Wow-what A Difference!

[caroline]

Let's hope that this happens, Charlie.

So I have new hypothesis re: white sugar. I was grossed out by it and was only doing honey, but today used sugar in my coffee/milk/cocoa powder (trying cocoa powder again) concoction. I think it feels "cleaner." Like I don't notice it, more sustaining, something like that. That would be nice b/c honey is a pain in the *** b/c it is so expensive and I need to use much more of it to taste.

Also, thanks to people on here, I found the caramel crunch chocolate bar (some organic one at whole foods) and this DOES NOT HAVE SOY LECITHIN! And it is not too dark. I don't like dark chocolate anymore. It tastes like dirt to me. It was creamy and milky and yummy.

Also, I (we did a lot of grocery shopping) surveyed the instant coffee choices at all the stores and held off for the Trader Joe's brand. I found the organic one, Mount Hasen, but was unmotivated to spend more. I just tried the TJ brand. It was SO MUCH BETTER than my nescafe. Like a zillion times better. Stronger and richer. Not so much like something pretending to be coffee, which is what my nescafe tastes like. No bitter weird aftertaste either. There is the Italian one that I see everywhere, in the tiny bottle, that is instant "espresso" but DAMN, that little thing is expensive! Anyway, I loved my coffee.

Also, I am gravitating toward milk with higher fat now. I like it much better. I got 2 percent organic at Trader Joe's and after trash talking the poor pasteurized OJ, I got the organic not from concentrate, pulp-free one at Trader Joe's. They didn't even have the unpasteurized REGULAR (not organic) OJ at Whole Foods. Only the organic unpasteurized one, which was 10 dollars. I don't think so!!

Also, we got liver, and I am going to hard boil an egg and make pate with it. One egg should hopefully be fine. For some reason, I am grossed out by the liver by itself right now (we got calve's liver), so I wanted to do the pate.

I am feeling quite happy. Probably b/c I haven't been studying at all!

Also, I did stairs again, (outside by the ocean), which is what I did last night. But this a.m, I did it in this spot where the sun hit me so I would get vitamin D. After reading about RP's view and others who follow him on concentric exercise, I am figuring out a way to make the whole thing stairs) concentric, by not extending and straightening when I am going DOWN the stairs.

Obviously going up the steps IS concentric, but down, I notice if I am not careful, I "lengthen" through my hamstrings and kind of dump forward, as one does when they are softening the movement when moving downhill. Instead, what I started doing on the way down, was keeping a bit of a bend in my knees and even trying to land evenly on each foot as I am stepping. Also, I am doing everything with my mouth closed and breathing through the nose. Weights are still up in the air. While I LOVED doing them, I am not sure I am ready for it. I noticed I was overstimulated and then tired like 2 days later; may just stick with core body exercises instead, but this is pretty boring for me b/c I am VERY strong so I can basically hold poses almost indefinitely before getting tired, while with weights I can pack a lot on and cannot do as much. I will say that not leaving the house to go to the gym, which entails driving, etc. is much more efficient.

While I am keeping an eye on coconut oil for internal use (just had like 2 teaspoons today), I cannot use enough of it for my hair. It makes it look like "fancy lady hair." hahaha. That's what I call it. How women's hair looks after they do all that straightening, etc. I am FAR TOO LAZY to bother with this, but the coconut oil works great. I put it in and then kind of twist my hair in a sort of braid/twist and put a bunch of ponytail holders on it and it kind of soaks in so it doesn't look greasy. It was looking sad for a while after I did that honey thing to help my scalp and staring at a layer of fuzz on my head is very unappealing so the coconut oil really helped.

 

[caroline]

Well, maybe I need to just drop control. Last night, after deciding the day before I would just go to sleep when I felt like it, I was tired at 9:30. Slept soundly till 7:30. Did not wake up once. Go figure. Also, I am eating a LOT more sugar, no fruit, more OJ, and less meat.

