Hey everyone,
I just joined the forum and wanted to introduce myself. I don't often participate in forums, but I've come to realize that when it comes to my health I shouldn't try to go at it alone and decided I would start this log. See, although I first encountered Ray's ideas through Danny's website many years ago when I was researching my thinning hair, something happened 2 months ago that re-ignited my focus on taking better care of myself. On September 25th, I was informed that the HIV virus was detected in my blood. I was reminded of my mortality, started researching things and discovered that Hair Like a Fox and Organizing the Panic had become available for free and I started devouring information. I figured if I was going to see a doctor anyway, and max out my deductible on medicine, that I should also try to fix my other health problems with guidance provided by insurance covered testing.
Even better, this month my physician is enrolling me in a clinical trial for a new HIV medicine which means that I'm going to spend the next 2 years receiving very comprehensive health care, blood testing, DEXA scans, etc. all free of charge. I don't know what all the tests are going to be (especially as it relates to Ray Peat's ideas) but I thought my unique case would be a great live case study and I'll be able to provide updated labs throughout my journey.
About Me
I am a 24 year old male, 5' 8", 154 lbs, with thinning/receding hair, mild gynecomastia, mild dermatitis/dandruff on scalp/dry skin on face and most of my body fat is around my abdomen. I am also newly diagnosed with HIV, starting medication this month, possibly this Wednesday the 11th. The other factor that makes my situation different is my profession. I travel 80% of the time as a consultant in IT, flying or driving to different cities almost every week, often without the luxury of having my own kitchen to cook my own food. It's a good thing continental breakfast includes milk, coffee and OJ huh?
I'm going to regularly post my labs, starting in another post. But notably, my TSH is 3.0, my total testosterone is 385.86 ng/dL, and prolactin is 12.12 ng/mL. These numbers didn't surprise me at all.
Later on I'm going to add a bit more backstory on my health, my lab results to date, supplements I'm starting and other changes I'm making.
It's nice to meet you all!
Helpful backstory
When I look back at my health since childhood through the Ray Peat lens, it's interesting how things make sense. The tldr version is this: PUFA definitely played a role in my issues.
Growing up I was on a SAD diet. I got up to chubby 150lbs by 6th grade and proceeded to do a typical "diet" where I was "low-fat" and watching calories, and that sort of thing works when you're a kid. Certainly I probably had a less PUFA but it was calorie restriction too. I was skinny when I started 7th grade, about 120 lbs, and once or twice dipped close to 115. I almost became anorexic, but I eventually relaxed and ate more. Unfortunately, I still didn't know what I was doing. For example, I remember times when I was home alone and needed dinner, so I would make a box of Kraft mac n cheese with canola oil (gross, I'm cringing just thinking about it!!). My peak weight reached 180 lbs at 5' 8" in high school. Ouch.
Thankfully I started to see some light. I was reading online about vitamin D3, and this led me to Paleo sites and other blogs. I ditched canola for butter, bought D3, K2, and Magnesium, lost just a little weight. A year after finishing college, in 2012 when I was 21, I moved into my own apartment. I know this is when I found Danny Roddy because I remember drinking Orange Juice, hiding chopped up liver inside chilli so wouldn't have to taste it and trying to be gluten free. I didn't know how to cook much but I was damn sure trying! I maintained a weight in the 130's.
Fast forward to now
I started my current job in 2013, my 50-80% traveling on business trips started in January of 2014. Needless to say, my weight went from ~130 lbs to ~150. Why did this happen? well, hotel food isn't exactly ideal and I LOVE to save money so I was all about the free food. The first year was particularly bad because I didn't have Marriott status yet and I was eating fast food for dinner to save money (no kitchen to cook in!). When I reached Marriott Platinum status (get it? I'm also platinum with Enterprise and American Airlines) I realized I was able to get free breakfast at actual Marriott hotels and free dinner too (I formerly used Springhill and Fairfield). The quality was better but there's no doubt that there's PUFA in the ingredients anyway.
