Round 2: From addiction to recovery

[PaleoPhil]

...I had just come back from work where I had spent about 6 straight hours doing nothing but fiddling around on the computer researching random things to optimize my health. I didn't really take a break the whole time and couldn't really pull myself away to do any real work. There's always a kid who needs special attention at the school but at the same time there are enough teachers to handle the problems without me. I'm not a necessity I suppose but I could make a big difference if I so choose. For whatever reason, I decided not to help and keep my nose squarely in front of the computer screen. I see this no differently than a drug. ...

Losing your job would add to the stress in your life, so if you can't limit yourself at work once you get on it, then I recommend forcing yourself not to access the Internet during the workday for anything not work-related. If they allow you to add software to the PC, then you might want to check whether there's a program for the browser it uses that will allow you to block yourself from using certain websites during selected hours or at all.

[Paleo Donk]

Well, yeah it would be pretty terrible losing this job, though I don't think its really possible. My aunt runs/owns the school I'm working and I'm living with her. I will try and force myself to work with the students. I actually like working with them, its just that I'm having a bit of trouble asserting myself. I don't want to seem like I am trying to undermine the teacher's game plan. But, this again is mainly my fear of failure coming out. I'm sure the teachers will see my enthusiasm to help as just that. Even if they do feel threatened thats their feelings that I cannot be held responsible for. Lots of days I'll step into a classroom looking for help but can't muster up the strength to step up to offer help unless they specifically ask me. When they don't ask for my help I simply leave the class and go to a room with computers and drug myself surfing - I escape and isolate.


I had an interesting thought about why carbs might be important for those of us that don't eat freshly killed meat. Carnivores are generally the fastest, most explosive animals on earth and must rely on fast twitch muscle fiber and are fueled (I believe) by intramuscular glycogen for these intense anaerobic bursts. Glycogen is a glucose polymer and a carb so, somehow the body of these carnivores must assimilate it from their diet. Now, the meat that carnivores eat is mostly fresh and I think fresh meat has a good amount of glycogen in it. Human muscle is about 1.5% glycogen. Eating fresh meat would probably be able to supply all the glycogen their bodies would ever need.

Since glycogen can be used anaerobically it is possible that the cells of the dead animal will continue to use it as a fuel until it is all used up. This might be the reason why there is no measureable carb content in the meat that we normally eat (according to the USDA nutrient database). I have no clue as to how the glycogen content would continue to deplete over the time that the animal is dead and I doubt there is any research on this topic. Liver also contains a bunch of glycogen(about 300g in humans) and weights 1.5 kg so around 20% of it is glycogen. Beef liver carb content is only 4% so either cows have less glycogen naturally or lots of it gets used up after the animal is dead.

Whatever the case is it seems like carnivores have at least more than a negligible carb intake and for those that are eating just beef and water it might be beneficial to add in some carbs either from plants or from liver or egg yolks, especially if they are doing intense physical activity. I wonder how atheletes would perform on a diet of fresh meat and organs as opposed to one with aged glyogen-depleted meat.

[PaleoPhil]

I guess re: your job you could ask your Aunt how you could help.

Re: liver, I was thinking along the same lines in trying to puzzle out (mainly for entertainment purposes, as I enjoy puzzling out things) why carnivores and even traditional human hunters tend to eat the liver right on the spot after a kill and frequently first thing. Liver is indeed highest in carbs of all parts of the animal, I believe, and it has been reported here that the glycogen depletes rapidly.

On the other hand, the !Kung cook their kudu liver. Would that also deplete the glycogen? If intense anaerobic bursts is the purpose of the glycogen, why do wolves tend to drink water and take it easy after a kill, instead of running around, fighting, playing, etc. (or am I wrong on that)? Does the glycogen store really well and not deplete in their tissues after they've eaten it? Do wolves somehow know, whether instinctively or through training, not to use up their glycogen until they need it for a hunt?

Could there be another reason for eating liver preferentially and quickly after a kill? Liver is also high in micronutrients, such as A and D3. Do those deplete rapidly after a kill?

[Paleo Donk]

I guess re: your job you could ask your Aunt how you could help.

