Help me improve my supp stack and diet

[jack27]

Hello everyone. Been lurking here a little while, would like to solicit feedback from those more knowledgeable and experienced than myself. I'm several months into Peating, recovering from an extended high stress period as well as a lifetime of PUFA consumption. Trying to raise metabolism, lower estrogen & stress hormones, and lose some weight. Here's my current daily routine:

4oz orange juice after waking up, followed by coffee with milk and sugar
Breakfast 1-2 hours later, usually granola with 1% milk (granola made with butter, no bad oils, no seeds). Take with breakfast: 50mg thiamine, 50mg niacinamide, 325mg aspirin
Snack around 2 hours later if hungry, maybe some cheese with Kame rice crackers or corn tortillas (no gums or preservatives). Currently trying to limit starches to corn tortillas, rice, oats, and potatoes. Black coffee
Lunch: 2 beef tacos with cilantro and onion, or 2 eggs with tortillas, black coffee. Supps: magnesium glycinate, 200mg, taurine 500mg, nettle root extract 500mg
Afternoon: Mexican coca cola
Late afternoon snack: cheese and rice crackers, or lowfat cottage cheese
Dinner: some meat (usually beef or pork, sometimes chicken), white rice, sometimes some cooked broccoli or leafy green vegetable. Supps: magnesium glycinate 200mg, taurine 500mg
Evening: 1% milk or orange juice according to thirst

Usually getting around 2200 calories / day, shooting for around 120g protein, 300g carbs, and 60g fat. I find that I easily go over 60g of fat if I'm not careful because of the milk, cheese and meat.

If I'm eating food that I know has higher pufa, like chicken or pork, I'll take 100 IU of vitamin E (Solgar brand).

Considering replacing the morning thiamine pill with Jarrow B-Right B complex, but keeping the niacinamide since the complex has 25mg niacin but no niacinamide. But I don't know if there is any downside to the higher doses of some of the other B vitamins in there.

Would appreciate any tips or recommendations.

 

[Beastmode]

Not much info on your specifics to determine if this is appropriate or not. Your age, gender, lifestyle determine a lot.

What are you using as metrics to determine if things are moving in a desired direction? (i.e- pulse, temp, mood, sleep, libido.)

People will pick apart some of the stuff you mention, but you could be eating the best looking 'peat" diet and still feel like crap.

 

[jack27]

Not much info on your specifics to determine if this is appropriate or not. Your age, gender, lifestyle determine a lot.

What are you using as metrics to determine if things are moving in a desired direction? (i.e- pulse, temp, mood, sleep, libido.)

People will pick apart some of the stuff you mention, but you could be eating the best looking 'peat" diet and still feel like crap.

Male, 45, not presently very physically active but I will start doing strength training again when I feel my metabolism is where I want it to be. Pulse tends to be 80-90. Historically I've had low temps but maintaining a good supply of glucose has raised it to 98.6 during the day as of last time I checked. Haven't checked morning pulse in a while, need to do that. Sleep tends to be not restful, wake up feeling tired and sore, takes me about 30 minutes to get over this feeling. Some people talk about waking up feeling refreshed, I don't think I've ever experienced this. Once I do get over that feeling my energy level is pretty good throughout the day. I have a six month old son who is just now starting to sleep through the night (mostly) and this has wreaked havoc on my sleep and stress levels. I was getting a strange dizzy feeling soon after waking which would sometimes last all day. I attribute it to stress hormones, cortisol rising in the morning, especially when I used to drink black coffee on an empty stomach. Magnesium and steady supply of sugar seem to have largely corrected this. What I'm mainly looking for right now is to steadily shed weight through fat oxidation rather than lypolysis, in a way that's sustainable i.e. without cravings for whatever I might be cutting out. I did paleo low carb in the past and would always crave carbs, a craving I would usually satisfy with grains, especially bread. This created a yoyo effect with my weight and each time it was harder and harder to drop pounds again just by cutting carbs. Finally discovered Peat and realized what I had been doing to myself. Cutting out wheat seems to be helping with weight loss now. Also tracking macros and calories, it truly is easy to fool yourself into thinking you're not eating as much as you are. So overall I'm pretty happy with where things are at right now, just wondering if there is anything else that could make it even better, or something I might be doing wrong that I should fix before it becomes a problem.

