Peata's Log For Weight Loss & Misc

Peata

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Jun 12, 2013
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Trying to get some weight loss going, along with improvement on my estrogen dominance and other issues. So rather than go back to my BLOATED intro log, I will start fresh here. Any thoughts, tips, criticisms, encouragement, etc. welcome.

I'm trying to be brief with backstory, but it will probably run long.

I always had issues with acne, oily skin, painful periods, mood, anxiety from puberty on (was often an anxious child though too).. went on BCP which improved acne depending which formula it was. But other side effects could be bad on the pill. Went off pill in mid 20s and got the worst acne of my life. Went back on until early 30s.

Also during late 20s, went on SSRIs, and that worked at first, but side effects. So I'd go through the hell of withdrawals and later go back on out of desperation, repeat. And then by mid 30s the side effects were too much and it wasn't helping me anyway, and I swore off the SSRIs for good.

In 20s and 30s, I experimented with diets/woe's because I was trying to find the best foods and ways to eat for health or specific issues. Some of the things I did - low cal, low fat, food combining, low carb, vegetarian, vegan, mostly raw, intermittent fasting.

I never had a weight problem growing up but occasionally in 20s or early 30s, where brief insulin resistance caused me to gain 10 or more pounds due to SSRI or BCP. But in the past if I wanted to lose, I could do it easily by a little less food or a little more exercise, or stopping the offending Rx. That ability changed by mid/late 30s.

Early 30s went on Metformin (finally dx'd with pcos after knowing i had it forever). Didn't seem to need the BCP for acne anymore, went off. Was on spironolactone too for androgens. Periods through my 30s were light, short, and usually skipped months. And my weight was never a problem, in fact sometimes I was a little too thin. At first I thought it was nice not to be bothered by periods except maybe once every 2 or 3 months, but of course this isn't healthy.

By mid/late 30s everything changed. Acne cysts on chin, jawline especially, change in skin, sleep, mood, increased facial hair, and more symptoms. Went off spironolactone since it seemed to be doing nothing anymore. Gyn put me on BCP as only thing that could help, and I reluctantly took them but kept forgetting doses (unlike my earlier years when I took them like clockwork), and didn't stay on more than a few months because I didn't trust it was good for me.

I gained 25# winter/spring of 2010/11. I had a hard time getting it to come off, but it finally did by restrictive dieting/IF. I was underweight at that point.

I stopped the IF early 2012. I had a lot of stress in my life during that time, and was trying to help other health issues: By late 30s I thought I was getting chronic fatigue. I also had bad GI problems and was plagued by flu-like symptoms that kept me in bed or on the couch. Also found out I had fatty liver. I was underweight during some of that time. Ate mostly like a raw vegan. And still had the acne and hormone probs. Felt like I was prematurely aging inside and out.

I noticed some weight gain coming back and ended up 5 - 7 # higher than my normal healthy weight that I couldn't seem to lose even with all my usual methods. I didn't worry about it too much. But I had worsening of all my symptoms during 2nd half of cycle, and that's when I looked into estrogen dominance and progesterone cream, and that's how I found Ray Peat.

I started changing things over to this way in March 2013 and I'm still trying to tailor it to me. I was doing well by Fall 2013 with the foods and supplements, although still having estrogen dominance problems, particularly 2nd half of cycle. And I still couldn't lose the 5 - 7#. But many things were improved so I was encouraged that with time and as I learned more, I could resolve things.

It's only from January 2014 to summer that I started packing on fat that I couldn't get to stop. Yes, it was winter and I wasn't active and did eat for comfort, but no matter how much I cut back, changed macro levels and supplemented, I couldn't halt the steady weight gain.

Finally the weight gain stopped. I am at least 30# overweight.

Exercise didn't help, and as said above, manipulating diet didn't help. My health began to scare me, as over the summer I was having issues with apnea, exercise-induced breathing problems, panic, weird lightheadedness/weakeness at times, and was worried about the excess estrogen, my fatty liver, and heading toward diabetes type 2. I had bloating issues too, making me very uncomfortable in my clothes, and walking sometimes was uncomfortable. I finally got the bloat to go away for the most part over this past fall/winter.

Also, I had chronic diarrhea for at least a year, but it went away this winter after I used Pepto Bismol.

Reducing starches was something I tried before, but felt like sugar instead of starch was messing up my blood sugar/satiety, so I didn't stick with it. This time, I'm going to stick with it at least to give it a fair try, no matter what.

I am always hopeful I can lose weight and get the other issues resolved.

