DBCoast’s Recovery Log

[Jonk]

Sick of gaining weight. What am I supposed to do? Folks said a 500cal deficit is horrible. Will my body magically morph into not being fat if I eat enough calories? This is something I can’t understand.

I’m considering going lower carb again and increasing exercise. The mental health aspect of not being fat is worth it to me.

I think what is great with the Ray Peat paradigm is not that you have to eat a lot of calories, sugar, nutrient dense foods etc, but rather that it works as a good indicator of how well our physiology is functioning. Many people get stuck because they eat all the Peaty foods and a lot of calories and get fat, and then think of it as another diet that didn't work. I don't remember if it was Danny or Ray who spoke about certain women who could gain fat on extremely low calorie diets because their metabolism was incredibly slow. Technically those women were on a calorie surplus, otherwise they wouldn't have gained the weight. All while being in what's called a calorie deficit by normal standards.

The usual Peaty foods are obviously good nutritious foods but if you just follow the standard dogma of milk, sugar, fruit, liver, carrots - you probably aren't too specific about how you go about your nutrition. I think it needs to be tailormade by you, and that's obviously the hard part about it, because the only way to truly know what works is to think - perceive - act, a thousand times over, making mental notes, building up experience and knowledge about how you feel and react to foods, stimuli, supplements etc.

 

[Jennifer]

Sick of gaining weight. What am I supposed to do? Folks said a 500cal deficit is horrible. Will my body magically morph into not being fat if I eat enough calories? This is something I can’t understand.

I’m considering going lower carb again and increasing exercise. The mental health aspect of not being fat is worth it to me.

You seemed to be in a similar predicament my mum was in. She was clearly hypothyroid, gaining weight on as little as 1000 calories a day, but had a history of chronic dieting from the time she was a child because she had what I would consider perfectly normal baby fat. She just wasn’t stick thin like her sisters. Her dieting more than likely contributing to the hypothyroidism, but she had it to begin with so it just became a self-perpetuating cycle. I personally don’t agree with refeeding when a person is truly hypothyroid, and not hypothyroid created by an energy deficit, whether that be from chronic undereating and/or over exercising. I have seen and experienced for myself the horror stories. 6000+ calories a day as a tiny female was insane and never healed my thyroid. I had to come to terms with the fact that I needed to supplement. Diet alone wasn’t enough.

Thebigpeatowski. She isn't active on the form anymore but she had a really interesting experience losing fat and she detailed it for everyone and answered tons of questions...

No offense to thebigpeatowski, but she didn’t improve her thyroid function dieting. She just did what everyone else does to lose weight, which is exactly what landed many people on this forum. She later came back saying that she needed to be on 15 grains of thyroid. I’m not trying to point the finger at anyone, I understand it, but I just really dislike seeing claims of weightloss through special dietary approaches as if they’re somehow new and miraculous when all they really are is a calorie deficit.

 

[LadyRae]

You seemed to be in a similar predicament my mum was in. She was clearly hypothyroid, gaining weight on as little as 1000 calories a day, but had a history of chronic dieting from the time she was a child because she had what I would consider perfectly normal baby fat. She just wasn’t stick thin like her sisters. Her dieting more than likely contributing to the hypothyroidism, but she had it to begin with so it just became a self-perpetuating cycle. I personally don’t agree with refeeding when a person is truly hypothyroid, and not hypothyroid created by an energy deficit, whether that be from chronic undereating and/or over exercising. I have seen and experienced for myself the horror stories. 6000+ calories a day as a tiny female was insane and never healed my thyroid. I had to come to terms with the fact that I needed to supplement. Diet alone wasn’t enough.



No offense to thebigpeatowski, but she didn’t improve her thyroid function dieting. She just did what everyone else does to lose weight, which is exactly what landed many people on this forum. She later came back saying that she needed to be on 15 grains of thyroid. I’m not trying to point the finger at anyone, I understand it, but I just really dislike seeing claims of weightloss through special dietary approaches as if they’re somehow new and miraculous when all they really are is a calorie deficit.

Her success had a lot to do with extreme PUFA restriction.

I'm not saying that her way is the best way, because obviously everybody is so vastly different here. Fat loss absolutely must be tailored to the individual.
But there are so many threads about fat loss I thought that the OP may find reading through them helpful. He probably already has.

 

[Jennifer]

Her success had a lot to do with extreme PUFA restriction.

I'm not saying that her way is the best way, because obviously everybody is so vastly different here. Fat loss absolutely must be tailored to the individual.
But there are so many threads about fat loss I thought that the OP may find reading through them helpful. He probably already has.

