Need Help Deciding On Direction

[Erowin]

Hey all :)

I have been lurking on the forum for about a month and attempting to bring in Peat principles for a couple of weeks. Gotta admit it is hard after being en-grained to believe low carb was the way to live my life. All of this sugar and milk just seems wrong lol. But to be honest I love milk and orange juice and often crave them so I'll be glad when my body convinces my mind that they are good for me.

One thing about Peating and the forum is it feeds my huge desire for data and research.

Right now I just have so many questions and am not sure which way to go. I think I should start at the beginning to give a big picture view.

Back in 2008 I had a major financial meltdown that came with a very severe bout of depression (30 days in bed - couldn't eat and lost 28 lbs even though I am slim) This was followed by 2 more over a course of 5 years. I did take antidepressants for the break downs and usually quit them about a year after stabilization. Just hated how they made me feel.

I have not taken antidepressants in at least 3 years and have not had a major episode like above since that last one. I have gotten better at "talking myself out of" deep depression. I still have anxiety most days though. My therapist thinks I suffer from PTSD which sounds about right to me.

I mention all of this because it it the reason for one of my major health concerns. Lack of sleep. I have not slept well for at lease 10 years. ugh.

At the beginning of this year I had a small amount of post menopausal bleeding (I am 51 and have been in menopause for about 2 years). In an ultra sound I was found to have thickening uterine wall and more fibroids which is weird in menopause. I had a biopsy and pap and everything is normal.

I do plan on asking the GYN for another ultra sound to see if things have stabilized. My estrogen numbers are not high and I will post them below. I don't think anyone has ever tested my progesterone.

I also have a bunch of symptoms.

I also have a bunch of symptoms.
Always cold (this has been for years and years)
Intermittent bruising ( for years - hubby sometimes calls me a banana)
Frequent Edema in my ankles, feet and calves. (Past couple of years - seems to increase with alcohol)
Low body temp (A little more stable now - rarely in the 96's mostly 97.4-97.7)
TMJ
Mild hearing loss
Dry eyes which impairs my vision
Constipation
Silent relfux (about 2.5 years now)
Increased fibroids and uterine wall thickness
One of the most distressing things has been hair loss. In about 4 months I have lost about a 1/3 of my hair volume.
My nails are also thin and peal and have vertcal ridges.
Low blood pressure (not dangerously low - just low)
low energy
Light headed when standing up too fast (not too often but sometimes I almost black out and have fallen)
Ittitabilty - I can turn on a dime
High cholesteral
ADD
Voice gets hoarse or scratcy (may be from silent reflux)
Muscle mass decrease


With all this going on it's hard to figure out what to do. I am a vet and get my care from the VA so I don't have the option of changing Drs.

Here are the blood tests I got in June - the ones an endocrinologist and a dermatologist ordered (just a fluke they were done on the same day)


C-REACTIVE PROTEIN (CRP),QUANT 0.8 mg/L 0.0-4.9
DHEA-S 145.5 ug/dL 41.2-243.7
ZINC 69 ug/dL 56-134
CORTISOL (CP) 11.14 g/dl 6.7-22.6
FERRITIN (HVHCS) 74.9 ng/mL 10-291
FREE T4 0.81 ng/dL .61-1.12
TESTOSTERONE (HVHCS) 45.27 ng/dL Oct-75
VITAMIN B-12 251 pg/mL 180-914
FSH 94.20 High mIU/mL 12-Jan
LUTEINIZING HORMONE 39.10 High mIU/mL 12-Feb
PROLACTIN 6.61 ng/mL 0-20
RHEUMATOID FACTOR Negative
RPR Nonreactive
ALBUMIN 4.4 g/dL 3.0-5
IRON 125 mcg/dL 28-170
TIBC 386 mcg/dL 261-478
TESTOSTERONE FREE 2.1 pg/mL 0.0-4.2
ANDROSTENEDIONE 61 41-262
TSH 3.29 mIU/mL 0.35-5.50
FSH 95.72 High mIU/mL 12-Jan
17-HYDROXYPROGESTERONE 28 ng/dL
ESTRADIOL 6.3 pg/mL
ESTOST, %FREE+WEAKLY BOUND 4.8 % 3.0-18.0
TESTOSTERONE,F+W BOUND 1.2 ng/dL 0.0-9.5
TESTOSTERONE,TOTAL,LC/MS 25 ng/dL
ESR 24 High mm/hr 0-20
24 HOUR URINE CREATININE 1.3 g/24Hr 0.8-2.8
CORTISOL,FREE(24 HOUR),HPLC 19 ug/24 hr 0-50
VOLUME 24HR 1850 ML

