Hacking my metabolism and productivity

Joined
Mar 21, 2014
Messages
239
Since childhood i've always been on a roller-coaster where I need to stress myself out with cold showers, fasting, stimulants, and harsh deadlines to get work done and then crash afterwards with zero productivity and energy for weeks or months. I want to solve this, so I can do medical research in a creative and low stress way.

I'm a 29 year old male, and first had hypoglycemia and diabetes symptoms around 25, which improved with a paleo diet for several years. Trying to fix my own health problems got me so interested in health and nutrition I went back to school to get a PhD studying these things. I also got into bodybuilding and powerlifting, and got down to 10% bodyfat with a high muscle mass, but this also made me cold, tired, and irritable. Before paleo I had been morbidly obese but after I looked so good a friend is using my photos to market a fitness program he developed. However I think high pufa intake, high stress, and low thyroid helped me get very lean without losing muscle mass on a low carb diet, as my glucose needs were so low.

Many health problems on paleo improved but others did not, and I still had low sex drive, low productivity, low energy, acne, dandruff, bloating, high cholesterol, and low body temperature. In grad school I found Ray Peat's writings and they changed much of what I think about biology. To me his biology ideas are more profound than his diet advice, and I'm not convinced his diet advice is the best way to apply his ideas in all cases.

In any case, I seriously started a peat inspired high carb diet about 2 months ago. This has made me feel much more fatigued and tired so far compared to paleo and I've gained 10 lbs of fat. I've also been having mysterious 'headaches' with a feeling of pressure behind my eyes and forehead, mostly in evenings. My morning body temperature is about 97.20F and my resting pulse is 65 bpm and haven't responded yet to the diet. Just a week ago I added in a low dose of cytomel + cynoplus together to make 3 parts T4 to 1 part T3.
 
OP
CellularIconoclast
Joined
Mar 21, 2014
Messages
239
My current diet plus supplement plan:

Breakfast:
3 eggs cooked in 1TBSP coconut oil
glass of OJ
homemade latte with 8oz whole milk and sugar
100mg pregnenolone
1/4 tablet cynoplus, 1/8 tablet cynomel
1/4 aspirin tablet

Snacks:
OJ, oranges, bananas, and mangoes 2-3x/day

Lunch:
1/2lb ground beef or other ruminant meat with spinach, salt, garlic, and gelatin powder

Dinner:
1 cup rice or a large baked potato
2 TBSP butter
some meat (shrimp, liver, etc.)
glass of whole milk
1/4 tablet cynoplus, 1/8 tablet cynomel
 

juanitacarlos

Member
Joined
Dec 31, 2012
Messages
417
Hi there - how many calories are you eating? It doesn't seem to be a lot from the foods you have listed. Not sure of your height and weight, but I'm guessing around 2500 calories for a male. Hard to feel good without getting enough calories. You should put your daily meal into cronometer and see if you are getting all the nutrients you need (it's a guide only - not super accurate).

Also, I find it helpful to make sure every meal, including snacks, has a good ratio of carbs, protein and fat. I thinking eating a big meal of meat on it's own could be very stressful for you. Maybe add some cheese with the fruit when snacking.

I'm sorry, I can't help with the headaches. Have you noticed any muscle increase along with fat? Is the fat deposited anywhere particular on the body?

Also, adding salt to your diet is very helpful to raise temperature and reduce stress hormones.

One thing I noticed when I reduced my stress hormones (temp increase and waking pulse down from 100 to 80) is that I was super tired. That took months to overcome. Not fun.
 
Joined
Jan 24, 2014
Messages
1,750
CellularIconclast said:
Since childhood i've always been on a roller-coaster where I need to stress myself out with cold showers, fasting, stimulants, and harsh deadlines to get work done and then crash afterwards with zero productivity and energy for weeks or months. I want to solve this, so I can do medical research in a creative and low stress way.

Many health problems on paleo improved but others did not, and I still had low sex drive, low productivity, low energy, acne, dandruff, bloating, high cholesterol, and low body temperature. In grad school I found Ray Peat's writings and they changed much of what I think about biology. To me his biology ideas are more profound than his diet advice, and I'm not convinced his diet advice is the best way to apply his ideas in all cases.