Yea, this would also work well. About to start a new week and will attempt to be more proactive

Re: liver, I was thinking along the same lines in trying to puzzle out (mainly for entertainment purposes, as I enjoy puzzling out things) why carnivores and even traditional human hunters tend to eat the liver right on the spot after a kill and frequently first thing. Liver is indeed highest in carbs of all parts of the animal, I believe, and it has been reported here that the glycogen depletes rapidly.

Ha, I love this. You made a post similar to mine with more questions than statements. I never feel like I can get enough answers. Thanks for asking all the questions, I really get a lot out of others inquiries. I’m going to take some wild guesses on your questions as clearly and always I’m far from even a novice.

On the other hand, the !Kung cook their kudu liver. Would that also deplete the glycogen?

My guess is that cooking would ‘kill’ the cells and thus preserve the remaining glycogen in the meat but at the same time make it harder on the body to process it much like cooked fats and proteins.

If intense anaerobic bursts is the purpose of the glycogen, why do wolves tend to drink water and take it easy after a kill, instead of running around, fighting, playing, etc. (or am I wrong on that)?

Well, eating glycogen is not going to all of a sudden give you an energy rush, that’s what refined carbs are for. The glycogen has to be deposited in the muscle first and I doubt this mechanism is the same as how insulin works with glucose. I would assume after a kill it would be necessary to rest and relax and let the digestive system work. Basically, it doesn’t give you energy immediately, only on demand during a short intense burst for a hunt.

 

Does the glycogen store really well and not deplete in their tissues after they've eaten it? Do wolves somehow know, whether instinctively or through training, not to use up their glycogen until they need it for a hunt?

Glycogen levels should remain stable (or deplete slowly) throughout the day even if they are casually moving around following prey. I would guess they use a combination of fat and glycogen for their non-hunting activity, probably mostly fat and then switch to using mainly glycogen for that small amount of time necessary to kill their prey.

Humans have enough free ATP in the muscles during intense activity to last 2-3 seconds and then additional creatine phosphate to last for another 3-4 seconds and then its when glycogen slowly takes over as the predominate energy source and its then that glycogen becomes a big factor. I have searched around quite a bit for this stuff because I was very worried when I went zc that I would not have the necessary glycogen in the muscles to play the sports that I wanted to play.

Could there be another reason for eating liver preferentially and quickly after a kill? Liver is also high in micronutrients, such as A and D3. Do those deplete rapidly after a kill?

I don’t know whether vitamins would deplete rapidly, but eating the liver first is something worth looking into. Maybe its just the fact that the liver is the most valuable so why let your mates get it first when it would be more beneficial to you to eat it.

I found a little overview of glycogen depletion here- http://meat.tamu.edu/conversion.html Coincidentally, I went to undergrad at A&M, Whoop!

In dying muscle, lactic acid accumulates and lowers pH.

Within 24 hours after death

(1) glycogen -------> lactic acid

(2) muscle pH: 7.0 -------> 5.6 (because of lactic acid)

(3) muscle color: purple changes to bright red or pink (pH 7.0 -------> 5.6)

More on glycogen depletion while alive

Glycogen concentration goes down.

Factors involved in this: exhaustion, exposure to cold, excitement, sex (bullock), sudden feed withdrawal, sickness, show steer.

Solution: Proper handling and prevention of stress best way to reduce incidence.

Anywhere where “fight or flight” kicks in glycogen is going to be used.
They list glycogen at  a normal death to be 1% of meat and 24 hours later at .1%


Ups...made a mistake. Liver glycogen in average human is only about 100g, making it 7% glycogen not 20. Average amount of glycogen in human muscle tissue is 350g.

[Paleo Donk]

I've finally started eating lots of fat, mainly bone marrow so far as its so easy to eat and tastes rather good. The amount of muscle meat I've eaten in the last 5 days is significantly less as it should have been in the past. I still can't believe I was fooling myself thinking I was getting enough fat before. I'm loosely tracking calorie and macronutrient intake and ideally would like to keep more exact notes but I keep getting lazy but have had at least 150g of marrow in the last 4 days.

I've also started to consume lots of egg yolk and just bought ten dozen eggs today from the local farm. I'm tinkering with DHA intake and egg yolks seem to be much easier to get at than brains. Fish could work too but egg yolk feels like it would work much better.

Fatigue still hits me as well as considerable brain fog but overall am probably a bit better than I was when I first started. I'm still battling my ego and my self-depricating thoughts and addiction to useless searching. Still avoiding priorities and the couple projects I have lined up which all adds to my anxiety.

