Hi Everyone!
Glad to meet ya My name's Faith, I'm 28 years old and I'm from Florida. I came across this forum in my search for fellow Peaters (i just love saying that!) I haven't been Peating for very long, but come to find out have been half-assed Peating for about 3 months without knowing it. My story is kinda long, so bless your heart if you get through the whole thing!
A bit of background: I've been a "serial dieter" since I was 15. It all started with fad diets like the South Beach Diet, the Perricone Diet, the Zone Diet. Craziest part is that I was not even remotely close to being overweight, I just developed really bad body dysmorphia. I would also go through bouts of boderline anorexia where I would basically starve myself for weeks and then fall off the wagon and binge for a month, gain weight back, and then go back on one of these silly diets and torture myself in the gym for three hours a day. This went on consistently until 4 years ago when I decided to become a vegan in my quest for "perfect health and body". For two years I was a strict vegan, eating 80% of my food raw. All the while still torturing my body with 5 mile runs and 3 hour gym sessions.
The big crash down: Finally, 2 years ago my body had had enough. I was in the middle of a high impact spinning class when suddenly my heart rate went up to 160+ bpm and I got dizzy and blacked out. I came to with the most horrific panic attack anyone could imagine. I managed to get myself home, thinking I needed to just get some rest. Next morning I woke up with the heart racing and anxiety again so I went to the ER. They told me it was nothing but anxiety.
This hell continued for weeks. Repeated visits to the GP revealed nothing. According to him my thyroid was "fine". He diagnosed me with an anxiety disorder and sent me on my merry way with a script for xanax and prozac. This didn't sit right with me...I never had these problems in my life and refused to accept that I was crazy so I opted out of the pills and began to search for the root of all this.
My health continued to decline and eventually I became bedridden. I started to vomit regularly and was unable to digest solid food. After nearly dying it was found that my body was having issues holding on to salt so I was given a script for Florinef. This medication did awful things to me so I opted out of it and decided to just drink salt water. Which actually helped alot.
I consulted with an alternative practitioner who diagnosed me with adrenal fatigue based on a saliva test, hypothyroid based on a blood test, and with all sorts of toxicities based on a hair analysis. I was put on the GAPS diet, and a cocktail of supplements which I barely tolerated. I was also directed to perform coffee enemas twice a day.
Adding back the animal protein definitely did help. I started feeling well enough to get out of bed and function around the house, but no way in heck was I able to go back to work. I ate pounds of fermented saurkraut and would frequently break out in painful full body rashes. I lived in anxiety hell 24 hours a day and could barely sleep.I was so cold that I required several layers of clothing, in Florida, during the spring! I was told this was all "die off".
The coffee enemas were rough, but I was encouraged to keep up with them. Finally, they landed me back in the hospital AGAIN with electrolyte imbalance.
After this experience I decided I would ditch the GAPS diet completely. I then was advised by another guru to go on the Paleo diet for adrenal fatigue. I would still cheat and have some brown rice once in a while. I also was delighted to find out that sweet potatoes were "Paleo" so I started eating those too. I began feeling better and was able to return to work part time, but was still no where near well.
At this point I consulted with another alternative practitioner. This time I was told to get a glucose monitor and track my blood sugars for three days. It was determined that I was prediabetic and I was ordered off all carbs and all sugars. I was put on a high fat WAP type ketogenic Paleo diet. I consumed massive amounts of coconut and meat. After a month like this I had to quit my job once and for all. As the months passed, my allergies became horrific. I began to become intolerant to more and more foods. I developed MCS and began to have severe reactions to fragrances and anything with a strong chemical smell.
Back in April it all came to a head one day when I went into severe anaphylactic shock after eating some chicken with tumeric seasoning. From this point on it was like my body was at full out war with anything and everything it came in contact with. There was not one food I could eat without my throat closing up. Even water would cause reactions. I could not use toothpaste or shampoo.I could not leave my home without a respirator mask.
The doctors tried giving me anti-histamines but I had horrific reactions to them all, even Benedryl. I was living on 6 tablespoons of rice cereal for babies and water. Eventually I stopped tolerating the baby cereal. At this point I was brought to an allergist/immunologist who ran several tests on me, diagnosed me with anorexia, and prescribed me a food substitute called Tolerex that they give to coma patients with feeding tubes. he also suggested to my parents that I be Baker acted.
