Primal Challenge Journal (MamaGrok) page 117

[pattyloo]

MG - thank you for replying to my private message. The info is fantastic. I'm so happy to see so many of my favorite foods are encouraged on this plan. seeing your weight loss >50 lbs is inspirational. Right now, i am focused on my weight, but I'm also looking forward to other health improvements, such as aches/pains, skin issues, allergies, that many on this forum have overcome using the Primal/Paleo techniques.

[MamaGrok]

132.5 !!!! HOLY MOLY.
BBT - 97.2 (CD5)
2 months binge-free!

Leptin Resistance goals:
- Breakfast w/ 50gm of protein, w/i 30m of rising: yes.60m
- 5+ hrs between B/L & L/D: 9 hours between B/D
- finished dinner by 7:30, 3.5hrs between dinner & bed: by 6:45.4hrs
- no snacking, <50g carb/day, 100% epi-paleo:yes.yes.yes
- morning temp & sun; dark house @ sunset:yes.sorta
- no PUFA's other than fish:yes

Morning
D5K, Bcmplx150: 16k.yes
HCl, DigEnz, Bitters, OxBile: will start tomorrow or so.no.yes.2AM
CO, Probx: no.yes
Feverfew, Curcumin, Thyroid: no.yes.6grains TG(2.6grains per cap)
Organs, broth, ferments, seafood: no.no.yes.yes

Midday
15m sun, Cold: yes.34F bkfst
Se200, Seaweed: yes.no
Green tea, VitC, ACV: 2C+.no.yes
Glutathione, Zinc: no.no
Mg, Liver support: 1AM, .(can't remember what the latter meant)

Suspect foods (FODMAPs, nightshades, coconut flesh): trace sugar & pepper in ssg. BBQ sauce

B - Ahi tuna, ground beef, sausage
L -
D - smoked beef & pork. 1TB BBQ sauce. <1/4C fermented chow-chow


Results
- Energy: 5.6+ Mood: 7
- Bloating: <2.5m AM. 4+m bedtime
- Skin: almost smooth. trace pitting? Pink nose. Less dark circles.
- Sleep: 11-8 solid. sleepy by 11:30am. ? 1.5gr TG 1.5hr before wakeup. Felt pretty good at 8am this morning!


Thyroid still feels hard.

[MamaGrok]

Pattyloo, we've seen all those improvements (and many more - check the first page of my journal!) in this house. It truly is amazing the kind of health our bodies can achieve if only given the right materials.

[pattyloo]

yes, i'm reading your journal now. it is great.

[MamaGrok]

Just took my first walk with hubby in a long time (not counting hikes in November). Felt great the first half, then my furnace kicked in and I threw off my coat and was still hot (44F), then a mild uphill starting making me woozy in the head, then my adductor muscle/tendon/something started hurting and it all went downhill from there, lol. Dunno why. I got really sleepy, too, and feel like I need a nap now at 1pm.

Wonder if this nappiness has anything to do with the circadian t3 protocol?

[MamaGrok]

134.75 ... I guess 1T BBQ sauce weighs 2lb. :/
BBT - 97.0 (CD6)
2 months binge-free!

Leptin Resistance goals:
- Breakfast w/ 50gm of protein, w/i 30m of rising: yes.60m
- 5+ hrs between B/L & L/D: 9.5 hours between B/D
- finished dinner by 7:30, 3.5hrs between dinner & bed: yes.3
- no snacking, <50g carb/day, 100% epi-paleo:yes.yes.yes
- morning temp & sun; dark house @ sunset:no (overcast, didn't quite feel able to take cold & cloudy).
- no PUFA's other than fish:yes

Morning
D5K, Bcmplx50: 16k.no (alternating b/c I seem to waste a lot when I take it every day)
HCl, DigEnz, Bitters, OxBile: 1AM.no.out.2AM
CO, Probx: no.yes
Feverfew, Curcumin, Thyroid: no.yes.6.5grains TG + NT (2.6/4)
Organs, broth, ferments, seafood: no.no..yes

Midday
15m sun, Cold: yes.
Se200, Seaweed: yes.no
Green tea, VitC, ACV: 2C+.no.yes
Glutathione, Zinc: no.no
Mg, Liver support: 1AM,1PM.(can't remember what the latter meant)

Suspect foods (FODMAPs, nightshades, coconut flesh): trace sugar & pepper in ssg.

