Oh yeah baby. You know what I’m talkin’ bout! That’s right sugarplum… I’m a health nerd. I’m talkin’ about what makes your hands and feet warm.
I’ve been playing around with all kinds of different breakfasts lately to see what type of breakfast makes my hands and feet wicked toasty at 10am – the time of day, give or take a half hour, that I am most prone to feel that chilly dip in peripheral circulation. I’m noticing this to be a fairly universal time to experience a drop in mood and metabolism – especially coldness in the extremities. I’ve been telling people to really get breakfast right, use it to GET warm, and then, for the rest of the day, eat and drink’to STAY warm. When you really eat the perfect warming meal, you should feel a rush of blood into your hands and feet. You also might experience burning hot ears. Really nail it and the soles of your feet will feel so warm you worry about walking on carpet barefoot – for fear of starting a fire. And heaven forbid you open up the door to the frozen foods at the grocery store. As Steve Martin once said, “You could melt all da stuff!”
Other frequent times to?experience this are 3pm and?3-4 am, the most common time to wake up in the middle of the night with feelings of anxiety and?your heart racing and needing to pee like a racehorse.
Anyway, I’m curious to see what YOUR warming meals have been. I’ve found really salty, high-calorie meals to be the most warming overall. Pizza seems to be unmatched for me personally, although I’ve really lost my appetite for it after eating it like it’s going out of style for the past month. ?Ice cream can be pretty impressive too, as is sweetened half and half – also known as halfasses (if using blackstrap molasses to sweeten it). Pancakes and syrup, with that very high-calorie density, rapid absorption, and lower water content is a stellar performer as well.
As I type this, I can feel the heat rushing back into my feet after eating a 1/2 pound salty ground beef patty, 10 potatoes, a banana, an apple, and a few ounces of grape juice. Nutritious and heat-a-licious!
What gets me cold is?lots of juice, juicy fruit, or smoothies in the morning or?eating breakfast cereal – the lower the fat content of the milk the more freezing I get. I might be warmer later in the day from loading up on this stuff, but at 10am?? No way. I’m like Mr. Freeze.
As far as snacks are concerned, the salty stuff seems to be where it’s at. Saltines, pretzels, popcorn, chips, salted peanuts – yep the airlines got it right. Have some of those during your 10 am freeze fest or whenever you feel the coldness hit ya, and it might really make a difference. In a hurry too.
Anyway baby, what gets YOU hot?
My fingernails are even hot!
Any SIBO suggestions? I’ve tried eating everything in sight for months on end, and I just end up a grumpy, uncomfortable fool :P
Eating low-fiber, higher-calorie density foods might help. What have you been eating? A whole foods diet?
Protein, fats, and lots of glucose/salt to bring my temps up! Little to no fiber…of course I come from a low carb past (introduced sugar 4 months ago, after 2-3 years low carbing). Try to avoid grains/fruits/veg cause they mess with my gut, and kill my appetite. Otherwise I would happily enjoy. I slam the dairy/ice cream for stints at a time until I cant look at it anymore, but feel better/less puffy without it.
Matt,
Have you ever seen correcting hypometabolism clear up sibo or dysbiosis intestinal problems? I react with diarrhea if I eat very much of the foods that are banned on the scd. So I only eat small quantities of those (like a few bites, or half of a very small potato) and eat a lot more of the carbier allowed foods like winter squash, peas, tomato paste, onions, certain beans, bananas, honey, etc. I have been feeling a lot better, with higher temps. I have done low carb for a few years. I have always had some sort of gut imbalance. Grains and starches used to cause mostly constipation. For a few years now it causes mostly loose stools or diarrhea. I would like to undertake the full metabolic rehabilitation diet you recommend and have your book on it. Do you have any recommendations that might help my body be able to handle starches and sugars better, other than having to do the scd for who knows how long?
I really enjoy your blog and it has helped me a lot.
Thanks
I’ve seen improvements sure. A lot of SIBO has to do with metabolic rate in the first place. Likewise, there can be some improvements but nothing foolproof. Just be open to the possibility that foods you’ve always had a problem with may not be a problem anymore if you change YOU. It can happen, so don’t be too limited in your thinking. People really surprise themselves sometimes. Best of luck.
What does this mean? Seriously. I’m trying to learn here, but it’s like reading a horoscope – so vague that it could mean anything.
Louis Griffin gets me hot lol
Damn DROID, I meant Lois. So can you achieve the same by just adding more salt to other foods that are not inherently as salty?
Who is Louis? Is that her brother-in-law or something? I didn’t know they let guys like you into the military.
Adding salt does seem to help. Like, I’ve been eating some saltines alongside my fruit consumption, and it offsets the high-water content of the fruit that washes me out like nobody’s business.
He must be talking about Lou Ferrigno. Ha Ha Ha :-) Or Louie CK
I’ve been adding Himalayan Pink Salt to the 4 apples I ate today and my hands are definitely warmer than they would normaly be. How amazing!
Louis is the woman in the picture. :) You don’t watch Family Guy? I think you’d love it!
I’ve been experiment with cereals at breakfast too, and I’ve been owned by cold feet the last few days.
So today, I went back to your archetype of breakfast and did 2 huge bowls of oatmeal (1 c, uncooked) with sour cream, molasses, and half and half, and I’m as warm as can be right now.
Also–10 potatoes? Impressive. Although I did 3 last night, and I felt like I’d barely eaten anything, so 10 feels doable. I may see if I can make that happen today.
I had Belgian waffles with Nutella this morning. That seems to be working.
You win.
Great idea, Matt! Looking forward to hearing everyone’s responses, as I’m in need of more ideas. My temperature seems high enough, but hands and feet are still cold as ice.
I have only felt that radiating heat throughout my whole body once and only once. I had eaten quite a bit of pizza followed by coffee ice cream and when my I began to feel this unbelievable warmth that seemed to start in my core and radiate out to my normally frozen extremities, I was all, “So this is what Matt is always talking about!” It was so nice and I have never been able to reproduce that feeling again. For me it seems that it’s not only about the food, but my emotions at the time, too. Because if I am stressed and feeing anxious before I eat, I tend to stay cold and not eat enough to counteract those emotions. But if I am feeling pretty good, then eating is a breeze and I will get warmer, not radiating, but at least in the right direction. I had spent most of my adult life adhering to a “rule” I once heard from some guru that one should not eat when one is stressed or anxious or emotional etc. because the digestion will be all messed up and you will be worse off. That was music to my type A personality because I had also naturally my whole life *not* eaten when I was feeling bad.
Anyway, I have tried pancakes with syrup, waffles and ice cream, cinnamon rolls out of a can, fruit and juice and cereal with whole milk, quiche, bagels with cream cheese…i have recently concluded that it is a bad idea to get out of bed and have juice or fruit. The cereal does nothing and is actually quite negative. I love the cinn rolls and these Trader Joe’s carrot cake muffins I am eating this morning and it is nice to have found something that I actually enjoy eating, instead of forcing myself to eat what I think I should like I have for so many years. Still not warm though. Oh, and I just added some salt to my goat milk to see if it makes a difference. The heat is on in the house, too, so it seems like there should be no excuse.
Last night, though, when I was going to bed at 10 I was starving. Like my stomach growling so loudly, so I contemplated just getting under all of my covers and willing my hungry self to sleep like I do often, but instead I went and got some crackers and cheese. It was definitely a good move. I think my main problem is that I am not able to eat massive amounts of food in one sitting so I really never have a big enough breakfast or lunch and by dinner when I would prefer to not have a large meal, I have to eat more just because I am ravenous. I am still fine tuning which foods I prefer and the ones that make me feel really good after so many years eating according to some dietary rule, which is key for me because I tend to think way too much about it and cause great anxiety in the process. Maybe I will get some ideas from others who comment with their heating strategy. Ha.
Pizza and coffee ice cream sounds like a winning combo. Could you try adding something salty in with your carrot cake muffins? Like some really salty turkey sausage or something? That might help. Or some really salty tater products. Crackers and cheese is probably a great, warming snack.
And yes, anxiety will make you super cold. No amount of food can overcome it. BUT, being cold/washed out will give you anxiety. It’s a 2-way street.
If Canada ever did one thing right it was pancakes, butter, and maple syrup. I’m am like a furnace after that.
Pop Tarts. I eat a pop tart anytime of day, my face feels flush. I literally have dreams about pop tarts. The other night I dreamed of a giant cake that was layers of poptarts interspersed with layers of various flavored mousses. If I could dream that I was a Jedi, and Colin Firth was wearing a kilt made of pop tarts that would be the best dream ever. Better than the dream I had that we all moved to Hawaii and lived next door to Bob Dylan on one side and a skate park on the other. So yeah, I dreamed that I was skateboarding with Bob Dylan and I was like a Tony Hawks level boarder with all kinds of sweet moves. Better than the dream where my husband’s voice suddenly sounded like Liam Neeson’s. Better than the dream I had in high school where I went to the Homecoming dance with Sting. Better than…
Ah,, I love the smell of Jennythenipper in the morning. :-) Nothing like cardboardish food toasted with icing on it and fruity stuff in it.
:-)
that is so funny, I almost choked on my food.
Collin Firth, Liam Neeson, Sting…. Jenny, I want what you’re having.
Geez Jenny! What do you eat before you go to bed? :)
Salmon helps. Beef helps.
Looking at that luscious Matt Stone is what get’s me hot!!!! Damn he’s fine!!!!!
hearing him talk smart makes me hot…
Hearing Matt talk about anything… such a soothing voice.
Also, some nice salty hash browns cooked in coconut oil, topped with ketchup, and a fried egg or two. Waffles with every little hole filled with maple syrup and butter… Dutch baby pancakes sprinkled with lime juice and powdered sugar. Man, I’m making myself hungry!
OMG, I think that’s precisely what I need to have for breakfast tomorrow morning. Just ate some crackers and cheese with a little milk for dinner.
Lol….is that what you call ‘poffertjes’….Dutch baby pancakes?:p (They’re actually eaten with melted butter and sugar powder on top……or some instead of sugar with some kind of apple or pear molasses.
I’ve had good experience with this recently: http://www.grainaissance.com/coolcoconut.html
No, I’m not a shill for them. I saw that at a grocery store recently, it sounded tasty, and thought I’d give it a try. Drank one in the morning the other day (along with a bagel+butter, an egg, and a banana), and felt warmer than I have in a long time. Could do without the xanthan gum, but it doesn’t seem to cause me issues.
Ok besides the obvious answer, which is Matt Stone in the kitchen with plantains, coconut ghee, creme fraiche’ and maple syrup…
Dates and roasted salted almonds get me toasty. And chewing on ginger candies. I am addicted to those ones from Trader Joes.
Love to all the Hot ones,
deb
*not cryrogenicly frozen yet*
Do hot peppers raise your body temp? It sure feels like they do. I’m a hot pepper freak–I grow my own in fact, and am one of those rare birds (at least rare Anglo birds) who can eat them. If so, my entry would be eggs+cheese+Sriricha (great in scrambled eggs)+peppers and Belgian Waffles with a couple of syrup choices.
Yes. Although I’m not sure the hot peppers are raising metabolism per se in the same sense as other dietary components. But I’m a spicy freak too so let’s just keep telling ourselves that hot peppers are raising our metabolism. I did notice in Thailand I got pretty lean eating 4 meals per day, but the spiciness of the food was only one small reason for why that might have been. (sun, relaxation, coconut, massage, warm weather, low-calorie density food, increased meal frequency, etc.)
I read a long time ago that spicy food raises your metabolism… I became a spice freak after that, but backed down from the insanity when I could no longer actually taste what I was eating.
I always run cold (hypothyroid, former low carber) but right now I am super warm from the cayenne supplements I took with my tomato juice. I just started taking them to help with cirulation issues (varicose vein), but I’m enjoying them for the nice heat.
10 potatoes? Ok…but what size were they? Tiny little round ones, or big-ass Idaho potatoes?
I can get hot from almost any meal, as long as I keep the liquid content balanced with the food, and make sure to have plenty of SALT, sugar and starchy carbs. As I type this I’m eating 2 eggs, spinach, avocado and cheese mixed together, 4 slices of sourdough bread and butter, and a thick smoothie with just enough kefir to blend up 2 bananas, pineapple, mango, protein powder, gelatin, spinach and 2 more eggs (raw eggs FTW).
My favorite super-hot breakfast is kefir pancakes with maple syrup and lots of butter. I’ll usually have a similar fruit/protein/green smoothie with that.
For a hot lunch, pizza and ice cream is my #1 love. We have an ice cream brand here in WA called Talenti that has a Sea Salt & Caramel flavor. It’s sweet, salty and has chocolate covered caramel chunks in caramel ice cream. Pure awesomeness.
Buffalo / lamb / grass fed beef burgers with cheese and french fries and a milkshake to wash it down is another favorite.
A huge bowl of pasta with meat sauce always gets the temps roaring, too.
They were little red ones. A little bigger than golf balls. I think the whole 3 pound bag only has 900 calories or something like that, and about 25 potatoes in it. It was close to 1.5 pounds.
Talenti sea salt caramel is an amazing creation. Your breakfast is quite impressive too!
10 small red potatoes is still way more than most calorie-phobes would ever imagine eating at once, much less as one part of a big breakfast.
What I didn’t say in my post was that I had a…few spoons of talenti sea salt caramel while I was preparing today’s breakfast, too. :-) It just felt right…
As I was enjoying this morning’s food festival, I thought about some of the insane “health” recommendations that are killing people:
NO salt
NO sugar
NO carbs
NO BREAD!!
NO saturated fats (but PUFA all you want)
Drink a ton of water
Do a lot of steady-state cardio
Restrict your calories while you’re at it, too. Here’s a salad.
It’s a sad state of affairs…
I would say that is “180” to our thinking! haha
10 potatoes? Pah! Haha!
I doubt I will ever top some of your record tater fests young man. But I try.
…i eat 2kg baked potatoes as a meal (along with lots bread, cheese & fruit throughout the day) much to my family’s disgust, and i’m only a 5ft 2 female. but i generally find potatoes too cooling so i usually follow it with some sweet cereal/honey on toast.
I am looking down at the ground in shame right now Lushka. That is impressive. Seeing a 5’2″ woman eat 2kg of taters at a meal would definitely make me hot, even if it didn’t have that effect on you!
ha! but now after a meal of 8 pita breads, i’m scorching hot, it’s almost unbearable, and its so cold at the moment in england my family are all glued to their hot water bottles. but i’ve always eaten like this to keep my weight stable, my mum and sis eat about 400 kcals a day. also i’ve only had 2 mugs of tea today as liquids and it’s definitely made a difference as i’m prone to polyuria. i’m always hot though, potatoes cool me down for some reason.
I wonder if the potassium in the potatoes causes them to be cooling for some people???
that’s what i was thinking, because usually even though i eat about 17 portions of fruit and a little veg a day (for the potassium), the days i eat potatoes instead of pasta/pizza/bread… i am noticably cooler though not cold (as you know potatoes have far more potassium than apples and oranges), and on cronometer i notice i’m getting far more potassium than i’m used to on my grain days. i actually feel best on wheat even though everyone’s so against it. i’m eastern european so i suppose wheat goes back in my culture so i may be more tolerant to it than others. …anyway thank you for all your whacky health posts, i’ve laughed and learnt more from 180degreehealth than any other sciency/health sites! :o
Matt, do you have an opinion on this forum thread bout sodium/potassium ratios? i know i feel better with way more sodium and respect Peat a lot, so am really confused on what’s right… http://www.30bananasaday.com/forum/topics/salt-sorting-the-hype-from-the-science-a-must-read
Fairly new here and finally feel like I found a home – a wacky one but at least I can relate to all of you :). I am realizing through all of the experimenting that it is the salt for me. I am happy to just shake some salt into my mouth on an hourly basis! Perhaps we are just recovering from years of salt neglect/phobia and over hydrating. So I am wondering how traditional cultures kept up their salt intake? Or maybe they just didn’t drink so much, they maintained a balance naturally. Things that make you go hmmmm…..Pam
I wonder this, too. I feel like something is missing here. A lot of cultures didn’t have much salt. Personally, I’ve always eaten salt to appetite, but I think most restaurants really undersalt their food, and lot of people at home do, too. Before the last decade or so, people ate as much salt as they wanted and didn’t think about it for the most part, but now almost everyone I know (and I’m in my 30s – hardly a high risk group) seems to be averse to having too much salt.
