THE LEPTIN RESET DIET

I've done the lower protein thing for two weeks now, and I gained body fat the second week.

Dr. Jack Kruse

Someone posted on the Atkins Community Forum about Dr. Jack Kruse, who is doing a lot of blogging about Leptin Resistance.  He has his Leptin Prescription up on his website, and I have decided to try it, and I started this morning.

Here are the basics:

1.  First, make sure you really are Leptin Resistant (LR) to begin with.

The easiest way to do so, if you're heavy, is to look in the mirror.  If you're overweight, you definitely are LS.  If you still have a large appetite and crave carbohydrates, especially at night, these are also signs that you are likely LR.  If you are fit or in decent shape and not sure based upon the above symptoms I would tell you to go get a blood test and check your Reverse T3.  If you are LR, it will be elevated.  I also recommend simultaneously checking a salivary cortisol level.  With LR, you will always see higher cortisol levels later in the day.

2.  To regain LS follow a strict paleolithic diet as outlined in The Paleo Solution or the Primal Blueprint.

The type of fuel is important in eliminating the foods that cause Leptin receptors to become nonfunctional.  These two books clearly outline a solid reference point to achieve this.

A.  Try to eat as soon as possible upon rising in the morning.  Make sure that breakfast has little to no carbs and has a lot of protein and fat.  I use, as a general rule, 50-75 grams of protein with most patients.  Some patients can use less and some need more.  The key point of knowing how much for you is your hunger later in the day.  If you remain ravenous you need to eat more protein in the morning.  If you can hold off eating until dinner, you probably are at homeostasis for you.  If you can skip both meals your likely are overdoing it at breakfast.  As for sources of protein, I suggest pastured or organic eggs first, then leftover dinner scraps of grass fed meats/poultry/fish and a third option would be whey protein or protein shakes.

B. Try to limit carb intake to 25 grams if your are overweight by greater than 30 lbs.  If you are fit and have a small amount of weight to loss (less than 30 lbs) you can titrate up your carb loads.  Even then, I do not advocate potatoes or rice as some paleo diets allow for.  You will be able to eat them eventually, but try to avoid starches until you have mastered your cravings and hunger.  Do not count calories.  It is not needed at this point.  Any time I eat carbs, I use liberal amounts of butter, heavy cream, coconut oil and palm oil.  I do not recommend other oils initially like olive oils or industrial seed oils.  I would also avoid nut oils at the initial stages.  My personal favorite is coconut oil because of the great metabolic effects of MCT and how it helps heal the guts of LR folks.

3.  How you eat that fuel is MORE IMPORTANT than any other factor including the food itself.

A.  Never snack at all.  This is meant initially and forever.  Snacking completely stresses the liver’s metabolism and is just not recommended.  Your liver needs to relearn how to use gluconeogenesis normally again when you sleep and awake.  Snacking just destroys timing and circadian clocks that work in unison with Leptin.

B.  Try to eat three meals per day initially, but as your hunger and cravings fade, you can adapt to two meals per day.

C.  Try to eat breakfast as early as possible from rising.

D.  Do not work out before or after breakfast.

E.  Try to allow 4-5 hours between dinner and bedtime.

F.  If you decide to incorporate working out, do it after 5 PM.

G.  Within an hour of sunset try to make your surroundings as dark as possible.

H. If you have trouble falling asleep, I suggest 3-5 minutes of body weight exercises right before bed (push ups or air squats are fine).  Avoid this if your PM cortisol are high.

I.  If you're inclined to, try becoming mindful when you first lay down.  I use transcendental meditation techniques to help me clear my mind and concentrate on improving my thinking.  (Optional, but is awesome if your PM cortisol are high)

4.  Most people will notice a change in their cravings and hunger within 4-6 weeks.

Other changes I ask of my patients is to supplement with prescription-grade fish oils.  The dose depends upon their HS CRP and salivary cortisol levels.

