Sally's journal

[Sally]

I have been trying to get back in shape since September.  I have lost 41lbs since then.  About two months ago I hit a plateau and I came down with multiple infections.  I was taking birth control to try to elevate my iron levels, and also calm down my wandering eyes.  I ended up on four different types of antibiotics and could not really do my job properly.  I decided I had to have a raw milk cow share and I was surprisingly able to get my hands on one fairly quickly.  I went on the Primal Diet the same week i started the raw milk.  I stopped every pill I was taking also.  no more infections.  I have been doing 2 1/2 hours at gym daily including cardio weight lifting and stretching.  I eat mainly raw steak with a bit of raw pork, salads with dressing I make out of cold pressed oil , avocados, raw milk, coconuts, natural almonds, kale, egg yolks and some fruit.  I still drink 1 cup of coffee per day.  I still have nesquik in my raw milk.  I still eat an occasional chocolate bar. 

Anyway my brain feels funny now sometimes.  This has started happening over the last few days.  Like when Im stressing about something I feel mild pressure behind my eyes and kind of a warm/acidic feeling in my brain.  My thinking has not improved.  My blood pressure has increased.  Now its 120 in morning, 130 later in the day.  I think this is good, because it use to fluctuate between 105 and 115, and I had no energy like this.  Although apparently some people function fine like this.  It has been my experience that people with higher blood pressure are better at life in general.

I am 5'9 and down to 169 lbs from 210lbs.  I feel better, and I feel a lot less lazy, but I still feel like a useless piece of crap next to the men I work with.  I am hoping I will feel even better after losing another 20 lbs. 

[jessica]

sally! you look great.  how old are you ?

some things you might try are to either cut coffee and try green tea, or continue coffee but take a zinc supplement(will balance out copper imbalance from coffee, birth control that lead to bad bacterial overgrowth), maybe consider doing half coffee half roasted dandelion to get your potassium up(coffee depletes potassium, low potassium=raised blood pressure)

dulse might be good for you as well, its high potassium, and has natural iodine to help balance blood pressure and fight any infections/disbiosis you may still have from antibiotics.

did you ever take any rounds of probiotics after antibiotics? 

do you ever age your meats or make yogurt or fermented veggies?

try to avoid cold pressed oils or any vegetable oils, regardless of quality, instead try more egg yolks or get fattier cuts of meats or make your own butter, this will shift your body composition

also try to add some fish, clams, oysters to diversify minerals, amino acids and fat content.

why not try and make something better then nesquick? you can mix stevia powder with a little cacao powder(should be fermented AND roasted) or even stevia with roasted dandelion roots adds a little bit of chocolate flavor.  sometimes if I am being lazy I just get these tea bags from Yogi tea called "mayan cacao spice" and make tea and add a little raw goats milk, its delicious and at the very least its just leaves and twigs and beans flavoring the tea, nothing too chemical or industrialized.

it sounds like you are working out TOO much, and that you are actually already at a low weight., if you loose another 20 pounds you will be underweight for a fertile female, best to rest and work on healing and body composition.

[Sally]

Thanks Jessica!  I like the way I look too.  Im trying to lessen the coffee I drink and switch to decaf, but I tried last week and then the guys I work with were making fun of me, and I didnt have any stamina at the gym so i started using it again, but once my ego is a little better and i have caught up on my rest ( a few days) I will try again.  Quitting coffee to me is the simplest solution.  Herbs and supplements makes things too complicated for me.  Complication confuses and infuriates me.

Seafood is out of the question.  My boyfriend will be in my face about fukushima for hours and this will make my brain hurt and make me depressed.  Besides im starting to believe him about it.  I tan regularly and take Lugol's iodine to try to make up for it.

I took a bit of probiotics after the antibiotics.  But Im fairly certain my intestines are well populated with bacteria, especially since I occasionally dream about the bacteria.  I was leaving my raw milk to clabber before drinking it at first, and I was leaving my meat to get warm for a few hours.  Work's sorta gotten in the way of that, but my seasons over, so thanks for reminding me I should start doing that again.

If I do cut out cold pressed oil, it will be a long slow process.  Changes to my diet can really upset me.

