Physical Check-In

I made it! I made it through the whole weekend staying under carbs and calories! I’m so proud of myself. Even though we ate out all day today, I still made it through. The deli where I wanted a pork roll sandwich apparently makes pork roll omelettes, so I was able to get my pork roll egg n cheese without the carbs of a Kaiser roll. I had a small sundae at friendly’s, then one slice of pizza for dinner. It all worked out! I hope I actually lose weight this week.

WOW! FANTASTIC!!!

I seriously don’t think I could eat out on the weekend and stay on track.

Awesome job !!!

BIrd dancer- safe travels...remember that they want to stay in the air!
wild coyote-I think our livers are very forgiving.

If damage has not been done then I have heard that the liver can heal itself.
wildflower-Great that you stayed the course this weekend!!!!!!

saturday lunch chicken and sausage gumbo(no potato salad,nor rice nor bread) with a bowl of cabbage and some remulaude dressing. dinner:Bacon wrapped chicken thigh and 2 servings of brocolli.
Sunday; brunch Scrambled eggs with sausage and onions and peppers and cheese and a side of brocolli..dinner; store bought Meatloaf, It had onions, celery parsley. 2 small dark squares of chocolate. I am guessing 6 ounces.

thru out the morning Drank 4 cups of coffee with half and half creamer and sweetened with stevia, vanilla cream. Chewed gum to give my mouth something to do.
Eating like this is impossible to count anything so I don't. I just know what to avoid.

34 alcohol free days
10 pounds gone in those 5 weeks.
bizi

I’m going to chime in on the whole psych meds or meds in general causing other problems for instance this “fatty liver” ( I swear WC you and I are twins lol )

I think as Bird Dancer has said many times we CANT blame our meds for All The weight we gain ( it’s hard to always walk away from chocolate cake and mashed potatoes)

But... psych meds are a really big problem because many meds literally have you feeling starved 24/7, on a few I could eat a big meal and it been carb heavy comfort food but an hour later I’m legit wondering what I can eat next. That was mainly Zyprexa and Seroquel XR so I had to stop those.

Invega was weight neutral for me , I was thrilled I was able to lose the weight rather easy by that change. Then 8 months or so on it I started to drool , like crazy unable to control, start drooling in public. Which cause a condition called Chelitis on my lips and surrounding skin so I had to get off it.

So hopped on to Latuda ... which I didn’t have the constant hunger like I had with Zyprexa and Seroquel. But looking back I was showing a steady gain.. even watched my diet and exercising as much as I was physically able too. My blood work over that time period showed a steady increase in cholesterol and triglycerides ( I have been on atorvastatin for about 5 years , my blood sugar was still within normal limits but on the high end.

Insert here : while in Florida approx 2 years ago now I had to get a liver ultrasound for my Rheumatologist and it was found that I have “ fatty liver”

Recently as you all know I had a repeat ultrasound and it showed Fatty liver” stable from previous ultrasound

After seeing all my labs and realizing the weight differences over time it was clear I have metabolic syndrome.

So I felt I had to go extreme and cut our meds psych and the physical ones , my body needed a break. This was in April of this year.

Would my recent ultrasound been worse had I stayed on psych meds ?? I don’t know for sure.

I was doing well not with a “ diet” but just eating cleaner and avoiding carbs and was losing at very slow rate but hey at least my clothes were getting looser.. Then the August Florida trip was looming and my husband got so sick so fast he was in the hospital. 6 days later he gets out and I remember that day, I had barely eaten anything while he was in the hospital. But brought him home and made a pizza and baked a cake ( he loves them both) well then we are in Florida , it’s extremely hard for us to stay on a sensible diet, we scrap money to make the trips, we are living in a hotel room , it’s impossible to eat healthy on the super cheap, dollar menu is what it is. ( yuck) It’s sad that a burger is 2 bucks but a salad is 6 !

Anyway I come home and Boom can’t breathe and all those steroid shots and weeks on oral steroids they make me incredibly hungry , starving like. So I have been eating my emotions for months now.

As far as healing /reversing damage for a fatty liver , it’s more high protein little to get best results no carbs , very limited sugars, even natural sugar in fruits has to be watched carefully and of course exercise.

I’m a car with 4 flat tires as far as exercise right now because of my junky lungs.

I do plan to start Keto after our trip to Florida, why not now? Well Keto will be impossible to follow while gone and I don’t need to yo-yo.

So I need to really overhaul my lifestyle, I’m not able to exercise like I need to now, lungs, but in general the days of me hitting the gym 6 days a week died over 10 years ago because of Fibro and now PsA added on.