5.  Signs that you are becoming  Leptin Sensitive (LS) again:

Men will notice quick weight loss.  Women will notice mood changes first (calmer/sleepy), and their sleep will improve.  Their clothes will fit differently, but weight may not change drastically initially because of effects on the pituitary.  This will change, too, if they continue moving forward.  Both men and women:  You will notice a change in your sweating pattern.  You will also notice you have better recovery from exercise and your energy levels seem to have risen.  Your hunger is gone and so are your cravings.  And when you awaken you will feel very refreshed like you slept well.  Generally, when the signs are all present, I then really push HIIT exercise with heavy weights.

**********

I had a couple of questions of Dr. Kruse, so I posted them on his blog.  Here was my first post:

My reverse T3 is elevated, but my cortisol is not elevated in the evening, by blood and saliva tests recently. I have 15 pounds to lose that just won’t budge even after eating low carb for 2 years and Paleo for the past year. My body fat is 35%. I am a 55 year old female, peri-menopausal and on bio-identical thyroid, progesterone and testosterone. With elevated T3 and normal cortisol, could it still be LR?

Here is his answer:

If your Reverse T3 is up and you have 35% body fat, there is no doubt that you're Leptin Resistant. I'll bet that you likely have Pregnenolone Steal at the same time to get that result. 25 grams of carbs it is until your Reverse T3 falls and weight loss starts.

I also asked him this, but I have not had an answer yet:

Thank you so much! I guess that 25 carbs is total carbs and not net carbs. Lately, I have only been eating 80 grams of protein per day, split evenly between lunch and dinner – I have been skipping breakfast all together. I see that you say not to do that.

I have been thinking that it was too much protein that was causing the high body fat, and that is why I have cut it down to 80 grams. (I am only 5’3″ tall). I have never eaten more than 25 net carbs per day. I noticed that you said that people should eat 50 grams of protein within 30 minutes of waking, but that some people need less than that. I’m afraid that if I start eating higher protein, I will gain weight. By the way, I do not have carb cravings. I do, however have a huge appetite for a woman my size. I always feel like I want more to eat. I do not snack – I only eat at meals. I do not eat after dinner.

I already lift weights (HIT), but I only do it once a week and I will start doing that after dinner per your suggestion.

I guess my main concern is that if I increase my protein I will start gaining again. How is a person to know if they are one of the ones who needs less than 50 grams of protein at breakfast? Do you suggest that I just jump in and give it a try with the 50 at breakfast and then lunch and dinner without counting grams except for carbs to keep it under 25?

**********

So here is what I am going to do, and I'm going to try to stick with it for eight weeks:

Eat 50 grams of protein with liberal fat and little to no carbs for breakfast, immediately upon rising.
Eat a normal lunch, limiting total carbs to 12.
Eat a normal dinner, limiting total carbs to 13.
Eat nothing between meals.
Eat dinner no later than 6 pm.
On weight lifting days, do it after dinner.
Try really hard to be in bed reading by 9-9:30 pm and lights out by 9:30-10 pm.

********

As I mentioned, I did this for the first time today.  I have not been hungry.  I will post my menu tomorrow as part of my Daily Stats and Menu.

A GOOD NIGHT'S SLEEP DOESN'T HAVE TO BE A PIPE DREAM - BODYLOGICMD

Insomnia is present in approximately 1 out of every 8 Americans, most commonly in women. Sleep is a very important time for your body to renew and refresh itself - as a matter of fact, growth hormone, and DHEA, your body’s “master hormone” are both produced during the first 90 minutes of sleep. Insufficient sleep leads to insufficient growth hormone production, which in turn leads to lower bone density and muscle mass and oftentimes causes adrenal fatigue. In addition, insufficient levels of growth hormone can also disrupt the production of other hormones throughout the body: DHEA, testosterone, insulin, cortisol, progesterone and estrogen.

