Putting on weight, low energy, really need help !! :) page 2

[Scott F]

Sweet wine? I like dry wine but if I drink that every night I will want to snack with it. Sweet wine will be higher in fructose. Honey is also high in fructose. For example:High-fructose corn syrup - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Honey is a mixture of different types of sugars, water, and small amounts of other compounds. Honey typically has a fructose/glucose ratio similar to HFCS 55, as well as containing some sucrose and other sugars. Like HFCS, honey contains water and has approximately 3 kcal per gram. Because of its similar sugar profile and lower price, HFCS has been used illegally to "stretch" honey."

The alcohol in the wine is going to have a similar effect as fructose. What University of Colorado's medical professor, Dr Richard Johnson, believes through their lab research is that fructose (and alcohol) increase cellular uric acid production. Alcohol, fructose, (brewery's yeast, too) "trigger" the body's response to put on fat through this increased uric acid within cells.

Here's an interview with Johnson about what he calls the "fat switch": The Fat Switch Book | Weight Control Guide - Mercola.com. The work in this book has been submitted to peer review. It has two forwards, one to the layperson and the other to medical professionals. A shortened version of what can happen from drinking wine (alcohol and/or fructose) every night is this: The Skinny on Obesity (Ep. 3): Hunger and Hormones- A Vicious Cycle - YouTube taken from UCTV Prime: The Skinny on Obesity - YouTube

My speculation: using an evolutionary template, Grok would've been eating fruits (and honey) going into fall where nuts then come into season. Him and his tribe would've been putting on season fat to get through the leaner winter months. But today we have access to those foods year round. Just because they are paleo/primal doesn't mean you don't limit their use if you are trying to drop weight.

[BestBetter]

Some of us here have found that adding more fat is not the answer, so we follow
a lower fat primal diet.

Not ZERO FAT, but lower.

We don't shy away from fat that's found naturally in primal foods, however,
adding a crapton of fat "just to get the fat" is off the table.

Stick to foods that don't have an ingredients list or a package, up your carbs from
real sources, and try cutting back on *added* fat.

I think this is good advice. I'm a 5'4 lady in my thirties. I can NOT eat like a 6'2 male weightlifter.

Personally, I have found that I function best eating a higher carb / lower fat ancestral diet that includes cane sugar. I eat potatoes (white and sweet), white rice, and occasionally some gluten-free oatmeal. I eat fruit, seafood, and I generally go for leaner cuts of meat. Sometimes I'll choose fattier cuts if it's grassfed and from my local farmer's market, but I use very little fat when cooking and if I'm having a fattier dinner, the rest of my meals will generally be naturally low fat. I also stopped eating so many vegetables because the fiber was aggravating my IBS.

I don't thrive on a high fat/low carb diet. I found that when I raised my carbs and lowered my fat, my body was a lot happier. Add in hot yoga 5x/week, and returning to my pre-summer weightlifting program, and I can see my body very slowly recomping to where I want it. Another thing I've learned is that my body doesn't respond well to 'forcing' it to do things. If I try to do things that are extreme, it retaliates by refusing to improve. So for me, results happen when I'm slow and steady, not trying to be really intense in a short period of time, if that makes sense.

However, I've also realized that my body isn't happy with only 1 hour of exercise per week, it needs to be used almost every day (hence the 5 days of yoga per week). You mentioned that your activity levels were low; this could be a place to make some improvements. If you don't have time before or after work, what about walking during your lunch break?

I resisted going higher carb/lower fat because I really believed in this way of eating, too. But finally I got to the point where I had to face facts that it was not making me a healthier, happier person. During my lowest carb phase (no starches, no grains, no sugar, my only carbs coming from fruit), I spent one whole year in the gym making zero gains. With my first high carb day, I was able to increase all the weights...this really should have been a bigger clue that my body does not want to be given a lot of fat with too few carbs. Eating low carb/high fat also caused some serious fatigue issues for me.

