Grounded

 Last week I purchased an earthing pad from earthing.com to check out it out. I have been slipping it under my feet when I work on the computer as this helps protect me for the EMF's associated with laptops and other online devices. I also keep it on the foot rest of recliner to ground me while I am watching TV or reading a book. I use it at night (the best way to ground without changing too much in your life) at the foot of my bed. If my digestion seemed slow I would lie on the couch and lay the pad on my bare tummy and feel things start to gurgle and move or one my back to relieve my chronic back pain. And do you know what I can feel a difference now in my over all health in just one little week.

The best difference I have noted is waking up after sleeping with my feet on it at night and feeling really rested and relaxed, like I really slept well and deep and had many many more dreams than usual. I have more stamina so I can go through my days now feeling good all the way until bedtime. I am calmer too and feel less irritable. It actually makes mr more grounded through out the day. I handle stress better with a laugh and a smile. The feeling I get form sleeping with my new earthing pad reminds of when I was a kid and would wake up feel like I had slept so deep that I wanted to stay there forever. Bliss. (sigh)

They (earthing.com) say that getting grounded to the earth actually males you blood move quicker and not clump up like tomato paste. I felt this phenomenon the first fews days I began grounding myself. I was light headed, a bit spicy and felt like sleeping a lot. So as my schedule allowed it I slept much of the first and second day on the couch and let that sleepy feeling fill me up. Soon that stopped and I kept sleeping well at night but I was awake during the day with a clearer head and feeling ready for the day something that has not been true for me for several years now.

So hooray for earthing and getting grounded again to the earth. Earthing.com has many products that allow you to ground yourself in many ways, but there are also a few novel ideas on youtube that intrigued me too.

grounding your kitchen floor
making your own grounding sheet 1 and 2
healed via going barefoot the cheapest way to ground yourself

and then there are some great you tubes explaining how all this works

Dr. Mercola interviews Clint Oberg the author of the book entitled Earthing
Dr James Oshmen on Earthing on Grounding
Dr. Mercola interviews Dr. Sinatra co author of the book Earthing
earthing and how to do it

Now for a walk barefoot outside in the cool wet grass or in the sand by the sea. :)

A Fun New Discovery...Healing Is Energy!!!

"The Key to making chronic disease better is making a single cell work. If you give the body the things a single needs to work, the body often has the power to heal all the cells of the body. " Dr. Tennannt

I have been having fun learning just what a cell needs to work and how that can improve my health by reading Dr. Tennannt's book Healing is Voltage, watching his you tube's, and reading the great wealth of knowledge on his website. Dr. Tennant's solution is quite simple and can be summed up in this list of things a cell needs.

1. Water: The body is about 75% water. It needs clean water that is charged, alkaline water to be healthy. Drinking cleaned water via a reverse osmosis system takes out the voltage in the water thus making the water acidic which in essence steals valuable voltage or electrons from your body. Acidic is low voltage synonymous with the term electron stealer. Alkaline water that is charge with electrons on the other hand recharges your body giving it the electrons or voyage each cells needs to work. It is energy.

I have been investigating water purification systems that clean, remineralize and then alkaline the water and these two look like good options.

Under the sink 14 stage system by Radiant life
Counter top 7 stage system by Synergy.us

2. Fat: Every cell membrane in the body is made up of two layers of fats called phospholipids. These fats are designed to receive nutrients for the cell and must be made from saturated fats like butter and coconut and palm oil. Partially hydrogenated oils like canola and corn oils create an inflexible membrane or layer that will not allow nutrients into the cells. They starve the cell of the very nutrients it needs instead of being flexible and able to absorb nutrients like the saturated fats butter and coconut and palm oil. Dr. Tennannt says we should be giving our cells 5 lbs of good fat a week.

Get Your Fats Straight by Sarah Pope a WAPF chapter leader in Florida has written a great book on what are healthy fats.

I am not yet able to digest all the healthy fats or the proteins so I am following Dr. Tennannt's advice regarding stomach acid found here.

3. Proteins: Every cell in the body contains "machinery" made up of proteins, that do the work of the cells.

Grass fed, wild caught meats are best

4. Carbohydrates: Needed primarily to provide vitamins and minerals.

"There are very few products that provide all or even most of the raw materials to make new cells and sustain existing ones. The problem is we need ALL of them AT THE SAME TIME for things to work."

There is a product Dr. Tennannt recommends that will do that however and that is FrequenSea by Forever Green. There is a wonderful you tube here telling all about it.

5. Voltage: Voltage is stored in the cell membrane of every cell to give the energy to work. There are a couple of ways to know if your body voltage is low:

• Use the bio-mudulator on the main acupuncture meridians as explained in the Tennannt you tubes Part 2 episodes 1-5.
• Take your temperature first thing in the morning before you get out of bed. If you are below 97.5 F your thyroid is not functioning up to par. As the thyroid is in charge of supplying energy to your cells it is a god indicator of your voltage.

