When I first started health-geeking I lost touch with reality and practicality. I was just a single 20-something dude with a seasonal job, no debts, and very low expenses. I could afford to up and leave wherever I was living and just milk cows in exchange for raw milk, or volunteer at an organic farm to load up on local produce – both of which I did. I also had plenty of time and space just to allow my life to revolve around gathering, cooking, and eating my food.
I, like so many of us who have congregated here, was painfully perfectionistic about my health exploits.
The results were mediocre at best, the effort was completely life-eclipsing. I enjoyed myself don’t get me wrong. It was all part of my “mission” and felt good and exciting to me at the time. But it was extremely humbling and also drove an impenetrable barrier between my fanatical information and the average people in need of a few basic, realistic, and practical changes that could still make a tangible difference in how they felt and performed in life.
Fast forward to today and my focus has radically?changed. If anything, I’ve found simple basics to be the key to do-it-yourself health interventions, and the fanatical and extreme’stuff to?land somewhere between dangerous and a waste of time. Basic things can turn someone’s health around. Overdoing it, for most people, is just a huge added stress – a willingness to put life aside to be a health nut a sign of illness in?itself. ?
Since small changes and big results has become the main focus of my work,?participating in the Small Changes, Big Results Health Summit was an instant yes when invited to participate. I didn’t even know the guy who?was putting on the?Summit, but the?name was right on the money. ????
I’ll be speaking in the summit along with 9 others. I’m not familiar with the others in the conference or whether their information is at all helpful or legit.I can?only speak for myself, and the “one of these guys is doing his own thing” song pops into my head as I scroll down the website. A few of the other speakers are quite absurdly good-looking though, if that does anything for you. I know that Diana girl will be sure to give many high-metabolic males BIG results of a certain kind.?Hey relax, there’s a?male Versace model in the lineup too. ?
But check it out. I’ll be talking about what I think are the handful of’small changes with the biggest potential for big results – a blend of choice things from Diet Recovery 2 and Eat for Heat. You can sign up for the Summit HERE.
First! Again!
1st
dang!
Good for you matt. Seems like you’ll be offering quite different advice to the rest of them, in reading their profiles!
I agree with Lucy. Quite frankly, it looks like the others are just more of the same old shit. I wouldn’t turn my back on anybody who claims to be a Business and Wellness Coach, so be careful.
Matt,
OMG!! That pic of Diane just raised my body temps by a few degrees :) Unfortunatley, she is probably an “Ice Princess”, her profile mentions she has a Youtube channel called the RawSistahs, brrrrrrrr….all of a sudden it got chilly :(
BTW, Steph can raise my “metabolism” anyday too :)
Well, you just never know about Double Jeopardy, so I’ll take Miss Denmark For The Woodley.
Diana and Steph did a video about natural breast reduction, one of the many perks of a gender-reassigning diet and exercise program… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OL2telMIIEo&list=PLmXSnkIyCMqIqsNv3T3ozw0cVqMTGC5E3
Thanks for the video Matt. You just turned my Woodley into a Flatley :(
Matt, that video was the most depressing thing I have seen lately! I couldn’t believe how they were on one hand talking about how people should accept themselves and feel good about themselves, and other the other hand referring to themselves as former chubsters! I was so confused when they put up their ‘before’ pics; I kept waiting for them till I realized that was it!
Ugh. And I am not even trying to idealize heavier set women, I myself try to stay slim and can see the value in it, but I thought they looked totally healthy and slim in the before pics!!!
I am so glad you will be speaking at this summit; you have your work cut out for you. Please teach those handsome fools that eating an all fruit diet is neither feasible nor a ‘small change’ for pretty much anybody.
Edubs- I was completely confused as well, then I got angry …but that always happens.
Wow…their “before” pictures look really healthy. After pics…a little fragile. But hey, at least they’re skinny, right? That’s the most important thing in life.
That “small change” of eating entirely raw is surely going to work out for them in the long run…right?
Couldn’t make it any farther than that (the befores) had to turn it off.
Yea, at first I found this a little triggering because I think they both look slammin hot. But then I remember how anxiety ridden I was trying to adhere to a nearly all liquid raw diet just a month ago, and tonight I ate half a pizza, fries, a soda and polished it off with a cup of homemade ice cream, so instead of feeling inadequate I just laughed and felt awesome. My life is just about a million times better now. Every day I feel like giving myself a big blue ribbon for just being awesome and eating all the freakin food and not being neurotic or feeling guilty. Pretty ironic, considering I used to “reward” myself by putting a marble in a jar every painful day I was able to get through without a trace of dairy and grains and meat and sugar crossing my lips.
Makes me want to go back and the give the old me a hug :)
Hugging your “past self’ can be very therapeutic :-)
i could use a hug from my future self
Good for you for getting past that! Health and fitness is great but nothing is worth that kind of food anxiety.
Wow– that must have been very exhausting. Hugs, indeed.
“so instead of feeling inadequate I just laughed and felt awesome”
THIS.
That video was entirely embarrassing.
So was that the feature presentation or the blooper reel?
Woodley Funtanilla …God damn, I want a name like that. Only, I would change my last name to Morning. Hi, my name is Woodley Morning!
Damn!! Thomas, I was going to write a comment about that name, LMAO!!
Guess who’s coming? Woodley!
LOL! Thomas, do you wake up with Woodley in the mornings?
JonO, the great thing about the word woodley is that you can use it as a noun, adjective, or adverb. I think we may have made the linguistic discovery of the new millenium here.
Noun: Ever since I started following the Eat4Heat guidelines, my woodleys are stronger.
Adverb: Walk woodley and carry a big stick. Sorry for being redundant.
Adjective: Hey boy, that’s a woodley lump you got there.
Thomas,
Now that’s friggin’ hilarious!!! I want to become a Porn star and call myself…Woodley Mammoth! LOL!
These hot girls (the RawSistahs) are into drinking plenty of water, Matt, didn’t you know that?! :)
These health summits are the new Woodstock for vegan hippies. ;D
I hope your talk will go well. Good luck!
I’d like a date with one of the RawSistah’s!!
: )
It’s comments like these that drive home the desire to yo-yo diet as a female. While the rest of us get hotter (merely in temps, not actually in visuals…we may be warmer and bustier, but ain’t fittin’ into no bikinis), girls like the RawSistah’s–real chubsters they use to be (ha!)–inspire action in your pants. Who cares about metabolism/heat/fertility if you look like that, am I right fellas?
It’s difficult enough to believe that Eating for Heat is worth it in the long run and frankly, this post/conference/comment section depresses me a bit. I guess I’ll go warm up with some ice cream and marvel at my D-cups. :)
Most of their attractiveness comes from being in their 20’s and having good facial structure. Fertility central. That has very little to do with sustaining a relationship, attracting a high-quality mate, etc. It might come in handy as a “health expert” or at a club but that’s about the extent of it.
Dating these girls might be a lot less fun than it looks anyway…not being able to enjoy a good meal, potentially low libido and mood instability. One date might be enough.
That’s more the point I was getting at.
The Real Amy, I don’t know if I would make it through one date with one of them, if their video is any reflection of their true personality. I have never heard so many platitudes strong together within such a short time-frame. BORING!!! Yeah, they’re kind of pretty, until they open their mouth.
OH SORRY. Look at the mess I started. I was just spouting off spontaneously, enmeshed in an unusually shitty day at work. Didn’t mean to offend anyone!!
: )
I am sure dating a raw food vegan would be a fucking nightmare!!
Ok, back to the ice cream now….
Thanks for speaking the truth, NawSiistah.
Women know that men don’t fantasize about overweight women. Nor do they care about fertility.
When I was in college, the guys all wanted skinny girls. Sure many of the guys were willing to have sex with the heavy girls, but they did not want a bigger girl on their arms.
I get a lot of attention from younger men (in this case, younger means men in their 20s to early thirties) and it is not only because I have a nice face. Were I not also slender with a nice figure, none of those guys would give me a second look. And older men are no different. They also want women who are slender. As men become wealthier and more successful, their wives get skinnier and skinnier. I know overweight (not necessarily obese) women who are trying to find a partner with no success. So while Matt has some good advice, I am not going to allow myself to become overweight. For women, being overweight often means being alone or settling for a man we don’t want.
Men like girls in a wide range of sizes. Men don’t like having big girls on their arms because they are relentlessly ridiculed for it. Even if they are not they often feel self-conscious about it knowing what general society thinks about fatter people with skinny people. It’s probably best to just find someone pretty close to your own size with a similar confidence level about how he or she looks.
So, what does society say about fatter people with skinny people??? I honestly have never even heard of this as a topic!!!!!! I know I am overweight now and happily married to a man who has never had any health or weight problems and is incredibly good looking and intelligent also. I think to say you should find someone “your own size” is really demeaning to a lot of people. Off the top of my head I can think of at least three couples we know personally where one partner is a lot bigger, both male and female. I just don’t get this comment coming from you Matt. I don’t think my husband has ever been ridiculed for being with me and in the past he has always bemoaned it when I’ve dieted and gotten thin. He likes bigger women.
Good for you, Nik! I think you’re right on! I notice all the time that the men I find most super sexy (buff, hot, clearly testosterone-heavy, etc.) are with women on the curvier side – and this is New York City, they have their choice of tons of skinny women here. In fact, I’ve often thought that thinner girls like me must not be their type, unfortunately!
Besides, as Sophia Loren has said, it’s 50% what you’ve got and 50% what people think you’ve got!
I know plenty of men who either LIKE bigger women, or simply don’t care one way or another. On the other hand, I know that when I am about 20 pounds lighter than I am now, I get a lot of looks, and right now, zilch. And I’m not even really fat, I’m a size 12. But who cares? I’m married with kids. All my husband cares is that I have DD boobs now lol.
Tierney…Pics please. For the sake of research, of course.
shoot, as soon as I posted that I knew what was coming lol.
I don’t think my husband would be very pleased if I did that!
