How to improve fat metabolism page 3

[Omni]

As this seems to be an ongoing issue for you irrespective of diets you've tried, it would suggest something deeper.
Have you had your thyroid levels checked?
Until you can feel energised on a good healthy diet I don't think trying to push your body into Ketosis is going to be very helpful, by leaning to fats you will probably be reducing your intake of a variety of micronutrients which may result in a negative outcome.
Keep the whole primal thing going, but rather than restrictions increase your intake of salad greens, vegetables & fruit, nutrient rich bone broths, additional solouble fibre, yoghurt & a good probiotic supplement. Unless your issue is a clearly defined medical condition then it is most likely poor gut health leading to poor nutrient uptake & restricting nutrients isn't going to help. Solouble fibre is not just for keeping the bowel movements regular, it also regulates the uptake of sugar and in a healthy bowel it is fermented to short chain fatty acids & other compounds which are not only taken up by the body, but many are used there and then to power the bowel itself, so this helps take the load off the liver & rest of body to supply energy there.

From experience (my partner) the Acetyl L Carnitine & CoEnzyme Q10 may well help with muscular fatigue and know of a number of individuals who had positive results with fatigue issues, but I think the focus should still come back to gut health.
Eat as much variety as possible and for a short period, say a month don't restrict, but eat when your body is asking for it, if you add a few pounds on the road to rectifying your fatigue issues, these will move easily when your body is healthy again.
Don't think I saw fish mentioned, get some Omega 3's in there as well.

[magicmerl]

I think I'm going to try doing 12-hour fasts and just eat breakfast and dinner at 8:00/8:00 ... so I'll def try to increase the size of both meals. It is seriously hard to eat more than 2 scrambled eggs! I think I can do 3 but 4 ... OMG. Eggs are so filling! And I do try to get lots of good fats in all my meals, although I can't go too crazy b/c my hubby doesn't have a gallbladder anymore and has trouble metabolizing anything too fatty. He's sitting there carefully slicing the fat out of the rack of lamb, and then there's me on the other side of the table gnawing every bit off the bone like a cavewoman. Ha ha ha. I suppose I can always dump more butter on everything though. I seriously LOVE butter. Sometimes I cut little curls off with a knife and eat it plain.

Trim the fat off his and put it on your plate.

[Dave Mayo]

Have you had any history of fatigue before switching to primal eating? The reason I'masking is because your low energy may not be caused by diet, though diet could be inadvertently contributing to it. I just recently read a fascinating paper on chronic fatigue that discusses the role of inefficient ATP conversion in the mitochondria. If this is at the root of your fatigue, there are some supplements that are shown to help the mitochondria function better and produce energy more efficiently. One ofthe most important ones mentioned was d-Ribose, in addition to carnitine, coQ10, and a few others. I'm experimenting with these now to see if I can improve my own fatigue. That paper did mention that consuming glucose in the form of starches is beneficial, which was why I said it's possible that diet could be a factor, if not a cause. That paper is linked below:

CFS - The Central Cause: Mitochondrial Failure - DoctorMyhill

CFS - The Methylation Cycle - DoctorMyhill

My first thought was along the line of mitochondria, but I don't think diet is going to be that big of a factor. There are studies showing a high fat diet leading to mitochondrial biogenesis, but the greatest stimulator of mitochondrial biogenesis is exercise. If you don't have plentiful mitochondria, you can't burn significant amounts of fat since that's where it is burned. Taking a supplement will only provide marginal benefit, and no benefit at all if your problem is a low number of mitochondria within your cells rather than malfunctioning mitochondria due to a nutritional deficiency.

What do you do for exercise?

[teach2183]

I have been battling fatigue issues for a great while now as well. I agree with the others that since changes in diet don't seem to effect the fatigue, there might be more at play. I would go get some bloodwork done to check your thyroid and adrenal glands. Adrenal fatigue seems to be more and more of a common thing.