What success? She ended up having to be on 15 grains of thyroid. Just because a person loses weight doesn't mean they are healthy, in my opinion and experience.

 

[LadyRae]

What success? She ended up having to take 15 grains of thyroid. Just because a person loses weight doesn't mean they are healthy, in my opinion and experience.

DBCOAST was specifically asking about fat loss this morning so I'm responding to that right now.

 

[Jennifer]

DBCOAST was specifically asking about fat loss this morning so I'm responding to that right now.

But he is already restricting calories just like thebigpeat did and he is only getting worse, and the whole point of his thread is recovery.

 

[DBCoast]

Sorry for the venting, I’m just frustrated and feel stuck. I can’t workout hard and can’t restrict because it makes me sick, but I get fat if I don’t. The reason I get fat quickly is because I made myself sick with that extreme lifestyle. Then, simply eating enough cals and walking will make me gain weight also. It’s like no mater what I do I’ll gain. I’m just very frustrated.

Eating at maintenance and reducing stress is probably what it will take, and it will take a while. I don’t feel like being overweight for two years waiting for this to get better. Very aggravating.

The functional med doc was good and I’ve scheduled some pretty comprehensive testing. We’ll see. I have to do something.

 

[LadyRae]

Sorry for the venting, I’m just frustrated and feel stuck. I can’t workout hard and can’t restrict because it makes me sick, but I get fat if I don’t. The reason I get fat quickly is because I made myself sick with that extreme lifestyle. Then, simply eating enough cals and walking will make me gain weight also. It’s like no mater what I do I’ll gain. I’m just very frustrated.

Eating at maintenance and reducing stress is probably what it will take, and it will take a while. I don’t feel like being overweight for two years waiting for this to get better. Very aggravating.

The functional med doc was good and I’ve scheduled some pretty comprehensive testing. We’ll see. I have to do something.

Good morning . Everything looks uphill from here, but it will get better.

I'm sure your functional doc will review your lab work with you, but if you are comfortable, you could post it here and there are a lot of very informed folks within the form that know how to interpret labs...

Last night my sleep was pretty broken after about 5 and 1/2 hours of solid sleep. This always happens a few days before I start my period, no matter what I eat or whether or not I take progesterone (which I am, just a little) in my luteal phase.

So I guess my insomnia is hormonal and cyclical. However I could have some increased adrenaline as I am flying all day on Monday () with three of my daughters so I am working up to that...

Thank you for your updates I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend...

 

[Jennifer]

Sorry for the venting, I’m just frustrated and feel stuck. I can’t workout hard and can’t restrict because it makes me sick, but I get fat if I don’t. The reason I get fat quickly is because I made myself sick with that extreme lifestyle. Then, simply eating enough cals and walking will make me gain weight also. It’s like no mater what I do I’ll gain. I’m just very frustrated.

Eating at maintenance and reducing stress is probably what it will take, and it will take a while. I don’t feel like being overweight for two years waiting for this to get better. Very aggravating.

The functional med doc was good and I’ve scheduled some pretty comprehensive testing. We’ll see. I have to do something.

I hope you aren’t apologizing because of my conversation with LadyRae. I spoke with thebigpeatowski on her log during her fat loss experiment and she mentioned going all day without eating and running on adrenaline and then ended up needing to be on 15 grains of thyroid so I thought maybe LadyRae wasn’t aware of this and figured I should say something, given you are trying to overcome a state of high adrenaline. It wasn’t my intention to upset anyone so if I did, I apologize. It’s perfectly okay to vent. It’s your log and you certainly are surrounded by people who understand. You may be pleasantly surprised what eating to satiety and reducing stress, and the subsequent effect this will have on your sleep and hormones, does for your body composition naturally, over time.

 

[DBCoast]

I hope you aren’t apologizing because of my conversation with LadyRae. I spoke with thebigpeatowski on her log during her fat loss experiment and she mentioned going all day without eating and running on adrenaline and then ended up needing to be on 15 grains of thyroid so I thought maybe LadyRae wasn’t aware of this and figured I should say something, given you are trying to overcome a state of high adrenaline. It wasn’t my intention to upset anyone so if I did, I apologize. It’s perfectly okay to vent. It’s your log and you certainly are surrounded by people who understand. You may be pleasantly surprised what eating to satiety and reducing stress, and the subsequent effect this will have on your sleep and hormones, does for your body composition naturally, over time.

No, no, it’s not that. I feel bad for complaining.

