I'm Happy About Everything Except Sleep

Nothing to see here.

It's day 19 and I have been trying to write for a few days. This is interesting because for me it's a sign that this is no longer a novelty -- I'm having trouble getting motivated to write about it. Nothing earth-shattering is happening. I'm feeling pretty great, I'm slowly losing weight, I almost never think about food except when I'm hungry.

POOF! No more headaches!

On day 12 my "Paleo flu" disappeared. I had been having a very low-grade headache on and off since I started strict paleo. I believe it's because I cut out the diet soda, artificial sweetners and occasional Kemps Frozen Yogurt I'd been eating, but I have no proof. I have anecdotal reports from others to support it and I can say I changed nothing and it just went away on its own. Okay, I did start trying to drink more water as I thought it was due to dehydration, but once they went away so did my meticulous water drinking work ethic.

Threw 5-hour window out the window!

The biggest change that I've made has to do with when I eat. In the beginning I chose to combine the Fast-5 schedule with Paleo to a) quickly get mindless eating under control and b) lose weight as fast and efficiently as possible. About 2 weeks into it I realized I'd been stretching the window to 6 hours. Then in week 3 I decided 5 hours wasn't working for me at all. The reason might surprise you: I couldn't fit 2 meals into the window.

I would eat a late lunch around 2 or 3pm, then when it came time to eat dinner with Bryan I wasn't hungry. I ate anyway because I needed the calories. Without them I eventually felt wonky. It just didn't feel right for me, eating when I wasn't hungry. I mean, isn't that one of the reasons I wanted to do this experiment? To stop eating mindlessly or when I wasn't really hungry? Ugh.

So I've relaxed on the 5-hour window and it's more like a 8-hour window. I basically skip breakfast, eat lunch, eat dinner which is what I was doing before but condensing it down to 5 hours just wasn't working for my lifestyle. I absolutely have to eat dinner with Bryan (hubby) because that's one of our family activities. No way am I giving that up. And I certainly wasn't going to fast until dinner to make sure I was hungry at that time! Insanity!

Cheating? Why, yes, I have cheated.

I had a couple of days where I drank diet coke from McD's. Yup. I did it. I also had the insides of 2 sausage egg McMuffin sandwiches twice. That's not super bad, but not great. Sausage is already processed and I'm sure McD's is processed even more. Eggs, totally fine. It was one of those typical things where you're on the run, don't have time to do much else but really need to eat. I could have stopped at the sandwiches and had water. The diet coke was definitely a really flimsy rationalization. Actually, no, it was simply me deciding not to give a shit. I had those diet cokes and enjoyed them.

I've also had a very, very occasional cheese. I had sprinkles of parmesan in the homemade, scrumptious marinara sauce Bryan made for us (we use spaghetti squash instead of pasta). I had farm produced blue cheese in my lettuce wrapped burger last night with a slice of American cheese (my biggest offense to date).

Oh, and I also started putting raw honey in my coconut milk coffee/cocao. And sometimes I have it in the morning before I'm supposed to, which means I'm not really always fasting these days. As soon as you have calories you are out of the fast. Sigh. And I'm not even craving this hot drink, at least not physically. I am craving that hot cup between your hands in the morning, while sitting outside listening to the birds - even in summer. It's me chasing an emotion.

Weight loss is slower, yet steady - 10.6lbs, 38% of total goal.

It's funny too because the actual drinking of said drink is never as good as I imagine it will be. I'm also wondering if breaking my fast and adding the honey to what I eat is the cause of my slow, slow weight loss. I'm toying with getting recommitted to no sugar and a strict 8-hour fast for the last 11 days (cuz I'm having a cup this morning on day 19 so I'd start tomorrow). It would be really fascinating to see if I suddenly lose weight faster. Oooh. I just got excited because that's new data to collect!

