Recovery Plan, Looking For Feedback

[Marcus1000]

Stats:
22 y/o male
6'6
170 lbs
8% bodyfat
97 degrees temp throughout the day

Problems:

• Chronic fatigue
• Brain fog,
• Low stress tolerance,
• Random water retention/dehydration,
• Joint pain (neck/lower back),
• Orthostatic intolerance,
• Need food constantly,
• Heart skipping beats,
• Symptoms of hypoglycemia,
• Cold hands/often purple nails,
• Red feet when doing physical work (blood pooling?),
• Skin in hand does not return color quickly when pressed (takes 60+ seconds often),
• Intolerance to eating any food containing fat (severe lethargic after ingestion, within 5 minutes)

History of too low calorie intake, foolish low-carbing/paleo-ing, overexercising (for a bit over a year total).

The plan:
Diet:
4000 calorie diet, ~800 gram carb, 150 gram protein, 30 gram fat
1.5 quart 0.5% fat buttermilk
1 quart OJ
1 lbs white wheat bread
200g sugar cane
Boiled potatoes/white rice/some greens/some random fruits/raw carrot/cacao powder etc.
+2 tbsp hydrolyzed fish collagen daily.

Lifestyle:
3x a week 30 min steady state cardio + 20 min strength training
Occassional random slow walking/slow cycling whenever there is some sun outside
Trying to fix my breathing according to the Buteyko method (to increase my CO2)
Eating instantly upon wakeup, and a meal before bed, and some dried fruit whenever I wake up in the middle of the night, rest I eat consantly, spread throughout the day (every 2 hour).

Looking for some feedback/ideas on this plan!

 

[dibble]

Why the cardio? If anything, have you thought about reducing the cardio significantly and increasing the weight training to 3 X 20 min sessions.

With 8% body fat and 170 lbs to 6 foot 6 in height you've no need to lose weight so its just an extra stress on your body and I cant see a benefit for you in it. Measured strength training sounds a better option for you.

Replace the white bread with more fruit/potatoes/rice.

 

[Marcus1000]

Why the cardio? If anything, have you thought about reducing the cardio significantly and increasing the weight training to 3 X 20 min sessions.

With 8% body fat and 170 lbs to 6 foot 6 in height you've no need to lose weight so its just an extra stress on your body and I cant see a benefit for you in it. Measured strength training sounds a better option for you.

Replace the white bread with more fruit/potatoes/rice.

Thank you for replying dibble!

The cardio is meant to improve my cardiovascular conditioning, to reduce the symptoms of orthostatic intolerance (have heart rate of 80 laying down, then it flies to 150 when standing still).

I was also thinking less white bread, but I really have zero appetite for things like rice/potatoes etc. In my country everyone is eating bread the whole day, I think it might just be in my genes to eat this bread. Would it be that much of a difference you think? I digest the bread really nicely.

 

[dibble]

Thank you for replying dibble!

The cardio is meant to improve my cardiovascular conditioning, to reduce the symptoms of orthostatic intolerance (have heart rate of 80 laying down, then it flies to 150 when standing still).

I was also thinking less white bread, but I really have zero appetite for things like rice/potatoes etc. In my country everyone is eating bread the whole day, I think it might just be in my genes to eat this bread. Would it be that much of a difference you think? I digest the bread really nicely.

well its not optimal. It depends what's in it. I live in the Uk and our bread is full of rubbish!

 

[Marcus1000]

well its not optimal. It depends what's in it. I live in the Uk and our bread is full of rubbish!

Just wheat flour, water, yeast and salt. Nothing else. No waste products for "enrichment" thankfully
I even have a baker who can sell me white bread made partially with sourdough and an organic yeast, but I digest the cheaper one from the supermarket the best for some reason.

 

[HLP]

Make some fries with potatoes and coconut oil. Get more sugar, it really gives me energy. I agree you should ditch the white bread too. Drink and eat full fat dairy. Your body is screaming for energy. Salt is very important too. Eating often may be needed for healing. Don't drink too much water neither, that can really drag energy down.

 

[Marcus1000]

Make some fries with potatoes and coconut oil. Get more sugar, it really gives me energy. I agree you should ditch the white bread too. Drink and eat full fat dairy. Your body is screaming for energy. Salt is very important too. Eating often may be needed for healing. Don't drink too much water neither, that can really drag energy down.

