I lost 6 pounds in 6 days! I can't believe it!

[avendesora]

First of all, I wasn't trying to go hard-core enough to lose weight that fast. It just sort of happened.

First, I realized that I've been pregnant and or nursing for the last six years, but I weaned my baby six months ago... and haven't yet changed my eating habits. I was still snacking ALL the time. I was eating a small breakfast (cold cereal), then having a snack or two in the morning with the kids, and then a small lunch because I had had too many snacks, and then snacks in the afternoon because I hadn't had enough lunch.... too many snacks, even if they were healthy. I was reading about "intermittent fasting" (ie, not eating between meals), and it sounded very reasonable to me.

I've also been feeling really cold this winter, even when I was at the library where it was 72. Weird. I read about hypothyroidism possibly being related to a gluten intolerance. Got me wondering.

I was also reading about wheat causing leptin resistance, which I'd be happy to write more about if anyone is interested.

Last Saturday, Dh and I indulged in a big breakfast - eggs and sausage and apple slices, but no toast. I was full until 4 pm! I couldn't believe how long it lasted.

So here's what I've done over the past week:

1. No sugar. (good standard rule anyway). My one exception: one square of 78% dark chocolate right after dinner.

2. No gluten (just trying it for myself, to test for an insensitivity). I've also been grain-free except for well-soaked brown rice.

3. No snacks. Each meal is finished within an hour easily. I eat as much as I want from say 7:30 - 8:30 am, from 12:00 - 1:00 and from 5:30 - 6:30 (not hard and fast times, but if I still feel hungry within an hour of having had a meal, I eat more then.)

4. Satiating breakfasts. Eat breakfast with enough protein and fat to keep me full for a while. Eggs, maybe some meat, maybe some cheese, maybe some vegetables, maybe some fruit.

I have not been low-carb. We had shepherd's pie with lots of mashed potatoes one dinner, for example. I've tried low-carb before, and I just felt gross after a while. Dizzy, and sick. And I had a car accident each time because I didn't have enough glucose in my brain to think and react quickly enough. I won't be doing that again! Not worth the risk!

Have I been hungry? Only at 11:00 am and at 4:30 pm, so I'm not feeling hungry for long stretches of time. And the brief noticings of hunger (can't even call them 'pangs' they were so mild) felt good, believe it or not. I'm wondering if hunger signals weren't meant to tell us to eat, but rather, time to start prepping the next meal, which might take an hour or more traditionally.

I don't know where this is headed for me. I don't know how much weight will be dropped before I plateau. We'll see. But I feel good for now and I'm fitting into my skinny jeans! (I went from 139 to 133.)

Here's another interesting thing that happened: Sunday dinner, I had two bites left on my plate, and I got a loud and clear message in my brain that said, "FULL! Time to stop eating." I've always been one to clear my plate, but I just couldn't do it. Maybe that's related to the leptin sensitivity thing.

I've been reading Stephen Guyenet's blog, which is where I got some of my ideas. I can't recommend it enough.

Thanks for celebrating with me!
Aven

[jplain]

Congrats!

More good reading for you:
Mark's Daily Apple
Heart Scan Blog

[Rasa]

Me too! 15 lbs in 2-3 weeks!

I've had a similar experience. Last June I started TF (which for me was finding out about the issues surrounding homogenized milk)--when I switched to non-homogenized I dropped 5 lbs almost instantly (very weird for me). But in December, I cut out gluten (ND suggested it could be causing my dishydrotic eczema flares) and within 2-3 weeks dropped about 15 lbs. I was flabbergasted (though I could easily stand to lose another 40 lbs or more). My understanding is that a quick drop like that could have signaled inflammation-based weight gain. (I'm saddened to recently learn that I may have a dairy sensitivity and am having much more trouble eliminating that but hope it has a similar resulting weight-loss correlate!)