 

[Beastmode]

Male, 45, not presently very physically active but I will start doing strength training again when I feel my metabolism is where I want it to be. Pulse tends to be 80-90. Historically I've had low temps but maintaining a good supply of glucose has raised it to 98.6 during the day as of last time I checked. Haven't checked morning pulse in a while, need to do that. Sleep tends to be not restful, wake up feeling tired and sore, takes me about 30 minutes to get over this feeling. Some people talk about waking up feeling refreshed, I don't think I've ever experienced this. Once I do get over that feeling my energy level is pretty good throughout the day. I have a six month old son who is just now starting to sleep through the night (mostly) and this has wreaked havoc on my sleep and stress levels. I was getting a strange dizzy feeling soon after waking which would sometimes last all day. I attribute it to stress hormones, cortisol rising in the morning, especially when I used to drink black coffee on an empty stomach. Magnesium and steady supply of sugar seem to have largely corrected this. What I'm mainly looking for right now is to steadily shed weight through fat oxidation rather than lypolysis, in a way that's sustainable i.e. without cravings for whatever I might be cutting out. I did paleo low carb in the past and would always crave carbs, a craving I would usually satisfy with grains, especially bread. This created a yoyo effect with my weight and each time it was harder and harder to drop pounds again just by cutting carbs. Finally discovered Peat and realized what I had been doing to myself. Cutting out wheat seems to be helping with weight loss now. Also tracking macros and calories, it truly is easy to fool yourself into thinking you're not eating as much as you are. So overall I'm pretty happy with where things are at right now, just wondering if there is anything else that could make it even better, or something I might be doing wrong that I should fix before it becomes a problem.

I can relate to a lot of this. At least at some point in my journey. I'm 43 now and have been pretty "locked in" on eating this way/lifestyle since Jan 2018.

The bookends of the day are the easiest place to start, in my experience. I have a toddler who didn't sleep for the first 2.5 years throughout the night, so supplements won't make up for a lack of quality sleep.

Getting sleep sorted has been the "bedrock" in my health journey.

For you, it might be getting the little one to sleep better/longer first.

The last thing I would suggest you focus on is weight loss. If your system is in the beginning healing phase, to the degree that it is, it's probably better to improve energy production through the basics that are free: early sunlight, easy movements throughout the day and lots of rest.

You seem pretty aware what seems to be helping and that'll guide you far better than suggestions here for a supplement stack "tweak."

FYI I'm at my healthiest weight after 4+ years of gaining weight and "slowly" shedding lbs without any additional effort, just a system that sorted itself out over time with some good TLC.

 

[jack27]

I can relate to a lot of this. At least at some point in my journey. I'm 43 now and have been pretty "locked in" on eating this way/lifestyle since Jan 2018.

The bookends of the day are the easiest place to start, in my experience. I have a toddler who didn't sleep for the first 2.5 years throughout the night, so supplements won't make up for a lack of quality sleep.

Getting sleep sorted has been the "bedrock" in my health journey.

For you, it might be getting the little one to sleep better/longer first.

The last thing I would suggest you focus on is weight loss. If your system is in the beginning healing phase, to the degree that it is, it's probably better to improve energy production through the basics that are free: early sunlight, easy movements throughout the day and lots of rest.

You seem pretty aware what seems to be helping and that'll guide you far better than suggestions here for a supplement stack "tweak."

FYI I'm at my healthiest weight after 4+ years of gaining weight and "slowly" shedding lbs without any additional effort, just a system that sorted itself out over time with some good TLC.

Thanks. I feel like I'm on the right track for the most part, but I'm still relatively new to Peat's ideas and they're not easy to learn, it's not simple like a paleo low carb "eat all you want of this, don't eat that" list. But then that simple approach doesn't work very well.