Generally, I'm happy -- I have had no problems sticking to paleo eating by and large and when I have strayed it hasn't been an all-out binge on something crappy. In fact, that's probably what pleases me most -- I feel normal about food. I don't eat anything to excess or even want to. I'm not saying that I was out of control all the time prior to this, but there were times I ate too much and there were certain foods I wanted to eat long after feeling full. I think we don't talk about this enough but we have many, many processed, sugar-laden foods that are addictive.

The blame is squarely placed on individuals who can't moderate, but it's one of those battles that's pretty hard to win and there are an awful lot of people battling it out for it to simply be about willpower or discipline. I eat delicious food right now, but I don't think about it like I thought about the last few spoonfuls of ice cream. What did I think about them? I'd think, crap, I'm almost done. I want another bowl. I don't want to be done with the ice cream. I couldn't even enjoy the last few bites because I was sad I didn't have a lot left. WTF!?

Sleep -- still a problem

I haven't had a good nights sleep since I started, but I really must reiterate it's due to my 3 cats who take turns waking me at all hours. Over the last 3 days I've increased their wet food intake right before I go to bed and that's helped stave them off until after 6am. Yet, I feel my body is not used to sleeping longer so I still wake up on my own! I would guess I've started getting a solid 6 hours each night though and that's a freakin' improvement, believe me! But I really want to sleep a solid 8 hours each night. I haven't figured out how to make that happen but I suspect it will involve:

• Going to sleep at 10pm and waking at 6pm. 
• Working out so my body naturally wants to sleep more.
• I may have to help retrain my body with some over the counter sleep aids.

I know that getting enough sleep is important in all aspects of my life and it's important to weight loss and building/repairing muscle. I have to solve this. Until I do, my progress will be limited.


Until next time -- thanks for reading.

Headaches, Stalled Weight Loss, Terrible Sleep -- But Keeping the Faith

I've had this dull headache on and off for 8 days (today is the morning of the 9th day so I'm not counting it as a full day). I first attributed it to my body adjusting to zero caffeine -- I gave up caffeine and soda in 2014 but in the last 6 months have been having soda on and off). I now believe it's an adjustment to going back to Paleo.

First, what you all want to know: I've lost 6.6 lbs (a couple of days ago I had lost 7 but I gained some back). I pretty much stagnated on day 4-6 (~5lbs lost), drop 2 lbs on day 7 and have maintained again. I was hoping for the 14lb loss in 2 weeks that I experienced in 2014 but no such luck. Fun fact, though -- in 1998 I first did the Atkins lifestyle and I weighed myself every day at the gym. The scale was not budging. One day I went into the gym and the scale was 10lbs lighter. I kid you not. I thought it was a fluke -- water weight or something -- but sure enough it stayed 10lbs lighter and continued to drop slowly after that. I am hoping for this miracle again.

Second, let me tell you what Paleo means to me:

• I err on the side of caution and avoid food I think might be in any of these categories. For me, simple is easier and I am blessed with being content with the same food over and over.
• No sugar AT ALL -- no yogurt, frozen yogurt, artificial sweetener, any processed foods with sugar, etc. It's EVERYWHERE.
• Very few processed foods. This is the hardest because anything you buy that's cooked for you is bound to have some processed ingredients from the flavoring. I buy Market Basket buffalo wings and I'm willing to bet the buffalo sauce has preservatives. Even spice blends have preservatives! Look on your bottle! I actually have made my own taco and chicken wing seasonings since 2014 because they are preservative free (and taste bananas). 
• Speaking of bananas, I don't eat fruit because of the sugar content. At some point, when my weight is under control I will add back fruit. I do love me some fruit smoothies. 
• No starch or anything with a high glycemic index, such as white potatoes. For now sweet potatoes are also off the list too, although once weight goals are achieved I may add them back (I only eat them once in awhile anyway). 
• No legumes, grains or dairy because they can cause autoimmune problems (inflammation inside the body) without you even realizing it (gut problems, metabolic issues, skin problems like psoriasis). Even if I am not affected I am taking no chances because it's just not hard for me to give them up.

