This is not a lobe song page

[YogaBare]

I'm crap at keeping journals, but I've decided I'd like to document my journey to perfection. Ha No.

The biggest impediments to living a fruitful life are within me. My battles are with depression, an eating disorder, insomnia. And, most lately, wrinkles This journal is about me experimenting with new ideas to try and find what works for me.

Problem is that I'm notoriously crap at seeing any experiments through! I'm hoping that keeping a journal will motivate me to stick with things. (It should really have the word "Fad" in the title, but I'm a slave to subject lines with song references... and typos

Disclaimer: Enter with a bag of sea salt. I'm usually wrong about everything.



Age: 31
Gender: Female

[Annieh]

Hi! All the best for your experiments.

[YogaBare]

♣ ♣ ♣


♣ First fad: Eating more to weigh less (E.M.T.W.L), Pages 1 - 26.

♣ Second fad: Restoring body temperature (R.B.T), Pages 27 - 47.

♣ Third Fad: Fuck the Fads, Pages 48 - Current.


♣ ♣ ♣

[YogaBare]

(E.M.T.W.L)

My latest fad is inspired by the "Women who eat a ton without gaining" thread. I'm experimenting with what happens if I eat circa 3K calls a day.

The background:

After a life of ED and 13 years of yo-yoing weight, I've had enough.

People here keep saying that EDs can be caused by nutritional deficiencies. I don't know if it can be pinned on that, but it's the only approach I haven't tried. And it's not like I've led the healthiest life.

I stopped exercising when I was 16, and was seriously unfit for most of my twenties. I spent about ten years partying, boozing, smoking way too much dope, and taking drugs. I have a long history of under-eating / binging on junk. I have had chronic insomnia for 9 years. I get incredibly stressed and depressed. I was vegetarian for eight years, vegan for one, and lived on cereal for a lot of my life.

I can only presume these things have impacted my physical health in ways I don't understand. Could my ED be part of a vicious cycle of ignoring strong messages my body sends me? Have I damaged my metabolism by years of chronic under eating, binging and purging?

What would happen if I bathed my body in nutrients, got tons of sleep, exercised right for me, and treated myself as though I'm healing from an illness?

It feels like the only approach I haven't tried.

I'm trying not to focus on weight here - I know I can lose weight easily, but dropping calories is not sustainable long term. I'm hoping that this will reset my metabolism to eat a higher volume of food.

The plan:

Basically follow Matt Stone's refeeding diet:

*Eat at least 3k cal a day of unrefined foods. High in carbs, fat and protein.

*Stone says not to do any exercise, but I don't feel that's right for me right now. I have lots of energy so I'm going to exercise when I want to. A range of physical activity: swimming, yoga, sprinting, cycling, walking, playing in my local playground. I believe variety is the key to good body composition for me. Plus I need variety or I get bored.

*Sleep and chill as much as possible.

*Body brushing twice a day. My circulation is shit. My feet and bum are perpetually cold, and I generally wear at least four layers of clothing. Body brushing should help with that.

*Start taking supplements. Alfalfa, Vit D, Calcium, Chromium.

The Stats

I'm 5'8, and currently 133 lbs, which is about 10 lbs more than what I usually weigh. Since starting Primal I gained about 16 lbs - most of it in Dec-Jan (you can read how here here), and in the last few weeks I lost 7 of those lbs without noticing.

From here on in I'll:

- Weigh and measure myself once a week.

- Take my basal body temp every morning (for my reference: converter Celsius to Fahrenheiht )... Once I buy a thermometer!

- Track my calories... vaguely.

The food:

A fusion of Paleo and Ray Peat, with some anti-orthorexia Matt Stone thrown in. Heavier on meat than Peat would advise, and including pure refined sugar, which Paleo considers the devil, but Peat believes is a good supplement for thyroid. Bone broth, white potatoes, sea food, red meat (lamb and beef), eggs, any fruit and veg I want (a lot of mangos, nectarines, bananas, carrots), white sugar (in my tea), coconut (water and oil) and olive oil. And rice because I love it so Minimal dairy: a bit of low fat milk (Ray Peat) in my tea and coffee, occasional yogurt, maybe a tiny bit of cheese sometimes.

To conclude:

I've had a lot of successes with changing my diet, so I'm hopeful at the outset. At any rate, it will be interesting to see what my real metabolism is, as I have no idea any more. (I come from a family of lean people, but half of us have eating disorders...!)

If this experiment can cure an ED and allow me to be my natural body weight it will be a bonus. No, it will feel like a miracle.

anais nin.jpg

[YogaBare]

E.M.T.W.L
Entry One

I'm really hoping that this isn't a case of writing three posts in one day, then abandoning the project. You know, the kind of thing I normally do I have four unfinished novels, and two unfinished films sitting around my in subconscious, ha.

Nobody reads these things anyway, do they?

I've been doing this experiment on and off for a while, but I was afraid of the weight gain and ended up cycling calories. (My story up to this point is here, halfway down the page: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/forum...d79235-32.html) I decided to commit to it about a week ago.