I also over the past 3 years have tested low for RBC - 4 out of 7 tests
MCHC is almost always low as well. Here are those tests https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/valstests/all.xls

Ironically when the endo called me to tell me my thyroid is fine I tried to talk to him about b-12 being low and he wouldn't listen and said "I don't test that". My GP is pretty useless but I think I need some more tests like Vit D, selenium, folate, MMA, iodine, progesterone

I went to a lab and got the rest of my thyroid levels as the endo refused to do more.

Ft3 2.4 2.3-4.2
Ft4 1.1 0.8-1.8
Rt3 13 8-25

THYROGLOBULIN ANTIBODIES <1 < or = 1
THYROID PEROXIDASE ANTIBODIES 2 <9


This is all a lot of info I know. To summarize I have been under tons of stress over the years but my adrenaline numbers don't look so bad. I have been an on again off again low carb/ low calorie dieter.

I felt great at the end of last year on a low carb HIIT exercise routine. Looked great - lower body fat - felt great. Then got the weird GYN stuff going on that I mentioned above got stressed about my health (thought for sure I had ovarian cancer - had a bunch of symptoms that may have been brought on by antibiotics for a UTI). That is really when my health started to decline - lost energy - no more workouts so I lost muscle and gained fat. By around May I started losing my hair and looking a lot older. I always had people freak out when I tell them my age - not lately

Sorry to make this so long. I'm just kinda at a loss on where to start.

Thanks for any insight you may have.

 

[Erowin]

Oh - by the way. I am taking nothing regularly but magnesium taurate to help me sleep - sometimes benedryl.

I'm also open to hearing about any doctors or practitioners doing consultations.

 

[tara]

Erowin

I'm no expert, but here are some thoughts.

Low body temp (A little more stable now - rarely in the 96's mostly 97.4-97.7)

TSH 3.29 mIU/mL 0.35-5.50

Standard ranges say this is normal TSH. But Peat has said he's never seen a really healthy person with a TSH over 2, and he seems to think under 1 would be better.
Along with low body temps and all the other symptoms, seems quite likely to be lowish thyroid function. Did the temps come up when you added in more milk, OJ, sugar, or does it time in with something else?
Monitoring body temps from time to time can be a useful way to assess whether the tactics you experiment with are helping move you in a good direction.

I have been an on again off again low carb/ low calorie dieter.

I felt great at the end of last year on a low carb HIIT exercise routine. Looked great - lower body fat - felt great. Then got the weird GYN stuff going on that I mentioned above got stressed about my health (thought for sure I had ovarian cancer - had a bunch of symptoms that may have been brought on by antibiotics for a UTI). That is really when my health started to decline - lost energy - no more workouts so I lost muscle and gained fat. By around May I started losing my hair and looking a lot older. I always had people freak out when I tell them my age - not lately

It seems as though lots of people feel good for a while on low carb diets, and then a fair number of them hit problems after 6mths - 2 yrs. Could be that all the catabolic stress hormones from low-carbing and/or low calories can make people feel good for a bit, but ongoing catabolism is not a great long term maintenance strategy. This could have the effect of lowering thyroid function, as well as reducing lean tissues.

If I were you, I'd start by taking a look at what you are eating first. No point trying to manipulate and and/or raise metabolism without first having a good go at making sure you have adequate supplies of fuel, proteins, minerals vitamins.

Do you want to spell out what and how much you've been eating (including calories)?
Some of us use cronometer or similar from time to time to get a rough idea of what we are getting from our food.