My boyfriend said we should stop using the nesquick last night.  So Im going along with it, but Im fearing that it will throw my cravings out off balance.

Im seeing my personal trainer at the end of the month, and he will evaluate my fat composition.  I really want to have an impressive looking figure.  Like a show dog, or a prized horse.  I think I might be a narcissist and Im going to go see a psychologist to find out.

[jessica]

dulse is also good for potassium, even with eating avocados I doubt you get enough if you are drinking coffee.  the extra potassium might help with your blood pressure swings.  if you are good with carbs you might try eating jicama instead of something else carby, if you can find it, its pretty high in potassium as well.

I hate to say it but if you want an impressive, show horse, figure, and train to keep one, you will probably always deal with cravings.  especially if you are using caffeine to disrupt your bodies true level of energy.

our culture is pretty narcissistic, I am pretty sure there are very few who escape this.

[Sally]

I'm aloud to eat baked potatoes on the primal diet.  I have a couple a week.  Yeah, all the local stores sell Jicama for some reason.  Might be good for those days when don't have cream to churn into butter.
I've been dealing with out of control cravings my whole life, but eating raw seems to help alot.  My cravings are actually under control right now but I'm afraid of them coming back.
I went to pick up my raw milk today.
My boyfriend and I have been going through 4 gallons a week.  He drinks most of it.  It's jersey milk.  Sometimes it's more than 30% fat, but lately it's been a little leaner.
The people had some Monterrey Jack cheese they made, so I bought some.
It was unsalted.  Very tasty.
Woke up angry in the middle of the night.  Wanted to yell at my boyfriend but resisted the urge.  Felt the pressure behind my eyes and thought maybe you were right, maybe my potassium levels are low.
I put everything I eat in the cronometer, and never noticed anything low but my B1 and folic acid, but I smashed my iphone last night, so I can't look back at it now.  Ron Jeremy was at the convention I was at, but I was too shy to go get a picture with him so I just creeped on him from a distance.  It was fun.

[paper_clips43]

I think salt can really help high blood pressure.
I followed the aajonus WOE for 6 months strict and the only thing I did different was salt.
I tried no salt and in about a week I had severe stress reactions like waking up in the middle of the night with heart pounding and fatigue during the day. I added salt to my raw meat meals and it went away. I feel like Aajonus was right about a lot of things like high carb high fat and lots of raw milk although not about the salt. Maybe no salt works for some although I have noticed salt is a big factor in good energy levels.
It might be worth experimenting with and with out salt to see which works best for you.

Maybe I missed it but what convention were you at that you saw Ron Jeremy? A raw food one?

Glad you found the forum! There is a lot of good info here. Raw animal foods are sooo good!

[Sally]

Yeah, I was trying to really limit my salt at first too, but I would get tired and depressed, and noticed that I my mood would pick up almost instantly after having salt.  Celtic Salt is my favorite.  I still don't use nearly as much salt as I used to though.  It was actually the taboo sex show where I saw Ron Jeremy.  He saw me looking at him.  I'm pretty sure we had a moment.

[jessica]

jicama, celeriac, parsnips, carrots, those are really good alternatives to potatoes that will have some other nutrients in them as well as potassium. 

you eat lower carb right?  if so thn you definitely need to be aware of and up your potassium intake, as well as salts in general, as lower carbs mean your body has a propensity to flush those out as well as not hold onto as much water.

really try out seaweeds such as dulse and kelp, unlike table salt or sea salt, they have a high ratio of potassium to sodium, and many contain many trace minerals and essential nutrients.  they are a much broader spectrum source of salt then sea salt.

do you think your fear of changing your diet is just the fear of gaining weight or perhaps just not loosing weight?  If so it might be wise to make a list of all of the things that have improved in yoru life that made you healthier that weren't weight loss, and also just really appreciate how far you have come in health and weight anyway.  I really think its wise to let your body get used to large drops in weight, it might make those losses more permanent, then just getting super lean all at once.  and really take into account that being a female and being lean can jeopardize your hormonal and endocrine systems. 