B - salmon, ground goat, sausage
L -
D - leftover sausage, pork chop


Results
- Energy: 5.6 Mood: 6
- Bloating: 3.5m AM.4.5 PM
- Skin: almost smooth. no pitting. Pink nose. Less dark circles.
- Sleep: 10:30-7:30 solid. sleepy by 9:30am. ? 1gr TG 1.5hr before wakeup. Felt almost good when I woke up! (despite being woken by dd)


Thyroid still feels hard.

Bloat culprits: BBQ sauce (could have had corn syrup in it?), fermented chow chow. Interesting that while two weeks ago, one slip-up was erased by morning, this one is still here 24hrs later. Is it corn syrup? Am I really that reactive to corn? I should really know the answer to this by now, given the last time my gut was totally flat was Sept 2011 & I blew it with corn chips.

[pattyloo]

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/forum/thread74837.html

MG - you were a great inspiration to me yesterday. i'm so glad i found the answers i needed so i could start the primal program immediately, while i still have that excitement about doing something new. 3 other people also helped me yesterday, but they don't have journals to post on, so i just emailed them. i've setup my own journal now too (above link).

now that i have a good supply of the foods in my home, and i can see it's easy stuff to bring to work, i don't have all that anxiety about 'how am i going to stick to the plan today?'

but the real thrill is that i've enjoyed 2 fabulous fatty meals already today before noon, and I feel no guilt because i know they are what my body needs. i'm starting to think the reason i always 'failed' on past 'diets' is because my body really couldn't deal with low-fat, low-cal, and it was sending distress signals constantly, which made me 'cheat'. that whole concept of (when falling off a particular diet) that I was 'cheating' or 'eating bad things' is so derisive to my confidence. no wonder i never succeeded in those plans.

[MamaGrok]

Wow, it sounds like you've picked up on a lot of crucial concepts very quickly. Yep, people can lose weight on low-fat or low-calorie diets, but eventually, their nutrient-starved body sends signals to eat more that are too powerful to override with "willpower", and the weight comes back. It always fails.

I love this WOE (way of eating). I will never go back. I mean, eventually I'll eat more seasonal carbs, etc., but as far as eating processed foods, Food Pyramid grains galore, low-fat, etc., ... no. Never. It's ancestral eating for me, forever.

[MamaGrok]

This is the unedited transcript to the video I posted on YouTube about conquering binge eating disorder & sugar addiction with primal & the leptin reset. After I wrote it, it was 10m long, so I had to cut it way back! I originally wrote it last May, so the dates & facts are a bit different here:

Hi! I'm a 36 year old mother of five, & you may know me as MamaGrok on the Optimized Living forums. What I'd like to share today is an overview of how my battle with sugar addiction was ended with the leptin reset.

Exactly one year ago, I was desperate. I'd been battling sugar cravings for over a decade, & had made a lot of progress, but didn't feel I was ever going to get to a point where I won the war. Five years ago, I had made the switch from a conventionally "healthy" low-fat, high-whole-grain diet to a traditional foods diet with properly prepared whole grains here & there. Introducing fat & more protein into my day made a big dent in cravings, & the binges that resulted, but it didn't kill them.

Three years ago, I had learned that having a full serving of protein for every meal of the day, with no snacking, could help, & so I tried that, & it did help. A lot. Binges became more rare, but I still couldn't get rid of them altogether, & couldn't stop the longing for another home-fermented-yogurt snack or more organic almond butter & raw honey throughout the afternoon, every day.