I drink a lot of water, and seem fine with it. I think probably just listening to your body and eating what you want (including however much salt you want) is the answer. When I eat too much (especially of a big meal like pasta and meat) I get really warm, but it doesn’t feel good. Also, if I eat too much salt I crave water like crazy and get all bloated (and hot). I don’t know that this is a good thing. Moderation seems key for me.
Which cultures don’t use Salt? There is book, called aptly “Salt” that talks about the history of salt usage worldwide for a variety of things including preserving food.
Curious to know who does NOT use it.
I love salt.
here’s the book: http://www.amazon.com/Salt-World-History-Mark-Kurlansky/dp/0142001619
Amy, you think restaurants _under_ salt their food? I must be totally weird, then. I always think restaurant food is _way_ oversalted, and when I worked as a chef if I made savory recipes I usually had to treble the salt level that tasted good to me, and then some. So odd to me that I have really no hankering for salt, and am smack in the middle of the demographic that “should.”..
Well, I really started noticing it a few years ago, coinciding with NYC making a push for less salt. So, I’m not sure how long it’s been going on. But I can’t even think of a time I thought something in a restaurant was too salty, and all to often I have to add salt (and now a lot of restaurants don’t even put salt shakers on the table – all part of the low salt push, I think. Last night I went out to dinner and everything was perfectly salted and it was fabulous.
That’s interesting, Amy–places I’ve lived I guess there’s no such thing as an anti-salt push, and the cheffing I did was in the raw vegan world, where things tend to get very salty on the gourmet end. You should come to Alaska–plenty of salt here all over everything!
I think it is more important to focus on what deer do if you put a salt lick out in the woods. Or what traditional peoples do when they are given a chance to eat all the salt that they want. Or all the water they want for that matter.
What do they do with all the water and salt they could want? I think have a pretty decent amount of both, right? I know cultures made an effort to have some salt at least (which is one reason seafood was prized), but a lot didn’t have access to unlimited salt and they still made it fine. Personally I’m a fan of salt and have no plans to stop eating it, but I don;t think most cultures are downing massive portions of salt. Maybe I’m wrong. Back in the day it was used for preserving, but then a lot of the salt would be removed through soaking.
I drink my water hot or at the least room temp, which is what is recommended by Avurvedic teachings. I think it makes a huge difference.
I stopped restricting salt intake with us all, especially with the kiddos. Randomly my three year old will bring me the salt shaker and ask me for some if she feels like it. There are also times I catch her licking her hand and putting salt on it and licking again. I noticed recently, before she got sick, that she did this several times a few nights prior. Bless her little instinctive heart!
(interesting thought: why is it tequila is so good with salt? and does that help keep the electrolyte balance since alcohol can crash us so easily? Whenever I think of licking salt, I think tequila and lime!)
Ya! What if i drank salty beer would it make me crash??
Haha. My dad always puts salt in his beer. Wonder how that’s workin’ out for him. He was always warmer than me when we went skiing together years ago. My feet and hands would be freezing and he would take his gloves off and put his warm hands on mine. Sniffle, sniffle.
That’s done in south america, too. Beer with salt.
I find most other cultures eat way more salt than Americans do. In Nepal they make salt tea and drink it. It tastes like seawater and literally made me gag. They preserve all kinds of foods all over the world. Conversations about such things are tiring and irrelevant though. Starving person’s pee a lot and need a lot of water to keep from bumping along in a totally depleted state. I think it’s a potential tool. Maybe one of the most important tools. And sodium is just a mineral. If I said we should be taking in lots of calcium and magnesium there would be less resistance I think.
And remember, traditional cultures didn’t necessarily make it “just fine.” They probably were only healthy enough to reproduce for a copule of months out of the year when they had enough carbohydrates and calories to get their metabolism up to normal. In the modern world we can probably do better, and will do better in the future I hope.
Asian cultures definitely eat more salt. I think about double the US.
Sodium is a mineral, but you know else ??it’s also a metal. All the minerals we consume are classified as metals: sodium, calcium, potassium, magnesium, etc.
When people think of minerals in the body they mostly think of structural elements like bones and teeth. But their bioelectrical function in the body may be just as important.
Metals are good conductors of electricity. Without bioelectricity, we’d be dead.
—
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal
http://health.howstuffworks.com/human-body/cells-tissues/human-body-make-electricity.htm
Don’t forget the cows in pasture. My family owned a dairy farm, and the salt lick corner of the field was a popular place for the cows.
Yeah and rats like salt too. Hey, did anyone know that squirrels eat limes? I see them carrying them off in my yard. It’s cra cra to see them with it, it’s bigger than their tiny heads.
Off topic, so shoot me.
:-)
how adorable!
My 3 yr old and 5 yr old eat sea salt straight up too. I add it to my drinking water.
Medium rare filet mignon, baked potato with butter, asparagus, and getting full; no stopping before being really full. I got SO HOT after this meal, I could feel my cheeks flushing and my toes burning and my hands… I could have healed the dead with my hot, hot hands!! I love this feeling!
Oh Ms. Sugar. Goodness!
What is this “hot” of which you speak? I always have cold extremities. Always have done. Even though I’m hypothyroid and on levothyroxin (six years next summer) and, for a change, on a dose that gives me occasional hot flushes (that would be slightly hyper, then), somehow the warmth stays in the torso. I’ve experimented with some dietary changes over the years but, being of a somewhat eating-disorder-y persuasion, I find it best to try not to obsess about these things too much. What is a girl (relying on public healthcare) to do? Not that I expect answers; this just seemed like the place to vent my frustration. It would be really lovely to feel, well, _well_, every now and then. Warm hands and all. /end rant
Come on T!!! You can dooo it!!! ETF!
Thanks for the encouragement, but I do eat. Not sensibly but I do. Rather more than I should, these days, if anything. Wouldn’t life be simple if food was just food? It’s not, though. It’s a social and emotional minefield, best friend and worst enemy. So there’s a big conflict: do I try to find my way towards intuitive eating when my intuition around food has been in hibernation for, um, actually I have no idea how long, or do I keep reading all the frankly schizophrenic stuff out there (that’s how I ended up here way back when) on diet and hypothyroidism and continue the madness of trying to guess what works (I can’t “observe” because I simply cannot be that systematic about food). Either way, there are _other things_ I could and should be doing with my time. It’s such a waste of energy. (What’s that? Therapy? I can only afford the DIY version. Thanks for your time, doc. :)
I manage to become reasonably warm several times throughout the day by increasing my salt intake, however I am always extremely thirsty. Everytime I drink something I immediately feel cold again. The same pertains to eating fruit. I reckon my excessive thirst may have to do with my weight lifting schedule. I can cope with not drinking anything for 2 or 3 days, but after that I just feel severely dehydrated and weak. What do you think? Should I lay off the exercise again in order for me to overcome my health problems first?
I don’t know. I think it’s important to stay in that warm, relaxation state and do some healing. You can always resume weight lifting later, and you may find it to be a lot more productive once you’ve rested for a while. You would not believe how fast I can add muscle after taking time off.
Carbs, carbs, carbs and more carbs (but not oats), In the form of starch, not fruit. They keep me warm, and they keep me happy, especially if I pound them at breakfast and lunch. Need some fat and maybe some milk or cheese too, but starch is the main thing.
A few weeks ago we ran out of breakfast-y type carbs, so I made a fruit smoothie for breaky. By 11AM I was cold and shaky and ready to kill my kids or anybody that talked. That hadn’t happened in forever. I tried it again a few days later with the same results. But if I eat starch, I’m usually uncontrollably giggly and happy. Seriously, it’s scary. It makes me wonder if any emotions are real. (I think I love you, but it could be the pancakes talking…).
Home made French fries might be the best.
Oh yeah, and I never drink straight water anymore. That is a huge change in my life because I was one of those 12 glasses a day type people. I think that makes a big difference too, because there have been times in the past when I’ve eaten carb-heavy and haven’t had the same results.
agree. i now balance my fruit meals with dry bread & salty spread, that way i don’t get as cold or need to pee like crazy. in my pure 811 days i was always freezing, peeing and tired. when i eat my starch meal i go heavy on the salt, like 15g per pound dry pasta, just to make it taste good, i’m always craving salt.
Do you think it’s the starch, or the salt that you add to the starch and the lower water content of starches? Like, what would happen if you hit the same exact macronutrient ratios, water content, calorie level, and sodium content but had mostly maple syrup or honey? Think about it Hawaii! Otherwise it’s not exactly a sugar to starch comparison because you’ve got so much other shiz going on around it.
Totally! I had a bowl of oatmeal with maple syrup and a splash of goat milk this morning and I was giddy and blissed out and rather horny all day, to be honest. Or maybe it was the full moon…
I finally tried a green smoothie because I have a Vitamix and will try anything once. It was delicious, I loved it and couldn’t wait to try living on them for a few days. Then the next day, I woke up with a pounding hangover headache, throwing up, in bed the whole day. Just like in the old days when I drank.
This also happens when I eat plain white rice or plain potatoes the evening before: just like a hangover. Perhaps I’m a little sugar sensitive, lol. I’ll never drink a green smoothie again. Just not worth the effort… When I eat (brown) rice and potatoes now, it’s always with plenty of fat and protein, then I’m fine, no hangover.
I’m new around here and have to look up your glossary: ETF, 811, SIBO and probably 10 other “words” I don’t understand. I’m the WAPF (Weston A Price Foundation) chapter leader in Lexington, KY so big on grass-fed, raw milk, raw dairy, traditional eating. Seven chickens in our backyard for fresh eggs. My husband makes bread everyday and we often have pancakes, waffles, etc. so he’s happy I’m on this site!
My goal is optimal health and I need to lose about 20 pounds to be there. I’m also reading Jack Kruse’s Leptin Reset blog which means heavy on the protein, lower on the carbs, which is how we’ve been eating for awhile now, just not so strict. All this “it’s ok to eat carbs” idea is confusing but I can hang with it.
Re. temps, I was in the hospital nearly dead two years ago with strep penumonia and after I got out, my temp was in the 95s. Just now it’s 97.8 which is hot for me. Iodine was the first thing that helped. I eat salt for my adrenals, raw milk for digestion, fermented foods, too.
Very interesting ideas here. I’m excited to learn a new angle so thank you for sharing. I need to reconcile maintaining a good weight with food intake and type of foods, etc. I don’t believe all these wonderful foods were put on the planet just so we could avoid them in order to be “healthy”…
Sounds like you have a lot of misconceptions about the connection between weight and health. 90% of the time that people lose 20 pounds their health gets much worse not better. Statistically-speaking you’ll need to balloon up to stage 1 obesity to give yourself the best longevity chances if you’re an American citizen!
“It makes me wonder if any emotions are real. (I think I love you, but it could be the pancakes talking?).’
Hahaha… SO true!!!
I find this question interesting, because I am rarely ever cold to begin with. The only time I start to get cold is if I have been sitting and doing stressful work all day. And the only times my hands ever “feel” warm is if I am coming in from really cold weather into a heated house. I guess it helps that I’m in my late teens and eat tons on nourishing food, including homemade pizza and ice-cream, huh?
Salt… When I add it to my juice, I don’t get all light-head and shaky… If I drink salted water after a bowl of cereal, it keeps me from getting hungry again three minutes later. I feel like all the salt I’m eating is really keeping me from crashing, and I don’t get cold hands and feet much anymore. If I eat pretty much anything I warm back up.
I have a question for you Matt Stone…. When I wake up in the night it’s in a hot sweat, not cold, and my hands and feet are plenty warm. Why, why, why? I’ve switched to (salty) cheese for my wake up snack, and that has been consistently getting me back to sleep, and keeping me asleep….
I have not been able to get my temps up to 98.6, even though I’m staying plenty warm. ????? I’m eating cereal and pasta and drinking oj w/ salt and ice cream (oh yum)… My sugars rarely get below a 4 on the refractometer. If I drink enough (salted) water, I can get it down to a 3, and that’s where I feel nice and mellow… I’m known in my family for being a salt fiend, but even I am shocked at how much salt I’ve gone through in the past couple of weeks. Shazam!
Still waking up eh? Damn. The other things you have mentioned sound pretty promising though. I must admit. And if it was some excess of salt it would seem that cheese and crackers wouldn’t put you back to sleep. Weird. You’re just weird Skye. I’m sure I’ve told you that before though.
You are so not the first person to tell me that… It means you really get me, man…
Maybe it’s just a matter of time… Still waking up, but groggier, and more able to fall back asleep. I’m definitely moving in the right direction…
Hopefully it’s just time – I know that it’s taken me over 7 months of eating more food than I thought was humanly possible (started off RRARF style, now doing more of a feast-style thing) to raise my temperature at all… I started off in the 96.9-97.7 range and now 10 months later I’m in the 97.7-98.6 range. I was so excited when I had my first waking-up 98.6 reading!! It took a crapload longer than what I see most people on this blog describing, but at least things are changing for the better, albeit slowly. So yeah, don’t be too discouraged, sometimes things take a lot longer than you think/hope they will.
I’m averaging somewhere in the 97s throughout the day. I just made a huge plate of salted white rice with a few tablespoons of butter, with a side of 4 eggs scrambled in a tablespoon of coconut oil, some cream, and pepper jack cheese. Just checked my temperature, and it’s 99.1 :) Bamm :)
Wow, I really need to start tracking this stuff. I feel like my feet are almost always cold, unless it’s really hot out. Hands are usually okay, though.
Here’s what I’m confused about, though. I’m trying to gain weight. I don’t really want a burning-hot metabolism, do I? I discovered your site about a couple months ago and I feel like I have about a billion questions for you, Matt.
If RRARFing is what’s needed for metabolism improvement and weight loss, what about for those of us trying to gain?
You need a rise in thyroid to produce your growth hormones. Low metabolism is usually one of the root problems of underdevelopment and difficulty gaining properly. It will also shut down your adrenal hormones which are often at the root of keeping your body in a perpetual state of eating itself up/breaking down.
Should I be trying dessicated thyroid then? I don’t have “hypothyroid face,” but my body does kinda look like the one pictured in the “before” pic of this post: http://180degreehealth.com/2011/06/hypothyroid-face. The one with the skinny limbs, slightly protruding midsection, and no chest. And thin hair.
Also, I’m on GAPS and eating as many carbs as possible. It’s working so far — I’ve gained 4 pounds in the last month. Can I simultaneously RRARF and continue with GAPS?
I like to see people try to solve it with diet before they resort to thyroid meds. Some of the basic GAPS principles can probably be applied. If you are on Facebook you can contact Kate Caudill Swedberg. She’s basically trying to do exactly that.
Things that get me hot:
1. Pizza
2. Oatmeal
3. Cookies and Milk
4. Honey Smacks
5. Women with eyepatches (the pirate kind)
6. Women who shoot guns
7. Women who wear boots and know how to use them
+1
Thanks Chuck. I want to add a #8:
8. Women wearing pirate eye patches and knee hgh boots shooting guns (swords work too!)
So THAT’S why my husband surprised me with a new gun yesterday!! LOL
Pancakeys *giggle* make me HOT….[and narcoleptic. I think I remember you saying this was a good thing. I get all hot then *thud* I’m out…so much like a man, yet I’m a woman ;)]
Nothing gets me warmer first thing. Oatmeal with brown sugar, maple syrup, raisins, little bit of butter and raw milk is a close second.
I haven’t found juice to do much for me other than get me over the hunger hump but only for about 15 mins or so. If I don’t eat right away then I feel worse than I did pre-juice.
Mashed potatoes are dreamy. I do add a fair amount of salt I crave them a lot and want them nearly everyday but still feel a little naughty so I refrain. I’ll work on that.