In any case, I seriously started a peat inspired high carb diet about 2 months ago. This has made me feel much more fatigued and tired so far compared to paleo and I've gained 10 lbs of fat. I've also been having mysterious 'headaches' with a feeling of pressure behind my eyes and forehead, mostly in evenings. My morning body temperature is about 97.20F and my resting pulse is 65 bpm and haven't responded yet to the diet. Just a week ago I added in a low dose of cytomel + cynoplus together to make 3 parts T4 to 1 part T3.

Iconoclast: I have always been stress driven to get stuff done, my mother always said I do better under pressure. The roller coaster ride of massive adrenaline/cortisol followed by total brain dead exhaustion is not fun at all. Paleo made it worse after a couple of years for me and did not heal my very same issues. I started Peating 5 months ago and went through a terrible period of total and complete exhaustion and I too gained weight the first four months. Take it slow, your body will heal. Eating good is essential. The weight gain and headaches will stop, I can vouch for that and I am a 47 year-old severely hypothyroid woman. Getting thyroid dosed correctly also takes time and patience. You're in good company here.... :cool:
 
OP
CellularIconoclast
Joined
Mar 21, 2014
Messages
239
Thanks for the advice and feedback!

ttramone said:
Hi there - how many calories are you eating? It doesn't seem to be a lot from the foods you have listed. Not sure of your height and weight, but I'm guessing around 2500 calories for a male. Hard to feel good without getting enough calories. You should put your daily meal into cronometer and see if you are getting all the nutrients you need (it's a guide only - not super accurate).

I didn't know about that site, it's great! I'm 6'1 tall and about 185lbs. I put in everything I ate today and cronometer says 2700 calories, 313g of carbs. However I think part of that is because I ate more this evening because of reading your post before cooking dinner.

One problem I immediately see from looking at this is that my calcium to phosphorous ratio is horrible (about 0.5:1). I have avoided having more than about 2 cups of milk a day, because more seems to cause bad acne. I will have cheese with my fruit as you suggested, and that should help.

ttramone said:
Have you noticed any muscle increase along with fat? Is the fat deposited anywhere particular on the body?

I think I've had some, I do weight training 3x/week and my strength has gone up a bit, but I think most the gain is fat in the abdominal area. My waist has increased several inches since peating, and my pants don't fit anymore. My belt is up one notch.
 
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CellularIconoclast
Joined
Mar 21, 2014
Messages
239
thebigpeatowski said:
Iconoclast: I have always been stress driven to get stuff done, my mother always said I do better under pressure. The roller coaster ride of massive adrenaline/cortisol followed by total brain dead exhaustion is not fun at all. Paleo made it worse after a couple of years for me and did not heal my very same issues. I started Peating 5 months ago and went through a terrible period of total and complete exhaustion and I too gained weight the first four months. Take it slow, your body will heal. Eating good is essential. The weight gain and headaches will stop, I can vouch for that and I am a 47 year-old severely hypothyroid woman. Getting thyroid dosed correctly also takes time and patience. You're in good company here.... :cool:

Did you find that after going through this your productivity was as good or better than before on the stress roller coaster? It's really promising to hear that overcoming this is actually possible. I think I've understood that this 'stress roller coaster' was going on for many years, but tried to avoid thinking about it because I didn't have any tools to attack it with.
 
Joined
Jan 24, 2014
Messages
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CellularIconoclast....There was a moment when I thought that Peateating was causing me to have massively low energy. I am now fully aware of just how addicted I was to adrenaline, I guess I was running on pure stress hormones. I do miss my former 125 lb. self that could fit into anything and get TONS of stuff accomplished (she was bitchy and high-strung tho and no one else misses her)....obviously my former way of eating/lifestyle was not sustainable else I wouldn't be here. I had a lot of weight gain, exactly the same type of headaches that you describe occurred daily, massive digestive duress and absolutely debilitating fatigue.....utter exhaustion....a total and complete lack of motivation. This phase was VERY uncomfortable and quite scary for me. I kept wanting to panic and run, but there is NO where else to run.