If you are craving milk and OJ, and they make you feel good, that's great. It can take a while to adapt to significant changes in diet - the body does it's best to gear up for whatever it usually gets, and it can take a while to ramp up production of different digestive enzymes etc.

I mention all of this because it it the reason for one of my major health concerns. Lack of sleep. I have not slept well for at lease 10 years. ugh.

That sounds rough. I think there is a good chance you will be able to find ways to improve on this.

Oh - by the way. I am taking nothing regularly but magnesium taurate to help me sleep - sometimes benedryl.

If the Mg taurate helps, that seems like a good idea.
Benadryl (assuming it is a diphenhydramine version) is probably not a bad one to use from time to time either if it helps.

My estrogen numbers are not high and I will post them below. I don't think anyone has ever tested my progesterone.

You might find this one interesting, if you haven't seen it already:
Tissue-bound estrogen in aging
My guess is that considering symptoms, and experimenting with progesterone to see if it improves things is probably reasonable, in the absence of definitive lab tests. But I wouldn't embark on this till you've got the nutrition in place to support it.

I'd also recommend continuing to read/listen to Peat's articles and interviews, so you get a sense of what he's on a bout first hand - you can get lots of different interpretations from people here. :)

There are a couple of practitioners around. Benedicte is one Peat has linked to on his web site - if you search the forum you'll probably find a couple of posts of people's experiences with her.

Good luck.

 

[DaveFoster]

Just going off of Peat's work; TSH under 1 is acceptable. TSH under 0.4 is ideal. TSH at or below 0.1 is necessary in some cases to reduce symptoms. RT3 must also be low. You can use a higher ratio of T3:T4, such as 1:3 or 1:2 to prevent a conversion in RT3. An adjustment of thyroid would be beneficial every two weeks (an increase of the dose.) Lastly, your temp should stay elevated after your first meal to 98.6, and your pulse should be around 85. It should stay this way for the entirety of the day (if I'm correct here,) and it will drop in the presence of darkness when you go to bed.

In other references to Peat's work, cyproheptadine in combination with acetazalomide would provide most, if not all of the benefits of thyroid.

On another note, haidut (an active member on the forum), recommend cyproheptadine and lisuride for mood (cyproheptadine and bromocriptine would also be acceptable.) Removal of excessive bacteria would also be recommended by both haidut and Ray; the use of antibiotics like minocycline of doxycycline would be ideal for this.

Introduction of gram-positives into one's digestive tract is my current experiment, along with the consumption of S. Boulardii to fight yeast; again, this is not recommended by either haidut or Ray. Ray says that high levels of any one bacteria can compromise gut function, and haidut and Ray both demonize lactic acid as a causative factor in metabolic syndrome and neurological disorders, such as MS.


Here's what I would do:

Eat adequate amounts of protein (150 g), carbohydrate (300 + g), and fat (60 + g) with under 4 g PUFA daily. Avoid beans, legumes, nuts, and vegetable oils accordingly. Supplement thyroid (haidut's TyroMix is something that I'm beginning to try) until your TSH is under 0.4, (but make sure to get plenty of calcium, vitamin D, and K2 for bone protection).

Once you get your TSH under 0.4, then maintain this thyroid dose and work on other problems.

 

[tara]

You can use a higher ratio of T3:T4, such as 1:3 or 1:2 to prevent a conversion in RT3. An adjustment of thyroid would be beneficial every two weeks (an increase of the dose.)

There may well be a case for something like this down the line, but my personal opinion is to advise against starting here unless nutrition is already really good, else it could well just cause more stress.

Removal of excessive bacteria would also be recommended by both haidut and Ray; the use of antibiotics like minocycline of doxycycline would be ideal for this.

Peat usually recommends daily raw carrot salad as the first and safest thing to try to reduce bacterial and endotoxin buildup. That may be enough to make a difference. If not, I'd think charcoal and/or cascara sagrada might be the next thing.
Again, there might be a case for anti-biotics down the line, but I don't think it's the place to start.