Lemon/maple syrup water is great for me to sip on during the day. I agree salty is where it’s at. Especially in the afternoon for me. Pizza has lost a little bit of it’s “pizzaz” just because I ate it so much at first. That definitely gets me warm too…and homemade pot pies with mashed potatoes :) mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Ice cream sounds better to me at night but I’m trying to avoid eating later so I try to keep my ice cream intake to 3pm. I am going to start eating it with breakfast and lunch to see how my temps fair.
Starches keep me warm.
Not to play devil’s advocate, but what about the idea of flushing toxins from your body? I think there are probably some downsides to water restriction. The fact that several healthy cultures drink a lot of water or tea tells me there must be benefits.
You know, Amy, I was wondering the same thing a few days ago. But, the last 2 days I’ve had a cold and have been using essential oils to get rid of it – side effect: detox. So, I figured I’d drink a lot of water to help get the released toxins flush out. Went and got a glass of water and couldn’t even drink half. It was making me nauseous b/c my body knew I didn’t need it. The first few days of drinking less water was hard b/c I had to re-learn to listen to my body. But once you pass that adjustment period, your body will let you know what it needs.
Interesting. Normally when I’m sick I push hot fluids like there’s no tomorrow. I usually have zero appetite for anything cold or room temp, though. I wonder if that makes a difference. I do agree the body probably adjusts to the amount of water you habitually drink.
My therapist want me to drink 1.5 to 2liters of mineral water a day to flush out toxins. I’m struggling with that a lot,bc it’s so bland. I mostly like to drink various Green Tea’s,including a Detox Thea (no idea if it detoxes btw…just like the taste of it.)
I haven’t ever felt really any deep internal warmth for as long as I can remember. So I can’t say any food helps. And I just keep gaining weight while wanting to gorge on sugar all the time (and often doing so). I don’t notice a big difference after I eat the sugar.
I did a blood test for my thyroid yesterday, some initial exploration, so we’ll see what is up with that when I get the results.
It all depends. I get very vascular too when I get warm, you can see all my veins bulge in my arm. ( I am a woman) But that is how I am doing my metabolism good after a meal. If I eat a low carb meal, I feel like crap. I gotta have those carbs, but also some protein. I am recovering from anorexia so I kind of have night eating. But the other night I was feeling nice and toasty after…
1 apple; 1 banana; 1 cup fo cottage cheese mixed into 1/2 rolled oats w/ nesquik powder.
Balance salt and fluid intake, not so much fruit. OK then, I’m switching to margaritas, no lime.
“What gets me cold is lots of juice, juicy fruit, or smoothies in the morning or eating breakfast cereal ”
Basically all the things I live on (except cereal). If I eat warm dry starches, I not only perform worse, but heat up too much in my workouts. Feels a whole lot like bonking.
Still trying to figure out if I’m on board with DG about low body temp being a good thing for an endurance athlete. Sure seems that way, but I don’t want the low temps to be due to suppression of something else like thyroid.
I do think that low body temperature is great for endurance athletes, despite how frightening this quote is…
I’m thinking that too. But is it at the expense of something (other than the obvious increased stress)?
I’ll have to second (or third) those of you saying cereal. I had a bowl of Frosted Mini Wheats this morning and nearly passed out running errands. Really. Then again, I have yet to change my wardrobe – I’m still wearing the “zero carb, fast until 2 pm every day and freeze your ass off” attire when I should probably invest in something a little lighter. Good thing Spring is around the corner. Bad thing I’m gettin really chubby from all this RRARFing :o)
Yes, eating after Zero carb and fasting will pack on a few pounds. But it’s mostly unavoidable.
I’ve got a little medical mystery for you here. Any comments would be appreciated :). If anyone else reads this and has any idea what’s going on, please chime in.
I’m 25 y/o now, have had digestive disorders since early childhood (severe constipation, extreme bloating after meals, abdominal pain, ect.) and hormonal issues since my first menstrual period (debilitating, heavy periods, pain throughout month, many other symptoms).
All of my menstrual symptoms went away when I went VLC/Zero Carb Primal/Paleo for 1.5-2 years. Maybe that’s because – ta dah! – my period disappeared too!
I’ve been solidly RRARFing for about a month now, and one of my weirdo symptoms has reappeared – I’m finally pooping again, but after a BM I have INSANE pain in my pelvis for 15 min – a couple hours. I’m incapacitated during this time, it’s so bad.
Here’s my theory – I think I have Endometriosis, in my uterus AND throughout my intestines/bowels. Starving myself of nutrients and taking a BCP for a short time shut down my metabolism and hormones for those 2 years, meaning I did not have any symptoms.
Refeeding = increase in hormonal activity and metabolism and resurgence of nasty symptoms from the once-dormant Endo.
Any takers on my weird problem? If anyone here has Endometriosis and has these symptoms please let me know. I was SO EXCITED to be going Number 2 again, and now I’m scared to poo :(.
Sorry if this isn’t the place to be posting things not relating to the article topic. Please let me know if that’s not cool. I just know all of you have dealt with so many weird shiesty symptoms, and I’m just lying here still hurting from my last BM!
Hi Erin, I definitely do not have endometriosis but I HAVE had in the past the pain after BMs thing you described. it lasted a few months and then went away. That was at a time when I was just realising I was gluten intolerant so was in the process of giving up wheat products, so after a few months my gut cramping and pain was considerably less. I only ever get it now if I eat a lot of constipating foods (like cheese or too much meat on its own), but even then it’s nowhere near as bad as it was, and it’s usually before the BM, not after. I have no idea if what you are experiencing is a similar thing, but hopefully what’s going on in your poor gut will also be temporary :)
That does not sound good. I know people are all alternative here, but maybe you should go to the dr and have it checked out.
athnamas – thank you for the response! I’m glad that your pain has somewhat subsided! I’ve been reading more about estrogenic foods and wheat is definitely one of them , so going gluten-free could be a good transition for me. I just have to remember that GLUTEN free is a different thing than GRAIN free – don’t want to get myself into that hole again.
Amy – thanks for the concern. If you only knew ….. I’ve been trying to figure this out for years now, and have been to countless different holistic, naturopathic, specialist, and general doctors. Including specialists from John’s Hopkins. It all ends in a “eat more fiber and take Mirilax 2x daily”. Despite BEGGING, I’ve never had a stool test, a colonoscopy. Nothin. That’s one of the reasons why I turned to food to “cure” all my problems, and why corned myself into a very restricted Paleo/GAPS diet and orthorexia. Fortunately I have an appt early next month with a prominent Gastroenterologist, and I will literally lay on the waiting room floor and refuse to leave until some type of invasive test is ordered :)
Good, that sounds smart!
It might be a good idea to do some parasite killing/cleansing, especially if that’s something you haven’t done in a while. Check out the health force parasite formula and also a “zapper” that plugs into the wall to ensure stable current. Parasites harm so many body processes that it’s almost mind-boggling.
I went and checked out “worldwithoutparasites.com” because you mentioned the zapper. They talk about chemtrails carrying pathogens and the zappers curing AIDS. I’d like the believe that stuff very much so…I used to read about Robert Beck and blood electrification/colloidal silver. I actually have colloidal silver 20 ppm I think that I’ve bought and never used yet. I got it because I knew I’d be working outside and there’s no way I could afford to be sick. Usin zinc an vitamin C combo instead Corena suggested if I feel anything though. I used to want one of the blood electrofiers really bad. Does it really work…Do I have a parasite? …Maybe I’ll never know…lol
Hey Bob,
I can’t speak to that website or their claims. The zapper I use plugs into AC power and works very well. I hadn’t used it in almost 2 years and a few months ago I noticed intestinal problems that I determined to be parasite based. Within 1 hour of zapping I noticed an improvement and over the course of 2 weeks of daily zapping, I experienced some interesting effects of parasite die-off. It’s TMI territory, so I won’t go into it here, but it definitely works. Since doing the zapping and herbal parasite cleanse, I have much better digestion and intestinal health, higher energy levels, better workout recovery, etc.
I do not recommend the miralax, its did a number on my ability to remember things. It was very odd. Wheat often makes me all clogged up. Nut butters, cheese, and dairy products in general can cause that issue. I have had some success with a good probiotic, using gymnema sylvestre with a starchy meal. I also avoid soy, carrots, and sweet potatoes (estrogens.)
Mirilax does nothing for me, and I have always been suspicious of taking it, so I stopped that early on. Then again, I’m recovering from severe orthroexia, so the though of taking Mirilax when my little brain could try and concoct some sort of natural food and herbal program to get me going was really a no-brainer. I always think about Dr. Phil’s saying ..”well, how’s that workin’ for ya?” – I’m sitting here two years later and no Paleo/GAPS foods ever alleviated anything for me. But one week of RRARFing and I started using the bathroom daily!
Thanks for the heads up on the carrots – I had no idea they were estrogenic, and was planning on going back to juicing them on a daily basis!
I wouldn’t dropped the carrots, just eat them whole. They are anti-estrogenic, as they supply gut bacteria good fiber:
http://www.dannyroddy.com/main/2011/9/20/hair-like-a-fox-carrot-salad.html
Erin, I think that without a doubt your hormones are surging now that you’re eating a nutritious, varied diet. Absolutely. Since endometriosis is an estrogen caused thing, I would do everything I could to counteract it’s effects on the body. Vitamin E can be helpful, and progesterone itself balances estrogen, so you may want to consider using topical progesterone cream. Limit PUFA’s, and try to balance your fluids/electrolytes. I’d even suggest taking aspirin, as it helps with the inflammatory effects of estrogen. But since you’re just speculating that this is endometriosis, you should probably get it checked out. If getting medical care is a cost issue, Planned Parenthood is really wonderful and can look you over and let you know what’s going on down there, and they use a sliding scale based on your income to determine your fee. I only say that because it’s really something you should know, not guess about.
My mom had endometriosis and uterine fibroids something awful, and she had extremely painful bowel movements. Do you have any other typical symptoms of estrogen dominance? Tender breasts, bloating?
Yes, that is a known possible location for endometrial tissue. A good surgeon should be able to take that out for you ( I had mine out at age 19. I was so much happier after!!!)
Also, get tested for PCOS, gluten sensitivity Often they go hand in hand, but don’t worry its easy to rrarf without wheat. God bless the potato!
bigkitten – thanks you for all the suggestions! I have already started Progesterone Cream and will definitely grab some Vitamin E and limit those PUFAs. And yes, I have pretty much every symptom of estrogen dominance and endometriosis there is :). I’m probably going to buy the Endometriosis diet today, just because it is anti-estrogenic. I have good health insurance, I’ve just continually, excuse my language, gotten the sh*t end of the stick when it comes to the doctors I’ve gone to.
Alisha – yea, I do have a mild case of PCOS, but I have this gutteral feeling something else is going on in there :). So glad that you got yourself fixed!
Thank you both for entertaining my attempts at scientific deduction haha
I’ve had my fair share of shit from medical doctors too, but seriously, isn’t endometriosis something easily verifiable from an exam? Last year at my annual at PP they checked me out for that, I swear!
Bigkitten,do you maybe have an own website,blog or FB account? where you share a bit of ‘your journey&progress’?
I will be sharing one of Big Kitten’s comments on the blog tomorrow. Legendary.
Matt, when you get a hot feeling from eating, to me it feels like a hot flash and is not enjoyable. Also, my heart just pounds after eat to get warm. What does this mean. It just wears me out.
Did you hear about the heart Dr. who came out yesterday with an article about everything we have been told about heart disease is wrong. He says that it’s about inflamation caused by eating to many omega 6’s and to many procressed carbs. Isn’t that what we are doing to get temps up?
Right now my temps are 98.6 and I am burning up and miserable and my heart rate is like 89. What about that?
Terry L.
Terry L,I sometimes experience this too after some meals……I get this sudden rush of warmth and start to feel depressed/lethargic or my anxiety goes through the roof! Then my temp falls back and I feel chilly.
I also have these bouts where my legs,especially feet,feel burning hot.
The only time I felt a comfortable warmth lately,was when I ate the wrong kinds of food (which the rest of my body-mechanism&emotional health didn’t feel comfortable with.)
I’m so metabolically screwed up,I wonder if I’ll ever gonna be like a ‘normal’ human being again….heck looking back now,I think I’ve never been normal. (Yeah,maybe from my birth till about age 5/6)
Hey Matt Stone, This is Ivan and i’m new to the site. I really wanted your insight on some things. Well im 19 years old, and iv’e been dealing with acne since is was about 13. I ate alot of junk food growing up and it took a tool on my skin. Last year i went on low-carb for about 8 months. My skin got so much better i was eating tons of beef, chicken, and pork, with butter and coconut oil. Then it slowly started to get bad again. Well i went off to college and started eating pretty much nothing but carbs and my skin didn’t look worse or better. Well when i came back home last winter i started eating lots of chinese takeout. I didnt seem to affect my skin, so i kept eating. Then i started eating bread again, and my skin didn’t get bad at first but then started looking a bit discolored and iv’e started breaking out again. Well iv”e eliminated all those foods for the past couple weeks. I just been eating a high strach diet of sweet potatoes, plantains, cassava, yams etc. My skin isn’t looking better but for some reason a bit more discolored and flaky since i dont use soap on my face. Im trying to figure why i just cant rid myself of this and have good skin. Hey man i know thats alot to read, but if you can give some help i’d appreciate it.
This sounds a great deal like what I’ve experienced. I had acne from I was 13, which was one of the reasons I went paleo (rather LC), followed by zero carb, and on ZC, it got much better, then it started getting bad again.
I quit ZC after 7 months (felt near the brink of death at that point), ate huge amounts of rice, no gluten since I’ve had bad experiences with that many times. A few years ago I started using benzoyl peroxide from acne.org, and that worked amazingly well.
During the last year, I’ve slowly had less and less need for the benzoyl peroxide, until at this point, I probably use it 1-2 times a week – almost no acne! I think my huge intake of tomatoes during the last couple of years might have had something to do with that, too.
I’m still having issues with a throat that easily gets infected, especially when eating sugary foods and dairy, something that makes following the recent ideas on this site rather challenging.
I’ve been on a whole food healthy diet for years, it stemmed from my desire to cure acne. That led me to eating in a very paleo-style, low-carb diet, which did brilliantly at reducing even elimininating my acne. But of course, it’s never suited as a long-term solution, as it keeps the toxins locked into my body, and I did start to realise realise the slightest amt of carb will cause an increasingly serious reaction acne-wise.
Now, I’m returning to my roots and just eat a more balanced diet, the way I grew up eating i.e. white rice! (I’m asian) based diet, with a small amount of protein and I’m definitely not afraid of sat fat, but I do not use that to sub calories from carbs like I used to.
This decision coincides with my switch to natural skincare. I used to be using differin and antibiotics on my skin, but now only use raw honey and tea tree oil as a face wash, green tea/rice water as toner, and jojoba oil as moisturiser, no sunscreen or anything like that.
As a result, I’m breaking out, especially around the forehead. I’m trying to give myself and my skin time to adjust to the changes but I’m getting very worried since it’s been 6 months now and is getting worse.
But grah, it may very possibly be a stress issue because I’m stressing out over it, as you can tell!
In line with that, I’ve been trying to reduce stress in my life. I was also heavily obsessed with high intensity workouts every day, but I hated to admit I was addicted to overexcising. I have now (painfully at first, but now it feels completely natural and much better) switched to calming exercises like yoga.
still having the acne though, which devastated me at first because I had brilliant skin on LC, but now i’ve learnt to just.. not look in the mirror and pretend I have the greatest skin still (:
?Two reports from Japanese prison camps have indicated that during the periods of serious food restrictions most cases of acne disappeared. After liberation, when the food intake was restored to normal, the acne returned to its pre-starvation form. ~Ancel Keys
do you mean to say that acne is a sign of health/things returning to normal ?? that’s not what I would expect..
Just thought you would find that quote interesting. I’ve noticed that skin can clear up on any starvation regimen of any kind. It’s eating normal without having acne that’s the real trick. The only way I can do that personally is to eat a buttload of food and not exercise too hard.
thanks, it was very interesting! I do think the acne returning is a sign of soemthing changing in the body. eating a lot and not exercisign too hard is what I’ve been doing. abit disconcerting when you go out with a guy for dinner and he’s shocked you can eat more than him ;) weight gain is not an issue though, I’m actually pretty skinny despite all that.
