By Matt Stone
“What about the one you lobotomized… Did he get a refund?”? ~Arnold, Total Recall
I have absolutely no idea whatsoever what that quote has to do with this post. But it’s worth repeating I know that.
Folks, the future has arrived. We have now ushered in the era of Soylent – the magical, lightly foamy, urine-colored food alternative. Rob Rhinehart, whose?post on his liquid meal replacement lifestyle went beyond viral,?is the inventor of this food alternative, and the possibilities… Ahem, I mean THE POSSIBILITIES, are endless.
Solve world hunger! Lower food bills! Lose weight! Get smarter! Improve blood tests!
I hope you heard that. I said blood tests. Because if you do something and your blood tests are “better”?a few weeks later, well fuckinA man, that’s solid proof that Soylent is the most healthy thing ever, especially when you cut your calories by half – which triggers?all the improvements Rob noted in his blood tests, and also happens to be totally unsustainable and temporary.
Rob, like many who enter the world of thinking about what we, as humans, should eat, did something that made him feel more or less amazingly better in a short period of time. Then, he got ridiculous with thoughts of solving world health crises while in the midst of his diet honeymoon – the transitional period one experiences when they raise their catecholamines and glucocorticoids into the stratosphere and feel euphoria from it. Hey, it’s okay buddy. I did that too. We all do that. Then we get smarter. You appear to be getting wiser at an accelerated rate now that you have to carry the responsibility of administering it to real, live humans.
He started out?with foolish ideas?about calorie-restriction and longevity and other nonsensical brainchildren of the overly science-minded, and evolved to?make discoveries like this…
“As for myself, I came across some problems. My original mixture gave me 1550 kcal/day. I hypothesized that “caloric restriction” had health benefits and that the human body could survive on fewer “higher quality” calories. I now consider that a failed hypothesis. After 30 days I exhausted my reserves of fat and started to feel hungry, lose weight and muscle mass, and my gym performance regressed. I ran some numbers and decided to increase my intake to 2629 kcal/day. I quickly put the weight back on, my chest and arms filled out, and I felt much healthier. My mixture now has 409g of carbohydrates, 65g of fat, and 102g of protein. I also stopped running 7 miles, which is really unnecessary and potentially harmful to the heart and joints. I just do 3.14 mi, which is quite easy, and weights, making sure I maintain the ability to easily benchpress my weight.”
More revelations for this young, 24-year old Atlantean brainiac are on the way. But at least his formula is getting better. I think he should?increase his calories by another?500+ and start using coconut oil instead of olive oil. Come on Rob. We love human guinea pigs. Test out’soylent without any “essential fatty acids” and disprove that theory while you’re at it. Now THAT would be a significant contribution to modern scientific thought.
What I find most irksome about all of this though is that this is nothing new. Live off of liquids only?? Has anyone here NOT been on an extended liquid diet at some point?? I got in 27 days on milk only.?Who’s got me beat?
Or how about create a beverage filled with vitamins, minerals, protein, carbohydrates, and fats that you can drink for weight loss and health improvement?? No one has ever created anything like that in history. I never saw any product come through?like that during my tenure at GNC (I was young, I needed the money!). First?I’ve heard of this kind of thing. I mean, I’definitely don’t have any’such thing in my home that I use for exercise.?It definitely doesn’t have all the RDA’s of’the basic vitamins and minerals with 252 grams of carbs and 50 grams of protein per serving.?Nope.
I don’t mean to be too condescending to Mr.Rhinehart. Well I do of course, but I am equally condescending of the child-like mistakes I made during the same stage of development. I had many of the’same delusions?and irrational excitement about things I discovered along the way too. It will make for an interesting experiment, and I will probably drop in and see how he’s doing from time to time. From it all, we’ll all learn something – something like, “Dude, after all these liquid meals I get sick when I go out to eat -?in part because my digestion sucks now and in part because I want food so damn bad I binge like crazy when the incredible tastes and textures start to collide with my reward centers.”
Or something like’that.
For now I just?want to take a moment to kneel down and?give thanks to’the?almighty flying spaghetti monster that poor Rob?is spared from the outrageous investment of time and money he used to put into his microwaved burritos and Ramen noodles before he became the first living?mammal ever to attempt to meet his nutritional needs through liquids alone. Ramen!
Let’s wrap this up with some of the more touching quotes from Rob’s site.
“I’m touched so many people are concerned about my intake of possible unknown essential nutrients. No one seemed to worry about me when I lived on burritos and ramen.”
And my personal favorite…
?”If I had any money or a girlfriend, I would probably eat out more often.”
HAHAHHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!
Dude, that’s way to many Haha’s. It ran off into the bowels of cyberspace.
A simple “lol” can’t convey how that last quote made me feel.
Yea, the last quote is…deep with meaning.
HA! Amazing
I’m with Julia about the amount of HAHA’s needed about that last quote. I’m still giggling about it.
So that’s why the page is scrolling way to the right.
I was wondering about that.
Does he give a reason for running Pi now (3.14)? Is it magical somehow? HAHAHA. I love the girlfriend = eat out quote!
Haha I was wondering the same thing about running pi!
I just have to say, no matter how good or “succulent” the Soylent, the smell of Mexican food makes any red blooded human’s mouth water after awhile.
No connotation to actual Mexican people implied, though I’ll try anything once!
as long as it isn’t a dirty sanchez…
Or a Hot Carlos. Or Carl.
Eeewwwwweeee, Cameron Day have you been hanging out with Screech from Saved By the Bell lately?? LMAO!!
Never underestimate the ability of humans to do really stupid shit.
Then again, this must be a trend for the future as we head toward possible food shortages, climate induced crop failures, and over-population…oh wait, I’m describing background theme for Soylent Green.
Algae…the future is in algae.
Hey you do read the stuff I post on your FB wall.
Honestly I like the concept. I also like the idea of self-experimenting and sharing all of his data with the rest of us. I think what he is doing is slightly different from milk fasting in the sense that he is trying to create a complete food that has optimal levels of all required nutrients. The one thing I don’t like is that he read a couple of books and the Wikipedia article on nutrition and based all of his assumptions off of that alone. I’m a lower division undergrad in biochemical engineering so I admit I don’t understand much about the biochemistry of nutrient processing, but I know enough about science and engineering to do a lot of research and develop a solid understanding of something before you go into human testing. I’m actually starting a biochemisty club on campus and I’m hoping to do exactly this.
I totally agree though that what he is doing is not nearly the revolutionary idea that his sudden massive numbers of followers are making it out to be. But followers of any health blog display how willing people really are to be good little sheep.
Oh another thing I wanted to say is… The part where he mentions “getting a bit chilly” after experiencing a low cal diet made me think of your ideas. I think we have all experinenced this on low macro nutrient diets.
The more I understand about biochemistry in the body, the more I believe that there are certain nutrients, like fructose or perhaps even unsaturated fat as you mention, that are really not good for you but totally unavoidable in our modern diet without going on a diet or missing out on macronutrients.
Matty- what do you think of Serious Mass? Worthwhile post-workout for trying to gain some weight and keep calories up? Make sure to combine it with solids to avoid getting washed out?
I’m just a firm believer in the validity of rapidly-absorbed high-glycemic carbs for exercise performance and recovery. Serious Mass contains lots of that. I don’t use it for muscle growth, but I guess if you drank a pint with meals or so it would definitely help to achieve that. Or if you were playing too much basketball and wasting away from it. Not quite ready to do a 2-month fast on it yet though.