If your voltage is low or you have pain (pain indicates low voltage) you can use these methods to improve your voltage over all or in specific areas.

• Use the bio-modulator as shown in Dr. Tennannt's you-tubes on how to use the biomodulator episodes 1-15.
• Apply thyroid therapy as described by Dr. Rind here, or talk with your doctor.
• Use any of the earthing products found here. For a great you tube movie on earthing check out Grounded by a National Geographic film a maker in Alaska about his discovery of how earthing works.
• Drink alkaline water

For myself, I'll be looking into getting a system to make alkaline water, an 8 month supply of frequenSea, and some earthing products as I get my stomach acid in shape for some good proteins and fats. He recommends doing a no grain, no sugar diet and some juicing to give the body the best chance to heal. Dr. Tennannt says that it takes 8 months to renew all the cells in your body so I am look for an 8 month or longer window where I can apply all these helpful things at the same time and see what outcome I'll get.

Whoa! Not Enough Stomach Acid

I thought I had considered everything when I began addressing the issue with my low adrenals a few weeks ago but I missed something so I am slowing down and starting again more slowly. I discovered my low stomach acid needs to be fixed before I go on to other experiments with my adrenals and thyroid.

I figured this out when I tried adding the supplements for adrenal support to my existing supplement regime and developed bloating, gas, pain in my stomach, acid reflux, no appetite, which was really that my belly was so full of supplements there wasn't room for any food.

I learned in my Heal the Gut class this winter that I needed to supplement with HCL I suspected this was true for me because of the following symptoms: (the one that pertain to myself are starred)*

Belching or gas within one hour after eating* 
heartburn or acid reflux* 
bloating within one hour after eating*
a vegan diet* (I do eat organ meats, and sea food)
bad breath*
loss of taste for meat 
sweat has a strong odor* 
stomach upset by taking vitamins*
sense of excess fullness after meals feel*
like skipping breakfast *
feel better if you don’t eat *
sleepy after meals *
fingernails chip, peel or break easily *
anemia unresponsive to iron *
stomach pains or cramps 
diarrhea (chronic) 
diarrhea shortly after meals 
black or tarry colored stools 
undigested food in stool... 

To further test my need for HCL I followed this test:

Self-Test Instructions 

1.    Begin by taking one 350 to 750 mg capsule of betaine HCl with a protein-containing meal. A normal response in a healthy person would be discomfort – basically, heartburn (or a warming sensation in the stomach). If you do not feel a burning sensation, at the next protein-containing meal, take two capsules. 
2.    If there are no reactions, after two days increase the number of capsules with each meal to two capsules. 3.... 

Read More at divinehealthfromtheinsideout.com/2012/03/should-you-be-supplementing-with-hydrochloric-acid/ © Divine Health

My test began ok, initially the HCl I was taking settled well but after a week or so as I increased my dose to 4 capsules a meal I began to get a very painful belly so I dropped back to three capsules a meal and still my stomach ached and felt like fire. I went back to two capsules a meal but I was still very uncomfortable so I stopped taking the HCl altogether to give my stomach a chance to settle down. Still I was having trouble digesting so I stopped ALL my daily supplements except the PCA spray for mercury chelation. Though the first trial did not go well, now that my stomach is feeling better I plan to switch to the HCL Betaine she recommended and try again advancing to a higher dose more slowly, like one capsule for a week, then if all is ok try two capsules etc. Once I find how many capsules I can take without any reaction I'll know if I need to daily supplement with HCL or not.  So, a normal person would feel discomfort with one 350 to 750 mg capsule of betaine HCl anything more than that indicates my HCL is low and I need to supplement. Ideally it would be great to never need the supplement with HCL ever. That is the goal.

I was also low in zinc. I found this out by doing this test:

Zinc Test- 
To start this test you should not have had anything to eat or drink (except water within 30 minutes). Swish with 1 TBS. liquid zinc around in your mouth for up to 30 seconds and note the second you taste something other than water. Write down whether it tastes like one of the following descriptions; 

-Strong unpleasant taste =EXCELLENT
-definite taste that gets stronger but is noted immediately= FAIR
-no immediate taste but slightly minerally, dry or furry = POOR
-no specific taste after 30 seconds= DEFICIENT
-sweet taste after 30 seconds = EXTREMELY DEFICIENT

Since zinc helps to build HCL it would be a good thing to get a gauge on whether you are deficient or not. Supplement with a few bottle of liquid zinc while working to rebuild your stomach acid. the liquid is more readily absorbed - since zinc is only pulled out of your food/supplements with adequate HCL this method is a good approach to help bypass digestion while working to rebuild the stomach acid. After supplemental zinc for a brief period retry the test to see if your status improves. 