Well, you are anonymous. Just crop off your head and post. You are even a bigger mystery than The Real Amy. That is to say that you’ve given less information than her. I don’t even know how you feel about Sally Fallon :)
Tierney,
When a woman posts about having DD’s or at least mentions increasing cup size due to Eat4Heat, I believe pics are mandatory :)
I hear this, Ann. Honestly, I would not allow myself to become overweight either. BUT that’s an easy thing for a person to say when they haven’t ever been overweight. Prevention is easier than cure. I think it’s really a tough call for people who have already dieted up to a higher weight. The best thing would be to not diet in the first place, and then you’ll likely stay at a healthy weight for life (assuming your parents handed down the right genes).
I certainly don’t think you need to be “skinny” to get a great guy (and even a wealthy guy). There are some curvy women out there like Kim Kardashian who guys are super attracted to. I assure you I attract many more men now at a healthier weight than when I was super skinny. Yes, I’m still thin, but my face and body look fleshier, and that is more attractive to men.
And at the end of the day, we’re all attracted to confidence and health, too, and if you work what you’ve got you’ll do pretty well regardless. I work with a woman who is obese and she is also extremely outgoing and just glows with happiness. She wears nice outfits and looks put together, has a boyfriend and lots of friends. And I live in NYC, land of the skinny minnies. (there is a lot of weight cycling here in NYC, too, which leads me to believe that a lot of people will not be able to stay skinny)
Some people have no choice about being overweight- it happens though they fight it like crazy!!!!
And for some it is a choice between being healthy and over weight:
or dieting/food restricting, lower health and function, in order to be lean.
And yes, from experience I get far more looks and attention from the male sex when I am lean!
And yes, all of the curvy examples that people give here ,
that can be considered attractive – to men and women,
are still essentially lean women!!
I think it’s more a choice of being overweight and healthy or overweight and unhealthy. For most. Getting and staying lean with starvation-based approaches is only a hypothetical scenario for most people. Few can overcome their biological drives and maintain permanent starvation.
Yeah, permanent starvation is very hard, that is for sure.
And sometimes the body just rebounds with weight anyway, even when you are still continuing the diet .
Agreed 100%. The best looking guy I’ve ever known in person (he looked like a mixture of the actor who played Clark Kent on Smallville and Josh Hartnett) dated and then married a woman who was moderately obese–probably around 220, medium height; but she was really pretty, put together, fantastic personality. He was a sweetheart and not very vain despite being every other girl’s college crush and he adored her. General attractiveness is important– but to me in real life and not just looking at a photo, that’s measured as much by confidence, charm, humor, good-naturedness as much as it is by objective standards of beauty.
Is the main function of our bodies to turn on the most mates possible? I know that is not my goal when I wake up in the morning no matter what my size is. Personally I am enjoying being larger and not having to worry about being harassed by young men or dealing with weird jealous behavior from women who are vying for men I want nothing to do with. And yes, I won’t be competing for the wealthiest man in the room, but I already dated that guy and all he could talk about was what I could do to make myself a little hotter. In all honesty, the larger woman that I know who are alone are unwilling to date men in ‘lower’ social strata (wealth, appearance, education, ect.) Otherwise they are able to find love and happiness like normal people.
Great comment Nira!
That was kinda the reason I posted what I did. I read his blog and books to learn how to heal. But the message I keep getting over and over seems to be about showing pics of my breastimonial (I think it’s a joke, but is it?) or starving chicks with pretty faces giving guys woodleys. So it’s not about attracting mates…why is that what follows a woman’s comments each time then? It makes it hard for me to come here to learn (or send other female friends to 180D). Maybe that is my cue to take what I’ve learned and stop reading blogs, I dunno. Just being honest since that seems to be the flavor around here. If you can talk about boners, I can talk about feelings. :)
FWIW, I’m not doing any of this to get a guy. I think I look hot whether I get a date or not: 5’8″/175 lbs/size 12/hourglass figure/D-cups/rockin’ smile/bright blue eyes/lovin’ life. I adore Matt Stone’s message and want to keep coming around. This post, however, lost me a bit.
Thankyou NawSistah, I too feel slightly sick in the gut following this thread, not 100% even sure why, I think it’s the women who have commented saying that they’d never allow themselves to put on weight as if that is the worst bloody thing that could happen to them. Just wait till some real shit hits the fan. As a woman with weight on I find that really insensitive especially here where I thought people were a little more open-minded. My husband has always liked larger women and so finally he’s getting what he’s always wanted. He loved me in my skinny times and now my larger times. He’s really good looking but more importantly he’s smart and a deep thinker too. Can’t believe people here who I thought were trying to see through all this bullshit about body image are still ramming home the same message about breast size and being thin. Crap I need to find some people who think outside the box. Anyone seen Rebel Wilson in Pitch Perfect??? What an awesome role model. Please god she doesn’t go back to Jenny Craig.
Sorry if I contributed at all by saying that. I actually found this whole post to be really triggering ED-wise as well.
If you saw me in real life, you’d see I am naturally very petite but my body is not perfect, and nor is my body image. I went through an ED and gained weight and got super puffy and then lost it again gradually (naturally, not dieting), so I know how hard it is. No one in my family has ever been obese. My mom is overweight because she’s on antidepressants, but that’s not genes. I think sometimes it’s our stress reactions, too. When I get stressed, I cannot eat. I literally force it down. Some people are the opposite.
So, yes, weight is definitely easier for me. That does not mean I don’t have body issues, though. I have no boobs and had to learn to accept that – I’ve had many mean comments about it even from close friends and boyfriends. I’ve had implant recommendations more than once. I learned to say “f it” and “f you” and feel sexier nonetheless.
I actually have put on some weight recently (super, super stressful time, I wasn’t eating or sleeping enough because of stress, and I’m sure I had sky-high coritisol. My temps dropped, my weight dropped (unintentionally), I felt like crap, and anxious all the time. So, I decided to re-feed again and really stuff it in. I have gained some weight – butt, thighs, stomach and boobs (finally) – and my boyfriend has not been able to keep his hands off me.
I think the discovery after Eat for Heat about the relationship between breast size and hormonal health was really important and probably deserves a thread to allow people to get it out of their system.
Nira, I absolutely agree. I like sharing that I went up a cup size because that really IS a big deal for many people regarding body composition, fertility, a ‘what are normal changes?’, etc. That is why I’ve shared those things. I WANT to hear from other women because, like most health blogs, the bros rock it out while the fluffy females silently wonder what they did wrong. What I don’t understand is how that ‘sharing’ always seems to be hijacked (and maybe jokingly) by a string of requests for naked pics. It’s just weird to me. I think breast size is just as scientific as the normalizing temps, but it is treated like merely a side note for the benefit of men. Don’t get me wrong, if your Eat for Heat boobs are amping up your sex life with your man, I’m all about that. But I wish that every ‘breastimonial’ didn’t end with some rando requesting pics.
I think you’re overreacting a tad. You know there’s a difference in how men communicate their views and how women do. I didn’t read into any of the pix requests being overly hostile, only silly and opportunistic. Nothing here on this site should threaten you because no one here is your superior. You made it clear that you feel uncomfortable hearing that line of talk. Isn’t that enough?
Men wanting to see bodies that are not media perfect types is a move forward not backward. The girl who showed her pix and is now featured in DR2 is admired by both men and women on this site IMO. My only concern about doing it is that once on the internet… That may pose a problem when I (or my kid) becomes president!
I don’t see it as overreacting, but more of sharing a different view than the majority. I think that is important for any blog community–especially one that can help women heal so much.
I don’t expect other women to feel the same as me…I just wanted to say it. So I did. I don’t feel threatened and I didn’t think anyone was being hostile. Just annoying. :)
I agree that the Jerry Springer vibe is getting tired. I interpret it as a form of male bonding, and just zone it out.
I guess I was hoping for a more in depth conversation about the relationship of breast size to hormones. I think there are some aspects that deserve further discussion related to birth control, time frame for normalization and the ignorance of the medical community to a really simple diagnostic tool.
“I guess I was hoping for a more in depth conversation about the relationship of breast size to hormones. I think there are some aspects that deserve further discussion related to birth control, time frame for normalization and the ignorance of the medical community to a really simple diagnostic tool.”
True. I agree.
I see it as just this community becoming a bit more playful and close. There is remarkably little negativity on this blog, I think, compared to others.
Agreed, I haven’t been offended at all. I think it’s kind of funny actually: RRARFing ups the guys’ libidos as well as upping the girls’ booby sizes!
I also agree with the ladies that would like a post on the subject, and the hormonal reasons behind it.
I must admit- the requests here for pics of breasts etc do make me smile.
Though at the end of the day, for most of us women, and I guess men too;
we want to feel we can be valued for more than just the sum of our physical appearance.
After all- that is the reason a lot of us end up with diet and body hang-ups-
from trying to be sexy and attractive in the way that our culture defines it –
in order to feel good ,
and of some value.
I’ve rolled my eyes a time or two at the comments more so because I knew it was coming…again, not because I felt like any of the men here only care about our boobs. I see it as the men here liking every part of who we are as women. They have happily engaged us in conversation about every aspect of our being so far, not just our boobs. If they actually treated us as though that were our only value then I would actually be offended, but they don’t; they’re just lovin’ all aspects of us. If they’re bluffing us then shame on them, but I have not felt that.
Having said that, I’m a happily married woman so I don’t join in on those conversations because it would make me uncomfortable to do so. I guess I’m old fashioned in that regard. I’m not uncomfortable talking about those types of things in a medical/health context though.
I agree, but the men also need to be careful not to hijack a comment/conversation when the woman/women obviously want to discuss things in the context of health and not have it turn into something else every time the men see an opportunity to do so.
Awww, come on back guys, we didn’t mean to scare you away. :)
I love that, Nira!
This is so not true. I know plenty bigger sized women who have partners. I think it’s all about confidence. Larger women sometimes suffer in that department.