Similarly with the drugs - they may be helpful down the line, but basics like considering diet and breathing come first, IMO.
Diet to see if is the source of excess serotonin.
Breathing to see if you could benefit from improving CO2 levels. Is it relaxed, nasal, diaphragmatic, including during sleep?

 

[DaveFoster]

There may well be a case for something like this down the line, but my personal opinion is to advise against starting here unless nutrition is already really good, else it could well just cause more stress.


Peat usually recommends daily raw carrot salad as the first and safest thing to try to reduce bacterial and endotoxin buildup. That may be enough to make a difference. If not, I'd think charcoal and/or cascara sagrada might be the next thing.
Again, there might be a case for anti-biotics down the line, but I don't think it's the place to start.

Similarly with the drugs - they may be helpful down the line, but basics like considering diet and breathing come first, IMO.
Diet to see if is the source of excess serotonin.
Breathing to see if you could benefit from improving CO2 levels. Is it relaxed, nasal, diaphragmatic, including during sleep?

You're right tara; I jumped the gun.


@Erowin

Carrot salad + cascara, then activated charcoal, then antibiotics.

Improving CO2 will help your bowels, hence why people with good thyroid function have resistance to IBS.

 

[Bodhi]

Why is no one mentioning her cortisol is low?

So supplementing with NDT or Synhetic T4/T3 can raise Rt3...

I would go Peating and start with low doses of T3
This will improve digestion thus lowering endotoxin

Vitamin A is needed here to covert the High Cholestrol into Pregnenelone which is low when having ADD

Good luck!

 

[marikay]

Hi.

I'm just a little bit older than you and so feel (at least a little bit) like I might be able to help you. Everything that follows is my own personal experience. I am not an expert in any way.

There are two very good products that can help you immediately. One is pregnenolone and the other is progesterone.

Pregnenolone is the greatest sleep aid I have ever found. It also has the added benefit of making your facial muscle tone much much better. As such it makes me look at least ten years younger than I am. As for dosage, there is no upper limit to the amount of pregnenolone you can safely take. It's mostly a matter of cost. I started with 100 mgs every day and was able to sleep through the night immediately after taking it. The improvement in my skin was a bonus. It almost has a facelift type effect. (Ray has written of this and I can attest that it is true.) You can also take pregnenolone once a week in larger doses. I'm sleeping like I did when I was in my twenties. You don't need to change anything before trying this. It works no matter what your other symptoms are.

Progesterone is probably the best thing around for a menopausal woman. ProgestE, which is mentioned a lot on this site, is a godsend for women in menopause. @healthnatura also has a progesterone product called Simply Progesterone which works the same way. ( I buy the kind that is mixed with MCT oil.) Two or three drops twice a day (twelve hours apart). I take a week or two off this product every few weeks but you don't have to. This is the best product I have found for edema and for estrogen dominance in general. And it has an immediate calming effect. And it works wonders for any arthritis you may be experiencing. I also notice a nice glow to my skin and my hair has a nice sheen to it. Like pregnenolone, you can start using this product even before you make other changes. So that is good news.

The other posts on this thread all contain good advice. That said I want to mention that I do take thyroid (Novotiral and BSP T3) and I will likely buy @haidut"s TyroMix when my current mediation runs out. You mention you have high cholesterol. The good news about high cholesterol is that you don't need to raise your cholesterol (like I had to) before the thyroid medication will work. You actually need cholesterol to be up near 200 in order to get the best results from thyroid. And why take thyroid? To begin with, your eyes will thank you. My dry eyes are a thing of the past. And energy level is excellent. Mood improves when thyroid levels are good too, so there's that to look forward to. The only thing I wish I had done differently is make sure I got enough protein and sugar before taking thyroid. Skim milk with a sugar/salt syrup mixed in is the best way I have found to get the 80 to 100 grams of protein I need everyday. And there is no way now for me to be fat (not that I was before but I did notice some weight around the middle - now that's gone).