Insomnia has also been linked to a wide range of chronic and deficiency-related diseases. Studies suggest that by reducing your amount of sleep, you can increase your risk for diabetes. The second major health risk has to do with the adrenal glands which are responsible for the production of the stress hormone known as cortisol. Cortisol helps the body cope with stress. So the less you sleep, the more unstable your adrenal glands become, and it becomes increasingly difficult to manage stress, ultimately resulting in adrenal fatigue. The third major risk caused by lack of sleep is depression. Intermittent sleep cycles can disrupt the function of neurotransmitters, and could bring on sudden bouts of depression.

Many of my patients initially complained about sleep problems – in fact, for the majority of them, it was their chief complaint. Sleep helps the body repair itself overnight. It’s estimated that we’ll spend one-third of our lives under the covers. If you’re having trouble sleeping, it would be wise to avoid sleeping medications at all costs. Many sleep aids are effective on the short-term, but can be habit-forming and oftentimes do more harm than good, with a wide variety of side effects.

Here are some ways you can get a good night’s sleep, without the use of prescription drugs:

1.Hormonal Levels - Adequate sleep is the foundation to balancing all of the other hormones! A lot of sleep problems can be hormonal. Get your hormones checked and balanced. Hormonal imbalances caused by sleep can lead to hot flashes, low sex drive, fatigue, blood sugar instability, difficulty concentrating, painful intercourse, and other symptoms of menopause/andropause.

2.Good Sleep Hygiene - Only use your bed for sleeping and make sure it is dark and quiet in your bedroom.

3.Make Sure to Manage Stress - When you are stressed you can’t sleep. It is important to have a wind down ritual such as drinking tea, or taking a warm shower right before going to bed. Make sure that right before you go to sleep you have a routine that will calm and relax you.

-Dr. Eric Honing, BodyLogicMD of Phoenix

To read the full article, including links, click here.

BLOOD TESTS RESULTS ARE IN - IT'S HIGH CORTISOL CAUSING MY WEIGHT GAIN

I've been gaining weight again, even though my eating has not changed, and I went to my hormone doctor today to get the results of my blood tests.

First of all, here are my symptoms:

Unexplained weight gain
Bloating
Headaches
Warm flushes (like hot flashes without the sweating)
Heart palpitations
Extreme irritability (just ask my husband!)
Lack of energy
Depression
Unexplained weight gain (I know, I already said that one, but it bears repeating)

Some people also experience sleep disturbances, but I have not lately.

The results of my blood tests showed that I have low testosterone and extremely high cortisol hormone. My cortisol has always been around 3 or 4, and has been since I started going to my bioidentical hormone replacement doctor a year and a half ago. Today, I found out that my recent test is at 10, around 3 times my normal amount.

My doctor asked me if I have been under any stress lately. In fact, I have been under an extreme amount of stress due to the economy's effect on my businesses and even the value of my home.  So, um, yeah. I've been under some stress.

We all know from the TV commercials that cortisol causes weight gain, and specifically belly fat. They call cortisol the stress hormone.

Here is what I learned from my doctor today:

Stress causes elevated cortisol. Cortisol causes not only weight gain, but testosterone depletion. Low testosterone causes muscle wasting and fat storage, along with emotional weakness. So it's a vicious circle - stress causes elevated cortisol, which causes low testosterone, which causes emotional weakness, which makes a person more susceptible to the effects of stress, which cause an even higher level of cortisol, which causes an even lower level of testosterone, which causes... well, you get the picture.

So here is what I need to do, according to my doctor, and he says I should start feeling better in a few days and should start losing weight again:

I need to get my testosterone implant more often - every four months instead of five - because it gets used up faster in the presence of stress.

I need to exercise, because exercise reduces the hormone cortisol. I had torn a muscle in my leg, and had stopped exercising, but now it is healed and I need to start again. Whether or not exercise "burns calories" is not really the issue, but rather that exercise can regulate hormones.

I need to psychologically manage my stress better.

