed to start after my temps stabilized.
I just wanna tell everyone how much I've missed y'all (you all). We've recently re-located and it's been time consuming. Thanks for your support.
I left wheat behind many years ago.. but I do eat corn tortillas.. and yes, sometimes, chips when out for mexican food. Oats, not so much, used to be daily for me.
I think the issue with wheat and other grains is that they have been so hybridized that the gluten % is much higher than our grandparents ate.. hence causing more inflamation etc in people.
When in doubt I steer clear.
xo
d
Yay Pony boy!
MJ-
High 5 to that. I have seen the same thing take place in lots of people. Caffeine raises cortisol and impairs glucose metabolism. Improve those two factors and you lose belly fat. It's that simple. Any positive effects attributed to caffeine are transient effects. Congrats.
J.R.-
Great comment. In my experience, because grains are so much more carbohydrate dense than root vegetables, they can be superior to a diet of exclusively tubers for starch. They also tend to be better plain than a tater, and make it easy to increase the ratio of carbohydrate to fat in the diet, which, all things considered, I still do believe it's better to primarily run the body off of glucose with fat being kind of like Robin.
Tgraham-
Thanks for sharing. There is no end to how many people I've come across that both lost a ton of weight and ruined their health by doing a lot of running.
You will no doubt continue to gain some weight, but the idea is that you keep going until the point where your body says that's enough. Once it reaches this point your hormonal health gets really good, allowing you to have perfect bowel movements, great sex drive and performance, awesome mood, and so forth… and you start spontaneously generating muscle tissue until your body fills out underneath the fat.
When your waist size starts to drop while the scale is still rising and your appetite begins to fall you'll know you are turning a corner.
Same goes for you JB.
Jenny-
Thanks for the resistant starch kudos. I concur doctor, I concur. Same for me. I think it probably has a lot to do with a restructuring of the gut flora.
I don't think grains are bad as what everyone makes them to be, especially wheat. I am Indian and my family has been eating 2-3 cups of wheat 2 times a day for generations. We soak them for 5+ hours before making chapati. But even in the US we buy Indian imported whole wheat flour, not sure if its hybrid or pure.
As for bowel movements, it's unheard for anyone in India to not have a daily defecation. I was very surprised when I heard about people here not being able to go each day. I think it has to do with too much protein, because I get constipated for sure if I eat out and order a dish thats primarily protein rather than carb based with meat on the side.
Deb,
My morning temps are roughly 97 on average, obviously a lot of the reason they are this high in the morning is because some days I am pounding 4000+ calories.
The reason I say my weight "ballooned" is because I was used to weighing 25 pounds less with single digit body fat. Now, who knows what it is, I don't even want to. All I know is that my 32" waist jeans don't really fit anymore.
Everything Matt has said i the last few weeks is true. It doesn't matter…I can eat 10 potatoes for dinner and my body still wants food, even though if I did eat I would probably throw up.
I honestly have seen such an accelerated rate of healing with the more food I eat, even if some of it is crap…it has completely fixed my bowels and I actually have the energy to deal with the stresses and situations of everyday life.
As for the grains, I gave them up completely and for a while I wasn't even able to go back to them because I was so intolerant. It took a while, but now I can actually eat a sandwich without feeling awful.
TGraham, You look great in your profile pic! I understand the belly deal though.. it just seems like the focus when you start really eating and resting aka rrarfing.
I have taken on a new attitude and said, let it be what it is and just stay on track. I went off the rails for a few weeks and over exercised and my fasting blood glucose shot right back up. Oops.
Glad to hear you are healing up, I bet you will be back to normal health in no time!
deb xo
@narnar you said the magic word for grains: soaking. Make a big difference. I would stay with the Indian made stuff for you.
Turste me, before we started treating my bowel issues as a weight related issue os when I started seeing results. When I just looked at it as I am constipated, lets fix that, nothing worked. Not colonic hydrotherapy, not chia seeds, flax seed, different kinds of diets, bio feedback, etc. Only time I ever realy used magnesium was a year ago and it would take anywhere from 2-3 GRAMS of the stuff to get me going lol.
Now I am just eating moderate-high calories and letting stuff slowly heal. I am hopeful it will as I have had a colonoscopy and endoscopy and everything looks great, no chrons, no UC, nothing bad from being low weight for a long time.
Tghraham, so your bowels are perfectly normal now?
