Where to start / what to do?

coolrunnings

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Joined
Jan 9, 2014
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Hi all

I'm a 27 year old guy looking to up my health and improve my body composition. I would like to join the military in a year or 2 and need to get my weight down and my fitness up. I currently work in finance so can't afford any brain fog during the day.

I would gladly pay Ray the consultation fee to hear from him for an hour but he seems hard to contact these days. There is so much secondary information floating around out there I'm not really sure what to believe / follow...and I feel like Ray would prescribe something slightly different for everyone. It's a little frustrating.

Bit of background

Played college soccer, never had any real health issues except minor GERD, ate whatever I wanted, maintained 190-200lbs (6'2) with 15-18% bodyfat (hydrostatic). So I had c.165lbs of lean mass.

After college, moved to the UK and started working full time in a very stressful job. Started gaining weight (up to 220) then started a 1300 / calorie a day diet...lost all of the weight (mid 2010). Kept it off for 6 months or so but slowly gained it back. Essentially been on a yo-yo diet ever since (ie 1-2 weeks of hardcore restrictive dieting followed by a binge then several months off).

Now

I'm 27, 225lbs, 28-30% bodyfat (155 - 160lbs lean mass), and was always convinced that paleo was the way to go and once I went paleo the weight would fall off... but never actually got around to going paleo for more than a week or 2 before I succumbed to temptation, binge, etc. However, I was a little disconcerted that my status quo seemed to be a slow and steady fat gain / muscle loss. I also NEVER ate breakfast and always had a huge lunch. Perpetual sweet tooth craving sugar, candy, sour stuff, etc.

I have also had a few minor anxiety / panic attacks over the last 3-4 years, which I assumed was just due to "entering the real world" but am now learning could definitely be to do with my metabolism. I sought CBT and can now deal with these issues.

A few months back I was taking my temperature as I had a cold and it was around 97 degrees, I believe. I started looking into this, learned it was an indicator of metabolism, etc. and thought this may play a part. I went to my GP and had a blood test in March of 2013:

Cholesterol: 4.31 mmol / L
HDL: 1.44 mmol / L
LDL: 2.39 mmol / L

FT4: 12.8 pmol / L
TSH: 1.51 uIU / ml

These are all within normal so the GP said I was fine and my low temp was just naturally low...but as long as I felt fine then it is nothing to be concerned about...so I left it at that.

I have since discovered Matt Stone, read his books, discovered Ray Peat, and generally become much more educated in the matter.

For the last week or so I have been following Matt Stone's High Everything Diet in an attempt to get my temps back up to 98 consistently and get to the point where I am not naturally gaining weight. Then I can use exercise (which I love) and smarter food choices to get my weight back down. I am absolutely sick of restrictive diets and never want to feel restricted in my eating again.

In the last week, my diet has looked something like the following:

AM: 80g oats, organic whole milk, organic honey, black tea with whole milk
Snack: 4-6 small lemon / raisin pancakes with organic butter
Lunch: 2 McDs double cheese burgers, coke
Snack: 1tbsp coconut oil and 100g dark chocolate, coke
Dinner: Burger with sweet potato fries

I have also stopped exercise, have only been drinking when thirsty (rarely), and have tracked my temperatures. Here are the results:

When I first started, my AM temps were 96.3 - 96.4 with day time temps up to 98.2
Within 2 days I was up to 97.7 with day time temps as high as 98.4
Now I'm around 97.2 - 97.4 in the am (was 97.0 yesterday after an intense workout on Tuesday night)

As an example, this morning upon waking I was at 97.4. 30m after breakfast I am now at 98.2.

I have been waking up every night between 2 - 4am which I know is a sign of cortisol / adrenaline. I can soon get back to sleep, however, and my pulse isn't racing. My morning pulse is quite low, typically 60bpm...and I've always been told this is a good thing and reflective of increased "fitness"! In fact, I've been trying to lower it with exercise.

