Amish Mechanics' Laug

[AmishMechanic]

Hi all!

I'm 48, female and overall pretty healthy!

I am recovering from a trashed metabolism that began from several years of Figure competition and the subsequent dieting in my early 40's. I was never into the super low calorie thing but definitely into the low carb debacle. All of you here know what that does... Add in intense training oh, 5-7 days a week, for years.

Therein lies the crashed metabolism, part one of my journey.

Part two was a brush with death in 2012 with sepsis and multiple organ failure, heart, liver and kidneys ( 6mm kidney stone ruptured my ureter and e coli form bladder had a hay day in my blood stream... ).

Part three of "how I whacked my metabolism" was trying to get pregnant. 2012-2013 two miscarriages. 2014- 2015 a bombardment of hormone and steroid treatment for IVF. Two perfect embryos (no the embryo on my avatar is not mine, it is an equine day 8 embryo that I created and transferred "Amish Mechanic"....) put both in and neither decided to share the perfect life with my husband and I. So we got a great dane puppy instead.

He is perfect. (yes, both he's) :)

Currently I am taking Armour Thyroid 125mcg split BID, am and pm.
Ca++, Mg++ and Zinc (off the top of my head the Mg++ is about 200mg) SID pm.
kosher salt to taste, on everything (really craving it!)
Pregnenolone 25mg SID am.
@24oz of coffee/day with some sugar and 2% milk +/- gelatin.
Organic/pasture raised/grass fed everything I can get my hands on so,
3-4 oz liver once per week.
2% non-homogenzed milk @ 20oz/day.
OJ no pulp @ 20oz/day.
Mango, papayas mostly.
low fat cottage cheese/cheeses.
gelatin @30g/day.
low fat fish wild.
hoof stock meats 2-3 times per week.
3oz raw carrots per day.
I am up to almost 1 TBS of coconut oil (trying to keep fat intake down).
Few veggies except squashes, carrot or course and a dash of greens, cooked here and there usually at dinner.
Sparkling water as desired.

I have been taking thyroid meds for about 5 years. I took it for hypothyroid symptoms not because my blood work indicated it. For giggles I shared my old dogs T4 and I felt amazing on it! But in the last 2 years it took more and more to feel ok. So 6 months ago I began Armour and that helped. Today I ordered Haidut's product and am looking forward to trying it out. I think since I have really clamped down on my diet by following Dr. Peats recommendations, that I may be able to knock the thyroid dose down. My pulse rate is up (low 70's high 60's from 50-60's) and my hands and feet are warmer, but I would not say warm yet.
I added the pregnenolone about one month ago and other than a few more facial acne, I can only imagine it may be helping.? I ordered Dr. Peats Progest-E and look forward to beginning that additional treatment.

I lift weights three to 4 days per week and do no extra cardio and only if I feel like it. This is a big change for me and I do feel better!

One of the biggest positive effects I have noticed after eating the "Peat" way is when I cut wayyyyy back on green veggies. No more bloating!

I have added soudough toast, about an oz or two max per day with coconut oil and salt. So nice to have toast again.

I have gone from 1200 calories per day to 1600 calories per day and I keep nudging it up. I did gain about 3 pounds when I upped the sugars. I am looking forward to getting this metabolism back up to snuff so I can loose the 10-12 total pounds I would like to shed. I am 5'2" and currently 141 lbs. I am a mesomorph and easily carry/build muscle so my healthy weight should be in the mid-upper 120's. My contest weights were around 118-120 and I won my classes so I can be up 5-10lbs from there I think.

I have dusted off and cracked open my physiology books and am enjoying the eye opening education that Dr. Peat is affording to us all. I hope to apply it not just to myself but to my animal patients.

 

[Blossom]

Welcome to the forum Amish Mechanic. I'm just in awe of your story. You sound like one really tough, resilient person to have survived all of that and still have such a positive attitude. Wishing you the best.

 

[AmishMechanic]

Thank you for the hearty hello Blossom! I look forward to the new group of friends, education and inspiration!

 

[charlie]

@AmishMechanic

It's amazing some of the things we did in the name of health, low carb, chronic exercise, etc. And truly eye opening once Ray Peat's work is found.