Right now I'm happy and can't tell if I'm hungry. I drank maybe 15-20 ounces of kefir around lunch time. Do I have to eat everyday? I've searched around to find the nutritional content of kefir and am getting different results. One site says that only a fourth of the lactose is eaten up during fermentation. I was hoping nearly all of it would be used up, if it were to ferment for several days not just the normal one or two that is traditionally done. I've decided to leave the kefir out of the fridge and let it ferment some more. There are small grains still in it, so it should still be able to ferment on its own.

I think raw milk is giving me trouble and I feel a bit bloated soon after I drink some. I just tossed about a liter today after trying it again. The kefir hasn't given me any problems so far, so I think I'll keep it for now.

Just recieved Vegetarian Myth and Black Swan, both of which I can't wait to tear into.

[yon yonson]

Just recieved Vegetarian Myth and Black Swan, both of which I can't wait to tear into.

tell me how you like The Vegetarian Myth. i haven't read it yet, but im a big fan of lierre kieth. you might  also want to check out stuff by derrick jensen if you like kieth's point of view. i highly recommend Endgame and What We Leave Behind

[Paleo Donk]

tell me how you like The Vegetarian Myth. i haven't read it yet, but im a big fan of lierre kieth. you might  also want to check out stuff by derrick jensen if you like kieth's point of view. i highly recommend Endgame and What We Leave Behind

Thanks for the suggestions. I looked up both these books and from the reviews they do look like they would fit well with my current trending on what the world is becoming.

I had a rather simple thought related to the devise of mankind and similarly to any intelligent being. It was inspired by a bit in Cosmos, by Carl Sagan. We already have the capability to blow ourselves up and luckily have not done this so far. But in the future, it seems inevitable that eventually a single person will have the capability to build a destructive device large enough to wipe out our entire civilization. Once we reach this stage, it will only take one person to flip the switch and its all over.

If we look back through history of time, a single crazed individual a hundred thousand years ago could probably only kill a few people. Once primitive weapons were invented this number increased quite a bit. If we jump forward in time to when we invented guns this number increased exponentially again. The same happened when we developed large explosives and again with nuclear weapons. Fortunately, nuclear weaponry is out of the reach of most everyone so the risk is minimal but I don't think its completely unfathomable that an individual or a small group of people could create enough nuclear weapons to end us. I really believe it is inevitable that a mass destruction device will be easily built by a single human, somewhat how today you can look up how to make home made bombs online. Once this happens its all over and this could be pretty soon. It seems like every single intelligent society would end this way. If we create a graph plotting the killing power of man over time we will see that the curve is exponential and if we extrapolate (which is an assumption) the line we could be reaching doomsday pretty soon. If we plot the actual data we will see that the largest war ever was WWII at 50 million dead and the number killed during conflict has exponentially increased over time as well. If we follow the extrapolated line again we are in trouble. Even if we do diverge from the extrapolated death-line we should eventually reach a time where one individual can wipe out everything.

Maybe thats how our universe started. Someone destroyed a previous universe with a flip of a switch that left no trace of its previous existence.

[PaleoPhil]

... in the future, it seems inevitable that eventually a single person will have the capability to build a destructive device large enough to wipe out our entire civilization. Once we reach this stage, it will only take one person to flip the switch and its all over.
...

Yes, it seems inevitable.

[Paleo Donk]

Yesterday was one of my better days yet - I had good energy most of the day and connected well with the students and found myself feel like I was 'present' and words flowed out of my mouth at some points. I still got lost in a few sentences and wasn't as creative as I'd like to be but actually eating fat seems to be  working. I've kept track of my caloric intake the last three days

day---- F---P---C----TC
3/5     238  93   47    2760
3/4     145  80   9     1650
3/3     170  90  25     2000


So, I'm getting over 70% of my cals from fat and eating much lower protein than normal. Yesterday I felt nice and full after my first meal at 5 p.m. when I munched down 130g of fat at once. (I'm assuming that back fat is 70% fat, 30% water/protein - This might be a mistake since human fat tissue is 80% fat but when lex renders fat he gets 60-70% of what he started with but he also throws the solids away. So there is definitely room for error here). I felt like I could walk away and not eat the rest of the day but I forced myself to eat around 150g of liver. Didn't feel natural but I didn't want to have 0 protein intake for the day. I'm not sure how long amino acids remain in the blood before they are converted to glucose but if its a few days then maybe I have an excess of AA that are fullfilling my protein requirements and thus not bringing about the desired hunger for protein. But three days of low protein seems like a long time. Maybe the hunger for protein isn't as strong. I don't know but I feel good and will still be eating fat first for now.