JB,
I wouldn't say that they are perfect by any means, but I certainly go every day and it is a very acceptable amount. I noticed that when I eat a butt load of food one day, the next day I will probably have like 3 bowel movements, my temperature is much higher, and I feel much better mentally and emotionally.
I tried everything you did, I spent around 12,000 dollars on colonics, supplements, chiropractors, biofeedback, and other procedures. I had the mayo clinic tell me that my colon would most likely have to be removed…
Stick with it man, 120 pounds for a guy our size is redonculous, hell even 150 is pretty low. We need to focus on getting healthy rather than better looking. That is all I used to worry about.
I felt awful for 3 years of my life, using suppositories to poop, skipping meals because I knew I wouldn't eliminate them…just remember how bad it was not pooping for four days…
Deb,
Matt is not Chief. I can't exactly quantify how I know this… but the type of advice they give, the way they give it, and their knowledge areas feel different. My subconscious intuitive brain says… not the same person.
TGraham,
Don't give up on it. Metabolic damage sucks. Just understand that when it comes to diet and exercise, most of the rest of the world doesn't know what they're talking about. I've found two things helpful.
One is researching metabolic effects of dieting and body-weight set point on my own. I can't tell you how much this reinforces the idea to not diet and not restrict, no matter what else is going on. It's much more powerful to develop conclusions on your own then to get them from elsewhere.
Second is reading relationship books. Most of us fear fat because of how we think we'll be perceived by other people. But the overriding message in relationship/self-help/self-esteem books is how you value yourself is how others see you (kind of self-reinforcing circle). The basic principles are autonomy, self-respect, and sense of purpose. You don't try to get people to respect you by appeasing them. You choose to be around them because they respect you. This probably goes a long way in terms of emotional stress as well and fits in with Jon Gabriel's ideas.
Deb,
Don't discredit 170 lbs on a 5'11" frame. I myself am 5'11" and probably never have been 170 lbs. There's a pretty big difference in appearance depending on where that weight goes. None of us like it when that belly fat first suddenly appears and we're entitled to a transitional phase of disgust and self-reproach, so long as we don't stay there. :)
TGhraham,
Metabolic repair, depending on who you ask, either takes years or a few months. My guess is at least a year. Get Wilson's book on adrenal fatigue, and you'll see a year or more to heal that. Get McBride's book on GAPS, and again it's one to two years. And Abel says it himself… it took years for you to screw things up, it may take years to fix. Seeing how averse to belly fat I've been over much of my RRARFing, I may have not been giving it its due course. Which means… I may have many months left to go… You just can't pin too many hopes and expectations on everything.
Holy kee-riste!… 12,000 dollars? Around here (I'm from MN) the Mayo Clinic is all like woo… mana from heaven. But personally I'm not big on orthodox nutrition or medicine, Mayo Clinic included. They don't impress me as some holy grail to health.
By the way, I should go work for Medtronic… supposedly.
Aaron,
I agree with you completely on the time. I am nowhere near the person I used to be, but over the course of a month of overfeeding, I have managed to start having bowel movements naturally again.
Thanks for the book recommendations and your comments, I will check them out!
Also, the picture of me is when I was around 155, taken summer of this year.
point taken Aaron F
T G Wow, that is a lot of money. I probably threw a good few thousand at my leukemia. But now I spend my money on Matt's e books and good yams :)
I'll back up what AaronF is saying, i have been RRARFing for 13months now. In the first few months digestion and BM's where way way off, coming off VLC. Even now at 13months I have at least one or more BM's per day, but I can tell that food is not being fully digested, (TMI) and seems to have mucus coating sometimes. Which leads me to believe that my healing will take a few years more. I eat about 25lbs of potatoes per week, loads of coconut oil / butter, about 5 pieces of different fruit per day. Wheat still puts my stomach in knots if I try it, been off it for 2 years now. Morning basal has never gone above 97.4, and steady every morn at 97.2. And my set point is stable at 190 now for months, I'm about 6'2 height. Number one health issue is acne, and it is still a battle.
Just keep eating, and things will start to turn.
I have to say this: I just love the Schwarzbein quote. She should be given the Nobel prize as far as I am concerned. Even though I must admit that these days I'd rather follow rraarf than her carbohydrate restricted program.