[jessica]

also, you might try adding a bag of roasted dandelion root tea to your coffee and halving the amount of beans you use.  unlike switching to decaf, dandelion root has a ton of potassium and tastes similar to coffee.  traditional medicines brand tastes the best to me so far.  for many years people have used dandelion and chicory roots, cleavers and okra seeds to stretch or replace coffee. 

really, you had a moment with Ron Jeremy? haha, he's so gross!

[Sally]

I like parsnips.  Ill try adding those.

I eat 50-60% calories from fat
15-25% calories from protein
20-35% calories from carbs
I eat 2200-2400 calories per day

Seaweed is out of question because of the radiation.

Im afraid of things getting too complicated for me and falling apart.  This is about more than losing weight for me.  Im not strong or energetic enough to do my job eith finesse.  I dont believe my hormones have been balanced enough to have a healthy baby.  Keeping my house clean is a big challenge for me.  Obviously every other effort ive made to get healthy has not worked out, otherwise i would not have been 210 lbs last summer.  Usually i overtrain or things get so complicated or work gets im the way or Something bad happens and I give up. 

Have you read Matt Stone's "eat for heat"?

Something as simple as drinking too much water can screw everything up for me.  My new rule is no more than 1 small change every 5 days.

[jessica]

some of the best seaweed companies are in Maine, that's about the furthest away from "the radiation" you can get on this continent.  http://www.seaveg.com

its seems like you are at a point where you just need to use the healing power of rest, perhaps instead of going to the gym you should try self massage and stretching, setting aside some peaceful time to take care of yourself, lay down, do deep breathing and just get in touch with your body.  its a wonderful practice to heal the adrenals and stimulate proper hormones, and being rested in  your personal life should allocate energy to do work with more finesse.  patience with healing goes a long way, it sounds like you are trying to set good limits for yourself!

[Sally]

I quit drinking coffee four days ago.  The first two days were my rest days from the gym and they were not too bad, although i ate about 2800 calories each of those days.  Yesterday was my worst day.  I got in a fight with my boyfriend right before going to the gym.  I do cardio for 50 minutes 5 days a week.   Normally i have coffee before my cardio and i enjoy it once I start.  Yesterday it felt difficult,  boring, my brain felt weird, my eyes hurt, it was harder than normal to reach my target heart rate and i did not feel the usual satisfaction i do when im done.  I couldnt seem to get my form right when lifting weights and I had poor balance when doing my stretches.

I went to the dental hygienist and she was able to remove practically all the iron stains i got this summer when taking oral iron supplements.  She was even able to remove stains on my incisors that i was told previously wouldnt wouldnt be removable because my gum had receded and that section of tooth had no enamel.  My incisors have improved.  Either they have partially remineralised or the gum has healed up a bit.

I ate significantly fewer calories yesterday and i mostly sat on the couch eating salad vegetables instincto style and feeling funny.  I couldnt sleep and i unplugged my wifi around midnight.

The gym was easier today.  Still not nearly as hungry as previously.   Not interested in eating an entire 280g of steak like normal.  Just want half.  I ate lamb kidneys and heart yesterday, im going to eat heart kidneys and tongue.

I have tried quitting caffeine for months at a time before and i never feel normal.   Im hoping this time is different.

[Sally]

I had a hiccup with quitting caffeine the first week.   What i thought was an apple cinnamon herbal tea was actually a black tea, but i have been totally caffeine free now for almost three weeks.  I had to go out on a job on the 14th, where i had to live on a lease in the middle of nowhere.  I didnt do any working out,  and i just slept most of the time.  Most certainly i developped a reputation for being extremely lazy.  I was there for 16 days.  I ate striploins everday, and a whole lot of pineapple.  I couldnt get enough pineapple.  I went back to the gym for the first time yesterday.  I had pineapple for breakfast.  My run was way better than before my break.  I was able to rim significantly faster without my heartrate going above 163.  ( my heartrate monitor is my best friend, completely worth the 150$ i paid for it.  I recommended to anyone who is overweight and trying to get back in shape).they shut down the gym for an hour because of a fire.  I was surprised at jow weak my muscles were after an over 2 weeek break.  This morning im having raw lamb liver for breakfast to see if thàt improves my strength.  I had lamb liver gor breakfasst last night as well as going fpr a five minute tan and i couldnt sleep all night.  I slept in until 11 today.  I think i will try to eat organ meat earlier in the day from now on.

