skittles
Member
- Joined
- Jan 12, 2013
- Messages
- 141
Hey there everyone.
A year ago, I was completely lost. I wasn't sure how much longer I could stand being alive. I spent so much time going down the Peat rabbit hole, trying to eat perfectly, supplementing experimentally, and getting nowhere.
I realize now that searching for an answer is useless. I needed to /understand/ and come up with my own answers.
And now I'm finally making some progress. I dunno if this will help anyone, or if I'll be called a heretic for all this, but I thought I would tell you guys what I'm doing lately. I haven't figured everything out completely, but I'm getting there by paying very close attention to what my body is telling me.
My biggest issue for the past 4 years or so was a strange hoarseness in my throat. I've been to ultrasounds, ENTs, a vocal instructor, gone for blood tests, etc, but nobody could give me any answer. I work at a cafe, and sometimes calling out drinks, my voice would just give out on me. Always hoarse, cracking, quiet. People wouldn't be able to hear me a few feet away. Even my coworkers, when the shop was quiet, were constantly asking 'what?' after every sentence.
It feels sort like an obstruction, preventing volume amplification without degrading my voice to the point where I couldn't be heard. I often thought 'if I ever had to yell out for help for any reason, I would be screwed'
The interesting thing is, this obstruction isn't actually a /thing/, because it sort of comes and goes, and it took me forever to start figuring it out. But I noticed certain things consistently fixing the issue now I can use it as a sort of diagnostics tool.
Not saying this is the same for everyone, but this is what's working for me:
1: Carbs are more important than /anything/.
I certainly try my hardest to avoid PUFA, but I'm finding that avoiding PUFA is second to getting enough carbs. In the short term anyway.
I had to let go of my fear of grains. I'm beginning to think gluten is hardly as much of an issue as the fortification of bread. I wasn't getting enough food/carbs with fruit/juice alone. Now I have croissants, cereal, pizza, sourdough bread, stuff like that pretty often (never whole grain anything - that stuff effs me up) . I know it's not ideal. But it's amazing how rapidly my voice strengthens when I eat simple starches. Not only that, my mood improves, and I feel much more alive.
2: There seems to be two categories - carbs and everything else.
Everything seems to cause a degradation in my voice, except carbs. Eggs/alcohol/cannabis are the biggest offenders for me. I need piles of carbs just to reach equilibrium from those things, so now I have them less often. Coffee, I realize, needs to be /really/ sweet for me. Meat, of any kind, is always accompanied now by starch and/or some sweet drink. Sometimes when my voice was really bad, people suggested drinking more water, drinking tea, but they even worsened my voice. Everyone thinks I'm nuts because sugar fixes my voice, but water can make it worse.
3: Let the body rest.
Lack of sleep impacts my voice. I've gotten into a habit of winding down at night. One light-source at a time until my phone is on silent, out of arm's reach, and I'm reading my Kobo by candlelight. Staying up late on the computer every night was causing problems.
I go to the gym once in a while, but I've adopted a new philosophy about it. I dunno if I'm even doing anything, but it feels good to workout within the capacity of energy my body will offer me on a given day. I no longer stick to a program. I go, lift whatever feels good, usually 3 sets of 8-12 always leaving one or two in the tank, and when I'm getting tired, I leave. Some days I only do bench and squats. Some days, I do like eight lifts and feel fine. I listen to my body.
4: Never go hungry.
If you're hungry, you're already too hungry. I think a lot of people don't realize that they're hungry if they don't feel their tummies grumbling. If you're low on energy, tired, or grumpy, eat some carbs. I struggled with this for so long, because I thought I had to have the perfect peaty food. But in my experience, a scone and a cup of sweet coffee will do in a pinch. I'm not too concerned with the PUFA, because the most important thing when you're hungry is eating carbs.
I know PUFA is not good. I do actively try to avoid it. I eat a lot of coconut oil to offset it. But your body craves things for a reason, and stressing about the decision and ultimately not eating what your body is craving, is probably detrimental. If you're really craving a burger, eat a burger and don't worry so much about the PUFA in the bun. Just order it without mayo. Good enough.
I believe that once you start switching over to carbohydrate metabolism and you're actively making efforts to avoid PUFA, your body can handle a bit of it. Your body can handle a bit of anything, so believe in your body and /just eat/.
Anywho. I'm no scientist. This is just my personal experience. I'm only in the middle of my journey, so I could be completely wrong, but this is what seems to be working.