I've been investigating eating lower protein and from what I can find is that most all of extra AA that is not used for repair and maintenance will be eventually have their carbon skeletons used in the formation of a carbohydrate or fatty-acid.

heres a good paragraph summing it up  -http://themedicalbiochemistrypage.org/amino-acid-metabolism.html

All tissues have some capability for synthesis of the non-essential amino acids, amino acid remodeling, and conversion of non-amino acid carbon skeletons into amino acids and other derivatives that contain nitrogen. However, the liver is the major site of nitrogen metabolism in the body. In times of dietary surplus, the potentially toxic nitrogen of amino acids is eliminated via transaminations, deamination, and urea formation; the carbon skeletons are generally conserved as carbohydrate, via gluconeogenesis, or as fatty acid via fatty acid synthesis pathways. In this respect amino acids fall into three categories: glucogenic, ketogenic, or glucogenic and ketogenic. Glucogenic amino acids are those that give rise to a net production of pyruvate or TCA cycle intermediates, such as ?-ketoglutarate or oxaloacetate, all of which are precursors to glucose via gluconeogenesis. All amino acids except lysine and leucine are at least partly glucogenic. Lysine and leucine are the only amino acids that are solely ketogenic, giving rise only to acetylCoA or acetoacetylCoA, neither of which can bring about net glucose production.

Since the body is constantly breaking down excess AA into more easily usable carbs or fat, it would make sense to not overload the body with protein. Protein has the largest thermal effect of food, essentially meaning that it is the hardest macronutrient for the body to process and expends the most amount of energy using it. Fat is the easiest. 80-10-10 vegans stay alive and functional with only 50g of protein a day for decades (though I'd guess their actual protein intake would be higher if were empirically measured, and the sources of these proteins are highly suboptimal) and starvation studies show that 50g of protein will be catabolized from the muscle tissue to keep the body alive under no nutrition. So this 50g a day could be looked at as a bare minimum and for a non-exercising person perhaps just 20-30g more could lead to good health. The US food pyramid recommends 15% of calories from a 2000 calorie diet be protein so this would be 75g. For me, since I lift weights a couple  times a week and eventually want to be active playing sports a few times a week as well, 100-130g a day looks like it will be the range for me. This is all subject to change and is guesswork as usual. Lex has noticed his fasting blood glucose drop 10 pts from 100 to 90 when he dropped his protein intake to 90g (15% of cals) so this could easily be a good sign.

Also the last couple days have been very low activity, so this could be contributing to the lack of hunger for protein.

[Paleo Donk]

So, continuing with this thought that we should probably consume protein right around our the body's required maintenance and repair - Since all the excess amino acids will convert to glucose or fatty acids lots of energy is used. A total of ten ATP are used to create one molecule of glucose, 6 of which are used to dispose of NH₄+ into urea. This energy might explain why isocaloric diets that differ in protein amounts will result in a larger weight loss for those consuming more protein. So, maybe those that are eating zero carb with very high protein intake - 150g+ are still running on a decent amount of glucose. The liver can only manufacture 400g a day of glucose from amino acids and would easily explain redfulcrums toxic level of amino acids during his highly dangerous experiment.

Lots of good info here and where I found this - http://www.medbio.info/Horn/Time%203-4/homeostasis1.htm

Also, I did not consciously eat less protein the three days before I just ate the fat first and felt full and stopped eating. I don't like the idea of trusting my instinct yet as I have horrible feel for what is right so I will be trying to eat a bit more protein in the future. It should be interesting to see how my lifting progresses with this massive decrease in protein.

[Paleo Donk]

I ate much less yesterday than I ever had. I ate my usual fat first, 80g of back fat followed by 60g of marrow and felt nice and full but again did not want to go without any protein and I still had some liver out so I forced down some liver but after around 100g I couldn't eat anymore and just stopped. I felt fine and full but was not satisfied with just 20g of protein so I cut into some beef shoulder which I wasn't hungry for but was heaps easier to put down. I maybe got 200g down before just giving up and letting my body work its way through.