I lived on the Tolerex for a few more weeks and when I ran out I was forced to water fast for another week. At this point I thought it was truly the end when I just happened to stumble across an eating plan called the Failsafe diet. It was designed for people with severe food allergies so I thought I would give it a try. The first thing that I experimented with was the humble potato. And God Bless the potato! My body accepted it and I slowly began to climb out of the pit. Through this diet, I figured out that I was both histamine and salicylate intolerant.
A few weeks went by and I began to introduce more Failsafe foods. I was getting better so quickly! I then began making my own ice cream with maple syrup and eating organic potato chips. And got even better. I was very perplexed at how the very things that I was warned so strongly against were making me feel so much better.
This is when I found Matt Stone over at 180 degree health. I told him my story and he immediately had me monitor my body temp for a few days. I was averaging a freezing cold 96.1! He explained to me how imperative it was that I get more calories and more carbs and sugar. According to him, I needed at least 3,000 kcals a day. This went against every fiber of my being! I spent so many years running from food and torturing myself in the name of thinness. I hadn't consumed 3000 calories in a day in at least 12 years! I was also so brainwashed to believe that carbs and sugars were evil candida feeding adrenal wreckers. But I knew something had to be done. The other way certainly did me no good at all,so I decided to give it a shot.
I've been RRARFing now for about a month and feeling better than I've felt since this whole nightmare began. I don't need my respirator anymore and I'm slowly beginning to incorporate more non-failsafe foods. My body temp is still not ideal, but today I actually hit 99.1 in the afternoon!
Matt Stone is a big fan of Ray Peat, and he recommended me to eat Peat-style, which is what ultimately led me to Peat's work and this forum.
I'm still new to Peating and I'm trying to stick to it as best I can with all my food intolerances. Unfortunately fruit is not yet my friend so I can't have the OJ yet, but I'm loving my taters and milk!
So that's my story and I'm stickin to it :) Thanks for reading, hope I didn't put you to sleep!
Glad to meet ya My name's Faith, I'm 28 years old and I'm from Florida. I came across this forum in my search for fellow Peaters (i just love saying that!) I haven't been Peating for very long, but come to find out have been half-assed Peating for about 3 months without knowing it. My story is kinda long, so bless your heart if you get through the whole thing!
A bit of background: I've been a "serial dieter" since I was 15. It all started with fad diets like the South Beach Diet, the Perricone Diet, the Zone Diet. Craziest part is that I was not even remotely close to being overweight, I just developed really bad body dysmorphia. I would also go through bouts of boderline anorexia where I would basically starve myself for weeks and then fall off the wagon and binge for a month, gain weight back, and then go back on one of these silly diets and torture myself in the gym for three hours a day. This went on consistently until 4 years ago when I decided to become a vegan in my quest for "perfect health and body". For two years I was a strict vegan, eating 80% of my food raw. All the while still torturing my body with 5 mile runs and 3 hour gym sessions.
The big crash down: Finally, 2 years ago my body had had enough. I was in the middle of a high impact spinning class when suddenly my heart rate went up to 160+ bpm and I got dizzy and blacked out. I came to with the most horrific panic attack anyone could imagine. I managed to get myself home, thinking I needed to just get some rest. Next morning I woke up with the heart racing and anxiety again so I went to the ER. They told me it was nothing but anxiety.
This hell continued for weeks. Repeated visits to the GP revealed nothing. According to him my thyroid was "fine". He diagnosed me with an anxiety disorder and sent me on my merry way with a script for xanax and prozac. This didn't sit right with me...I never had these problems in my life and refused to accept that I was crazy so I opted out of the pills and began to search for the root of all this.
My health continued to decline and eventually I became bedridden. I started to vomit regularly and was unable to digest solid food. After nearly dying it was found that my body was having issues holding on to salt so I was given a script for Florinef. This medication did awful things to me so I opted out of it and decided to just drink salt water. Which actually helped alot.