I gained some weight lately, going from always very skinny to a more pronounced pear shape, and while I’m having a little bit of trouble with it myself, my husband thinks I’m more attractive now.
Why would any decent woman lust for men who are so brainless they’ll only date skinny women?
I really think that many women underestimate ‘most men’. Sure there’s a locker room mentality of guys ogling pretty women, but that doesn’t necessarily translate to what their priority is in finding a partner. There are some deeply insecure males who are always worried about how the hotness of their girlfriend/ date/ wife reflects upon them– they’re often the same guys who have to trade in their car ever two years and be seen at the hottest clubs or restaurants. So I guess the mom in me needs to shout out to some of the younger women on the board that focusing too much focus on being ‘hot’ will not pay the dividends you might hope for. Of my girlfriends, the four that have been unhappiest in love were and are the ‘hottest.’ My good friend is in her early forties and is a real head turner but has never had a quality relationship despite also being smart, funny, and interesting. But she cares so much about her looks and men’s looks that the kind of guys she attracts are pretty worthless IMO. She was overweight in high school and her life long focus has been never to go back to fat, and she has achieved that; but never found a decent partner despite always trying. She has liked some really awesome, handsome men but they were very uninterested despite her beauty– somehow they sensed she would be way too high maintenance. My other friend has the body of a 20 year-old, despite being 42 (yes there has been some surgical enhancement); She quickly got back into shape after each child because her husband told her he wasn’t attracted to her when she was fat (by fat, he meant 20 lbs heavier); She has achieved a pretty ideal physique by anyone’s standard, but a few weeks ago we were out to dinner with the two of them and her husband kept talking about how much hotter she was when she was a blonde and how he couldn’t wait until she started dyeing her hair again. ugh. I can tell she’s a little flabbergasted at how I can maintain my husband’s interest (he’s pretty handsy and openly complimentary) despite being a bit plump and not trying. She has since revealed that they have only had sex about 20 times in ten years of marriage and most of those were when they were trying to conceive. He’s had oodles of affairs and, yes, he gets a new lexus, or bmw every 2 or 3 years. The other two women I know who are just sort of naturally gorgeous without it being a particular focus of theirs; still both of their husbands left them for younger women. I’m not saying being attractive isn’t important for finding a husband, but striving for perfection is completely unnecessary (that goes for guys, too, btw) and often will land you the type of guy/gal that will be on to the next thing before you have a chance to even think about getting older or gaining some weight. My husband is adoring despite my being 30 lbs overweight, and frankly kind of frumpy most days. He could get a much more attractive, younger woman, but I’m not some kind of accessory to him– I’m the woman he loves, has fun with, relies on and it goes both ways. I wouldn’t start looking for a better model– that’s not how love and devotion work. Most people are deeper than judging people on their body fat level in spite of how it might appear by watching media. Have faith.
Susan – thanks for your comments. I think you are absolutely correct here.
Agreed. Awesome comment.
yes, very cool to hear these kind of observations..
*sigh*……Sometimes the weird psuedo cult like mindset here is annoying. The girl with the dark hair is friggin’ hot. Yes she looked fine before but she looks hot now. I used to be thin, but no longer am, but I still am attracted to thinner physiques. I’m not going to psychobabble try and pretend I’m attracted to something different just because I’m a pudge.
lol, well I still want to BE a thinner physique!
Val, Yes, you are right. It can get kind of cultish around here, but unfortunately it is true of any blog or group. A sort of orthodoxy sets in and group mimicry takes over, i.e. everybody wants to fit in and hang out with the popular kids, so they parrot the party line :) It’s not Matt’s fault. I have never seen him delete a dissenting opinion. The only thing that can be done is to speak one’s mind and call bullshit when you detect it, as you did here.
Yeah, it can get a little cultish here (as with every blog).
But two things:
1. I don’t think anyone is saying she doesn’t _look_ good ‘after.’ I happen to think she looks great both before and after. The question is whether the after weight is healthy for her. And if not, is it worth it? FWIW, I won’t presume to speculate — maybe she’s happy and healthy at the after weight.
2. Why is it psychobabble to believe she looks better ‘before’, but not ‘after?’ All of our preferences are shaped by culture, including the current belief that thinner is better.
What makes Diana look better in the after photo has a lot more to do with pic quality and a better tan. It’s just a better pic. Same with Steph’s photo used in the video. A better comparison would be a good photo compared to a good photo. Then it would be apparent that sacrifing her whole life to eat a boring raw food diet and exercise her brains out, primarily for aesthetic reasons, is not worth the trouble – especially knowing that half of women on a raw food diet can be expected to not menstruate (and all the other problems that typically accompanies that metabolic state).
Completely agree. I was going to mention that, but I’m trying not to ramble as much. :)
BTW — Some of my comments are being dropped again. Wasn’t that fixed?
WordPress automatically spams posts with links sometimes. I cleared ’em, zogs.
When she goes off the raw diet and exercise regime, she’ll blow up like a balloon anyway. Or stay on it and look increasingly haggard as her body depletes its stores. It’s not a great outcome either way.
Most people who look good as they age eat well, take care of themselves and have happy lives.
But while she is thin and sexy, she will be able to marry a millionaire. He will divorce her when she gets heavy or haggard looking, but at least she’ll get a nice divorce settlement.
Plus she’ll be able to afford plastic surgery, lots of it.
Ha-ha..lol
I think Diana looks frightening in the after photo. Like her stomach is concave or something. She looked great in the before picture, only her face was a bit puffy looking. Either way, they’re both so incredibly looney, I feel embarrassed just writing about them!
I was thinking this same thing in regards to hippie women (pardon any bias). General avoidance of meats, lots of fluid/juice consumption. Anti-metabolic leads to more haggard appearance later in life. And I know a few women that look amazing in their 40s/50s but they’re probably not leaning towards raw/vegetarian/juicing type diets.
Not just haggard looking when older, it can set in pretty instantly. I had to go through old pictures to throw away surplus in moving overseas and looking at myself through the years, what I difference! There was a time in my early 20s when I started doing low-fat, mostly vegetarian, whole grain stuff, and those years I looked like a different person. Even my bone structure looked different. I suppose the hypo thyroid face. I compared it to pictures from only a year previous, and in those my face was normal looking, a little plump, not puffy. And most importantly, my eyes did not look hollow.
Hey there everyone — doing refeeding and eating for heat, trying to come out of a cycle of nasty digestive problems. I’ve been having a hard time finding commercially available, gluten-free salty carby snacks that don’t have vegetable oils on them. For the time being I’ve been enjoying corn tortilla chips and potato chips, but I think it would help to have something w/o those polyunsaturated fats. Homemade popcorn is good but in itself is also a bit of a digestive nuisance. Breakfast cereals are too sugary, and I’m craving things like pretzels (gluten still gives me trouble). Any suggestions?
gluten free bread, buckwheat pancakes, flat breads like socca. you can fry soft corn tortillas in coconut oil and it makes awesome low pufa corn chips. cube some sweet potatoes and boil for 5 mins, then coat in rice flour and some chicken stock and salt, cover in coconut oil and fan bake for 15 mins.
Rice cakes, homemade tortilla chips (tortillas fried in coconut oil at home), Bugles.
Did I miss the memo? Are Bugles free of PUFA’s?
Or, are you just sayin,…….relax and, eat the pufa’s?
Bugles are virtually PUFA free as the only ingredients are Corn, Coconut Oil, Sugar and Salt. This however, only applies to the original flavor. It also stilldoesn’t make them a great food because it’s very likely that they are made of GMO corn.
Olive oil potato chips! Trader Joe’s and a lot of health food stores have them now.
I also buy raw pumpkin seeds and toast them with coconut oil and soy sauce and some salt. A little goes a long way for me with these. Maybe it’s the roasting?
Smart Puffs and Pirate’s bootie.
Bugles
No one has to be a fanatic but unfortunately as as primates we have to eat and sleep everyday. If you don’t do these two things you will feel the wrath of your human physiology. Like Lita Lee says, “I don’t take the cashews out of my Thai food when I go to to a Thai restaurant.” but she just doesn’t eat nuts or seeds other than the bi monthly Thai soup. I think you Matt and Sean Croxton with his JERF campaign have realized that if you want to make it on the Dr. Oz show you can not be a fanatic. You just have to be kinda into health and then when they ask you to go on there that’s when you say “Well vegetable oil is bad for you and no one is talking about this.”Ray Peat said he gets tired of eating the same foods all the time and he even eats some soy fed chicken on occasion. But in the end, somebody has to be right, Julia Ross says one thing about serotonin and Peat says another, they both can’t be right and no theres no in the middle because either serotonin is “the feel good hormone” or it is what you say it is.
Raw food veganism is so 2008-2009.
Both can certainly be right. Human physiology is a balancing act. Most people want to classify things as being definitiely “good” or definitively “bad” but you just can’t do that. All foods and probably all hormones and biochemicals have both positive and negative action. Thyroid is great but even too much thyroid can be extremely destructive – equally as destructive as having too little. Same is perhaps true with serotonin. Serotonin is a mellowing chemical that slows down physical and mental activity towards torpor. Freaking awesome stuff for someone with extreme anxiety and high Beta wave brain activity I would guess. Well, not necessarily good but will likely trigger immediate improvements. I think Ray struggles because once he sees the negatives in foods based on his highest criteria he omits them almost completely. Same for every health and nutrition scholar. But trying to eat without damaging the body is impossible. Trying to even eat a diet based on information and education is hard to do without creating anxiety, neurosis, and social isolation (depends entirely on the person we’re discussing though). And that’s one of the side effects of health fanatacism that few examine. That’s why small changes are where it’s at.
Matt:”I think Ray struggles because once he sees the negatives in foods based on his highest criteria he omits them almost completely.”