I've also started exercise again: 2-3x intense circuit training sessions involving weights and cardio / weekly (crossfit style but not exactly) and 2-3 runs a week (starting with 10m and building up to 60m over a few months).

My questions:

1. What should I do? Especially given the fact that I don't want to be too restrictive?

2. How can I contact Ray directly?

3. What temperatures are considered normal in the AM and during the day, especially given my low waking pulse and tendency for temp to rise after breakfast?

4. Does exercise really totally conflict with the goal of healthy metabolism? I find this hard to believe as it is supposed to be so beneficial! Can I really only pick one: improving my running or improving my metabolism?

5. Based on my numbers, am I healthy? Am I hypothyroid?

6. Should I keep doing this HED diet to get my temps up more (to what level?) and then let myself lose weight naturally (after having probably gained some more in the meantime)? Or should I make a more concerted effort to count calories? This is not appealing to me given my background.

Thank you all, and apologies for the long post!
 

charlie

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coolrunnings said:
My questions:

1. What should I do? Especially given the fact that I don't want to be too restrictive?
Coolrunnings, :welcome

I think most important is limiting unsaturated fats as much as possible. The more things you introduce after that, like more light, no starches, etc., the better your metabolism will respond. Exercising lowers my metabolism.
2. How can I contact Ray directly?
He does not make his contact info available anymore online.
3. What temperatures are considered normal in the AM and during the day, especially given my low waking pulse and tendency for temp to rise after breakfast?
Basal morning temp before getting out of bed should be between 97.8 and 98.2. And pulse should be 80. So as you can see, you are hypometabolic.
4. Does exercise really totally conflict with the goal of healthy metabolism? I find this hard to believe as it is supposed to be so beneficial! Can I really only pick one: improving my running or improving my metabolism?
Exercise with a broken metabolism, breaks it more. I do not think running is healthy.
5. Based on my numbers, am I healthy? Am I hypothyroid?
Stressful job, stressful life, running(another stressor), polyunsaturated fats, all contributors to a broken metabolic system.
 
OP
C

coolrunnings

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Jan 9, 2014
Messages
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Thanks for the reply.

Really, you think I have a broken metabolism? I'm only half a degree away from the normal range, and some days I'm right there.
 

charlie

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Low pulse, not able to get a solid, restful nights sleep, and panic/anxiety attacks are signs of hypothyroidism.
 
J

j.

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coolrunnings said:
So what can I do?

low pufa diet and maybe hormones (typically pregnenolone, thyroid, with pregnenolone you don't have to careful with dosage to not risk death)
 
J

j.

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coolrunnings said:
There are no options that don't require drugs?

low pufa diet.

Thyroid hormones are arguably just food, as you would get them if you ate chicken neck or fish head soup.
 
OP
C

coolrunnings

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Jan 9, 2014
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Thank you.

And they are prescription only?

Can anyone recommend a progressive GP in London?

Thanks
 

4peatssake

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coolrunnings said:
Thank you.

And they are prescription only?

Can anyone recommend a progressive GP in London?

Thanks
I can't personally recommend a doctor there but Ray Peat recommended this group to me when I was first starting out.
It is a UK based, very active advocacy group for people with thyroid disease. It is filled with numerous resources and can perhaps help you locate a knowledgeable and supportive doctor.

Thyroid Patient Advocacy UK

From the homepage:

If you're not getting the help and support you need from your health care professional - please don't despair. We are very proud to have 5 qualified medical advisers + thousands of members, some of whom have exceptional experience in the field of thyroid disease. They will do whatever they can to help and support you. Now you have found us, you are no longer alone. The information and recommendations we give is free of any charge, and you will be made most welcome.

One word of caution. I always cross check information from other groups/websites with the wisdom/research of Ray Peat as in my view he is the leading expert in thyroid disease. That being said, we all must do our own due diligence and find what works for us.

Good luck!
 

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