Wahls Protocol from Dr. Terry Wahls. It is closer to paleo than keto.
This sounds fabulous Elsi. I have all kinds of petty little questions about how you do this. It sounds SOOO healthy. I would love to do it and I think I need it. My quotes got fouled up so I will start where I start.
on various medications, I put on 50 pounds in 6 months.
How very hard.
40 pounds has come back off pretty naturally over the last year
Fantastic. I am whining here: why oh why is it so hard for me to lose weight. I mean. I pound a month. And I am trying like crazy. Even with the Keto my weight has stabilized. I am 149 which is fine for my height (I am 5'6") but I have it in my head I want to get back to 129 or at worst 139. My body does not want to budge. I am in a kind of unstable agreement that I can tolerate the 149 and let my body decide to lose the weight based upon activity, if I begin to move again. But I am not a happy camper. I want to do something RADICAL to make those pounds LEAVE. I am such a fruitcake I think maybe it is my hair.
So she got obsessed with losing ‘that last ten pounds’. And that has led to some very unhealthy behaviors.
But it’s been heartbreaking to see how much her self esteem is tied into weight and weight loss.
Like me. I am not bulimic but I am extremely invested in CONTROLLING this weight. I told the nutritionist that my life was not living if I was fat. That being thin was more important than living. (?!!!?) On some level I feel like this. What???? This is either a tremendous self-esteem issue or a complete estrangement from myself. Even I get that.
So what is your daughter doing now? Is she on the Wahl's?
It’s really simplified my eating, which I really like.
That is how I feel about what I am doing.
Funny how we are all different.
I think what I’ve learned more than anything is that we all have individual biochemistry and neurology.
First let me speak to the comment that our bodies are different and crave different nutritional requirements. About 20 years ago I had an acquaintance who was obese. She went to a doctor who was a nutritional doctor not for weight loss, per se, and was typed nutritionally. I forget what she was in terms of type but the diet she was put on, was largely vegetables and lower protein. I was curious so I went.
There were all kinds of tests. Blood tests, urinalysis. And body examination and observation. Looking at eyes, skin, posture, questions, histories, etc. And I turned out a completely different type with a different diet. The focus had been on metabolism and the types were metabolic types. My type I remember was fast oxidizer. There were 3 others. (If you google nutritional typing, or fast oxidizer you will find the system as it is still used.) But remember.
I was told this: no potatoes, no wheat, no rice, no pasta. Cook my vegetables, instead of salads. I could eats nuts, cheese. Very limited fruit but I could eat small amounts of berries. Any meat or fish I wanted but especially organ meat. I could eat barley, rye bread. Beans. Legumes. Lentils. And I think I could have sweet potatoes which I love. But no acidic food like tomatoes or lemons. If I wanted vinegar I used cider vinegar. So 20 years ago I tried this diet. At that time I had irritable bowel syndrome. It went away. I can't remember my weight. But the gist of this was I felt great.
I could not or would not sustain the diet at that time. So what is remarkable to me, is that I am eating now in exactly the way that this doctor recommended. I did not strive to or even think about the system when I began to eat this way. I wanted to lose weight.
It is specifically designed to help people with MS and other autoimmune disorders.
I was struggling with peripheral neuropathy, severe migraines, fatigue and unexplained seizures.
Elsi. I got what was diagnosed as peripheral neuropathy 10 months ago. It happened one day to the next. To the point I got sent to a neurologist was tested and FOUND TO NOT HAVE IT. But I have all of the symptoms. I am at the point of believing it is either autoimmune or trauma-related. I am going now to a Somatic Experiencing/Rolfing practitioner and after the first treatment the pain was greatly reduced, I was able to stop the xanex I took to sleep for a week. (resumed.)
I will add here that doing the keto/time restricted eating/fasting has reduced my migraines.
What kind of spiralizer do you use?
I have been curious about bone broth but where do you buy the bones?
This is my deal with this: If I concerned myself with organic or grass fed meat, there would be the huge expense. I am not in a position to buy $50 steaks or chickens. I choose not to be.
basis of the diet is nine cups of fruits and veggies every day:
Thank you Elsi. Now that I am roasting or sautéing my vegetables I can do this. The other thing I forgot to say I like is pureed vegetable soup. And that uses up loads of cooked vegetables.
My only problem would be the dairy: I NEED the cream in my coffee and tea. And I am quite dependent upon yogurt which is a staple. I use cheese as a snack but could substitute almond butter or nuts. How does Dr. Wahl feel about yogurt, which is fermented? I mean none of this has to be absolute. I could integrate into my diet what I am able to sustain, and keep working towards being better.
Here is my conclusion. Where I am after reading and writing this. I think I have auto-immune issues. Yes. I do. I think I also have issues like your daughter, Elsi. And I have to decide to up my game for health. Mental and physical.
I think your exercise routine sounds tremendous. I have a lot of trouble with my spine. And I feel weakness. I get migraines. I have very poor core strength. But the worst thing is when all hell breaks loose with my son, I lose myself. I become centered in him and I really want to die. Not suicidal but despair. And it is very hard to hang onto any self-care. I do not want to scare myself or any of you, but my life is really depending upon how seriously I begin to take all of this.
I need to up my game again with exercise and movement.
I need to eat more and stop worrying about the weight. (But don't know how. I am afraid to get fat. Maybe I need to start exercising again and focus on weight stabilization.)
What I can do right now is increase to the 9 cups of vegetables. That is easy. My problem will be the dairy. Elsi. Do you have any ideas? If I could hold onto the cream and maybe a cup of yogurt a day, I think I could do it.
Thank you, thank you, thank you. All of this is such a help. I feel better just READING your posts, and WRITING this post.
Elsi. I am sorry about your sister but it sounds like she is getting this stabilized. Look at Romney's wife. I have always been interested in how she used that specialized kind of horsemanship, I forget what it is called, as a form of treatment. I am interested in equine related activities, mounted and not, and how they help in body-mind centering, for trauma and health challenges in generally.
Thank you everybody.
