Turning the Corner on the Paleo Diet?

[Cort]

I've known I should try the Paleo diet for quite some time. It's pretty clear really; I've always craved sweets but they wipe me out. I always had to eat peanut butter with a power bars I have such a bad reaction to sweets...So I've known something is up for decades and my sweet intake relative to most people was pretty low...

But going very low carb? That would mean giving my mid afternoon energy bar/p-nut butter snack and most of all my late night cereal binge which helped me get to sleep.

I found that smothering vegies in some sort of fat helped but I learned that I really need protein on this diet or I get really spacey....That happened again and again.

Then I would walk up in the middle of the night and not be able to go back to sleep unless I ate something and sometimes eating something wouldn't help much.

That seems to be past and I do feel more stable, clearer, less twitchy and with a bit more energy. My craving for carbs is definitely down.

Hopefully that will continue to improve and in a couple of weeks I'll be cured!

I'm not following any particular diet by the way = just eating lots of vegies, avocado's, fat and meat...

Thanks Remy for your encouragement by the way. After one morning in which felt I was reduced to a blithering idiot I almost gave up...

 

[San Diego]

I’ve been doing similar for nearly 6 months. (And then I fell off the ice cream wagon with Ben and his friend Jerry, but that’s another story lol).

Anyway, I, too, seem to do better on a high fat, low carb diet. Cronometer really helped me sort it all out and stay on course during the learning curve.

I’m basically following Wahl’s paleo plus diet. After about a week, my enormous carb cravings were gone. It’s definitely helped many things, including my ever increasing anaphylaxis episodes, severe headaches, skin rashes, and abilities in the, ahem, restroom. I also notice that my brain and base of skull feel “cooler” - not to the touch, but on the inside. Yeah, that’s a hard one to describe!

Breakfast, similar to @Remy, is coffee with ghee and MCT oil. For lunch, I have a small portion of meat and Vitamix a concoction of varying greens and other low carb veggies, flax or chia seeds, varying algaes, and other such goodies. Needless to say, lunch is a gag-fest lol. Turns out my concoctions are pretty high in vitamin K, which was recently pegged as one of the potential metabolic issues in CFS. Who knows!

Dinner is another small portion of meat and lots of veggies. Dessert is varying berries. At all meals I include a cup of something warm with more MCT oil. My macro breakdown is around 65-70% fat, 15-20% carb, and 15-20% protein.

I’ve been able to routinely hit about 95% of nutrients and stay in ketosis with the above. It took about 4 months to notice improvements.

Hope this is helpful, or at least interesting rather than annoying. hehe Onward and upward!

 

[Cort]

I’ve been doing similar for nearly 6 months. (And then I fell off the ice cream wagon with Ben and his friend Jerry, but that’s another story lol).

Anyway, I, too, seem to do better on a high fat, low carb diet. Cronometer really helped me sort it all out and stay on course during the learning curve.

I’m basically following Wahl’s paleo plus diet. After about a week, my enormous carb cravings were gone. It’s definitely helped many things, including my ever increasing anaphylaxis episodes, severe headaches, skin rashes, and abilities in the, ahem, restroom. I also notice that my brain and base of skull feel “cooler” - not to the touch, but on the inside. Yeah, that’s a hard one to describe!

Breakfast, similar to @Remy, is coffee with ghee and MCT oil. For lunch, I have a small portion of meat and Vitamix a concoction of varying greens and other low carb veggies, flax or chia seeds, varying algaes, and other such goodies. Needless to say, lunch is a gag-fest lol. Turns out my concoctions are pretty high in vitamin K, which was recently pegged as one of the potential metabolic issues in CFS. Who knows!

Dinner is another small portion of meat and lots of veggies. Dessert is varying berries. At all meals I include a cup of something warm with more MCT oil. My macro breakdown is around 65-70% fat, 15-20% carb, and 15-20% protein.

I’ve been able to routinely hit about 95% of nutrients and stay in ketosis with the above. It took about 4 months to notice improvements.

Hope this is helpful, or at least interesting rather than annoying. hehe Onward and upward!

Very helpful...I am going to get cronometer. I'd like to start a study with it on Mendus.

 

[Rachel Riggs]

@Cort - fwiw, I am not able to adhere completely to a Paleo diet without getting low blood sugar issues - I need some of the right kind of carbs. Of course, too many carbs, or any simple carbs, produce the same effect. My point is - sometimes I think paleo is just a bit too low carb and our brains need some complex carbs such as legumes. I feel my best when they are a regular part of the rotation. And hummus is super easy to grab from the market, if you don't cook

 

[San Diego]

Very helpful...I am going to get cronometer. I'd like to start a study with it on Mendus.

*tip - use it on a computer, not a pad or phone. The apps are awfully weak!