I must have done something pretty awful to my metabolism when I did paleo between March and June this year. I lost 6 pounds of fat during the first month. Then weight loss stalled (except for my wasting muscles). Then I got gastroparesis which was the most frightening thing I have experienced in a long time healthwise. It probably saved me though because I tried to find information on it and found Matt's site. I read his free e-book. It just made too much sense so I started eating for good. Now, 4 months later I have gained 20 pounds (thank you Mark Sisson). I am 180 pounds the heaviest I have ever been. Fortunately, some minor health problems have cleared up which is why I have been able to stick to it even though the fat gain has been quite depressing. And my hunger seems to slowly return back to normal. I am still ravenous sometimes but not all the time as I was during summer and fall. I still have problems eating that much though. Most days I manage to eat 3,000 calories worth of food but nowhere close to the 4,000 calories recommended for men.
If I am ever going to have a tatoo it will be "Duck fiets".
Stiwa
PS: Thank you, Matt. I can't tell you how much your writing means to me. I guess I can be officially considered a 180 groupie.
"Dieting almost my whole adult life, I have definitely developed some kind of grain-fear.
How do you truly know if you are sensitive to them or if it's all in your head?
I keep telling myself I need to cut it all out of my diet"
Hey Sheila
with the plethora of dietary information out there, some of the most vocal antigrain proponents command a good deal of influence. Often they cite this study or that study to support their view.
Furthermore, all sorts of life-shortening diseases and ailments are regularly implicated.
Each to their own, but fear is a prime motivator, underlying in this instance "you will die sooner" or "you will get sick".
If we put aside those with documented physiological problems with certain grains, it is so easy to take on board this study or that study, and become convinced that it is an universal reality.
But if you observe the body it provides indicators if it is clearly having trouble utilising a particular food.
One can get obsessed with dietary lore to the point one wont eat grains but X, Y or Z either, because of fear of this, that or the other.
Ultimately I have seen this lead to a dietary intake of just minimal items, which then repeated day to day, month to month and further comprimises vigour and certainly doesn't enhance joy of living.
For what its worth, in my opinion the body has a wonderful ability to heal and sort things out and – in many individuals – quality grains added into the eating mix broadens the food base and does not comprimise the body's regenerating capabilities at all.
Great comment. In my experience, because grains are so much more carbohydrate dense than root vegetables, they can be superior to a diet of exclusively tubers for starch. They also tend to be better plain than a tater, and make it easy to increase the ratio of carbohydrate to fat in the diet, which, all things considered, I still do believe it's better to primarily run the body off of glucose with fat being kind of like Robin.
Agree. I'm on this temporary diet right now (there's a good reason for this, trust me, though the Able Body Experts are making me feel kinda stupid, *facepalm*), with the only starches allowed being sweet potatoes and certain squashes. In the two months I've been on this, I've lost ten pounds and become an insomniac again. Alas.
This is probably at least partly because sweet veggies kinda gross me out in large quantities. I've been trying to force 'em down, but yes, I need to do better…Starches rule.
undertow!
Was planning to ask you (over on your blog) how you were. Good to read an update. Healing is sloooooooooow, but worth it.
Anonymous,
Gotta love Sisson. Ha. Thanks for sharing your experience on RRARF thus far.
J.R.-
Well said.
It's not that I have this massive fear of grains, I just have my speculations towards gluten based grains. If you are gluten sensitive, it can make it more hard for you to absorb nutrients, with that in your diet, which will for certainty give you some kind of deficiency down the line. But I guess since gluten doesn't give me diarrhea or discomfort (which is the main indicators) after eating, I guess I should be be good.. ;-)
I've never really been dogmatic about paleo, but not eating any grain fiber has made a world of difference for me in terms of digestion.
Lentils don't have any negative effect on digestion for me, I assume because they are high in pectin/soluble fiber. I've also never had constipation from consuming protein, I've eaten 100 to 150 grams of protein a day lately and have been having bowel movements 2-3 times a day.
I've heard that light colored stools are a sign of bile salts being too low.
Speaking of metabolic damage, I'm currently on day 9 of a planned 12 day water fast. Don't ask me how this idea got into my head, one day I just found myself reading Herbert Sheltons "The Hygienic System: Fasting" and his theories really resonated with me for some reason (I mean, except all the raw vegan dogma). More to the point, I still after all this time have some lingering chronic injuries, and it is widely claimed that fasting will speed up tissue repair and regeneration like nothing else, so that's what I'm mainly hoping to get out of this. Though I think logically, the main effect on repair and regeneration should come after the fast when you start refeeding.