After eating a crap ton at lunch by doing my best to simulate Matt’s meat and taters meal, I’ve been warm all day. I just ate about a bunch of okra (slimy goodness!) and 1/2 cup uncooked basmati.
I’m seriously going to have to shed clothes now. Holy cow.
Matt, 47 years old miserably menopausal and freezing on 60mg Armour Thyroid per day. Steady weight gain over the past 4 months of about 15 lbs. Any suggestions greatly appreciated. I’ve tried every breakfast from bananas and oatmeal with maple syrup, to bacon and eggs with cheese . Still cold all the time. Feeling exhausted and fat and lazy. Up until a few months ago mega energy:not warm, but OK. Menopause sucks. HELP!
Have you tired adding in maca? Supposed to really help with regulating hormones during menopause. I’ve been using it a bit this year after going off the pill and only have good things to say.
Amy, i have loads of maca but am scared to start taking it again as others have claimed it’s a goiterogen and bad for the thyroid, and is part of the cruciferous family…etc i’d love to hear your experiences with using it. on another forum some hypothyroid girls said it made them gain and get cold, so i’m confused. thanx.
lushka–there’s definitely been some talk lately about how maca is cruciferous and goitrogenic, also that traditional peoples never ate it raw.
For what it’s worth, here’s some of my experience with it. I have a serious ED background, spent 6 years on low-calorie 8-1-1, have hypothyroid and adrenal issues as a result…I had a decade with no period and have always tended to low libido. At one point a year or so ago, I was eating some maca every day trying to help out my adrenals.
Honestly, I never noticed any difference, either positive or negative.
That’s my n=1 experience. HOWEVER–I recently gifted a treat I’d made, a sort of white chocolate with maca, to a friend of mine. This friend is older (peri- or post-menopausal), naturally stocky, tends to yo-yo diet, and has a high libido. A day or so after I gave it to her, she emailed me asking holy moly what is that maca stuff, it made her so horny she was going to have to go to the hardware store and lasso her a guy!
Such an interesting difference between us! Maybe your hormones have to be at a certain level already in order to see an effect?
Ela thank you so much for your input, that’s so interesting as i’ve also read of mixed reactions so i think you’re right in that it depends on the person. i’ve been on/off 8/1/1 myself for some years as i naturally pick it up every spiring and summer (love fruit) and mcdougall during the autumn & winter, hypothyroidism runs throughout my family so it is a concern of mine. similar to yourself, when i was raw (moderate fat – before 8/1/1) i was taking about 3g maca a day and noticed no change weight wise but higher libido. i was thinking about taking some again but the mixed stories make me apprehensive, wouldn’t want to go hypo. i think i’ll leave off.
Check out Vitex. It works for all sorts of female hormonal imbalances.
I hadn’t heard of it being goitrogenic. From what I understand, it’s supposed to help the thyroid because it helps balance all hormones in the body. I use only the gelatinized maca (Royal maca is the brand), so maybe that makes a difference (in fact, it makes other differences; Peruvians don’t eat raw maca). It’s supposed to help energy levels, and I’ve seen that personally.
Amy i’m guessing you’re right about the difference between raw/cooked maca, which is why i’ll be composting mine.
Lushka, why not cook your maca yourself, rather than compost it? Cooking gets rid of goitrogens too, if done long enough…
salted pistachios (or smishsmashios as my boyfriend calls them) as a snack. I’ve been eating them this past week and now that I read this I realize I’ve only worn my sweater once.
Reading these makes me hot, or was it the meal I ate a few hours ago. I made pulled chicken by putting some boneless chicken breasts in a wok with some butter, water, black strap molasses, honey, salt, red pepper flakes, and cayenne pepper. I ate that with 5 large pancakes with black strap molasses and maple syrup all washed down with milk. The salsa was out so I ate some corn chips and salsa. I also had roasted some garlic and ate some immersion blended garlic and cauliflower . All I can say is that it needed more salt. I have to say a change seems as good as a rest and hopefuly I’ll get some of that too.
The past few days I’ve been eating pumpkin-oat pancakes with butter and my very own homemade maple syrup, and I was feeling pretty good. It’s always tempting to not eat breakfast because I have a real adrenalin/cortisol go-getter high when I wake up that eating always brings down. But the pumpkin oat pancakes + salty bacon weren’t causing a crash, just normal energy. So today I decided fuck it, I’m making ravioli for breakfast. I can eat carbs, i can eat snything!! I accidentally over cooked them too, so they were super glutinous or whatever happens when you overcook pasta. I scarfed it with sauce and I pretty much died. Big time bloating, incredibly tired, circles under eyes, whizzing every fifteen minutes, freezing cold even though it was an unprecedented 67 degrees here in the Pocono Mt’s of PA…I had to drink espresso to get through the day. After I ate some salty twig things and a huge chunk of cheddar, the brain fog has lifted but my feet are still ice blocks. This is miserable. What the hell. I’m so discouraged! Help!
Just a thought.. ravioli usually have something hidden inside them, like cheese. and I am guessing it was a canned type? Or did you actually roll out pasta dough and cut them and stuff them your own self? I am guessing fat or an allergic reaction.. did it have sauce too?
Sounds like allergic symptoms is why I say that.
Deb
I doubt it. It was gluten free frozen ravioli with no funky ingredients to speak of, plus Muir Glen jarred sauce which I’ve eaten a million times. But suddenly an hour or so ago my hands and feet and ears just started blazing and I’m feeling fine. What the hell.
There’s a ton of crap in processed foods that don’t have to be on the label. MSG is hidden everywhere. Also flour usually contains bromide. When I feel crappy, I do the salt loading thing: 1/2 tsp salt followed by two big glasses of water till I start peeing. Sometimes have to repeat. The salt binds to the bromide (and the fluoride) and pulls it out via the kidneys. I ALWAYS feel better after this. Hope I didn’t break any rules by mentioning drinking two big glasses of water…
…Pate works great–hot peppers are good too. A coworker got me a “pate cake” for my birthday as a joke, and I was very hot the rest of the day. It had aspic too.
If I’m in a rush after breakfast, I never get to feel as warm, no matter what I eat. If I’m able to lay flat on my back and relax afterwards for a bit, my hands will feel like they’re on fire.
Off-topic: how does one get a picture to show up by the comment, if I don’t have a website?
You sign up for this little thing, then your avatar follows you around lots of different places. It recognises your computer though, so won’t work on public machines unless you log in again first. I think.
https://en.gravatar.com/site/login
yea, relaxation helps a bit
many days I would eat eat big dinner and my hands and toes get COLDER (not freezing cold). but I feel relaxed,more relaxed than before. Maybe that’s because most afternoons I am running on corticoids, if I make enough of them I feel energized and a bit shaky, otherwise I am just fucking tired. must have them checked those bloody thyroid hormones.
I’ve noticed that too Derek. I love to lay back and relax after a meal and feel the heat radiate into my feet and hands.
So it’s probably obvious from my recent comments that I’ve totally given up on ETF, concluded it doesn’t work for me, although I’m in admiration of all the people for whom it has worked. I think I just have some kind of unusual body that can do fine on a very low-calorie diet.
That said, I’m still looking for clues and ideas. I second the hot pepper recommendation; ginger makes me hot too.
Something I’ve gotten semi-addicted to recently is niacin pills–suppresses my appetite further and makes me all flushed and pink and singing-warm. I’ve been wondering what foods or drinks might be able to produce that flush too.
Doesn’t niacin work like alcohol works in making you feel warm? Like, more blood is surfacing so you feel warmer but that actually makes you lose heat faster, and niacin isn’t calories so you’re not generating any heat from it. Niacin is in energy drinks..but I wouldn’t recommend that =P I think peoples calories needs are all different and maybe your body is truly adapted who knows..I’ve read that unbalancing B vitamins isn’t good but idk. I have done niacin flushes in the past myself. And wow, that shit hurt my stomach sometimes.
Thanks Bob, that’s a good point. I have noticed that when the “flush” is over, I often feel really cold.
Yeah, it makes me run to the outhouse sometimes too (not most convenient as snowy as it is here)–but it generally just makes me run rather than actually cramping me up.
Thanks for your thoughts.
I love all these suggestions! I get cold-ish later in the morning, and after I take a shower (between 8:30 and 10:00am), I get a bit dizzy and foggy-headed. My arms and chest get a bit rashy too. We put a water filter on our shower head, because we thought it might be chlorine/weird city-water chemicals, but it didn’t help much.
My kids would love having pizza, ice cream and waffles in the morning! My son tends to get cold (and he loves wearing a coat to school, although we live in Phoenix and it’s almost like summer here now), so this could be beneficial to him too.
BTW, I just had a bowl of ice cream and some homemade popcorn and I am very warm! I’m at 98.4 degrees (at night), which is unheard of (high) for me.
I’m going to experiment with some food. Lately, we’ve been having oatmeal, eggs, and bacon. While they don’t make me cold, I’m going to see if the warming foods will be better and I might not feel so funny after I shower? :/
My husband loves fruit smoothies and they (and most fruit) don’t sound good to me anymore. I was getting light headed after drinking smoothies.
Thank you for the awesomeness!
Sounds like a water allergy Beth. Hopefully keeping your metabolism high will keep you from reacting.
Hi Matt
All your talk lately about salt and urine density sounds very much like the standard theory of electrolytes. It is well known that high levels of exercise without repleneshing electrolytes is very dangerous. According to wiki urine density is a standard test. How much of the mainstream literature have you read on this topic?
I have read very little mainstream literature on the topic. But I’m sure the actual scientific realm has some great stuff and is in total disharmony with the information distributed to the public – as usual. I’ve come to expect that.
Hey Matt,
I thought that you might find the link down bellow to be interesting.
http://www.annals.org/content/48/3/562.extract
Here’s a quote from that link:
“The overnight dehydration test, a standard procedure in many hospitals, will usually yield a specific gravity of 1.022 or greater in the morning urine of a normal person. When the specific gravity is less than 1.022, it is taken as evidence of diminished concentrating ability, and other examinations are performed to reveal other defects and establish the diagnosis.”
A 1.022 specific gravity of the urine correlates with having a urinary refractometer brix reading of 5.57. So, it appears as though having a refractomer reading bellow 5.57 first thing in the morning is considered abnormal and it could possible indicate that something is wrong.
I am not a runner myself, but there are lots of marathons near where I live. From what I have heard repleneshing salts is as mainstream as carboloading among serious runners and there are plenty of sports drinks catering to that need.
Urine density and specific gravity are one in the same. The refractometer can be used to measure the specific gravity of the urine/urine density.
Steak tartare got me toasty yesterday. Oh baby!!!
Brand New (just found this site yesterday) and looking forward to a warming breakfast. I have been 96* all my life and now after years and years (i’m 62) of dieting I am looking at 125 extra pounds on my body. Where do I start?
Kathy, you can go back through all of Matt’s posts, but that’s pretty disorganized and might be overwhelming. I strongly recommend getting the Diet Reovery and/or 180 Metabolism books for an overview, and then go looking through the archives for specific topics.
Well my story is like so very many others here. It’s morning and I have to get ready for work so I will have to post it later but “health” food jacked up my body. Anyway, pizza last night and 2 small homemade mexican style burritos. Basically the stuff I used to eat before I got “healthy” when I was slim and trim. I’ll post more later!
I don’t know why but coconut oil always makes me feel like I’m having a hot flash.
Once I stopped drinking a big glass of water as soon as I woke up the pancakes or salty lassi and potato samosas warm me up just fine. That’s another piece of backwards advice you hear a lot, drink a big glass of water first thing in the morning to ‘cleanse’. It makes me crash even if I do eat pancakes.
I like making skillets. With pan fried potatoes in bacon fat covered with cheese, with a couple of over easy eggs on top. salt to taste.
Matt, Matt, Mattt: Help! I’m on week 6 of RRARFing. Initially, everything was going well. Temps went up (often above 98.6), as did my energy. I didn’t even mind the fact that I can now feel my ass on the backs of my thighs. I was so blissfully happy that when my thighs ripped through my pants while shopping the other day, i didn’t care, because by golly, I’m getting better. Then Aunt Flo came and my temps crashed and so did I. I can’t even get out of the low 97s. I ate and ate and ate, which Aunt Flo was digging the shit out of, but my temps would hardly move. I started eating ice cream with breakfast, but I don’t think my adrenals liked that even though I ate it with lots of salt. Even with adrenal/thyroid issues for the last several years. I can’t remember when I felt so weak. Just doing the dishes wipes me out. Brushing my hair is exhausting! I’m hoping once Aunt Flo packs up and leaves, my temps will go back up, but for now I am nothing more than a useless bag of blubber! What the hell is going on?
Sounds like me. Am on day three of my cycle, and from the first time of being consistently over 98.6 (even twice at 99.2), when my period started, I dropped to high 97’s, even after breakfast. I guess I was feeling more tired than usual, and I make it a habit to separate myself from regular activites during my period, so I slept a lot. Is your ‘Flo’ more normal at least? Less clots, over sooner? It’s still improvement. Today I had a angel hair and bolognese dish as an appetizer, a huge slice of ‘deluxe’ pizza, root beer, and ice cream. Just checked and am at 98.2. My problem is the ongoing mad pimples. Anyway, still think it’s part of the healing. If you look at normal basal temperature charts (gardenoffertility.com), they will range from 97’s to 99 for the month. So you’re probably ok.
It’s perfectly normal for women to experience their lowest temps of the month during menstruation – that’s when I get my lowest temps. And since ditching low-carb I’ve had a pronounced energy-crash when menstruation hits, as well as heavier cramping. Don’t know exactly why, but I suspect it’s because now I’m no longer low-carbing, my body isn’t producing the pain-killer effect through higher levels of stress hormones.
Of course, different foods do impact the menstrual cycle, and I think most of the benefits seen with low-carbing in relation to menses are just a result of increased consumption of beneficial veggies and stuff and lowered inflammation – I know I get almost the exact same benefits without the low-carbing and food restriction if I just eat a fuck-ton of parsley a few days before my period, irrespective of whatever else I eat. Way more convenient than adhering to the whole paleo-diet shtick. Paleo can be great for having breezy periods, but the restriction isn’t worth it, not for mental health OR physical health. There are other ways.
interesting – parsley is a high potassium diuretic…
Hey Matt,
I’m on about day 10 of my first foray into Rrarfing, very interesting so far! I find that having enough salt with whatever meal seems to help me get warmer,. as well as watching the water intake & using coconut water more often. I’m enjoying gluten free pancakes with maple syrup, also big bowls of oatmeal with molasses, and I’m having half & half, which is such a treat having been mostly dairy free for years. I’m open to experimenting.
I do have to ask, do you find that women struggle with the “overfeeding” aspect of rrarfing? I’m not terrified of gaining weight, not to the degree that I think the average gal in the U.S would be. But aside from that, I’m finding it hard to stuff myself consistently, even though it’s not required at dinner. It’s a weird feeling because I think of myself as someone who “loves to eat”, and now I feel like having that big lunch by two pm, is like…work! LOL. But, I really want to give this a chance to work. Tired of these chilly toes!
Any tips from the more experienced? Thanks!
Patricia
I would say the two foods I find the most warming would be donuts and pizza. Ice cream is good, and peanut brittle works well. (Salt plus sugar.)
I have also found that sipping Pepsi Throwback (made with sugar) does a GREAT job of preventing the cold hands/frequent peeing/big thirst problem. It seems like medicine for me. (Type 2 diabetic.) In the past, about an hour or so after I ate, when the insulin would have driven down my blood sugar and I would feel cold and achy, there would be a surge of cortisol which would send my blood sugar way up and cause me to get hot and flushed and develop a headache and feel cranky and miserable. (And that constant cortisol roller coaster no doubt contributed a lot to my obesity and sleep problems.)
Now, about an hour after I eat, I get that dry mouth, swollen tongue, thirst/hunger feeling and I start sipping Pepsi Throwback. I don’t chug it, just take a sip or two every 15 minutes or so. Now I do not experience the cold hands, feeling cold and achy thing or the heat surge from the cortisol rising or the bad headache and irritability. I also avoid most of the big thirst/frequent peeing thing this way. Sipping the Pepsi in the late morning before lunch and in the later afternoon before dinner works wonders for me and represses the stress hormones. And I am sure that has contributed to my weight loss of 20 lbs. (so far) while eating pizza, donuts, cupcakes, etc. along with the “healthy” meat, fish, veggies, eggs, dairy, fruit, etc.