I know what it's like to hit middle age just as the economy is hitting the skids, it's a double whammy for sure. But there is a silver lining in this. Unhappiness can lead to the changes we needed to make all along but didn't feel the need to as other parts of life seem to be working. You've come to the right place. I think your health is going to improve greatly and that will lead to the other stuff improving.

Pregnenolone helped me with reflux problems. I also avoid starch when reflux symptoms start showing. I make sure I get my carbs (400 grams a day) from sugar and fructose.

Salt also helps with edema.

Finally, as a former marathon runner, I recommend immediately ceasing and forever avoiding any endurance exercise. If you like weight lifting then you might want to try that. But a walk through a nice envirornment is vastly better for you than forcing yourself to exercise, especially if that exercise suppresses your thyroid (which all the so called aerobic exercise does).

Good luck. And please keep the forum posted on your progress.

 

[bluewren]

Great post @Erowin and great advice @marikay.

 

[Erowin]

Wow - thanks for all the great feedback everyone!

Do you want to spell out what and how much you've been eating (including calories)?

Well - not sure if that will tell much as I am still trying to get the hang of these changes. Haven't gone completely Peat yet. The hardest part will be doing this but still making dinner for my husband. I did find a couple of good recipes from Kate deering. I have basically cut out pufa oils and added in a ton of dairy and fruits. I just started using chronometer today and I see I am going to have to be careful about fats.

As you advised I have been reading a ton of stuff from Ray - even though his scientific writing is almost impossible for an ADD brain lol.

There are a couple of practitioners around. Benedicte is one Peat has linked to on his web site - if you search the forum you'll probably find a couple of posts of people's experiences with her.

Thanks for the recommendation.

Eat adequate amounts of protein (150 g), carbohydrate (300 + g), and fat (60 + g) with under 4 g PUFA daily. Avoid beans, legumes, nuts, and vegetable oils accordingly. Supplement thyroid (haidut's TyroMix is something that I'm beginning to try) until your TSH is under 0.4, (but make sure to get plenty of calcium, vitamin D, and K2 for bone protection).

This is what I find the hardest - just making sure the ratios are all good and keeping fat % down. I like whole milk but I think I need to go for 2% for awhile.

Peat usually recommends daily raw carrot salad as the first and safest thing to try to reduce bacterial and endotoxin buildup

I have been eating a carrot a day for a few weeks before Pete so this is an easy one

There may well be a case for something like this down the line, but my personal opinion is to advise against starting here unless nutrition is already really good, else it could well just cause more stress.

Yeah - I do want to start t3 but it scares me just a bit. I do want to see how healthy I can get before I start it.

Breathing to see if you could benefit from improving CO2 levels. Is it relaxed, nasal, diaphragmatic, including during sleep?

Is there an article somewhere on proper breathing? For the most part I do breath with my nose but sometimes I notice my breating is very shallow and sometimes I think I catch myself not breahting at all!

I would go Peating and start with low doses of T3
This will improve digestion thus lowering endotoxin

This is what I have been thinking all along - just still a little nervous about messing with my thyroid.

Vitamin A is needed here to covert the High Cholestrol into Pregnenelone which is low when having ADD

What is the best way to get Vit A? I want to avoid a ton of sups but right now I don't think I am absorbing much by eating. (warning TMI My poops ALWAYS float and often contain a little undigested food)

Pregnenolone is the greatest sleep aid I have ever found.

This and progesterone I am totally ready to try!!

Simply Progesterone which works the same way. ( I buy the kind that is mixed with MCT oil.)

Is this the one? Simply Progesterone serum

The good news about high cholesterol is that you don't need to raise your cholesterol (like I had to) before the thyroid medication will work.

HAH! My doctor would have a fit to hear you say that lol. She wants me to be a vegetarian to bring down my cholesterol - she mentions it all the time.

Skim milk with a sugar/salt syrup mixed in is the best way I have found to get the 80 to 100 grams of protein I need everyday.

I so hate skim milk lol - But I think it's the only way to get enough protein without too much fat.