3/6  F---P---C----TC
     120  64   4     1350

4 day average - 168   82  21   1960

With 78% of calories coming from fat, 17% protein and 5% carb. I'm always eating fat first then protein, which I've never done before. The carbs mainly came from a salad and some kefir. I feel pretty energetic right now and will lift today, so we'll see if my hunger increases. I'm wondering if eating lots of fat first is resetting my system in some kind of way that allows me to know how much protein to consume. I do enjoy the bone marrow better than the back fat and some of back fat has connective tissue along side it which makes it extremely difficult to eat and quite dangerous to swallow.

My weight is also down 5-6 pounds from a high of 188 about a week ago when my carb binging was ending. I also took a bunch of HCL pills, perhaps 7 or 8 (5 grams!) with no signs of anything going on. I haven't really taken any the past week. I'm probably going to get another brand, as I'd rather not have them do undo damage that I cannot feel. I've heard others report that certain brands will lead to differing amounts of pills taken before this mystical "burn" is supposed to happen.

[van]

When the back fat is full of connective tissue,  I cut it real thin and warm it to body temp. in a bow that sits in either warm water of above it in a big pot.  Then yo can chew and separate the soft warm fat from the tissue and spit that part out.  It also tastes pretty good that was.

[PaleoPhil]

Thanks for the info on zinc. It might be good that you don't take the multi everyday seeing that it gives more than the daily recommended amount of most of the nutrients.

FYI: The Dr. Ron's nutrient levels on the label are based on taking 6 capsules per day. I'm currently only taking 1-2 per day. I take the minimum necessary. One doesn't seem to be quite enough, so I plan to take two every other day or so going forward.

[Paleo Donk]

So, I need ya'lls help, as usual. I just took down 650g of chuck with 200g back fat and decided to see how many HCL pills it would take to feel that burn. I was determined this time to get a burn or something and have experimented now 5 or so different times taking in at most 7 pills during one sitting without feeling a thing.

So, I ate my fat first as usual, then ate 200g of chuck and took 4 650mg HCL pills. Nothing. I ate a bit more and took 3 more. Nothing still. Ate a bit more and took 4 more. Kept on eating taking two at at time until I had taken 19 about 12 grams worth of HCL and could not tell a difference. I got tired and felt the slightest bit out of it and laid down. Felt nothing still and got up to move around and after about 30 min had to use the bathroom and had small liquidy stool. Felt good after that and decided to run some sprints that went fine.

So, 19 fking pills and nothing? Seriously? I keep thinking my ability to feel what my body is processing is pretty low. Maybe thats it, I just can't feel whats going on. Maybe the pills are working but not making me feel anything. I'm going to get another brand soon. Do I have gaping holes in my gut? Do I have undigested raw meat just running wild through my blood? I wish I could have a stool analysis done to see how much nutrition is there. I really want to believe that this, leaky gut\metal poisoning\whatever, is what has lead to my horribly chronic fatigue over the years. Does my depression cause less stomach acid to be released? It can't be that bad can it?

My fingernails are so ugly and look so deficient of something and seem to be the most obvious clue that there is something not working right. Hair is falling out a bit, teeth are not white but feel fine, strength at the gym has been pretty good, back acne has cleared up a good deal, I'm becoming more active with more sustained energy. I know I need to wait longer for the full effects of the diet to do its thing but 12 grams of HCL and counting??? Even if we could somehow develop a stomach that would produce no acid, I wonder how many grams it would take to feel anything.

When the back fat is full of connective tissue,  I cut it real thin and warm it to body temp. in a bow that sits in either warm water of above it in a big pot.  Then yo can chew and separate the soft warm fat from the tissue and spit that part out.  It also tastes pretty good that was.

Thanks, I'll keep this in mind and try it out eventually. I hate doing work for my food but this seems simple enough.

FYI: The Dr. Ron's nutrient levels on the label are based on taking 6 capsules per day. I'm currently only taking 1-2 per day. I take the minimum necessary. One doesn't seem to be quite enough, so I plan to take two every other day or so going forward.

Yea, I doubled checked the list of nutrition and 1 a day doesn't seem like it would overdose you. I don't know the signs of overdose of vitamins but there are a few vitamins that give you 20 times your daily amounts. I think b12 is very poorly absorbed but still makes me wonder why you would ever need to supplement that extreme amount on any diet.