I didn't think I actually consumed that much gluten, but I do know that often my gluten was bound to sugar (toast with butter and homemade freezer jam which was sweetened with org. cane sugar; pancakes with maple syrup; muffins sweetened with honey or rapadura) so cutting gluten did also have the effect of cutting out most of my sugar, which is great! I have added some occasional 'gluten-free products' which contain sugar (when DD wants pancakes) although they are much more seldom, and haven't noticed a gain from that.

I also noticed the 'feeling full' effect and didn't know that was even something to strive for (upping protein and fat at breakfast, primarily, which replaced often carb-full breakfasts)...one pleasant side effect is that without grazing all day, and having these large, distinct chunks of time when I'm not hungry and not eating, I have figured out some additional food sensitivities. For example, when it's been hours since I've eaten anything and I consume 1 orange and have an immediate sinus-flare headache, (and repeat that effect some other time) I can highly suspect that food. I've had sinus-flare type headaches for years but have had so much trouble pinning down which specific foods were causing them.

Congratulations on your success and hope it continues for you!

[lil_earthmomma]

Awesome!

Being grain free/sugar free really makes a huge difference doesn't it!

I follow marksdailyapple as well, and while you say you aren't doing low carb, your carb intake is probably much lower being grain/sugar free. I don't think being low carb to the point of brain fog etc is healthy either! There's healthy amount of carb, low carb and then scary low carb imo!

Glad you're feeling good and getting good results!

[PreggieUBA2C]

Do any of you ladies suspect a yeast connection with the gluten sensitivity? I ask because I know that if your gut is ravaged from years of candiditis, then you will have many sensitivities that would/will abate if the yeast is taken care of.

I have a friend who lost weight very quickly too- 15 lbs in two weeks (which for her made her a bit skeletal), and was also doing a yeast cleanse. Once she let her gut heal for a while (not nearly long enough imo, and she'll probably end up having to do it all again, but I digress), she could tolerate gluten again.

I have not gone through anything like this, but from my reading/research and the experiences of others, I have been wondering about this for a while- if gluten and dairy intolerances, which are very unlikely to have been an issue for many traditional cultures, are a result of candida overgrowth in the human body.

What do you think?

[gabella06]

Congratulations! Thank you for sharing your success. It's inspiring to me as I am struggling removing gluten (well, really all grains) from my diet. Again. Keep it up!

[BetsyPage]

That's awesome! Good for you!

And just to encourage you more & others, I lost 35 lbs doing very similar things last summer... I also continued to eat potatoes and corn (actual corn on cob) and fruit as I wished. I started eating grains again and stopped losing and was hungry again, and gained back a bit of what I had lost. So since Jan 1st I went grain-free again and the first week I dropped 6 lbs, and the second week (this week) dropped 5 lbs. I know I was retaining water because of my excess cookie intake, but I feel like I'm now losing "new" weight.

BTW I think eating as you described I was in the 50-100 grams of carb range... I tracked it the other day and that's where I fell. But since the carbs are not from sugar or grains, mostly (1 tsp sugar was all) I'm not worried about it.

I'm committed this time... I just feel so much better!

[FairyRae]

Yay! I'm so excited about IF and sticking to 3 meals (and 1 snack) a day, b/c w/ my history as a compulsive snacker, I can't believe how satisfied it makes me feel, and how good! And I think it's just really good for my digestion!

Grain and sugar free is soooo awesome! I certainly am not low-carb either, but WAYYYYYY lower carb than I ever was when eating grains.

Yay yay yay! I love hearing about other folks who find success w/ this, and I just love all this b/c it just feels so *right* to me/my body. (And no wonder...this is the diet I evolved to eat! )

Preggie, the GAPS and SCD diets talk lots about yeasts and bad bacterias that override the gut, and a grain/sugar/starch free diet seems to be really helpful in healing this kind of stuff...I totally think there is definitely a yeast connection w/ gluten sensitivity, but I think it's deeper than that, that yeast is just one of many factors. (Yeast/candida in the gut is also a sign of mercury toxicity--candida feeds on mercury and may even be keeping mercury 'in check' for your body when it is more prevelant in your GI tract...I just find that fascinating--so candida's not all bad...)