Beyond the first 3 days, it's been a breeze, no hunger what so ever and I haven't really felt any of the common detox symptoms at all, tongue has a thin white coating, but nothing like I've seen others who've done this kind of thing. Maybe I am already thoroughly detoxed after 6 months HED, 6 weeks milk diet and all those weeks of iodine supplementation?
Anyway, it'll be interesting to see how this will affect my metabolism when I start eating again. Shelton actually mentions some really old research where a 30-40 day water fast permanently increased the basal metabolism by 5-6% after the fast, presumably by "rejuvenating" the body.
You know, I have now gained some 9 pounds (237 to 246) since beginning HED and my waist has hit 41 inches (ouch, for a guy 5'8", using the rule of thumb of .50 waist/height ratio, I need to drop 7 inches!). However, I feel great and am at the point now where appetite is starting to fall off.
At this point, and I know JR is a big Abel fan and may chime in, I may drop off to 2500 or so calories where fat loss will become spontaneous. Interestingly, that would be 10X BW in calories which is what Abel says one needs to stick to in order to get to that lean state where you can begin his Cycle Diet.
Just some random thoughts, and thanks Matt for sharing Abel with us here. He knows his stuff and is on the same page as you re: the metabolism.
"I know JR is a big Abel fan and may chime in"
Hi Greenmonster, actually maybe you are thinking of JT ?, though I haven't seen him here for awhile. Or I think there is a JB also.
I am the guy forever banging on about the body's inbuilt healing abilities and the role perception plays in our beliefs about food and health.
Apart from some cursory bits and pieces from this blog, I am not familiar enough with Abels philosophies to comment.
Matt,
Question for ya, what do you think of Potato stach in powdered form like:
http://www.amazon.com/Bobs-Red-Mill-Potato-24-ounces/dp/B001KUQIU0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=grocery&qid=1289170629&sr=1-1-spell
Gonna give this a shot, seems like an added boost of the good stuff, maybe even a thickener for a protein shake.
Been rrarfing for a while now and seeing vast improvemnts in my health, so thanks to you!
Eric
Thanks JR, I meant JT. I know he is still around.
I find it curious that people are blaming protein for constipation. I tried the Eades' Cure for the Middle-Aged Middle diet and during the protein shake phase, immediately developed explosive diarrhoea. I have found that BM's are better while attempting to RRARF, but I've been putting that down to the increased vegetable consumption (more fibre) rather than reduced protein. I have still been eating fairly generous portions of meat.
Stiwa-
Welcome as a new 180 Groupie! Sisson. Funny. Actually I have trouble writing "Sisson" without "lol" attached to it… like, Sisson,lol
There, that looks better.
Alright alright, I'll take it easy on the guy, but I'll never be able to let that "150grams per day of carbs or more causes 'insidious weight gain' thing."
Narnar-
Yes, wheat is certainly not the demonic substance it's made out to be in Paleo circles, and good thing it's not because I think I've eaten my bodyweight in white flour this week (Weston A. Price rolls over in grave).
Green Monster-
I have been doing Abel-inspired training for nearly a month now, but only regularly enough due to lack of soreness and adequate conditioning for the past week and a half. So far, I would say that there's no need to start counting calories and all that. Think of doing some real training like that for a year and just making a point to eat well with an emphasis on carbs. I think you'll find your body reshaping slowly and steadily towards whatever you could possibly hope for. I'm eager to see where I'll be months from now if I can stick with it. I ate far more than 2500 calories just for dinner last night, and woke up to abs and obliques popping out more than they were the day prior.
Tgraham-
Glad you are seeing what I'm getting at with my recommendations. Even crap food can be very healing.
And what else can one expect from the Mayo clinic? Mayo is so high in PUFA one can't expect to heal from it.
Tezza, my guess is that your protein shake had some whey isolate or other kind of magic protein powder, which is not really food. Many people can not digest it properly and it can go through your system and wreak havoc if that is the case.
Collden: What toxins are left? Seriously unless you have some reason to suspect you've been exposed to some extraordinary toxins, I don't see the reason for the extreme cleansing. Eating 180 style, which is sustainable for years, is the best way I can think of to give your body a chance to rid itself of unwanted additives.
Oh thank you 180 degrees people for a morning of explosive diahrrea, popping abs and obliques and 'insidious weight gain'.
I feel at home :)
Happy Monday Coach!
My doctor at the mayo clinic told me to eat a normal diet, which consisted of pizza, hamburgers, and hot dogs…I'm not joking…thats what the guy told me.