Thank you for sharing your story and see you around the forum.

 

[goodandevil]

Great name!

 

[tara]

Welcome AmishMechanic
Glad you are here, in more senses than one.

I was never into the super low calorie thing

I have gone from 1200 calories per day to 1600 calories per day and I keep nudging it up.

Looks pretty low cal to me. Wouldn't surprise me if this is still a key factor keeping your metabolism down.

 

[charlie]

Great name!

I mean really, who knew a true AmishMechanic would come along?

 

[ecstatichamster]

Welcome!

 

[moss]

Go Girl! Very inspiring.
Like the bit about sharing your dog's T4.
I am spurred onto to try hoof stock.... do you know if this is more gelatinous than other cuts?

 

[AmishMechanic]

Tara ~ "Looks pretty low cal to me". "Wouldn't surprise me if this is still a key factor keeping your metabolism down".

I hired a "coach" and she pushed me down below 1000 kcals, for weeks. No surprise, my body did nothing but buck! When I trained myself the year before I never got below 1500 kcals. But..... It was based on a high fat/low carb diet. I rarely took in more than 100 g carbs per day, mostly from fruit, but now I learn, the wrong ones (grapefruit and berries). Lots and lots of muscle meats, avoided dairy like the plague and mucho nuts and nut butters. Krill oil, salmon... Very PUFA-Y...

Now anytime I push the sugar up, my weight follows and I really HATE that. Plus my temps and pulses are still a bit low. This week I have tweaked my fat intake down a bit to accommodate more fruit sugar. It does not make much room for fat in the form of coconut oil, 1% Milk and low fat cheese. Ugh. Tweaking and tweaking and tweaking... Any tips are appreciated.

Moss ~ "Hoof stock".
Ha! LOL! I meant as in hoofed animal meats, not as in making hoof soup... If that is what you meant. LOL! ;oD

Everyone ~ Amish Mechanic
I have always joked about that and usually announce that to anyone who asks what I do for a living. My husband "trains people to kill people"... We make an interesting couple. ;D

 

[AmishMechanic]

If y'all think that all of this information about human health gives you a headache, try applying it as a veterinarian to animals, especially horses. It is making me stutter at work....

Client ~ "What do think of his diet Doc"?
Me ~ "Uhhhh, ummmm, uhhhhh.....". In my head, Ohhhhhh nooooooo........

 

[tara]

I hired a "coach" and she pushed me down below 1000 kcals, for weeks.

That coach needs a big warning sign: starvation will harm your health. Glad you stopped following her advice.

As I understand it, normal calories for an adult woman are around 2500, more for young women or extra active or tall women.
Maintaining weight on 1500 cals means your metabolism is suppressed. The body usually responds to chronic low cal dieting by reducing metabolism. I doubt you can get metabolism up without providing more fuel. It is normal to gain weight while refeeding. I think it's still a good idea to eat enough.

Here's a related thread:
Recovery from undereating - Youreatopia | Ray Peat Forum

 

[AmishMechanic]

Tara ~ As I understand it, normal calories for an adult woman are around 2500, more for young women or extra active or tall women.
*Oh my gawd. I will LOVE getting to 2500 calories one day! It's a cool goal to aim for. At least now, I have good scientific reason too that I can wrap my head around. I love milk and found some commercial organic not from concentrate OJ that seems to agree with me. I love tropical fruits and cheese. I get to have SUGAR in my coffee?!?! This is like a dream come true for me!

Tara ~ Maintaining weight on 1500 cals means your metabolism is suppressed. The body usually responds to chronic low cal dieting by reducing metabolism. I doubt you can get metabolism up without providing more fuel. It is normal to gain weight while refeeding. I think it's still a good idea to eat enough.
*Agreed! I do quite a bit of Pro-Bono work with large animal rescue organizations and we get emaciated animals all of the time. Reintroducing calories and getting them back on a better nutrition plane is tricky business. Push too fast and we can kill them (they can die of colic or a major metabolic event called laminitis, which is fascinating for me to ponder now with all of this new information).