It’s more the latter- I wouldn’t say I’m wasting away, but especially after my recent cold, I’ve had to be much more diligent about maintaining my appetite and getting enough food. Also noticed my resistance training recovery is down, and I think more easily ingested calories would help.
I’ve been thinking about adding a protein drink just to make sure I’m getting enough calories…don’t want to have to start obsessively counting the calories in everything I eat even if it is now for a better reason (make sure I’m eating enough). But my only experience w/protein powders is the the diet ones.
Would this be one to try even ‘tho I’m not trying to add mass? Any other suggestions? Thanks!
Dude, gaining mass is easy. Get you some soybean oil and some mountain dew. Sip on it all day long. Done and done.
27 days!! Pshh. I think I got everyone besides Michael Jackson beat on the liquid diet thing (and I don’t think he counts anymore). It’s like a bad dream…in part because I remember so little about that time in my life. I still have really strong chewing cravings. I just need to chew a certain amount each day regardless of hunger.
How long Nira? How long!!
About two and half years
Winner! So are you going to try soylent? That is my question.
http://nooooooooooooooo.com/
I love that.
Thank you for making my day, Nira. That was good!
omg how are you still alive? what did you drink?!
I don’t think that the composition of the diet is worth getting into. I think it falls into the category of dietary minutia. The premise of a liquid diet is fundamentally flawed and should be avoided at all costs.
I totally understand missing chewing. A three-day water fast had me not necessarily wanting to eat, but definitely wanting to CHEW.
I have never been or even contemplated going on a liquid diet. I love food so much, it doesn’t make sense to me to miss out on it and drink it. Even in a heat wave, I still like to eat. I just add frozen OJ and yogurt to the fare.
Well the good news is that soylent cures the desire for food as well. For a few weeks.
I have to admit, I’d be more on board with Soylent if it only had saturated fats and no “essential fatty acids,” and also had a major portion of its protein coming from glycine with a low amount of tryptophan and methionine. But that’s because I’m on a Ray Peat kick. So I have my biases too based on what’s essentially some light reading and mostly a leap of faith.
I do give him credit for experimenting. Experimenting and recording the results is fantastic.
Of course, I’m always irritated when “blood tests” and the like are referred to arbitrarily, as if the medical community has a solid grasp on how our bodies work and how to analyze how well they’re working. And I’m always irritated when people get excited when things are “proven” with “tests,” because it just reinforces how irritating the whole thing is in the first place.
So maybe I’m just spiteful because a lot of the ideas about nutrition that I think are very good and deserve recognition never seem to get any recognition. But any bitterness on my part aside, there are definitely some real issues to consider with Soylent.
The idea of living on nothing but liquids as a permanent diet is why it’s getting so much recognition. If it was a simple meal replacement drink with a wider array of nutrients (a much more reasonable place to start, in my opinion), it probably wouldn’t have gone viral, because things like that already exist.
It’s like that teenager living on ramen. The topic became so popular not because she was eating a lot of ramen, but because she was literally living on it.
Being on the Peat kick I’m on now, and being a fan of Matt’s work here on 180, of course I’d love to see some mass-marketed meal replacement beverage with plenty of sugar, minerals (no iron!), saturated fat, some salt and an amino acid profile closer to gelatin than muscle meats.
But that could be coming from the same sensationalist, over-excited mindset that Soylent could very well have been born from. It’s a great idea theoretically, but how well it really works in the real world is another story. And just to mention it, I know Peat as well as Matt are fans of getting nutrients from food and minimizing the use of supplements as much as possible, and only using them with very specific purposes in mind.
The “eating out” thing is pretty hilarious. Although I can really relate to that a lot. I wonder if I ever would’ve gotten into nutrition if I had gotten into women. L-methylfolate has done wonders for my crippling depression, but I’d be up for doing some controlled trials to see if regular doses of love and hoo-ha would do the same thing.
Still waiting for Pubmed to publish that study about the “Effects of regular administrations of sweet lovings to clinically depressed, socially isolated young adults.”
Anyway, yeah. I’m all up for experimenting, and as long as people keep the scientific method in mind, I’ll be very interested to see what the deal ends up being with Soylent. Even if it’s a mistake, there’s plenty of studies that failed to do what they thought they’d do and ended up being a success for that reason. The more evidence and research for or against whatever case, the better.
Jib, I got ya buddy: Doctors say looking at busty women for 10 minutes a day is good for your health http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/health/doctors-say-looking-busty-women-1107578
Sadly- it’s not a real study: http://www.mediaite.com/tv/msnbc-debunks-then-covers-fake-german-study-on-heart-healthy-boob-ogling/
But it could be worth experimenting with. You know, for science.
Damn you Rob!! You got me all..er, ummm…excited over that “study” :)
Sorry to disagree Jib, I think that Soylent is a terrible idea theoretically. The nutrient content and the exact formulation is minutia that misses the bigger picture. Soylent is a fundamentally flawed concept. A minimalist liquid diet subverts our natural mechanisms which tell us how much to eat and what we need as an individual and this is extraordinarily dangerous. This diet is not new or novel, it is given to sick people all the time who wind up getting sicker and sicker. This is to say that we have copious amounts of evidence already collected about the physiological impact of similar diets, we simply chose to ignore these individuals as anomalies.
I think an all-liquid diet is a terrible idea too. But if ‘meal replacement’ drinks weren’t marketed as ‘meal replacements’ but just as potential nutrient-dense alternative beverages, I think that’d be okay and, as part of a food-based diet, potentially have a lot of benefits.
Of course, that would depend on how effectively the body could use synthetic nutrients, which is debatable. There are probably too many co-factors necessary for the utilization of various vitamins and minerals found in whole foods and juices to account for in a lab setting.
Although endorsing the idea of Soylent as a beverage included in a food-based diet completely contradicts the whole point of it being invented in the first place, and that would also just make it another one in a long list of pre-existing beverages that are supposed to do the exact same thing, so yeah. And there’s definitely danger in people getting hyped up about something that isn’t new or novel but is being touted like it is.
I still think it’s a great idea theoretically, in the sense that in a perfect world where there wouldn’t be any problems, you could just take all your nutrients in liquid form and be perfectly healthy and save lots of money and have a lot more convenience, etc. I don’t think the real world works that way and I think it just comes down to a matter of semantics as far as the word “theoretically” goes.
So, point taken. But regardless of semantics, it’s different for the study Rob mentioned. No matter how you define “theoretically,” it’s an exceptional idea, and also one of the most scientific I’ve seen.
The debunking page is also not true. It’s a government conspiracy. The REAL study also secretly mentioned that touching and caressing, as well as the colloquially deemed act of “motorboating,” is essential for the long-term cardiovascular and neurological benefits of breasts. The benefits also have a direct correlation with the duration of sustained eye contact (explained as “bedroom eyes” in the study), as well as the level of comfort (gauged on a scale of 1-10) experienced in being “mutually naked in adjacent locations.”
I am currently conducting private studies funded by Harvard University exploring the ability of anime love pillows (referred to as “Dakimakura”) to provide similar levels of comfort, security, and heightened self-esteem, in the same vein as Harlow’s experiments with rhesus monkeys involving the ‘wire mothers’ and ‘cloth mothers.’
It’s all very scientific. It’s actually even more scientific than any of the episodes of Bill Nye I remember watching in elementary school. I’m having problems finding volunteers, though. I was thinking of renaming my “Boobs for Science” program for fear of that.