I think what it comes down to is that your body is breaking down muscle, and your intestines are basically comprised of muscle. One thing leads to another in my opinion…your body feeds off muscle, and your intestines are probably the easiest place to steal from.
Meh, I'm not a doctor.
Jenny, you're probably right, seeing as how I haven't felt any detox symptoms at all beyond some light tongue coating. Like I said the reason I'm doing this is to see if it could help out with some old lingering injuries, which I've seen many claiming that it can. Other than that, just curious to see how it will affect me during/after the fast.
Anyway, only two days to go now, then I'm back on the HED.
Okay guys, I am normally the queen of lurkers, but I have 2 questions.
#1. AM I the only one being bombarded by the Twinkie Diet guy? Everywhere I turn I see his story. That's the voice of reason nutrition in the US needed, huh?
#2. Jenny, you mentioned Matt's "resistent starch" potato salad. Does that mean you make his potato salad with cold potatoes instead of the hot ones he shows in the video, or are you talking about a completely different animal altogether?
Thanks!
mitzi
The more individual cases I read about in terms of metabolic damage and recovery from it, the more I think time is the major factor. I think you definitely need to relax (not completely stop training though), keep eating in order to re-build and re-nourish (no need to purposefully get fat though), and WAIT and let time do its thing.
JB as the old adage says time heals all. It has certainly been the case in my recovery and I am nowhere near the level of adrenal and general resilience I once was. but much much better than I was after running myself down on a Paleo/Starvation/Exercise like crazy lifestyle….. Thanks Mark Sisson lol
It takes a bit of faith I guess that with treating the body well, just eating good food to appetite and not abusing yourself (plus lots of sleep and naps) that things will get better but I know it will probably be many more months/years before I am back to full strength and optimal health….
I agree with Chris and JB.
The waiting is the hardest part…
I think we have all been totally brainwashed on the 'quick fix'. This is not a Tylenol for your headache.
This is more like a training, or retraining rather, of your eating, exercising, thoughts and behavior.
And once you are 'trained', your body should do you right once again.. like when you were a healthy person.
I am trying to be paitent, yoga helps, walking helps, eating 180 Tateys really helps. But time is really the key to healing. And I am not a very paitent person.
xo
deb
"I am trying to be paitent, yoga helps, walking helps, eating 180 Tateys really helps. But time is really the key to healing. And I am not a very paitent person."
Deb, yes.
Thought can fall inline with functioning of body, and then becomes quite a harmonious house guest.
But often it can be an unruly interloper, especially when dwelling on what "I would like to be happening".
:)
Mitzi,
Jenny was referring to a different potato salad – RS3 potato salad. It has potatoes and bean and corn and peppers in it. It's not on the 180 food blog. I believe it is in one of the e-books? 180 Kitchen maybe?
Hmmm…I attempted to thank you early this morning, Danyelle…don't know what happened to that post. Anyway, I have 180 Kitchen but haven't read all the way through it. I will definitely be doing that immediately!
Thanks so much!
mitzi
Matt, quick question
If someone doesnt want to do a full on force feed RRARF diet, but eat a modest 2500-3000 cals and put on some weaight steadily, will this doom them? To recover your metabolism do you have to force feed as much as you can, or is it just a way to speed up the recovery, and a more modest approach would most likely just take more time?
That's actually quite a big question JB.
I have no doubts that just eating to appetite but not beyond of wholesome foods while getting sleep, not overtraining with endurance exercise, and so forth would also be effective for raising body temp. and getting health back on track.
Potentially, this could be done without any weight gain.
While full-on RRARF provides quick results and speedy breakthroughs for those really in need, whether it is truly necessary to overfeed intentionally or not is, like most things, highly individual.
Like I talk about in the RRARF ebook as well. There is no best version. It's all up in the air. It could very well be that overfeeding one day per week could be more beneficial, with less drawbacks such as weight gain, instead of 30 days straight.
Let us know what you find, or what seems most realistic and sensible to ya,
I definitely need some weight gain. I went from around 120 to currently 140. I put on the first 10-15 pounds eating about 3500 cals a day at a rate of about 1 pound a week. The dietician I saw said my body was basically in a hyper metabolic state during my initial re-feeding since it had been deprived for so long. I had ravenous hunger too. Once I hit 135 or so my apetite basically went away. She said she has seen this before in other eating disordered patients she has worked with and that it basically indicates your body is ramping back down to normal. She had me drop my cals back down to around 2500 and since then I have steadily been gaining about 0.5 pounds a week (but I am sure this will level off soon).