So here is my takeaway from the doctor's visit - I hope to start losing weigh again soon, with my cortisol and testosterone in balance. I now know that it is not my fault that I am gaining weight, and eating perfectly and exercising perfectly would not have made me lose weight when my hormones were still messed up.

It's kind of like the problem with being low thyroid. You can eat right and exercise until you drop, but if you are low thyroid, it will be difficult to lose weight, or may, if the thyroid is low enough, be next to impossible.

And I also want to encourage others who are eating what they should - high fat, moderate protein and controlled carbs - and still not losing weight, that it is not necessarily that Atkins is "not working for you". There are so many factors that influence weight gain, and what you eat and how active you are may not even be your problem. It could be sleep problems, it could be stress, or many other things. We need to persevere until we find the answer.

I may not know the answers to everything, but this I know - Eating the Atkins Way is the healthiest way to eat, and even if I never lose any more weight, I'm sticking with it!

MY INTERVIEW WITH JIMMY MOORE ON THE LIVIN' LA VIDA LOW-CARB SHOW

In Episode 404 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore,” we hear from Atkins weight loss success story Rebecca Latham who was featured on pages 114-115 of the bestselling The New Atkins For A New You book. She shares all about her journey these days at her “My Low-Carb Road To Better Health” blog with all the ups, downs, and in-betweens that have happened to her over the years. Hear Rebecca talk about how she has always felt fat even when she was at a normal weight, the various diets she has been on over the years, how she found the Atkins diet for the first time in 2000, how her husband was positively impacted by following Atkins until he stopped doing the plan, her fateful encounter with Colette Heimowitz from Atkins Nutritionals, the hormonal challenges she faces that makes building muscle and burning body fat difficult, the various setbacks she has experienced in her low-carb lifestyle, the heavy influence of Mark Sisson’s work (The Primal Blueprint is “like Atkins on steroids”), the necessary tweaks she needed to make to make her low-carb plan work for her, why the scale is not a reliable indicator of your low-carb progress, her frustration with finding the right body composition, her recommendation for people wanting to eat a more clean low-carb diet, the health issues her husband has been dealing with which have required him to get back on Atkins again, the change in body perception she has experienced since losing weight, the supplements she takes on her Atkins lifestyle, the genetic predisposition for ALS and how her supplements are helping her with this, her foray into intermittent fasting, her sample low-carb menus, her use of thyroid medication and how it has helped her, her “My Body Is Not A Piggy Bank: Do Calories Matter?” thread on the Atkins forum, and the ramifications of eating too much fat. You’ll quickly realize how and why Rebecca is such an ardent defender of the low-carb lifestyle and has become quite knowledgable of how it works over the past decade.

Listen to the interview by right clicking here.  There are two interviews on the podcast, and this one starts at 19:47 on the counter, so you can fast forward to that number if you like.

T.S. WILEY ON WHY LACK OF SLEEP WILL MAKE YOU FAT

In this episode of The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show, Jimmy Moore speaks with T.S. Wiley, creator of the Wiley Protocol and author of Lights Out: Sleep, Sugar, and Survival and Sex, Lies and Menopause.  Listen in as they discuss the effects of artificial light and bad sleep habits on health and weight, hormone replacement therapy, the importance of maintaining proper melatonin levels, her friendship with the late great Dr. Robert C. Atkins and much more.  Right click here to listen to the interview.

I read Lights Out last summer, and was very impressed with it.  I have recently started trying to go to bed earlier - in bed reading by 9 and lights out by 10 - based on the research I read in this book.  I highly recommend the book, but in the absence of that, this interview will give you a good overview of the contents of the book.

One very interesting part of the interview is where T.S. talks about an experiment done on young men that showed differences in weight and insulin levels based on how much sleep - in the dark - they were getting each day.  Fascinating stuff!