But honestly, I’m sick of the fight. I’ve been battling this weight my entire life. Skipping summer camp because it included a trip to the water park, never feeling comfortable at the beach ever - not once, feeling horrible at any swimming party, on and on. I’m beginning to believe I’m genetically predisposed to it and it’s just going to be a war until death. I’ve done everything, and nothing has worked. Not going hard enough? Ok, how about I go so hard I make myself sick as hell? Still fat? Yes. Now sick and the weight is coming back. There’s no escaping if. It’s either beating my body into submission or buy bigger clothes. I’m tired of feeling like s**t in public.

So that’s it. Don’t know where to go next. Peat style and love myself? That’s fine, but I’ll be fat. There’s no doubt. So it’s more like pick your poison - low carb? Low cal? Weightlifting diet? Hard exercise? Gotta pick one because I’m tired of living like this.

 

[remnant]

No, no, it’s not that. I feel bad for complaining.

But honestly, I’m sick of the fight. I’ve been battling this weight my entire life. Skipping summer camp because it included a trip to the water park, never feeling comfortable at the beach ever - not once, feeling horrible at any swimming party, on and on. I’m beginning to believe I’m genetically predisposed to it and it’s just going to be a war until death. I’ve done everything, and nothing has worked. Not going hard enough? Ok, how about I go so hard I make myself sick as hell? Still fat? Yes. Now sick and the weight is coming back. There’s no escaping if. It’s either beating my body into submission or buy bigger clothes. I’m tired of feeling like s**t in public.

So that’s it. Don’t know where to go next. Peat style and love myself? That’s fine, but I’ll be fat. There’s no doubt. So it’s more like pick your poison - low carb? Low cal? Weightlifting diet? Hard exercise? Gotta pick one because I’m tired of living like this.

What about hiring a coach? Someone who can direct you with the right training, and the right nutrition, to get the results you want.
I'm not talking about a CrossFit coach at a box. Or your cookie cutter personal trainer at LA Fitness.
I listened to a podcast yesterday with Sam “COACH CAL” Calavitta. He seems as legit as anyone I've ever worked with.

Check out his site...The Treigning Lab

Everyone needs a good mentor in their life. Teamwork absolutely makes the dream work.

​

 

[Jennifer]

No, no, it’s not that. I feel bad for complaining.

But honestly, I’m sick of the fight. I’ve been battling this weight my entire life. Skipping summer camp because it included a trip to the water park, never feeling comfortable at the beach ever - not once, feeling horrible at any swimming party, on and on. I’m beginning to believe I’m genetically predisposed to it and it’s just going to be a war until death. I’ve done everything, and nothing has worked. Not going hard enough? Ok, how about I go so hard I make myself sick as hell? Still fat? Yes. Now sick and the weight is coming back. There’s no escaping if. It’s either beating my body into submission or buy bigger clothes. I’m tired of feeling like s**t in public.

So that’s it. Don’t know where to go next. Peat style and love myself? That’s fine, but I’ll be fat. There’s no doubt. So it’s more like pick your poison - low carb? Low cal? Weightlifting diet? Hard exercise? Gotta pick one because I’m tired of living like this.

Oh, okay. Well, I don’t think there is any reason to feel bad about venting. It’s a normal reaction to a situation that is frustrating and quite frankly, you’re tired. A lack of sleep will only heighten emotions and add to the frustration of having struggled with your weight and self-esteem your entire life. I did similar things and avoided certain group activities to hide my body so I can empathize with you. When you see the functional doc, maybe ask them to perform the achilles tendon reflex test on you? It’s a better diagnostic than thyroid labs, which in my experience, are very unreliable. Even if your TSH falls within the utter rubbish that doctors consider a “healthy range,” adrenaline can lower it so it’s not a good reflection of your actual thyroid function.

Along with the achilles tendon reflex test, far more accurate diagnostics include temps/rate of evaporation, i.e., one’s ability to sweat a.k.a thermoregulation or “metabolic rate,” pulse, cholesterol level (above 200 pointing to hypothyroidism and below 145 (?) pointing to adrenal failure), liver and gallbladder function, health of connective tissues—joints, tendons, veins, skin, nails, teeth, bones etc.—mental, emotional and neurological (including apnea and peristalsis function) health and the list goes on. Now, will supplementing thyroid get you ripped, that I don’t know but what I do know is that life looks a heck of a lot better after a good night sleep, and maybe what you don’t like about your physical self currently, won’t seem nearly as bad?

 

[DBCoast]

I’m on vacation in my homeland of south Louisiana. I’ve been eating whatever I want - crawfish, king cake, seafood pie, whatever - and as much as I want. I’ve slept 7+ hours every night and libido is through the roof.

This happened once before a few years ago and is remembered as one of the only other times I slept during my insomnia battle.