I am reminded of the research where they measured the effect of cola intake on insulin resistance in rats and found that the cola made them lean and improved their insulin resistance. “In conclusion, insulin action improved with increased peripheral glucose utilization in weaning male rats drinking cola, which was partly due to lower body weight. This latter was possibly as a result of increased thermogenesis in muscles.”
Source: http://www.jnutbio.com/article/S0955-2863(02)00216-4/abstract
I had better keep this hush-hush or they will start requiring a Rx for Pepsi Throwback!
Well – I guess this could explain how my husband can get away with drinking pop, eating chips and eating junk food for all his meals and stay healthier then me! I’m the healthiest eater he knows, he always says… and I’m the one that is having the health issues. Go figure. He doesn’t eat breakfast and doesn’t drink water hardly either.
How does ambient temperature play into this?
Are we looking for warm hands/feet in a normal room temp setting, or should they persist, even when a room is pretty cold (like 55 degrees), or are cold ambient temps just going to make hands/feet/noses cold?
You need to eat chi energy, fire up your kundalini, get your base chakra buzzing … then you can sit outside in the Himilayas like a Tibitan monk naked in freezing temperatures and dry a wet sheet wrapped around you from the body heat you emit.
: )
Are there also chi energy supplements I can buy?
@J – that sounds like heaven… so how do we do that??
So I’ve been getting hot in the evenings, especially last evening, but I was so hot I was uncomfortable and felt really thirsty. Is this something else entirely? I can’t even remember what I ate – I know I had eggs, bacon, potatoes, sweet potato leek soup and oranges within the course of the day….
I have another question….it’s about taking your basal body temp…(not up for rectal yet. I’ve got two little ones running around, and it would be all too easy to get the thermometers confused)
The docs all say to add a degree to the reading you get from the armpit temp to get an accurate measurement. I went back to your post about taking temps and it didn’t say anything about that. ??? Should I be adding a degree? Please please please! Then I’d be a really hot chick, and oh, that would be heaven.
It’s taken me a few months of a higher carb intake and gradual calorie increase to ramp up temps. I am healing from years of healthy eating (vegan then ‘paleo’) having found Ray Peat’s work. Initially, starch was fattening, I switched mostly to fruit, now I can eat starch without gaining too much, although I also don’t care quite the same about weight gain anymore. Last year I was 14lb lighter (112lbs at 5’4) but icy cold. Over the last 2-3 months, I’ve added an extra 1000 calories. Consequently, my temperature is up from 35 to 37C. Highest yet was 37.6 after strained yogurt and honey and very milky sugary coffee. The most warming meal for me is lamb shank stew and rice. I am also ditching the milk and fruit heavy breakfasts for starch and eggs, and plenty of salt. Less liquid and more calories. I should say it’s probably not all diet- I take either a grain thyroid-s or 25mcg of T3 everyday too.
Had a late breakfast of cookies, tortilla chips with salsa dip, dried fruit, a boiled egg and a glass of smoothie (fruit, dessicated coconut, yoghurt and a pinch of salt). I probably ate about 1000 kcal. I make the smoorthy for my water needs in the beginning of the day.
Still have cold hands though :(.
I wish I could eat pancakes every morning for breakfast, they seem perfect but take too much effort :P.
Franz- My daughter wants pancakes every day too. So, on Sunday, I cook up an entire batch and then put them in a ziploc bag (in the frig) for the week. A quick spin in the microwave -or toaster oven- and you are good to go in minutes. I make enough so I can have them for snacks as well.
Thanks that is a good idea :), I like cold pancakes just as much a warm ones :P
Am I missing something here with everyone talking about pizza, doughnuts and cold cereal being the things that raise their body heat? Does this mean everyone is in RRARF stage? Or are Matt’s e-books I just read out of date? It seems from the majority of comments people are talking about all these unhealthful foods. I guess I thought that one could restore everything and even over eat/ do RRARF, but eat as close to whole foods as you can. I just found this blog and love the e-books, but scared I have missed something between now and the last 2yrs of their publishing. Matt have your viewpoints changed? I guess all of my questions come from just finish reading 180 Metabolism, where I thought a whole foods diet was portrayed to be the best.
You can easily get organic versions of all those foods — That’s what I usually do. Doughnuts might be harder to get in organic form, but another type of pastry could be used instead.
organic or not you are still talking about processed foods, especially doughnuts and pastries :)
I’d like to know the answer too…. store-bought pizza for dinner ok or not? Ah the dilemma… and what about PUFA’s in pastries? Almost bought a chocolate croissant at Starbucks today but then thought better of it… what if it’s made with shortening or soy?
Matt does encourage the use of whole foods eventually. He sees processed, highly palatable foods to be the most effective at raising body temperature. Once you get your metabolism cranking really good then you can try to keep those temperatures up including more whole foods. I think it’s a lot harder as far as I know lol. And of course, some short burst high intensity exercise etc…when you feel you’re really ready for it. I forgot but isn’t checking your temperature after work outs an indicator of whether or not you’re ready for it? Like if it drops after work outs that’s not good. Me personally, I see the placebo affect to be pretty powerful, and I just make sure I include a lot of variety with my rarrfin even if its processed a lot of the time, and I make sure I have fresh sometimes like veges on a subway sandwich haha and some fresh fruit and frozen berries an stuff. Also I add fresh lemon juice to my homemade gatorade powder+salt mixture. Dairy, pizza etc…has a lot of things our bodies need, so idk..I think that gettin some offal might be important for those special k2 vitamins or some shit, whatever Kurt Harris talks about lol. I think I have a couple cavities at the moment, so I’m gonna go buy some liver, and eat some ghee I have layin around (cuz I think it’s gross) Acid/Alkaline an the importance of mineral ratios is one thing I’m thinking about. Another think I’m thinking about is this freaking crazy video I seen about the dmt, calcification of the pineal gland, true out of body experiences, this video had David Wilcock as the speaker. I think he’s a little nuts, but I do know a think or two bout dimethyltryptadick.
haha, i like david wilcock, but i am weird. i’m currently re-reading DMT: the Spirit Molecule, it’s so interesting…sorry off topic.
Ya I haven’t read Strassman’s book, but I know enough of it. I’m a Joe Rogan podcast listener so I hear about that stuff all of the time =P
Crystal and others – if there’s one thing I’ve taken away from 180 Degree Health it’s that context is really important. That and dieting is bad for you. I think Matt totally does embrace the whole foods approach, but he’s also in favour of ditching the idea that there are good foods and bad foods, there’s just context. Good foods/bad foods and fearing “processed junk” is obsessive and unnecessary – for long-term health, sure, a whole-foods diet is probably best, but denying yourself on a daily basis isn’t healthy either. Context and balance. And junky processed foods can be used on a short-term or periodic basis to aid metabolism recovery, and Matt argues that metabolism recovery is the most important thing – so, heal your metabolism first, which for most people who’ve been dieting obsessively often means unrestricted access to food, usually foods that’ve been denied – and then once your metabolism’s recovered, then worry about your long-term approach.
The thing is, for people who’ve always been able to maintain a moderate, balanced approach to their health and eating and have never suffered from dieting or obsessiveness (or who kid themselves they haven’t), this will seem extreme and unnecessary. For those of us who have ruined our health “trying to be healthy” (aka tying to lose weight or be the most virtuous person on earth or being misled by health “gurus”) it’s a potent strategy. And the best part is you have to teach yoruself to let go of fear and think for yourself, rather than be afraid of eating one pastry. I mean, in 70+ years of life, what difference do you think one frickin’ pastry is going to make? Or a few months, or a year where you spent that time not worrying about what to eat? On the other hand, a few months or a year of an extreme diet or macronutrient restriction can fuck people up for life. People make money off of making us afraid that one pastry makes a difference, or one food group, or one magical ingredient. Whole foods matter, I reckon, but they’re not the be-all and end-all.
Neesha-
Tremendous comment. You pretty much nailed it exactly. 100% Thanks
Thanks for the comment Neesha. I agree to not over analyze things, because that is what got me in trouble, totally agreed! However, I also thought refined foods are what started our path down to worse health a long time ago. Plus for me, just eating one cookie/pastry doesn’t work, gotta eat them all :) Better to just not have the pizza or cookie, they make me feel like crap anyways.
Are you kidding? This website saved my life! Seriously, it’s been a safe harbour in a sea of disordered eating crap. Thank you!
Word. Seriously. I just ate cake for breakfast.
I ate two cartons of cookie dough ice cream this weekend. Got my shit in the 99’s. Whaddup. LOL I’m getting fatter, but I’m sure I’m gaining muscle too. Eventually, I think my muscle/fat ratios will change and intermittent fasting will be the ultimate Muhahahahah Like some Martin Berkhan Chiefrok Hybrid MONSTER SHIT
I have been in the habit of adding fresh garlic, “real salt” ,and cayenne pepper to most stuff I cook. I always throw this mix into soups and other dishes i eat. It tastes great and warms me up so good. It seems cayenne might have a lot of benefits in upping metabolism and increasing body temp. This is really great article on cayenne: article http://www.cayennepepper.info/health-benefits-of-cayenne-pepper.html
I was getting chills this afternoon. Cold nose and feet, but still a couple hours until dinner. Solution? Salty lemonade. Now everything is warm.
Steak and potatoes works pretty well to keep muh fangers warm and toasty. Gotta wash that down with a sprite tho!
Smoothies don’t HAVE to be all fruit and veggies. Smoothies that DON’T make you cold… start by emulsifying some coconut oil and a pastured egg or two in blender, then add raw milk or yogurt and frozen fruit.
Sample recipes:
BLUEBERRY SMOOTHIE
Melt 1 TB coconut oil and put in Vitamix with 2 pastured eggs. Blend for a minute to emulsify oil. Add 1/2 cup frozen blueberries and 1 cup raw milk and blend again.
************************************************************************************************
STRAWBERRY YOGURT SMOOTHIE
Measure 1 cup frozen strawberries. Blend 1 egg and 1 TB melted coconut oil in Vitamix until emulsified. Add 1 cup yogurt and the strawberries and blend.
************************************************************************************************
PUMPKIN SMOOTHIE
Put 2 cups raw milk, 1/4 cup yogurt, 1 tsp vanilla extract and a dash of ground cinnamon in Vitamix. Add 1 cup frozen pumpkin and blend.
I’ve been hypometabolic for ages ( male, 36, desastrous career as semi-professional endurance athlete, IBS, underweight, ETF since September 2010… ) So, what gets me hot? Sometimes a meal is doing a good job. Like Breakfast this morning: Big bowl oatmeal, Toast with butter, cheese and eggs. Feeling warm almost instantly after eating. Resting pulse 80 ( otherwise 60 is normal for me ), damn, that’s a good feeling. But.. I can’t eat 24 hours a day, that’s a problem. 10 Minutes later and I’m back “to normal” ( = cold feet, hands, nose ). Sometimes you just wanna give up.
The only thing reliably warms me up is sleep.
For about 10 blissful minutes right before I fall asleep and right after I wake up, my whole body is warm and toasty and dry ? even down to my toes which are normally cold and clammy all day long no matter what I eat.
If I lay in bed and hit the snooze button a few times I can usually stay in that parasympathetic state while I cycle in and out of sleep, but as soon as I am mentally awake my hands and feet start to get cold and clammy.
It’s as if I spend the entire day in a mild sympathetic (fight or flight) state: increased heart rate, constricted blood vessels, activated sweat glands, slowed digestion, etc.
The root cause of this low metabolism, cold, anxious, sympathetic, catabolic state is probably more psychological/emotional/mental/spiritual than anything else. Low levels of mental/emotional activity go hand-in-hand with my warm, toasty near-sleep state.
It just sucks because those are the most difficult (possibly impossible?) changes to make. We all know about this mind-body connection, but it’s a lot easier to change your diet than to change your thinking.
If I could live my waking life in that warm/relaxed near-sleep state I would be in heaven.
sirch – this is either a disastrous question or one you already know the answer to, but is there any chance you have some kind of post-traumatic disorder? I ask because I have direct experience: both me and my boyfriend both have PTSD (from separate events) and a jacked-up sympathetic nervous response is definitely a symptom. For us, eating more and resting more is a huge thing, but also investing in relaxation techniques as well. Both of us were on some kind of medication at various points too, which helped – for him, he was prescribed a beta-blocker (propranolol) to slow his heart rate related to another health condition, for me, I was on mild antidepressants for 8 months until it cleared up a bit. Anyway, food for thought, it definitely is a whole mind-body thing.
No, it’s nothing to the degree of PTSD.
I’m just theorizing that the modern human’s physiology seems to be in a chronic state of mild stress and that the mental/emotional state may be one of the major causes.
If we were to just look at the physiology of the average person, we would see a body that seems to be reacting to chronic stress: the nervous system which slows digestion and constricts blood flow to extremities; the prioritization of energy and heat conservation; the tendency towards a catabolic as opposed to an anabolic state; the prioritization of vital functions over luxuries like skin, teeth, hair, muscle, libido and fertility. And all this happens before the appearance of diagnosable problems like heart disease and cancer.
If we knew nothing about the person’s life or psychology and we just knew their physiology we might guess that they were living in a stressful environment with inadequate sunshine, warmth, energy, resources and food ?’that they were living in third-world conditions.
And yet, we live in times of unprecedented access to food, water, shelter and energy. We should be thriving, but we’re not. And ironically, the people that came before us?? the people who lived in harsh conditions ??appear to have been healthier than we are.
Why? Why is health in decline?
That’s the big question, isn’t it?
The Paleo crowd drew the conclusion that in order to be Paleo-healthy we need a Paleo-diet.
But as the readers of Matt’s blog know, it’s not that simple. In fact, for modern man, the Paleo diet can make things worse. It must be something else …
Is it white sugar? White bread? Processed food? Refined food? Un-fermented food? Fruit? Carbs? Saturated fat? Unsaturated fat? Cooked food? Meat? Non-organic? Low-Brix?
Is it a deficiency of water? Exercise? Vitamins? Minerals?
Is it an excess of toxins? Carcinogens? Pesticides? Herbicides? Artificial fertilizers? Chemically-treated tap water? Xenoestrogens?
Is it physical? Mental? Emotional? Spiritual?
Is it genetic? Epigenetic? WIthin our control?
Is it knowable?
Is it all of the above? None of the above? Some of the above?
I don’t know.
Some days I’m motivated to keep on searching for the answer. Some days I say Fukitol.
Some days I feel like I’ve got it figured out. Some days I feel like I’ve gotten nowhere.
…
Some days I wish I had a more conclusive conclusion.
Sirch, I also feel like psychological issues are holding me back and I’m working on it.
Changing your metal state is not like flipping a switch. Thought patterns are engraved in hour mind like paths in a forest: Taking a new path requires alot of efffort at first because those paths are still rough. But as we take the old paths less and chose to take the new paths, slowly those new paths get clear and the old paths overgrown.
Hope that analogy helps.
The first step is to be more aware of your thoughts and emotions, then you can try to let them go as when they come up. You could look into mindfulness, it’s a long term approach but I think it is definately worth it to take the effort and become a little more “mindfull”.
OMG Sirch….you could be my twin brother or sister!:p
I constantly keep pondering the same….what lead me to chubbiness&sluggishness starting about age 6/7.
Was it the freshly baked croissants I grew up on…Did I just eat a lot? Was it also dairy?Was it triggered by the my father dying when I was still young,followed by lots of other impacting experiences?
Was playing a teamsport once or twice a week not enough?Did I sit too much?
Reading GAPS & Wilson’s book on Adrenal Fatigue……was I born already with comprised Gut and weak adrenals? (cause my mom actually couldn’t keep much food inside during months of my pregnancy.I also wasn’t breastfed). Is it something hereditary? (obesity,whacked out adrenals etc. cause my grandmother has always been an extreme nightowl.)