Five months in: I no longer feel the panicky state of I gotta fix everything NOW or else!!! Frankly, sh*t that used to bother me I just don't care about any more. It is kinda strange.... like a part of what I thought was my personality has simply vanished. I am no longer irritable and aggressive, sugar, salt and progesterone are insanely mellowing.

I no longer wake up in the middle of the night to pee. I no longer wake up having nightmares with my heart pounding out of my chest and hyperventilating. I no longer wake up completely soaking wet drenched in sweat....I don't miss that at all. I rarely get headaches and if I do get one, I can use tools to deal with it quickly. My digestion has greatly improved as well. I am NOT freezing cold anymore.

However, as the stress response has diminished I have begun to experience the true state of my metabolism...unmasked...with no more compensation. Apparently I have done a lot of damage, it definitely needs work and I don't know if I will ever be able to be free of thyroid medication again. I have successfully switched over from Armour thyroid to a combo of Cynoplus and Cynomel. It was certainly rocky at first, but I am finding it easier to cope with each passing day. More power to you peeps who can get along without meds, I am a ZOMBIE without it.

I am telling you all of this because I think that running on stress hormones to get stuff done is the most damaging lifestyle in existence. I did it unknowingly for many years, it took me a long time to figure out that it isn't how healthy people operate. I really want a steady even level of energy, I am not there yet. I have shut down the stress response, but I think it will take my body a while to build up to healthy normal energy production. How long does it take? Who knows, everybody is different.


My experience is extreme. I am quite a bit older than you and have estrogen issues to deal with on top of all that. I let my life my life get waaaay unbalanced, I did not know there was a real healing alternative until now. You are young, your body will heal much quicker. You're a guy, so you won't have as much estrogen to deal with, but most important of all: you found the answer DECADES before many of us did. You will be able to move forward with so much wisdom and understanding of how your body works at the cellular level, it will be an ENORMOUS benefit to your future health and studies... and a fun experiment while you're at it!
 
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Messages
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I should mention that before I went paleo I was also morbidly obese. I lost 75 pounds low-carbing and thought it was The Way, the Truth and The Life....NOT SO. The truth of the matter is that paleo can and will ruin your metabolism. It will ruin your ability to burn sugar properly. I have NO idea how long it will take a middle-aged woman to regain proper cellular metabolic rate. I am going to start lifting weights to see if I can help build new mitochondria. I have a feeling that mine have been reduced to mush from my INSANE intake of fish oil, flax-seed oil, nut butters and bacon/chicken fat....I literally lived on the stuff for nearly three years. However, this is just my own personal experiment...I would not recommend any form of exercise until all stress hormones are shut down. Also, I should let you know that in order for me to support my body in healing I shut down my business. I am an antiques dealer/interior designer by trade. I literally closed the doors, put everything in storage and declined all further clients. This was VERY scary and quite painful for me because I LOVE what I do....er, did. However, I knew that I would not be able to break the cycle of pressure related adrenaline driven accomplishment. It grieves me. I am very good at what I do/did, but it was LITERALLY killing me. After a big project I would absolutely collapse and be brain dead for weeks, and I was not so much fun to be around during an intense project.

You are so fortunate to recognize the pattern early on!
 
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CellularIconoclast
Joined
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Messages
239
I seem to be beginning to get some positive results. My energy levels are back to pre-peat levels, I feel less stressed than almost ever before, and my body temperature and pulse have raised considerably. This morning I woke at 97.8F with a pulse of 80bpm and felt very energetic and healthy. I am making an effort to keep carbohydrate intake extremely high (250-350g/day), and have raised my daily thyroid dose to 90 mcg T4 + 32mcg T3 as of about a week ago. This is 3/4 of a cynoplus tablet, and 3/8 of a cynomel tablet daily, in 3 post-meal doses.

I am struggling to get calcium higher than phosphate, as I seem to get bad acne anytime I have over 1 glass/day of milk. Hopefully raising my liver intake from 1/4lb per week to 1/2lb per week will help with this.
 