Enjoying walking outside again. Doing all hills and steps. I love being outside, like the quiet, and the nature. Pretty much my favorite thing, which I had stopped. Really liking my coffee Haagen Daaz. Prior to eating this way, I believed I was a compulsive eater and had issues with sugar. Not the case since doing this. I have chocolate bars around, ice cream, etc, and do not binge ever. The only time I felt that my food sensor is "off" is eating fruit. I don't find it does anything useful for me. It's not that I overeat it; it just doesn't seem to affect me positively or energy-wise when I consume it.

Had the eggs (regular-the soy-free ones were too far away on our shopping route), hard-boiled mixed with the calve's liver for pate. Did not have weird breath at all this morning so this is positive. Still would like to be able to regularly incorporate eggs and potato. I got a red potato but haven't tried it yet.

Also, new progress on the milk. Now I am liking more fat in my milk. Got 2%, and may get that and whole milk when I run out. Way easier to digest and it just feels more substantial. I am still getting used to being a bit slower mentally. I don't feel amped, but it appears I can read things without rushing involuntarily. My strength was great doing all the hills. Walking like this is very relaxing to me.

 

[caroline]

Oh, one other thing. Again, I find it interesting that when I was reading about this way of eating, I was struck by the large number of complaints about weight gain. I find this to be the opposite eating this way. I feel totally satisfied, do not crave things, and feel effortlessly lean without looking drawn in the face or dehydrated. My stomach does not hurt me anymore, which it regularly did prior to this. I also am really benefiting from having mini meals with my milk/coffee/gelatin/sugar/cocoa powder and swigs of OJ (kind of gross, I know, but I am the only one who drinks it and am too lazy to drink out of a glass). I never feel stuffed but always feel sated. Also, I do not get "low blood sugar" feeling as I thought I would. Instead, I just am tuned in to a sense that tells me when it would be optimal to eat again. The only time I felt shakey and terrible was after eating grapes; if I felt like that regularly, there is no way I would eat this way. But grapes are not a part of my diet so it's not a problem.

 

[caroline]

Always one more thing with me. Just wanted to add, that my ONLY priority in eating this way was to feel better. It is nice that I am not gaining 20 pounds of additional weight, but frankly, I wouldn't let that stop me in the least bit. My concern was not being a thin person, but being a "well" person. I really can't fathom letting thinness guide my eating plan; I don't believe that it is a marker of health. Of course, it is not convenient to have extra weight that impairs one's ability to move comfortably. However, I think the focus on weight=health is SORELY misplace. Great for others if that's their priority.

If I have to choose between feeling sane and balanced inside, and having my bodily functions work properly (i.e. not being cold all the time, confused, sleepless and anxiety-ridden) and being fuller-figured, I would easily welcome the second and not give it a second thought, as I did in this case. It was worth it, but my priorities are about feeling the best, which may or may not equate to the societal view of what is best, which seems to be idolizing thin bodies. I just want to feel better; that is the most important for me.

 

[caroline]

Hallelujah! I went to bed at around 8:30 and woke up at 6. No waking up, slept like a rock.

I am eating a LOT more sugar. Have pangs of worry, hoping I will not get diabetes and go blind, but the sleeping is FABULOUS. Best that I have had in ages. Also, I have REALLY shifted down my amount of meat. And I think that eating more of it during the day causes me to get sleepy. So I am really pushing for eating meat protein at night. If I have some in the day, it is like a hunk of burger--like the size of a few chicken nuggets. Also, I went back to taking magnesium supplements b/c I had leg ache after all my steps. Took it and the ache went away. Last, I am doing salt but way less than before.

On the eggs, while I did feel strong yesterday, I did have some inner ache in my back. Could have been from all the steps, but I think it was the eggs. It was minor, which gives me hope I am going to be able to do them eventually. After all, it was two full hard boiled eggs (and the whites are always harder for me, and eggs in general are more challenging if cooked, for me). And they were the regular ones--not soy free. The improvement with much less meat seems surprising. The main difference is that I feel less sleepy during the day if I eat very little of it.