You might want to check out the Perfect Health Diet; in my opinion it's a much better version of paleo than Mark's low carb brand.


http://perfecthealthdiet.com/2011/08...d-the-thyroid/

[Zach]

How many carbs do you eat a day?

[Savayla]

I think this is good advice. I'm a 5'4 lady in my thirties. I can NOT eat like a 6'2 male weightlifter.

Personally, I have found that I function best eating a higher carb / lower fat ancestral diet that includes cane sugar. I eat potatoes (white and sweet), white rice, and occasionally some gluten-free oatmeal. I eat fruit, seafood, and I generally go for leaner cuts of meat.


Low Carb High Fat Diets and the Thyroid | Perfect Health Diet

I think you have hit the nail on the head. I also suffer from IBS, chronic. I have been trying to remember how I was eating when I living in Malaysia, before coming to NZ. I was swimming at least 2-3 times a day, some walking, drinking lots of wine, not much dairy, and due to the type of meat, not alot of red meat either.

However, I was eating lots of rice and fruit. It seemed to work for me. Also would mix my butter with olive oil so that I could put it into the fridge. I was baking with sugar at least once a week. And I didn't put on any weight at all. I was super slim with no fat.

[peril]

A few things stand out:

* 40g of protein is too little . Try doubling it. Too little protein and your body acts as if you're starving and your metabolism slows

* Too much fat, but you know that. Primal is not a fat feast, but neither is it fat fear. Choose fatty cuts of meat and cook in moderate amounts of fat, but don't slather it on

* Snacking is not good. You should eat only meals. Snacking interferes with the body's hormone cycles and means you never adapt to fat burner. Primal is about becoming a fat burner and the easiest way to do that is have 50-100g carbs per day and 2-3 meals only

* Nut flours and butters are often oxidised and inflammatory, as well as being calorically dense. Reduction of inflammation is a major part of getting healthy, which will lead to weightloss

[Savayla]

How many carbs do you eat a day?

My day usually goes like this :

Breakfast : A smoothie for 4 people with 1 banana, large handful of mixed frozen berries, yoghurt, coconut powder and either milk or water, 1/4 cup almonds and 2 egg yolks.

Or, I will have an apple or a fried egg with either some mushrooms or asparagus which is in season. I am not a big breakfast eater and can't eat a big fried meal.

Or, a bowl of home made raw organic yoghurt with coconut flake and nut muesli.

Lunch: A salad with lettuce, tomato, carrot, cucumber, tuna, mayo . Sometimes some walnuts and cheese. Dressing is olive oil and vinegar.

Or: Left over frittatta with salad

Or: I start screaming because I am hungry and don't know what to eat. Need to spruce my salads up so they don't bore me and i feel like a rabbit I was also adding an almond cracker slathered in butter.

Dinner : Grilled pork steak with salad and wild rice

Curry (chicken or lamb) with wild rice, pumpkin and sometimes spinach

Lamb stew with all the fat on, with beans and peas and carrots, and rice or sweet potato

BBQ chicken with salads

So not sure what my carbs are ?

[Zach]

Well its certianly not low carb so most likely you are just eating too much fat.

Maybe you should just got back to your malaysian diet. Rice, fruit, lean meats, little dairy, avoid the nuts, seeds, grains.

[Derpamix]

Definitely lower fat. It's not harmful, but after a certain amount it's entirely useless especially in weight loss with regards to metabolism. Protein and carbs should be the main focus, with some saturated fat on the side.

[Savayla]

A few things stand out:

* 40g of protein is too little . Try doubling it. Too little protein and your body acts as if you're starving and your metabolism slows

*

I think 40g is too little too. However, this information came from a primal site. To caculate how much protein in grams you need per body weight. I can't do it.

[sakura_girl]

Does anybody notice that she started off at 100lbs on a 5'4" frame? I'm sorry, I'm at the same height, but even at my lowest weight, when people were saying that I was starting to look anorexic, I was 110 lbs. Maybe it's actually *gasp* HEALTHY to gain some fat. If you want to look good, you could focus on eating more protein and adding muscle mass.