I think gluten is just sooooo darn hard to digest, esp. un-fermented/sprouted gluten, and it's in *everything* in the SAD, and so many of us have lifetimes of it wreaking havoc in our guts, causing all sorts of intolerances and health issues/problems. I personally think it is really not worth eating for all the damage it seems to do. Even if I decided to eat grains again (which I don't see happening ) gluten is not something I plan on ever eating again--esp. when there are so many other wonderful, more healthful, helpful, nutritious and delicious foods out there! Just my thoughts on it!!! (I'm probably biased as mom to a gluten intolerant kiddo, and w/ a gluten intolerant sister and a most likely gluten intolerant dh and mother--and dropping gluten for me was like coming off a drug--withdrawl symptoms up the wazoo...immediate weight loss and good feelings...anyway... Not good stuff IMO! )

[APBTlover]

Wow! That's so encouraging! DH and I are starting roughly this type of diet today... well, today was a "baby step" day in that I did have part of a slice of 7 Grain Ezekiel bread with breakfast, and some Dr Pepper. I get "addicted" to Dr Pepper very easily, and having it only a couple of days in a row will cause withdrawals when I go off of it. So today I had a limited amount... tomorrow I should be able to go without and have no headaches.

Anyway, I have been back-and-forth about the all carb vs. grain/wheat issue. I still want to limit carbs in general for at least a couple of weeks since I think I might have a low-level insulin sensitivity and want to give that whole system a chance to catch its breath after so much abuse, but I am so glad to know you've seen results while still using spuds. Great news! And way to go!

[ihugtrees]

Wow! That's awesome! So you are doing dairy, correct? Does that mean things like yogurt and kefir as well? And as far as going sugar free..what constitutes as sugar? Honey? Agave nectar? Dates? Fruits? Also, when you say you aren't doing low carb, what carbs are you eating, besides potatoes?

Any way you could post your menu from the past week? As a newbie, I know that'd be sooo helpful to me if you have the time!

I am planning on doing the Paleo 30 Day Challenge starting early February (we are in the middle of a cross country move, ick...)

[elleystar]

I've been doing Primal and had similar results the first week I was on it. Of course a good portion of that is water weight but it's still really motivating to see that number on the scale drop like that!

I've avoided all grains and beans. Potatoes EXTREMELY limited to maybe one small serving per week, usually in the form of chunks in the stew. Or a couple of mouthfuls of mashed taters if I make it for DS and DH and it just looks too darn good. No sweeteners at all, except whatever is in the piece of dark chocolate I have a few times a week. Fruit I do eat, 1-2 small servings a day, and stick to lower glycemic stuff like berries, or a small apple with pb or almond butter. Dairy, I've been having some plain yogurt here and there, 1/2 cup or so. I do put milk in my coffee in the morning, and will allow myself a couple of ounces of milk at one meal per day. I have some cheese each day too, in my omelette or just to snack on.

I mainly follow the allowed foods on Mark's Daily Apple and don't count religiously but I keep carbs around 50-60 per day. Mostly protein and veggies. As I get close to my goal weight I'll have more milk and fruit. Eventually I'd like to get to having some grains, like fresh bread once a week etc. And add in a few natural sweeteners in a very limited quantity.

[dogmom327]

DH started eating Primal with me (I've been on it for awhile) and he's lost 16 lbs. since the first of the year!

[PreggieUBA2C]

Originally Posted by FairyRae

Preggie, the GAPS and SCD diets talk lots about yeasts and bad bacterias that override the gut, and a grain/sugar/starch free diet seems to be really helpful in healing this kind of stuff...I totally think there is definitely a yeast connection w/ gluten sensitivity, but I think it's deeper than that, that yeast is just one of many factors. (Yeast/candida in the gut is also a sign of mercury toxicity--candida feeds on mercury and may even be keeping mercury 'in check' for your body when it is more prevelant in your GI tract...I just find that fascinating--so candida's not all bad...)