Also, I am doing a lot less protein than I was. I was trying to get over 100 grams. I think that is too much for me. I feel better with less. But again, things are always changing, so will see how that goes. It feels great to sleep so well.

 

[caroline]

Niacinamide going well.
Slept 11 hours last night; made up for not too much sleep the night before. I am not taking niacinamide at night. It makes me more alert, so I have found it is not a good thing to be taking before bedtime.

Also, I am beginning to up my coconut oil again. I needed to back off and try again. I don't want to bother with having to get the unrefined b/c we get a great deal on Nativa coconut oil. It seems to speed things up a bit; also, after experimenting a bit over the past few weeks with less fat, I am back to doing more, which always seemed to work well for me doing low carb.

Everything is going well; still interested in trying these things successfully: eggs, potato.

I tend to continue coming back to things I feel have benefit to see if what couldn't be tolerated well has shifted. Seems to be the case for the coconut oil. Egg is the hardest to crack, pun intended. I would really like for it to work for me; I am going to try it with a lot of orange juice and see how that works. I am wanting way more OJ lately. I got a cheaper version at Trader Joe's and I don't like it. I am going to stick with the organic one, which tastes better.

Haven't had any caffeine today. Don't feel like it. Even before, when I went from doing lots of caffeine to none, I never noticed any withdrawal or urge to have it. Doesn't seem to have that kind of effect on me. Green tea however, seems to make me exhausted if I do too much of it.

 

[caroline]

Well, that's it for eggs. Of course, never say never. Tried eggs, yolks cooked lightly in tons of coconut oil. Same old effects as always despite having COPIOUS amounts of sugar, OJ, etc, even coffee just to make sure, magnesium to ward off aches. Felt achey, woke up bloated for first time in ages like the sort of abdominal bloat that turns mushy when people eat lots of pasta. Haven't had this at all since starting Peat until I had eggs. That being said, raw egg yolk seems to be best tolerated. But really, it is such a hassle to have to do all this work to ward off the bad effects of eggs that I doubt its worth. This morning was spent doing exercise to reduce joint pain which also comes from eggs. I don't know why they seem to cause a bad reaction, but they do. Oh well.

Other than that, sleep is great. I don't wake up in the middle of the night. Am experimenting lately with niacinamide in one dose. Will do it much later today. Really not wanting much meat anymore. Also, starting to like milk cold. I didn't for the longest time.

I AM curious after reading about several people who seem to be challenged by starch (as I am) who have been successful eating potatoes when boiled and then fried. Anyone who had similar effects to me after eating potatoes (nightshade response--aches, heaviness the next morning--similar to my reaction with eggs), who was able to eat them without ill effects after the boiling/frying in coconut oil? Again, I am wondering about anyone who was NOT able to eat potatoes without bad reactions b/c someone who can eat starch and simply may think it is not as good for them, is not the same as my situation. It is not like I eat something and say, Oh I shouldn't have had that and feel guilty. I get actual pain, lethargy, and general ill feeling after eating these things. Eggs experiment is done for a while. Way too much counter-work required to manage bad after-effects for them.

 

[caroline]

One more comment. This is what I love about Peat diet. I have had to eat defensively for a long time. Intermittent Fasting (albeit with butter, coconut oil, and cream, not going without food) worked very well for me to an extent b/c I simply was not consuming food as often. However, with my level of anxiety and energy I seem to burn, it was not a good plan. Peat makes me feel satisfied, full, and empty, at once. What I mean is, I am not hungry, I am not full, I am not bloated, and just feel right in the middle. Well, today I am still recovering from my egg disaster; hopefully that will happen quick.

Also, the other day I started decreasing my sugar and just doing milk and coffee. Noticed a huge upswing in anxiety. Had sugar, oj, etc. and felt much better. Coincidence? I don't know, but it was the first time I felt panicky in a while, and the only thing I changed was my amount of sugar.