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CellularIconoclast
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Messages
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I was at a party over the weekend, and took my regular post meal thyroid. Another person asked 'what is that?', presumably thinking I was taking some 'party drug' and might be willing to share.

I said 'it's TRI-IODO-THYRONINE- which raises the energy level of every single cell in your body.' He seemed to think this was terrifying.
 

aquaman

Member
Joined
Aug 9, 2013
Messages
1,297
CellularIconoclast said:
My current diet plus supplement plan:

Breakfast:
3 eggs cooked in 1TBSP coconut oil
glass of OJ
homemade latte with 8oz whole milk and sugar
100mg pregnenolone
1/4 tablet cynoplus, 1/8 tablet cynomel
1/4 aspirin tablet

Snacks:
OJ, oranges, bananas, and mangoes 2-3x/day

Lunch:
1/2lb ground beef or other ruminant meat with spinach, salt, garlic, and gelatin powder

Dinner:
1 cup rice or a large baked potato
2 TBSP butter
some meat (shrimp, liver, etc.)
glass of whole milk
1/4 tablet cynoplus, 1/8 tablet cynomel

Your breakfast has minimum 30grams of fat in, which I'd say is too high.

I've been trying to limit to 15g per meal and working well.

Add more fruits and/or juices to all meals

It looks low on carbs (I don't see how this gets to 300+ grams of carb in a day??)
 
OP
CellularIconoclast
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Mar 21, 2014
Messages
239
aquaman said:
It looks low on carbs (I don't see how this gets to 300+ grams of carb in a day??)

Thanks, I'll try to increase carbs but I seem to have a problem finding juice that doesn't make me feel weird and cause strange digestive problems, so I've been mostly eating whole fruit instead.

Here is an update on my diet for the last few days, with supposedly close to 300g of carbs:
 

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Filip1993

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Nov 7, 2013
Messages
280
Have you considered lowering fat and protein a bit and eating more carbs?

EDIT: I saw that you were going to increase carbs, good idea.
 
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CellularIconoclast
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Messages
239
After that morning of higher pulse and temp, those levels fell back down after a few hours and stayed down for days.

Later, my metabolism suddenly raised drastically, instantly in a single moment! I cooked and ate a large gluten free pizza, with about 250 grams of carbs (mostly from rice starch). A few hours later I was laying in bed, and suddenly felt my heart beating hard.

This was slightly unnerving, and I checked my resting pulse and found that it was up to 100! It fell after a few hours, and I slept very well (and was crazy warm). Since then, my pulse has been consistently about 80-90bpm, with basal temperatures between 97.8 and 98.1 for 4 straight days.

I have felt the weird headaches re-occur, but they *seem* to get better if I eat larger meals. Perhaps I just need to get calorie consumption even higher, to better match my increasing metabolic rate.

I've also tried on a few occasions to eat ripe bananas to increase sugar consumption, but I get extremely bloated and sick feeling for about 8 hours afterwards. I don't have this problem with potato or rice starch, however I am going to quit eating bananas. This is strange, as I was able to eat them without problems in the past. Perhaps this different diet has changed my gut flora in some way?

I also get similar symptoms with store bought orange juice, so I've been eating a lot of oranges, however they don't really have enough sugar. The only way I can seem to maintain reasonably high carb and calorie intakes is with a high intake of starch from potatoes and white rice, as fresh fruit has so few calories.
 

Kasper

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Sep 11, 2013
Messages
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Age
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I would just juice the (fresh) oranges, instead of eating the whole orange.
Why not just put sugar in your fruit juices? Then you get high calorie juices.
I don't see salt in your diet. Maybe the pizza worked because it had so much salt in it.
Maybe salted sugared juices will have similar effects as the pizza, maybe add some gelatin.
 
OP
CellularIconoclast
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Mar 21, 2014
Messages
239
Thanks, I will try juicing the oranges instead of eating them whole. I do eat sea salt with almost everything except fruit, but just neglected to add that to my data above. I have 1-2 packets of KNOX gelatin per day, usually mixed in with salted ground beef but sometimes as a beverage. I found I can make a sort of "synthetic bone broth" by mixing salt, gelatin powder, and butter in hot water.
 

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