Thank you for the reply HLP!

The problem with fats is, that they make me really fatigued. Even a glass of whole milk crashes me big time, while a glass of skim milk with tons of sugar is no problem at all.
I tried everything to fix this fat-intolerance problem, but it just seems impossible, so the only way for me to get more calories in is with sugars/starches etc.
I am constantly eating/drinking calories throughout the day. It feels like my body wants a crazy amount of energy all the time, and I am doing my best to supply it.
I am now finally starting to gain some weight since about 1-2 weeks ago. This started since completely removing all sorts of fat. I remember a few months ago I was even shotting in tons of olive oil/butter/coconut oil smoothies etc but it did nothing to me, just made me very very brain fogged and tired, and 0 weight gain. If I were to eat a high fat meal I would need days to recover from the fatigue it causes, really weird!
Since removing those fats it feels like my body is starting to heal a bit, like I can feel some things happening, some kind of itching feeling in certain places, like in some veins in my calves, and a little water rention there aswell, which is reducing now and it feels like there is a bit more flesh in that part already after about a week.

 

[HLP]

Be careful with olive oil since there has been some talk that it's being cut with vegetable oils. I'd just avoid it. Eventually you should improve enough to tolerate it. Keep trying. What about your thyroid function? Nothing changed energy wise until I supplemented with thyroid glandular. Carrot salad is a must for you daily.

 

[tara]

Marcus

Glad you are starting to feed yourself more generously.

I'll put a word in for it being more important that you eat what you can digest and enjoy, including wheat bread, over the hypothetically 'better' potatoes and fruit while you are recovering from probably quite a big deficit. But I'll also put in a plug for scalloped potatoes baked in milk with melted cheese on top, if you are looking to make the spuds tastier. :)
And a plug for a serving of liver in some form you can enjoy roughly weekly or smaller amounts more often (eg liver pate), and oysters if you can get them (eg oyster chowder).

I like the idea of occasional weights and more gentle movement most days for now.
Good that you are out in the daylight, and attending to breathing.

Good luck.

 

[Elchapchapchapo]

Bag breathing may be helpful for you - main mechanism of bag breathing is increasing co2. You can check out a couple charts from function alps here:http://www.functionalps.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Picture-113.png http://www.functionalps.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Picture-12-12-58-461.png

And there are more on this page just to learn some things as well:Collection of FPS Charts – Functional Performance Systems (FPS)

 

[Velve921]

Stats:
22 y/o male
6'6
170 lbs
8% bodyfat
97 degrees temp throughout the day

Problems:

• Chronic fatigue
• Brain fog,
• Low stress tolerance,
• Random water retention/dehydration,
• Joint pain (neck/lower back),
• Orthostatic intolerance,
• Need food constantly,
• Heart skipping beats,
• Symptoms of hypoglycemia,
• Cold hands/often purple nails,
• Red feet when doing physical work (blood pooling?),
• Skin in hand does not return color quickly when pressed (takes 60+ seconds often),
• Intolerance to eating any food containing fat (severe lethargic after ingestion, within 5 minutes)

History of too low calorie intake, foolish low-carbing/paleo-ing, overexercising (for a bit over a year total).

The plan:
Diet:
4000 calorie diet, ~800 gram carb, 150 gram protein, 30 gram fat
1.5 quart 0.5% fat buttermilk
1 quart OJ
1 lbs white wheat bread
200g sugar cane
Boiled potatoes/white rice/some greens/some random fruits/raw carrot/cacao powder etc.
+2 tbsp hydrolyzed fish collagen daily.

Lifestyle:
3x a week 30 min steady state cardio + 20 min strength training
Occassional random slow walking/slow cycling whenever there is some sun outside
Trying to fix my breathing according to the Buteyko method (to increase my CO2)
Eating instantly upon wakeup, and a meal before bed, and some dried fruit whenever I wake up in the middle of the night, rest I eat consantly, spread throughout the day (every 2 hour).

Looking for some feedback/ideas on this plan!

I would agree with Dibble...steady state cardio can be quite stressful. I think your lifting frequency sounds great...an idea you can consider instead of steady state cardio could be another playful activity. For example, I've been learning animal locomotion; light movements on the floor could be therapeutic.