[Sally]

Still sleeping 11 hrs a night.  Ive been working out again since i got back from that job I was on.  My weight loss has come to a stop.  After finishing my cardio today, i found I had rectal bleeding, and was to grossed out to do my weight training after that.  I tried to go to the doctors but they are closed.  I was going to get my iron and TSH checked anyway next week, and i was hoping he would do an autoimmune panel for me since i dont know why im so stunned and weak and lazy, and its been like this since 2008. 

[Sally]

I lost another 10 lbs

[Sally]

The farmer we get our raw milk from sold us a variety of raw grass fed beef.  I asked for a lean coarse cut ground beef for a tartare.  It turned out really good.  I added soaked mustard seeds, lemon juice, pepper and chives to it.  It was the best i ever made.  We made a rack in the fridge to hang the kidneys, new york steaks and eye of rounds.  We have been enjoying the steaks all week and i just stried the kidney today.  It tastes like mushroom soup wrapped in a bitter skin.

[Sally]

I have been eating 3 grapefruits per day and drinking licorice tea for the past couple months.  I read a study saying that they interrupt reuptake of cortisol.  It has helped me alot.  My chest pain is gone, and my brain doesnt feel like its overfilling with blood when i lay down for bed.  I wish someone would have told me about grapefruit sooner because it really does help.  I have also started taking 5 htp for appetite control.  I find ot really helps.  It has also been helping me fall asleep faster and keep a lighter mood.

[goodsamaritan]

I have been eating 3 grapefruits per day and drinking licorice tea for the past couple months.  I read a study saying that they interrupt reuptake of cortisol.  It has helped me alot.  My chest pain is gone, and my brain doesnt feel like its overfilling with blood when i lay down for bed.  I wish someone would have told me about grapefruit sooner because it really does help.  I have also started taking 5 htp for appetite control.  I find ot really helps.  It has also been helping me fall asleep faster and keep a lighter mood.

Thank you for sharing your experience, maybe someone will read this and have an easier time via your info!

Congratulations!

[Sally]

I'm down to 153 lbs.  my consumption of raw meat has increased and I am now eating sashimi 3 times a week with my boyfriend.  Tuna only.  I finally was able to convince Danny that despite fukoshima it is in our best interest to eat at least some raw fish.  Thanks to eating mostly whole foods I have been able to determine that I am intolerant to egg whites.  I can tolerate egg yolks, but I am taking a break from eggs altogether for an undetermined amount of time.  I have also found that the raw milk gives me gas and bloating  and for my purposes I am considering myself intolerant to anything that gives me an embarrasing amount of gas.  I do not want to give up raw dairy altogether, so i am only eating it after it has been turned into yogurt for the time being. ( I am hoping i have an issue with lactose and not casein).  I am going to expirement with different amounts of warming time on the yogurt as I belive the longer it develops the lower the lactose.  Yesterday after combining three cups of yogurt with lots of honey and refined table salt, i had numbness in my throat and a stomach ache.  At first I thought it might have been the casein in the yogurt, but then I remembered i have been having somewhat severe reactions to my raspberry bushes which are covered in pollen.  The whites of my eyes swells around the iris.  So probably i am allergic to honey.  Im going to stop eating that also for an undetermined amount of time.  I am no longer using grapefruit or 5 htp everyday, as I am more often feeling fine without.  My brain fog has cleared up considerably since last year. 

[Sally]

Ive been taking strong epsom salt baths and mixing a little magnesium chloride salt in with my raw milk.  I felt an increase in my testosterone shortly after.  I have been more agressive with coworkers, with mixed results.  I also improved noticeably on my weight lifting.  It is possible that i was slightly magnesium defficient since i gave up chocolate for religious reasons when I was thirteen and didnt eat it again until i was 28, and gave it up again in April because of its caffeine content.  I feel like i am better at sleeping in, i am salivating more normally, i have had pleghm coming up regularly, and my lungs feel stronger.


