This is a great thread! Copa thanks for sharing your information - you are a great researcher!
I’m also doing time restricted eating (10 - 6) and occasional liquid fast days (maybe two a month). I’m still getting enough calories on the liquid days to not feel woozy, but it’s all in smoothy, vegetable juice or bone broth form. It gives my digestive system a rest and seems to jump start my metabolism.
I’ve done Keto, and I did lose weight, but I didn’t feel good on it. I think what I’ve learned more than anything is that we all have individual biochemistry and neurology. While some basic principles apply for all, I think we all need to tweak to find the magic formula that works for us.
For me, that has been something called the Wahls Protocol from Dr. Terry Wahls. It is closer to paleo than keto. I’ll explain more below. It is specifically designed to help people with MS and other autoimmune disorders. Dr. wahls put it together to treat her own debilitating MS. We ran into it because my sister and two cousins have MS, and the rest of us seem to have a variety of autoimmune things going on. I was struggling with peripheral neuropathy, severe migraines, fatigue and unexplained seizures. I have some lesions on my spine but it has not added up to an MS diagnosis so far - they are just keeping an eye on me.
On this plan, I feel great - clear thinking, more energy, migraines down to once a month, no seizures, no peripheral neuropathy unless I’m severely overtired. My sister has done well too - she had over 100 active lesions on her brain, with more popping up all the time, even on aggressive medications. Those lesions don’t go away but she has stopped developing new ones and most are no longer considered active. I am. NOT saying this is a replacement for her medications, she sill needs those, but medications alone didn’t get it under control, and this seems to be working. It has also really helped my partner, who has hashimotos thyriod - another autoimmune. I am not on any medications right now and my lesions are not growing.
Exercise is also really important for me, but I agree with Copa that it did not help me lose weight. I used to run, until my body told me to stop. I actually used to gain weight while training for half marathons. (I was training for a full when I developed the autoimmune problems that put an end to that.). After I stopped running, and was put on various medications, I put on 50 pounds in 6 months. On keto, I yo-yo’d - I wasn’t able to maintain it, and as soon as I cheated The weight just seemed to go back on faster and faster. (Tired, I hear you with gaining 2 pounds on a single candy bar! How does that happen?) I am not doing Wahls primarily for weight loss - and I try not to focus too much on weight - but 40 pounds has come back off pretty naturally over the last year. I would love to lose another 20, but I am not going to stress about it.
I had a big wake up call on weight and self esteem issues recently when E, my youngest, confessed to me that she is struggling with bulemia. She is the only one of mine who struggles with weight - the rest of them are all skinny, C and S too skinny. Not coincidentally, she is also my only bio child. We are built to withstand famine, I guess. Also carry a lot of muscle, so the scale tends to tip higher even when we are doing well - what I know is an ideal weight for me is still considered slightly overweight by BMI alone. She lost 40 pounds before her wedding and was thrilled. Then has kept losing since. She is at what is probably her ideal weight now, but all those BMI charts still tell her she is too heavy. So she got obsessed with losing ‘that last ten pounds’. And that has led to some very unhealthy behaviors. She is being open and honest with me and with her husband, because she realizes she is heading into trouble and wants us to help check her. But it’s been heartbreaking to see how much her self esteem is tied into weight and weight loss. Sometimes the things we do for health can slip into unhealthy obsessions. So I’m trying to avoid getting obsessed with the scale and just focus on how I’m feeling.
You can google Dr. Terry Wahls but the basis of the diet is very close to paleo, but with an emphasis on the plant side of the equation. No grains, no dairy. (I discovered dairy was a big trigger for my neuropathy, and simple carbs and sugars send me into a depression spiral. A pancake breakfast last year sent me into a 3-day spiral with severe suicidal ideation. Once you start limiting your diet, you start to see the connections when you reintroduce things temporarily.)
The basis of the diet is nine cups of fruits and veggies every day:
3 cups leafy greens
3 cups bright colors (berries, tomatoes, red peppers, beets, carrots, acorn or butternut squash, etc.)
3 cups high-sulfur veggies (cruciferous veggies like broccoli and cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, onions, garlic, etc. - sulfur is necessary for eliminating toxic wastes in the cells that stimulate autoimmune reactions)
Measurements are in raw form - a lot of these cook down quite a bit in practice. You’ll notice that things like white potatoes and apples don’t fit in here - they are neither leafy, nor brightly colored (except skins), nor sulfurous. We still eat them occasionally, but they don’t count towards the total.
On top of that, high-quality protein. Wahls is big on organ meats, and my sister does those, but I don’t like eating mammals so I stick mainly to fish and eggs. Also nuts and nut butters, in moderation. Cured meats (bacon, deli meats, etc.) are a huge migraine trigger for me, so we dont do those, either.
I’ve learned I can handle a small amount of goat cheese or Parmesan for flavor, but that’s it in the dairy department. We cheat a bit and mix in brown rice a couple times a week for Buddha bowls. We do a lot of spaghetti squash or zucchini noodles with sauces that include lots of bright and sulfurous veggies in them. A lot of homemade soups. Copa’s keto muffins but without the cheese, or with just a sprinkle of Parmesan for flavor. Omelets. Fish with a big salad or a side of cooked veggies. My first meal is usually a smoothy with one cup berries and 2-3 cups leafy greens, with a hard boiled egg on the side. Lunch is usually hummus and veggies with a piece of fruit on the side. It’s really simplified my eating, which I really like.
I still can’t run, but we set up an exercise room in the basement with an elliptical, rowing machine, recumbent bike, weights and a punching bag. I aim for at least 45 minutes of cardio every work day first thing in the morning, followed by 20 minutes of weights, yoga or kick boxing. Weekends we do more outdoor things and heavier house and garden chores, so I give myself a break from my weekday routine.
I’m still not skinny, but I’m at a weight I can live with and I feel great most days. When I slip from either the diet or exercise routine I notice right away in my fatigue levels, migraine frequency and neuropathy. Not to mention depression and anxiety. This may not work for everyone the way it works for me, but it has been the magic formula for both me and my partner.
. I have time...until August. But still!