In my opinion, I don't see the need for you to try and adopting an increased fat diet; low fat and high carb is making you feel optimal which coincidentally is supposed to be a low stress energy metabolism. If you digest bread well I wouldn't change it.

 

[Marcus1000]

Be careful with olive oil since there has been some talk that it's being cut with vegetable oils. I'd just avoid it. Eventually you should improve enough to tolerate it. Keep trying. What about your thyroid function? Nothing changed energy wise until I supplemented with thyroid glandular. Carrot salad is a must for you daily.

Hello HLP, thank you for the reply!

I avoid all fats/oils right now. The chugging olive oil thing was months ago before I figured out eating those fats gave me huge fatigue after meals :p
My thyroid was measured a couple of times, the TSH was 2.1 every time.
I forgot to mention this in my opening post, I also nibble on 1-2 raw carrots daily!

Marcus

Glad you are starting to feed yourself more generously.

I'll put a word in for it being more important that you eat what you can digest and enjoy, including wheat bread, over the hypothetically 'better' potatoes and fruit while you are recovering from probably quite a big deficit. But I'll also put in a plug for scalloped potatoes baked in milk with melted cheese on top, if you are looking to make the spuds tastier. :)
And a plug for a serving of liver in some form you can enjoy roughly weekly or smaller amounts more often (eg liver pate), and oysters if you can get them (eg oyster chowder).

I like the idea of occasional weights and more gentle movement most days for now.
Good that you are out in the daylight, and attending to breathing.

Good luck.

Hi Tara, thank you for the welcome and reply!

Right now I cannot handle anything baked (due to the added fat/butter), it is very severe intolerance, I feel very lethargic and can see my eyelid on one side dropping, heart beat goes weird and my stomach instantly goes on a shut-down, becoming nauseaus and it wont move for hours!

First I thought maybe I had a gallbladder problem or something, but they went in with tube camera (gastroscopy) and echo from outside, but they say all looks normal

I tried also ox bile/enzymes/betaine hcl etc but nothing works with this problem, so for now I just have to totally avoid all the fat. My stomach is working way better again like this, I can just hear it coming alive again making some digestion noises etc

I was taking some beef liver powder now, but I contacted the manufacturer because I was wondering about the vitamin A content of it. He told me only 50IU per 10 gram liver powder, so little!
Now I have some raw liver laying in the freezer but I don't know how to prepare it without adding fat, maybe I can try steam it and just try swallow it quickly I assume the purpose of the liver food would be the vitamin A yes?

I have no idea where to obtain oysters here, I live in the middle of nowhere in a small village, I also checked the supermarkets and they do not sell oysters. Only other seafood like fresh shrimps for example. What is the reason for the oyster? Is it for the zinc content?

Bag breathing may be helpful for you - main mechanism of bag breathing is increasing co2. You can check out a couple charts from function alps here:http://www.functionalps.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Picture-113.png http://www.functionalps.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Picture-12-12-58-461.png

And there are more on this page just to learn some things as well:Collection of FPS Charts – Functional Performance Systems (FPS)

Thank you for the reply El Chapo !

I will look into the bag breathing!
How often do you think I should do this? And can it be a plastic bag or should it be a certain material like paper bag or something? :p

I would agree with Dibble...steady state cardio can be quite stressful. I think your lifting frequency sounds great...an idea you can consider instead of steady state cardio could be another playful activity. For example, I've been learning animal locomotion; light movements on the floor could be therapeutic.

In my opinion, I don't see the need for you to try and adopting an increased fat diet; low fat and high carb is making you feel optimal which coincidentally is supposed to be a low stress energy metabolism. If you digest bread well I wouldn't change it.

Thank you for reply Ewlevy!

There is no way for me to get around the cardio at the moment, my Dr. has asked me to do this, I have to do it under supervision of a fysiotherapist in the hospital. They think it is beneficial for my orthostatic intolerance. It is basically on a bicycle for 30 mins @ 140 BPM. I am making sure to load up on orange juice/carbs before the training and immediately after to minimize the stress it causes.

The high carb low fat approach is an ENORMOUS difference for me, I literally feel poisoned after I eat a big fat meal and my whole body shuts down, becomes restless/anxious/sickly. With carbs way less problems after meals, it digests much better!