I do not recommend supplementing with zinc over 50 mg. per day without adding in 1-2 mg. of copper. As with any mineral, it's best if you are supplementing for any length of time to consider working with a practitioner to make sure you keep all the minerals in balance. 

During the hiatus from my experiment I did some reading on Dr Tennannt's site and discovered this about stomach acid:

"The human body should never absorb proteins---only amino acids.  The way the system is supposed to work is that stomach acid breaks proteins into amino acids.  The amino acids go downstream, are absorbed, and the body makes its own proteins.

When you don't have stomach acid, whole proteins get absorbed.  The immune system recognizes that it didn't make those proteins and assumes they are viruses.  It makes antibodies to these food proteins.  Soon you are allergic to the foods you most commonly eat.  You have a "mini-flu" after every meal as your body attacks your food and thus you feel tired about 30 minutes after you eat.

The system tries to isolate these proteins and often stores them in fat---thus you gain weight.

The antibodies make your blood sticky.  This increases your risk of blood clots and makes it hard for the blood to pick up and deliver oxygen.  As your body oxygen levels drop, your metabolism gets worse and anaerobic microorganisms begin to grow.

This process often starts with GERD (gastro-esophageal reflux disease).  When you don't make enough stomach acid, you develop gas as your stomach tries to digest your food.  These gas bubbles are surrounded by stomach acid.  The bubbles float up into your esophagus and you belch.  You taste stomach acid and your esophagus burns.  Thus you think you have too much stomach acid when the real problem is that you have too little.

Your stomach feels better when you take antacids and/or drugs that shut down your stomach acid.  However, this insures that you will develop chronic disease!  You will become allergic to your protiens.  In addition, the body cannot absorb zinc without stomach acid.  Without zinc, you cannot make neurochemicals like serotonin, so you become depressed.  Zinc is also necessary for over 360 known biochemical reactions including proper prostate function.

Stomach acid is your "front door".  It is intended to help kill infectious things like bacteria, fungus and parasites.  Without it, they have an open invitation to invade your body.  It is like removing the front door to your home so anyone that wants to can enter your home and do whatever mischief they wish.

These problems begin when you can't make enough stomach acid.  Making stomach acid requires iodine, zinc, and vitamin B1 as well as water, salt, and CO2.  Almost everyone is deficient in iodine and about 80% of the population is deficient in zinc.  Many are deficient in the B vitamins.  Thus we have another reason for so many to be depressed and tired from reacting to their foods and obese as well.

***The solution is to correct your stomach's ability to make stomach acid by correcting these deficiencies.  This usually takes 3-4 months.  During that time, you must take a pill that acts like stomach acid.  It is called Betaine it is available at health food stores.  You should eat a few bites of food before you take it so it won't aggravate your stomach.  Take it with each meal until you have time to correct your iodine, B1 and zinc levels."

So in addition to being low in HCL, and Zinc I wonder if I am also low in Iodine? I suspect so based upon our water having fluoride, having symptoms of hypothyroidism, and other things that I will begin supplementing and look into getting it tested to be sure. In Dr. David Brownstein's book Iodine: Why you need it and why you can't live without it he gives some good guidelines for taking Iodine and testing for it.

This is now my new focus, the stomach acid. Once the stomach acid is functioning properly then I will be able to disgust the supplements needed to help the adrenals. So my new daily dosages are as follows:

Wake up:

Iodine (two drops)

PCA spray (8 sprays)

Zinc (1 cap)

B1 (1 tab)

Meals:

Betaine (HCl)/meal
Vit C 1 cap/meal

Bedtime

Iodine (two drops)

PCA spray (8 sprays)

Zinc (1 cap)

B1 (1 tab)

Once I have adjusted to the Iodine, zinc and B1 I'll add back in the supplements for the gallbladder and then see about adding in the rest. 

Onto the Adrenals

My eat to heat experiment is still ongoing, and so is my care of the gallstone but for the next few months I am paying more attention to my adrenals. I have continued to eat what my body asks for paying attention to the four S's that I wrote about in my post rest and refeed. The Fours S's are: salt, sugar, starch and saturated fats. I am also seeking out practical ways to rest and get a good 10-11 hours of sleep each night. I have not been keeping track of my weight as I have gained it because I simply do not want that data to interfere with the real over arching goal of getting healthy, or more specifically getting my metabolic rate back up to normal.