[PaleoPhil]

...So, I ate my fat first as usual, then ate 200g of chuck and took 4 650mg HCL pills. Nothing. ...

I haven't seen a lot of positive reviews of HCL pills.

My fingernails are so ugly and look so deficient of something...

Can you be more specific? Are there raised ridges, cracks, white spots, etc.?

[Paleo Donk]

I haven't seen a lot of positive reviews of HCL pills.

Perhaps the pills are defective but this does not explain the fact that every single other I have read about taking the pills has felt that burn. I seem to be alone in not feeling a burn. Maybe I got unlucky and found the one brand that will allow me to take infinitely many without a burn. I just ordered twin labs betaine HCL that djr mentioned above. I'm not going to take anymore of the pills I have now since they obviously have no effect on me.

Can you be more specific? Are there raised ridges, cracks, white spots, etc.?

There are no cracks or white spots just ridges. I will take a picture of them soon and make a new thread about fingernail analysis. My nails look horribly weak with very small lunula and are some shade of pink with numerous slightly defined vertical ridges that make them look like a prism. I got some chelated zinc gluconate dihydrate and zinc picolinate 30mg supps from twin labs. I think I will take 1 every other day.


So, I've doing some reading on mercury poisoning and there seems to be even more evidence that I am being poisoned by my ten mercury amalgams I received from ages 13-16. Apparently mercury cannot be tested that accurately in hair, urine or the blood as it remains locked up in tissue, especially in the brain. A good way to accurately test mercury levels is to have a brain biopsy. I found this great article by Dr. Eades where he concludes the following

Mercury is toxic, of that there is no question. The amalgams produce mercury vapor, of that there is no question. People with mercury amalgams have higher levels of tissue mercury, of that there is no question. So why inflict children (or yourself) with a poison that is for sure going to go to their brains? Even though it might not harm them.

And here is the study where they looked at the levels of mercury in tissue and the number of amalgam fillings the person had.

Mercury levels increased with the number of dental amalgams for all the anatomic sites. The interaction term between each anatomic site and the number of occlusal amalgam surfaces was statistically significant (P = 0.03), suggesting that the association between mercury levels and the number of occlusal amalgams was dependent on the anatomic site. Mercury levels in the pituitary gland and the cerebral cortex in subjects with more than 12 occlusal amalgam surfaces were more than 10 times higher than levels in subjects with 3 or less occlusal amalgams (both P = 0.0007). Levels in the thyroid and in the renal cortex were respectively about 5 and 4 times higher in subjects with 12 occlusal amalgams or more compared with subjects with 3 occlusal amalgams or less (P = 0.01 and P = 0.04, respectively).


In summary, our research shows, for the first time, that frontal lobe cortex has the highest content levels of mercury associated with occlusal amalgam surfaces and total mercury levels approaching or exceeding 300 ppb (ng/g), wet weight, in some cases. This, in turn, strongly points to the hypothesis–which, in the future, should be looked into in larger and ad hoc studies–that mercury vapor, known to be a neurotoxicant, may indeed lead to some types of neurobehavioral disorders.

http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/uncategorized/mercury-amalgam-whitewash/

The evidence is extremely damning here and really makes me want to get these fillings replaced. Dr. Huggins seems to be very experienced and one of the leading physicians that advocates amalgam replacement.I ordered the free packet of information. I'm not going to do anything rash but I really want to look into this more.

I also found a chemist by the name of Andrew Cutler, who seems to be the foremost expert on mercury poisoning and has written a couple of good books. I'm reading a free version of one of them right now. I will try and do something to get tested in the near future. I've never come across anyone as tired as me (or at least as how I perceive it) and now with the HCL failure, my mercury poisoning hypothesis seems to be getting stronger.

http://books.google.com/books?id=ZG9glNfif5YC&printsec=frontcover&dq=amalgam+illness#v=onepage&q=&f=false

[van]

I agree with getting rid of the mercury, and had mine taken out.  But it's a risk, for the non-amalgam fillings have a different co-efficient of expansion than tooth material, and don't always maintain adhesion to the tooth leaving the possibility of weakness and leaking leading to decay.  Advice,  carefully select dentist who is up on the latest bonding materials. 
    I would suggest taking a lesser amount of hcl and not looking for a burn.  I think that is advice given without studying what the effects can be to the stomach lining, as in, it's too late when it burns.   My guess is everyone has different nerve or pain thresholds in the stomach as well as different stomach linings or thickness of linings.  Look for help with digestion on lesser amounts and take your time with increasing the amounts.  I found out that it helped initially but eventually I thought it was making me weak and stopped. 