Finally, as a former marathon runner, I recommend immediately ceasing and forever avoiding any endurance exercise. If you like weight lifting then you might want to try that. But a walk through a nice environment is vastly better for you than forcing yourself to exercise, especially if that exercise suppresses your thyroid (which all the so called aerobic exercise does).

Never been a huge runner but I do like my daily walks. Do you think adding a couple of 15-20 second sprints in with the walk is too stressful? It feels really good but I am not sure it is good. I do love to lift - mostly body weight stuff - I just haven't had the energy - hopefully when I get some of this sorted I will :)

Thanks again everybody!!
!

 

[Jason]

if you're having problems with your stool, it's definitely a gut flora problem


for sleep improving diet will definitely help, a supplement i take which immediately showed effect was metagenics folapro


i personally follow a different diet, the BCD, my health has definitely improved in just the one year i've been working with that specific diet

 

[tara]

Well - not sure if that will tell much as I am still trying to get the hang of these changes. Haven't gone completely Peat yet. The hardest part will be doing this but still making dinner for my husband. I did find a couple of good recipes from Kate deering. I have basically cut out pufa oils and added in a ton of dairy and fruits. I just started using chronometer today and I see I am going to have to be careful about fats.

Cutting PUFAs may be the most important, and adding in milk and fruit, if they agree with you, seem like good steps. I don't think there's a single way to do 'Peating' - what works for people varies. Some of us do well with lots of potatoes etc (potatoes have useful protein and minerals as well as the carbs), others do better with little or no starchy foods. I don't know what your husband eats, but some people are quite happy to add in fruity or milky desserts made with gelatin, so that's a way to help balance the amino acids in meats.

This is what I find the hardest - just making sure the ratios are all good and keeping fat % down. I like whole milk but I think I need to go for 2% for awhile.

Peat usually suggests 80-100g protein for people with low thyroid function. Some people do better with more.
There's probably no set ratio that's perfect for everyone in all circumstances. Peat tends to favour sugars as the major fuel, enough protein to support strong liver function (~ 80-100g protein for people with low thyroid function), and enough fat to make things taste good and digest well. Some people here have made good gains with very low fat diets, but others don't thrive on that. Experimentation and listening to your body come into play.
Not directly form Peat, but my understanding is that for us adult women who are not pregnant or breastfeeding etc, somewhere in cooey of 2500 cals is roughly normal (more if extra tall or extra active).

As you advised I have been reading a ton of stuff from Ray - even though his scientific writing is almost impossible for an ADD brain lol.

I had to reread them a couple of times - and read more of them - and eventually I started getting more out of them. :)

Yeah - I do want to start t3 but it scares me just a bit. I do want to see how healthy I can get before I start it.

If you do get round to trying T3 down the line, I'd go with physiologic doses - eg 1 mcg at a time. A healthy body typically makes 3-4mcg and hour, and and it has a shortish half life. Some people do well with a little T3; others seem to need a little T4 to keep it balanced (I think Peat said he got heart palpitations or something when he tried T3 only).

Is there an article somewhere on proper breathing? For the most part I do breath with my nose but sometimes I notice my breating is very shallow and sometimes I think I catch myself not breathing at all!

I learned about breathing and CO2 etc before finding Peat's work from Buteyko Breathing - Buteyko Method How to Instructions a while ago - lots of clear information from a Buteyko perspective. Unfortunately it's harder to find your way through the ads now. But there are aspects of the diet and lifestyle that are not compatible with Peat's views. There are some threads on CO2 and breathing and Buteyko etc here on the forum too.
The key point is that breathing too much can lower CO2 levels too much, and CO2 is needed for many important functions, including oxygen to tissues, calming and supporting nerves and airways, regulating circulation (eg making sure some of it goes to support the digestive system).
Chronic hidden hyperventilation is probably fairly common, and it can contribute to stress at night.

Peat's advice about breathing seems to be to do some paper bag breathing a few times a day to help accustom the system to higher CO2 levels. Otherwise he focusses more on getting CO2 production up (sugars, T3 etc), rather than on retention.