I took measurements the other day to track progress.
 

nikotrope

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Apr 21, 2014
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France
I have had lots of improvements in my health, but losing the weight seems to be the most difficult!

I have again seen tremendous improvements this week when I started taking more salt. I've taken 1g for every cup of liquid I drink, I don't mix it with the liquid I just take it like a supplement. I take 15g of salt each day. I've done this dosage in the past without results when I was drinking broths and adding salt in my salty meals. Timing seems important.

I still didn't lose weight but like you I am hopeful I will.
 

Amazoniac

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Hi Peata!

GI issues are very common when people complain about any health problem.
I've written this before but people are wise to adapt their diet uncounciously to manage their issues and have the least symptoms possible. Dr Peat guidelines improve GI problems in two main ways: making the metabolism efficient and provide little substrate for gut microbiota. And the ones that arrive here sick, find relief for a brief period.

As you probably know, fat along with bones are the main toxic disposal places. If you have a healthy gut, you already have to handle a lot of toxins daily. When unhealthy, most of the time it's a cascade of events, one of them is dealing with excess toxic by-products. If you can't eliminate, you'll store them to avoid circulation and further damage.

It won't matter if the diet is optimal, if you exercise properly, etc; if you have gut dysbiosis, infections or even overgrowths. It is going to mess with almost every aspect of health.
As you can imply, I'm suggesting that you have gut issues and found a way to manage it. Like I suggested Jennifer in this forum, test for it with GI Effects. Don't bother with American Gut Project, uBiome and the like. If you are going to spend money on just one, let it be the first. Ask her for more information, she's so kind, she probably will be happy to help you out!
Also suggest that you read again your whole post with a bowel infection in mind. In every paragraph is possible to link at least one correlation.
 

messtafarian

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Peata, this is just an intuition but it's something I've been thinking about for a while. I've had times in life like you describe, where the weight would just pile on and there would just be *nothing* I could do about it. It usually came in times of overwhelming stress but not always; and I need to drop about 20 pounds now that I gained during my Peat adventures so I've been surfing around thinking and gathering ideas.

I would put certain symptoms in the search engine along with the word "diet" and finally ended up at Paul Jaminet's site, who suggests a ketogenic diet PLUS antibiotics for things like MS and Parkinson's. Because he believes that these intractable nervous system problems are really infections that can't be cured with antibiotics unless there is a limiting of sugar.

I believe at the times that I was really piling it on, I was absolutely drowning in serotonin. I would sink into a very deep depression, almost a fugue state. I would try everything I knew to lose weight and become really immense, like gain *60* pounds.

Now I wonder if *I* had an infection or maybe a totally *toxic* gut that was manufacturing endotoxin=serotonin.

Paul Jaminets explanation for why ketogenic diets work in tandem with antibiotics is that bacteria *need sugar*; but I don't know the logic he is using to get to that conclusion. it could simply be that antibiotics that are overwhelmed with gut bacteria might not be able to additionally fight co-existing infections.

So *maybe* this is something that is happening to you. I'm noticing your reference to stomach symptoms throughout your story. Maybe you are making too much endotoxin which is producing too much serotonin and maybe these are things you could try to treat.

Options: Ketogenic diet -- lowcarb diet to shut down all endotoxin production
course of minocycline to sterilize the gut
drugs to antagonize serotonin
Anithistamine for gut endotoxin/inflammation
activated charcoal
carrot salad.
 

Amazoniac

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Paul Jaminet proposes the use of a Ketogenic diet for a brief period as a diagnostic tool. And that if you have infections with more complex organisms that have mitochondria and thus utilize fats for energy, you are in trouble by starving beneficial bacteria and feeding pathogens.
His strategy for dealing with infections is the best I've seen since he proposes that every excess will serve as fuel for pathogens. Eating only enough carbohydrates to supply daily needs, nourishment of mucosal layers, ROS when processing them to attack infections and storage for a safe 16 hour fast, which is the best window of opportunity that your organism has to control nutrient supply and use in favour of the immune systen.
Since pathogens need to evolve mechanisms of protection against immune system, they are much more efficient and sophisticated than commensal microbes. Sometimes diet won't be enough to erradicate them, because they can reach for nutrients before the host.
Aiming to sterilize the gut is impossible even while on antibiotics. It is a lost battle. The aim should be to shift the colonies for ones that will benefit you.
 
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Raw garlic works like a broad spectrum antibiotic and is enormously beneficial. Even if you don't do the week long protocol (which is brutally unpleasant) you could take one clove a day. Put it through a press (it must be crushed) and mix it all in with your carrot salad. Grated carrot with apple cider vinegar, salt, tsp. of MCT oil and a smashed clove of raw garlic...every day.
 

narouz

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Peata-
Where are you at, where have you been on the basics,
temperature and pulse?
I'm sorry if you've posted that info before and I've missed it.
 