Two years ago, I joined a popular internet forum dedicated to primal & paleo eating, as it seemed to confirm the experience I was having - that grains fed my cravings for sugar. Also, I was not only unable to lose weight from my last pregnancy, but was actually gaining. I took out the last (intentional) wheat consumption - at that point, just a half a serving a day - & didn't look back. I had 50lb to lose, & it began to drop off, averaging half a pound per week. Niggling lifelong minor & major complaints started to disappear, & fast. But the cravings in the afternoon for dairy, nuts, & fruit wouldn't drop back, & unintentional, devastating sugar binges still crept in once a month or so.

One year ago, it started spiraling out of control again. I was bingeing every weekend, eating totally primally on weekdays & 90% of the hours of a weekend, but I couldn't rein it in. Thoughts of food were relentless. I'd battle for 23.5 hours in a day against giving in, then truly feel like something else took over my brain & half an hour later, I'd see half a carton of ice cream gone, or find myself in a dark corner of a grocery store parking lot with half a cookie cake gone, & be bewildered at how it happened & completely, utterly defeated.

After six weeks of bingeing only once a week, I had gained 10lb back & was more determined than ever to end this, but totally unsure where else to go. I was already eating paleo every day, 100% compliant & very content & satisfied with my meals, until that 30m block on the weekends when I'd go bananas & eat unreal amounts of calories. I'd tried moderation, complete abstinence, low carb, moderate carb, high carb, seasonal carb, whole 30, GAPS, Radiant Recovery, you name it. I was eating solid protein for every meal, unlimited fats, organ meats, broth, ferments, & large amounts of vegetables, with seasonal fruits.

I simply could not refrain from bingeing on the foods that made me feel horrible, once a week.

I posted a long lament on the forum, begging for help from anyone who had fought this long war & won it. Two days later, the Leptin Reset monster thread began.

Coincidence?

I doubted that going from 25 to 50gm of protein each morning could make a difference, but I finally tried it.

The first day, I stopped wanting to snack, & have not had a snack in the 11 months since then, nor have I had any desire for one.


I knew something was different when, a few weeks in, I was at Trader Joe's & they announced a pie eating contest out front. Free all-natural pie! I didn't care. I tried to care. I looked for caring. There was nothing there! I walked right past them, feeling sorry for the sore stomachs they were soon to have, & left, astonished.

A month in, at a farm-to-table restaurant for my anniversary, I looked at the dessert menu & saw rich, all-natural cheesecake. My FAVORITE all-time dessert. I didn't care. I tried to care. I looked for caring! There was NOTHING THERE! It still astonishes me to this day, every single time this happens. It's like having a new brain, a new life!

Was that all? Was that it? Was it that easy? Well, I got over confidant. I had a small bite of some homemade dessert & was satisfied with just one bite. I could now have "just one bite" & not go crazy! So I did, while on vacation, here & there, but after two weeks, it was too much. That old, familiar feeling started coming back, & not long after, I did go bananas, at a big breakfast buffet. So the leptin reset, at its minimum protein level, KILLED my snackiness dead, removed emotional attachment to food, & dramatically reduced my cravings so that I really had to nickel-&-dime myself for a few days to get them going again. But they weren't dead yet. I'd start a "days binge-free" counter & find myself having to reset it after 22, or 33, or 40 days of success.

Three months in, bingeing about once every six weeks or so, I started to think maybe I should try a higher protein level within the range. I went up to 65g each day. At first, I was scared, because I *really, really* enjoyed that big old breakfast of sausage & eggs. I was afraid that I'd love it so much that I'd never want to back down. As soon as I finished it, I still felt like I could eat it, all over again. But within a few weeks, that stopped. Not only did I start feeling full after my 65g breakfast, but I stopped wanting lunch. A miracle! I was going 9-10 hours between meals each day & not thinking about food at all! That, too, has continued ever since then, & I can count on one h& the number of times I've eaten lunch in the last 7 months. I also have a satiety signal the likes of which I never had before.

More than anything, though, after about a month, that REALLY big breakfast killed the binges. The last one was the day before Halloween, & it was debatable, but I decided to go ahead & call it a binge, & started clean again on the first day of the Overeating Season.

It has now been 210 days since my last binge. I've never had anywhere close to this kind of success before.