I don’t think Ray Peat struggles. He does not come across as an obsessed man to me and he does not claim to eat a perfect “Peat” Diet every day of his life. He simply advises people to make the best choices, whenever possible, and in his opinion, certain foods like milk and fruit are the best choices for most people. He does not tell anyone to aim for perfection.
Ray Peat should not be judged by the neurotic people who try to follow his advice or misinterpret the science. Ray Peat has never said that serotonin or any other substance in the body was “bad”.
@ann, I disagree. I think he makes it clear how important he thinks some things are like:
“Avoiding the stress-promoting antithyroid unsaturated oils is extremely important. Their role in diabetes, cancer, and other age-related and degenerative diseases (and I think this includes the estrogen-promoted autoimmune diseases) is well established.” -Ray Peat, PhD
“While it is important to avoid overexposure to ultraviolet light, the skin damage that we identify with aging is largely a product of our diet.” -Ray Peat, PhD
Yea he may never have used the work bad but he is saying it is bad in chemistry not layman’s terms.
“Polyunsaturated fats can be reduced by careful selection of foods, but the food industry is finding ways to contaminate traditionally safe foods, such as beef and milk, by using new kinds of animal feed. Still, milk, cheese, beef, and lamb are safe, considering their high nutritional content, and the remarkable purification that occurs in the rumen of cows, sheep, and goats.” -Ray Peat, PhD
meditation slows beta wave activity too (in addition to lots of other great effects).
“There is no perfect food; each comes with give and take. When eating for health, savvy eaters choose foods that give the most and take away the least.” – Rob Turner.
Josh Ruben also talked about this in one of his videos saying that all these things ae in us for a reason, it not that they are bad but it’s when they are high and out of balanced with the wrong ratios is when they cause problems aka bad.
But I think that it is not fanaticism to eat a certain way that you like. Whenever someone is eating, they are thinking about their food that is in front of them. It doesn’t matter if they are a health person or not, when you look down at your food and shove it in your mouth you are thinking about it so by simply changing certain foods for other ones does not make you a fanatic because you would be analyzing either way.
I’m not saying she couldn’t be “hot” before. As a matter of fact I could see men finding her level of “fertility” attractive from a biological perspective. But I swear the vibe here is that “pudge” is in, and you’re an outcast if you just so happen to get off on the slightest hint of abs. *Gasp* anyways, I’m gay and I’ve always been attracted to thinner women. As for men, I don’t usually hook up with them but you better believe if I did he better damn sure look like he walked out of a Gucci ad, abs and all!
I know personally that I don’t think pudge is the always the answer nor do I necessarily demonize being thin. I do however have a problem with self-proclaimed health gurus that equate physical attractiveness with health and reccommend damaging techniques for a temporary benefit.
ugh, iphone grammar and spelling is embarrassing. Sorry.
“Pudge” isn’t in, being healthy is. If being healthy requires someone to give up on being rail thin, the current vibe here is that is worth it.
IMO, it is probably possible for most people to be healthy and relatively thin, but we don’t know how yet. Until that day, if you had to choose between being healthy or thin, what would you choose?
Ok Val, I admire your honesty, but I think one question worth raising is how much is our aesthetic taste based on genetics and how much is it socially conditioned. I am sure it is some of both. For example, let’s get away from the question of fat vs. thin for a moment. Growing up, I was bombarded with images of an aesthetic ideal for women. She was white, blonde, 36-24-36. Farrah Fawcett Majors. I cannot say that my aesthetic tastes were absolutely prejudiced from this image, but it was definitely skewed in that direction. Very rarely, if at all, were women of other races held up as models of beauty. Hell, it was rare enough for a caucasian women who wasn’t blonde to be held up as a model of beauty.
So to rephrase your statement in the context of the mid-to-late 70s when I was a teenager: As for women, you better believe she better have long, curly, blonde hair, blue eyes, white skin, big tits and all!
By copping to the narrow aesthetic ideals promoted in the media, I was restricting myself. This is not freedom, but it’s opposite.
As someone who has recently recovered from many years of ‘healthy eating and exercise’ that kept me at an ‘ideal’ thin athletic physique (as well as food obsessed, infertile, cold and exhausted) I do find it a bit suspicious that they are so keen to give tips on ‘how not to binge’ as if it is a normal thing that all women want to do that has to be crushed by going out for a run (rather than the body crying out for nutrition)- I can say from personal experience, ‘bingeing’ is not at all attractive if you are in an energy-balanced state, and chopping up kale into a plastic bag for lunch in the middle of a day in which you have gone on a run, done kettleballs every couple of hours and generally run around alot, might be viewed as the kind of behaviour that people on the REDs spectrum engage in….. What price ‘hotness’?
they seem like well meaning nice girls but there seems to be a long list of complex ways in the second video to avoid certain behaviour- ten tips- drinking water before eating, going running when you feel like over-eating- less extreme things like going out for a brisk walk, or taking dog for walk, or phoning a friend, or having a stroll through a park might be less like… ‘exercise instead of eat’ sort of thing, and less…bandwagony… !! secondly, ironically when i clicked on the rawsistas video it shoes steph (the blonde raw sister) with her 93 year old grandfathers who seems to be eating some form of cream chicken… i predict he never ate raw…. i know raw fruits and vegetables can make one feel exuberant and gives energy but i think a diet made up solely of that can be a little sticky ground!…. they seem genuine people though
Tricking yourself to avoid eating when hungry seems like a red flag to me. That way ultimately leads madness — see these “pro-ana tips” to see how insane this can get: http://whatishouldhavelearnedinstudyhall.wordpress.com/2009/12/20/pro-ana-tips-and-tricks/.
Paleo/low-carb are much subtler, because those diets naturally reduce your appetite, and therefore don’t require you to go to war against your body.
Tricking yourself not to eat when you’re hungry seems like a red flag to me. But it is understandable if you believe you ‘overeat’ only because of a lack of willpower, and not because your body actually needs the calories.
I’m not saying these girls are headed towards anorexia, but the tips Lucy copied above sound like mild versions of these tips, from a pro-ana blog:
http://whatishouldhavelearnedinstudyhall.wordpress.com/2009/12/20/pro-ana-tips-and-tricks/
Yeah, most people do think they “overeat” because they lack will power,
as opposed to understanding that it is the body’s sign of hunger, and need!
WORD!
Yep, I used to use compulsive bouts of exercise to kill hunger dead in its tracks. Still suffering the consequences.
God I wish I hadn’t clicked on that link. Scary scary child. I’m horrified at those ‘tips’. Lucky I don’t have an ED or that would probably have been very triggering.
I don’t think these tips differ that much from standard weight loss advise, it is just a matter of degree and the tips for undereating are mixed with tips for hiding dysfunction.
I think most people are genuine. I don’t think the lack of genuine-ness is the main problem with the internet health scene. Taking small fragments of isolated information as the Gospel and running around telling everyone about it while falsely attributing your own great/desirable physical characteristics to your health practices is the problem. Trust me. I used to do it too and I was as genuine as I could possibly be.
Agreed.make yourself illler trusting everyone else’s “grass is greener that’s the secret answer” way than simply trusting own instincts and gut intuition. Strange world to get sucked it, but personally very easy to be bamboozled by, it’s like when over-thinking/intelligizing basic things over complicates things that simply do not need to be over complicated. Everything is subjective really.
Yea, I’ve been there too…
Here’s the secret to having a great body: Be 20-27 years old, have decent genetics, be active, do some type of structured exercise when you feel like it, eat, drink and be merry.
It worked for me, and works 90% of the “normal” people in the world.
Any “special” thing a person does on top of that really doesn’t matter, and probably won’t apply to someone in the 33+ age range. Age happens. But we keep calm and carry on.
So why are you going to this conference then, Matt! That’s not your crowd.
I think Rob referred to it before as “cross-pollination”. It’s a good thing.
So is he going to cross-pollinate with Miss Denmark?
Chubby? She was chubby once. OMG. Last time I checked that was not chubby.
Ok, I ask some of you to post your picture and you complain that you want to remain anonymous, etc. Now, here’s a picture of me that I posted to tinypics back when I was doing the Ray Peat diet (about 1.5 years ago). You are free to copy my method of remaining anonymous:
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=huhopj&s=6
Sexeh
LOL! very nice!
Look I have noticed that ever since I started wearing that bag over my head, I have been getting laid a LOT more. I don’t know if it’s because of the Ray Peat inscription or if it’s just the fact that I look prettier with it on.
Anyway, now you should be inspired to post photos without fear of giving away your true identity batmen and batwomen.
Lol! Woo-hoo!
Love it.
cute
The picture of the rhino at the top reminds me of a book called Switch, that’s kind of relevant to this post. Its about human behavior, and how most people have this erroneous view that we are in control of our behavior, but in actuality most of our decisions and drives are governed by the more primitive part of our natures. They use the analogy of an elephant and a rider. The rational, pre-frontal cortex part of you is the rider, and the more primitive, deeper seated animal-brain part of you is the elephant. Trying to control your impulses and decision making with willpower and intellect is analogous to the rider trying to control the direction the elephant is taking with physical strength. Its impossible. So, the book says instead we should make changes small enough so that we don’t elicit resistance from the elephant, among other strategies.
I think the elephant-rider metaphor is also effective in terms of dieting, in the sense that when you try to control weight fluctuations by using simple “calories in-calories out” thinking, you are eliciting resistance from a much deeper, much more powerful part of your biology. The mechanisms for weight control were deliberately placed beyond our reach by evolution, because we simply don’t have the capacity to effectively utilize the mechanism. Same thing with breathing and heart rate. Trying to control your weight by cutting calories is like holding your breath or trying to stop your heart. There are mechanisms that will inevitably overpower your attempts at control, whether it be through hunger-pangs or metabolic downregulation, its gonna happen. Self-improvement strategies should focus on working with our deeper natures, rather than against them.
Absolutely Matt. Great comment. And a much better way of looking at things.