With the popularity of feminism now and the political incorrectness of objectifying women, I should also point out that the same benefits apply in reverse, with women accruing a large amount of health benefits from both staring at and interacting with certain parts of the male body. Despite the research being unbiased and gender neutral, it’s largely rejected for peer review and all too often fails to even come to any “conclusive results” as deemed by the medical community.
Although I’ve come to a fairly complete conclusion that projecting my bizarre fantasies out into the Internet is apparently more fun than anything else I could be doing during the morning on my day off from work :D
Oh wait, I just had the most amazing original idea. I could create a powder that could be mixed with water in chocolate or vanilla that has lots of vitamins, minerals, and protein with a delicious sweet taste. Or it could be ready-to-drink and sold in cans. It could be low in calories and people could drink that instead of eat a meal for losing weight fast! We could call it, Slim Fast!
Do you guys like the name? If not here are some others you can vote on…
Met-Rx
Muscle Milk
Myoplex
Lean Body
Ultimate
IdealShape
Isagenix
Advocare
RightSize
MonaVie
QuickTrim
Shakeology
There’s others, and once we pick the name we can have Reverend Pat Roberson endorse it. Genius. Thought of it all myself.
Actually, Pat is a step ahead of you on that with his mostly soy protein concoction ingeniously named “Pat’s Shake.” I know this because I get emails from the Christian Broadcasting Network.
i thought pat robertson was finally dead – oh yeah, that’s jerry falwell – of whom the brilliant christopher hitchens quipped : “if you gave him an enema, you could bury him in a matchbox.”
My fav Hitch quote of all time. Especially how he just tossed it off at the end of the segment.
Yes I know. I love Holy meal replacements.
Matt,
How about Optifast? LOL!
I thought of that name too JonO. These are all my original ideas. I’m the first to ever have them. Now bring on the press!
This article is hilarious, as Zoe Harcombe steps in and criticizes his formula for containing a whopping 200 grams of carbohydrates! Whoa! 200 whole entire grams! http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2293929/The-drink-means-youll-need-eat-meal-24-year-old-fed-cooking-shopping-creates-dinner-glass.html
It’s incredible how moronic people are. I wonder what she would say since he has upped it to 409 grams? Better yet, I wonder how she would react to a “client” of mine losing fat eating 900 grams of carbs a day?
Matt,
900 GRAMS of Carbs!!?? You reckless Fool, don’t you know your client is going to become Insulin resistant and develop Type 2 Diabetes and gain “insidious” amounts of weight!!!?? Get them on a zero-carb diet STAT!!!! lol!!
I think it’s Rinehart’s ideas of the essentiality of carbohydrate that Zoe Harcombe is questioning. She does talk about porridge for breakfast; I’m aware of her bias but it’s generally aimed at the nitwits telling us to stay slim and healthy by filling up on bread.
I wonder is he’s done an environmental impact assessment of the cost of producing these chemicals. Just because they don’t take up much room now doesn’t mean they’ll “feed the world”.
Do you know what the protein source is?
Wow, what are his other macros? And did he gain fat before losing on that intake?
He’s basically 80-10-10 vegan. Adding some cooked food, some salt, juice, and dried fruit (and WAY less water) helped him achieve basically every improvement in metabolism to look for. He did gain some belly fat for a couple months, but is now more muscular and leaner than when we started working together.
I hope the leaner part will happen to me to. But knowing he’s an 811-er makes me feel ten times better about my own intake of 600 grams of carbs, since I actually eat good amounts of protein and fat with that. :P
So this is proof that high carb diets really are the way to go! That’s great for me a young, 22 year old female with a history of restriction through over-exercise, ow eating 450 grams of carbs daily! It’s crazy–I feel like no other girl would ever eat that much! I feel like I am a lone wolf over here! Lol I am working on diet recovery, because I have basically been starving my body for 4 years fom exercising too much and barely eating any fat. So, I need to get my metabolism back again. I sure hope this high carb is the way to go!
I am nauseated by the very thought of this Soylent.
I don’t know if I’m more nauseated by his Soylent, or by the fact that he (seemingly) has an attentive audience.
Nothing new really… people are already downing protein drinks, bars, and other manufactured sheet. Of course, he overestimates human knowledge, assuming we (can) know all necessary nutrients whole foods provide. This reminds me of a book I read on beer, and how incredibly difficult (impossible) it is to make beer by combining chemicals together in a lab even in the incredibly well-financed facilities of mass-producers like Inbev. Scientists have been trying for decades because the financial incentive would be astronomical, but the number of unknown flavor compounds created by the brewing process is unfathomable. And the human body is a lot more complex…
That sounds terrible. I wouldn’t give up food and I can’t even taste it!
I saw this on youtube the other day, and it reminds me of the mindset of nutritional minutiae so I figured I’d share: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJG698U2Mvo
Eat well everyone!
Matt, I need to lose a few for an upcoming wedding and my plan is to cut out alcohol, lower fat, sleep like crazy but keep carbs in a “good” range. My friend the groom is all about herbal- life and insists it will do the job. Im not buying. Ever looked at that stuff? Seems like a modern version of “Simpson and son’s revitalizing tonic!”
Cutting out the alcohol should do it.
“They didn’t start chasing us until you turned on that getaway music!”
Always appreciate a good Simpsons reference.
I don’t know why we are bothering to call his concoction soylent. He is on an elemental diet plain and simple. Calling it soylent makes it sound more novel than it actually is.
This is unrelated , but just regarding your two “diet recovery” books…can you point me to bloggers who have followed these “programs” (I use that word loosely) and had success? I’d like to read/see some blogger accounts/successes…or a wider audience. I’m really not able to afford either e-book but am trying to see if in near future I can, which might be the better purchase?
I’m still not sure if its down to the calories (get the calories in) or if its more related to the types of foods eaten (i.e. if don’t eat the “right” foods then will not recover from being so slow, brain fogged, achy, lethargic, did I mention in slow?, unsmiling, awful bowels and bloating). Still not sure if its normal to feel so stuffed after so little even when eating consistently and a standard amount of cals (when compared to others over the course of seeing everything they have).
Also wondering if either e-book (and which one) might address whether its ever too late (because someone literally wasted their years and years doing nothing about it and age and hormones and metabolism get ….older).
Just curious. I need to figure out which if any e-book is worth my buy. Or if you have a recommendation for meal plan or websites with meal plans or books with such that are not so “jump in” (not sure I can mentally just eat “whatever” ..so I need something to meet me halfway first, so any kind of site or book that would meet me halfway before i can embrarce just eating all “crap”).
Thanks.
Reader, to be honest, I think your situation is better suited to youreatopia.com than this website. I would recommend reading all the articles there, which are more targeted to your condition. Start with this one, about whether it’s too late:
http://www.youreatopia.com/blog/2011/9/17/is-it-too-late-for-me-to-recover-from-restricted-eating-beha.html
There are meal plans in the forums there, too. Like here: http://www.youreatopia.com/inspiration/post/1648662#
It’s better to just get the calories down rather than worrying about what types of food you are eating. Yes, it’s normal to feel so stuffed when eating. Read this: http://www.youreatopia.com/blog/2012/11/23/phases-of-recovery-from-a-restrictive-eating-disorder.html and this: http://www.youreatopia.com/blog/2011/9/14/i-need-how-many-calories.html
Thanks for the links! Any first hand bloggers showing their experiences?
Reader, it depends. How did you get into your current state?
Do you have a low body temperature? Cold hands and feet? Wake up to pee at night?
Then eat for heat is what you want.