I know I have rambled on forever. But I think I did so to show just how many things can effect our health in different ways and it’s not always as simple as “ lose weight and exercise”

My husband will likely lose twice as much as me in half the time because he does not have metabolic syndrome.

It’s incredibly stressful when we struggle to balance out mental health and physical health when they both cause the other upset.

There I’ll shut up now

@~Christina

I hope My posting did not upset you.
I am sorry, I really don't know anything about a fatty liver.
Keto diets are high in fat....I don't understand that...how can that be good for a fatty liver?
When are you going to florida?
((((((HUGS))))))
bizi

I gained 12 lbs in 2 weeks of being on Prednisone (aka the devil's drug). I felt so bloated and gross but after returning to work (very physical job) and drinking a ton of water I've lost 8 of those pounds in just a few days!!

Your doing fantastic !!

Oh no no no you said nothing wrong (((Bizi)))

Keto is very low ( virtually none) carb high fat diet that by drastically cutting out carbs replacing it with fat it puts your metabolic system into ketosis in that state you are constantly burning fat off.

Also for fatty liver it’s about dropping glucose levels. So sugars gotta go.

So yes it sounds counterproductive to have a fatty liver and then go on a Keto diet

For me it will kick my metabolic syndrome in the azzz and at least get it moving it’s totally stationary right now.

It’s not something that I will stay on forever as high protein is hard on the kidneys.

I can’t weight myself as numbers trigger me badly I just go by how my clothes are fitting once I drop far enough down I will slowly ease in some minimal carbs and decrease proteins to a more balanced level. Veggies I love I never get tired of them.

I think we leave on the 22nd ? I should probably find out for sure lol

Your doing great choosing foods !! Lots of variety , I think that’s where a lot of people myself included runs into trouble, many times I just get stuck eating same 10-12 meals ,, get totally burnt out and dive face first into a giant bowl of pasta.

Ohhhhh prednisone weight is awful

I’m glad you are back at work! I’m assuming your lungs are treating you a lot better

My Two Cents
RE: Discussion of Keto Diet and fat

I did a very strict keto diet two years ago. I'd followed the guidelines exactly. This particular version was written by a doctor specializing in M.S., autoimmune conditions and in optimizing mitochondrial functioning. People tend to think if we use a coconut fat or a coconut sourced fat, it's healthy. This doctor insisted the fat come from canned unsweetened canned coconut milk. My lipids/cholesterol level went sky high! It took very close to starvation to get into ketosis, as measured by keto-stix. Staying in ketosis was quite difficult. in time, it is possible to get into a state where one burns fat while sleeping.

Theoretically, one will burn fat with the keto diet. Could be true if one actually reaches a state of ketosis. In truth, one must reach ketosis to lose any weight on any/all diets/lifestyles.

While I was burning visceral fat, I was loading my arteries with excess fats/cholesterol. Please correct me if i am wrong, but this has to have an effect upon the liver.?

My PC doctor ordered labs while I was on the Keto Diet. Both he and my Rheumatologist went beserk! Both offices had called me to tell me my labs were seriously poor.

I will note here that some Paleo protocols use a fat called MCT Oil, which was almost impossible to find 15 years ago, and is now readily available at Walmart and other stores .

Over the past several days, I have been in a lot of pain/discomfort. I have been rather mindlessly been saying/writing about starting a Paleo/Keto lifestyle. I did not mean to say "keto "diet.. The super high fat keto does not meet my health needs...

I think the jury is still out on whether or not the super high fat recommended in most keto protocols is harmful . It's really a personal choice. as to how one wishes to lose weight.

I had found, and this is just my own experience, the high fat in the keto diet creates unhealthy states. in me.

I have, in the past, lost just as much weight without clogging my arteries. I have, in the past, lost just as much weight by going Paleo and maybe adding in some intermittent fasting if/when I hit a plateau.

Just my two cents on my Keto Diet experiences. :

I'll muddy the waters further here because well, science...

Some recent studies have shown that the keto diet has been successful in supporting patients with schizophrenia.