OP
Peata

Peata

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Thanks, everyone. I don't doubt I have gut issues. No SIBO - had that test already. I recently went under 2 kinds of antibiotics and it almost destroyed my gut, but Pepto Bismol cured the chronic diarrhea I had for a year. I've had fecal cultures recently that were fine. I've done low carb and very low carb in the past, and it didn't help me lose weight and I didn't have energy or do well on it. Also, used cyproheptadine for serotonin and other Peat measures to lower it, and did not lose weight or stop diarrhea or anything (though it did help mentally). Also used charcoal, carrot salad, and antihistamines. I did use lots of garlic from the garden last summer, mashed. Not saying these things aren't helping in some way, just that so far have not seen the weight loss part of it. I do appreciate that you guys have thought about it and taken the time and offered your help. If quitting starch and lowering fat doesn't show some result, I will have to look back into that. I'm under the care of a gastroenterologist though, is there anything in particular I should ask them to test for?
 
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Excess fat cells continually churn out estrogen, estrogen drives serotonin and histamine. It becomes a vicious cycle. You might need to take extreme measures to get at least 15 pounds off before you start to feel better.
 

messtafarian

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Actually if you are sure your gut is healthy and if cutting starch and adding fat don't work...

Calories. :)
 

messtafarian

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Amazoniac, what was interesting to me about these ideas of Paul Jaminet's is that whenever I went on a keto diet -- and I would stay on it for months -- I can recall feeling really *well* -- not just thinner -- but really well -- after a while. When he said that keto was an excellent diagnostic for pathogens that hit a note with me.

My problem was that I would stay on keto for *way* too long because I thought it was the whole answer. Who would not think that?

Now I'm drifting back into keto country again. I think I have some kind of infection or toxic reaction going on that is affecting my nervous system and nothing really seems to help. I've tried most Peat suggestions and the excellent advice from this board to really no avail; although some things did help me stop panicking.

The neurologist has no idea what is wrong and is offering antidepressants and painkillers. Thinking of trying another round of antibiotics according to Jaminet which is why I thought of this in response to Peata.

Now back to Peata!!!
 

messtafarian

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I would just drift off of it but also would start to have low energy and high anxiety -- and in my language " it stopped working." Started having thyroid problems, wanted cake and wine...
 

messtafarian

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Thanks, maybe so, tbp. Don't want to hijack Peata's thread but keto cycles always really made me feel better once upon a time.
 

Amazoniac

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Peata,

The reason I suggested testing is because it will save you a lot of time compared self diagnose.
Antibiotics are not selective, if your problem has to do with missing strains/colonies you will create even more problems.
Try eating fermented foods (at least their juice if you can't handle them) and supplement with Prescript Assist. Both of these after episodes of diarrhea (even if you purposedly induce them) to help with introducing missing organisms. Also both of them taken before a meal to take advantage of the stomach not being so acidic and followed by substrate for those new organisms. Fermented dairy won't make much difference except a bit of improvement in bowel movements.
I don't want to sound pessimistic but your experiment probably won't solve the problem, just offer relief. If you eat by hunger, it should be clear when you are satisfied, and if satiation comes with excess of any nutrient you are possibly competing for it.

Messtafarian, consider the same test also. Ketogenic diets work with some infections because you don't have to compete for energy, generally bacterial infections, that could be located even in the brain.

Soon I'm going to be banned from forums for being suspect of commercial interest considering how many times I suggest the Genova lab. Haha!
 

Amazoniac

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Carb cycling in my opinion works like jumping from a diet to another. You solve some problems and create others, when it's unbearable you go back and restart the cycle. A steady supply is much less stressful and won't force the organism to chronically compensate for nutrient deficiencies. Again, it offers relief but won't solve what is causing it.
 
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Amazoniac said:
Carb cycling in my opinion works like jumping from a diet to another. You solve some problems and create others, when it's unbearable you go back and restart the cycle. A steady supply is much less stressful and won't force the organism to chronically compensate for nutrient deficiencies. Again, it offers relief but won't solve what is causing it.

Yes, I agree...and I wouldn't consider it for myself, but some people seem to enjoy it or do well with it. Personally, I would hate the constant changing. I'm a simpleton that way. :lol:
 

messtafarian

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Amazoniac -- that is exactly what I am thinking also. I looked at the website for the fecal test..man...catch it in a dish and mash it up in a test tube, eh?
 

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