Noticing that you sometimes are not breathing at all is probably a perfectly healthy response to a previous brief patch of excessive breathing. If the CO2 levels get briefly below the set point, the body can automatically try to restore it by holding the breath till it it comes back up.
If by shallow you mean small amplitude, that's probably fine. If you mean in the chest rather than the diaphragm, then retraining to use the diaphragm may be helpful.
There are others here (eg ecstatichamster) who have had successes taking it much further than me. For me, I got benefit from retraining myself to keep my mouth closed (including in sleep) and reactivating my diaphragm and retraining to use it instead of chest muscles for normal breathing - I used some simple mechanical support for these changes. And just paying attention to breathing from time to time to let it relax and sometimes practice reduced breathing or breath holds. I usually sleep OK, but I found keeping mouth shut and occasionally sticking a sheet over my head to be helpful from time to time.

This and progesterone I am totally ready to try!!

Lots of good stuff from Marikay.
Just be aware that some of us have had trouble with pregnenolone in large doses. As far as I know it's fine and safe to experiment with, and likely to be helpful. Not trying to talk you out of it. But just notice that if it lowers your stress hormones so much that you have no energy to function, you might want to cut back the dose.

Never been a huge runner but I do like my daily walks. Do you think adding a couple of 15-20 second sprints in with the walk is too stressful? It feels really good but I am not sure it is good. I do love to lift - mostly body weight stuff - I just haven't had the energy - hopefully when I get some of this sorted I will :)

I'd guess that short sprints could be good if they feel good to you, but watch out for warming up well - it's an easy way to do achilles tendons in. Chronically short/tight vulnerable achilles tendons may be one of those things more common amongst those of us with low thyroid function. Mine took a long time to heal. I also know quite a few others who have pinged either a calf muscle or an achilles tendon and been on crutches and limping for months from a sudden sprint.

 

[marikay]

Is this the one? Simply Progesterone serum

Yep. that's the one. I've also used the pregnenolone from @healthnatura and it works great, but then again I've used lots of different brands of pregnenolone and never had a problem with any of them:) Ray once told me he has taken up to 6,000 milligrams of pregnenolone and never had a problem with it. I've never taken more than 100 milligrams a day or 400 mgs once a week. Both dosages work great for me.

I so hate skim milk lol - But I think it's the only way to get enough protein without too much fat.

I don't care for skim milk either but it does work. Putting the sugar/salt liquid into the milk makes it more palatable and helps me get the right combo of protein to sugar as well as getting more salt into my diet. Worth a try I think.

Never been a huge runner but I do like my daily walks. Do you think adding a couple of 15-20 second sprints in with the walk is too stressful? It feels really good but I am not sure it is good. I do love to lift - mostly body weight stuff - I just haven't had the energy - hopefully when I get some of this sorted I will

I think I read somewhere that Ray thinks that sprinting is better than endurance training. But I'm not sure why you would want to sprint unless you were training for a sprint type race. I think the main idea here is not to think of exercise as a weight loss program or as a cardio improvement project, since exercise is neither of those things. I guess if you feel like sprinting, go ahead and sprint, as long as you enjoy the movement. I don't exercise anymore, and I've never felt or looked better (lots of energy, slender body, great skin and hair). Blood pressure normal and a pretty high resting pulse rate (which I now know is a good thing:)

HAH! My doctor would have a fit to hear you say that lol. She wants me to be a vegetarian to bring down my cholesterol - she mentions it all the time.

How high is your cholesterol? Mine used to be below 140 and I was proud of that. Now I know better and do my best to keep it near 200. I did the strict vegetarian thing for a year or two. It brought me low cholesterol and also low thyroid. Not good.

Looking forward to reading of your progress.

 

[Erowin]

Not directly form Peat, but my understanding is that for us adult women who are not pregnant or breastfeeding etc, somewhere in cooey of 2500 cals is roughly normal (more if extra tall or extra active).

That many calories will take some warming up to lol.

I learned about breathing and CO2 etc before finding Peat's work from Buteyko Breathing - Buteyko Method How to Instructions a while ago

Thanks - I'll check this out

But just notice that if it lowers your stress hormones so much that you have no energy to function, you might want to cut back the dose.