 

[Issie]

I'm doing my own version. Had to go back to being mostly vegan. Trying to add meat back had my kidneys starting to crash again. I just can't handle animal protein or animal fats. But I have added coconut everything. Oil, MCT oil, milk, flakes etc. I also am doing no grains. Any kind of grain. All have gluten in them. Docs only test for one type gluten and there are so many more. I'm using low glycemic fruits and lots of veggies. I'm still having white potatoes occasionally. And I have to use some legumes and peas for my protein. Nuts are not enough.

After having done the no grain for two weeks I splurged on carrot cake. I paid all night for that one indulgence. Not worth the pain and misery. The doc I've been listening to says alot of our inflammation and pain is due to grains. After last night, I'd say he is right.

Issie

 

[Cort]

*tip - use it on a computer, not a pad or phone. The apps are awfully weak!

Will do - thanks. My smartphone is broken anyway (lol)

 

[Cort]

I'm doing my own version. Had to go back to being mostly vegan. Trying to add meat back had my kidneys starting to crash again. I just can't handle animal protein or animal fats. But I have added coconut everything. Oil, MCT oil, milk, flakes etc. I also am doing no grains. Any kind of grain. All have gluten in them. Docs only test for one type gluten and there are so many more. I'm using low glycemic fruits and lots of veggies. I'm still having white potatoes occasionally. And I have to use some legumes and peas for my protein. Nuts are not enough.

After having done the no grain for two weeks I splurged on carrot cake. I paid all night for that one indulgence. Not worth the pain and misery. The doc I've been listening to says alot of our inflammation and pain is due to grains. After last night, I'd say he is right.

Issie

That's great evidence! That will stick for awhile.

My carb cravings have really receded. Once it started happening it happened quickly.

 

[San Diego]

I'm doing my own version. Had to go back to being mostly vegan. Trying to add meat back had my kidneys starting to crash again. I just can't handle animal protein or animal fats. But I have added coconut everything. Oil, MCT oil, milk, flakes etc. I also am doing no grains. Any kind of grain. All have gluten in them. Docs only test for one type gluten and there are so many more. I'm using low glycemic fruits and lots of veggies. I'm still having white potatoes occasionally. And I have to use some legumes and peas for my protein. Nuts are not enough.

After having done the no grain for two weeks I splurged on carrot cake. I paid all night for that one indulgence. Not worth the pain and misery. The doc I've been listening to says alot of our inflammation and pain is due to grains. After last night, I'd say he is right.

Issie

I didn’t know you, too, had kidney issues. I’m not alone!

I’ve proven allergic to coconut. That took a big chunk out of my fats! They’re sooooo good. FYI my favorite brand of coconut milk was Chaokoh. It was rated highest by Cooks Illustrated and man, was it creamy and delicious. Other than that and meats, we seem to be on a similar path.

And I agree with you, I had a passionate night of pleasure with my former lovers Ben & Jerry, and man did I pay! I’d like to say it was worth it, but alas, it was not! No more ice cream for this girl.

 

[Issie]

I thought I had gotten allergic to coconut. Then I started reading labels. The coconut milk you buy in health stores has all kinds of stuff added to it. We looked at canned coconut milks then. My hubby compared all the labels to get highest fat. That was the Thai brand with full fat. We just add more distilled water and we have even better milk.

Yes, weak, poorly functioning kidneys. I have low renin and aldosterone and was in 3rd stage Chronic kidney disease. Going mostly vegan I reversed it. But have been having issues since trying to add meat and dairy back in. I just can't do it. I was also low fat. I didn't find that I was losing much weight and my brain function seemed worse. So, trying it he other way. See what happens.

Issie

 

[Cort]

I didn’t know you, too, had kidney issues. I’m not alone!

I’ve proven allergic to coconut. That took a big chunk out of my fats! They’re sooooo good. FYI my favorite brand of coconut milk was Chaokoh. It was rated highest by Cooks Illustrated and man, was it creamy and delicious. Other than that and meats, we seem to be on a similar path.

And I agree with you, I had a passionate night of pleasure with my former lovers Ben & Jerry, and man did I pay! I’d like to say it was worth it, but alas, it was not! No more ice cream for this girl.

Lessons learned! I don't do well with coconut oil either. We must be two peas in a pod.

I'm using good mayonnaises and salad dressings and chunking them over my vegies. I've also been putting avocado's to good use as well as humus.

What is the position on dairy? I'm going to keep intermittently using plain kefir.

I'm doing fine on the diet - still no desire for carbs - and feeling better. I like it!

 

[Issie]

Also consider the possibility of the coconut products causing a detox response. It is high in caprylic acid and can kill yeast.