Last month on Oct 20 I started shifting more of my calories to the freely available OJ, milk, and potatoes available for the breakfast buffet. I take extra to my refrigerator. I'm trying to be pretty low fat most of the time to clear PUFA. I added a daily 6 tbsp divided of Great Lakes Collagen Hydrolysate to my meals 2 weeks ago. In the evenings at Marriott there's cheese and veggies (aka my raw carrot source) plus the hot appetizer(s) of the day (may or may not have PUFA).
By the way, I have a free membership to Planet Fitness which means I have access to Beauty Angel Red Light Therapy booths unlimited, and UV for Vit D (so awesome). I have bought supplements to counteract the occasional PUFA exposure, see below. Lastly, I weighed myself at 150lbs on Oct 24 and on Nov 11 I weighed 156 lbs. I don't really look fatter in the mirror, so I'm hoping some of the weight gain was muscle!
Supplements
Since around age 20 I've been taking supplements... several have been on and off, like zinc, B vitamins, A and others, but faithfully I have been taking 5000 IU D3 daily, magnesium glycinate, and a K2 complex such as Vitacost's or the LEF Super K (my current one). The last two years have mainly been those three, I added zinc and selenium back in earlier in the year and do those a few times a week. Plus I use Relentless Improvement 15mg K2 once a day. I've been reading all over the forum about supplements and here is what I'm experimenting so far, as of today:
With every meal (3 a day)
B1 Thiamine 100mg
B2 Riboflavin 100mg
B3 Niacinimide 500mg
B7 Biotin 5mg
2 tbsp Collagen Hydrolysate
Morning
Aspirin 325mg
D3 5000IU
RE K2 MK4 15mg
Vit A 10,000IU
B6 P5P 25mg
Lunch
Vit A 10,000IU
LEF K2
Couple times a week: 50mg Zinc picolinate and 200mcg Se-Methyl L-Selenocysteine from LEF. I don't know if I'll restock when they run out, particularly if I'm able to start a weekend habit of seafood/oysters and liver between business trips.
Dinner
Swanson Gamma Vitamin E, every other day but willing to do daily if it should have a noticeable effect that way.
Bed
Swanson Magnesium Glycinate 2x 133mg (266mg)
Now that my first post feels complete, further updates will be in the thread. I look forward to collaborating with you all, the support I've seen so far has touched me :)
I just joined the forum and wanted to introduce myself. I don't often participate in forums, but I've come to realize that when it comes to my health I shouldn't try to go at it alone and decided I would start this log. See, although I first encountered Ray's ideas through Danny's website many years ago when I was researching my thinning hair, something happened 2 months ago that re-ignited my focus on taking better care of myself. On September 25th, I was informed that the HIV virus was detected in my blood. I was reminded of my mortality, started researching things and discovered that Hair Like a Fox and Organizing the Panic had become available for free and I started devouring information. I figured if I was going to see a doctor anyway, and max out my deductible on medicine, that I should also try to fix my other health problems with guidance provided by insurance covered testing.
Even better, this month my physician is enrolling me in a clinical trial for a new HIV medicine which means that I'm going to spend the next 2 years receiving very comprehensive health care, blood testing, DEXA scans, etc. all free of charge. I don't know what all the tests are going to be (especially as it relates to Ray Peat's ideas) but I thought my unique case would be a great live case study and I'll be able to provide updated labs throughout my journey.
About Me
I am a 24 year old male, 5' 8", 154 lbs, with thinning/receding hair, mild gynecomastia, mild dermatitis/dandruff on scalp/dry skin on face and most of my body fat is around my abdomen. I am also newly diagnosed with HIV, starting medication this month, possibly this Wednesday the 11th. The other factor that makes my situation different is my profession. I travel 80% of the time as a consultant in IT, flying or driving to different cities almost every week, often without the luxury of having my own kitchen to cook my own food. It's a good thing continental breakfast includes milk, coffee and OJ huh?
I'm going to regularly post my labs, starting in another post. But notably, my TSH is 3.0, my total testosterone is 385.86 ng/dL, and prolactin is 12.12 ng/mL. These numbers didn't surprise me at all.
Later on I'm going to add a bit more backstory on my health, my lab results to date, supplements I'm starting and other changes I'm making.
It's nice to meet you all!
Helpful backstory
When I look back at my health since childhood through the Ray Peat lens, it's interesting how things make sense. The tldr version is this: PUFA definitely played a role in my issues.