So if you google headaches and paleo you will see a lot of results that cite the "low carb flu" as the culprit. I didn't dig in too much but it makes sense and since I can't ever be sure of the cause I'm going with it. Apparently as you go cold turkey off carbs your body has to re-regulate metabolically and during this re-regulation you can get extra tired and with a side of headaches.

It's true -- I am extra tired and have had a dull headache every day, usually in the morning or during the night. Also apparently I can ease the headaches by drinking more water. It's true -- I have been drinking only about 2 liters a day. I probably need 3 liters. As far as being tired, I can't be sure this is the switch to strict paleo as I have 3 cats who take turns waking me up all night long. I imagine it's like having a baby that never grows up. I haven't had a good night's sleep at home in about 8 years (I've had them 16 years but they weren't always jerks).

So it all sounds like crap, doesn't it? I mean, WHY am I doing this if I am experiencing headaches and am so sleepy all the time? Well, because I've done it before and I know it works for me. Also, because I very rarely crave junk food like frozen yogurt or chips or diet soda. In fact, only once have I craved any junk and I pulled into the parking lot and sat in my car debating the merits of going in and buying it. I decided against it. There were so many cons and in the past the one pro (because I WANT it!) would have won out. But this time, it didn't. I was freakin' proud of myself! And later I was grateful because I really didn't even want it in retrospect.

I was just bored. And how many of us eat or drink crap as entertainment? 

Going Through Withdrawal

Hey Readers,

Going forward these will be small notes but I'm packing in 5 days into one post so please forgive the length.

I thought I was starting Paleo but it turns out the biggest change so far has been the increase in a mild headache, face-ache and weird body pains. You might think that's enough to argue it's a bad thing, this Paleo, but I also feel better. Huh. How do I feel better if I have a headache every day? I don't know really, I feel more clear headed and awake. It's quite hard to quantify, actually so I'll just go day by day:

JAN 1 (Day 1)

My birthday was December 19th and for my gift, Bryan agreed to enthusiastically do Paleo with me. Yay! It's so much easier knowing that he won't make something I can't have, that he thinks I can, and ask if I want it. That leads to me feeling torn between eating the way I need to and rejecting his offer. But better than that, I get to go on this journey with my favorite person.

Day 1 surprised me because I was HUNGRY all day. We ate eggs, bacon, pork, zucchini, cauliflower with a few other flavorings like garlic, tomato, spices. I ate probably every 2 hours and that was me resisting. Historically this type of eating keeps me sated so I sort of panicked silently.

In terms of giving up things, the hardest part was drinking water instead of Crystal light or coffee. mmmm coffee. Some of you might be wondering why I won't drink Crystal Light or even black coffee. I'll summarize what I am and not doing at the end and why.

JAN 2

I woke up with a headache assuming it was due to the heat automatically turning on while I was still sleeping. I decided to see if it'd go away on its own. Because the day before I was unusually hungry I did a little reading and found it could be that I wasn't eating enough fat and protein, in that order so I added turkey ham to the eggs, had the rest of the pork dish and cooked 12 breakfast sausages for snacking that night. Plus we added some almonds and cashews.

My headache didn't go away so I took excedrin (which has caffeine) in the afternoon and by evening it was gone. Hmmm.

JAN 3

The headache was there again this morning and that's when I realized I must be going through caffeine withdrawal. Truth be told I got kind of excited! If I'm going through withdrawal it means caffeine was noticeably affecting my body (good or bad). You see, I sleep like sh*t and I never believed it was caffeine related because when I have coffee, I don't seem to "feel" anything. I don't drink it to wake up, I drink it as a part of my routine and it's an emotional thing. This headache gave me hope that the whole idea of being as strict as I can might have benefits I don't even know I need. Yay!

More good news: I am not feeling as hungry.