Following the metabolism and not my appearance has been stretching but I am confident that it will lead me to a better healthy end then trying to get thin. Thin is not the measure of good health. Thin may not be the outcome, but I am ok with that as long as I have energy and good health. Matt Stone whom I have been reading these past few months often references a Dr. from the 1970's named Broda Barnes as the source of his inspiration to look to the metabolism for health. As Broda Barnes had such an influence on Matt's research I decided to read his book Hypothyroidism: The Unsuspected illness. The thyroid is a key element in the metabolic rate. So I have the book by my bed and plan to read through it this spring, along with Mark Starr's book Hypothyroidism Type 2 the Epidemic.

While I am reading I am also conducting another experiment using Dr Rind's metabolic therapy protocols. You see I have been eating to heat up my metabolism and have no change in my temperatures. I am also traveling so my stress levels can not abate, so I emailed Matt and his advice was to try the thyroid glandular and see what happens.

Upon reading Dr Rind's site which is very easy to follow and understand, I discovered a great tool for assessing whether the thyroid issue is thyroid only or a combination of adrenal failure and thyroid disfunction, it's called the metabolic score card. I highlighted the things that I could say I had issues with on the score card it was quite clear I needed some adrenal support before beginning the thyroid glandular. In my post here, I talked about Daniel Forsynth realizing in his application of thyroid glandular that the adrenals must come first, The adrenals are like the engine of a car and the thyroid like the gas pedal, If you rev up the gas and your engine is struggling you could blow out the engine or in my case the adrenals. So while I read more about the thyroid from Broda Barnes and Dr. Starr I will be supporting my adrenal using Dr Rind's adrenal therapy protocol.

My strategy for supporting the adrenals

1. Get rest. I aim for 10-11 hours of good sleep at night, I keep a salt and sugar mixture by my bed incase I wake at 2-4 when the adrenals peak and need some help going back to sleep. I also am mindful of keeping all my electronic equipment out of my bedroom. So no electric clock by my bed, I use my hand watch with a light instead. I used to keep my lap to and my kindle on a table near my bed and I still do but I careful to keep the wifi off and they sit at least 6 feet away from my head. All this is to keep my sleep time free of EMF's.

2. Exercise carefully. I workout only once a week at the gym doing static contraction workouts and do some slow walking during the week.

3. Continue to eat to heat, but I am careful not to over eat but simply to get what my body wants when it wants it.

4. Supplement with the following recommended by Dr Rind: Cell Energy, Adrenal Cortex, Pro-Line, Ester-C, Digestive enzymes, hydrolyzed collagen/amino acids, and magnesium.

The plan is to begin support of the adrenals for three or four weeks then add in the thyroid glandular. I will keep up the adrenal support for another three to four months and then drop off the adrenal support supplements but keep on with the thyroid for a while or indefinitely as my body needs it.

Gall Stones and the Metabolism/thyroid Connection

When I first discovered I had a gall stone in 2011, I was told by my doctor that women over 40 who have had multiple births often get them. The more I scoured the internet to discover if there were other contributing factors the more this was confirmed. But what is it about being female, being over forty and having had multiple children that puts us at higher risk? I don't have a conclusive answer but some things just keeping adding up and I wonder just how much the state of our metabolic health has to do with it.

Women over 40 and have multiple births often diet to lose unwanted weight.

Dieting; in the traditional method of eating less and exercising more Matt Stone says in Solving the Paleo Equation tends to lower not raise the metabolism. As I understand it, if metabolism lowers then thyroid function also lowers and the thyroid is part of the hormone triangle the keeps everything in balance. Once the balance it upset gall stones often form in the gall bladder.

"From my observations, the scenario is pretty straightforward. Stress lowers metabolism, and as metabolism gets progressively lower, stress hormones get progressively higher. We’re not talking small increases: Peaks in adrenaline can be thirty to forty times higher when metabolism is being suppressed through overzealous exercise, dieting, work stress, sleep loss, and other primary stressors."

Many of the stresses Matt mentions are common in woman over 40, here are a few more...the births themselves are a big source of stress on our bodies, demands of raising children, and accumulated toxic exposure from environmental sources like chemicals in food, EMF's, and cosmetics. Note what Matt has to say about EMF's (electromagnetic fields) from cell phones, Wifi, electronic equipment and Cell phone Towers. We have one on the roof of our apartment building three stories above us. not far enough away according to experts 500 feet minimum distance is needed to ensure safety form the electromagnetic field. Luckily for us we have plans already in place to move house to a place where there are no cell phone antennas on the roof.

"So what are these EMFs actually doing to our bodies to potentially cause so many different health issues? Here are the major processes discovered in the research: 

Creating interference in normal electrical communication between cells. This could disrupt cellular function anywhere and everywhere within the body, negatively impacting sleep, hormone production, brain function, immune function, and healing (regenerative) functions. 