 

[caroline]

Ok. New EGG experiment. I decided that since I already feel "off", why not continue to experiment. So here's my newest attempt: Clearly, the OJ with the egg didn't mitigate the issues. So I did the following. A. Took my egg yolk raw. Tossed the white. B. Ate like SEVERAL dates with it. Haven't done too much with dates, but they seem to be okay, whereas all other fruit has been iffy. Then had like way more sugar than I would usually in coffee.

I really want to do eggs. I don't like eating that much meat anymore. And I am okay with buying the nicer eggs-the soy free ones. I won't eat more than one or two egg yolks a day anyway, so it's fine. I still don't get the point of "pastured" if they are still fed soy. Doesn't really make sense to me. So while they do have eggs labeled pastured at one store, they also have one brand that is soy-free. Actually, these are the only ones in all the stores around here that are "soy-free." Can find pastured but not soy-free everywhere else.

I have given up trying to cook the eggs. That's fine. It's easier to just eat the yolk raw anyway b/c I don't actually cook anymore. So we'll see how it goes. ...If I feel okay, I am going to pick up some soy-free eggs later today. The reason I want this so much is that it is really the easiest form of protein for me apart from the milk,gelatin, and is a way to ensure I am getting enough nutrients.

 

[caroline]

Oh, obviously, I am not going to bother with the whites. Those definitely cause way more aches for me, so I am just sticking with yolks. I have my fingers crossed this will work! I do feel a nice rush of energy--probably from the zillion grams of sugar in the dates and sugary coffee, but hopefully I am on my way to an egg-inclusive diet! ( raw egg yolk, that is)

And it is interesting that there are egg yolks in the HD coffee ice cream and I experience no problems with this whatsoever. Maybe because they are raw....

 

[charlie]

I think its possible you are not properly breaking down the egg.

What you described happened with the egg happens to me with potatoes. I call it the carb flu. Ray Peat said the feeling bad part of a flu is most likely caused by endotoxin. I think when you get the flu the bodies immune system dramatically drops and then there is a huge explosion of bacteria in the gut which creates a ton of endotoxin, and the achey joints, feeling bad, etc, are from the endotoxin.

 

[caroline]

What can I do to stop it? It is beyond irritating that I can't eat eggs. As of now, the digestion of the yolk seems to be much better, but the breath is still doing something bizarre. Not disgusting egg smell--more like burned sulfur-ish. The dates seemed to help. Orange juice doesn't do squat. I have tried it numerous times with the eggs and nada. Also, this was a lower quality egg in that it was not soy-free. I am not giving up on this. I do feel good from it, don't feel tired, and we will see about aches. That may not happen until tomorrow along with unpleasant bloat.

 

[caroline]

I seem to recall you mentioning scaling back on eggs (in that long interchange about the Ray Peat essentials of diet). Did you pick them back up? Also, have you had any luck with potato using Jenn's method (think it was Jenn) of boiling and frying after?

 

[charlie]

What can I do to stop it? It is beyond irritating that I can't eat eggs.

Improve metabolism. With our compromised metabolisms we cannot make the acids or enzymes that we need to. So stuff does not get broken down like it should. And then passes into the intestines and causes problems like allergies and such. Ray Peat has talked about this, Mittir has been mentioning it lately to. I notice when I am under medicated of thyroid hormone my digestion is the first thing that takes a hit. I will burp and burp and things sit in my tummy too long. Raising the dose takes care of this in a couple days.

Could maybe also try a different brand egg. But since you have much less trouble digesting the raw yolk I think it comes down to the paragraph above.

I seem to recall you mentioning scaling back on eggs (in that long interchange about the Ray Peat essentials of diet). Did you pick them back up? Also, have you had any luck with potato using Jenn's method (think it was Jenn) of boiling and frying after?

I can only handle raw egg yolk. And no I have not tried Jenns trick but I really should because I do love potatoes. I fried some sweet potatoes up tonight in coconut oil, so gonna see how that goes. Just wanted something different.