Thanks man. I’ve also got a few questions for you or anybody else here who has some experience with sugar and acne. I’ve been experimenting with increased calories (overeating intentionally) and hugely increased soft drink intake, and haven’t really experienced any negative symptoms other than weight gain, which would be expected with intentional overeating, and acne flare-ups. I pretty much always break out when I drink or eat a lot of sugar. The worst case is when I binge on it after having avoided it for a while, or drink a lot of sugary drinks on a empty stomach.
I’m pretty sure acne in general is an indicator of shitty metabolism, or some other deep-rooted health issue, as mine gets worse in tandem with every inflammatory condition I’ve experienced, whether its autoimmune or acid reflux. If I drink really heavily one night, I will have an insane flare-up of acne the next day, along with feeling shittier in general, having horrible acid reflux, and most recently, gout. I guess my question boils down to, do sugar and alcohol have a similar effect on blood sugar or some other mechanism that might cause inflammation, or are my body’s negative responses to them indicative of crappy metabolism?
Hey guys i just want to share something. I came to this website after strict dieting and started using matts methods to control my temps and moods. Before this i was always crying very easily because i had repressed emotions i kept in. These methods kept me in a good mood about things and held the pain in and made my perception change to think that the pain iheld in was just unessicary and just a metabolism problem. The other week i started taking iodine and having weird dreams from it. yesterday i ate liek crazy and drank no waterr but for some reason could NOT get my temps up at all. Last night i had a weird dream of someone else crying and today i ended up crying half the day so i think my dream meant i represssed it so much i could only get my emotion out in my dream thru seeing some1 else cry. I am going to just eat and drink whenever i want from now on and start listening to my dreams (which the iodine has been making me have) and geting out any emotion i need to. I have a feeling reppressed emotion and not making sense out of our past emotions (which our dreams help do) can ake us unhealthy. I am going to look inside instead of medicating myself with carbs and salt or whatever. I think we all have small things we never truly resolve and we ignore it. I don’t think carbs can help me anymore i think i need to trtuly just let it out. I will be back after this and tell you guys if looking at my mental health and letting my dreams help me sort this out is what helps to fix my physical health at all. This is truly the last string because i never ever wanted to face my emotions and here i am about to do it. just tihnk guys, when tyou are in a low temp and crappy mood situatioin, is there a memory or feeling u tend to feel crap over? maybe u need to really let it out instead of trying to fix it with food. i feel like truly happy people never go searching for perfect health with strict diets in the first place. Overall i am grateful matt is here because he stopped me from controlling my eating. But now i need to actually fix my health thru my mental health instead of controlling my emotions with carbs
I have been getting a lot of inner peace lately from pracitising “acceptance”. If I feel anxiety I try to accept it and even welcome it. It’s been working wonders so far (only about 10 days in). I feel amazingly relaxed and have been able to socialise a lot more (i Have social phobia). So anyway, good luck, sounds worth it to face all that stuff :)
I signed up for the conference but honestly can’t imagine listening to any of the other speakers. I’m in Diet Recovery for the long haul and don’t want to hear anything that’s going to get me off track!
On a different note, the hardest part of it is balancing my water intake. I love to drink water and sometimes get really thirsty. But when I drink to thirst, my temps are down in the morning. Anyone else have this problem?
Chanelle – I am also having trouble with balancing fluids. It took me about 4 weeks to get my temps up to high 98s (from low 97s), but then I started getting headaches every afternoon that lasted until I went to sleep. I added more fluids, and the headaches went away, but when I checked my temp yesterday, despite feeling warm, it was only 97.5. Same thing again this morning. However, I am also eating less…only to appetite, whereas while I was trying to bring my temps up, I intentionally overate, and included lots of ice cream. Because I am nursing a baby, I guess it’s possible that I am not eating nearly enough calories if I don’t include some Ben and Jerry’s.
I just came back to say one thing. All morning i was freezing and in a bad mood (crying). After letting out all the crying i am now in a good mood and warm. Even though i have drunk a couple glasses of water and also a coffee this morning. Normally i would have had to eat carbs and no water to be warm. I ant everyone to just tihnk about tryin this out with me. I know for a fact ALL of us here have pain we havent quite gotten out. Otherwise we wouldn’t be searching for answers through food. I have a big feeling maybe we are all fat and tired because of our emotional health and repressing it. My mum had just married my dad and was happy when she had my brother. their marrige got rocky after and had me and my other brother who deal with weight problems and are shy and repressed. my first brother is loud and open about his feelings. my mum also is emotiionally repressed now after the marrige with dad and has gained weight since and she has had cancer last year. guys could this be it? the emotional side. From now on i am never letting my emotions in and i gonna get them out . I will be back after this journey xx
In my experience, using diet and lifestyle to help me overcome emotional roadblocks has been indescribably helpful. The goal of sustaining and caring for our own bodies is very positive and admirable, especially the goal of teaching other people how to sustain and care for their own bodies. I think the fact that nutrition has so many gray areas is merely coincidental. If people could reconnect with that intrinsic motivation and truth behind nutrition, they might find it easier to admit that as of now, nobody has all the answers — because it’s enough that we have tons and tons of people who’re trying to find answers, which is the most anyone can ask for.
Is donating blood healthy? You can question everything in nutrition and come back with no solid answers. But there’s some emotional resonance for me having donated blood yesterday because I wanted to help myself and I wanted to help other people. Years ago I remember cutting myself over a sink and bleeding into it. All that blood went down the drain. Years later I’m losing that same blood but with a completely different motivation. I think there’s a lot of value in that.
(That was a terrible example of what I’m trying to say, but it’s the best I can think of right now)
You can definitely avoid emotions by fixating on something else that isn’t your emotions and trying to establish control over it as if it was. I can see your point.
That said, I think taking care of our bodies is an expression of love and concern and respect for our own lives, which is a good place to start if you’re dealing with very personal emotional problems. This is mainly what I’m getting at here.
And for all I know, the benefits you get from diet and lifestyle changes when you have that attitude are purely coincidental. The problem is that our understanding of human physiology related to diet and lifestyle is about as set in stone as our understanding of the science behind consciousness and spirituality. I hope that that’ll change over time and that things’ll get clearer.
I am 38 and have had anxiety since I was 16. Is that enough alone to stuff up your metabolism and health (and weight0??? I mean, from all that cortisol???????? I am still learning and need to know!!
Yes!!
Letting out our emotions is incredibly healthy in more ways than what is reflected in our weight. Repression is awful for our health, and working out whatever is at the root of your anxiety makes the biggest life difference. I had a crappy childhood, and when I was going through my ED my therapists always emphasized working through the roots of my inner unhappiness. Still working on it, but prob 75% better and it’s amazing! The reasons we diet and put so much emphasis on our outer selves is usually to avoid what’s going on inside.
I need advice! I am a 24 years old woman from Sweden (I hope my English is understandable). I have read here for a while, but now I need to do something.. I have been suffering since I was 14 years old. It started with reflux and after a while I couldn’t keep the food I ate and lost a lot in weight. This led me to some kind of eating disorder, my brain was starved I guess and I became crazy about eating healthy. I got treatment and gained weight (reflux problems was better). But I never got my periods back (I haven’t had them for 9 years). I also had an EHEC infection during this time, which damaged my digestive system very much. In the following years I have become more and more sick. I suffer from severe IBS ME/CFS with some kind of autoimmune reaction in my body, amenorrhea, eczema, my hair looks like a hell, breathing problem, frequent urination, a lot of food intolerances and more. I have tried everything during this time to feel better, like low carb diets, LCHF, GAPS, SCD…80/10/10. But yes, it’s just getting worse. The only thing I know is that I feel best when I eat of both carbs, protein and fat and when I eat mostly vegan, I have never been comfortable with eating meat and fish. I found out with Cronometer that I eat around 2000 calories. I never have appetite, but pain most of time, I just eat… I need to make change, but I don’t know where to start. If I only can buy one of the books, which is the best one to choose?
Martina.
I posted this in the comments of the article prior to this one. If all your issues do stem from mainly a nutrient deficiency, then you need to work your way to a Swedish themed menu like this:
http://bookmenus.blogspot.com/2012/01/girl-with-dragon-tattoo.html
You probably would also need way more than 2000 calories. Matt’s most recent book seems to cover it all. But I would consult with him first.
Here’s an American version of a real food way of eating…love this site.
http://bookmenus.blogspot.com/2011/12/112263.html
Is your stomach making enough HCL? If you aren’t, you might not be breaking down your food enough. You can get tested for that. Often people with reflux have that problem.
There is nothing wrong with eating carbs, protein, and fats. Thats perfectly healthy.
Were you put on antibiotics with your infection? I went through my own personal hell after a course of antibiotics 3 years ago. My villi were damaged and I couldn’t eat hardly anything without terrible pain. I discovered that a combination of things helped me heal: probiotic (initially several times a day until I stopped having pain return.), I took marshmallow root to help coat my gut with some mucus (I wasn’t making much.) that relieved pain temporarily, and triphala (an ayurvedic treatment for villi.) I was only able to eat simple starches (corn and wheat) and kefir at the time. I don’t know if any of that would help you or not. Incidentally, I didn’t have to continue the triphala forever, just for about 3 weeks. During that time your villi grows back and as it does you may feel slightly nauseous because they develop sensation. Don’t worry, its not forever, it doesn’t mean you are going to vomit. I only took the marshmallow root as needed as it can loosen the stool. White potatoes were also ok.
Have you had an appendectomy? Some people who have had the appendix removed have a difficult time making/synthesizing/digesting certain vitamins including Vitamin B12. I wonder if you are having a problem with that part of your digestive tract. The different pieces of the gut are not actually disposable. You do need them. I have a friend that has had a gastric bypass and is experiencing terrible Vitamin B1 deficiency as a result and frankly he is more than a little bit crazy because of it. I’m just using that as an example, I’m not saying that you are nuts, I’m just trying to say that your diet obsession may be a gut issue rather than a lack of character or intelligence.
Matt.
