Demyze's Log and Intro

[Demyze]

Hello! :) This is going to be a long post but I'm going to start off by running through Charlie's "Meet and Greet Questions".

-23 y/o Male @ 6"2',181 lbs. I am considered very lean and muscular; athletic build

-Found forum and Peat through Danny Roddy who I found through Christopher Walker (he created a testosterone lifestyle protocol called "Testshock")

-I have been slowly moving towards a Peat lifestyle over the past two weeks

-So far my favorite part about Peating is the nearly instant results I've seen and I like exploring the science behind the recommendations. Also I like the food!

-My least favorite part of Peating is so far I've found it difficult to eat with other people and stick to foods that are beneficial are don't have a negative impact on PUFA status, Iron intake, or that irritate the digestive process

A Brief history and health status

-Was a very successful athlete, my future in athletics was ended by a series of concussions and very traumatic brain injury which resulted in severe depression; Took the medication "Wellbutrin" on and off for 4 years

-Became motivated to use nutrition and healthy lifestyle to overcome setbacks and become healthy mentally and physically

-Discovered Martin Berkhan's "Leangains" (16/8 Intermittent Fasting with heavy emphasis on huge protein intake and carb cycling)

-Practiced IF (16-28 hours depending) for around 4 years, effectively achieved very low body fat and periods of large muscle and strength gains when I was motivated

-Despite six pack abs and muscular physique I still was experiencing health problems

Old Diet and Lifestyle
-lots of fasting
-Huge muscle meat intake (stress amino profile and iron)
-Large vegetable intake (Kale and Broccoli, bad for thyroid)
-lots of black coffee while fasting (poor thymus)
-lots of chicken fat involved (PUFA)
-no fruit or sugar except for occasional binge
-no dairy for past 2 years
-smoked on and off past 6 years
-Ingested 48g of "Unmodified Potato Starch" almost daily for over a year for gut health i.e. resistant starch (see freetheanimal.com), just stopped last month
-I took TONS of Fish oil according to Martin Berkhan's Guidelines; Around

Doctor's Visit

-Went to see doctor for my first physical in several years back in January of 2015

-Resting pulse of 40 bpm, temperature of 96 deg F
-doctor commented on my extremely cold hands and feet (girls hate this) and also my excessive underarm sweating
-took a blood sample

-I will try to find the documentation but the lab results showed extremely elevated liver enzymes, very high calcium and phosphorus

-Doc told me to stop taking fishoil and come back, new test showed liver enzymes were still high but within range, calcium and phosphorus still elevated

Symptoms and Ailments
-Cold hands, feet, and nose
-Acne
-Hair loss (Jude law hairline)
-No libido
-Zero mental focus
-Lack of motivation
-Social anxiety
-Gynocomestia (enlargement of gland underneath areola) despite low body fat

New Diet and Changes I've Seen

-Discovered Danny Roddy and read his "Hair Like a Fox" three weeks ago...mind was blown :!:

-Immediately reduced PUFA intake and looked for more resources about Ray Peat and the conclusions in Roddy's book

-Stopped fasting and began consuming more sugar and trying to reduce muscle meat intake

-introduced dairy(grassmilk from Organic Valley and raw cheese...Wegmans ftw), bought grass fed lambs liver from the farmers market, bought a pressure cooker and made bone broth, bought some canned boiled oysters in water, bought a glass orange juicer

-After a week of this diet I felt so good, acne was gone despite large dairy intake(suspect liver and oysters), mental focus was back, libido was up (also morning wood)

-some other changes I noticed that I don't see people talk about: outer eyebrow increased in thickness, fat on my triceps completely disappeared (reduced estrogen???), Gyno shrank substantially!, Testicular hardness increased (vit. A from liver???), Hard lump in earlobe shrank (maybe this is gout?), Facial hair growth is WAY thicker on my chin and mustache area, Deep lines on my face about an inch under my eyes are gone, face over all looks a lot more angular...reduced water retention

Problems
-Hands and feet are still cold
-still slight Gyno
-Libido comes on very strong but then wanes after awhile

Moving Forward

-track food intake in Cronometer and pay attemtion to Calcium/Phosphorus ratio, Iron intake, Amino acids, and keeping PUFA's low
-Begin measuring temperature upon waking and get it to 98 degrees
-Experiment with lower fat intake
-Try using Eggshell calcium to balance Cal/Pho
-Experiment with Haidut's Supplements (very interested in Estroban, Energin, Solban, Oxidil) when finances allow...probably going to try estroban and or energin first
-try to eat some well cooked Kale to get more Vit. K1
-Took aspirin (Bayer uncoated 325 mg...has some questionable inactive ingredients tho...) the past two days and felt pretty good
-Tried carrot salad yesterday and i'm going to try to do this everyday
-Going to try to eat more fruit