I read the thread and it is such a good one. I want to up the cals for certain, but I think I would rather do it in a slow progression. Kind of like in "reverse-dieting" fashion. I think that I just need to be patient and keep on pushing but maybe in smaller increments with my goal of being in the 2000's not lower ever again!

I am looking forward to the Progest-e as I know I am estrogen dominant (previous bloodwork). And I think after reading your suggested thread that I will not consider upping my T4/T3.

I did manage to stop my night sweats that started up again three weeks ago buy adding a Tbs of sugar to my OJ/Milk bedtime drink. :) Muahhh haaa haaa!!!!

I love the advise and links to helpful threads Tara! Thank you!

 

[tara]

I want to up the cals for certain, but I think I would rather do it in a slow progression.

Seems reasonable to not take it all in one jump. Safety-wise, you might be fine doing it all at once, but more cautious would be to increase 100-200 every couple of days till you get above 2000, then I think you can go the rest of the way. Once you get up there, there's a good chance you will have some hungry days when you want a lot more.

With your experience rescuing animals, you may have some good clues for getting yourself up too. :)

I did manage to stop my night sweats that started up again three weeks ago buy adding a Tbs of sugar to my OJ/Milk bedtime drink. :) Muahhh haaa haaa!!!!

Excellent. :) I think more sugar was one of the keys to me eliminating night sweats too.

 

[tara]

I read the thread and it is such a good one.

I found Gwyneth Olwyn's Youreatopia site a real eye-opener - you might enjoy that too.

 

[AmishMechanic]

Morning temp and pulse were better today 98.2 F and 80 bpm from @ low 97's upper 96's and 50-60's for pulse. It may be that I ovulated last night though. Last night I woke up around 1:30AM with light sweating and mild anxiety.??? No real reason. My life is ridiculously good and all is well. I did some moderate upper body work yesterday and ended the day in the hot tub with the hubba-hubba followed by 1/2 cup of awesome ice cream to top off my reserves before bed. But, man I feel bloated (not sure why since I stopped all the salad knoshing I had felt pretty tight!) and I now weigh in the heaviest I ever have. I hate to admit it, but the weight gain is getting to me... Please somebody, gals especially, will I get to see my muscles again feeding my body the RP way? I have great muscle mass and would love to say hello to it in the mirror one day. I know, sorry, wahhh, wahhh wahh...... Just feeling frumpy.

I found Gwyneth Olwyn's Youreatopia site a real eye-opener - you might enjoy that too.

I did read it and thank you for the suggestion. Interesting stuff and would be so helpful for physicians, if they actually ever got a chance to read it. It sucks being a physician right now. 10 minutes per patient for an exam? Seriously?

 

[Peata]

Welcome, AM.

It's taken me three years since coming to RP way to be able to start losing weight. I had background of dieting, low carb, fasting, etc. So when I added back all the sugar, it messed me up. I gained thirty pounds from the time I started this way until I could finally put the breaks on the gain in early 2015. Nothing seemed to help me lose weight, or at least not for long until the scale started going back up again.

I guess my advice is take things slow, but get your calories up out of starvation level to help your metabolism heal. It probably won't take you as long as it did me to start being able to lose weight. I had to work on my liver with caffeine and other supps. And estrogen dominance was a huge problem, but it seems finding the right Vitamin E is making a world of difference. Lastly, high doses of biotin are helping with glycogen, blood sugars, weight, along with the E.

That's just a little summary of what I've found that helps me. I did many "experiments" over the last three years with supplements and manipulating all manner of nutrients and calories. The things I mentioned above seemed to help the most, though there are other supps I take such as B vitamins, A, K, etc.

Good luck.

 

[SQu]

Share your horsy peaty musings ... Laminitis and colic included ... I'm thinking the way we keep horses and feed them isn't working especially with their colic proneness and there are lessons there for us too.

 

[AmishMechanic]

Welcome, AM.

It's taken me three years since coming to RP way to be able to start losing weight. I had background of dieting, low carb, fasting, etc. So when I added back all the sugar, it messed me up. I gained thirty pounds from the time I started this way until I could finally put the breaks on the gain in early 2015. Nothing seemed to help me lose weight, or at least not for long until the scale started going back up again.