The Mediterranean diet has been shown to be helpful for those suffering with depression. I haven't seen studies on the Paleo diet as it relates to mental health, but I imagine the Paleo diet would also assist depression for similar reasons. I couldn't find any Paleo mental health studies, there is quite a bit of conjecture about it.
Six Reasons to Go Paleo for Mental Health | Psychology Today

All three diets are potentially high in omega 3s depending on the proteins you select. That seems to be helpful regardless and omega 3s also help to reduce inflamation within the body. This reduction is good for your physical health and your mental health. This is why so many of us are on fish oil.
Https://paleoleap.com/brain-on-paleo/

All three diets are low in sugar and processed foods. In my opinion this is the number one source of benefit to these diets. Sugar and processed foods cause inflammation and mood swings. They are also much more difficult to process. Removing them gives the body a much needed break. This helps the kidneys, the liver, the heart the brain, the digestive system and I am sure it assists in other ways. Oh yeah, healthier skin

Paleo and Mediterranean diets can be executed in such a way that they cause ketosis, so you can do Paleo keto or Mediterranean keto. A Mediterranean keto friendly diet would drop the whole grains and still allow for some dairy while the Paleo elimiates dairy altogether.
5 Things Paleo Eaters Should Know About the Mediterranean Diet

I also found several studies that showed probiotics assist fatty liver disease. The sources used in this study came from controlled probiotics, but there is a lot of information showing fermented foods help as well.
Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Study of a Multispecies Probiotic Mixture in Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease | Scientific Reports
Fermented foods are powerful helpers. They are already broken down to an extent, so it is less work on the body to process them. Additionally they contain tons of helpful probiotics. Bonus! They also assist in the reduction of inflammation.

Just some extra food for thought. Enjoy!

Thank you fern!
Following this low carb diet has my plumbing stopped up.
I already take 4 magnesium oxide capsules....I used to go daily on 3 but since starting the NAC amio acids I have had to go up to 4 and now that is not working.
sigh
I think I will have to get some mag citrate in the bottle.
sigh
bizi

That's the worst. I'm sorry Bizi! Keep the fermented foods in mind as well. They assist in that department. They help break everything down easier and support a healthy gut flora. So maybe some sauerkraut with the sausages

Thank you! that is a great idea.
bizi

Ok ALL this information is fantastic !!!

My mind is spinning right now I’m thinking my meals should be ice cubes and tossed air LOL

There’s so many factors to consider when figuring out how to find the best way to lose weight when you factor in so many variables , we all have different ones of course

How was weight gained?
Emotional eating ?
Med causing extreme hunger?
Metabolic syndrome?
My chronic overall body inflammation
My physical limitations ?
My battle with anorexia throughout my life that can also cause long term damage to metabolism
My fatty liver
PsA that’s a chronic inflammation
Fibromyalgia doesn’t allow for deep restorative sleep, with out good sleep the body stays in fight or flight mode which keeps inflammation up.

My daughter went vegetarian 7-8 years ago ?? She does really well. She’s also very lazy most of the time , she will throw a can of beans and say green pepper and a apple in her backpack for lunch. She literally opens the can drains and rinses well and eats straight from the can, cuts the pepper in half and munches away. She is very consistent about getting enough protein, lots of tofu. I have tried it prepared many ways ..I just can’t. I asked how do you do it ? She said I don’t like that shyt at all but I need the protein lol

She truly eats to live , not live to eat. I get that mindset when I have fallen into the hell of anorexia, 3 years ago I was eating a 1/4 of a chicken breast twice a week and given 2 weeks to improve food intake and lab work or it was going to be a feeding tube.

So I have to be very careful with restricting regardless of what food choices I made , anorexia likes to jump out and cause chaos.

Just in the past week I have decided all breakfast food I hate, I no longer will eat eggs I’m not sure if I can eat cheese. Cantaloupe ? The smell makes me gag. Apples have a weird consistency . I want nothing to do with bread, walking down the bread aisle I gave up , the smell overwhelmed me. Oh boy just typing this bit.. yes this is how my anorexia starts. I just knock out whole food groups to start with. Yeah I need to try and take a big step back and consider things very carefully.

Yes I need to really consider all my options.

Great info here Thanks everyone

Hey Bizi, Many people have great luck with magnesium citrate in the pill form, just fyi.

When eating low carb, it helps to use fiber . I use citrucel, as i am sensitive to psyllium, etc. no calories. Citrucel also comes in tabs, which is great when you are working all day or on vacation/traveling.

Fiber
Lots of water.
Healthy oils! include fish oil!
Exercise. Even a walk.

docusate sodium (stool softener), if needed.

It is A LOT of information to take in. Having all of the details is important, but we have to keep in mind the big picture vision. The goal is overall better health and then you can break that down 8 ways to Sunday if you want. My analytical brain tends to get lost in the details, but I am also a strategist so that helps me to refocus.

For me, it helps if I focus on iterative change. I take things on in small bites. I implement something, allow myself to adjust to the change and then I move on to the next thing. I work in a few quick hit changes that add value while also notching away at longer term goals a tiny bit at a time. That way, I'm constantly improving. Also, only investing a bit at a time makes it easier to shift gears if you start down a path and realize it isn't adding the value that you thought it was. I make small commitments to myself that I can follow through on and remind myself that I will get to more eventually.