Animal locomotion looks interesting, I never heard of it before! I considered trying something like tai chi, it is also very light movements and relaxing I think.

 

[Elchapchapchapo]

Hey would say 2 x daily 2 minutes each to start. Just use a paper bag. Breath out your mouth and in with your nose while the bag is over your mouth and most

 

[tara]

Right now I cannot handle anything baked (due to the added fat/butter), it is very severe intolerance, I feel very lethargic and can see my eyelid on one side dropping, heart beat goes weird and my stomach instantly goes on a shut-down, becoming nauseaus and it wont move for hours!

I agree that if fat is not working for you, and you feel so much better without it, you are probably best keeping it to a minimum at least for now. Does that also apply to foods that have a bit of fat in them naturally, like meat and eggs? Or well emulsified fats? You can bake sliced potatoes in milk with no added butter. If you have some cheese that is low enough in fat to tolerate, it can give a bit more flavour. Or if you can manage just a tiny bit of parmesan - since it is so strong even a teaspoonful can give a lift? But it's just an idea, you don't need to use it. What about a rice pudding, possibly with cinnamon and raisins? Also can be cooked with no fat.

Now I have some raw liver laying in the freezer but I don't know how to prepare it without adding fat, maybe I can try steam it and just try swallow it quickly I assume the purpose of the liver food would be the vitamin A yes?

Liver gives much more than vit-A, but the vit-A is part of it. It has other vitamins and minerals too. Better whole fresh than dried.
Personally I do use a tiny bit of fat to cook mine. You could steam or boil it, or chop or mince it and include it in soup if you like the flavour. If you find you are not keen on the flavour, another way that doesn't require any extra fat would be to blend it up with other things and bake it to make a pate. You can google liver pate recipes to get ideas. If you put it in a blender, make sure you cut the stringy blood vessels etc out first - my blender got tangled up and came to a halt the first time because I didn't do this. :) Then you can add milk, egg, salt, and what ever you like and agrees with you for flavour - onion, garlic, herbs or spices or fruit. Pour into an oven dish and bake. Serve spread on bread if you are eating bread. Once you've found a recipe you know you like, you can cook up a big batch and freeze portions to take out as you want.

I have no idea where to obtain oysters here, I live in the middle of nowhere in a small village, I also checked the supermarkets and they do not sell oysters. Only other seafood like fresh shrimps for example. What is the reason for the oyster? Is it for the zinc content?

Yes, oysters are one of the richest food sources of zinc. But you can get zinc from other less generous sources if you can't get oysters. (Where I am they are only sometimes available, and prohibitively expensive. I end up supplementing just a little [eta:] zinc weekly because I don't seem to quite keep up without.) Other seafood can be valuable as a source of selenium (unless you live in a place where the soil is selenium-rich).

There is no way for me to get around the cardio at the moment, my Dr. has asked me to do this, I have to do it under supervision of a fysiotherapist in the hospital. They think it is beneficial for my orthostatic intolerance. It is basically on a bicycle for 30 mins @ 140 BPM. I am making sure to load up on orange juice/carbs before the training and immediately after to minimize the stress it causes.

You may choose to go along with your doctors advice, but I'm hoping you live in a country where informed consent to treatment applies?

I will look into the bag breathing!
How often do you think I should do this? And can it be a plastic bag or should it be a certain material like paper bag or something? :p

A paper bag is good. Put the bag over both mouth and nose. Ideally breathe in and out through your nose, but if you can't then with the bag over both it will still work if you have to use your mouth. Keep going as long it feels OK, and stop when it gets uncomfortable, rather than going exactly 2 mins. The right time for you will depend on your state and size of the bag etc. I think you can do this up to several times a day as long as you don't notice any ill effects. The idea is to gradually retrain your CO2 set point to allow slightly higher levels of CO2, which in turn allows more O2 to be delivered to many of your tissues, eg your digestive system.