I got into my current state…barely exercising (I don’t exercise AT ALL now other than slow walks)> I LONG to do more, but so fatigued (low iron? SLOW body and mind)…contributors to current state: horrible digestion, began with diarrhea then constipation now all over the place, full after only a few bites, orthorexia, rigidity around food (ocd, familiar safe foods, but still “enough” but eating the SAME things all the time and full so soon…lazy stomach? gastroparesis?), now “binging” at night, constant STITCHES in sides of ribs (what is that? anybody know? its constant!), constipation or messy bowel movements, full of gas but can’t really burp, slow slow slow, lethargic, brain fog, metabolism and hormones are shot most likely, amennorheic for years now, anxiety, depression, STRESS, jusst burnout (adrneals? bad bacterial flora, etc), taking in 15-1800+ cals per day still likely, now 31 and this all started at age 27 and I’ve literally wasted the last 5 years and am so ashamed about it and am emotionally trying to deal with the regret…don’t’ comment on it, trying to come to terms with regret is the hardest…the hardest).
Yes, I do wake up all the time at night to pee…which means exhausted in mornings (I guess I’m interrupting that “good quality” sleep time)….thinking about trying 5-htp or st.john wort…
just starting consistently taking multi, vit D,C , B, zinc and digestive enzymes….and hope to buy probiotics if I can….
what is the difference btw “eat for heat” and “eatopia”….i don’t relate to those post or commenters on the “eatopia” site…maybe I need to see more stories, but frankly I don’t want to obsess…I just want to know how to eat…but just starting up eating ice cream and pasta is way too bold for me…AND my stomach (i’ve “gone too far” I think and I think my tummy is shot and I’ve got sensitivities developed , etc)…and feel so full so soon! Meal plans and structure are what I need first off…and an exercise plan daily so that I have something to “check off” as accomplished that day so I don’t feel so …lazy.
Sorry if I sound like a nut. I’m not. Just trying to put this down quick so I can go and …mediitate or something …and CHIILL out…(stressed out by some family members a la moment….life).
I can relate. I’m wasn’t quite as bad as you although I’ve been pretty close in the past. More calories yes!!!! Your posts scream it. 1500+ is not enough. My basal burn is over 1500, so if I was in a coma I would need 1500 to run basic functions optimally. So if I ate that many per day what does my body do? Stop running optimally to save energy.
My biggest instant fix was constipation. I had awful constipation with an occasional bought of diarrhea. But mostl I had goat pellets and bloating. Here is what I did I ate like a crazy person for about 3-4 weeks, gained ten lbs (it didn’t look or feel like that much, some was muscle, bone etc replenishment of what my body tore down to let to of as little fat as possible. At first I felt awesome! Then quickly I was tired, started taking naps a lot. But this faded off. After this I figured my calorie needs on a TDEE calorie calculator, figuring maintenance for my “ideal weight”. It says around 2500, but I was still hungry so eat more like 2700-2800 per day. Some days less, some days more. I’ve lost 4 of the lbs I gained as of land Sunday. I’m weighing once a week now (I didn’t weigh at all while rrarfing- that was hard). I read go kaleo’s blog which helped me feel better about eating “so much” (ie enough to friggen support my bodies needs). I no longer stress over food, I don’t have horrible cravings and obsessions about food. I function. I worked physically very hard Tuesday and Wednesday. I’m not sore today, a little stiff but not much! This was coming directly off of a horrible stomach flu. I can do things now! I feel like I’m young instead of 90 years old. I rebound quickly. Oh and my temps are still high eating the calories I’m eating now. I was 98.6 within a couple minutes of waking up the other day when I last checked. I’m on fire! Oh and my fasting blood sugars went from about 100-103 to the 80’s!!!!
Health-calc.com has a good TDEE calorie calculator. It will help you feel better about eating enough. We worry so much about getting enough nutrients, but not macros! God didn’t make us to starve and worry about food. Eat!
Like I often say, my daughter’s 7-year old girlfriend eats, on a typical day, right around 2000 calories give or take 300 or so. She weighs 59 pounds and is exactly 50th percentile for weight as of her physical this morning.
your daughter’s 7 year old girlfriend :) haha
wearing the freudian slippers
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_D9aEz_EpsIM/S6xTyFQmO4I/AAAAAAAAAAM/orfhrzjoECg/s1600/FreudianSlippers.jpg
Haha. Nice. I can go in and edit comments but that’s too funny to take away!
:)
Thanks for your story Ashley! I was wondering if you could share if you had exercise addiction that you needed to recover from or yo-yo dieting or what? And how much/macros you eat now for heat and metabolism? :)
I made myself exercise with cardio every day for 4 years and was so so so sick during this time and all I thought about was food. It consumed every thought of my being and I was so mentally and physically controlled my food and working out. I restricted my diet to maybe 10-20 grrams of fat a day and basically had no body fat on me and lost so may body functions. I was so cold all the time, I couldnt think, I still have cold hands and feet, I was always tired, sick, had stomach pains, everything, and I never had any energy for anything. All I wanted to do was sleep and I never could, insomnia. But, this was all due to the lack of nutrition I was giving to my body, and even though I was eating 1800 calories a day I was working out every day and wasting away each and every day.
6 months ago I found youreatopia, and upped my calories to 3000 a day, although I continued to exercise. I never got better or saw any improvements, and I know this was quasi recovery. I was still totally obsessed with foods, would only eat my “safe foods” and was so unhealthy, tired, and sick all the time.
4 weeks ago I stopped cardio, and kept my calories up. I all of a sudden feel like I have my life back! I am so happy, I have so much energy! My mind is so clear, it’s scary how clearly I can think now that my thoughts do not revolve around food anymore! It’s amazing! I know I have a long way to go because I restricted and worked myself too hard for 4 years, and my body needs a lot more months of rest than just one…I do not see cardio in my future for A LONG time.
I am currently eating 2700-3000 a day and 400 or more grams of carbs total a day. I am wondering if you have thoughts on this based on the past activity I have done and my past?
Thank you so much for sharing your story!
Oh and don’t call it binging, it’s your body trying to fix itself. It’s fueling. It will go away if you feed your body.
Hey thanks, do you have email you are willing to share? I’m 31 though…and did you gain “too much” at first? DId you read “eatopia” and “eat for heat”. I’m ony 5 feet 2 and don’t need a lot according to calculators just to live (and I don’t exercise remember and I’m eating over what they say my BMR is). My guts are a MESS because of this. Your description of the constipation soundds like me . A nightmare :(
So what did you eat then? MEal plan? I think I need structure….I’m way too overwehlemed :) And what do you eat now? Are you a petite gal? I’m not a lifter nor was I …did you exercise during the eating stuff?
What an odd mentality I need to develop…..just “let it go”…anyway, thanks (and sorry for hijacking thread…will stop now).
Yes, if I can help I’m glad to. My emails is Ashley(at)naturespets.com . I hear you about wanting structure. What I did was give myself time not to fret and worry about structure, then after that I would start paying more attention. That was my structure :D Because I was afraid of being fat, I’ve been 200 lbs before and morbid obesity runs heavy (no pun intended!) in my family (I’m not so afraid now actually, not because I don’t care, but because I don’t think it’s as hard to not be fat as I always did think- I feel confident it will come off). But come on, how much “damage” can one month do anyway?
Yes, I read eat for heat (actually I read it quite a while back and laughed and decided “this guy was a total nutjob” ;D) and diet recovery 2. Yes, the constipation is terrible! It doesn’t’ sound nearly as bad as it is to live! I don’t really give evacuation a second thought anymore.