Reducing melatonin production. This neurohormone and antioxidant is critical to sleep and protecting cells from genetic damage. 

Creating a state of chronic inflammation in the body, including causing the release of proinflammatory substances like histamines and cytokines as part of a protective mechanism. 

Overstimulating the immune system initially, then suppressing it over the long term. 

Raising cortisol and adrenaline levels, affecting sleep, immunity (and therefore autoimmunity), cardiovascular function, premature aging, and more. 

Locking cell membranes into an inactive state, preventing the release of toxins and free radicals. This may lead to DNA damage and a reduced ability to heal, both thought to be early steps on the road to development of cancer. Causing calcium ion efflux from the cells. This may be linked to neurological degeneration, cancer, heart arrhythmias, and more. 

Elevating blood sugar and blood viscosity (that is, making thicker blood), both of which increase risk of cardiovascular disease."

Combine the stress load with less food due to dieting and the factors for gall stones increase yet again. If stress rises during our 40's then our metabolism lowers. A lower metabolism looks like hypothyroidism which can lead to many issues of ill health one being the development of gall stones. Is the answer to a gall stone present in the gall bladder to simply remove the gall bladder or is there a better approach that will set our entire body back into better overall health and prevent further gall stones?

There must be.

Women who are over 40 naturally have a lower metabolic rate or thyroid issues.

The problem becomes even more compounded for women over 40 as our bodies naturally begin to slow down and our metabolism drops.

"While we cannot avoid at least some drop in metabolism as we age, at the very least we can minimize the rate at which it declines.   Unfortunately, many accelerate this process with various restricted diets, weight loss attempts, excessive endurance exercise, and many other flawed approaches that slow down the resting metabolism."

So my hope is that getting my metabolism/thyroid working up to par once again will shift the imbalance of hormones, relieve my body of stress (move house) and allow things to function much better in the future. Some say that when this is achieved then the body will resolve the gall stone that does exist and the body will be no longer produce more gall stones in the liver or the gall bladder.

Eat to Heat Update

Soporific is the word that comes to mind when I think about the last few weeks eating foods that heat up my metabolism. I often have this drowsy, contented feeling and I am toasty warm all over even in my hands and feet.

"It is said that the effect of eating too much lettuce is "soporific."

I have never felt sleepy after eating lettuces; but then I am not a rabbit.

They certainly had a very soporific effect upon the Flopsy Bunnies!"

I believe it is a good sign to feel soporific it means my my body is heating up.

To explain better how things are going I'll take you through the metabolism check list I complied from Matt's Books, Elizabeth's book and stuff I have been reading elsewhere. There are many little things that go on in the body which can or may be effected when the metabolism heats up but these are basic ones that are guiding me along.

TEMPERATURE 

Above you can see the temperature graph I have been keeping. I began eat to heat just before that big dip where I dropped down to 97.2 F and it took four days to get back up to 98.0 F . The dip was due to a workout I did not the foods I was eating to get my metabolism up. The other dip could have been a temp taking mistake, as I felt the same and who knows why I dropped so low.

"Your waking oral/rectal/vaginal/ear/forehead temperature should be at least 98 degrees F/36.7 C every day--higher temps are even better."

My average waking temperature is around 97.8 F low on most scales. Ideally I should at 98.6 and never go below 98.0. So no improvement here.

"Your body temperature should rise even higher after meals and during the day, to temperatures at or above 99F/37.2 C."

My temp does rise after meals to around 98.0 F so my food is heating me up a bit, but just a bit not enough yet. I even have found my temps are lower through out the day my lowest temps often being in the afternoon around 3PM. This is when I try to eat foods denser in calories and less liquids, but it often back fired in the beginning because I bloated after the morning, and lunch time meals and had no room in which to add in more food. Currently I am not bloating up and so I can eat my favorite afternoon food homemade coconut milk ice cream. 

"While the thermometer is a useful tool, and indeed doing things with your diet and lifestyle that make your temperature rise usually make you feel and function better, it is but a tool. At the end of it all, who cares about a number on a thermometer? I certainly don't. The real objective with all of this is to get our bodies working their best."

BODY HEAT

"Your hands and feet should feel warm most of the time at normal room temperature."

Hoasty Toasty warm after the first few days of eating for heat, my feet no longer need socks and my hands are always warm. Before this I was always wearing socks all day and to bed t night.

"You should experience a feeling of radiating plentiful body heat in general--dressing lighter and feeling as warm or warmer than those around you." 

This I am! I hardly need an extra jacket when in the house and when I feel the cold winter air on me when I am outside it feels cold but does not penetrate and make me shiver through to the bone like it used to. I can feel as if I radiate heat from the inside out.

SKIN, HAIR AND NAIL GROWTH

"You should have fast-growing hair (head and body) and fingernails, with good shine to the hair and hardness to the nails."