 

[Marcus1000]

Hello, thank you for the replies

I agree that if fat is not working for you, and you feel so much better without it, you are probably best keeping it to a minimum at least for now. Does that also apply to foods that have a bit of fat in them naturally, like meat and eggs? Or well emulsified fats? You can bake sliced potatoes in milk with no added butter. If you have some cheese that is low enough in fat to tolerate, it can give a bit more flavour. Or if you can manage just a tiny bit of parmesan - since it is so strong even a teaspoonful can give a lift? But it's just an idea, you don't need to use it. What about a rice pudding, possibly with cinnamon and raisins? Also can be cooked with no fat.

Everything with fat in them, even meats and whole milk If I take a glas of whole milk (10g~ish fat), I already become restless/brain fogged etc. Very sensitive to it, no idea why!

Liver gives much more than vit-A, but the vit-A is part of it. It has other vitamins and minerals too. Better whole fresh than dried.
Personally I do use a tiny bit of fat to cook mine. You could steam or boil it, or chop or mince it and include it in soup if you like the flavour. If you find you are not keen on the flavour, another way that doesn't require any extra fat would be to blend it up with other things and bake it to make a pate. You can google liver pate recipes to get ideas. If you put it in a blender, make sure you cut the stringy blood vessels etc out first - my blender got tangled up and came to a halt the first time because I didn't do this. :) Then you can add milk, egg, salt, and what ever you like and agrees with you for flavour - onion, garlic, herbs or spices or fruit. Pour into an oven dish and bake. Serve spread on bread if you are eating bread. Once you've found a recipe you know you like, you can cook up a big batch and freeze portions to take out as you want.

What do you think about just swallowing small pieces of raw liver? No chewing, just cut up a small 1 by 1 cm piece and swallow it with some water?
I do not know if raw liver is dangerous? I bought some liver from a good source (farmer nearby), he has some old-school breed cows standing in the nature 365 days a year, they only eat grass and just stand there the whole year :p

Yes, oysters are one of the richest food sources of zinc. But you can get zinc from other less generous sources if you can't get oysters. (Where I am they are only sometimes available, and prohibitively expensive. I end up supplementing just a little weekly because I don't seem to quite keep up without.) Other seafood can be valuable as a source of selenium (unless you live in a place where the soil is selenium-rich).

I think it is very hard to get oysters near me, I would need to drive a few hour to visit a restaurant who has them, stores do not sell them

You may choose to go along with your doctors advice, but I'm hoping you live in a country where informed consent to treatment applies?

It is like that here yes, but Dr's here (netherlands) are very focussed on numbers from blood tests, this is because bureaucracy is at an all-time high here right now unfortunately, if number is above X prescribe Y pill, how a patient feels doesn't matter because they cannot measure it

I also digged up some history of blood work, I have the info from between 2005 and beginning 2016.
I guess the old values aren't that important, so I will list the most recent ones I got:
The format is, first value is mine, (value here is reference value)

02-2016
GGT B Gamma-glutamyltransferase 15 U/L (0-55)
AF B Alkalische fosfatase 100 U/L (0-120)
BILIB Bilirubine 12 umol/L (0-17)
ASAT 17 U/L (0-40)
ALAT 27 U/L (0-40)
CRP <1 mg/L (0-4)
Glucose random moment 5.4 mmol/L (4-7.8)
TSH B Thyroid stimulating hormone 1 mU/L (0.4-4)
Vitamin B12 668 pmol/L (149-700)
Hb 10.2 mmol/L (8.5-11)
RDW B MD Red bloodcell distribution width 12.7% (12-15)
TROMB MT Trombocyten 340 10^9/L (150 - 400 10^9/L)
LEUKB MT Leukocyten 7,9 10^9/L (4 - 10 10^9/L)
ERY B MT Erytrocyten 5,5 10^12/l (4.5 - 5.8 10^12/l)
MCV B M.C.V. 88. (80-100)
BSE <2mm (0-15 mm)
NEUTB MT 4.9 (1.8-7)
EO B MT 0 (0-0.4)
BASOB <0.1 (0-0.2)
MONOB 1 (0.3-0.9)
LYMFocytes 2 (0.8-3.2)

10-2015
Kreatinine 101 (50-110)
KRECO kreatinine clearance estimate >90 ml/min/1,7 (60-0)
ALAT 23 (0-40)
Glucose random moment 4.6 (4-7.8)
TSH 1.1 (0.4-4)
Hb 10.2 (8.5-11)
Ht 0.49 (0.4-0.5)

All the TSH values I can find:
2006 - TSH 1.4 (0.3-5)
free t4 16 pmol/L (9.0-20)
free t3 5.9 pmol/l (2.6-5.7)
2007 - TSH 1.0 (0.3-5)
2007 - TSH 1.1 (0.3-5)
2009 - TSH 1.3
2013 - TSH 0.85 (0.3-4)
free t4 16.9
2015 - TSH 1.1 (0.27-4.2)
07-01-2016 TSH 0.56
free t4 22.4
01-02-2016 - TSH 1.0 (0.4-4)
Weird how it can change from 0.56 to 1.0 in 3 weeks time?

