Have achieved a huge milestone---What's next? page

[JohannaAnderson]

After many years of fad diets and pills, and an equally large number of years of dealing with daily low blood sugar crashes, PB has enabled me to finally get control of my body and my life.

I have been eating primally for about 5 weeks now. The first four, I had the low carb flu, but bad. It was pretty awful. I was starting to think I was the one person for whom primal eating would not work. On the advice of a MDA poster, I completely eliminated fruit and sweet potatoes to see if this stopped the blood sugar crashes, which had become worse than ever before. Doing this left me with an intense craving for fat, and I decided to just go with it. I started having steak for breakfast, avacadoes and bacon for snacks, pork for dinner, and spoonfuls of coconut butter when I wanted something sweet.

The result was that my low blood sugar crashes completely disappeared! For the first time in my memory, I could leave the house without being afraid that I would be stuck somewhere and have a low blood sugar attack. I started preparing smart snacks (with lots of fat) to take with me so that I would always be prepared. Four o'clock in the afternoon, which had always been a nightmare for me, started to come and go without my stomach so much as growling. I can think more clearly, and I don't feel like I am a prisoner of the whims of blood sugar anymore.

Having suspected that this blood sugar problem might be something serious, I made an appointment with an endocrinologist last week. I explained to her that I had had low blood sugar for years, but that the problem had completely resolved itself within the past week, as I added more fat to my diet.

I halfway expected her to tell me that I was crazy and that I would kill myself, eating all that fat. Instead, she got a great, big smile on her face, and said, "That's it! You hit the nail right on the head! It's all about fat." This was a super validation. She gave me a glucometer and instructed me to take a blood sugar reading whenever I had a crash, but I haven't even had to use it.

Now that my body is finally stabilized and regulated, it's time for me to tackle the next frontier: weight loss. When I started eating primally, I initially put on 5 pounds, but I have lost it again. I weigh 160 and am 5'7" tall. I'd like to get down to 145. I know the right foods to eat, and I know that it's okay for me to eat when I'm hungry and stop when I'm full. I can go longer between feedings now than ever before, but I haven't been able to tackle intermittent fasting yet. How can I effectively work this in?

I am reading Primal Fitness and have started doing Tabata sprints on my elliptical machine weekly. I feel ready to start incorporating some plyometrics into my life, as well as more regular leisurely walking. I know that exercising more will help a lot with the weight loss. I just have to be careful not to be so gung-ho as I get started that I lose heart and decide not to exercise at all. Truth be told, I have a terrible aversion to pain, and I tend to avoid it at all costs. I need to work into an exercise routine gently.

I also suspect that I might be eating too many calories to lose weight, but I don't want to reduce my caloric intake, if it's going to leave me hungry. I'm thinking of ordering a pocket carbohydrate counter guide so I can start learning how to count grams of carbs.

I'm also drinking a whey protein shake in the AM with 2 raw eggs and almond milk. Could this whey be slowing down my weight loss in any way? I like the convenience of it, and it seems to keep from feeling hungry for several hours, if I drink it while taking chromium picolinate and R-alpha lipoic acid. I really can feel a difference in my glucose stability from using those supplements.

Thanks for reading all of this. If you have any advice for where I should go from here, I would love to hear it. I have gotten fantastic advice over the past 5 weeks from MDA readers, and I am so grateful to all of you! I would not have been able to get this far without you.

Fond regards,
Johanna Anderson

[UniqueTII]

If I were you I'd start by adding the walking, like you mentioned, and don't change anything else for a while. IF is great, and I fast every week with great results, but these aren't the kind of changes that you need to make all at once. Just eat when you're truly hungry and you should be fine. If not, reevaluate.

[JohannaAnderson]

If I were you I'd start by adding the walking, like you mentioned, and don't change anything else for a while. IF is great, and I fast every week with great results, but these aren't the kind of changes that you need to make all at once. Just eat when you're truly hungry and you should be fine. If not, reevaluate.

Sounds like sound advice. Thanks!

[wolfman]

I agree with unique, I actually fast everyday (lean gains) 8 hours of sleep and 8 after waking up. Maybe try that two days a week, or one feel it out and definitely walk, I just gave myself a week long challenge, low level everyday for an hour for two weeks.

[honeybuns]

Check the ingredients in your almond milk. A lot of them have sugar.

I love coconut milk smoothies.