Did the Lyme&Co interfere about 12years ago?
What does my life’s horoscope predicament of ‘non-stimulating food are best for my health’ mean…..just processed stuff,all sugars (refined&unrefined),MSG I know for sure also the natural high-Glutamate stuff like tomatoes,all foods that I actually don’t crave? (’cause when my food-intolerance testresult came back,all the foods I enjoy eating&give me a ‘good/happy feeling’ turned out to be the most disastrous for me…….So much for intuitive eating.)
Then there’s the constant worry,anxiety-attacks out of the blue,not knowing what to do anymore in life…and by the time I did,how to incorporate this lifestyle/way of eating, not feeling ok having no exercise-regimen yet also sometimes feeling resistant towards joining a gym again (though I paradoxically ‘need a gym’ in order to feel I’m working out/exercising.Fact that I feel mostly energetic or positive on an empty stomach&gut probably says enough about my bad digestive system.)
But the thing that saddens me a lot,is that I get these panic&anxiety attacks out of the blue when I’m actually trying to do something creative (apart from the fact that creativity seems to be lacking a lot lately….that was one bonus of my OCD Cardioing,I always got the best creative ideas while doing so) or watch a movie/series,something relaxing.
I’ve tried everything from various therapists during my life (one told me ‘I’ve inherited low levels of serotonin and should go on AD for the rest of my life’:s…,towards meditation&EFT lately (which actually makes me even more anxious).
And the issues can go on&on…..(I can tell some ‘entertaining’ dietician stories on top of it)
During my 5 to 6days a week of OCD Cardio-ing,I was far from healthy I know now,also while eating lots of refined stuff (especially the low-fat products laden with lots of Artifial sweeteners/Apartame&MSG),microwave meals,pasta,pizza,desserts/pie…..but sometimes it seems that life was ‘more fun’ as a pre-Diabetic. Information is a powerful tool to help you out…..but the thing I miss from those days is ‘the ignorance’,yet I know it’s a crutch that I can’t go back there anymore&just shut my eyes as if nothing’s happened.
So,now I feel stuck….not knowing how to move forward again in life/how to balance it all&maintain balance (cause apparently I easily can get addicted when it comes to food.If I just don’t eat it,it’s ok but as soon as even a little enters my mouth all hell breaks loose and it does something to my brainchemistry)…..sometimes ignorance=bliss.
I’ve changed my mind/emotions a lot more with diet than I have with psychological/spiritual techniques. Have you given this salt frenzy an honest shot?
Same here. But I have not been skimping on salt or sugar. My first RBTI test was Brix = 7 and Conductivity = 40.
There seem to be two main health types from what what I’ve observed here and in the Facebook group: people who are Alkaline and low Brix and people who are Acid and high Brix.
People who used to be extreme dieters, orthorexics, health-foodies and fitness nuts mostly seem to be in the first camp: high pH, low Brix. And they seem to benefit from eating more (especially salty and sugary food) and drinking less.
But I never dieted in the sense of restricting calories and I never could stick with an exercise routine. The extreme things that I did (WAPF and Peat) still allowed me to eat generous amounts of food with plenty of fat, salt & sugar.
But if RBTI is right about the healthy ranges, I’m one of the those people who would actually benefit from restricting salt/sugar and drinking more water. And I have found that systematic drinking of distilled water can drop my Brix to 1-2 range (which really felt like a crash). I really have to do some substantial water drinking to maintain a low Brix though?? like 10 glasses (8oz) a day on a regular schedule.
According to RBTI, people with high Brix should be abnormally warm and happy, but my symptoms are actually more like a low Brixer. So I’m not sure what I should be doing (but that never stops me).
So, to add to the already substantial health/nutrition confusion, not only can the mainstream advice be terribly wrong, sometimes it might actually be right.
I decided about 2 days ago I was going to be a 180 degree guinea pig. Why not, I don’t really have anything to lose (except weight, ha!).
Background: 2.5 years ago it was 4 months post-partum and I had lost all my baby weight. I was at 165 lbs but I thought it was too high for my 5 foot 5 frame, so I was going to “get healthy”. First did the raw diet for 6 weeks, it was good for the time being but as fall came around the cold food didn’t cut it. Next I did Mercola’s “No Grain” diet. Then I found Mark’s Daily Apple and switched to Primal. Lost 12 inches off my waist in 6 weeks and feeling great. Then I found WAPF. Started eating coconut oil and broths, sprouted grains back in the diet. Started raw dairy. And started ballooning…. over the course of a year I gained 20 lbs, total weight gain since I started has been 35 lbs. Boo.
I went to see my ND and she said I probably had PCOS, insulin resistance, and/or metabolic disorder and adrenal fatigue…. though no tests were done at the time. Had I done all the tests it would have been $1000. She said I should do low carb Paleo and put me on a really high dose of antioxidants and blood sugar control vitamins, which short term worked great but then I started feeling sick on them. Stopped the supplements. Stopped Paleo. Wasn’t working anymore anyways. I would lose 5 lbs only to gain it back again the next month, over and over again. Started having insomnia, freezing hands/feet, TERRIBLE acne, bloating, irritability, and no libido to speak of.
So two days ago I decided to start this… started with liquid restriction (have already been taking sea salt for a few months). First thing I noticed my feet were moist in the morning when I woke up, usually they were very dry. My callouses were literally falling off. Hm, interesting.
Acne disappeared.
Bought the 180 Diet Recovery Ebook, read the entire thing. Bought 180 Diabetes too and started that.
This morning I took my temps. 96.7 degrees. Ate half a pint of coffee Haagan Dasz ice cream and a bowl of fried baked potatoes (in coconut oil) with raw cheddar and salt. Drank some Gatorade. Took temps again, now at 98.3 degree’s! Went back to sleep…. :)
My kids have always been warmer than me but I had a hunch that my 5 yr old had a low metabolism too. Last night I gave him GF waffles with Nutella, pizza, and a big bowl of Strawberry Haagan Dasz – food he normally would never be “allowed” in our household! I think my kids have had ice cream maybe once or twice in their lives. This morning he was still sleeping at 10am! This is UNHEARD of. Usually he is the first one awake in our house, before 7am. He is in an incredibly jolly mood this morning too! My 3 yr old daughter quietly played in her crib for 4 hours without wanting to come out. This too is pretty rare. Going to go out and get more Haagen Dasz today…
This is interesting stuff.
wow, so interesting, keep us updated. I too have been just reading all of Matt’s stuff. Though I am a bit confused between diet recovery and RBTI stuff he talks about now. Not sure where to start, diet recovery or RBTI?
I’m honestly not even sure what RBTI is, I kinda stopped reading for a while and just started again last week after seeing Matt on the Cheeseslave blog. Diet recovery was easy to understand and had good info. I never knew sugar could potentially be so good for me. I’m actually feeling my metabolism rev up just sitting here. I’m going to measure myself today to keep track of my inches…
Sugar is the new saturated fat (or salt). Vilified then vindicated.
http://www.dannyroddy.com/main/2012/2/27/sugar-pure-white-awesome.html
http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2012/02/is-sugar-fattening.html
p.s. within 24 hours of reducing liquids and eating lots of carbs (waffles & maple syrup) my libido sky rocketed!! Who knew the solution could be so simple! It’s been down such a long time… my husband thanks you! LOL
I’ve also been sleeping like a rock and having really good vivid dreams. Brain fog is gone. Digestion is excellent. Symptoms of Candida overgrowth are clearing up even though I’m eating way more sugar – imagine that! My teeth & gums even feel better. Strange!
Pretty cool right? Having my teeth get dramatically better on a really high sugar diet with as many refined foods as I could get my hands on was the real mind-blower for me.
Seriously!! This is much better way to improve my kids teeth too… wonder what they would pick if they had the choice: fermented cod liver oil or ICE CREAM?! LOL. My daughter has the bumps on her forearms, Keratosis Pilaris. Also a cavity between her two front teeth. Think it was from too much Vitamin D supplementation and not enough A, she gets plenty of dairy. Will be giving them ice cream daily and seeing what happens.
Been tracking my temps all day today and coffee ice cream is the real winner. Even just a couple bites would bring my temps up. Also salty chicken broth was alright. Cereal with chocolate milk brought it down quite a bit, even though I sprinkled sugar on top.
I wonder what would happen if you ate coffee ice cream with salted caramel on top…. hmmm…
Stuff with carbs! Like white bread with BUTTER (oh, so much butter), ice cream, pasta (preferably lasagna.)
Hmm, looks like carbs+fat it is for me. Now for more salt, yes!
Come to think of it, it’s probably why I love our PB ice cream so much (husband and I own an ice cream binniz, you start getting REAL picky on what you want in your ice cream).
And as much as I love chocolate I think the PB is much better. Similarly, we make a salty sweet cream (ice cream with NO flavoring, basically milk+sugar+salt) and our worker swears she would eat it forever if she could.
Note to self; More salt.
Totally off question and probably has already been answered before, but which refractometer do I get, the 0-10% or 0-32% from http://www.repairrecoverrestore.com? I don’t understand the difference.
There’s no difference in how it works or what it does. The only difference between the two will be the maximum reading and therefore what you see when you look into the device.
Here’s a picture of what it looks like.
The 32 version would be necessary if you plan to use it for agricultural purposes because you need the higher numbers for plants and fruits.
But if you only ever plan to use it for urine readings, a maximum reading of 10 will likely be high enough and it will have the advantage of being easier to read. The only problem would be that anything over 10 will read as 10. But 10+ is pretty rare. It’s near-diabetic range.
I’m fairly new to all of this. I have been kind of doing RRARF for the last 2 months. Added grains back to my diet after 10m on GAPS. I was eating way too low carb without knowing it. I am definitely feeling better overall. But still have a ways to go.
I find that really salty food is helping me. I’ll eat a chunk of bread with a healthy dose of sea salt on it. Then a little warm water with honey. That seems to keep me warm. Which is amazing for someone that has had cold hands and feet my whole life. I’m always cold.
I have a question about resistant starch. I’ve seen you talk about it here. And I’ve done a little research. I struggle with constipation. And really starchy foods like banana, potato, rice and corn do NOT work for me. One small bite of banana and my whole digestive system totally shuts down. Any idea why this might be? I do really well with wheat. But other starches just kill my gut and cause me a lot of pain. I can eat pumpkin and squash galore, but carrots kill me. I can eat pears like crazy, but apples do me in. Thought you might have some insight/theories. My guess is it’s related to sugar somehow. But I still can’t figure it out.
Also, I know it’s common when doing RRARF and addding carbs back in to gain weight, but is there any way to make it stop? I’m not big by any means, but I’ve gained about 8lbs. in the last 2 months. And I don’t want it to keep going.
I’m thoroughly enjoying reading through all of the great info on your site.
One of the best things I keep telling myself (as I have gained weight RRARFing) is something that was said here in a comment somewhere: hurry and gain the weight so you can lose it.
Just go with it, embrace the change!
Thanks, Kendahl. That’s a tough one. I’m trying not to think about the weight and focus on health. I figure it will all balance out at some point. But I don’t like the process :P I have pretty severe OCD, so gaining weight is a big mental thing for me. I was underweight before. So I did need to gain a few pounds. I just don’t want it to keep going up at this pace.
Just wanted to follow up. I talked about it with my husband last night. He said I look a lot better/ a lot healthier now. He likes how I look now better than 8 lbs. ago. That makes it easier to accept.
I am still curious about the starchy foods/why I can’t tolerate them. At least I am learning that a high salt diet really seems to help me absorb fluids better and keep me warmer.
@Mary That’s a good husband….you’d better hold on to him!:)
Really yummy suggestions. Pop tarts are at the top of my list! (Thanks!)
Potato pancakes, french fries (fried in coconut oil), summer sausage, eggs, waffles (gluten free and regular), pasta (DeBols, home-made, and gluten free), toast (spelt, wheat and gf), and cookies really do the trick for me. Oh, and gooey-apple-cinnamon-pancakes. And not drinking much at all until about 11am/noonish. Then sipping along the way.
I will say that wheat and spelt make for slightly warmer temps than the gluten free stuff. I usually just change it up because I feel like it. As my temp has risen, so has my ability to digest glutenish things.
Thanks Matt!
Matt, here’s something that would be interesting to address in a future post. For someone who is relatively healthy (no obesity, major health or metabolism issues, eating quirks or phobias from past diets, etc.), what is your current recommendation for an eating lifestyle? I’m not asking for daily meal planning (please no!), rigid formulas, etc. Just the best dietary (and other health) recommendations to optimize weight, metabolism and long-term health.
For the record, I’ve never done RRARF or checked my temperature regularly. Maybe I should, though I seem to have a pretty good metabolism. Obesity has never run in my family, but high blood pressure, “high” cholesterol and a few other issues have. I’d like to avoid being on all the prescription meds (with their nasty side effects) that my parents were on starting in their late 50’s and 60’s. I know what the paleo, low carb, low-fat, vegan and other crowds say to do. Though you’ve done a ton of interaction with all those folks, I’m not quite sure what your overall guidelines are at the moment. Thanks.
One other thing–maybe you’ve addressed this in one of your books. If so, which one best reflects your current thought and has practical advice on these things?
I have only been taking my temperature for 3 days now, and I am pleased to see it is generally in the high 97s or low 98s, occasionally reaching 98.6 (I thought I would be worse than that, though I never have felt cold hands or feet). However, upon waking, my temperature is higher than I would have anticipated- being in the low/mid 98s. Is there any logical reason for this? Even though it will then dip into the 97s later in the day?
As far as ovulation, no clue, because I have PCOS and have no idea when/if I ovulate at all…. That is what got me started on this whole darn health food malarkey! :)
In general, I suspect adrenal fatigue, and have just completely given up coffee to try and help. I have also been sleeping better (falling asleep much faster) after cutting down on water and upping salt (even though the dry mouth has not gone away yet after 6 days of doing this) :-/
Curious about basal body temperature being high in the morning! Is this good or bad? Thank you!!!! This stuff is VERY interesting
I’ve been taking one drop of Lugol’s solution (5% iodine) per day. It’s only the second day. I haven’t checked my temperatures and I’ll probably wait until I’m a couple weeks into this to see what’s up.
I do feel a bit more energetic, but I’ve read mixed opinions about iodine supplementation. Like with everything else there’s multiple takes on that. Anyway, I’m trying it and seeing what happens.
I’ve been making fruit crumble for the breakfast as per Matt’s recipe in his RBTI cookbook. And also dessert after lunch. Good stuff. I’ve only done apples with cherries or raisins or cranberries so far. Gotta try peaches.
I realize I said “the breakfast.” That’s funny, I didn’t even realize about for how to told ‘the joke’ :D !!
I have an offbeat sense of humor. I wonder if that drops anyone’s temperature.
I have a question–
I was feeling great eating lots of white rice, white and sweet potatoes, and corn (popcorn & tortillas) but all of that gives me terrible bloating (gets to the point where I feel full always, and can barely eat anything). Basically anything starchy does that.
So what do you suggest I eat to get warm? It seems like starchy things for lots of people here…
I am planning to eventually be able to eat all that stuff, but in the meantime, my digestion just can’t handle it. :-(
The less fiber involved the less it should bother your gut I believe. You might have a gut bacteria issue (I think I kinda do too) and I’m not really sure how to fix that, but getting your metabolism higher definitely helps a lot. When you eat the low fiber, low residue type of stuff, the higher your metabolism, the less it’ll bother you. I would recommend fermented foods I guess like kefir etc…and keep eating to get your metabolism higher and you should get more used to it. If your not used to eating those foods the digestive system also has to adjust the transit time to be in sync with assimilation of the food and to balance out the water.
What foods are low residue?
Has anyone else here problems with carbs forming gas in the body? I remember one of the changes when I went on a lowish-carb diet was that I stopped farting almost completely. Now it’s back when I eat more carbs. The source of carbs doesn’t seem to matter much. Maybe there’s a slightly smaller effect when I eat faster absorbing stuff (white rice, sweet stuff, etc.), but the fact remains that for me it seems that carbs = farts. Anyone else have this problem and/or ideas on what to do with it. It’s not the end of the world but very inconvenient/uncomforable at times and also I’m not sure if it’s good for me having my body creating this gas all the time..