[KimInGA]

My first thought was along the line of mitochondria, but I don't think diet is going to be that big of a factor. There are studies showing a high fat diet leading to mitochondrial biogenesis, but the greatest stimulator of mitochondrial biogenesis is exercise. If you don't have plentiful mitochondria, you can't burn significant amounts of fat since that's where it is burned. Taking a supplement will only provide marginal benefit, and no benefit at all if your problem is a low number of mitochondria within your cells rather than malfunctioning mitochondria due to a nutritional deficiency.

What do you do for exercise?

Not too much, just walking briskly, going up/down stairs, and some light strength training like lunges and situps on an incline. When I was 16 I ran cross-country and had absolutely terrible stamina. Every day I ran 3-6 miles like everyone else but unlike my other team members my improvements in time & stamina were miniscule. Even after a whole season of training I could barely break an 8:30 mile which is pretty damn slow for a 16-yr-old who has been training for months! Anyway, the point of that is that this isn't something new, it's been this way my whole life and I'll be 31 this Saturday.

[fiercehunter]

Eat some sugar/fruit daily; eat enough; use coconut oil; walk daily; minimize/eliminate PUFA; drink milk.

[KimInGA]

I have been battling fatigue issues for a great while now as well. I agree with the others that since changes in diet don't seem to effect the fatigue, there might be more at play. I would go get some bloodwork done to check your thyroid and adrenal glands. Adrenal fatigue seems to be more and more of a common thing.

Yeah, I went to a primary care doctor first because that's what my insurance requires. He blew me off. I went to a different primary care doctor. He blew me off too, even after I explained how I've had this fatigue (often combined with headache/sore throat) for many years, ever since I got sick with mono at the age of 16. He just said pretty much that I look fine and it's "normal" to be tired sometimes. Grrr. How exactly is fatigue supposed to look? Should I have painted dark circles under my eyes?? Now I'm seeing a naturopath doctor, although of course my insurance won't cover any of it. I'm hoping I get somewhere with her, and she is supportive of my paleo diet in general so that's good.

[Danielle5690]

Yeah, I went to a primary care doctor first because that's what my insurance requires. He blew me off. I went to a different primary care doctor. He blew me off too, even after I explained how I've had this fatigue (often combined with headache/sore throat) for many years, ever since I got sick with mono at the age of 16. He just said pretty much that I look fine and it's "normal" to be tired sometimes. Grrr. How exactly is fatigue supposed to look? Should I have painted dark circles under my eyes?? Now I'm seeing a naturopath doctor, although of course my insurance won't cover any of it. I'm hoping I get somewhere with her, and she is supportive of my paleo diet in general so that's good.

This might be reaching a bit, but considering the onset of your problem and the symptoms, I'm going to suggest that you investigate the possibility that your immune system never recovered from the mono. You could have a chronic low-level infection. That would be my first guess.

My second guess would be to suggest that you might need to eat a little more. I weigh 120 lbs and eat like a freaking horse on primal. I frequently eat more than my fiance who is twice my size, and he wonders out loud where I put it. But, I'm very active, so your mileage may vary. It's worth a try though.

[SleepyRoots]

Welcome to the mystery fatigue club. Sorry you qualify.

I've had a diagnosis of CFS for years, though at least half of it turned out to be wheat related. Mono is a common initiator for CFS. The lack of response to exercise is also fairly typical, although fortunately you are at the mild end.
Because the diagnosis is a bit muddled, it's hard to make recommendations, but in general it's a good idea to not push yourself too much. Don't worry too much about fat vs carb burning. Primal should give your body plenty of building material if it has the ability to overcome this itself. And eat plenty. Eat when hungry, and I mean mildly hungry, not ravenous. Eat as nutrition dense as you can manage too. Make sure anything your body might need for repair is available.

[KimInGA]

Update: attempted 12-hour fast today, intending to go from 8:00 a.m. breakfast to 8:00 p.m. dinner. Total failure. Nausea hit me like a brick wall mid-afternoon. It got so bad I had exactly two choices: eat something or puke. I chose the former but of course had no food and could only scrounge up a single quarter so my choices were limited to the little spinning hand-crank vending thingie. Chiclets, sweet tarts, reece's pieces or M&Ms. I chose M&Ms. Sigh. Does this happen to anyone else??