Have more from before 2015, but there doesn't seem anything interesting, all similar to the stuff from 02-2016
Only had some higher liver values in the past (2006, ALAT 103 (0-40), ASAT 70 (0-40))

I will try to request more recent blood works from the last 10 months soon, but it is very hard and they are not keen on giving up this information to patients
I actually had a test come out with a high serotonin a couple months ago (5-HIAA), but it was redone and the 2nd time it was within normal range, they concluded a "false positive" for the first test.

Since starting peating (1 week), my temps went up about 0.3 celsius (96.6F to 97.2F). Also my cold hands got a little bit better. But I am retaining a lot of water I suppose this is normal in the beginning? Probably 6-7 lbs of extra water I am holding!
My sleep is a bit better though, it feels like I am sleeping deeper.

,Marcus

 

[Regina]

I would agree with Dibble...steady state cardio can be quite stressful. I think your lifting frequency sounds great...an idea you can consider instead of steady state cardio could be another playful activity. For example, I've been learning animal locomotion; light movements on the floor could be therapeutic.

In my opinion, I don't see the need for you to try and adopting an increased fat diet; low fat and high carb is making you feel optimal which coincidentally is supposed to be a low stress energy metabolism. If you digest bread well I wouldn't change it.

I love the animal locomotion exercises Ewlevy1. I have been trying to do some of the ones from the Ido Portal clip you posted 20 minutes before class. Some of the others are quietly copying. Thx

 

[tara]

What do you think about just swallowing small pieces of raw liver? No chewing, just cut up a small 1 by 1 cm piece and swallow it with some water?
I do not know if raw liver is dangerous? I bought some liver from a good source (farmer nearby), he has some old-school breed cows standing in the nature 365 days a year, they only eat grass and just stand there the whole year :p

The risk that I am aware of is parasites or other infections. I don't know how big that risk is where you are, but I expect it is not zero, even with very good farming practice. Personally I cook my liver lightly, both for safety and because I like it that way. There are others here who have eaten it raw, and I think at least one got an infection they didn't enjoy. If it weren't for risks of infection/parasites, I'd imagine raw liver might be at least as good as cooked.

I think it is very hard to get oysters near me, I would need to drive a few hour to visit a restaurant who has them, stores do not sell them

I meant to say, and updated my post now, that I personally ended up with supplementing just a little (20mg) zinc just once a week, and this made a difference to me. I can't say whether you would need it.

Since starting peating (1 week), my temps went up about 0.3 celsius (96.6F to 97.2F). Also my cold hands got a little bit better. But I am retaining a lot of water I suppose this is normal in the beginning? Probably 6-7 lbs of extra water I am holding!
My sleep is a bit better though, it feels like I am sleeping deeper.

From reading a bit about recovery from severe energy deficiency associated with restrictive eating like anorexia etc, it seems that some water-retention/swelling is very common for a while at the beginning when people start eating normal amounts of food. Whether there are ways to avoid this and keep rebuilding yourself I don't know. I expect ensuring adequate mineral/electrolyte intake would be helpful, but I'm no expert. Occasionally, people in this situation get a much more serious 'refeeding syndrome', which is dangerous if not treated quickly. AIUI, this involves serious electrolyte imbalances and swelling. I've read that for this reason it is important to have medical supervision while making the transition from severe under-eating to starting to eat enough. If your doctor is prescribing regular cardio, i'm wondering if s/he has any knowledge or experience in supporting such recovery, or whether you have told her/him that you were eating so little and are now trying to recover from this? There is some evidence that exercise can specifically interfere with recovery in such situations.
I wonder if you could find a local doctor who has some experience and expertise specifically with helping people recover from the health issue s associated with undereating?