A year ago, I was completely lost. I wasn't sure how much longer I could stand being alive. I spent so much time going down the Peat rabbit hole, trying to eat perfectly, supplementing experimentally, and getting nowhere.
I realize now that searching for an answer is useless. I needed to /understand/ and come up with my own answers.
And now I'm finally making some progress. I dunno if this will help anyone, or if I'll be called a heretic for all this, but I thought I would tell you guys what I'm doing lately. I haven't figured everything out completely, but I'm getting there by paying very close attention to what my body is telling me.
My biggest issue for the past 4 years or so was a strange hoarseness in my throat. I've been to ultrasounds, ENTs, a vocal instructor, gone for blood tests, etc, but nobody could give me any answer. I work at a cafe, and sometimes calling out drinks, my voice would just give out on me. Always hoarse, cracking, quiet. People wouldn't be able to hear me a few feet away. Even my coworkers, when the shop was quiet, were constantly asking 'what?' after every sentence.
It feels sort like an obstruction, preventing volume amplification without degrading my voice to the point where I couldn't be heard. I often thought 'if I ever had to yell out for help for any reason, I would be screwed'
The interesting thing is, this obstruction isn't actually a /thing/, because it sort of comes and goes, and it took me forever to start figuring it out. But I noticed certain things consistently fixing the issue now I can use it as a sort of diagnostics tool.
Not saying this is the same for everyone, but this is what's working for me:
1: Carbs are more important than /anything/.
I certainly try my hardest to avoid PUFA, but I'm finding that avoiding PUFA is second to getting enough carbs. In the short term anyway.
I had to let go of my fear of grains. I'm beginning to think gluten is hardly as much of an issue as the fortification of bread. I wasn't getting enough food/carbs with fruit/juice alone. Now I have croissants, cereal, pizza, sourdough bread, stuff like that pretty often (never whole grain anything - that stuff effs me up) . I know it's not ideal. But it's amazing how rapidly my voice strengthens when I eat simple starches. Not only that, my mood improves, and I feel much more alive.
2: There seems to be two categories - carbs and everything else.
Everything seems to cause a degradation in my voice, except carbs. Eggs/alcohol/cannabis are the biggest offenders for me. I need piles of carbs just to reach equilibrium from those things, so now I have them less often. Coffee, I realize, needs to be /really/ sweet for me. Meat, of any kind, is always accompanied now by starch and/or some sweet drink. Sometimes when my voice was really bad, people suggested drinking more water, drinking tea, but they even worsened my voice. Everyone thinks I'm nuts because sugar fixes my voice, but water can make it worse.
3: Let the body rest.
Lack of sleep impacts my voice. I've gotten into a habit of winding down at night. One light-source at a time until my phone is on silent, out of arm's reach, and I'm reading my Kobo by candlelight. Staying up late on the computer every night was causing problems.
I go to the gym once in a while, but I've adopted a new philosophy about it. I dunno if I'm even doing anything, but it feels good to workout within the capacity of energy my body will offer me on a given day. I no longer stick to a program. I go, lift whatever feels good, usually 3 sets of 8-12 always leaving one or two in the tank, and when I'm getting tired, I leave. Some days I only do bench and squats. Some days, I do like eight lifts and feel fine. I listen to my body.
4: Never go hungry.
If you're hungry, you're already too hungry. I think a lot of people don't realize that they're hungry if they don't feel their tummies grumbling. If you're low on energy, tired, or grumpy, eat some carbs. I struggled with this for so long, because I thought I had to have the perfect peaty food. But in my experience, a scone and a cup of sweet coffee will do in a pinch. I'm not too concerned with the PUFA, because the most important thing when you're hungry is eating carbs.
I know PUFA is not good. I do actively try to avoid it. I eat a lot of coconut oil to offset it. But your body craves things for a reason, and stressing about the decision and ultimately not eating what your body is craving, is probably detrimental. If you're really craving a burger, eat a burger and don't worry so much about the PUFA in the bun. Just order it without mayo. Good enough.
I believe that once you start switching over to carbohydrate metabolism and you're actively making efforts to avoid PUFA, your body can handle a bit of it. Your body can handle a bit of anything, so believe in your body and /just eat/.
Anywho. I'm no scientist. This is just my personal experience. I'm only in the middle of my journey, so I could be completely wrong, but this is what seems to be working.