I had a few - maybe 2 or 3 - desserts during the entire holiday season, & when the lab results came in (that I had ordered at Dr. Kruse's recommendation) showing severe fat malabsorption, anti-wheat antibodies, & autoimmune activity, that was the end of that. Since January 1, I have had not one intentional bite of wheat or dairy, & at long, long last, am having success against the chronic fatigue that has been settling in over me for the last 6 years. I find myself singing, playing piano, picking up, decluttering, making the bed, playing with my children, swimming, all things I had either stopped doing or had to force myself to do for the last several years. Instead of each day being a 3 out of 10 on the energy & mood scales, I average 6 most of the time. This, too, is a life-changing miracle.

I had tried to be 100% wheat- & dairy-free for years, but even when not bingeing, the cravings were too strong to avoid when faced with something of high quality & home made. "Just one bite!" the cravings said. Now, I just look at it & keep going. Who cares? I'd rather have a pastured pork chop, anyway!

BTW, it took six months to lose the 10lb of binge weight, but I am now 48lb down from my paleo start, within 2lb of my goal weight. I haven't exercised a bit.

Okay, has it been easy? Ha! The first two weeks, I had the most bizarre "detox," for lack of a better term. I'd have extreme bouts of zombie fatigue hit me at 2pm, or sudden bizarre brain fog that made me afraid to drive. After the first two weeks, I'd have the zombie fatigue one day out of each few weeks, where my energy was more like a 1 or 2 out of 10. Moodiness increased for a while before it decreased & became better than it had been in years. I had a bizarre bout or two with strange depression, where everything felt futile, my mind couldn't settle on a single thought for more than a second, my restless legs syndrome re-ignited, & it all capped off with tons of pimples on my face & legs & a long trip to the bathroom, all in the span of a few hours!

It was all worth it, every step.

I encourage ANYone who finds himself plagued with sugar cravings, with binges, emotional attachment to food, inability to go 5-6 hours without eating or thinking often of food, or simply struggles with continually eating stuff you know you would be better off not eating, & would prefer not to eat, to try the big protein breakfast. That alone makes the rest of the leptin reset principles easily doable. You may have tried all the "tricks", the behavior tips, the separation of emotion from eating, but I'm telling you, for many people including myself, the big protein breakfast (with plenty of natural fats, of course), does this all by itself. It either makes the tips (like "drink a glass of water if you're hungry before a meal") st& a chance at success, or makes them completely unnecessary because you lose all that emotional attachment. So... just try it. Try it for 30 days. There's nothing to lose, & you may be surprised at the results.

If you're interested in following my story, you can find me on the Optimized Living forums & click on the link to my journal in my signature. I've been posting my trials & successes nearly every day for the last two years.

[MamaGrok]

An add-on to the post above:
*****
I also drew up this list:

The must-do steps to end sugar addiction / binge eating disorder / compulsive overeating
- at least two full servings of real food protein every morning
- plenty of natural fats every meal
- eliminate grains
- eliminate the sugars that you personally can do without
- change when you eat your sweeets - do it only after a full meal
- keep going. and going. and going. And see what happens
- try to move to all real foods, all the time, and watch your health take off

Helpful
- keep a journal, NOT to cast blame for "how much you ate", but to keep track of physical and emotional signs, along with food type, amount, & time, so you can do some detective work. Not everyone tolerates the same foods in the same way
- Go to marksdailyapple.com or jackkruse.com for support on the forums to keep you steady and help problem-solve
****




I would so much appreciate it if any who are reading this would go to YouTube and then come back and give me some feedback here. I was asked to make a video "testimonial" of my experience with the leptin reset, and I did two takes. I'd love to know which is the better one to keep up, and also have any other constructive criticism that would be substantial enough to encourage me to re-do it. I'd like to make it shorter, but of course, I don't know when I'm going to get 4 minutes of silence to do it again!

Take 1:
Beating Sugar Addiction & BED - YouTube

Take 2:
Beating Sugar Addiction & Binge Eating Disorder - YouTube

Thank you!