 

[Mittir]

I have very similar experience with eggs. I avoided egg and egg yolk for a long time.
After listening to RP's KMUD interview on egg yolk curing cancers, i wanted to try egg yolk
in ice cream. Yesterday i made RP style coffee ice cream,
used raw egg yolks and getting flu like symptoms immediate after eating the ice cream.
It has happened twice, but it is going away once i have several tbs of honey with milk.
I forgot to remove the thin layer covering the egg yolk, i have read that causes allergic
reaction just like egg white. I get really bad allergic reaction to egg white.
I get least reaction to hard boiled egg yolks. Even egg shell powder causes problems.
HD pasteurized their egg yolks, so it is not raw. RP has mentioned that
like seeds, egg white has allergenic protein to protect the egg yolk.
I think egg yolk is quite allergenic,even though it is lot less than egg white.
Liver supplies almost all the nutrient found in egg.

 

[caroline]

Thanks, Mittir and Charlie for your input,

Charlie, the sweet potato did not bode well for me; I got two potatoes and am going to try them soon. Thanks for the info on egg/metabolism. I think that is why I am determined with the eggs. I feel I will eventually be well enough to handle them. After all, who would have thunk (yes, I know this is not a word, but it fits) that I would be so able to drink milk. Yet, it is pretty easy for me, despite it being with vitamins added. So perhaps eggs are in the works. May be quite different now that I am not eating PUFA.

Mittir,
It is very helpful to hear from others who have had challenges with eggs. I have had it to the point where just minutes after I ate a whole egg, my whole body felt overcome with heavy ache. However, I was still doing PUFA and also doing the Hyperlipid diet (keto) doing lots of fermented cream, etc.

Like you, I feel there is so much benefit in eggs. And I am such a stubborn ******** that I am determined to make it work. I went to the market and got the soy-free eggs tonight. So far, breath is MUCH better, as in fine, though I had that yolk much earlier in the day. Since the eggs are so expensive, it kind of irritates me to toss the white, so I will see how I feel tomorrow, but I am determined to do them. I kind of have a feeling that I need like loads of sugar with the egg--not OJ, but sugar.

I did, however, get mini tangerines that seemed very juicy at Trader JOe's tonight. When I drink my OJ, I just am not finding I feel energy from it. I mean, when I feel tired, I notice an immediate boost from OJ, like it makes me come to life. But as for the quality, I think it is not as good as squeezed, and I don't really like the unpasteurized from Trader Joe's that much. So I think I am going to try less, but squeeze the orange myself and see how that goes. It feels so much nicer going down and maybe that will make a difference then when I eat the eggs. For sure though, tomorrow, when I eat my egg, I am going to do plenty of sugar if I cook it, which I may try.

Got great cheese at Trader Joe's-the parmiagano reggiano--has just animal rennet and is pretty reasonable. It tastes really good to me; I started really wanting cheese today. I took my big dosage of niacinamide tonight. Quite a lot, but still am not sleepy, despite the amount supposedly being enough to cause a sedative-like sensation. Yet, nada.

I applied my vitamin e on my face directly tonight and my husband told me I smell like a fish! He wasn't too happy about it and made me promise not to do that again! I will put it behind my knees tomorrow.

 

[caroline]

I meant, re: sweet potato, that when I had it, (this was right before I stumbled on Peat)--autoimmune protocol, which felt like right direction but not sufficient. I had sweet potato and felt BAD. Not awful, but tired, heaviness, etc, and drained of energy. In a minor way, of course, but enough to not feel enlivened by it. Hopefully, it will work for you. I also had plantains, which seemed okay at the time, but the taste after a while made me sort of nauseous, like I never wanted to even look at them again.

I will keep you abreast on how my potato experiment goes; kind of fraidy-cat-ish to do it since I am still working on the egg thing; will see how egg goes and then if I feel brave, will try potato.

 

[caroline]

Oh, I am so blabby! I forgot--after reading a bit of Roddy, it reminded me about butter as also being a source of vitamin A along with the liver. I have been very much afflicted with weird flaking skin (no one can see it, but it is there) on my face, as well as scalp. He mentions this is a sign of vitamin A deficiency, along with Peat's quotes.