If you are interested, you can find some of what I read here Patients and General Public and there's a related thread here https://raypeatforum.com/community/threads/recovery-from-undereating-youreatopia.4028/.

Improved temperatures and sleep sounds good. :)

 

[Marcus1000]

Hello Tara, thank you for your reply

From reading a bit about recovery from severe energy deficiency associated with restrictive eating like anorexia etc, it seems that some water-retention/swelling is very common for a while at the beginning when people start eating normal amounts of food. Whether there are ways to avoid this and keep rebuilding yourself I don't know. I expect ensuring adequate mineral/electrolyte intake would be helpful, but I'm no expert. Occasionally, people in this situation get a much more serious 'refeeding syndrome', which is dangerous if not treated quickly. AIUI, this involves serious electrolyte imbalances and swelling. I've read that for this reason it is important to have medical supervision while making the transition from severe under-eating to starting to eat enough. If your doctor is prescribing regular cardio, i'm wondering if s/he has any knowledge or experience in supporting such recovery, or whether you have told her/him that you were eating so little and are now trying to recover from this? There is some evidence that exercise can specifically interfere with recovery in such situations.
I wonder if you could find a local doctor who has some experience and expertise specifically with helping people recover from the health issue s associated with undereating?

If you are interested, you can find some of what I read here Patients and General Public and there's a related thread here https://raypeatforum.com/community/threads/recovery-from-undereating-youreatopia.4028/.

Improved temperatures and sleep sounds good. :)

I just read through all the things in your link, it seems like the water retention is a big one indeed. I think I am up like 10 lbs in water already , just going to have to power through it !

"First of all, re-feeding syndrome is rare. It’s rare even with the most severely emaciated and ill patients in hospital settings. However when it happens, it is life-threatening and requires immediate medical attention. It is easily resolved in a hospital setting, but you need to get there fast."

"For most sufferers undertaking recovery without in-patient treatment, the complications will be unpleasant but not life-threatening. Many of them may seem to confirm the worst fears of the anorexic, since they involve visible bloating that can look like fat deposits. "

I do not think I will get this problem, since I am not that low in weight (bmi is normal even).

I have been to a dietician before, but they said my calorie intake was okay~ish, they did not seem bothered by a lower carb intake.
I think despite eating semi-low calories, just a very small amount of calories "landed", since I react very very poorly to higher fat intake. I remember about a year ago just trying to take shots of olive oil/coconut oil the whole day to add 1000 more "easy" calories, it made me very very lethargic.
This swelling/higher temperature etc. only just occured since completely removing all fats and focusing on very easy to digest refined carbs & sugar (milk/OJ). I was eating 3500+ kcal for about a month already with things like oatmeal / whole grain bread. But my body did not seem to be able to digest those foods well enough to use them for recovery.

I told my Dr. also that I was looking to gain weight, and she said I could try some "meal shakes", I looked them up and it is basically sugar + vitamin + mineral + rapeseed oil (PUFA) + flavor/coloring chemicals.

I will look if I can find a dietician with some experience in this, but I am afraid they will not be so keen on me eating high calorie with low-fat high carb, despite it seemingly steering me towards recovery (I had a reading of 98.4 fahrenheit yesterday late afternoon on the temp, highest ever so far )

,Marcus

 

[Wagner83]

Why would you go to a dietician? What knowledge does he have that is better than your research and what you noticed already from experimenting (e.g. low fat is better etc..)? How do you react to some rice or potatoes?

 

[Marcus1000]

Why would you go to a dietician? What knowledge does he have that is better than your research and what you noticed already from experimenting (e.g. low fat is better etc..)? How do you react to some rice or potatoes?

Hello Wagner!

I do not know :P The only benefit of dietician would be that they have experience with what are signs of recovery (e.g. the water retention of 10 lbs I have now). Unfortunately it is not easy to come by a knowledgeable dietician here. I remember when I went to one about half a year ago she was explaining me that "there are big and small nutrients, the big ones are carbs proteins and fats, and the small ones the vitamins"; I just pretended to now know better

To rice and potatoes I react good, no problem digesting those! Just have less of an appetite to eat those over white bread as starch source. I eat potatoes or white rice for dinner every day :)

,Marcus