I will start slow for sure!

I'd guess that short sprints could be good if they feel good to you, but watch out for warming up well

. But I'm not sure why you would want to sprint unless you were training for a sprint type race.

What I like to do in the a.m. is take a walk - about 30-40 mins moderate pace and I was throwing in 2 short sprints in the middle well after I was warmed up - about 100 steps. Just felt good to get my heart pumping and using the leg but muscles a bit more. I also walk with 5lb weights and do curls and stuff while I am walking. Not super strenuous stuff other than the sprints but I only added those in on days I felt great.

How high is your cholesterol?

Total is 221 ref 140/200
LDL 133 0/130
HDL 67 35/85
Trigl. 90 35/160

These have been pretty consistent for the past 3 years although Triglycerides keep creeping up.

Attached is what I ate yesterday - fell very short on protein.

 

[Erowin]

I wish the cronometer kept the meals together - that list is hard to decipher when looking back.

Basically I had 2 fried eggs, oj and coffee with cream, sugar, gelatin, grassfed butter for breakfast

Lunch was milk and OJ with gelatin and a second lunch of mango orange juice and 2 pices of string cheese.

Dinner was shrimp scampi with rice and pineapple. Scampi was made with coconut oil, salt and garlic.

Before bed I had whole milk with pinch of salt and sugar.

 

[marikay]

What I like to do in the a.m. is take a walk - about 30-40 mins moderate pace and I was throwing in 2 short sprints in the middle well after I was warmed up - about 100 steps. Just felt good to get my heart pumping and using the leg but muscles a bit more. I also walk with 5lb weights and do curls and stuff while I am walking. Not super strenuous stuff other than the sprints but I only added those in on days I felt great.

I'd slow that down to a leisurely pace, cut the time down to 20 minutes or so, and (most importantly) make sure you eat breakfast before the walk. I'd also leave the weights at home. You don't need them to get the benefits of a pleasant walk and five pounds won't be enough to do you much good as far as muscle tone goes. The important part really is to get completely out of the mindset that aerobic exercise is good for you. If you can find a pleasant companion to take a leisurely walk with you in the morning, then that's even better. Somewhere on this forum is a quote by Ray that sums it all up pretty well. If I can find it I'll post it here. Cheers.

 

[marikay]

I wish the cronometer kept the meals together - that list is hard to decipher when looking back.

Basically I had 2 fried eggs, oj and coffee with cream, sugar, gelatin, grassfed butter for breakfast

Lunch was milk and OJ with gelatin and a second lunch of mango orange juice and 2 pices of string cheese.

Dinner was shrimp scampi with rice and pineapple. Scampi was made with coconut oil, salt and garlic.

Before bed I had whole milk with pinch of salt and sugar.

You might be getting too much fat and that is what is keeping you from getting enough protein. But that's an individual thing and based mostly on my own experience with the not getting enough protein problem. :)

 

[marikay]

Total is 221 ref 140/200
LDL 133 0/130
HDL 67 35/85
Trigl. 90 35/160

These have been pretty consistent for the past 3 years although Triglycerides keep creeping up.

As I said before, I'm not expert. But these don't seem too high to me. I'm also not completely convinced that cholesterol has much to do with heart disease. Ray has written that there may well be a correlation between heart disease and radiation exposure. And guess what is just about the only thing that offers a human being protection from radiation exposure is? Cholesterol. :)

 

[Erowin]

If you can find a pleasant companion to take a leisurely walk with you in the morning, then that's even better.

I listen to some great tracks on the app 8tracks stuff on being one with the universe, quantum physics and some motivational stuff. It really helps my mood - that walk has become the one thing that makes me feel good. Cuts down on my anxiety and tones up my body. But you are right - I do have that aerobics are good mentality lol. I only did 15 mins today as my toe started hurting.

 

[Erowin]

Vitamin A is needed here to covert the High Cholestrol into Pregnenelone which is low when having ADD

Hey @Bodhi - do I need to sup Vitamin A if i see from my diet I am getting a lot?