If you need some pointers for being a lone wolf at this conference, look up Stephen Colbert’s White House Correspondent’s Dinner speech, when Bush was president. He delivered some great lines to a totally unreceptive audience of really grand standing.
One of my favorites KB. I feel like that a lot!
Neil Young commented on Sinead o’connor being booed out of stage
at Bob Dylan homage concert. The words might not be exact, but the sense
shouldn’t be far..
“There is nothing bad in being booed, all of us( dylan going electric, young himself and others) has been trough, the bad thing is to run, to hide, to not to stand your ground.
So you provoke, be ready for it. Kick some ass, enjoy it.
I tempt to agree..
I used to believe that “repressing” emotions made me sick. I thought that it was the cause of my eczema that I had as a teenager. I no longer believe in this idea of “emotions” being trapped and festering away in the body. I think that an emotion lasts as long as we are in the process of feeling it, and no longer. I think that we also have some choice in which emotions we encourage and cultivate in ourselves.
When I was a child I had tantrums, but as I grew older I learned to control anger and dissappointment, and I think that’s a good thing. A necessary part of becoming mature. Nowadays when I get depressed, the more I wallow in the feeling the worse it gets for myself and for my loved ones. Talking with people, engaging in interesting activities, etc, help me to lift my spirits.
I guess I have spent too much time around people who are unable or unwilling to control their emotional outbursts. Instead of seeing better physical and emotional health in them, I think actually all their “letting out” of their anger and depression seems to just make them more unhappy, and make the people around them unhappy. This is especially sad when children are involved. I’m not even talking about abusive behavior. People who shout and complain and storm around when they are frustrated or angry, and people who are very vocal about their depression or stress, are themselves causing stress to others.
I’m not saying that we shouldn’t talk about our feelings or that we don’t need good friends whom we can confide our troubles too. I’m just trying to say that there’s no real proof for this idea of ” repressed emotions’ and their negative consequences, and that I have seen too many people justify selfish and childish behavior based on such ideas.
Please don’t think I am attacking any of the commenters above. I feel about this issue the same way I feel about my years as a vegan/paleo/macrobiotic/etc dieter. Like I was fooled by psuedoscience into throwing away common sense wisdom in order to waste a lot of time on navel-gazing that got me nowhere.
The problem is that people who grow up in suppressive environments and were never allowed the chance to express the normal range of emotion;
actually stop being able to even feel these things, or to be in touch with them.
ie, they are suppressed before they even reach the conscious mind to be able to be acknowledged!
And when this happens, they are repressed into the body and manifest at some point as physical , mental or emotional sickness.
Personally I have experienced this, and it is not cool.
A similar thing happens when a trauma is experienced when a child is too young to be able process it.
The psyche kind of disconnects it, or disconnects from it, and locks it away:
but none-the-less this experience is lodged within the body and soul,
and affects the person deeply,
whether they have any conscious knowledge of it or not.
Ditto. This has happened to me, too. I think its hard to understand unless it’s happened to you.
The experience of processing and getting it out is not the same as storming around and complaining – that is more typical of people who can’t work it out properly and therefore act out. It’s more of an acceptance, acknowledgement, processing, temporary sadness, maybe speaking with people from your past who were involved (and some anger directed their way perhaps), growing understanding, etc. And of course there often are some growing pains while you learn how to properly express emotions constructively and feel ok about them.
Yeah, very true Amy.
Also,
Marshall Rosenberg talks in his book ” Non-violent communication” ;
about how sometimes,
in between suppression and healthy non-violent emotional communication of how we feel;
is the stage where we just blurt it all out whichever which way it comes.
And in this in between stage,
emotions can come out all uncontrolled and not politically correct!
But first the emotions have to come out,
and then we can learn how to express them in a better manner over time.
I agree that it is one of those situations where you can not prevent your mind from subconsciously being aware of certain ways you feel about certain things due to childhood/past experiences/traumas/abuse incidences… i.e., we can all go into auto-pilot and change our mind and way of perceiving a situation, we can go on to use that very situation to strengthen our character and turn it into a positive opportunity to facilitate growth and maturity, however it doesn’t mean that we can completely control those knee-jerk responses or actions to certain things, as they are especially sensitive, its how we learn to control how we deal with these reactions that is the difference, however as amy said, we first need to process these emotions to even begin to know how to deal with them so they do not crop up in our behaviours and thinking in every day life. it sounds corny but you need to heal the cut properly before you allow it to be knocked about all the time or else it’ll just bleed and bleed and bleed, if you get it stitched up you’ll always have a scar and your more than likely be reminded of it throughout your life because its a part of your history however you can expose it to being knocked about a bit more now because the skin surrounding it is tarnished but thick enough to withstand exposure… what I’m trying to say is, yes we can all choose to turn a negative into a positive and replace depressive-inducing behaviours with positive behaviours, however until we go through the process of truly registering the WHY behind it, i think its all a game of displacement and distraction- which works wonderfully- WHEN you’ve dealt with the why (do u feel like XYZ/ react this way to XYZ) … i agree there may be people who do not get out of a victim mindset, however this is more due to inability to truly process what happened or go through the real hard work of self-improvement or inability to see another way of dealing with their anger about a situation that they just do not want to address…. anyway, I’m waffling for basically trying to say, you need to address and FEEL the pain of certain things before you can move on, in my opinion, or else that very pain reflects in various ways throughout your life, however it can be admonished – but with proper realisation and hard work, and learning and applying new thought processes ….
Well- every health talk i’ve been to when someone asks ‘what is the simplest thing I can do to be more healthy?’ the response is always ‘eat less sugar, and drink MORE water’. So I am sure you will get a lot of that.
Here in Australia, people are conned into buying ‘pure’ water or rain water because they are afraid of chlorine and the recent addition to flouride in the water. But with all the American daytime shows here they take a different angle telling you your water is too acidic ?!! and this new expensive water con (pushed by celebrities) is shown on the Ellen show. (at about 9 minute mark)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocejRLSudiI
First they say ‘drink more water’ and you won’t wet your bed, but later they go on to say that this water will make you pee more, “clean you out” which is NORMAL because your body is detoxing and getting rid of acids. :( and they say its better than Gatorade b/c it doesnt have ‘the sugar and crap’. oh my. I’ve seen a lot of people trying to get their urine pH to 7 or above, so this probably plays to the acid/alkaline dieters.
the water brand is at aquahydrate.com
Matt, can’t wait til you start re-educating the daytime talk show audiences.
Just got back from lunch with my sister, who believes in chugging water and that sugar is the devil. Of course, she was blowing her nose the entire time, her 2 children both have colds, and her husband has called in sick the last 2 days. She mentioned that “sugar suppresses your immune system.” It sounded kind of weird, coming between honks into a tissue. She tries not to let sugar into the house at all. So how is every member of her household sick, while I and my 4 sugar-loving boys haven’t had the first cold or flu symptom this entire season? I pointed it out, but I don’t think it registered with her.
And I will say one thing about the weight gained from trying to regain a healthy metabolism – it makes it really difficult to proselytize. Every time I open my mouth to tell someone how much better they might feel if they would just eat what their bodies are calling for, I see myself, bursting at the seams, a big-mouth fatty, and promptly shut up. I know this is a problem with my own self-image, but I just can’t seem to get past it. And maybe it’s better not to shout it everywhere anyway. I shouted “low-carb” for a year and a half, and that was dead wrong.
But there’s no denying that my family and I are healthier than 95% of the diet-following, water-chugging people around us. My husband’s doctor doesn’t understand how he could possibly have improved his lipid profile by eating eggs every morning for breakfast and ice cream every night. My eye doctor told me just yesterday he was “baffled” by how clean my contact lenses are after 3 years of daily use – with no solution or cleaners used, only tap water for rinsing. He said they should be crawling with bacteria and protein deposits. But they aren’t.
I liked what you said, Matt, (somewhere) about lingering fat being like scars for some people. It gives me hope – because every scar I’ve ever had has been really ugly and obvious at first, but has faded over time.
I have never seen proof that sugar disturbs the immune system. That said, I have had more colds this Winter than any in a long, long time. Is it because I have eaten more sugar, is it due to the fact that I am not paying so much attention to micro-nutrients in my diet, is it due to a particularly strong virus going round, is it due to poor ventilation in my workplace? Something else? I don’t know. There are a number of factors that can lead to reduced immunity to colds. I would be careful about ascribing it to your sister’s habit of drinking copious amounts of water.
Drinking water beyond thirst and eschewing sugar are only two of the many “healthy” practices in her life. She’s a budding WAPFer – soaking and fermenting grains, raw milk, avoiding all but organic fruits, and generally worrying about food. I went down that road too, for a little while, and all I got for it was a burst appendix, a bit of a gluten sensitivity and 40 extra pounds.
It could also be the body boosting/updating its immunity, if you will. The cold virus evolves and changes constantly so the body may just need an upgrade and to do so it needs a dose of the illness to fight and develop immunity against. Or, I’m being completely dumb and don’t know what I’m saying. :)
Emma and Zogby,
I agree, could be coincidence or other unknown factors. On the other hand, all 8 of my nieces and nephews seem to be functionally starving. Four will drink nothing but chocolate milk, and usually to the exclusion of solid food. Two are addicted to sodas, to the extent of stealing and smuggling cans whenever they can. The other two have become sugar fiends before my eyes – before sugar was forbidden them, they were good, healthy eaters. Now they come over and beg me for candy and won’t eat the foods I serve that they used to love. The availability of candy at my house hasn’t changed, just their craving for it.
I’m sure there are many factors that cause illness. But these children share genes and environment with mine – and there’s a marked difference in their susceptibility to illness. And that’s not even to mention the adults. We don’t get flu shots – we just don’t see the necessity. Both my brother and sister-in-law came down with the flu well after getting their shots. (And yes I understand they were inoculated against the wrong virus, but my husband and I were not inoculated against ANY virus and still escaped without a sniffle.)