MAY 9 - WEEK 60 RESULTS AND "MARK'S DAILY APPLE"

This week I gained 0.8 pounds.
Beginning weight – 141.0 pounds
Ending weight – 141.8 pounds

Here is an average of my daily food intake for this past week:

1993 Calories
150.3g Fat (67.9%)
110.3g Protein
49.9g Carbs
24.3g Fiber
25.6g net carbs, of which 12.5g came from veggies

It is a comfort to think that there are people "out there" who care about me enough to comment or lend advice or send a hug.

I have already been deciding (today, before I read your comments) that I am going to take a break from tracking, at least for a week, if I can stop myself!

I've been doing some reading on a website called “Mark’s Daily Apple” (right click here to visit that webiste) which I highly recommend) and have found that it agrees with Atkins about 95% or so, and one of the things that it says is to try not tracking and just eating right. Mark Sisson, the author of the website, has a new book out, called “Primal Blueprint" (right click here to check out the book), and I ordered it online. It should be here in several days.

So, starting tomorrow, I am going to attempt that. The only problem (don't laugh!) is that I want to track what I am eating so that later on, I can see what the results of my "not tracking" are!

It is so hard to not track! It is a pain sometimes, and I wish I did not have to do it, but I always find myself wanting to know the data, so that I can make decisions based on it.

I remember when I first started Atkins in March 2009, I did not track and just tried to follow the recommendations, and I did not lose weight.

Here is something else I am thinking, too, in response to all of your concerns: You say that I should not worry, because I recently had surgery, but this not-losing-weight thing (and actually, according to my doctor, I have been losing muscle and gaining fat since August 2009) has been going on for many months, so I don't think I can blame the surgery or my recovery on it. I was on a plateau for 8 months, then broke it several weeks ago, and now I have gained it all back and then some, and now I am steadily gaining just a little every day.

I am also anxious to start going to the gym again. It has been over 7 weeks since the last time I exercised in any way, due to severe pain and other unpleasantness for a few weeks before the surgery and then the surgery itself and recovery time.

I am going back to the doctor on May 25th and he will measure my body fat again. I've got a bad feeling about the results.

As long as I am telling you all about my stress, I will drop this little nugget on you: On May 31st, I am being interviewed by Jimmy Moore for his podcast. I was excited at first, because I was losing when he asked me, but now I am gaining and feeling like a failure and I'm not sure what to say on the show. I don't want to come off as saying "Atkins doesn't work." I guess right now, I just don't have a positive testimony.

I guess that is another reason I am so anxious to lose weight again, so that I can be in a "losing" state when I am on the show and do you all proud.

Someone said that it might be that my body has reached it's ideal weight. At 38% body fat, I think that is unlikely.

One of the reasons that my doctor wants me to get to 25% body fat (or so) is that estrogen is produced by adipose tissue (fat) and it is one of the reasons I am estrogen dominant, which causes additional weight gain.

So you can see that it is a vicious circle: The more body fat you have, the more estrogen you make, which causes you to put on more body fat, which produces more estrogen, which causes you to put on more body fat, which produces more estrogen... Well, I think you get the picture!

I had very lovely dinner last night at my son's house. I was delighted to see that my daughter-in-law fixed roasted chicken leg and thigh quarters and roasted veggies, including carrots, zucchini, mushrooms, red bell peppers and potatoes. It was yummy! I had all the veggies, and two bites of the potatoes. I declined the Diet Coke and drank water. Then, for dessert, she served homemade puff pastry with whipped cream filling with fresh strawberries and drizzled with just a little chocolate. It looked like it came out of a magazine! WOW!

So it was an Atkins-friendly dinner and a sinful dessert.

I also managed to get in bed reading by 10 pm and lights out around 10:30. I'll try to do better tonight - my goal is in bed by 9 pm and lights out by 10.

I woke up in the middle of the night to tinkle, and when I got back in bed, I heard birds singing! It was later than I though - 4:50 am. I tried to go back to sleep, but my husband kept breathing in my direction and keeping me awake. I usually wake up and get up around 7:30 each morning.