Growing up I was on a SAD diet. I got up to chubby 150lbs by 6th grade and proceeded to do a typical "diet" where I was "low-fat" and watching calories, and that sort of thing works when you're a kid. Certainly I probably had a less PUFA but it was calorie restriction too. I was skinny when I started 7th grade, about 120 lbs, and once or twice dipped close to 115. I almost became anorexic, but I eventually relaxed and ate more. Unfortunately, I still didn't know what I was doing. For example, I remember times when I was home alone and needed dinner, so I would make a box of Kraft mac n cheese with canola oil (gross, I'm cringing just thinking about it!!). My peak weight reached 180 lbs at 5' 8" in high school. Ouch.
Thankfully I started to see some light. I was reading online about vitamin D3, and this led me to Paleo sites and other blogs. I ditched canola for butter, bought D3, K2, and Magnesium, lost just a little weight. A year after finishing college, in 2012 when I was 21, I moved into my own apartment. I know this is when I found Danny Roddy because I remember drinking Orange Juice, hiding chopped up liver inside chilli so wouldn't have to taste it and trying to be gluten free. I didn't know how to cook much but I was damn sure trying! I maintained a weight in the 130's.
Fast forward to now
I started my current job in 2013, my 50-80% traveling on business trips started in January of 2014. Needless to say, my weight went from ~130 lbs to ~150. Why did this happen? well, hotel food isn't exactly ideal and I LOVE to save money so I was all about the free food. The first year was particularly bad because I didn't have Marriott status yet and I was eating fast food for dinner to save money (no kitchen to cook in!). When I reached Marriott Platinum status (get it? I'm also platinum with Enterprise and American Airlines) I realized I was able to get free breakfast at actual Marriott hotels and free dinner too (I formerly used Springhill and Fairfield). The quality was better but there's no doubt that there's PUFA in the ingredients anyway.
Last month on Oct 20 I started shifting more of my calories to the freely available OJ, milk, and potatoes available for the breakfast buffet. I take extra to my refrigerator. I'm trying to be pretty low fat most of the time to clear PUFA. I added a daily 6 tbsp divided of Great Lakes Collagen Hydrolysate to my meals 2 weeks ago. In the evenings at Marriott there's cheese and veggies (aka my raw carrot source) plus the hot appetizer(s) of the day (may or may not have PUFA).
By the way, I have a free membership to Planet Fitness which means I have access to Beauty Angel Red Light Therapy booths unlimited, and UV for Vit D (so awesome). I have bought supplements to counteract the occasional PUFA exposure, see below. Lastly, I weighed myself at 150lbs on Oct 24 and on Nov 11 I weighed 156 lbs. I don't really look fatter in the mirror, so I'm hoping some of the weight gain was muscle!
Supplements
Since around age 20 I've been taking supplements... several have been on and off, like zinc, B vitamins, A and others, but faithfully I have been taking 5000 IU D3 daily, magnesium glycinate, and a K2 complex such as Vitacost's or the LEF Super K (my current one). The last two years have mainly been those three, I added zinc and selenium back in earlier in the year and do those a few times a week. Plus I use Relentless Improvement 15mg K2 once a day. I've been reading all over the forum about supplements and here is what I'm experimenting so far, as of today:
With every meal (3 a day)
B1 Thiamine 100mg
B2 Riboflavin 100mg
B3 Niacinimide 500mg
B7 Biotin 5mg
2 tbsp Collagen Hydrolysate
Morning
Aspirin 325mg
D3 5000IU
RE K2 MK4 15mg
Vit A 10,000IU
B6 P5P 25mg
Lunch
Vit A 10,000IU
LEF K2
Couple times a week: 50mg Zinc picolinate and 200mcg Se-Methyl L-Selenocysteine from LEF. I don't know if I'll restock when they run out, particularly if I'm able to start a weekend habit of seafood/oysters and liver between business trips.
Dinner
Swanson Gamma Vitamin E, every other day but willing to do daily if it should have a noticeable effect that way.
Bed
Swanson Magnesium Glycinate 2x 133mg (266mg)
Now that my first post feels complete, further updates will be in the thread. I look forward to collaborating with you all, the support I've seen so far has touched me :)