Problems and Questions so Far
-drink a 2-Liter of coke over a day...felt like crap
-Potatoes>Rice for sure!!! (at least for myself)
-How much starch should I eat or rather can I eat and still achieve good results (low cost nutrition)
-How much fat should I consume?
-How do I get more protein but keep Phosphorus, Iron, and negative Amino Acids low???
-How can I go out with friends/dates/eat with family
-Get Heart Rate and body Temp. UP!
-Find a way to workout and keep lactic acid and stress low...maybe sugar and or BCAA intake pre/peri/post workout?
-Eat enough during busy schedule and while not at home...just started summer job and commuting to George Mason in the fall

So I'm seeing great results so far but I am going to keep trying different things. So far i've found Danny Roddy's recommendations really good, although I've noticed some people on this forum disagree with him. I've noticed the main disagreements within people who subscribe to Peat's recommendations is Starch and Fat intake.

Resources I've been using:

dannyroddy.com
andrewkimblog.com
functionalalps.com
percievethinkact.com
raypeatforum.com and the exchanges from Peat. Also Haidut's posts are very interesting to me

If anyone has any other resources, advice/recommendations, questions I welcome them!
Also I live in Northern Virginia so if anyone knows any good Peat friendly restaraunts or good food shopping destinations besides Wegmans/Whole foods let me know

If I think of anything else I'll probably post it here

 

[4peatssake]

to the forum Demyze!

What a great intro.

You sound like you are well on your way and have uncovered some terrific resources.
As I read your post, I could not help but think:

"Ah, the resiliency of youth!"
Congratulations for finding a successful path toward achieving great health.

 

[Blossom]

Welcome Demyze! You do seem very well informed.

 

[tara]

Demyze

Looks as though you are on your way. I know what you mean about mind being blown by Peat's ideas - so contrary to a lot of common advice.

Doc told me to stop taking fishoil ...

Go Doc. :)

I'm an unfit, middle-aged and female, so not all the same issues as you, but have some thoughts on your questions anyway.

-some other changes I noticed that I don't see people talk about: outer eyebrow increased in thickness

I think thinning eyebrows is a classic hypothyroid sign.

-Hands and feet are still cold

This is a good sign to watch - cold hands and feet can indicate high adrenaline (and maybe low CO2)

-drink a 2-Liter of coke over a day...felt like crap

I sometimes drink 100-200ml of coke, but if I drink a lot it doesn't do me much good. I guess the Mg and K in fruit juice is part of what makes it work better for me.

-How do I get more protein but keep Phosphorus, Iron, and negative Amino Acids low???

More milk, cheese, chowder, etc gelatin, extra calcium if needed, less muscle meat when you can?

-Potatoes>Rice for sure!!! (at least for myself)
-How much starch should I eat or rather can I eat and still achieve good results (low cost nutrition)

These seem to vary from individual to individual. Some say they do best with no starch, others say they need it to feel good. I think Peat has said low- moderate starch can be OK if you don't have particularly troublesome gut microbiota. Personally, I think potatoes do me more good than rice, and rice is pretty empty of other nutrients, while potatoes have some good protein and minerals. But for anyone sensitive to nightshades, potatoes are best avoided. I think the story is to experiment and see how your system responds.

-How much fat should I consume?

Also seems to vary. Favour carbs of fat for main energy source. A little sat fat with meals can help digestion.

How can I go out with friends/dates/eat with family.

Common issue. Suss out local restaurants - see if you can find some that have one or two low PUFA mains and deserts. Bring something with you to add to meals when you are invited to other' houses for meal - eg bring a contribution of cheesecake/jelly/soup etc.
Many places will serve OJ, coke, latte. Some will serve fruit salad or cheese cake, steamed rice, chowder, roast meat.
Personally, I try to limit PUFA wherever I go, avoid aged cheeses because I'm personally sensitive, and try not to eat large amounts of wheat because I know I react badly to it. But other than that I tend to be reasonably relaxed about eating out from time to time. I've found couple of local take away places that fry in beef fat.

Eat enough during busy schedule and while not at home...just started summer job and commuting to George Mason in the fall

Get together a range of portable food and cooler bag. Eg a bottle of sweet coffee or chocolate milk, a bottle of OJ and/or other juice, a box of fruit, a container of jelly (only works if you can keep it cool enough not to melt), cheese, dried fruit if it works for you. I usually have a packet of dates and a block of chocolate with me for reserve food. I'm lucky to have a microwave available at work, so I bring a hot meal to heat for lunch. If I didn't I might eat a large hot breakfast and take a couple of boiled eggs for lunch.