About 4 days ago, i woke up feeling like crap, i discovered i had started my period.  I found that i was depressed lethargic, and unbelievably grouchy.  I napped for 4 hours during the day despite having slept well and i did not make it to gym even though i slept the whole night and had the day off work.  Also, i had terrible gas even though i hadnt much changed my eating.  Since i have read that PMS may be caused by low serotonin levels, i tried 5htp, but found no noticeable relief.  Then i was thinking to myself that the symptoms started during my period, maybe it was iron , afterall i hadnt bothered to take iron since about 7 months ago.   So i went out and got a box of feramax 150.  I felt relief from my irratibility within an hour, and my gas levels were back to normal the next day.   So excess flatulence can be caused by low iron levels?

[van]

I would see if foods high in iron have an appeal to you.

[Sally]

I eat about a pound of raw ground beef everyday.  Most other foods I eat are relatively high in iron as well, like almonds and vegetables.  Obviously it isn't enough.  I came up with an idea to start eating rabbits.  I'm going to clear out the spare room in my trailer to build large pens for rabbits.  I will go pick some up weekly from a farm, and then every second day i will slaughter one and hang it in my fridge.  This will be good because rabbit meat is easier to digest than ground beef, I will have a steady intake of organ meat, and I will have more control of the animal's diet, especially compared to grocery store ground beef.  Also since rabbits are small, I won't have to eat meat that has been frozen, which I just don't do.

I went for the hemocode test at Rexall yesterday.  My blood will be tested for igg intolerance to 250 different foods, addititives, and things like tobacco leaf.  I'm interested to see if cutting out any of these foods will give me more energy.

Also, today, I am going to go to an animal feed store to pick up some Pyrantel Pamoate.  I am going to give myself a deworming.  Why?  Because I still have fatigue, gas and bloating.  If I already have worms, then they are not helping, and if I don't then, not much harm done,  this drug is not readily absorbed by the intestine.  I'll let you guys know how it goes.

[jessica]

Have you considered adding something with vitamin c to diet?  I think the sour aspect stimulates digestion and vit c is known to aid iron absorption.  Chewing some celery before
A meal may be helpful to stimulate hcl production and aid digestion.  Do you get enough potassium?  Seaweeds and certain veggies are great for this.  the period issues are from lack of minerals and amino acids and , as you are inquiring into, eating foods that your body may need a break from.  I find cooking veggies down to a broth or eating slowly but well cooked works best for digestion and aborption(never cook meat though, only heating to fresh from the carcass temp). Do you have access to fresh livers?  Would you consider giving up nuts like almonds?  They are notorious for causing bloating.  Do you ever ferment your raw milk or eat raw cheese?  Do you age your meat?  Do you eat other cuts besides ground beef?  You may need a wider variety of amino acids from different cuts and animals.

[Sally]

I eat a couple lemons per day, as well as a large salad with peppers, tomatoes, romaine lettuce, cucumbers and avocados.
I gave up eating all sweet fruit, and i my gas has reduced greatly.

I. have felt increasingly well since deworming.  I find myself drumming my fingers.  I have been laughing and i have been able to make others laugh.  Also,  I have not felt the need to eat grapefruit as I have not felt completely burnt out for the last several days.  I masturbated 5 times today which is unusual.  Although I did not see any evidence of worms in my stool, but I will be repeating the deworming in a couple days since my heightened energy levels give me hope.

My milk often turns into a variety of different things on its own in the two weeks between pickups.  Last two jugs from the last set, I got delicious yogurt, and another jar turned into a fizzy feta cheese.  I ate them both.  I also have a yogurt maker and make batches when I feel like it.  I have tried hanging my grass fed beef for several days before eating it.  I plan to hang my rabbits once I get set up with that. 

Lately I have only craved ground beef and sashimi.  I was eating a variety of cuts of steak prior to now. 

Cooking my vegetables doesnt feel right for me right now.  I may try it if the stuff I'm doing right now doesnt work.

I have added carrots to my diet.  I also eat quite a bit of vegetables such as avocados, tomatoes, lettuce and milk, so I would say I get more potassium than the average person.

I bought a product called alcabase.  It contains potassium citrate.  It is more of a treat for me to have every couple days as a warm tea.

[goodsamaritan]

Hooray success!

Sex increase, marker of health!

What did you use for deworming?