So far I havent put on any weight, and the most amazing thing is that I'm sleeping!!! For the first time in nine years, I'm consistently getting at least seven hours. I've been going to bed at 11 and sleeping til 6.30. Yesterday I slept til 8am: nine hours!!! What a result. It's early days though - it's only been a week.

The irony of this first post is that yesterday I got up and I actually couldn't face eating. I've been eating so much food lately and I'm kind of sick of it..! So I had no breakfast, but I did bung half a lambs leg into the slow cooker to make lamb broth.

Exercise: 90 mins of Yoga, listening to the amazing Nils Frahm and I was shocked at how much stronger I am. Could hold certain poses for a lot longer than normal. I don't do those long yoga sessions enough these days, but every time I do them I remember how much I love to practice.

Brunch: two eggs fried in coconut oil, one orange. I still couldn't face much food.!

More exercise: Taught a three hour yoga workshop, which went amazingly.

Dinner: Broth with a big chunk of lamb in it but only half a potato. I just don't like potatoes! They're the one food I have zero interest in. I wonder if it's cos' I od'ed on them growing up, or if it's cos' my body doesn't need them? Should I eat them if I don't like them?

Had plans to continue the healing buzz by going for a swim and going to bed early, but one of my best friends got dumped by her boyfriend, so of course we ended up each drinking a bottle of red wine and crying in our local pub, ha Luckily the wine made me hungry, so I ate more broth and lamb when I came home. Even managed a few potatoes!

All-in-all I ate the whole half leg (is that gross?) so with the wine etc. I must have reached 3k cals. It was a lower carb day, but that hasn't been the norm. I reckon it's fine to mix things up anyway - so long as I'm listening to my body.

The only disconcerting thing is that some of my hair fell out yesterday. That hasn't happened to me in ages. Last week every single one of my nails broke. That's never happened to me. But I'm hoping that this is the result of something I did a month ago, rather than a few days ago.

[YogaBare]

E.M.T.W.L
Entry 2

Sleep:
A measly four hours... a direct result of the large red wine consumption. Always happens when I drink wine. Though my usual sleeping time isn't much more than that - I usually hit five hours, which is why I'm adoring the extra sleep from eating so much.

Exercise:
Really wanted to sprint, but it was raining, so did HIIT skipping (that's "jump rope" to the Yanks ) in my living room! Twenty seconds on, twenty seconds off for eight skips. Did some gentle yoga too. I'm loving how much energy I have.

Food:
Bananas, a load of rice, thai green curry, prawns, mussles, calamari, lamb broth, potatoes, avocado, carrots, four cans of coconut water, raspberries, natural yogurt, honey, an orange...
---------

And at the end of the day:

I'm feeling a bit scared about the weight gain. It seems like all the extra food is going straight to my breasts and my stomach. Although according to eh measuring tape I'm still the same, but this weight is still so much higher than my normal weight. When I taught yoga yesterday I felt like a fat yoga teacher... the humanity! My friends say I've got body dysmorphia. I guess I probably do, cos' I'm never happy with any weight I am.

I noticed today that when I got out of a yoga pose my toes had turned blue!!! That can't be a sign of good circulation. My toes and bum are still cold all the time, but I'm hoping that the brushing will help. On the upside, my skin is feeling really soft. Whoop!

Going to have some more broth before bed: I usually don't sleep well when I'm hungover either.

[RichMahogany]

Entry 2

Sleep last night was a measly four hours... a direct result of the large red wine consumption. Always happens when I drink wine. Though my usual sleeping time isn't much more than that - I usually hit five hours, which is why I'm adoring the extra sleep from eating so much.

Wine does that to me too. I always try to remind people that they can live twice as long without eating as they can without sleeping. Putting all our emphasis on eating is a mistake.

Exercise - really wanted to sprint, but it was raining, so did HIIT skipping (that's "jump rope" to the Yanks ) in my living room! Twenty seconds on, twenty seconds off for eight skips. Did some gentle yoga too. I'm loving how much energy I have.

Only counts as HIIT if you did double-unders.

Food today was bananas, a load of rice, thai green curry, prawns, mussles, calamari, lamb broth, potatoes, avocado, carrots, four cans of coconut water, raspberries, natural yogurt, honey, an orange...

You're hanging out with Derpy too much. He's funny, but you need to eat several more pounds of meat than this.

I'm feeling a bit scared about the weight gain. It seems like all the extra food is going straight to my breasts and my stomach. Although according to eh measuring tape I'm still the same, but this weight is still so much higher than my normal weight. When I taught yoga yesterday I felt like a fat yoga teacher... the humanity! My friends say I've got body dysmorphia. I guess I probably do, cos' I'm never happy with any weight I am.

You should throw out all your mirrors for at least a couple months. Let your body recover from the years of underfeeding.

I noticed today that when I got out of a yoga pose my toes had turned blue!!! That can't be a sign of good circulation. My toes and bum are still cold all the time, but I'm hoping that the brushing will help. On the upside, my skin is feeling really soft. Whoop!