My nails feel stronger and less flakey but I have not noticed if my hair is growing faster or not as I have long hair and rarely get it cut. I have noticed that my hair is less dry and it looks and feels shinier, thicker and healthier.

"Your skin should be soft, smooth and dewy. You should have balanced oil production, with few blemishes, or mostly small ones. Your skin should be thick, elastic, and bounces back and you should have an even skin tone with little redness."

My skin is definitely softer, moister and more even toned. I hardly ever have blemishes but I have noticed that my skin is less oily.

DIGESTION AND WASTE ELIMINATION

"You should have at least one, hopefully more, large bowel movements per day that do not require straining or the use of laxatives, magnesium or vitamin C overdosing, or other bowel-moving crutches--and also experience few other digestive troubles such as IBS, stomach bloating after meals, excessive gas production, heartburn..."

I began with these symptoms: gas, bloating, taking magnesium to loosen my bowels, and my BM's were not regular in that I would often skip a day not having had one oft and on. I stopped taking magnesium and began to eat for heat and at first things got worse, I was bloated more, and had running BM's and some heart burn oft and on, but after a bit things started to settle and now I have BM;s regularly and easily, not bloating which incidentally makes me feel thinner and my clothes fit better, and no heart burn and less gas.

"You should urinate roughly once every four hours during the day and NONE at night, always with a consistent yellow color to it (no clear or pale urinations or strong sudden urges).  Likewise, you should be able to down a glass of water without having to rush to the bathroom with crystal clear urine."

Yippppe Yahoo on this one, I have had for two years or so inconstancy which has completely resolved since I started eating for heat. No more "I have to get to the bathroom NOW!" trips just to tinkle a shot glass of liquid that was perfectly clear. I used to think the clear part was good but the have to go now was a pain as you can imagine.

"High stress hormones divert blood flow away from your digestive system and also shut down your immune system, which can lead to poor digestion and bacterial imbalances."

About a week into the eat for heat where I had a few days where I was not at all bloated and my digestive track felt like someone had unclogged a pipe, everything just started to work. I had several BM's and I ate food like there was no tomorrow. In one day I ate four regular meals, and lots of snacks in between and at 9PM I was till hungry and had to go to bed hungry as I was so tired of chewing and eating. I woke early the next day and felt like I my tanks were all filled up for the first time in a long time. I have not binged like that again, but I continue to have that filled up feeling.

"As you heal your metabolism, you can typically handle a wider variety of foods, but in the beginning it may help to reduce potentially irritating foods. Instead, focus on foods that provide nutrients and energy in an easy to digest form."

I am still unable to eat meats, dairy, eggs and animal fats. I am however reintroducing white processed sugar into some snacks where they work better than the whole sugars so the snacks are tastier. I have been a low carb eater for over 7 years always attempting to make things more complex to keep my reactive hypoglycemia in check. I have been eating lots of simple carbs those past few weeks and though I have had some head aches, which cleared up soon and foggy brain which continues but the overall effect has been increased energy, and the wonderful soporific effect and the ability to sleep through the night.

SLEEP

"You should be able to sleep through the night at least eight hours solid with no wake ups."

Before eating for heat I was taking melatonin each night to get to sleep. I would sleep well until about 2-4AM then be awake never dreaming or sleeping deeply until 6AM when I usually got up if I did not get up in the middle of the night to get some work done. So I have stopped taking melatonin, I sleep through until 4am usually and can easily fall back to sleep and get in a few more dreams before I awake again at 6Am or 7AM. I am getting 10-11 hours of good rest now each night and upon waking I feel so much better rested and able to handle another day. Yiippppeee!

"The Flopsy Bunnies simply stuffed lettuces. By degrees, one after another, they were overcome  with slumber, and lay down in the mown grass."

MONTHLY CYCLE

"If you are a female you should have a timely menstrual cycle with normal flow and very few if any symptoms of PMS, cramping, bloating, and other common complications. "

Before eat to heat I had a regular 28 day cycle with a little mood swing, well maybe a big mood swing ask my husband and my three sons, but now I have missed a cycle so this is still unresolved.

SEX

"If you are a male you should have very full erections and good sex drive. Females should also feel pretty frisky and have good vaginal lubrication with strong sexual urges, particularly around the time of ovulation"

Sorry this is none of your business. :)

ENERGY AND MOOD

"Extreme moods and energy levels on either end of the spectrum are signs of a stressed metabolism. Ideally your energy levels should be consistent through out the day, similarly mood swings should be reasonable. Sad things make you sad but they do not make you depressed and irritating things might get on your nerves but they do not leave you raging mad."

