Nicholas
Member
- Joined
- Apr 25, 2015
- Messages
- 666
I finally came to a revelation that i can't get by on "intuition" anymore, so i'm going back to the books. Intuition is something you have to re-learn and renew. My diet has become so inconsistent (as in, consistent for a week and then not for 3 days and then back on and then off for 5 days, etc.) and i've developed a kind of detached position again where i don't know what is what anymore. In my previous days of logging, i only monitored really about 4 variables on paper: food frequency, macros, calories per meal/day.....and used feels and pulse/temp to monitor what was working and not. But obviously, there are many more variables - and for me, they still operate in the unknown. Here are the main ones i would like to understand more deeply and how they affect me in a *verifiable way* with the goal being that i don't have to be confused about diet as much anymore and only have to go back to the books when a new mystery comes up. I want the mysteries that can be solved to be solved and in the process leave that place of detachment:
- nutrient deficiency symptoms
- iron using/storing issues
- food sensitivities (think i may be allergic/sensitive to a few things i still regularly eat)
- resistant starch
- fiber types/combining with other foods
- amino acid deficiency/animal protein reactions
- salt deficiency/excess
- pepper/herbs
- reactions to various saturated fats
- water content of foods/balancing
- calcium sources/reactions
I kind of have a plan for how i want to isolate variables and experiment but at the same time i feel a bit lost. First, i figure i should get frequency, macros, and calories to a good baseline and consistency...and then the rest is kind of like fine-tuning (and could completely alter things dramatically). For addressing the above listed variables, i assume that the foods i eat and the ways in which i prepare them should remain constant. For example, i have my baseline way of eating and documented temps/pulses/feels....and then when i want to explore if i have abnormal issues with iron, i completely eliminate as much as possible food containing high levels of iron like clams, chocolate, beef....for 2 weeks? keep record of feels/temp/pulse/etc...? then re-introduce moderate amounts of iron back into diet to compare? Then i take whatever i have learned from that experiment and incorporate it into my baseline diet for a couple weeks? Is that too stressful or confusing for the body? my health has remained pretty good despite all the inconsistencies of my life growing up so i don't imagine it would be that much of a stress.
The thinking is that the "baseline" foundation (food frequency, macros, calories, consistency) is what is likely to stay pretty similar for seasons of my life though certainly evolve over time and as the body needs different types/quantities of fuel depending on what battle it is fighting. The fine tuning variables that i want to address seem like they would be more longterm revelations except for a few which might change as metabolism gets better (my temp and pulse are actually pretty good already though i don't feel like i have a great metabolism some days). I think it would be important during the experiments (which i expect would take about a year) to also leave break times where i can also check up on the baseline foundation to make sure it's still doing good and problems there are not causing confusion with the experiments.
Through all of this i understand that life circumstances and lifestyle variables also have a huge (if not the same) impact as nutrition on your healing....so my plan is to also keep the variables which you can "control" consistent and logged as well. Currently, my only temp that is not great is in the mornings (97.6) - so it would be cool to raise that temp. otherwise, my temp and pulse are pretty optimal and pretty stable through the day (when i am being consistent that is). But i've also learned that temp and pulse do not always give an accurate picture of things. that's why feels and physical manifestations of healing are equally as important in making assessments. Obviously, more healing of some of my afflictions would be a nice goal - but ultimately, i just feel it's important for me to get more studied and connected with my body than i have been lately - and able to have substance/*confidence* with my consistency. I want to be puzzled by things less and more certain of things that i can be certain of. As i said, i expect it to take about a year - and then after that i will just continue on with what i've learned and whatever my baseline is...and then do a little bit of logging whenever my body is saying it needs to change up the baseline in different seasons of my life.
Lastly, i'm not sure on how many days a week i should log during the year. I'm thinking 4 days a week when i am specifically in an experiment mode and 3 days a week when i am just in baseline "intermissions". The non-logging days seem good for being able to be more intuitive. You'd also likely go crazy with having to put everything down on paper.
Any thoughts, additions, advice? I know pboy has done something similar to this, though i think it was even more in-depth and took much longer - anyone else done something similar?
thank you. i may comment here from time to time to give updates.
- nutrient deficiency symptoms
- iron using/storing issues
- food sensitivities (think i may be allergic/sensitive to a few things i still regularly eat)
- resistant starch
- fiber types/combining with other foods
- amino acid deficiency/animal protein reactions
- salt deficiency/excess
- pepper/herbs
- reactions to various saturated fats
- water content of foods/balancing
- calcium sources/reactions
I kind of have a plan for how i want to isolate variables and experiment but at the same time i feel a bit lost. First, i figure i should get frequency, macros, and calories to a good baseline and consistency...and then the rest is kind of like fine-tuning (and could completely alter things dramatically). For addressing the above listed variables, i assume that the foods i eat and the ways in which i prepare them should remain constant. For example, i have my baseline way of eating and documented temps/pulses/feels....and then when i want to explore if i have abnormal issues with iron, i completely eliminate as much as possible food containing high levels of iron like clams, chocolate, beef....for 2 weeks? keep record of feels/temp/pulse/etc...? then re-introduce moderate amounts of iron back into diet to compare? Then i take whatever i have learned from that experiment and incorporate it into my baseline diet for a couple weeks? Is that too stressful or confusing for the body? my health has remained pretty good despite all the inconsistencies of my life growing up so i don't imagine it would be that much of a stress.
The thinking is that the "baseline" foundation (food frequency, macros, calories, consistency) is what is likely to stay pretty similar for seasons of my life though certainly evolve over time and as the body needs different types/quantities of fuel depending on what battle it is fighting. The fine tuning variables that i want to address seem like they would be more longterm revelations except for a few which might change as metabolism gets better (my temp and pulse are actually pretty good already though i don't feel like i have a great metabolism some days). I think it would be important during the experiments (which i expect would take about a year) to also leave break times where i can also check up on the baseline foundation to make sure it's still doing good and problems there are not causing confusion with the experiments.
Through all of this i understand that life circumstances and lifestyle variables also have a huge (if not the same) impact as nutrition on your healing....so my plan is to also keep the variables which you can "control" consistent and logged as well. Currently, my only temp that is not great is in the mornings (97.6) - so it would be cool to raise that temp. otherwise, my temp and pulse are pretty optimal and pretty stable through the day (when i am being consistent that is). But i've also learned that temp and pulse do not always give an accurate picture of things. that's why feels and physical manifestations of healing are equally as important in making assessments. Obviously, more healing of some of my afflictions would be a nice goal - but ultimately, i just feel it's important for me to get more studied and connected with my body than i have been lately - and able to have substance/*confidence* with my consistency. I want to be puzzled by things less and more certain of things that i can be certain of. As i said, i expect it to take about a year - and then after that i will just continue on with what i've learned and whatever my baseline is...and then do a little bit of logging whenever my body is saying it needs to change up the baseline in different seasons of my life.
Lastly, i'm not sure on how many days a week i should log during the year. I'm thinking 4 days a week when i am specifically in an experiment mode and 3 days a week when i am just in baseline "intermissions". The non-logging days seem good for being able to be more intuitive. You'd also likely go crazy with having to put everything down on paper.
Any thoughts, additions, advice? I know pboy has done something similar to this, though i think it was even more in-depth and took much longer - anyone else done something similar?
thank you. i may comment here from time to time to give updates.