[Paleo Donk]

I agree with getting rid of the mercury, and had mine taken out.  But it's a risk, for the non-amalgam fillings have a different co-efficient of expansion than tooth material, and don't always maintain adhesion to the tooth leaving the possibility of weakness and leaking leading to decay.  Advice,  carefully select dentist who is up on the latest bonding materials.

Thanks, I am going to be as careful as I can. I'm tired of being nice to nice people that have power over me. I can say no to nice dentists! I wonder if my teeth could heal themselves without refilling them.

   I would suggest taking a lesser amount of hcl and not looking for a burn.  I think that is advice given without studying what the effects can be to the stomach lining, as in, it's too late when it burns.   My guess is everyone has different nerve or pain thresholds in the stomach as well as different stomach linings or thickness of linings.  Look for help with digestion on lesser amounts and take your time with increasing the amounts.  I found out that it helped initially but eventually I thought it was making me weak and stopped.  

Good point, though I can't seem to find anyone that has not gotten that burn. I didn't notice a difference in mood or feeling the next day either but then again I have hard time noticing differences and this could play right into my inability to notice my feelings or understand my emotional needs.


I've still been lifting and will be posting my progress once a month or so.

2/18
Press     Squat       Rows   Curls
125x5x3     225x5x3   115x5x3        30x5x3

2/20
Bench Press     Chin-ups    Tricep Extensions
225x5x3         bw+25x5x3          45x5x3

2/23
Press     Squat       deadlift  curls
130x5x3     235x5x3    225x5      35x5x3

2/27
Bench Press     Squat  pull-ups    Triceps
235x5x3       245x5x3       bw+25x5x3          50x5x3

3/3
Press       Squat       Deadlift
135x5x3       255x5x3      245x5

3/7
Bench DB     Squat
100x5x2    265x5x3

3/11
Press     Squat
140x5x3    275x5x3


        

[majormark]

I also want to get those amalgams replaced but it will be done the old fashion way, without any protection, because I could not find any dentist here who would follow a safe removal protocol.

Another thing is that I also have a little mercury inserted at the bottom of a root canal and that will probably stay there for a longer time. I want to keep that crown for functional reasons.

The funny part is that I found out about the amalgam dangers just a few weeks after I got them. Very encouraging.

[PaleoPhil]

Thanks, I am going to be as careful as I can. I'm tired of being nice to nice people that have power over me. I can say no to nice dentists! I wonder if my teeth could heal themselves without refilling them.
...
        

Yes, one of mine did, and there is plenty of info on that here and elsewhere. Just search terms like remineralize, remineralization and vitamins A, D3 and K2 here and at Stephan Guyenet's blog and the WAPF site.

[Paleo Donk]

Had a pretty abysmal day, was in a lot of pain, but am feeling better right now. My bad days are always when energy is low. Its so annoying being unable to do anything to make yourself feel alive. I had some pretty awful thoughts about what I would do to make myself feel better if this energy level continued. It wasn't until I went to my recovery meeting and heard some live music that my energy started to shift. I was having this conversation yesterday about my rehab yesterday with some parents of my one friend and realized that I really missed that place. Well, I missed the interactions and the connections I made. I miss the group meetings and all the input from everyone. Its so great having all different people with different addictions and different perspectives around you all the time giving their opinions and stories.

I don't want to go back to rehab but I'd like to find a group that I can connect with. Its so easy to open up at rehab and express yourself and just really be yourself. I felt this rush of emotions, a slight tear jerking moment flashed inside and made me realize what I was missing here. I don't have a social group of people to hang out with. God, I really like the group dynamic and sitting around in circle or at a table and just discussing stuff. Sounds so simple but this makes my day. Writing about it brings me joy. My diet was terrible at rehab but I felt much more alive and at peace.