No, I did not exercise during my feasting. I just did a lot of eating and sleeping really. Whatever was going on I was dealing with and kinda dreaming about my next nap or bedtime. I ate all kinds of things. A lot of dairy at first.. I have a herd for milk goats and I drank a crap ton of raw milk (and whole goat milk has more calories than whole cows milk). I drank it with bananas, sometimes (gasp!) 2 bananas and two glasses in a sitting and then turn around in no time and have a big glass of chocolate milk (made chocolate with black strap molasses, cocoa and maple syrup, I keep this made at all times). I had potatoes, I had “unreal” brand M&M’s, fruit, grains, sugars, I ate jelly! (can you tell I had been on a ketosis diet for a month prior?). Icecream.. I ate until food got kinda unfun and I spent a lot of time sometimes trying to figure out what it was I wanted. My belly bloated, I felt somewhat whale-like yes. There is no getting around it. I also went through a few days where I hurt all over.. I always hurt when I ate grain. Now I eat it every day and don’t hurt anymore (this is not quite a month later). The pain almost made me quit. But I had been almost totally off grain for about a year and a half.
No, I’m not petite. I am about 5’5″. I have a broad frame and a lot of muscle. I have been overweight since I was about 9 (same age I had my first gall bladder attack). I am 27, so we are close in age. I crash dieted myself at about 16 and lost weight like crazy, I got down to about what I weigh now actually (I need to lose about 10 or 15 lbs of fat probably). Had a massive gall bladder attack, got jaundice, ended up with a gall stone in my pancreatic duct, pancreatitis, had my gall bladder removed. Got “Adrenal Fatigue”. I am an outdoorsy type and having no energy was the pits. I would have extreme exhaustion hit me sometimes. I couldn’t handle a trip to walmart, I was sick and wore out when I got home every time. One time we were shopping in Kohls and I just couldn’t stand to be upright anymore. I just needed to lay down so bad. The craving to lay down and sleep was unreal. I took supplements and got some better, but I was always leaning in that direction, couldn’t handle much stress, couldn’t miss sleep at all. Since then I’d been staving it off but never been 100%. But when I say 100% I have a high bar for what that is.
So, I weigh 168 lbs right now, I think 150-155 is about where I should be. Hard to know as I’ve never been there before. I ketosis/starvation’ed (1200-1400 calories) myself down to 160, actually saw 159.8 but it was like stretching a rubber band. I couldn’t go lower and I felt like poo and I didn’t poo worse than ever and as soon as I ate I gained a couple lbs. That’s where I was when I started eating carbs again and then ended up rrarfing. When I weighed again I was shocked to see 172! But I tried not to let myself care too much, it would go away on it’s own. I waited until my waist measurements started to come down before I let myself weigh.. that way I knew I could console my mind with the fact that things were trending back down.
Your height doesn’t matter for your calorie needs, it’s more about your weight. Also, I’m a major fidgeter so I think that’s why I may need more than the calculators say.
But here’s the deal. When I decided to RRARF, I decided I would not do it halfway, I would eat and eat good, because I don’t like half trying things and not knowing if they don’t work because I half try or because they don’t work. I may not have done it for as long as I should have, but I am NOT going hungry now anyway.. I do get exercise now though, and I have the energy and desire to do so.
..Looking back over your post here.. peeing at night. I never had too much problem with that because I have always had sleeping like I rock on my side. I might wake up once about to bust, then wake up in the morning about to bust.. but wanted to mention, I drank tea like a fiend, so I was getting too much fluids from that, like I could drink nearly a gallon a day on my own sometimes. It took several days or stopping the habit and only drinking when thirsty (NEVER for a while) before I quite peeing so much (in the daytime) and for my pee to be yellow. Before, I would pee and feel like I had to go worse when I got done that before I went! I don’t go nearly so often now. I have peace! Peece?
And the bad emotions you feel about wasted time and all.. that will help with nutrition too. Yes, you have a legitimate reason to be upset, but it’s all seen in a better light when your body is in a stronger state.
Thnks, I may email you if/when I get the chance :)
We are quite differeent though..me underweight, not obese or anything…congrats to you…seems like you are really positive and are doing super well.
I’m underweight, but “binging’ very very late at night…I’m wonderinf if meal timing and “types”” of food are more importnat than the number of calories or if its opposite or if its both…i.e. Gwyneth Olwyn’s site
That TDEE calculator you cited…says my BMR is around 1200 (rounded UP), and my TEE about 1600
see….that’s where I’m perplexed…and yah, I’ve wasted time, money, life…at 27 you took bull by hornns and did what you had to do…I’ve just obsessed and worried and now in my 30’s …and hormones, digesion, guts, liver, kidneys, etc ..everything is strained and gone that. much. more.
The bowel problems are the WORSE though :( I basically just eat and lie down and “binge”…I’m eating a lot more carbs lately…
I’m thirsty ALL the time though (so i end up eating lots of juicy fruit or hummus on crackers to “quench” the thirst…i can only drink so much…yeah, i drink a lot of tea cause i find it soothing) and my pee smells sweet sometimes early in the day…
had basic bloodwork done today including blood test for Heliobacteria something…so will see how that pans out…
divol and gas-x are my friends…stupid…but i get desperate I guess…just want the brain fog and leg heaviness and bowel issues to go away..MAJOR stitches 24-7 in my ribs/abdomen areas (lower) like stitches….I think I have a “lazy stomach too”…
Oh I need structure to start out…I’m stressed cause I have some other stuff I need to deal with (regarding whether to move or not to another location) and its been stressful so my head is in 20 different places…anyway , more to comment on but will consider emailing you though i think we are still quite different…very kind of you to offer. super appreciated.
You mentiond “go kaleo”…but i thought she was all about paleo or something?
to much to think on…i have to make sure I dont’ get wrapped up in a 100 different ways or answers… :)
It’s what you eat, when, and how much. Fortunately you can control how much you eat in part by your food selection. The more calorie-dense, usually the more calories you will eat. My girlfriend’s daughter who is 7 is a prime example. She will fill up on 200 calories on soup, but will eat 1200 calories at McDonald’s, for example. So it’s gotta be palatable. Even more true for someone with digestive limitations like yourself. The most important marker you need to base all your decisions on is # of calories per bite. Focus on calorie-density, eat often, and try to block absolutely everything else out of your mind regarding food – as everything else is completely secondary to calorie-density.
But Matt…do you mean that you agree with Gwyneth’s guidelines (i.e. MUST be 2500 calories no matter what as long as you are OVER 25 years old…)…OR lets say i eat 2500 in a day but I “binge” majority at night…your saying that’s not going to work?
I am HIGHLY constipated….the past 3 days has just been a bit of a diarrheic “flush” out that just spurts out BUT it is only like 10% of what is in my body….highly uncomfortable :(
I need a meal plan that will NOT intimidate me…I can’t just go out and eat burgers and ice creams…so I need STEP C before I can get to step Z… meal plan sugggestions or websites that are at step C???
A 7 year old likely CAN eat more than me :)
I’m only 5 feet 2 and I’m binging and constipated and just sit all the time…exercise? why the god-awful sstitches? I need immediate relief for this constipation :(
Holy moly.
Reader, I don’t think it’s more information or more meal plans that you need at this point. You just need the wherewithal to take action, and no one is going to give that to you. In my opinion, continuing to internet sleuth is only going to make your wheels spin faster and dig you further into this rut.
If you really want to get past this, consider finding outside help to get yourself un-stuck. It’s not likely to happen through more of the same internet searching that has gotten you no further than where you are now.