Going to have some more broth before bed: I usually don't sleep well when I'm hungover either.

Cold toes and bum aren't your problem, they're the problem of whomever you share your bed with. I always sleep better when I have some gelatin or broth before bed. (Uh-oh, maybe I've been reading too many of Derpy's posts!)

[CiKi90]

Good luck with keeping a journal. It can be kind of taxing but really helpful.... only helpful if you read old entries, though, in my opinion. It's interesting to see what I've changed, what's stayed the same, and what my mindset is as the days pass by. I'll try and keep up with your journal every so often and keep encouraging you! I've been very interested in your increase in calories, and so I'll definitely be watching how that turns out. Also -- if you don't like potatoes, then don't eat them. There are plenty of other veggies that you can eat that'll give you plenty of nutrition and taste delicious. I, for one, happen to love purple potatoes more than white ones. Maybe just 'cos I like purple better? Hah. I'm also going to start copying you and do some dry brushing as sooooon as I get a brush! I want my circulation to improve, my toes always fall asleep while I'm running. Weird, I know.

Oh, and as far as not eating bread/gluten goes, it's really amazing. It's got zero appeal to me, now! I served it up to the bf tonight along with my Primal meal of a pan-fried pork chop and purple potatoes, and he hardly touched the bread. He's starting to lean toward my way of eating more and more, which is great. Way easier than making two separate meals! Maybe one day we'll stop buying bread completely. (although, I highly doubt that. Ha.) Anyway, abstaining from grains has decreased the bloating so much, I don't think I can ever go back to having tasteless slabs of empty calories that hurt my body ever again, lol.

[YogaBare]

Wine does that to me too. I always try to remind people that they can live twice as long without eating as they can without sleeping. Putting all our emphasis on eating is a mistake.

Thanks for the reply Rich aka Adam Totally agree about the sleep. I don't think the long-term consequences of sleep deprivation have been studied. When I'm doubting the validity of this experiment I just remind myself that all the negative things I've been doing over the years haven't been well-researched long term, and that my body is likely to have a lot of invisible damage that goes unnoticed. I'm definitely noticing that I'm more relaxed since starting. I suspect that sleep deprivation causes nerve damage.

Only counts as HIIT if you did double-unders.

Ha, I had to google what that meant. It took me to the end of this video to work it out!

You're hanging out with Derpy too much. He's funny, but you need to eat several more pounds of meat than this.

Derp doesn't totally approve of my overeating plan..! But yeah, yesterday was a low meat day (250gs sea food). You missed the previous entry though... I ate half a lamb's leg.

You should throw out all your mirrors for at least a couple months. Let your body recover from the years of underfeeding.

Thanks for the support Not sure how long I'm going to do this... at least two weeks, but not longer than a month. Maybe I shouldn't weigh myself at all til the end...

[YogaBare]

Good luck with keeping a journal. It can be kind of taxing but really helpful.... only helpful if you read old entries, though, in my opinion. It's interesting to see what I've changed, what's stayed the same, and what my mindset is as the days pass by. I'll try and keep up with your journal every so often and keep encouraging you! I've been very interested in your increase in calories, and so I'll definitely be watching how that turns out. Also -- if you don't like potatoes, then don't eat them. There are plenty of other veggies that you can eat that'll give you plenty of nutrition and taste delicious. I, for one, happen to love purple potatoes more than white ones. Maybe just 'cos I like purple better? Hah. I'm also going to start copying you and do some dry brushing as sooooon as I get a brush! I want my circulation to improve, my toes always fall asleep while I'm running. Weird, I know.

Oh, and as far as not eating bread/gluten goes, it's really amazing. It's got zero appeal to me, now! I served it up to the bf tonight along with my Primal meal of a pan-fried pork chop and purple potatoes, and he hardly touched the bread. He's starting to lean toward my way of eating more and more, which is great. Way easier than making two separate meals! Maybe one day we'll stop buying bread completely. (although, I highly doubt that. Ha.) Anyway, abstaining from grains has decreased the bloating so much, I don't think I can ever go back to having tasteless slabs of empty calories that hurt my body ever again, lol.

Thanks Cierra Yeah, like I said, nothing else was really working. This is the only approach I haven't taken before. I did it with junk food in Jan, and it completely put me off eating crap. So I'm hoping that my eating as much as I want the novelty of food will lessen and I'll get over my addiction to it.

Potatoes - I only eat them to get an alternative starch source.... if I had it my way I'd eat rice three times a day I bought a sweet potato yesterday though, will try that.

Good on you with the bread! It's all about patience with non-primal loved ones. My mum has a degenerative thyroid condition, so I've been slowly but surely whittling her down about gluten. She gave up bread in December, and yesterday she sent myself and my sister an article about teh dangers of gluten! So nice when people eventually listen.

Looking forward to hearing how the brushing goes! This was the site that turned me on to it. That article is all about cellulite, but cellulite is just symptomatic of lymphatic congestion, which is associated with bad circulation. Part of my approach atm is "looking after my lymph".