Anyway. Maybe I’ve just read the description of Barnes’ adrenal type too many times and it’s gone to my head? I don’t care. I like being healthy, I like not worrying about my food, and I’m really trying to be patient about extra weight, my “scar tissue” coming off.
Danyelle,
Oh, I totally agree with you. I was just pointing that out. It does sound like her kids are trying to eat sugar whenever they can because she’s limiting it. Like so many parents, she is unknowingly setting up a disordered relationship with food. Maybe your allowing them to have as much of the foods they are restricted from as they want while they are with you will help to minimize the damage. That alone could be a sticky situation though if she finds out that you allow them free reign while they are with you.
I agree with you about the “scar tissue”. I’m trying to not let it get to my head. This whole issue is just simply frustrating to me at this point. I have been calm and patient, for the most part, up until now.
Yes, me too. I go in cycles. Sometimes I’m ok with the fat, more or less. Then after a while it will get to me, and I’ll think I absolutely can’t stand it and have to do something about it right now! But then I think what is this “something?” I can’t go back to dieting. So I just wait.
Exactly! I think that’s why some of us have begun to feel like we’re stuck in a corner with no way out, and that’s not a good feeling either.
Danyelle and Emma, right there with you! I can totally relate to all of your comments about yourself, Danyelle. I feel like I have to sit back when people are talking about health or dieting and keep my mouth shut, because if I’m the example… they may just want to keep counting those carbs! And when I get frustrated with the few (20) extra pounds I have, I think, I’ll just keep on going and then I can do something about it later if I have to, but really, what would I do? Go on the yo-yo diet cycle for the rest of my life? Develop an eating disorder? So, I just tell myself to hang on and see what my body can do on its own without me trying to control it.
I read on Billy’s site that sugar can be detrimental to one when the body doesn’t get enough minerals….so,that maybe would explain the decreased immunity-talks :)
Danyelle, I know what you’re saying! I keep my mouth shut these days — I’ve been wrong (and loud) about so much health stuff in the past, so I’d feel silly preaching anymore. But I don’t hide anything, either.
The colds thing could just be coincidence, though. I was rarely sick while doing paleo, even if I felt like ass during much of it.
I get a kick out of the raw foodsters (and actually all the diet cult ppl), they are so judgemental and pretentious. To a certain kind of person– actually I think all people who get in to weight loss/orthorexia– view and refer to the whole weight loss process as a “journey”. In a way I think it probably is. But come on people, stop saying losing weight makes you a better person. Stop equating with anything other than what it is– a preoccupation with worldly bodily image standards/ and or need to participate in ridiculous food fads as a means of developing an identity.
The RS sound so authoritative, anyone would listen to or believe them, and then feel bad about not doing what they do. No one ever says, wow, your skin looks so grey, or why are you so wrinkly for your age? It’s just all, I’m skinny and you’re not. Or, we were chubby, but we got over it, and so can you.
I didn’t do a lot of foodie stuff in my 30s (I thought I grew out of it but didn’t). A few years ago in my foodie revival phase I started watching Matt and Angela of the Raw Food World. Anyway, here is a video that shows what Matt was like before he went raw (his “journey”):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMBd9SQ1bP0
I’m not a mean person by the way.
He used to like girls, haha.
This is an extremely interesting video. Before (or soon after) going raw, he talks about needing a purpose. Well, he found it…a secular religion called “raw-foodism”. He cops the whole attitude and look, assuming the role of earth muffin.
He’s hiding. He needs to come out, because before raw-food and after raw-food, this guy is gay. Nothing wrong with that, but he needs to get real.
interesting… i went raw late 2006 at the height of its fashion haha, well we live and learn… i also used to think Matt’s gay and hiding it, just my intuition, probably wrong but who cares. him and his wife advcate as little as 200 kcals a day preferably in liquid fructose free form, along with regular colonics. poor things, must be horrible to not enjoy food/life like that. i’m not a mean person either, i’m just annoyed that they might influence weaker susceptible people than me and cause eating disorders the way they talk. and they’re extremely money-grabbing, conning people with phony health foods and even selling tickets to their wedding, he’d sell his granny if he could.
reading the comments above etc, it triggered my ED a bit, led me on to wondering whether people use this site as a fall-back that if you don’t adhere to eating your (paleo/wapf/raw) diet and ‘stray’ then theres a site dedicated to telling you that you can eat , it will be fine etc…. like, is it more like voyeurism- buying books and reading how it can be okay to eat certain things, but nobody actually doing this?! just using it as a safety net just incase they eat bread/non-paleo/ non- whole foods?! and knowing there’s a site about health and not particularly size- to allow somewhere in the back of their brain feel okay about it if they did put on a pound or so- however while all the time maintaining a lower body fat and deeply caring about it?! I mean, is it basically a site to take the edge off of our extreme thoughts- reading how it can be okay to be a certain way and eat a certain way yet our lifestyles still contradicting that by either ; not eating enough, over-exercising/ maintaining ideal look…. just wondering really, as this was the post that lost me eventually in terms of making me think maybe nobody is practising what the site is preaching?!
I suppose there are just as many reasons as there are people here. How each person follows the advice here is their own choice, and not all share that. Ultimately, a person is going to do what they want to do.
I have read this site regularly for two years and thought it all made good sense, but I’m only doing the program now. It took me that long to get over the fear of really trusting my body when it comes to what I eat.
like i guess what I’m curious about is there seems to be talk about colds… weight… how everything seems to be worse than it was when paleo or eating a certain way… which i now are honest account of personal experience but i find it a bit disconcerting that everything gets worse?! is there anybody who actually eats intuitively and eats a bit of everything and has seen improvements in health i.e. colds and seen improvements in body composition?! its just cropped up so many times about people saying certain areas are worse and having bought three of the books, I’m starting to feel a little curious about reintroducing certain things again as to whether its just tempering with whats actually health-giving?! its a genuine question, i have seen a lot of contradictions in comments sections over the site and its a blog people are entitled to say what they feel but sometimes its to the point that it makes me question the very premise of whether paleo/primal / wapf is more health-giving but jut mentally limits your freedom?!
Lucy, no , we are not bunch of weak people that has fell from the diets wagon.
We have reached the point of understanding that no diet work in long terms.
Not for lack of will strength, it is just that the beginning is always great and then the pandora box cover swings open and despite eating in exactly same way as before we feel worst till we become oblige to stop. Then another diet, improvement and
crash. Till you cant do it anymore. And you end up here. Where the message is quite simple, feed your body with strong food for a while, do not restrict, heal. What after?
We dunno. You feel a serious difference in the quality of your energy, no cortisol pics, well being in very soft non imposing way. Do you put on weight, yes.
Do you feel better ,yes. Personally I have gained 14 pounds, but i eat like 4000 calories since 2 months. Skiing since a week, the food in french alps is legendary..
melted cheese is present even in the lard soup,no need to say that is delicious.
I thing i am starting to stabilize, haven’t check my weight since skiing.. Will see.
Yes, it sucks badly to gain weight, i have never been that big for my entire life.
But i cant live thinking food on minute bases. So i will see what comes around..
Actually, I have not gotten worse with everything. I have improved in just about everything. My weight is the only thing that I’m dealing with at this point. I would say that most people here have had the similar experience of most things improving for them. You mentioned weight and colds from this one thread, and for whatever reason, seem to have lumped everything being negative into that.
Thanks for replies. – wasn’t trying to be negative, was just trying to figure out some things, infact I think this sites blogging community is the least negative I’ve encountered in all the blogs I read and the most helpful/ advice giving. Thanks :)
I realize that you’re probably just confused and frustrated, and trying to sort things out in your head. Remember though, you’ll confuse yourself even more by making all-encompassing conclusions like that. I was just pointing that out. No negativity here. :)
Need to figure this out. New book from NYTimes reporter Michael Moss: “Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us.” Blurb from Democracy Now website:
“Food companies have known for decades that salt, sugar and fat are not good for us in the quantities Americans consume them. But every year, people are swayed to ingest about twice the recommended amount of salt and fat ? and an estimated 70 pounds of sugar. We speak with New York Times reporter Michael Moss about how in his new book, “Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us.” In a multi-year investigation, Moss explores deep inside the laboratories where food scientists calculate the “bliss point” of sugary drinks or the “mouth feel” of fat, and use advanced technology to make it irresistible and addictive. As a result of this $1 trillion-a-year industry, one-in-three adults, and one-in-five children, are now clinically obese.”
My question is: these are the same three ingredients used to ramp up our metabolisms. Is it just a question of the amounts?
There are so many factors involved. If it were as simple as certain foods making us obese, then how do they explain why over 95% of diets fail no matter what type of diet it is, especially considering the fact that most standard diets recommend avoiding/limiting these things? Also, since obesity itself is not a straight forward indication of someone’s health, they need to look at the poor health of people who are not obese as well. Why are they sick if they are not obese? And, if they are going to link obesity to these three things, how do they explain how people who eat a “clean” diet, avoiding these things, and still gain weight? I have met many people who can’t lose weight/gain weight despite following these very guidelines. It’s really not as straight forward as they are trying to make people think.
Exactly. Correlation does not equal causation.
Ugh, I don’t find anything “blissful” about uber-processed foods worked up in a lab. They usually taste chemically hopped up and yucky. But give me some pan-fried foie gras with a sweet accompaniment any day (fat, sugar and salt to the max). I think the MSG, aspartame and other chemicals are fattening and addictive, but there’s nothing addictive about fat, sugar and salt. The French would have been obese years ago.
The other thing I think is consistently missed is the hormone and meds in our foods. Antibiotics, antidepressants, steroids and birth control pills are all really fattening and are taken in huge amounts. They’re in our water now, too, and antibiotics, steroids and hormones, not to mention other yucky chemicals, are in our meat and milk. Artificial sweeteners are consumed in large amounts and are thought to be even more fattening than sugar. All that plus dieting and stress could 100% explain the rise in obesity.