After 30 minutes of listening to all the various vocalizations and nose whistles my husband was making, I got the crazy idea to get up and go for a walk. I got up and looked at the thermometer (40 degrees) and got back into bed. I still couldn't sleep. All I could think of was that I wanted to go for a walk. It was as though I was being compelled to do it, and at 6:00, I gave in to the urge and got bundled up and headed out.

It didn't seem as cold as I thought it would be, and by the time I had walked briskly for 45 minutes, my coat was tied around my waist and I had worked up a sweat. It was so lovely to be out at that time of morning, listening to all the birds and knowing that most of the houses I walked past contained sleeping people.

There are a few new houses being built in my neighborhood, and I took the opportunity to sneak into two of them and look around. Then back home to weigh and measure.

While I have been gaining weight this past week, some people have said that I may not have gained inches. Sadly, I did. It seems like everything is going south!

In the past 7 days:

I lost 1/4” from my bust
I gained 1/2” around my navel
I gained 1/2” around my hips
I gained 1/4" around my thighs
I gained 1/4” around my calves

Here are my measurements today:

12.5" - neck
12" - bicep
9" - forearm
36" - bust
30" - midriff
29.5" - waist
34" - navel
39" - hips
22.25" - thighs
13.75" - calves

But, I am happy to report, I have lost weight this morning - 1.2 pounds! That makes me feel better, which it shouldn't, because my body size is bigger, but I'll take what I can get!

According to the scale, I have gained 1 pound in the last 7 days.
According to my 1-week average, I gained 2.2 pounds in the last 7 days.
According to my 4-week average, I have lost 0.1 pounds in the last 7 days.

According to the scale, I have gained 0.6 pounds in the last 4 weeks.
According to my 1-week average, I have lost 0.2 pounds in the last 4 weeks.
According to my 4-week average, I have gained 0.5 pounds in the last 4 weeks.

I have decided to go off of dairy for awhile and see what happens. But I'll have to start that tomorrow, because I already had the ingredients to make Eggs Florentine with Cheese Sauce for breakfast this morning, and it contains both cheddar cheese and heavy cream.

Due to the amount of stress I have been under as of late, I'm thinking about going back to my yoga class that meets once a week. I was going last summer, and I really liked it, but I had a bad shoulder and the poses were aggravating it, so I quit.

Now the other shoulder is inflamed, so I don't know whether yoga will work out or not, but I think I'm going to go tomorrow.

Today, Bill and I just went out and about, to the mall and the bookstore. Although today is Mother's Day, there is no celebration for me, because I had that yesterday at my son's house, and my sweet daughter is so far away. I spent today pretending that we were together. Bill went out before breakfast, and bought home flowers and a card.

I made no plans on what to eat today, except that it was Atkins-friendly. I did not measure and weigh or put it on Fitday.

I usually weigh in the morning at 7:30. This morning I weighed at 6:00. After my walk, I weighed again at 7:30. I lost another 0.2 pounds. Guess which weight I'm going to use for my official one? LOL!

141.0 - 05/02
142.0 - 05/03
141.8 - 05/04
142.8 - 05/05
142.6 - 05/06
142.8 - 05/07
143.2 - 05/08
141.8 - 05/09

I am still at the point where I am heavier than I was 4 weeks ago, so I can't tell what my goal date is, because if my weight does what it has done in the past 4 weeks, I will steadily gain weight, not lose weight.

After my walk, I sat down at the computer for about 20 minutes, and when I stood up, every muscle in my body screamed, "Sit back down!!!" Then, a minute later, one of my toes decided to fold down under my foot. Ouchy ba ba ba.

I need to get more active! HA!

Happy Mother's Day, everyone!

I had lunch at Culver's. A double bacon cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato, pickles and mayo, without bun, and a small side salad with blue cheese dressing.