This is where the soporific effect really has helped me. I am more docile, and the irritating things seem to bounce off rather than like and arrow penetrate into my heart and make me raging mad. I am calm, I enjoy my loud boys more and my life feels good all around. I am more happy and content. My energy is also steady and the lull I used to have in the afternoon has evened out. 

From my last post Decisions to Eat for Heat or No? here is what Matt says in Diet Recover 2 to expect when you start out, I have underlined all the things that I did experience:

“As you start out, remember that you are challenging your metabolism, your glucose metabolism, your digestion, and more. This does not feel good!!! Headaches, skin breakouts, brain fog, severe drowsiness after meals, out-of-control hunger – particularly if you are coming off of a low-carb diet, heartburn and other digestive glitches – these are all normal in the first week or two. But just when you think you are poisoning yourself with all this food something pretty cool happens. You start to notice improvements in how your body handles everything. Instead of running from all these problem foods and big, heavy meals you experience your body rising to the challenge, making use of the tools you’ve given it, and functioning much, much better. "

I am feeling better overall....so I am going to continue follow my metabolism and see where it leads me.

Quotes from Matt's Books
Quotes from Elizabeth's Book

Decisions... To Eat for Heat or No?

I know I need to do something about my low metabolic rate/hypothyroidism, it could be a great help to my health over all. It could be why I wake up at 3am every morning and never get back to sleep. And why I am always tired, have no energy, or stamina. It could be why when I exercise I get sick, or need extra rest, like four to five days, the first two mostly in bed from exhaustion, and needing lots more food constantly until the energy comes back. It could be why I have thick skin, and extra weight around my middle. Why my digestion is slow. Why I have constipation. Perhaps raising my metabolic rate could give my adrenal glands a break and allow my thyroid to work normally, that would effect a multitude of things not to mention my gallstone. gallstones are said to be caused by an imbalance in the hormones, low thyroid does that. It could be taxing my immune system which could explain why I have become sensitive to meat, dairy, eggs and animal fats. 

I need to do something so I have been reading Matt's books and I get the idea now. I spent the morning hunting around the web reading stories of people who have implemented his ideas. On the most part it has made a good improvement long term for those who did eat for heat, but one thing stands out that I just don't like.....to start out with it will make me fat and healthy, not thin and healthy.

I am already 40 lbs. overweight and I already feel uncomfortable with that extra weight, why would I want to add more weight to that? Would I have any clothes to wear if I did this?

"When your temperature is below normal, consider yourself primed for some fat gain.   From the time temperature is low until the time it reaches the ideal, you are much more likely to gain fat.   But it’s not all so simple and cut and dry as to think that you will just blimp up doing this.   There’s a lot more going on underneath the surface."

But it's not all bad....

"So, at the start you’ll gain weight quickly, then it will slow, and then it will stop altogether.   You might only gain weight for two weeks.   You might gain weight for several months – maybe 15 pounds the first month, 10 pounds the second, 5 pounds in the third, and then finally none by the fourth month.   I recommend just getting the weight gaining part over with.   Gaining fat is horrifying.   When you stop gaining weight, it’s quite a relief and you can focus more on completing your recovery.   I call the point of reaching zero fat gain eating enormous quantities of even the most palatable and “fattening” food as becoming “fat-proof.”   Fat-proofing yourself is a very important first step. It’s also really important to take this process to completion.   At first you gain weight around the abdomen, but then you fill out in the rest of your body – adding more subcutaneous fat, which is generally believed to be highly protective and actually healthy.   Meanwhile, more and more of your weight gain consists of restored organ mass, bone mass, muscle mass, and glycogen storage.   In other words, the LAST 10 pounds you may gain during recovery are the most important pounds.   Those pounds restore you to full capacity and also improve how your body looks aesthetically."

But there is another option, I could always try Armour (desiccated thyroid gland) it would be good for the thyroid giving it a blue print with which to rebuild, and best of all it wouldn't add extra pounds I don't want.  I wouldn't have to tweak my diet and think about food all the time it could be easy. It would however cost more money in the end, unless that is I have to buy new clothes to drape over my newly enlarged body.

Seems like an easy decision for the Armour, but I am unable to buy it for about 4-5 months so perhaps I should just go for the Matt Stone get fat to get healthy approach. I have four or so months to play around with it.  I can always take the weight off later once my metabolism is normal again. I can do both, one first and then the other. I think I'll do that, I think I'll give Matt's eat for heat ideas a try then see about the Armour.

"Remember, the objective isn’t to find the safe foods that keep you from having digestive problems.   Take that route and you’ll eventually whittle your diet down to practically nothing.   Rather, the objective is to improve your digestive abilities, and allow your digestive tract to adjust to eating pretty much anything and everything."