JAN 4

This was a good day. Yeah, I woke up with my face aching, and took more excedrin, but today I felt really full after eating breakfast and lunch. For dinner I had a bunch of almonds because I wasn't hungry enough to cook anything. I did notice, however, that I didn't feel as good after eating them so I think a) I over did it and b) I'll stop eating nuts for the remainder of the days just in case. I can always have more in month two to see if I noticed any sensitivity.

When going to sleep I did notice some weird body aches in my legs and hips. I'll keep an eye on that.

JAN 5

Woke up with a headache and took ibuprofen instead of excedrin. Why? Because I want to eliminate caffeine. I'm happy to report that it worked and I'm headache free. Normally ibuprofen doesn't touch my normal headaches so this is interesting.

Summary of pros:

1. Feel more clear headed and awake during awake hours
2. Sated by meals and hunger signals are for true hunger, not cravings.
3. Only had one craving for coffee and it's gone away.
4. I prefer water now and drink it readily.
5. I think I'm sleeping better but it's unclear since I still get woken up by kitties. Too soon to tell.
6. I've lost 1.5lbs according to the scale, but I think that will be better tracked over a longer period of time. That could easily be normal fluctuation.
7. Oh yeah, and I haven't had any heart palpitations. Yup, I was having some weird fluttering in spurts. Too soon to tell, but so far none.

Summary of cons;

1. Headache every day due to caffeine withdrawal.
2. A little constipated but strangely less so than normal. 

What I'm doing;

• Eating meats: Beef, pork, chicken, fish. Although grass fed meat would be ideal it's not very practical or budget friendly. Plus it overwhelms me and makes me want to stop until it's perfect. So in the meantime I'm doing some research so when it becomes more important for me to try I know where to go. 
• Meat that's not grass fed or organic is not the best is because they aren't usually free to roam naturally (read: caged or confined), there are hormones, steroids, preservatives in the food, pesticides that are used to grow the food and some of the foods are GMOs (haven't done enough research on this one to have a strong opinion). These all accumulate in the fat of the meat.
• NOT eating or drinking dairy, not even cheddar cheese!
• It turns out any dairy messes with your digestion and cause inflammation. It's possible that the effects are so minor that I may not notice what they are until I go without for this trial of 31 days. I'm willing to do that. 
• NOT eating any grains
• I happen to know they cause problems for me despite the two extensive allergy tests coming up with zero allergies. I stumbled across this realization when I first went on Atkins 15 years ago and FINALLY stopped getting daily hives on my FACE! Ugh. So this is proof that doctors don't know everything. 
• NOT eating legumes (including peanuts)
• This was news to me but apparently they can cause digestive problems and they can prevent nutrition absorption. This is a case where I'm willing to see what happens so I'm giving them up. 
• NOT drinking coffee or anything with artificial sweetener.
• There's a chance coffee is not helping me in the sleep or weight loss department so I'm kicking it to see what happens. 
• Drinking seltzer water with lemon or lime juice as a treat.
• I shouldn't be doing this because lime juice has preservatives - I found this out after I'd consumed 3 or 4 delightful glasses. Then I panicked. Then I relaxed. I'm going to limit it to only when I crave it so it doesn't become a habit. 
• Taking probiotics - healthy bacteria that aids in digestion and can help counter constipation. I'm also planning to get some prebiotics which are food for probiotics. They seem harder to find.
• Taking Magnesium which should help with sleeping and constipation. 

Exercise is important but I'm focusing on this so I don't end up either overwhelming myself or failing to meet my standards and giving up altogether. 

I weigh myself once a morning with clothes on, before eating, after tinkling (as my mom would say). I want to lose 25lbs so I write down how much more I have to lose each day. This is not me obsessing about weight, rather it's one of the only easily attained metrics. I could have gone to my doctor and gotten all sorts of blood work done, but I would never have started. And plus, I'm a lucky person because I almost never have anything out of whack from those tests. I'm virtually indestructible. 

;-)