While we were at the bookstore, I saw Mark Sisson’s book, so I sat down and read it for about 20 minutes. I did not buy it, because mine is ordered and on the way.

I splurged and had a piece of sugar-free dark chocolate with pecans at the mall.

Dinner is a grilled ribeye with butter, garlic powder and sea salt, and roasted asparagus with my butter/mayo sauce.

Dessert is about 4 oz. of fresh strawberries. Yes, I weighed them, to make sure I did not go crazy, but I did not put them on fitday.

It is 9 pm and I am going to bed to read until I get sleepy, just like I planned.

Good night, Neverland!

THOUGHTS ON CALORIES

The more I am learning, the more I am questioning the place of calories in the way our metabolisms work. It is less about calories and more about the way that the food we eat impacts our insulin production.

As Elena pointed out in another thread, it may be possible that calories only "matter" in that we need to be sure to eat enough, so that our bodies do not conserve our fat stores.

Since starting Atkins, I have lost weight 2 ways:

1) lowering calories a lot AND lowering net carbs a lot

2) raising calories a lot AND raising net carb a little

In retrospect, I think it had more to do with keeping net carbs low than it did with keeping calories low. Not only that, but lowering my calories did not help me lose weight long term. I lost a few pounds and then hit a plateau that lasted for 8 months. The way I broke the plateau was to eat more food (calories).

And here is another thought: Since I am eating right, according to the Atkins guidelines, it could be entirely plausible that what I am eating, how much, etc., has absolutely nothing to do with my recent weight gain.

It could be other factors in my life, such as lack of adequate sleep, hormonal imbalances, stress, etc., that are causing an over-release of insulin, which is, biologically speaking, the only way to store fat.

Trying to lose weight without addressing these issues may just be an exercise in futility.

APRIL 30, 2010 - MONTH END REPORT

Wouldn't it have been nice to round off the month still in the 130s? But, alas, I jumped back up a pound this morning to 140.6. No doubt water weight. I wonder why I am retaining water? When I was sick, I was not drinking my normal 72 oz. each day, and yesterday, for the first time since surgery, I did. Possibly my body is not used to it anymore, and it needs to readjust.

No nausea this morning. And no pain. A little groggy from a short night of sleep - around 5.5 hours. Now and then I go through periods of insomnia. This has gone on for a few days now, so I hope I can nip it in the bud. It's a hormonal imbalance. Women with very low progesterone, like myself, cannot sleep naturally, and while I was sick, I was off my BHRT. I'm back on now, so hopefully, I'll get back on track soon.

Work today! I never thought I would be happy about going to work! I'm going stir crazy in this house. I was even thinking about going back the the gym, if nothing else, to do my PACE routine on the treadmill. I'll ask the doctor if it is too soon to start lifting weights again.

Since this is the last day of the month, I'm going to be really obnoxious and post all kinds of stats, just for my own amusement. If anyone is reading this, feel free to allow your eyes to glaze over, or maybe just drift away to sleep.

According to the scale, I have lost 5.4 pounds in the past 7 days.
According to my 1-week average, I have lost 6.1 pounds in the past 7 days.
According to my 4-week average, I have lost 0.3 pounds in the past 7 days.

146.0 - 04/23
142.0 - 04/24
142.0 - 04/25
141.8 - 04/26
140.0 - 04/27
140.0 - 04/28
139.6 - 04/29
140.6 - 04/30

One of the things I track is the average weight for each calendar month. It is not a moving average - I just take my scale weight each day of the month, add them together and divide by the number of days in the month. It gives me an idea of the overall trend. Here are my monthly average weights since I started tracking in February 2009:

155.0 - February 2009
150.9 - March 2009 - lost 4.1 pounds
148.3 - April 2009 - lost 2.6 pounds
145.8 - May 2009 - lost 2.5 pounds
142.6 - June 2009 - lost 3.2 pounds
141.5 - July 2009 - lost 1.1 pounds
141.6 - August 2009 - gained 0.1 pounds (the start of my plateau)
141.9 - September 2009 - gained 0.3 pounds
141.7 - October 2009 - lost 0.2 pounds
140.5 - November 2009 - lost 1.2 pounds
141.2 - December 2009 - gained 0.7 pounds
141.4 - January 2010 - gained 0.2 pounds
143.9 - February 2010 - gained 2.5 pounds
143.8 - March 2010 - lost 0.1 pounds
143.6 - April 2010 - lost 0.2 pounds

APRIL 29, 2010 - DAILY REPORT AND FEELING BETTER

To round off my eating yesterday, I had 6 oz. of roast pork with 1 Tbs. butter and sea salt, 8 oz. (raw weight) of oven roasted broccoli with olive oil, cumin, marjoram and sea salt, 3.4 oz. canned pumpkin with heavy cream and Stevia, and 2 Tbs. full milk Greek yogurt with 1.2 oz. strawberries and Stevia.

I ate so light early in the day that I had to make up for it with a gigantic dinner. I just need to keep my nutrition up. But I was still so sick to my stomach, I had Pepto Bismol 3 times yesterday.

And even though I went to bed with a book and melatonin at 9:30, I could not fall asleep, and I woke up in the middle of the night when I had fallen asleep. Not a good night!

From the time I got up yesterday until the time I got up today, I have lost 0.4 pounds. Here is what I ate yesterday:

1971 calories
149.4g fat (68.2%)
117.9g protein
38.8g total carbs
13.8g fiber
25g net carbs, of which 14.9g came from veggies

According to the scale, I have lost 6.8 pounds in the past 7 days.
According to my 1-week average, I have lost 5.8 pounds in the past 7 days.
According to my 4-week average, I have lost 0.1 pounds in the past 7 days.

146.4 - 04/22
146.0 - 04/23
142.0 - 04/24
142.0 - 04/25
141.8 - 04/26
140.0 - 04/27
140.0 - 04/28
139.6 - 04/29

I am happy to report that I have taken no more Pepto since this morning and my tummy is fine!

I took a walk today, around the block twice, pushing a stroller with a wonderful 9-month old grandboy in it, and did not die! I was very winded and had to lie down for awhile, but not too bad. It was my first time out of the house or hospital in 16 days!

I then took a half block walk later with the same wonderful grandboy and also a wonderful 3 year old grandgirl. Got winded again, but not too bad.

I am pain free and have eaten all my food so far today. I still have absolutely no appetite, and at the moment I am going to try to force down dinner, but generally speaking, I think I am recovering nicely.

I'm even going to work tomorrow for a few hours! YAY!

Well, it's been an interesting day - I seem to have done a significant amount of recovery! I've eaten well, taken two walks and I'm feeling very well this evening. :0}

Bill was here for breakfast and lunch, but he was gone for dinner and I took the opportunity to "scrounge" - eating a little of this and little of that, whatever seemed tasty and would fulfill my nutrition needs, no matter how odd!

Here is what I ate today:

Breakfast
2 scrambled eggs, 1 Tbs. cream, 1/8 tsp. sea salt, 1/8 tsp. ground turmeric, cooked in 1 Tbs. butter
5.5 oz. raw cauliflower
1/2 Tbs. brick cheese

Lunch
4 oz. (cooked weight) pork roast with sea salt and 1 tsp. butter
Salad - romaine lettuce, green pepper, avocado, parmesan cheese, with my homemade olive oil/live juice/crushed garlic salad dressing
1 oz. raw almonds

Dinner (kinda weird)
1 can sardines
1 large blueberry flaxmeal pancake with butter and SF maple syrup
6 oz. raw green pepper

2034 calories
150.1g fat (66.4%)
113.8g protein
57g carbs
28g fiber
4g sugar alcohols
25 net carbs, of which 14.6 were from veggies (all raw today)