I guess my advice is take things slow, but get your calories up out of starvation level to help your metabolism heal. It probably won't take you as long as it did me to start being able to lose weight. I had to work on my liver with caffeine and other supps. And estrogen dominance was a huge problem, but it seems finding the right Vitamin E is making a world of difference. Lastly, high doses of biotin are helping with glycogen, blood sugars, weight, along with the E.

That's just a little summary of what I've found that helps me. I did many "experiments" over the last three years with supplements and manipulating all manner of nutrients and calories. The things I mentioned above seemed to help the most, though there are other supps I take such as B vitamins, A, K, etc.

Good luck.

OMG.... 30 pounds? Whoa...

My liver took a hit with the sepsis episode but my liver profile is good and stable. As far as the blood work shows. I definitely have a lower alcohol tolerance since the event.

Other than PUFA's, mostly in the form of meat sources and nut oils mostly, I have not been eating the SAD for years and years. Never was a big fried/processed foodie. I think I mostly just drove my metabolism into the ground chronically with low calories ( 1200-1600 ) and lots of going to the gym, with PUFA.... Dang PUFA. It is becoming a four letter word for me the more I learn!

So what vitamin E worked for you and how could you tell?

I am trying to keep from pill popping and get most nutrients from my diet, but I realize that maybe I am behind a bit in one nutrient or another. That and if my metabolism is rising, I am going to need to up it all across the board. So, I use vitamin E if we have a muscle meat meal, I eat 3-4 oz liver once per week, shell fish several times a week, egg shell each day, magnesium and soon vitamin K2 and Thiamin. Thinking about adding B3 as well after some podcast surfing.

Thank you so much for sharing! I am glad that there may be light at the end of this tunnel I am digging myself out of.

 

[AmishMechanic]

Share your horsy peaty musings ... Laminitis and colic included ... I'm thinking the way we keep horses and feed them isn't working especially with their colic proneness and there are lessons there for us too.

Hi SQu!
Ahhh yes, my equine medicine Peat musings. They are in development along with my small animal position on medicine in general with all of this. Here is small bit...

Horses are a different beast when it comes to their energetics, but not too different. We have to keep in mind that they evolved to be grass land grazers. No fruits or roots and such, just grasses and sedges and usually crappy ones. The wild cattle got the better choices!

We do know that carbohydrate overload will reek havoc on their GI and wellbeing, and I think for the same reasons that it does for us. Endotoxin exposure of one degree or another. Laminitis as a result of grain overload is a good example, but there are many more. Their cecum helps but as I see it not in the form of the loads of grains and starches (and now vegetable oils) we supplement to their diet. Frankly, most just do not need the extra calories. Not like our "using" horses needs when they were our only source of transportation day in and day out. Some breeds, like Thoroughbreds, have a higher metabolic set point I am pretty sure based on my own observation. But the rest just need a diet of grass and/or grass hays with free choice access to salt and mineral supplements. Water goes without saying. Even my high end dressage horse patients do not train hard enough to warrant extra starch. Some of the hay and grass availability is pretty poor. And more and more is soaked in Roundup... So sometimes I suggest a ration balancer to cover any nutritional bases. I have no problems suggesting adding easier to digest feeds (like commercial senior feeds) when they get to the point of having no chewing surfaces left. I work on a lot of geriatric animals.

I used to suggest the addition of fish oil to their diet instead of the traditional corn and oat bran oils. I am finding, as this is better it is still not ideal and I am shifting that thought process to not suggesting fish oil unless I have an inflammatory crisis like acute heaves (using PUFA to blunt immune reaction. Better than dexamethasone, I think.....?) Anyway, it has me thinking and right now I am about to start suggesting daily aspirin for those I think could use it effects according to RP physiology principles. Stomach ulceration is very common in horses so I will need to be careful about gradual dosing. There are several Chinese medicine acupuncture points that can alert me early in treatment of the stomach is becoming overly irritated and I will need to teach my clients how to test it.

I'm excited frankly. I think I was on the right track, and I am pretty certain that studying and applying Dr. Peats findings will launch me and my practice up and over the wall I kept running into.

In the meantime, I (and my own pets) am my own guinea pig.

I promise if I find or discover anything I will post it among the animal threads?