So, I figured, between the butter, liver, (we don't have any but are going to get some), and the egg yolks, I am hoping to shift this. My husband definitely noticed along with me, that my skin is improved--it is clearer, more "glossy" (if that is the right word), less ruddy, and overall texture has improved. However, flaking issue could still be even better. So perhaps with butter, liver, and egg yolk, I can get that taken care of.

 

[caroline]

Did full egg this morning--my soy free one. Cooked it in butter. I am not going to waste half of a perfectly good egg when they are like 7 bucks for a carton. Had my mini oranges. I keep trying to like the OJ but I think I would rather eat it in fruit form. I just chew it, digest the juice, and spit out the pulp Easier than squeezing, which I am too lazy to bother with. It feels much more energetically pleasing to me. So far, so good. No weird breath. Also had quite a bit of my parm/reggiano cheese. I love the taste of sheep's milk. I tried a bit in my egg and did not like it at all. I like my food plain. I just put salt in my milk/coffee, etc. but don't really care for it on my food. Ever since I stopped using spices, I don't miss them and just like all my food plain. I feel like egg is the missing link. I had some achiness today but not too bad, and I do feel good after eating the protein. Have read about night being better for fat/sugar, etc., but I am not sure what works best for me, if any. I think I will just keep eating what I feel like when I feel like it b/c I haven't noticed any difference eating protein more or less later or earlier. More so, the main issue is overeating the protein. I think even with gelatin, about 20-30 grams at most at once seems to be better. It's just that I am a bit impatient so I woud rather do more at once, but now that I am adding the egg as well as cheese, and drinking a bit more milk, it will be easier to get protein so I won't have to do so much supplemental gelatin.

Doing niacinamide still, 1500 at once this am, since it definitely seems to have the opposite effect of drowsiness on me, but probably will soon do no supplements except maybe magnesium.

 

[caroline]

Tried potato last night. Boiled and then fried in absolute piles and piles of coconut oil. I felt fine when I woke up but I did notice a tiny bit of stiffness in my hands. Also, I had cooked egg yesterday, so considering this as well, not too bad.

Today, I decided to compare and contrast, so despite my peevishness re: discarding egg white, I did just raw yolk, as it appears whites are even less digestible when raw. It does appear to be very easy to tolerate this way. I could probably do more eggs if I do it this way.

Also, the tangerine eating may not be great in the long run. figures. Whenever I do things that aren't recommended, (which I can't help myself--I always want to test things), seems I have a less than favorable reaction. Again, not a big deal as milk/coffee/etc. works great.

Also, we are eating liver again. I made a very small amount and divided up the total amount of liver we got into sliced portions, putting only what I would make today in the fridge last night, and the rest layers on wax paper for the next 3 days. I think less at once is more with the liver in that we will be more likely to use the nutrients properly. I do NOT like the calves liver, though it is the "best," and all; I would rather half beef liver; I like the taste better. Yes, I realize the younger version is healthier, etc., but I don't like it as much. I think the priority goes calves, beef, then chicken, as chicken is higher in iron, lower in other stuff from what I read. The calves liver gets puffy when it is cooked; I called and asked them about this; they asked their supplier, etc. It seems unappealing and weird; there was no explanation given for it, and when I asked the store, each person in the department said they had never heard of that.. Including the company. Duh. They thought it might be the membrane on it, etc. etc. Nope. They took it off, I took it off, etc. Each serving was still puffy. It's too poltergeist for me; so I told my husband not to get the calves liver again. Icky.

Still love my Haagen Daaz coffee ice cream. I wish there were other brands. I still am not clear on why "guar gum" is a problem, or if it's problematic like say on the level of carageenan (BAD) or like not that optimal. Oh well, I should probably not try ice cream with gums. Every time I do things "not" recommended, seems I don't fare too well. No supplements anymore but magnesium.