Im still having trouble deciding whether my chronic tiredness is a product of mistaken beliefs in my head or something physical. All I've ever heard from people is how tired I look and how lazy I am and no doctor I've been to has ever found anything wrong with me. Blood tests are always normal. I suppose I look healthy from their perspective. I do have a lot of self-esteem issues that when I address them, my energy level shoots up but then there are days like today, where I felt good upon waking and tried hard to keep my spirits up but just ran out of everything. I'm rambling as usual but its my journal so its all good.

[KD]

I subscribe to the positive thinking camps, but since your symptoms very much mirror my own I'm going to personally weigh in on the physical side. I know my mood has increased drastically and negativity diminished in a period which my energy has tanked, and then shown improvement with raw diet to the point where I am already/finally experiencing more of a 'normal' sense of energy. for awhile it was like below-zero, then I had the energy to work out, but after that felt almost consistently like crap, extremely tired in the eyes esp and feeling like I hadn't slept in days all the time. But I have pretty existential struggles with whether I'm going to continue with raw again this time and other such things

I also attend a support group and know what you mean about the dynamic, and how even if the conversation is depressing it can still be uplifting in the end, especially if you have stuff to share for others. other then that have very little social interaction other then my relationship. One reason for this I now live in a totally different geographical area then most of my friends, but likely if I was feeling better, and def if I was eating "normally" I would have moved back by now. So I can say for sure that for me, rightfully or wrongfully, my diet actually makes me way more introverted then I usually am, and tend to assume people won't understand things and just avoid situations.

I also have the same issue with the clear blood tests/looking healthy thing. My GF for such reasons really has gotten on my case about doing 'extreme' stuff, because of course it seems unnecessary to her. Although she has noticed some recent improvement and trusts my judgment. I havn't taken this step myself, but perhaps you could get more extensive testing for things like candida which do not turn up in blood tests.

I think it makes sense to use whatever technogies to aid your self-esteem and mental stuff while doing the physical work of diet/cleansing. I think there are some that can just tackle the mental stuff with whole sucess, but I've tried that myself and ended up in the same crap place more than a few times.

[Paleo Donk]

Thanks for chiming in KD - glad to see you are struggling right along side me. It's not fun climbing an endless mountain by myself. But, my journey is not so bad, I can always find someone else who is struggling far worse than me. I don't think you should let this diet lead you towards being more introverted. Its kind of a lame excuse, the kind I have made and keep making to myself all these years.

Quick recap of the last few days. I've started eating lots of egg yolks again after dropping them for a few days. I am going out of town to this little Greek town on the gulf side of Florida called Tarpon springs with my mom and sister which I'm really looking forward to. I will probably be eating lots of eggs, seeing as they store well in room temperature. They don't taste the best and give me the slightest signs of discomfort so it'll be interesting to see how it goes this weekend.

I haven't had vegetation in 6 days when I had a big salad on Saturday after playing a couple hours of basketball. I figured this would do well replenishing glyocgen. I had my first bowel movement today since Saturday. It was very small but well formed and no blood or pain, though its still pretty odd that I have such little fecal matter after almost a week? I've felt improved energy the last couple days as well and keep eating greater than 70% fat though I've stopped tracking calorie intake directly. I have a good feel for the amount that is right. I ran out of back fat and have replaced it with suet. Marrow is my favorite fat, though it doesn't have much of a taste. I might even be craving it and will put in a big order for it from slankers soon. Still eating "low" protein, somewhat testing what will happen to my strength.

I also had this little spat with paleophil over at dirtycarnivore. It felt really good to put him down, though oddly enough he is my favorite poster. There is this nice rush and feeling of invincibility when I put people down or feel I've made a valid point. Ego is a hellaofa drug.

[klowcarb]

I enjoyed the back and forth between you two (I'm Katelyn over there, in case you didn't know).

[PaleoPhil]

...I also had this little spat with paleophil over at dirtycarnivore. It felt really good to put him down, though oddly enough he is my favorite poster. There is this nice rush and feeling of invincibility when I put people down or feel I've made a valid point. Ego is a hellaofa drug.

Glad I could be of service, and don't worry about it--while I would prefer discussions without insults, Tyler has put me down a lot more than you have, and I still enjoy most of my discussions with Tyler. I can see how you could have interpreted my comments as more anti-GCBC/Taubes than I meant them to be. Your comments helped me come up with a better way of phrasing things that should help me avoid irritating other Taubes fans. Ironically, Tyler has criticized me for being too pro-Taubes, IIRC.