I agree it’s calories you need to be most concerned with. Look at it like money.. give your body money to spend. It’s like a broken down house, you need a lot of money to get it fixed up like new again.
We may look different on the outside, but what’s is/was going on in our bodies is much the same. Because I was undereating, my body was in the same mode as it would be if I was actually underweight, because it was trying to head that situation off. It was looking down the road 6 months and saying “unsustainable”, and so it was bringing its budget in line to prevent me from becoming underweight. So I was running in energy save mode, which that energy is saved by half running things.
Most likely, once you get more calories going into your body for a while, your body will see it’s got a better income stream and start spending it on much needed things like improving digestion. You will start to get hungry again. My hunger went way up! My mom is doing the same thing now that she is eating more. She is very hungry in the mornings, she was never very hungry in the mornings before.
Ok, so you are underweight, the TDEE is *maintenance*, which is NOT what you want. You don’t’ want to maintain. You want to gain. So you need a bare minimum of 500 calories above your TDEE, 1,000 would be better. So 2,100-2,600. It takes a lot of calories to gain weight. And you have to consider that it’s an estimate. Since you are underweight, a higher percentage of your weight is going to be organs and bones and such which use more calories than fat, so you probably run a little higher than that calculator says. Most likely, from all I have read on starvation, you will gain over your ideal weight at first before you are really in the place you need to be. Then that can come off. But your body wants to see that surplus to feel safe.
Amber at gokaleo is not about Paleo, she eats, I think, like 400 grams of carbs a day. She is about eating what works best for your body, she won’t hardly tell you what to eat other than eat quality. She’s more of an example of a girl eating like a dude and being lean.. but you aren’t worried about that I don’t guess. For me, it was a comfort. I’m coming from a situation where I was afraid of eating much.
Thks again! Your first three paragraphs…I guess we are opposite (under vs. over weight) BUT the same “process” inside…so I can “get” that I guess….
I’m kinda sad that it likely is only 1600 I’ll only ever need to eventually maintain on to be honest…I remember when in early 20’s….if I had to gain it was definitely 2500+…but I’m not stupid and 2000 would likely do it I guess if I’d just damn eat…I just keep eating the “safe” and SAME foods :(
I KNOW that’s bad but I can’t help it..major dehydrated too…and still “binging” at night (see I look “forward” to nighht…its a comfort thing TRUST me)…i need meal plan ideas that is a baby step for me (orthorexic girl here…calories don’t bother me….but I’m hooked on “my” foods…eggs, fish, chicken, DARK CHOCOLATE every night and I mean like 40 grams per night :(….WITH a bunch of other sstuff….yogurt (addicted), fruit (I’m so thirsty all the time that I down fruit like nut butters), etc etc…avocados, some whey protein, rice crackers/cakes (love the crunch u see), a lot of oil (olive mostly and coconut), too many eggs , too much dairy, HUMMUS (recently “let myself” have and now outta control…but again 1000+ calories is between 7 pm and 11 pm…see?
I’ve literally ruined my guts …its gone…I’m not sure if its possible to reclaim my guts or my metabolism or matt’s thoughts on that….but I am definitely lost…trust me…the thing is that with zero movement + constipation + bloat + binging + not burning it off + brain fog…I feel like I need a “cleanse” (a SENSIBLE one) like all the toxins are just reabsorbing into my body and slowly breaking down my kidneys, liver, etc etc….I “may” have SIBO or leaky gut or anything at this point (I’ve taken it “too’ far…so not sure)
any bloggers that have been thru this? from this site OR gwyneth’s?
I tried to ask some questions of “butter beliver” or “go kaleo” but get no response….I must be annoying ….I irritate myself :))
Reader- some people react to not eating enough by getting really thin and others trigger a fat storage process causing weight gain. Dwelling on size is unproductive. I think you need to schedule a consultation with someone who will give you tailored recommendations. Gwyneth at Your Eatopia would be a good person to talk to. Take care.
Hi reader – a quick input for you: if you can decide upon one specific item of food that you’ll consider your rehab medicine, something tasty, something you like, something you can allow yourself to eat. Then add it to your morning meal, your lunch and your dinner. After a few days or a week, add another food. Just make small changes, and see what happens. Perhaps that’ll feel better for you, not so overwhelming? Read also the feed-bag blogpost from Matt: http://180degreehealth.com/2013/02/the-feedbag-method-how-to-beat-food-cravings-bingeing-and-emotional-eating Best of luck and courage to you!
You’re over thinking things. I was there too. Matt’s Diet Recovery 2 really helped me drop my food paranoia. As Matt says: “Just eat the food!”. After starting my diet recovery I decided to see how close I was to my goal of 3300 calories (6’2′ 155 lb. male), I was shocked at how hard it was to consume that many calories. You’re goal should be to far exceed your daily caloric needs to rebuild. I was eating like a hobbit at first. Breakfast at 6am, second breakfast at work (around 9), snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack. Ice cream, donuts, chips, bread, potatoes loaded with butter, etc. Whatever sounds appealing to you and has good calorie density should guide your food choices at this point. Just eat the food and best wishes!
You never fail to educate and entertain, Matt!
In return for the site http://nooooooooooooooo.com, may I present http://heeeeeeeey.com
Be well,
KH
Reader,
Just like many others I was in the eaxct same mindset as you, and I thought I could never get better. But after reading Matt’s Diet Recovery 2 and every post hundreds of times on YourEatopia. I have just started too. I thought I was doing all well and good for 6 months by eating between 2800-3000 a day WITH exercise….but it was not until I quit cardio (4 weeks ago) that I have started noticing changes. I have been exhausted (like hit by a truck ehausted), sore, tired, tired, tired, tired, sick and tired and more tired and strung down by headaches (which were nothing new to me because of my years of restriction) But finally, after letting my body rest (after 4 years of forcing myself to do exercise every day and limiting food groups and fat from my diet and eating only a few “safe foods” every day, like you, and eating 2000 calories a day….I was NOT OKAY)…only just within the last few days have I started to have more energy, be more positive, I have been happier and had more ENERGY for the first time in years!
Matt’s book has opened my eyes and I let go today–I just let go! I ate so freely and totally didnt obsess over it–like itt should be! I am going to be way over 3000 calories today–and you know what, I think thats okay and what my body needs. And so does yours. And you know it. You are stuck at the moment–and the only person who can get you out of this rut is YOU. Everyone can tell you what to do thousands of times…but your the only one who can make it happen. You know you need to eat at least 3000 and stop exercising and reintroduce ALL the foods you have been depriving yourself of. Otherwise, you will never see improvement. Your the only one who can do this, you have to MAKE YOURSELF. Best of luck to you!
Thank you Matt for already making me feel better! I went from 2000 calories a day to 3000 with exercise…to 3000 with NO cardio and have felt so much better! I cant wait to hopefully stop having cold hands and feet, to stop having headaches, to stop having fatigue, exhaustion, mood swings, frequent urination….I can not wait to be healthy again! Only time will tell :)
Yes, but I’m over 31. And I have NOT exercised for years. I literally go on slow walks the last 3-4 years because I feel I have severe adrenal fatigue…the depression and horrible digestion I have (constipation, gut cramps, etc) all make me fatigued > My body aches, etc. So I haven’t exercised in years….
one time in my life when I had to gain I forc-fed myself 3500+ cals a day crazily at age 27 and sat on my butt for 2 months and gained a LOT of weight in a LOT of time….so I went to extremes in past too…
I’m currently
– 31
– underweight
– depressed, anxious
– brain fog, no creativity, never smile and I almost forget how (not purposeful, just my demeanor)
– constipation or messy bowels…
– high liver enzymes, very low WBC, low Sodium levels (doctor told me to add more salt to my diet…ironic since I’m always thirsty)
– insomnia
-aches and pains…just sit on my butt 24-7 and am useless
– ocd/orthorexic about my food……have to have it at “x” time and same things, neever hungry, and tend to eat a LOT very very late at night (which is likely not helping me but I look forward to it)
– amenorheic for years
I also am very short. I’m tired of this crap…I need a meal plan which I can realistically baby step into. I might try acupuncture for the aches and digestion…i need to try something….also my insurance doesn’t cover CBT but I’m kind of trying to see if I can scrape up some money for some short sessions (something better than nothing) cause I hear CBT is effective (probably could benefit most people regardless).