I think gluten is just sooooo darn hard to digest, esp. un-fermented/sprouted gluten, and it's in *everything* in the SAD, and so many of us have lifetimes of it wreaking havoc in our guts, causing all sorts of intolerances and health issues/problems. I personally think it is really not worth eating for all the damage it seems to do. Even if I decided to eat grains again (which I don't see happening ) gluten is not something I plan on ever eating again--esp. when there are so many other wonderful, more healthful, helpful, nutritious and delicious foods out there! Just my thoughts on it!!! (I'm probably biased as mom to a gluten intolerant kiddo, and w/ a gluten intolerant sister and a most likely gluten intolerant dh and mother--and dropping gluten for me was like coming off a drug--withdrawl symptoms up the wazoo...immediate weight loss and good feelings...anyway... Not good stuff IMO! )

Thanks FairyRae.

I did know about the mercury connection with yeast. I hadn't really considered that most people eat so many grain products each day though. I have gone years without grain and I did stop eating it a while ago too, but as potatoes were scarce and then absent here during the tail end of that, I ended up feeling very bad and having low blood sugar, which was alleviated by eating potatoes again.

When I do eat grain, it is one or two pieces of sprouted bread per day with eggs, OR a square of soaked and baked oats made with eggs and cream, but that sometimes feels like too much to me, so I'll stop for a day or two. But if I don't then have potatoes with my eggs and also meats, then I feel reeeeeaaally bad. It's not withdrawal, just not enough carbs. I don't eat a lot of fruit out of season (which is 8-9 months/yr here), but I do eat lots of green leafy veggies.

When I was grain-free (7 yrs), and not to be grain-free for sensitivities or as a diet, but just because I had no desire to eat grains and felt fine not doing so, I did eat a lot more fruit because I lived much further south than I have now for 4 yrs.

This is very interesting to me. I suspect my father is gluten intolerant, but he is also an alcoholic and no doubt candida-infested. He also has old mercury amalgam fillings still in his mouth. An interesting loop there.

I have found that the longer I eat TF, the less grain I want to eat, but then again, it was TF soaking and fermenting that reintroduced grain into my diet after 7 yrs of not eating it. I guess I'll just go with what feels best as long as I am reasonably sure that it isn't feeling best because I'm feeding yeast. I have no sugar cravings though, so doubtful that's an issue for me.

Thanks again for your response. And I'm feeling extra diligence about soaking and fermenting what grains I feed to my dc now.

[FairyRae]

Originally Posted by PreggieUBA2C

But if I don't then have potatoes with my eggs and also meats, then I feel reeeeeaaally bad. It's not withdrawal, just not enough carbs. I don't eat a lot of fruit out of season (which is 8-9 months/yr here), but I do eat lots of green leafy veggies.

When I was grain-free (7 yrs), and not to be grain-free for sensitivities or as a diet, but just because I had no desire to eat grains and felt fine not doing so, I did eat a lot more fruit because I lived much further south than I have now for 4 yrs.

I find all of this stuff soooo fascinating--how many carbs make each of us feel good. I think it totally varies as well. Interesting to me that you need them from somewhere, and your body will crave them/tell you to eat them in whatever form you provide (fruit/potatoes/soaked grains/etc.) I'm still working out what feels best to me. You may find this blogpost interesting--it's about tubers being a significant part of hunter/gatherer diets: http://donmatesz.blogspot.com/2010/0...kung-diet.html

I'm just soooo interested in all this!!

Originally Posted by PreggieUBA2C

I guess I'll just go with what feels best as long as I am reasonably sure that it isn't feeling best because I'm feeding yeast.

I've found this works best for me too--doing what feels right, making changes when needed.