HOW I PLAN TO EAT FOR HEAT

LIQUIDS

• Drink only when thirsty.
• Never drink just water, add salt and or sugar. Season to taste.

FOOD

• Eat when I am hungry no matter when that is.
• Eat what my body is craving and try not to think about eating to raise metabolism.
• Listen to my body.
• Eat foods that warm up the metabolism when My body craves them.
• Stick with my Nourishing Traditions and food allergy fence, so only whole foods prepared in the NT way. 
• Warming foods I can eat:  rice milk, hemp milk, coconut milk yoghurt, coconut milk ice cream, coconut milk in sauces and dosas, coconut milk sour cream salted with herbs, hot coconut milk, coconut milk rice pudding, coconut palm sugar, all natural sugars like honey, rapadura and dates syrup, dates, chocolate, white chocolate, sea food in coconut oil like fried shrimp, or fish in peanut sauce, brown and white rice, grains all kinds soaked and or sprouted, corn, popcorn, polenta, grits, oats, quinoa, amaranth, dry cereal, sea salt, dried fruits, potatoes, gelatin, dried fruit of any kind, vegan desserts, sorbets, salted macadamia nuts, hummus, legumes, very sweet fruits like bananas, papaya, mango, pineapple, any fruit that has been cooked in coconut oil and sugar added, yams, and sweet potatoes.
• Cooling foods: raw and cooked vegetables, juices, liquids.
• Foods to avoid because the suppress the thyroid: all nuts except macadamia nuts, kale, cabbage, cauliflower all the crucifers when uncooked, seeds, vegetable oils, soy milk.
• Eat balanced meals of salty/sweet, warm/cool, carbs/protein/fats.

"When you go from being in a highly-stressed, underfed state to a de-stressed, overfed state, the adrenal glands pretty much go on vacation.   You know how you feel after a big Thanksgiving feast?   Your eyelids feel like they weigh a thousand pounds.   You feel warm and cozy and tingly all over.   All you want to do is pass out into a coma-like slumber.   There’s a good chance that you will spend a lot of time in this semi-comatose state for many weeks.   Maybe even a whole month.   If you are recovering from something really severe – like a major eating disorder, this phase can last much longer.   Like a whole frickin’ year.   Don’t beat yourself up for feeling utterly unproductive or freak out and think there’s something wrong because you’re not your former upbeat, energetic self.   Spend some time in this state and welcome it openly.   It’s a healing place to be."

LIFE

• Work out gently and only when fully recovered form the last work out, and keep to my habit of not sitting for long periods of time and walking when I can.
• Sleep when I need it.
• Get to bed early so I can sleep longer.
• Sleep through the night, use the salt and coconut sugar mix during the 2-3 am times to get back to sleep.
• Let extra stresses go, meaning letting go of some projects I want to continue so I can manage easily the have to's in my life like cooking and teaching school.
• Sit in the winter sun when possible.
• Let go of reaching a high metabolism.
• Relax with where I am now and enjoy the days as I heal.
• Listen to my body.
• Consider God's faithfulness and kindness to me.

RECORD KEEPING

• Take my temperature 2 or 3 times during the day at 9AM, noon or 3 PM, plot on the graph.
• Take my blood pressure and pulse once a day
• Record any interesting symptoms or changes
• Make mental notes about bio feedback: cold hands and feet, feeling warm all over, urine color and frequency of having to go, hows the eczema on my face, hows my hair, sleep patterns, am I waking at 2-4AM and getting back to sleep, Am i not waking at all between 2-4AM, am I sleeping soundly and dreaming, is my mood good? How is my energy.

So I'm off to eat to heat but to really get the most out of this plan I need to let the goal go as well. I have made adjustments to see if that raises my temperatures and helps my thyroid but listening to my body is my main objective.

Matt lists some things in Diet Recovery 2 that I can happen to my person as I begin to eat more of the foods that increase metabolism and to sleep more and get more rest:

“As you start out, remember that you are challenging your metabolism, your glucose metabolism, your digestion, and more. This does not feel good!!! Headaches, skin breakouts, brain fog, severe drowsiness after meals, out-of-control hunger – particularly if you are coming off of a low-carb diet, heartburn and other digestive glitches – these are all normal in the first week or two. But just when you think you are poisoning yourself with all this food something pretty cool happens. You start to notice improvements in how your body handles everything. Instead of running from all these problem foods and big, heavy meals you experience your body rising to the challenge, making use of the tools you’ve given it, and functioning much, much better. "

"So be prepared to be challenged and have to muster up some resilience and persistence. This is not all fun and games. It’s like trying to get back in shape after years of couch surfing. You get tired. You get sore. You ache. But it makes you stronger. You’ll see.”

Yes, we'll see. :)

NOTE: all quote from Diet Recovery 2 by Matt Stone