Congrats to you. Glad you are finding your way on your path.
Dear Reader,
It seems like you might could benefit from someone that’s more like Columbo.
Check-out: http://bonesandhormones.com/fdn/
After reading-through the site, use the “Contact” page, complete the few questions, and submit the form. Reed and his team will evaluate your information to determine if they might be able to help you.
One of two things will happen:
1. They reply and say they might be able to help and you go from there.
2. They reply and say that not sure they can help. They may be able to direct you elsewhere.
Whether or not they feel they can help you, they will at least send you a reply. There’s NO COST for them to evaluate your situation and provide a response. Thus, you have NO DOWNSIDE.
Finally, I heard about Reed Davis (the URL noted above) on the “Underground Wellness” blog and podcast. I’m not affiliated with either business and I stand no financial gain by suggesting the site. I don’t know your name and you don’t know mine, so this is completely anonymous. My only desire is that you find the support and health that you deserve.
I wish you health and happiness.
Sincerely,
KH
Thanks, I submitted my thing on the contact form…but I doubt his services are “free” though right?
All the same , looking into that stuff makes me think I may be a slow oxidizer..when all along I may be thinking I’m fast and “trying” (unsuccessfully) to eat that way.
Today I was so so full all day long…forced in meals (literally forced them in) …my constipation was at an all time worse this morning…I mean really bad constipation :( And tonight at 10 pm…I shoved in a tub of yogurt, 2 ounces of chocolate (didn’t even want it) and nearly 1/2 jar of peanut butter (I had NO intention of going for the PB jar…it just…happened). Now I’ll wake up constipated and so ashamed. I feel sick and so stuffed now that it literally hurts a LOT and my stomach is gurgline a LOT….I don’t know how to deal with it the next day…cause I can’t “go” in the bathroom + I don’t exercise (no energy or gumption)…so I’m not getting it “out” you know? That’s not right…I’m killing my body.
I’d love someone to tell me “IT is OKAY”…it is okay that I did that (again), I’ll jusst keep trying…but I feel so ashamed and dealing with tommorow all over again will be so hard :(
Hi Reader,
I’m not aware of Reed’s fees, but there would surely be a cost. Assuming, of course, he feels he has something to offer. At that point, you would have to discuss the fees and work together to design a plan.
Based on what I’ve heard Reed say in a podcast, I believe he has clients pay lab fees directly to the lab(s) performing any work. He may also recommend supplements to some clients in certain situations, but he doesn’t sell any supplements.
I like that about him, because he’s not trying to build a profit margin at every possible level. Not that there’s anything necessarily wrong with that, but his team seems focused on their core mission of helping people. That said, they need to collect money to pay their staff, keep the lights on, continue their education, etc. In the end, it’s also a business.
If Reed and his team feel they want to take-on your case, realize that there is no guaranteed outcome. Really, the only thing you can reasonably be sure of is this: If you do nothing, then nothing is likely going to change.
I apologize if that seems harsh, but I’m speaking from experience. From a behavioral standpoint, if not from some physical aspects, too, I believe we share some similarities. My feeling is that you would likely gain some benefit simply from having a health provider working with you, listening to and understanding you concerns, and helping to peel-back the layers. Don’t underestimate that power alone.
Finally, you mentioned looking into Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). I believe nearly everyone could benefit from CBT, to some degree, if they gave it a try. I’ve had several therapists over the years and almost always found it beneficial. I’ve moved quite a bit, so I’ve not had one consistent provider, but there are many good ones out there. Depending on where you live and your income, you might be able to get CBT sessions for a low cost or even free. Check Google.
Take it easy on yourself, okay?
KH
p.s. I’m not qualified to say ?It is okay? that you did this or ate that, because I don’t know who you are or what you’re going through. No one will know you or your body better than you. I do believe in enlisting the appropriate health care providers (mental and/or physical) when it’s needed. But, I consider them as ?consultants? and do not relinquish control of my health to them. I listen to and value what they say, but, ultimately, I’m responsible for my own health and decisions. I didn’t always have than mindset. This new way of thinking has been very empowering for me. Just something to consider.
Thanks….I feel terriible…I continue to binge late at night…wake up to horrible constipation + so stiff and tired and unmotivated and uncomfortable. Like if I tried to do a jumping jack , I’d fall down. I’m just….gone :(
Thoughts on Matt’s approach to diet recovery? or Eatopia?
I think Reed’s site focuses on eating for your oxidation rate? I’m not sure. I really would feel hesitatnt to pay over internet for something..I mean, why him or all the others I could consult reallly?
Thoughts on acupuncture?
I had ONE acupuncture treatment and he said I’m full of tension and my digestion is so severely off, I’m not digesting or absorbing any food, so I am eating food but none of it absorbs…but he could only do mminimal needles cause I found it too painful anywhere near my tummy or bad or anything….he said he could release a lot of that tension but it would take time
i LOVE that idea….but at 45 bucks per session…should I?? i worry about that…maybe better to devote the money to CBT? normally i HATE therapists, yet i can’t help but wonder if a mental guide would be helpful…
Can you email me by any chance? Maybe you can guide me on reaching that spiritual calm. I’ve lost everything in life…literally.
I could potentially get a “pro bono” rate for CBT for 35 dollars per session for 10 sessions…thoughts? That over something like acupuncture?
I truly need physical relief (cramped in every way…like I’m one big knot of tension and a heavily stressed and punished digestive system…I feel I need a Dr. OZ green juice detox, ha..or at least a “sensible” detox…but…..no willpower)…I’m pretty much lost…oh yes…again, if you are willing to share email or vice versa let me know?
I do take what others say as “grain of salt” (which is often why I never get anywhere..I listen and think about it but ultimately have no willpower and lose it)….like I’m sluggish and stiff and just useless all the time. Not limber or whatever. My walks…so SLOW…and forcing in food, heavy ones…oh my.
I dunno. I dunno. I wonder about this Reed guy or what kind of angle he works at? oxidation? or Matt stone approach? or something else? not sure.
Affording supplements is tricky…I take multi, B, C, D, zinc now (when I can stomach it) anyway
Reader,
You’re stuck in a state of “analysis paralysis.”
There is no perfect or magic answer for you. At this point, you need to take action. Any action. It really doesn’t matter what you do, because you can always do something else, if the first thing doesn’t work. Does that make sense?
Get yourself a pen and some paper. Get off the computer and commit your plan to paper. There’s power in simply writing-down a plan. Put that plan someplace visible that you will see it multiple times per day. At some point, it should annoy you enough to take action.
Again, it’s about progress, not perfection. Just make a list of things to try. You could try to organize it in some fashion, but I’m not sure that really matters. Just list some things to try and work off the list.