After abandoning paleo / low carb, I adopted more of a Weston Price diet based largely on Cate Shanahan's book Deep Nutrition. I gained quite a bit of weight from this, I think because I just ate whatever I wanted which was a lot of meat, a lot of full fat dairy, and plentiful grains. I felt better and I think about half the weight I gained was muscle. But now I would like to lose the fat. I was raised with a very poor diet of microwave dinners and fast food, very few home cooked meals and when they were it was more often than not out of a package. So I think I've had a damaged metabolism for most of my life. I hope I can help my son avoid this.

Yeah, the sleep issue is difficult to impossible with a little one. The "tweak" would be to be wealthy enough to afford a nanny and a big enough house with a quiet bedroom :)

But even beyond that I feel something is missing there, because of the way I feel when I wake up. It can't be normal to have such a heavy, sore feeling upon waking. As I mentioned, it goes away not long after getting out of bed. The only time it tends not to be there is if I don't sleep particularly well or long, if I wake up early for no reason and can't fall back asleep, then I don't have this. But if I sleep longer than six hours I almost always wake up with this feeling, like I don't want to get out of bed or open my eyes, even though my mind is awake and I feel my body slowly waking up. Maybe this is normal and I'm just sensitive to it? I don't know.

What do you feel changed for you when you started losing weight rather than gaining? Metabolism finally healed? Stress hormones finally under control? Sleep finally restful enough?

 

[Beastmode]

Thanks. I feel like I'm on the right track for the most part, but I'm still relatively new to Peat's ideas and they're not easy to learn, it's not simple like a paleo low carb "eat all you want of this, don't eat that" list. But then that simple approach doesn't work very well.

After abandoning paleo / low carb, I adopted more of a Weston Price diet based largely on Cate Shanahan's book Deep Nutrition. I gained quite a bit of weight from this, I think because I just ate whatever I wanted which was a lot of meat, a lot of full fat dairy, and plentiful grains. I felt better and I think about half the weight I gained was muscle. But now I would like to lose the fat. I was raised with a very poor diet of microwave dinners and fast food, very few home cooked meals and when they were it was more often than not out of a package. So I think I've had a damaged metabolism for most of my life. I hope I can help my son avoid this.

Yeah, the sleep issue is difficult to impossible with a little one. The "tweak" would be to be wealthy enough to afford a nanny and a big enough house with a quiet bedroom :)

But even beyond that I feel something is missing there, because of the way I feel when I wake up. It can't be normal to have such a heavy, sore feeling upon waking. As I mentioned, it goes away not long after getting out of bed. The only time it tends not to be there is if I don't sleep particularly well or long, if I wake up early for no reason and can't fall back asleep, then I don't have this. But if I sleep longer than six hours I almost always wake up with this feeling, like I don't want to get out of bed or open my eyes, even though my mind is awake and I feel my body slowly waking up. Maybe this is normal and I'm just sensitive to it? I don't know.

What do you feel changed for you when you started losing weight rather than gaining? Metabolism finally healed? Stress hormones finally under control? Sleep finally restful enough?

My weight was a 100% an effect and never a curtailed strategy to do so. I eat as many, if not more calories, then when I started. I gained an initial 20-25 lbs over the first year and it slowly shed off without changing anything other than going to bed earlier. Still plenty left to do as I grew up hypothyroid for over 3 decades. Sleep now is a 100% different when I go to bed by 9 compared to 10 and on. Night and day difference for me. I'm pretty sensitive to my body, which sounds like you are as well, so I listen to it more than anything Peat or any other experts say. I wake up restful, no achy joints and a clear headed now 95% of the time.

Slow and steady win the race. Although, there isn't a race :)

Listen to your system and try not to get overloaded with ideas as you're already on the right track. Too many "chemists" on here and not enough experts on the basics. Basics take a long time if done properly. A new chemical/supplement might give a perceived "boost," but it'll most likely mask something you're not addressing, I say.

You'll know when to add, or most likely, subtract something as you go along. After 4+ years I just added frequent blood donations. It made sense to me after this much time and it's benefited me greatly. Does that mean you should? I don't know. I knew for myself when it would be right, and I was right about it. Sleep is more improved, I feel more relaxed and so on.

As questions come up for you, see if you can answer them yourself, and use other's input that you deem appropriate as secondary.