Experience with iodine supplementation? Like sea kelps. Anyone?
The best way to supplement with iodine is transdermally. Paint a circle (1/2 inch in diameter) of 5% iodine solution on your skin and watch how quickly it absorbs. I forget how quickly it’s supposed to. -.- I think if it’s still visible after something like 24 hours (possibly 36 hours) you really don’t need it. But if it’s gone quickly, you should continue reapplying it until it lasts longer. This is what my doctor recommended anyway. Mine absorbs in under 8 hours.
I read Dr. Brownsteins book and read what Dr. Peat says about Iodine and I’ve decided not to take it for now, though using it on the skin now and then may be a good idea. I think raising metabolism with food is probably doing much of the same thing and maybe with less risk then with the Iodine.
Tactile- Look up FODMAPS free diet. It is for Small Intestinal bowl overgrowth. I have this and most veg and lots of fruit cause me serious issues. Fiber is truly over rated.
Mat- Love your blog! What do you recommend for having high lower body weight? I eat high carb until satiated, and have always eaten extreme amounts of sea salt. My temp’s are pretty good, still cold feeling though, fruit makes me cold and I get bladder infections easily if I eat sugar more than once in a while. I already use bio-identical progesterone and do Iodine drops. No matter what I try I can not get rid of this really flabby lower body. I am lean up top, I have varicose veins starting in my teens. I am 36 yrs old and not technically over weight, just really high body fat. I lift and do warm up cardio(I hate cardio) 4x week. Thanks for all your exparementing.
Just ate some avocado topped w/ coconut oil, parm cheese and lots of salt, plus some bread w/ butter and salt, and some chocolate chip pancake w/ butter and syrup. I had to take off my sweatshirt b/c I feel like I’m sweating! This is from someone that is ALWAYS cold. Lots of salt is really working wonders for me.
My temps ranged from 96 to 100 today. 100 was nice but it didn’t last and a huge dip afterwards. Quinoa = bad for temps!
Chicken stock was good for temps but all the liquid is an issue… sigh. Getting a little discouraged. I’m realizing my adrenal fatigue is worse then I thought. I thought I was almost recovered already, but the last few days all I want to do is stay in bed. Hard to do with two little ones at home.
I was pushing it. Busy non-stop from morning till late at night every day. Need to stop that. Sugar is doing me good too. So glad I left the low-carb world before it did more serious damage.
It’s normal when recovering from adrenal fatigue to feel like an immovable corpse. But bottoming out the adrenals into full-on dormancy is about the only way they can rest enough to rebuild. Keep hitting that salty and sugary foods at frequent intervals. Broth/stock, and liquids in general are not that big of a problem when taken in with plenty of salt. Salt sort of cancels out the washing out effect of the liquids.
I’ve been getting asthma-like wheezing and coughing in the evenings before bed, around 10-11pm. Not every night but often enough to be noticeable. Any idea what could be triggering it? I noticed today my temps dipped quite a bit in the evening. Could it be related to metabolism or maybe a food allergy? At first I thought it was mercury cause I have a chipped filling, but it only happens at that specific time so now I’m thinking it might be related to hormonal fluctuations.
Mu husband stopped having asthma coughing attacks at night when he took gluten completely out-including most beers. And sure enough anytime he slips up he has an attack in the night.
Very interesting. I’ve been mostly gluten-free for some time, but that very well could be a connection. I did have some saltines yesterday. I will keep track of that, thanks for letting me know!
That’s usually due to hormonal fluctuations. Your cortisol is probably falling really low in the evenings, cortisol being the primary anti-inflammatory hormone of the body. This is one of the reasons that as a person gets well-fed they sometimes fare best if they start to crossover into having a much lighter dinner – staying in more of a balanced state instead of travelling too deeply into the parasympathetic dominant state.
Hmmm…. my dinners are already pretty light. I don’t really have dinner actually. More like little snacks. I have to eat something before bed though or else I wake up at night. I had the weird wheeze yesterday again, but it was barely noticeable. It always happens when I stay up too late!! Would that make sense?? I should go to bed earlier…
IRL Cold Temp Fix Story:
Just before this story came out and Matt was talking about the of salt on FB, I began to get super chilly, like I had not experienced in a couple years (before my original 180 fix). I had just finished two rounds of anti-biotics in a month. :-/ Not my fault really, working in a hospital scenario exposes one to all sorts of bad guys. Anyhow – so I had numb hands and feet.
Brock suggested that I eat more refined carbs and salt because I probably had gut-bacteria die-off from the anti-biotics. Brilliant man, this Brock. So I ate a butter croissant, a mixed meal for lunch (with fish, I think), a cupcake, and a bag of salted pretzels. By 4 pm, the thermostat was cranked back up.
As I recover the “good guys” in the gut, I have continued to eat whatever looks yummy. :-)
Awesome story. :) I too am recovering from a nasty Golden Staph infection by eating SUGAR! Go figure! :) Screw the Candida diet….
So, I’ve tried a lot of different foods and altho my temp is high (between 98.2 – 99.0 – oral) my feet are and hands are still like ice (yes, even when I’m hitting the 99.0). Thoughts?
my thoughts would be less liquids, more salt?
Other than what Simone said, maybe you’re stressing in some way. Pin point that, relax, and go for a parasympathetic vacation to toasty extremity land. Calm your mind, do not worry, just let everything be, and your blood will be set free. =)
Your adrenal glands are probably still overactive. When you fully dip into relaxation mode you should feel some blood flow out to them. I would try the pizza and ice cream test, which is to fill up on salty pizza, follow it up with a pint of ice cream, and drink no fluids with it. If that doesn’t warm up the extremeties, may God have mercy on your soul.
Thanks for the suggestions guys. I have definitely been doing a lot less fluids, but maybe not enough salt. Will work on that and getting enough rest and trying to get rid of all stress sources that may be hindering my warm fingers and toesies.
And Matt – thanks for your suggestions. Will give that test a try and see how it goes. :0) And thanks for all the research you do so I don’t have to. It’s so nice to have one blog to follow where I’m told to relax rather than 20 that tell me to become OCD over everything I put in my mouth. :0)
Six days into it and I felt the real heat today!! My feet felt like they were on fire, it’s awesome!
I knew you could do it tiger. Burn baby burn!
Keli, your last sentence is pure gold! Couldn’t agree more :)
you could have the some of the opposite problem like me. loads of carbs pizza ice cream 5k + calories etc = lots of nervous energy, no fat gain but ice cold + mind all over the place, can’t function. but low carb + lots of green tea, coffee + adaptogens (especially ginseng), all the things which would overstimulate most people make me always warm, calm, relaxed, loads of energy, rock solid 98.6 temp (before could be 99 yet ice cold, 97 yet warmish), perfect sleep + more. i’m an extreme example of this cause i’ve always been cold and a mental wreck despite otherwise good health, can’t even sweat without the above things, but i think for some people there is some sort of underactive stress response, not “adrenal fatigue” but something which ain’t gonna fix itself.
Thanks for the suggestion, Terpol. Your situation is definitely interesting and I’m glad you have been able to figure out what your body needs. We’re all so different and that’s what I love about 180 – all kinds of people to help with a million and one suggestions – SOMETHING is bound to work. :0)
Unfortunately, I don’t think that’s my problem. When I was unintentionally low carb doing WAPF eating, my temp was in the 96/97 range. I always noticed I felt better when I ate 50% WAPF and 50% whatever I felt. That’s why Matt’s suggestions make so much sense to me – when I swing “too healthy” I feel like crap and same as when I go “all junk”. So a “junk food binge” to swing you back to normal and then doing a 50/50 lines up perfectly with my experience. I think for me a lot of the rest of the healing will be getting rid of the stresses on my body, one of which is lack of sleep. I’m thankful to now be in the 98/99 range and will work on sleeping that warmth out to my toes and fingers. :0)
I think there is definitely some validity to the theoretical basis of metabolic typing – balancing the sympathetic and parasympathetic. It just seems that far too many people mistake themselves for being “protein types” and needing to go on some uber high adrenal regimen to correct that – only to find themselves pretty much ruined 6 months later.
my “adrenal” regime makes me normal, its stimulating in that it relaxes me and allows me to live normally. i can’t even sweat without it. it does in a few hours what months even a whole life of plenty food couldnt. from what i can tell these symptoms are hereditary but i certainly got the shortest straw. anyway again i’m an extreme example.
food and calories can only do so much. matt from what i can tell you still get cold if you skip breakfast. do you think you can get your body to be warm without food like a truly completely healthy person can? chief can but i’m guessing that he always could. am i right in thinking he didn’t lose and regain his health, but always had it? i would be amazed if you can, through eating, get your body to stay warm without food which i’d say is a real sign of excellent health
and i know quite a few people over 80 in good/excellent health who live on bacon/eggs etc. always relaxed and quick witted and usually warm. of course they are inherently strong and always had their good health unlike just about every one this (or any health blog)including me.
i dont mean to have a go at you i’ve been reading this blog for 3 years and have learned a lot and am not really looking for anything more here, i have my solution. i just think you should avoid simplifying so much down to “metabolic” health and getting in the “parasympathetic” state when there are sooo many variables. no harm in stuffing yourself with salt and sugar if you’re feeling good but theres only so much you can explore there. my tip is give something like ginseng a try, if you took it and you felt warm all the time regardless of what you ate you’d certainly have learned something yes? and buteyko method and body oxygenation (mine was 5-10 seconds my whole life, now over 60 and increasing, clearly a sign of increased stress eh ;) ) i think there is really a lot to that
ray peat has a good article on the oversimplification of the “sympathetic and parasympathetic” systems http://raypeat.com/articles/other/autonomic-systems.shtml
thanks for reading if you did!
I agree. Chief of course has 32 perfect teeth without braces. How many of us reading can claim that? I agree that there’s probably only so much a person can do to reverse the hand they were dealt. There does seem to be a fantastic amount of things people can do to make their health worse. If anything, health is a battle to keep from getting unhealthier. Thanks for sharing your experiences. It will keep me more open than I would have been otherwise to other possibilities. And I am very aware of the oversimplification of the sympathetic vs. parasympathetic nervous systems. But they do provide some simple framework to work with.
i should have added that i think matts approach is probably to best thing to regain health you once had that was lost dieting or exercising. consistantly low carbing without these stimulants crushes me quick. i don’t really eat low carb either, low gi carbs have the least “anti stress” effect which suits me best. sugar really makes me cold and anxious. regularly eat a pound of beans (dry weight) at once with no problem, plus meat and fat. that gets me warm!
Terpol,I recognize so many similar things in your story. I don’t think it’s about being high or lowcarb per say for me,but about finding the right carbs.
I’ve discovered that fructose rich foods (apples,dried fruits,onions,tomato) are really an addictive substance for me,addictive as in that I want to eat it everyday….preferrably in bigger amounts by the day,which slowly or not so slowly leads to many disregulations/stress in my body while my ‘mood’ gets high on it. On the other hand….I seem to tolerate a bit of raw honey,which is said to have much fructose too? (might it be bc the distribution of glucose/fructose is 50/50 and that it doesn’t taste that sweet? or that raw honey contains many beneficial nutrients?especially Manuka honey,so I’ve heard)
So,is there maybe someone who has a trustworthy list of veggies &fruit&other Carb sources (though it’s probably all fruit except lemon/lime&avocado) which contain no fructose? or at least in a way smaller/equal amount compared to glucose?
(I guess my body can’t handle fructose really well. I’ve read that fructose can only be dealt with by the body properly when there’s enough/more glucose paired with it. However to me it functions like an opiate.
It’s good to know,but it also makes me sad,bc it gives me the feeling I’m prone to ‘boring eating’ if I’d like to maintain optimal (hormonal and stable emotional) health. Probably bc I’m an extremely High Sensitive Person. HSP’s are known to be easily overstimulated by stress,environment/people,pleasure and prone to addictiveness……which unfortunately in my case is addictiveness to ‘pleasurable foods/tastes’….even whole foods. (Why couldn’t I have been an alcoholic?….once you kick that habit,you don’t have to be in contact with it anymore…)
maybe you have some kind of fructose malabsorption http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fructose_malabsorption#New_research
overstimulation/ addictiveness could be due to something with dopamine. this blog has a lot of seemingly good and accurate information about dopamine. hopefully there is some helpful information there http://itsthewooo.blogspot.com/search/label/Mood%20Disorders
Thanx terpol…..I guess years&years of eating lots of sugary,mostly high fructose foods have screwed up my dopamine signalling for life. So,I guess I must head on with caution that’s why I’d love to have a trustable list with all the high fructose fruits&veggies….at least the ones with a higher fructose compared to glucose ratio.
And a list of higher glucose to fructose or no fructose veggies&fruit would be very welcome.
You’ll find that if you eat nothing but sugary food, dates especially, that you will have no dopamine reaction and will quickly start hating sweet foods. With a passion. Fructose is not inherently addictive.
I’ve been doing a lot of reading of your writing, and have gotten a bunch of books that you mentioned from the library (yea, they had them ALL) and it’s four weeks today that I’ve been following your overeating “prescription”. As my temp is slowly trending upwards I’ve started taking it axilliary as well as oral, but I’m confused, my axilliary is higher than oral, isn’t it supposed to be lower? Love your ideas, changed my life!!
I’ve been leaning more towards oral and rectal temps lately, as axillary temps can really be wonky. I used them initially because that’s what Broda Barnes used, and he was kinda the pioneer. But sometimes the left and right pits aren’t even the same temperature! Oral can be off if you mouth-breathe during the night, or drink something cold before taking it.
So Matt are you saying that high carb, high salt will get my metabolism high enough to burn subcutaneous estrogenic fat? Belly fat is a lot easier to get rid of then bum/thigh fat. and are you saying that if my metabolism gets hot enough it will correct my s.i.b.o? I need something to hang on to.
Subcutaneous fat has been found to be universally protective. Belly fat is more of a biomarker of stress, not harmful itself. An increase in SIBO can DEFINITELY improve SIBO. Faster transit time = less time to ferment and feed bacteria, for starters.
So my wobbly lower body is a good thing? According to body fat testing sites(Poliquin), this means my estrogen is high and my hgh is low. High estrogen is cancerous and screws with my sleep, and husband thinks if I excercise and eat less it will go away. Which I have tried it, just got more skinny-fat. I sleep really shitty, fall asleep no problem am always restless and hot from 1am till around 4am. Wake-up feeling like I had a few too many the night before, and I do not drink anymore. My TSH is 5.5 (Canada) , and doc thinks it is fine. If I have a high fat meal with high carbs, my body puffs up for about 5 days(I think water retention). So I eat like a slow oxidizer. So due to the sibo I eat very little veg, and fruit is ripe bananas and berries. I think the white potato is the best thing for my digestion, I swear it some how protects it. How do I get a decent sleep? I have slept shitty my entire life. I feel like sleep is the missing shiz!
http://m.jcem.endojournals.org/content/90/8/4573.full
I think we can definitely make progress with the sleep. You sound like the type that would respond very favorably to eating a very tiny dinner, eating about 90% of your calories before 2pm. Try that for 2 weeks (expecting it to be horrible at first) and report back.
Oh that scares me. I am always hungry, in fact in the middle of the night I think about getting up and eating. So breakfast and lunch are BIG right? What would my evening meal look like? Just so I can gage what a small meal looks like. I tend to eat the most at supper and snack before bed. And my sleep should improve, but first 2 weeks will be crappy?
Oh and a very BIG thanks for your generousity. And I will start this tomorrow. Have a family dinner to go to tonight. I will report back, thanks for the link.
Yeah, eating heavy late at night and then snacking will cause me to have the exact same problem, among other issues (nasal congestion, hungover in the morning, etc.). Others actually do much better eating big at night.
Dinner will be like a bowl of tortilla soup. Maybe a little cottage cheese. You can even fast completely and basically have dinner at 1-2pm, but most do better eating at least something for dinner. I also wouldn’t eat past 7pm. Sounds scary at first, but this will probably obliterate your hunger in about 7-14 days. Breakfast and lunch should be even bigger to make this work, with lots of hyperpalatable foods. Just know that it’s a tough transition at first, or at least it can be.
