Re: need help/feedback on no-grain diet

[Guest guest]

I have been on this no-grain, low-carb (but not ketosis) diet for three

weeks now. Have lost about five pounds. I have felt sluggish, tired and have

had diarrhea ever since going on this diet. Today I decided to have some 70%

chocolate and was my old self again. No energy crash -- back to my more

energetic self the rest of the day. Also had some melons.

I'm really confused. I don't know what the hell is going on and why i can't

feel good on this diet when everyone else says it makes them feel great. How

do low-carbers function???? Will it pass? I find i feel the worst the days

after I weight-train (i'm still mustering the energy to exercise, which

makes me feel better for a few hours). I also breastfeed a fair amount.

Someone mentioned candida die off and i'm wondering if that's a factor. If

you have the occasional sugar on a candida diet, do you undo everything? I'm

grateful for any info. My ND's response was to give me a B-vitamin shot,

which did nothing except give me a sore bum.

Elaine

[Guest guest]

I'd be very careful about making sure that you're still getting enough

calories everyday to sustain the extra demands of breastfeeding. I

think there was a recent thread that talked about women needing at

least an extra 500 calories a day on top of their maintainence levels.

To top it off you are increasing your caloric needs by exercising. So

if you havent been using software to track your food intake I'd start

ASAP so you can see how many calories you;re getting and what ratio of

fat to protein to carbs (maybe you're not getting as many carbs as you

think). If you want something free you can use the web based fitday:

www.fitday.com

Also, even though ketosis(fat burning) happens at around 20-30g of

carbs a day the body requires a minimum of 50g of carbs a day to

insure proper thyroid hormone function. The liver actually requires

these carbs in order to convert the inactive T4 thyroid hormone into

the active T3 thyroid hormone. T3 is considered the more

metabollically active of the two as the majority of organs and cells

in the body will utilize it to create energy and keep you functioning.

This is why a lot of the bodybuilders on the bodybuilding sites and

the Hypothyroid gals over at the About.com thyroid forum will follow a

low carb diet, but not go below 50g a day. They know that it screws

with your T3 production and thus your metabolism. This could be why

you are feeling so tired.

If you want to help your T3 conversion along add in 200mcg of selenium

a day in pill form or eat 2 brazil nuts or try my personal favorite:

liver powder! I would go for the liver powder(plus maybe 1 brazil

nut), esp. if you need the iron as it is loaded with all kinds of good

stuff besides the selenium and iron. The NOW foods brand is from

hormone free Argentine cattle and contains that unknown anti-fatigue

factor. I can mix 2 tablespoons in water and drink it down fairly

quick as opposed to eating the cooked stuff which has oodles more

Vitamin A, but less iron.

Have you had your ferritin tested recently?

You also probably need some kind of b-vitamins in addition to what's

in the liver so I would go for some raw egg yolks and raw milk for the

B6 and maybe some pumpkin seeds to make up the rest(dont know if these

can be sprouted though as i dont have a copy of NT).

Ok, now here's another possibility: if you are eating any coconut

products they might cause increased thyroid activity (as I'm sure

you;ve heard a million times here) which can lead to hyperthyroidism

which can cause diarrhea. There are countless stories of excess

coconut causing diarrhea in non-hypot people.

Now for the last suggestion. I just recently had a bout of non-stop

baaaaaad diarrhea that felt like lactose intolerance. This was about

5-6 days after quitting raw milk. On the milk I had no gut problems. I

am not lactose intolerant. I have also stopped all gluten. What I read

recently on a Google message board may explain why i am having gut

problems now however. It was stated that Acidophilus bacteria in our

guts needs either lactose or roughage to stay alive. Go 5 days without

lactose and it will die off. This coincides with my symptoms as the

only thing that i ate that had milk in it was what triggered my

episode. So if you've also cut out dairy this may have something to do

with your problem. I am going to try either probiotics and raw milk or

some homeade kefir.

Hope this helps!

~

> I have been on this no-grain, low-carb (but not ketosis) diet for three

> weeks now. Have lost about five pounds. I have felt sluggish, tired

and have

> had diarrhea ever since going on this diet. Today I decided to have

some 70%

> chocolate and was my old self again. No energy crash -- back to my more

> energetic self the rest of the day. Also had some melons.

>

> I'm really confused. I don't know what the hell is going on and why

i can't

> feel good on this diet when everyone else says it makes them feel

great. How

> do low-carbers function???? Will it pass? I find i feel the worst

the days

> after I weight-train (i'm still mustering the energy to exercise, which

> makes me feel better for a few hours). I also breastfeed a fair amount.

>

> Someone mentioned candida die off and i'm wondering if that's a

factor. If

> you have the occasional sugar on a candida diet, do you undo

everything? I'm

> grateful for any info. My ND's response was to give me a B-vitamin shot,

> which did nothing except give me a sore bum.

> Elaine

[Guest guest]

>I'm really confused. I don't know what the hell is going on and why i can't

>feel good on this diet when everyone else says it makes them feel great. How

>do low-carbers function???? Will it pass? I find i feel the worst the days

>after I weight-train (i'm still mustering the energy to exercise, which

>makes me feel better for a few hours). I also breastfeed a fair amount.

Are you using coconut oil? On a low-carb diet, the MCT in coconut

oil will replace the functionality of the carbs, which really helps

in the energy dept (esp. for workouts).

Plus, if you are working out AND breastfeeding, make sure you

are eating enough! I think ditching grains can be very healthy, but

I'd eat plenty of other carbs (fruits, and potatoes and carrots, tho

those aren't allowed by Mercola I think). And plenty of meat! You

NEED food right now ... keep track of what you are eating, and eat

enough that you feel good but the weight comes off SLOWLY.

One thing too ... if you lose weight quickly, the toxins in your

fat will go into your milk. You don't want that! Aim for very slow

weight loss. Chances are if you just don't eat sugar or grains,

you'll lose weight without making other changes, since you are

exercising and breastfeeding.

-- Heidi Jean