I was just tweaking over thinking that if I didnt do it "fast and hard" that my metabolism would never recover. But that doesnt make sense as plenty of ancestors have gone through periods of starvation, and if the body wasnt capable of bouncing back people would have died off long ago.
I definitely need some weight gain. I went from around 120 to currently 140. I put on the first 10-15 pounds eating about 3500 cals a day at a rate of about 1 pound a week. The dietician I saw said my body was basically in a hyper metabolic state during my initial re-feeding since it had been deprived for so long. I had ravenous hunger too. Once I hit 135 or so my apetite basically went away. She said she has seen this before in other eating disordered patients she has worked with and that it basically indicates your body is ramping back down to normal. She had me drop my cals back down to around 2500 and since then I have steadily been gaining about 0.5 pounds a week (but I am sure this will level off soon).
I was just tweaking over thinking that if I didnt do it "fast and hard" that my metabolism would never recover. But that doesnt make sense as plenty of ancestors have gone through periods of starvation, and if the body wasnt capable of bouncing back people would have died off long ago.
I NRA) is a good idea.
Hey just becoming a member, glad to be in! I seem ahead to partcipating and have study a good deal so far, so hello!
Sooo anyways, plenty about me, see you about and hello once more haha.
BTW, what can I do to change the little picture thingy like some people have, I like it but can't figure it out haha
Hi All,
I am the lady that wrote the letter to Scott that he read and commented on in the second video, “Real World Experience”. I am still struggling, 3 years later and holding my weight between 180 and 200. What pisses me off the most is that I trusted this trainer. I was completely naive, and he told me all this BS about all of these clients that he had all across Canada, and how great he was, and how he “made” all of these champions.
When I wised up later (and too late), I realized that he was merely a wanna be, who had never graced the stage himself. All of his champion clients that he brags about, in most cases, came to him in great condition… likely conditioned by other coaches. The only thing this guy does well is talk, advertise and push roids.
What pisses me off second most is that this guy is still out there. He is advertising like crazy and is rounding up new clients in several disciplines. He does nothing but ride the coat tails of his clients… clients who were successful before they ever hired him. HE HAS NO CLUE WHAT HE IS DOING. HE IS UNEDUCATED AND UNQUALIFIED. AND, HE IS STILL OUT THERE, GATHERING MORE CLIENTS.
Learn from my awful, awful experience. As coach Abel said, when I started with him, I was a healthy, fit, excited woman. I had a great fit body. Now, I am a fat, disinterested woman who is suffering from metabolic dysfunction. I am emotionally ruined… I do not want to be 200 pounds, but NO AMOUNT of dieting or not dieting or working out will help. How would you like to go “balls to the wall” for weeks on end with NO RESULTS??
Heed the warning. Check out these so called trainers. The one I hired who destroyed me is particularly shady. His ads are slick and he talks a great line about “his clients”… ya, right… bet he doesn’t tell people about me. Ask to see education and credentials… really see it. And, “I’m great”, is not a credential…
Well, I haven’t given up on you. I know Scott believes he is the only person that deals with “metabolic damage” caused by dieting, but he is not the lone expert. I have been doing this for years as my specialty, and have great success – maybe not in getting you ripped, but at least fixing the health problems that stem from this metabolic dysfunction. Would be glad to help if you contact me. At least let us know your morning body temperature to give us an idea of where you are at metabolically.
I think you would be pleased to let Matt Stone help you. I am sorry that you have put so much determination in things that do not work. Most of us, and myself have done this. I’m 22, receding hair line and thinning on the top of my head amongst other issues… I’ve been pretty fat, but with good muscle underneath, then I turned into a skinny fat person, now I’m a skinny but kind of muscular chubby dude. I once thought I was gluten sensitive and lactose intolerant but now following some of the ideas surrounding Matt and his blog I don’t know what I have lol. I ate a whole pizza three days ago (dairy and high gluten flour together) and have yet to have “cramps and you know what”. I don’t understand why I havent had a reaction. But then last week I had an “ibs” episode and I don’t know what it was from. Stuff is so confusing…I’m nerdy but I think Matt is way nerdier, and that means he’s very qualified to me =) Maybe I just like him because he lets me eat what I want and I don’t get punished haha. (here’s a Cool Hand Luke twist, “Gainin’ weight on purpose over here Boss!”
I’m like Hot Hand Luke.