Do not be afraid to eat more food less often. It could be just the thing you need, and just the thing to squelch your appetite and make you not so afraid of going without food. You should be able to go really long periods without feeling hungry or crashing out.
Thanks Matt! You are right, I am afraid to go without food. It totally is on my mind always. I will give it a shot.
It’s interesting that people are so different. I’ve found that if I something carby within 30-60 minutes of going to bed (like a giant bowl of brown rice drowned in butter and salt) I sleep though the night. But if I eat a mainly protein meal (cottage cheese, grilled chicken) I wake up hungry and anxious. But I guess it could have something to do with the protein meal filling me up quicker, so I don’t eat as much?
Yes, it depends entirely on the person and their daily rhythms. Most people peak in the evening, and stuffing themselves and avoiding too many fluids like they do early in the day actually works against them in the evening.
SIBO be gone!!!
Working on ditching the SIBO over here with lots of dairy and white gluten devil. I’m definitely eating the pizza and ice cream/white everything diet (salted of course). Days 1 and 2 temps rose solid to 99.4 and although I was still having a ton of bloating (still taking lots of HCL to help stomach acid).
Days 3&4 My eating to elimination has gone from taking 48hrs to 24 hours! This is really helping the SIBO and my bloating is going down significantly! As well as my dairy rash is on it’s way out. Still working on solid BM’s but am hopeful! Hoping will keep improving each day!
Questions for Matt:
Do you think its helpful or not to take Bvitamins/Cod Liver Oil/Omega 3’s while RRARFing?
What about HCL while doing this? I’m hoping my metabolism kicks in along with my stomach acid soon, so I dont need HCL…
Thanks Matt! I wish you could write everyday! You are a refreshing vacation from my nutritional therapy/avoid everything that raises your pulse curriculum…. any book giveaways for starving students??
Yes, speeding up the transit time can be really helpful. Glad to hear things are looking good. No problem giving handouts to the ol’ starving nutrition student. And I don’t really think B Vitamins/CLO/omega 3’s are very helpful during RRARF. HCL can be good but I only recommend it to those who definitely need it.
Sometimes when I eat pizza, I can feel my heart beating harder. Maybe a little faster, maybe not, but harder. Then I don’t want to eat any more and I just want to sit. My hands and feet will not be warm. What might cause this. It doesn’t happen all the time. Sometimes I will get nice and warm and feel good.
The harder beats come from that increase in metabolism but also likely has something to do with an increase in urea levels after eating a bunch of food. Well, I don’t know if it has so much to do with urea levels directly as it does an association with higher urea levels.
That’s what happens to me too when I eat pizza.
For me it’s usual an indicator of a food that’s not good for me sometimes paired with diabetic symptoms,yet also while becoming easily opiated&addicted by it which means I’d like to eat it over&over everyday….preferrably in increasing amounts.
I’ve never fallen prey to lots of addictions such as alcohol,drugs,sigarettes…..yet apparently I’m hypersensitive when it comes to food addictiveness even within the whole foods range.:( (Fructose-rich foods&veggies onions,peppers,apples,pears,melon are such examples…explains why I’d love onionsoup,apple pie,melon etc. and could keep eating it) So some thorough research needs to be done,hopefully in order to restore my pallatabillity&foodreward brain chemistry. Makes sense in some way, cause the first couple of years as a kid I didn’t have much of a sweet tooth at all…..I grew up on lots&loving of freshly baked croissants stuffed with cheese,ham&cheese,curry chicken,liverwurst,mackarelsalad….pancakes with ham&cheese(they’re actually diner over here,not the same sort of pancakes you have in the US:)),smoked eel,sometimes in summer some icecream or strawberries with whipped cream. I only ate a piece of pie on birthdays,unlike what some people used to joke about when they heard I was the daughter of a baker.
Just this past week I found your site and have read your new ebook “12 Paleo Myths”. I couldn’t put the thing down until it was finished. My husband said, “You are doing it again, you are obsessing about your health.” and I answered, “That’s why I’m reading this, because I don’t want to obsess anymore.”
I’m coming off of over 2 years super low carb paleo (less than 20 grams most days). I have all the symptoms of a trashed thyroid and adrenals ranging from energy/blood sugar issues to hormonal imbalances. Oh yeah, and FREEZING hands and feet. *For the record, I don’t fully blame paleo, it was I who made it so extreme.
But to the point of this particular post, apparently adding in more starches like potato and rice get me hot. So hot that my husband woke me up at 3 am last night concerned. He said “You are really hot. Radiating heat. I took the blanket off. Are you ok?!” I have been waking up pouring in sweat the past few nights, is this normal when first starting out? I’m having blood sugar swings too, but I am not surprised after restricting them so long.
When I woke up this morning temp was 98.5. Yesterday afternoon was 98.6. Hands and feet still kind of cold though.
I need to make more money to support my eating habits. This is getting really expensive for me lol. I gotta get disciplined and start cuttin potatoes again an bewshit… 195-205 lb in early december. 230 lb now. BOB vs FOOD
I sure hope I am 98.6 tomorrow morning. I am so sick of eating!! LOL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvplo5_EtV0
Can Avarage Joes and Janes increase their body temp with meditation? Or just if they work on it for years? Any guess?
Definitely.
Ice-Cream gets me hot. I ate it for breakfast one morning and I started to get ‘dewy’ from perspiration.
I must say, you have brought me around full circle to understanding REAL nutrition. I was a Paleo addict for the past 3 or more years and I was 100% sold. I am more of a Weston Price firm believer, along with agreeing in most Mercola info, but now, regarding metabolism and my issues with my major hormonal imbalances, your information TOTALLY spoke to me.
My doctor was Paleo and could not figure out why my Cortisol levels and cholesterol were always so high. He made me eat more and I tried, but they always looked like I was ‘stressed’. DUH, I WAS stressed, but only by going low carb. I couldn’t lose weight and no matter how ‘low carb’ I went, I couldn’t lose any more.
I am now trying to ‘recover’, but I do not have a thermometer (I keep forgetting to buy one D’oh), but it has been such a relief to finally provide rice cereal and oats to my kids for a quick start in the mornings (still can’t wean the hubby off of bacon, he may rebel if I try).
I’m feeling enlightened, albeit lost as to how to get rid of my horrifically fluffy cellulite thighs once I’ve ‘recovered’. I am now into circuit training 1x/week, basic Taekwondo (light to moderate movements and extensive stretching) and usually hiking with some body-weight circuit training a couple times of week (I’m taking a bit of a break this week). I know exercise is key, as is proper sleep and supplementation (I’ve got leaky gut, gluten sensitivity, adrenal issues, gallbladder/ liver issues and anything else related to a sad gut, so I am quite malnurished, in addition to Mercury and Arsenic poisoning), but I know that I am ‘overweight’, in regards to high amounts of fat for my body frame and it’s uncomfortable to move around the way I want to when I am exercising.
I think I will try the high (cold) starch to fat ratio this week to see what my body does with that. But, after thinking I had the answer, I am now feeling back to square one. Enlightened, but clueless.
I would definitely scale back that exercise regime, and just do enough to progress and get benefits. With a history of high cortisol and metabolic issues, that level of physical activity is very likely to impede your progress/recovery.
1 tsp of salt in about half a cup to a cup of hot water, I drink it like it’s some sort of exotic royal tea, along side whatever I’m having for breakfast, usually 5 eggs, with sourdough toast smashed with butter and apricot jam, and 300g of spinach. I usually repeat the salt thing at least 2 more times, one at lunch, one before bed.
The spinach it boils in heavily salt water as well and drenched with butter.
Read Matt’s E diet book. Now have just come off Paleo/SCD type diet. I am still trying to find the right mixtures of food for breakfast. Really got used to bacon, eggs and sauteed vegies . try to avoid wheat and gluten so I have added fried potatoes.
Initially lost weight and felt great but then hit a wall. I am starting to sleep better but am having a problem with constipation.
On Paleo I was very regular. Now that I have added carbs back in I am eliminating less frequently and with less volume.
Anyone else have this problem?.
So I bit the bullet and decided to take a break from GAPS, bought the Diet Recovery E-book, and am giving RRARFing a go!
For lunch I had a banana and a gigantic sweet potato with lots of butter, salt and sour cream. That brought me up to a pretty toasty (by my standards) 36.9 (98.42), although a couple of hours later I dropped down to 36.2 (97.16).
Any tips for those of us who get annoying heartburn after eating starchy foods? Is this something that will go away as I recover, and if so is there anything I can do to minimize it in the meantime?
Thanks for these great posts – I’m looking forward to becoming a Hot Chick!
I experience heartburn symptoms when I drink too much water. That may be something to watch out for. Most starch will contain alot of water content, tubers, cooked rice/pasta… so when you add on drinking water as well, it can cause issues.
Hi undertow – thanks for your feedback! I pretty much drink no water at all (I’ll maybe have a glass every few days – only really drinking a couple of rooibos teas per day with cream and honey) – I hardly ever get thirsty and usually feel a bit dizzy after I drink. But if it is indeed a water issue, then perhaps adding even more salt (not sure if that’s possible, I eat SO much salt!) will help? Thanks again, I really appreciate it :)
How big are the tea servings, drinking it alone or with food? Just my thoughts, but with me it seems that too much extra water dilutes salts, etc… making weaker stomach acid, causing foods to digest slower, then heartburn symptoms. Reducing water makes symptoms go away in a few days. I try to drink my water, milk, and juice with food only most of the day.
B12 might also be something to look :)
Not so big… probably about a cup, plus cream. I usually drink either just before or just after eating, but sometimes in between meals. But literally only about 2 cups per day – any more than that and I’m dizzy! I’ll try sticking to with-meals (or with a salty snack!). Thanks for your help! :)
i am struggling with breakfast, ate it for 10 years then went off last year and started IF. just can’t make myself eat it.
I am so hot right now… Catching up on 180 after a long haitus and came across this post. It made me hungry. Carbed out for dinner and it totally worked! I was freezing earlier today… going to try again in the morning since I am getting tidbits here and there that evening is not the best time to pig out? Haven’t found that post yet.
Matt Stone makes me hot in his yellow pancake shirt (re: You Tube video)!!!
How does staying out in the cold weather affect someone with an ideal metabolism? Does the body generate more heat to combat the cold and if so, is this expected to require a higher number of calories or increased appetite?
I ask this because I’ve begun your 30 day RRARF, it’s December, and I am in the Northeast US. I noticed that if my body is warm (about 98 degrees F) before I leave the house and then I walk outside for about 1.5 hours in cold weather (40 degrees F or below), my body temperature can plummet by about 1.5 degrees. I also end up eating like a monster when I get home to any sort of food. Is this increase in appetite related to my body begging for an increase in body temperature?
Thanks!
When I first started this, the only thing that worked was a big salty steak with some potatoes or pizza or any other cheese/wheat combo like mac and cheese, lasagna, etc. These days I can get pretty toasty just having some cottage cheese (which I add a little salt to) some orange slices/toast and a cup of milky sugary coffee.
Yeah, I can’t even eat the warming stuff much anymore or I get too hot. Even cereal and skim milk makes me almost break out into a sweat unlike when I wrote this a year ago.
Love the fires, crackers, pretzels, popcorn and such, but what about all the PUFAs in them? No worries anymore about their impact?
you should be able to do popcorn and pretzels without PUFA concerns. Fries, unless you make ’em yourself, are probably a different story…
There shouldn’t be a significant amount of pufas in any of those except commercial popcorn and fries. But I eat those things at home mostly, and rarely out at restaurants.
Heck, this thread is MASSIVE!!!!
Ever since Eat for Heat I’ve been watching for the yellow pee and am more tuned in to my need for fluid and salt, reducing the former and increasing the latter, and now I’m never cold in the extremities, and my temps have hit the 98s for the FIRST TIME since I found 180 Degree Health at the beginning of 2010. I have worked on raising my metabolism on and off with real dedication since that time, overfeeding and fattening up to a very unwanted level. I then went on a diet restricted in fats and carbs but unlimited in meats, fish, potatoes, pasta, rice, veggies and fruits to lose the weight….I lost 56lbs in just under a year….then I got into coaxing my temps back up again and have put back half of that weight in about 10 months or so. I keep waiting for that magical thing that so many people who have followed your advice seem to report….losing weight without trying….but it never seems to happen to me. Right now I’m a bit despondent about it but recognise that because of a knee problem since last June I’ve been forced to be quite inactive and after impending surgery hope to be physically much more active again…maybe that will shift the weight
Anyway, this is off topic, I know….what makes me hot? Just about anything now. I have to be careful, in fact, not to eat heavy salty meals in the evening or I get restless legs….I find if that happens that a quick drink takes it away.
I clearly get very cold from the cold foods you mention. The Raytard love affair with orange juice might be ok for me on a 90degree summer day, but forget about it here in San Francisco.
Sadly, I am still wandering in the wilderness at re-feeding month number 6, in terms of trying to consistently get my temps up. I am 42. Previously, I have been on stupid-ass paleo-like diets for years. I do have a lot of stress and rarely get 8-9 hours of sleep, so I know it has to do with that too, but my life is a little crazy right now.
It’s weird. Sometimes the salt-n-beef things works for me. Sometimes the buttery waffles and syrup (my Waffletone practice) works. BUT – sometimes I will dip into the 95’s after eating a big burger or a bunch o’ tacos or a stack of pancakes, and feel freezing. It’s almost like my metabolism is so f’ed up that those big meals are just like adding to much fuel to a smoldering fire.
I am starting to think that my metabolism is seriously awry and I even have dark thoughts of pre-cancerous metabolic states since i both have a chronic prostate issue AND seem to have no exercise tolerance and build up lactate much much faster than I used to.
Ok, enough of the downer stuff!
I used to be a hot potato when I was younger, but now I am a cold fish….
: (
Ha… I just stumbled upon this quote above:
On a low fat raw vegan diet, a typical athlete will have a resting temperature of around 93 degrees. (S)he can warm up as much as desired, play as intensely as possible; the true fever will likely never be reached. Clear thinking becomes the norm, rather than the exception. Efficient functioning is most readily achieved when body temperatures run healthfully, in the lower 90’s. ~Doug Graham
That’s such a frightening quote, but I guess that’s what happens when you live on bananas and have to live in a warm tropical place because of it. Here I am trying to stay in the 97s consistently, and we have people idealizing sub-95 degree body temps. Amazing. How can he talk about “efficient” functioning when it is a well known fact that enzymatic reactions in human happen more efficiently at warmer body temps, not to mention so many other physiological functions….
Through the lens of good endurance competition performance, one could be led to such a conclusion. When I was at my coldest I could run up a mountain without breaking a sweat. Now I break a sweat unloading the dishwasher.
I’m wondering if we need less heat in the summer than in the winter, or is it just a boost-your-metabolism issue (as in having enough energy to do your work)?
It’s pretty counterintuitive to eat warming foods when it’s hot out. But because it’s warmer and you sweat more you can keep metabolism up even eating juicy fruits and things – you can take in more without peeing frequently or seeing urine get clear for example.
For sure, when I eat pizza or ice cream before bed, I get extremely hot. I ended up having to sleep on top of the covers with my ceiling fan on most nights, because I would wake up and be sweating my ass off.
Also, I train for triathlon and take in a fair bit of juice and milk throughout the day to stay hydrated. I figure it is better than plain water. I have have never felt cold from it, personally. I do usually try to throw down some solid food with it, which is typically cereal or eggs.
Anything with CALCIUM in it. Also animal fat. xxx
Hey, I didn’t realize this thread had been picked up again. I just decided to reread again. I really want to be a hot chick. My husband would say I am hot all the time lol. When I eat certain foods that get my temp up into 98’s I will check it again a little later and it’s down again. Also my hands stay cold. I am also freaking out about my weight gain, & yes, none of my clothes fit. I started wearing my hubby’s jackets because my cute lavender jacket is too tight. But I want to add there is improvement. I didn’t think anything was happening except the weight gain. I’ve been tracking my temps and saw that for 2 months they were 96.7 – 96.8 every morning. Now it’s 97.7 – 97.9. Something is happening. Yea!