Issie

 

[San Diego]

Lessons learned! I don't do well with coconut oil either. We must be too peas in a pod.

I'm using good mayonnaises and salad dressings and chunking them over my vegies. I've also been putting avocado's to good use as well as humus.

What is the position on dairy? I'm going to keep intermittently using plain kefir.

I'm doing fine on the diet - still no desire for carbs - and feeling better. I like it!

This is awesomeness. Better is always good.

The ketogenic diet has been one of the top things I’ve done. I’m now going to start slowing adding a few more starchy veggies and play around to find where my line is.

I didn’t think I had an issue with dairy. But since the Wahl’s diet eliminates it, I did too. I use almond milk and ghee. If you haven’t had ghee you are missing out. Also, brands matter! It’s basically butter, so the proteins have been removed, thus making it OK for many of us with dairy issues.

I eliminated all potential allergens for 6 weeks, then slowly added one at a time. Dairy, grains, and peanuts proved troublesome. Worthwhile exercise.

Then, months later i had some cream in coffee. Wow. It took about 3 days to feel better. Now I know. (Of course, that didn’t stop me from the now well-known "Great Ben & Jerry Incident of 2016”. Let’s just say I paid.)

 

[Seven]

But going very low carb?

You can do paleo without going too low in carbs. Try some roots and some other vegatables:
try Kabacha pumpkin: peel, Boil w salt to taste you can also roast, delicious as soups based.
Chayote: Will take the flavor of whatever you cook with it, great with meats and sauces.
Boiled green, yellow plantains, and boiled banana.
Yucca.
Look for Cuban, Latinamerican recipes. Is mostly all Paleo but not low in carbs at all.

 

[Tammy7]

Also consider the possibility of the coconut products causing a detox response. It is high in caprylic acid and can kill yeast.

Issie

Also...........anti-viral.

 

[Tammy7]

And I agree with you, I had a passionate night of pleasure with my former lovers Ben & Jerry, and man did I pay! I’d like to say it was worth it, but alas, it was not! No more ice cream for this girl.

Same thing happened to me...............my diet has been pretty good for a year now.........and for whatever reason I went on an ice cream binge. I got one of the worse infections in my reproductive area that I've had in years. It took a lot of work on my part to get it under control and it is finally going away.........but I felt like I was in labor for a couple of weeks. I've cheated a little here and there before...........but this time I over did it and payed big time.

 

[Seven]

Also consider the possibility of the coconut products causing a detox response.

Also coconut is high on Argenine so not good for Herpes or plp that struggle with shingles (I think the oil is ok, cant remember now, but for sure the mana and the milk are high).

 

[Cort]

Thanks - I will try ghee - always wanted to try it actually.

Don't know if I can get over peanut butter but I will try knocking it out.

Yes the Ben and Jerry Incident ...I really like Trader Joes soy mint and cherry ice cream. It is off the list for now but it is good!

This is awesomeness. Better is always good.

The ketogenic diet has been one of the top things I’ve done. I’m now going to start slowing adding a few more starchy veggies and play around to find where my line is.

I didn’t think I had an issue with dairy. But since the Wahl’s diet eliminates it, I did too. I use almond milk and ghee. If you haven’t had ghee you are missing out. Also, brands matter! It’s basically butter, so the proteins have been removed, thus making it OK for many of us with dairy issues.

I eliminated all potential allergens for 6 weeks, then slowly added one at a time. Dairy, grains, and peanuts proved troublesome. Worthwhile exercise.

Then, months later i had some cream in coffee. Wow. It took about 3 days to feel better. Now I know. (Of course, that didn’t stop me from the now well-known "Great Ben & Jerry Incident of 2016”. Let’s just say I paid.)[/QUOTE

 

[Cort]

You can do paleo without going too low in carbs. Try some roots and some other vegatables:
try Kabacha pumpkin: peel, Boil w salt to taste you can also roast, delicious as soups based.
Chayote: Will take the flavor of whatever you cook with it, great with meats and sauces.
Boiled green, yellow plantains, and boiled banana.
Yucca.
Look for Cuban, Latinamerican recipes. Is mostly all Paleo but not low in carbs at all.

You make Cuban/LA sound really good Seven

 

[San Diego]

Thanks - I will try ghee - always wanted to try it actually.

Don't know if I can get over peanut butter but I will try knocking it out.

Yes the Ben and Jerry Incident ...I really like Trader Joes soy mint and cherry ice cream. It is off the list for now but it is good!

Barney’s crunchy almond butter, straight out of the jar. Expensive but oh so worth it! Other brands don’t fill that peanut butter void nearly as well - texture is spot on with Barney's and it needs no stirring.

Trader Joes got to town about the time I got really sick, so I’ve never been in one! I hear I’m missing a lot.