I consulted with an alternative practitioner who diagnosed me with adrenal fatigue based on a saliva test, hypothyroid based on a blood test, and with all sorts of toxicities based on a hair analysis. I was put on the GAPS diet, and a cocktail of supplements which I barely tolerated. I was also directed to perform coffee enemas twice a day.
Adding back the animal protein definitely did help. I started feeling well enough to get out of bed and function around the house, but no way in heck was I able to go back to work. I ate pounds of fermented saurkraut and would frequently break out in painful full body rashes. I lived in anxiety hell 24 hours a day and could barely sleep.I was so cold that I required several layers of clothing, in Florida, during the spring! I was told this was all "die off".
The coffee enemas were rough, but I was encouraged to keep up with them. Finally, they landed me back in the hospital AGAIN with electrolyte imbalance.
After this experience I decided I would ditch the GAPS diet completely. I then was advised by another guru to go on the Paleo diet for adrenal fatigue. I would still cheat and have some brown rice once in a while. I also was delighted to find out that sweet potatoes were "Paleo" so I started eating those too. I began feeling better and was able to return to work part time, but was still no where near well.
At this point I consulted with another alternative practitioner. This time I was told to get a glucose monitor and track my blood sugars for three days. It was determined that I was prediabetic and I was ordered off all carbs and all sugars. I was put on a high fat WAP type ketogenic Paleo diet. I consumed massive amounts of coconut and meat. After a month like this I had to quit my job once and for all. As the months passed, my allergies became horrific. I began to become intolerant to more and more foods. I developed MCS and began to have severe reactions to fragrances and anything with a strong chemical smell.
Back in April it all came to a head one day when I went into severe anaphylactic shock after eating some chicken with tumeric seasoning. From this point on it was like my body was at full out war with anything and everything it came in contact with. There was not one food I could eat without my throat closing up. Even water would cause reactions. I could not use toothpaste or shampoo.I could not leave my home without a respirator mask.
The doctors tried giving me anti-histamines but I had horrific reactions to them all, even Benedryl. I was living on 6 tablespoons of rice cereal for babies and water. Eventually I stopped tolerating the baby cereal. At this point I was brought to an allergist/immunologist who ran several tests on me, diagnosed me with anorexia, and prescribed me a food substitute called Tolerex that they give to coma patients with feeding tubes. he also suggested to my parents that I be Baker acted.
I lived on the Tolerex for a few more weeks and when I ran out I was forced to water fast for another week. At this point I thought it was truly the end when I just happened to stumble across an eating plan called the Failsafe diet. It was designed for people with severe food allergies so I thought I would give it a try. The first thing that I experimented with was the humble potato. And God Bless the potato! My body accepted it and I slowly began to climb out of the pit. Through this diet, I figured out that I was both histamine and salicylate intolerant.
A few weeks went by and I began to introduce more Failsafe foods. I was getting better so quickly! I then began making my own ice cream with maple syrup and eating organic potato chips. And got even better. I was very perplexed at how the very things that I was warned so strongly against were making me feel so much better.
This is when I found Matt Stone over at 180 degree health. I told him my story and he immediately had me monitor my body temp for a few days. I was averaging a freezing cold 96.1! He explained to me how imperative it was that I get more calories and more carbs and sugar. According to him, I needed at least 3,000 kcals a day. This went against every fiber of my being! I spent so many years running from food and torturing myself in the name of thinness. I hadn't consumed 3000 calories in a day in at least 12 years! I was also so brainwashed to believe that carbs and sugars were evil candida feeding adrenal wreckers. But I knew something had to be done. The other way certainly did me no good at all,so I decided to give it a shot.
I've been RRARFing now for about a month and feeling better than I've felt since this whole nightmare began. I don't need my respirator anymore and I'm slowly beginning to incorporate more non-failsafe foods. My body temp is still not ideal, but today I actually hit 99.1 in the afternoon!
Matt Stone is a big fan of Ray Peat, and he recommended me to eat Peat-style, which is what ultimately led me to Peat's work and this forum.
I'm still new to Peating and I'm trying to stick to it as best I can with all my food intolerances. Unfortunately fruit is not yet my friend so I can't have the OJ yet, but I'm loving my taters and milk!
So that's my story and I'm stickin to it :) Thanks for reading, hope I didn't put you to sleep!