Why are diet researchers so obsessed with fat, sugar and salt that our bodies have been eating since the beginning of time? It couldn’t possibly be all the other garbage that’s in our diets now!
Certainly the impact of toxins on obesity should not be underestimated. Toxic load is difficult to calculate or isolate, however. I remember studying science first year in college and developing hypotheses to isolate each variable. Well, toxins cannot be easily isolated, but a short term stress on the body will cause weight loss and so a simplistic analysis suggests a causal relationship. Science also builds upon past research to build a codex, but the foundation of obesity research has very basic flaws that are preventing a non-biased interpretation of the data.
The first basic flaw is looking for a major culprit.
>sugar and salt that our bodies have been eating since the beginning of time?
Well, actually, not exactly. Sugar used to be a very expensive commodity up until the 19th century. Until that, it had been a delicacy of noblemen, kings and princes, ordinary people never even saw sugar, let alone taste is. Honey was also very expensive. Salt was also very expensive and was used as a currency (the word “soldier” comes from salt, as Roman soldiers were usually paid in salt). Fat was, of course, a common staple, although in most countries frying and deep-frying was unknown until the 19th century.
I would tend to think that historically, that many poorer people such as farmers and homesteaders would have just made their own white sugar, “evaporated cane juice”, sorguhm sugar or sugar syrup.
Since sugar and sugar syrups can be made from various plants such as sugar cane, sorghum and beets wouldn’t poorer people such as farmers just made their own sugar if they wanted too?
Basically, to make sugar syrup or molasses or maple syrup all that you have to do is boil the plant juice down to a syrup. And if you boil the plant liquid long enough the excess liquid will evaporate leaving sugar crystals.
My grandparents used to make molasses from sorghum every year and it is a pretty simple process. My grandparents and great grandparents consumed quite a bit of sorghum sugar and sorghum syrup (molasses) throughout their entire lives and they were what most people would have considered to be financially very poor. So, even though they were poor, they consumed alot of sugar.
Some local people around here also make maple syrup and maple syrup crystals and that is also a fairly simple process. Evaporating plant juice on the farm or at home to make sugar is a fairly long and labor intensive process but it is a relatively cheap process.
As far as I know, there was no home-made sugar, at least not in Europe. Beet was first used for sugar making during the Napoleonic wars, when Europe was cut off from the sugar imported from overseas (sugar cane was never grown in Europe). The likely reason is that land was in short supply, and what land was available was need for such staples as wheat, potato or barley. We probably consume more sugar in a couple of days than a commoner in the 19th century ate in a couple of years. On the other hand, people used to drink copious amounts of wine or beer, plus various kinds of brandy, schnapps, vodka, aquavit, grappa, etc.
My greatgrandparents were born in late 1800’s and their parents (my great great grandparents) used to make molasses and sorghum sugar and I would seriously doubt that I eat as much sugar in two days as my great grandparents ate in a year.
Actually I probably eat less sugar than they did.
I say that because my greatgrandparents used to make alot of molasses (sorghum syrup) and sorghum sugar and they ate it nearly everyday. Pies and cakes were even made using sorghum syrup. My grandmother used to make cakes using homemade sorghum syrup.
My greatgrandfather lived to be 92 years old and he said that he used to boil down several hundred gallons of sorghum juice at one time. And they would do this multiple times every fall. And that produce several hundred pounds of sorghum sugar and sorghum syrup (molasses). Plus my great grandparents went on “bee hunts” and they usually got some honey as well,
So my great grandparents and great great grandparents got to eat all of the sugary foods that they wanted. And they were relatively poor. And I was told that virtually everybody near them grew their own sorghum and made their own sorghum syrup and sugar.
So everybody around them ate all of the sugary products that they wanted. And there was no shortage of sugary goodness in my neck of the woods during the 1800’s.
My grandparents lived in southeastern united states and from what I have been told, making your own sorghum molasses and sorghum sugar was very common in the 1800’s in that area. My uncle still grows his own sorghum and makews his own sorghum syrup and sorghum sugar…. it’s pretty taste and very sweet!!
But in Europe things may have been very different.
By the way, molasses can also be made from various plants and fruits such grapes, mulberries, dates and etc. So, you can get processed sugar from other sources besides sugarcane and beets.
I don’t claim sugar is bad per se, I just point out that eating sugar is a relatively new experience to most of mankind. At least in Europe (and probably in Asia and Africa) sugar was really expensive and the sugary stuff you mentioned was mainly used to make various kinds of alcoholic beverages.
Some background material:
“By 1700 average consumption of sugar in the developed world was approx 4 pounds per annum and this accounted for less than 1% of calorie intake. By 1800 this had risen to approx 18 pounds and by 1900 it was 60 pounds. It currently stands at over 100 pounds per annum. At this level it accounts for a staggering 20% or one fifth of all calories consumed.”
http://www.sugar-and-sweetener-guide.com/consumption-of-sugar.html
This an interesting article about the consumption of sugar/molasses and it’s health effects…. it was published in 1894.
http://tinyurl.com/awv66wz
http://tinyurl.com/aubyrvp
To Moando
Bad fat:
Rapeseed oil, Margarine (Trans Fat), Hydrogenation oil, cooking in refined vegetable oil etc
Good fat:
Butter, Coconut oil, Ghee, Goose fat etc
Same idea with salt and sugar.
See where I’m going with this? :-)
And think which of those are the yummiest types of fat. Our bodies would pick the right ones every time, left to our own devices.
Sorry, I’m simple. I’m clear on the fats, which sugars would you say are good and bad then???
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/nutella-disappearing-columbias-dining-halls-163500678.html
Lol. Maybe they’re sugar-deprived!
If I buy The platinum collection now – will I have access to The vegan solution too when it’s published?
http://imgur.com/a/ynkv8
This is in response to the earlier debate on looks, esp. of women. This is an album of pornstars without makeup. This is a segment of our culture (i mean the power of makeup) seen across all media as well as public places. Enjoy and no worries, there’s no nudity.
Thanks for posting that link Kn Njor…but, ummm….uuuuuuuuuuggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!! Seeing those pics reminded me of the 1980’s miniseries “V” when the aliens took off their “human” faces to reveal their true “reptilian” looks!! :(
wow, lol!
some are pretty without make-up, some not!
Yikes!
Correct me if I’m wrong… High temperatures and leanness do NOT always go hand in hand, but should eventually? And if they do not, this means the body is not happy at that set body point, no matter what? Or can we manipulate it in a healthful and sustainable manner?
I am consistently at 98.2-98.6 degrees in the morning (orallY), up from about 97.1-97.5 degrees a few months ago. After years of under-eating, over-training, low-carb, and fasting, I put a little “stress fat” around my midsection and still do not have the vigor I used to. I’m wondering when this will come back, and how soon I will lose this “stress fat”, considering my temperatures look normal… Is it okay to cycle my calories at this point? (1400 off-days [30-60g carb], 1800-2000 on-days [100-150g carb]). Those values are each 500 calories less than what I supposedly burn. I actually feel fine at about 1400-1500 a day, despite an active 8-hr/day job. 1800-2000 feels like a lot to me, and I often feel very full.
At my leanest, I was 17% BF and felt amazing for a good three years. Was not dieting… Just ate good, wholesome foods, got outside a lot, did a lot of bodyweight exercises. I am now at 18.5% BF and feel lousy. Weight lifting can exhaust me for the whole evening.
My TSH came back normal, although my doc didn’t do any other testing (moving to another doc VERY soon…) I know, intuitively, that my adrenal glands are not happy with me. Experienced loss of periods, sleeplessness, and low blood sugar symptoms for awhile.
My hands, feet, and nose are ALWAYS cold. They are only warm right after I wake up or after physical activity. Why???? Could this just be “normal” for some people?
Thank you Matt, or anyone, for any input. :-)
stressed gal, no, that’s not normal for anyone. Reading this article would probably be a good place for you to start.
http://www.youreatopia.com/blog/2012/11/23/phases-of-recovery-from-a-restrictive-eating-disorder.html
You definitely need to eat more calories in order to heal. You may feel full on 1500 calories a day, but it’s not enough. The article above will explain everything in detail for you. Also, if you click on my name it will take you to my blog where I have compiled a lot of information that I’ve learned here.
Thanks, Emma. Given my size (5’4, 116-118lbs) I never thought I really NEEDED that many calories! I actually feel best under-eating, but I suppose that may be due to my past with aneroxia and restrictive diets…. I thought calorie/carb cycling would at least give me the ability to feast, while still not feeling (physically) awful about excessive food consumption…
I’m going to try to introduce more potatoes and corn in my diet. I ate air-popped popcorn for the first time in a year or two, with plenty of butter (ADDICTED to this stuff!) and salt, and I just felt like I could not get enough! It was amazing!
You’re welcome. I know it’s hard to believe that we need that many calories. I felt the same way at first as well, but once your body gets used to that amount of food and adjusts to that amount, you’ll actually feel hungry if you don’t eat that much. I had one day where I ate somewhere around 3000 calories, and I still felt starving between meals, so I upped my calories. Our body needs that amount of calories for proper body functioning (and healing). My hair, nails, skin, sleep, metabolism, body temp., etc. have all improved since getting enough calories and nutrients for my body to function at an optimal level. It was a little difficult at first to get the calories in because I was used to eating 1200 calories a day. It seemed like I was eating all day long, but since my body has adjusted to the larger amounts of food, I’m able to eat more in one sitting, so now I’m not eating all day long. I eat breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks in between if I feel like it.
I have been following that Eatopia since the beginning of my ED recovery. I did not follow the guidelines with that many calories or with no exercise. I am now weight restored but STILL obsessed with food..calories, guilt, etc. When will this go away?!
OMG, no. Matt Monarch is very married to Angela-Stokes Monarch.
Rock out with the Raw Union Wedding (pt I-VIII) featuring DAVID WOLFE!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3magzkVn1I