My wife and I joke that I needed to refill my Cajun Power Meter. Haha

But this is giving me insight. The times I slept were times of comfort and relaxation - honeymoon, trips home to Louisiana. Maybe it’s all stress.

But Cajuns don’t do well away from their land. That’s true. I’ve seen it. Maybe I’ll move back to the Gulf Coast.

 

[remnant]

I’m on vacation in my homeland of south Louisiana. I’ve been eating whatever I want - crawfish, king cake, seafood pie, whatever - and as much as I want. I’ve slept 7+ hours every night and libido is through the roof.

This happened once before a few years ago and is remembered as one of the only other times I slept during my insomnia battle.

My wife and I joke that I needed to refill my Cajun Power Meter. Haha

But this is giving me insight. The times I slept were times of comfort and relaxation - honeymoon, trips home to Louisiana. Maybe it’s all stress.

But Cajuns don’t do well away from their land. That’s true. I’ve seen it. Maybe I’ll move back to the Gulf Coast.

Awesome! Glad to hear that you're having a good trip.

All humans operate at specific wavelengths, and frequencies. Where we live has a tremendous impact on our health and wellbeing.
We need to align our internal environment, with our external environment, for maximum happiness.

Stay true to the good sir!

 

[DBCoast]

Awesome! Glad to hear that you're having a good trip.

All humans operate at specific wavelengths, and frequencies. Where we live has a tremendous impact on our health and wellbeing.
We need to align our internal environment, with our external environment, for maximum happiness.

Stay true to the good sir!

Thanks, my friend. Appreciate the kind words.

 

[DBCoast]

As I mentioned in another post, I took a trip home and ate anything and everything. Po-boys, fried and raw oysters, boiled crawfish, a ton of king cake, root beer, caffeine whenever, etc. I slept better and my face aged in reverse. High libido also. I’m home now and last night I ate spaghetti and meatballs, Italian cookies, and a cannoli. Today I feel thinner.

Maybe there’s something to “re-feeding”? Maybe it all comes down to stress? Being in a familiar land + comfort eating = sleep? Maybe that’s all it comes down to.

We’ll see how it goes. I’m not going to count cals. I’m going to eat when I’m hungry and probably whatever I want. I’ve been restricting for many years. I’m also going to incorporate some exercise. I feel good eating a lot of sugar/carbs and exercising.

 

[Limon9]

As I mentioned in another post, I took a trip home and ate anything and everything. Po-boys, fried and raw oysters, boiled crawfish, a ton of king cake, root beer, caffeine whenever, etc. I slept better and my face aged in reverse. High libido also. I’m home now and last night I ate spaghetti and meatballs, Italian cookies, and a cannoli. Today I feel thinner.

Maybe there’s something to “re-feeding”? Maybe it all comes down to stress? Being in a familiar land + comfort eating = sleep? Maybe that’s all it comes down to.

We’ll see how it goes. I’m not going to count cals. I’m going to eat when I’m hungry and probably whatever I want. I’ve been restricting for many years. I’m also going to incorporate some exercise. I feel good eating a lot of sugar/carbs and exercising.

I (controversially) suggested in the other thread that you were in a caloric deficit, perhaps just going ham with food is part of what you needed. When people indulge they tend to eat a bit more fat than usual, which can slow the digestion of foods and better-sustain the blood sugar at night (validating your previous ice cream experience).

 

[DBCoast]

I (controversially) suggested in the other thread that you were in a caloric deficit, perhaps just going ham with food is part of what you needed. When people indulge they tend to eat a bit more fat than usual, which can slow the digestion of foods and better-sustain the blood sugar at night (validating your previous ice cream experience).

Yes, I believe you were/are correct.

 

[LadyRae]

@DBCoast This sounds like great progress. Thanks for keeping us posted.

 

[Jennifer]

As I mentioned in another post, I took a trip home and ate anything and everything. Po-boys, fried and raw oysters, boiled crawfish, a ton of king cake, root beer, caffeine whenever, etc. I slept better and my face aged in reverse. High libido also. I’m home now and last night I ate spaghetti and meatballs, Italian cookies, and a cannoli. Today I feel thinner.

Maybe there’s something to “re-feeding”? Maybe it all comes down to stress? Being in a familiar land + comfort eating = sleep? Maybe that’s all it comes down to.

We’ll see how it goes. I’m not going to count cals. I’m going to eat when I’m hungry and probably whatever I want. I’ve been restricting for many years. I’m also going to incorporate some exercise. I feel good eating a lot of sugar/carbs and exercising.

YAY! This is such great news! I’m really happy for you. Delicious food plus movement sounds like an excellent plan. I’m glad you had a good trip home. There’s really no place like it. :)