After a committed and honest attempt, if Item #1 doesn’t work, check that off the list and move to #2. How long you try something is up for debate, but I would probably suggest 30 days, if you’re doing something daily like a dietary change. On the other hand, if you’re doing CBT and seeing someone once per week, you might need longer than 30 days.
Again, there is no “right” answer. I think this is part of your dilemma. Just do something until you exhaust that effort. Then, do something different. Eventually, you will likely find something (or, perhaps a combination of things) that will move you in the right direction.
If you need accountability, seek a family member or trusted friend. However, don’t set the wrong expectation for them or yourself — they cannot do it for you. It may suck, but the reality is that it’s all up to you. Once you accept that, the rest gets easier, I promise.
In the interim, if you’re “backed-up,” drink plenty of water. In fact, I would recommend drinking only water or decaffeinated tea. For me, personally, water is best.
As for food, eat some prunes. I think they taste pretty good. Don’t go crazy with them, though. Start with maybe 4-5 on day one and increase that amount by an additional one per day. If you have a juicer, you could juice a couple of apples (I prefer the Granny Smith variety) each day.
Finally, there are some supplements you could take (I would stay away from Ex-Lax and other commercial laxatives), but I believe that modulating your diet makes more sense.
There you go:
1. Make a list
2. Take the first step
3. Drink more water
4. Eat some bowel-healthy foods
5. Blow-out the toilet
You can do it, but only if you decide to.
Good luck.
p.s. One obvious choice is to contact Matt Stone:
http://180degreehealth.com/2013/02/get-help
Thanks Porcupine, I’d like to contact Matt but I simply can’t afford it. Trust me :( I contactedd that FDN people that the guy above me cited and I wouldnt be able to afford, but she told me the best she could offer as advice was to read the Metabolic Typing diet..not sure about that…
Porcupine: would you do the “eat lots, eat junk, eat what you want” thing?
Reader,
If you’re unable to make a financial investment in your health, then I’m not sure what else to offer.
I’m sensitive to the fact that finances (for me, anyway) are finite. However, there’s also the cost of doing nothing. Which choice is less painful? Not just in the short-term, but over the long-haul? Stated another way, what if you’re in the same spot a year from now?
Anyway, the Metabolic Typing Diet book is pretty low cost:
The Metabolic Typing Diet: Customize Your Diet to Your Own Unique Body Chemistry
http://www.amazon.com/Metabolic-Typing-Diet-Customize-Chemistry/dp/0767905644/
Check-out the reviews.
Or, Dr. Mercola offers his version here:
http://www.mercola.com/nutritionplan/index.htm
To answer your question, no. I would not ?eat lots, eat junk, eat what you want.” But, that’s just me. Instinctively, that doesn’t make sense to me. Again, this is just my opinion.
When I was younger, through my 20s and into my 30s, I paid little attention to what I ate. Starting around my mid 30s, however, that changed. Like many people, the reason I changed was due to health reasons.
It would take me into my early 40s, though, to finally make some sense of what I should be eating. Really, for me, it’s about deciding what NOT to eat. Whatever remains is up to the individual to see how it works for them. I believe that’s what Bill Wolcott’s Metabolic Typing book is all about — providing a system to help the reader. I have not read the book.
Back to the ?eat lots, eat junk, eat what you want? comment. The way I think about eating and what’s considered food is a lot different than it used to be for me.
Food is not just something one puts in their mouth. A person could put anti-freeze in their mouth, but that’s not food. The example is a bit silly, I realize. No one would mistake anti-freeze for food. The point is what will (or, can) your body do with what’s ingested?
If you eat an egg, an apple, or some spinach, your body should recognize those items(1) and be able to break-down the substances into their more basic components. You might use those constituent parts to make hair, skin, nails, etc.
However, if you eat a Twinkie, your body will likely have a tough time trying to figure-out what to do with it. Sure, maybe it can eek-out a couple of macro-/micro nutrients, but this is being generous. I haven’t looked at a nutrition label for Twinkies, but I would guess there’s no protein, bad fats, and plenty of sugar. What can your body do with that?
There’s no shortage of analogies that compare our bodies to cars. I think the comparison makes sense, in many respects. Think of your body as an automobile and your stomach as the fuel tank.(2) If your tank is expecting unleaded gasoline, but you give it kerosene, will it run? Maybe. Will it run optimally? No. Will it run for a long time? Definitely not.
So, if your body is needing proteins, fats, vitamins, or minerals to use for various growth or repair functions, what can it possibly extract from a diet of Cheetos and Diet Coke?(3)
Some would argue (I certainly did) that “Everything in moderation.” I would say “Some things in moderation.” Deep-fried foods? I no longer eat them. Chocolate? Yes, I eat 85% dark chocolate fairly regularly. Not every day or even every week, though. Ice cream? Yes, I live in a town where a local ice cream shop makes their own with minimal ingredients. Is it a “health food”? Of course not. But, I make a conscious decision to eat it and I don’t eat a gallon. I get a kid’s scoop (about the size of a golf ball) in a cup.
I realize I’ve beaten that to death, but I hope you get my point. Again, this is the lens through which I observe things. We all have to make our own decisions and we come from different backgrounds. Had I eaten better in my younger years, I might be better able to tolerate certain foods. But, that’s not my reality. So, I try to avoid assuming that what works for another will work for me. Maybe it will, but maybe not. The only way to know is to experiment.
Incidentally, I’m dealing with my own health issues. This is why I’m lurking around this site. For a couple of years, I referred to myself as a Paleo disciple. But, Paleo has become somewhat fragmented, as different groups eat different things. Diving into that world, however, did help me think differently about food, exercise, and lifestyle. Now, I consider my diet to be a “whole food” diet. As stated previously, it’s more about what I avoid.
I wish you luck in your journey.
The Porcupine
Notes:
(1) I’ll forgo a side discussion about GMO food and non-organic products
(2) Your body fat and muscles could also be considered fuel tanks, but, again, that’s another story.
(3) Diet foods, in my view, are one of (if not the) worst foods out there. Avoid the artificial sweeteners in the blue, pink, and yellow packets.
Again, i understand..yet I continue to “binge” late at night…I eat a 100 gram dark chocolate bar per week…(or more)…I WANT coconut milk ice cream or to buy a 500 gram pint of ice cream but worried I will lose control and eat the whole thing…but want to in a way you know….
I eat the same things all the time and too much dark chocolate, fruit, crunchy crackers (I forwent grains for a long time, and want to be “free” now)..but again my very late at night habits are out of control :(
I’m utterly fatigued and can’t exercise…my body is “dead” literally…I want to just freaking eat…eating same things over and over, feel undeserved, i’m tired of it and not sure what to do. Thanks anyway, but really…I just gotta …go figure it out…
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-05-22/not-green-just-soylent-is-this-the-future-of-food
My dearly departed wife was sevevly allergic to soy. What would you recommend to someone with that allergy, A hefty law suit?
Nothing new here.
My wife has been selling a meal replacement shake that was developed by real nutritionists and physiologists and has been on the market for over 20 years. It has actual FDA approval (you can check) and is used by Olympic athletes (you can check).
Not only can you buy from her, you can sell it yourself and make oodles of cash – is Rob offering you that chance?
Link through my name.
The difference between you and him is that Rob has made more money repackaging this product and filling a niche of people who didnt know
Mmmm, I’ll take a dozen!
Soylent Food Bars Blamed By Redditors For Extreme Vomiting, Diarrhea
http://sfist.com/2016/10/06/soylent_food_bar_accused_of_causing.php