You don't need to nail any of this on the first try. People often feel like they have to solve for everything at once and then they fail because it is overwhelming and most plans do not address everything. Strategically speaking you can create a much more fruitful value chain by identifying your priorities and then selecting a few things to begin the process of change. From there, you just keep checking in, realigning with your goals and keep the overall forward momentum going even though you might take a step for two back along the way.

Also, I like to keep the 80/20 rule in mind. Imagine you listed out all of the things you need to shift in order to be healthier. In business there is a theory that holds that 80% of the benefits are found by transforming 20% of your opportunities. So essentially they are saying it is best to focus on the few things that have the most impact on your life and put the others to the side for the moment. In my experience I find that once I address that 20%, the other 80 kinda falls away and newer more relevant opportunities present themselves.

Christina, this isn't aimed at you, but your thoughts about this being so much information and knowing the issues you fave are multifaceted and have various root causes kick started my thoughts on this.

Yes for me it all needs to be planned out at least to begin with for me. but I might have to do some “ cherry picking” Hmmm might be the key for me ? the OCD and anorexia part of me is an all or nothing switch normally as I can see it easily play out over my life.... the first time I truly was restricting food I was 9

My not falling into anorexia Hell will likely become the focal point because I know I can drop weight quickly that way. This is a time when I wish I was still able to afford to see Richard weekly.

Much to think about , I’m not sleeping so I have plenty of time LOL

Edit to add.... the way I grocery shop for the entire month at once and mentally plan out every single meal so virtually no food is wasted is telling about my ocd bits.

Thanks for the research and the sharing of info and experiences. Much appreciated!

I should add: My experience with the keto diet was using just one version of it. It was on the "medical" (serious) level and supervised by a physician/reseracher.
Even so, there are different versons of the Keto lifestyle.

It may help to recall that the keto diet was first used for the treatment of epilpesy. (Oh No! I could go on about Oliver Sacks, M.D. and the potential relationship between: epilepsy, migraine and BP.. I won't..)

Please know you can add fiber if you cannot get enough veggies.
There is a list of things which help:
Fiber
water
oils (healthy)
exercise

If needed: magnesium citrate (caps/pills/liquid), docusate sodium (stool softener) Some people need MIralax: others find it too stimulating.

If more antioxidants are needed,and you have a fruit/veggie restricted diet, you may add antioxidants via supplementation. A diet this restricted should probably be time-limited.

I think the mediterranean diet is likely the most healthy, with oils and antioxidants, enzymes, fiber and expansive energies.. I have not been able to lose weight on it, however. I might be able to make some adjustments and make it work.

I like the Paleo diet, as well. I have been able to lose weight with this diet.

Yet, I feel the veggies and fruits have more expansive energies, which is much more appealing to me than an overloaded diet of foods with contracted energies.
What to do,? Time wil tell!
Thanks, everyone!

Cherry picking yes, but with a good strategy in mind. So look for the things that occur the most often and affect you the most and would create the most value jf you changed them. You get rolling on those few things in solid ways that you know will add value. That way you instantly start reaping benefits. Meanwhile you flesh out the rest of then plan. Break that plan down into little pieces and then prioritize them. From there you have a plan and an order of attack. You can shift the pieces around as life happens or priorities shift.

It has room for OCD, but it fosters agility.

Saw the cardiologist yesterday and my ECG is back to normal. She thinks that the ECG showing the prolonged QTC interval was a one-off so no changes to my psych meds for now. Yay!

She wants me to eat a ‘whole food’ diet - a Mediterranean diet with nothing processed. Basically meat and veg. This feels doable.
I can’t do the true ‘keto’ thing because of my kidneys (protein too high) and heart (fat too high). In addition my endocrinologist wants me to avoid carbs. So I guess like Christina I’m going to be drinking water and eating tossed air!

I forgot to add that I’m not confident that I’ll lose weight. I already eat healthy and not a lot.

I weigh 159 and I’m 5’4 so not huge but I’m having some health problems. My doctor wants me to see a neurologist but I’m worried about that. I feel like if I can just lose 34 pounds my mental health will be better and so will my physical health. I feel like my symptoms are due to me being unhappy about my weight even though everyone is telling me I have something legit physical going on.

I am so relieved that your EKG is showing back to normal !!!! It’s good you didn’t have to go through the hell of a Med change during the holidays especially.

Thank you ! I’m glad I won’t have to dine alone