-Find a way to workout and keep lactic acid and stress low...maybe sugar and or BCAA intake pre/peri/post workout?

Chocolate milk? OJ jelly? And consider/experiment with reducing frequency and/or length of training sessions and still get the benefits with less stress?

Some people find bag-breathing or other breathing exercises to raise CO2 levels elp improve things - can sometimes have direct effects of warming up cold hands and feet.
If you are not already doing it, see if you can get regular sunshine or at least daylight on your skin.

 

[Demyze]

@Blossom @4peatssake , Thanks guys :)

@Tara , Thanks for the recs, I think im gonna have to buy a couple of thermos'

 

[pboy]

Demyze wrote:
How can I go out with friends/dates/eat with family.



you can go to narouz house for an extravagant dinner of cottage cheese and orange juice

 

[Demyze]

@pboy - Haha only if the OJ isn't from concentrate and flavor pack free. Also the cottage cheese can't have any Guar gum!

Really though I feel more comfortable figuring out what's a good idea to eat if I go out. There still is the awkward situation of others wanting me to try PUFA laden foods they made themselves or that they're providing and then questioning why I'm not eating it. In that case I almost have to eat some of it or be extremely rude. I guess I could lie and say I'm allergic to stuff but I know people would catch on after awhile. I've also realized that trying to explain the pitfalls of PUFA intake to anyone, even the scientifically literate, is honestly a seemingly impossible task. Lately when people ask me what "diet" I'm doing I just tell them a fruititarian now haha

Funny enough the other day I was talking to a girl I work with about working out and somehow I brought up how healthy beef liver is. She turned to me in disgust and said that I should never eat that, its the organ that's full of all the bodies toxins!!! Mind you, this girl is studying to be a Veterinarian and just completed all her anatomy and phys. courses. After talking to her I finally got her to admit that what she just said was bull**** It's mind blowing how much bs is disseminated amongst the health-centric masses.

I'll continue to fight the good fight, one battle at a time

Also, has any one tried using milk protein powder to hit macros? Has way more calcium than anyother protein powder. Saw it recomended by the peatminded JC Deen @ http://www.jcdfitness.com/2015/03/how-t ... -yourself/

 

[tara]

There still is the awkward situation of others wanting me to try PUFA laden foods they made themselves or that they're providing and then questioning why I'm not eating it. In that case I almost have to eat some of it or be extremely rude.

If I'm offered birthday cake etc, I usually accept and eat a small token amount. I don't have zero tolerance policy on anything much, though I do keep the quantity of some things very low overall.

 

[4peatssake]

@pboy - Haha only if the OJ isn't from concentrate and flavor pack free. Also the cottage cheese can't have any Guar gum!

Really though I feel more comfortable figuring out what's a good idea to eat if I go out. There still is the awkward situation of others wanting me to try PUFA laden foods they made themselves or that they're providing and then questioning why I'm not eating it. In that case I almost have to eat some of it or be extremely rude. I guess I could lie and say I'm allergic to stuff but I know people would catch on after awhile. I've also realized that trying to explain the pitfalls of PUFA intake to anyone, even the scientifically literate, is honestly a seemingly impossible task. Lately when people ask me what "diet" I'm doing I just tell them a fruititarian now haha

Funny enough the other day I was talking to a girl I work with about working out and somehow I brought up how healthy beef liver is. She turned to me in disgust and said that I should never eat that, its the organ that's full of all the bodies toxins!!! Mind you, this girl is studying to be a Veterinarian and just completed all her anatomy and phys. courses. After talking to her I finally got her to admit that what she just said was bull**** It's mind blowing how much bs is disseminated amongst the health-centric masses.

I'll continue to fight the good fight, one battle at a time

Also, has any one tried using milk protein powder to hit macros? Has way more calcium than anyother protein powder. Saw it recomended by the peatminded JC Deen @ http://www.jcdfitness.com/2015/03/how-t ... -yourself/

It can be difficult when family and friends are pushing pufa laden food!

I avoid lying outright but can say truthfully to people that I've been having some digestive issues and am having to restrict myself to specific foods that I'm tolerating until I can figure out what foods I'm having a bad reaction to. And I'll add something like at the beginning like, "It looks delicious but...." because we all know how delicious PUFA are -right narouz. :P

People in so called health care professions can be the absolute worse sources of credible nutritional information. I find nutritionists to be among the worst.