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Brewer5: A Fresh Start


Brewer5

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Crap!!! that sucks.  Eggs are just a versatile and easy protein - I agree they are hard to give up.

 

I haven't given up on the mayo either.  

 

Have you considered a Hydrosylate (sp) Collagen supplement like Great Lakes (or maybe you are already taking it?) I stopped taking for a while there but now I am taking it again and I find it is helping for a great amount of random things.....

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Carla, I do use the Great Lakes Collagen Hydrolysate in my coffee every day.  And I do believe it makes a difference in how I feel overall.  At one point, I cut back to 1/2 dose -- and at one point, we ran out.  I definitely feel better taking the full dose.  

 

(For anyone who does not know what we are talking about):

 

http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B005KG7EDU?keywords=collagen%20hydrolysate&qid=1453761131&ref_=sr_1_2&sr=8-2

 

And from here:

 

http://greatlakesgelatin.com/consumer/CollagenFAQ.php

 

Collagen Hydrolysate... What is it?

Hydrolyzed Collagen is unique in its amino acid structure because of its high amounts of glycine, lysine and proline, which are found in lower amounts in other protein food supplements. These particular amino acids are found to generate cell growth much quicker because the natural ability to produce supporting amounts of connective tissue diminishes after the age of 25. Hydrolyzed Collagen is more easily digested because of its low molecular weight and is absorbed within 30 minutes. All of the amino acids collectively are beneficial to cell reproduction, but it is the distinctive spectrum of this product that impacts the metabolic pathways to healthy tissue. 

Hydrolyzed Collagen is beneficial in replacing the synovial fluids between the joints and secondly, to repair and build cartilage weakened by overuse through impact and stress. Our bodies are made up of 30% collagen of which 70% of these proteins are connective tissue made of collagen. 

Hydrolyzed Collagen is the missing link in supplying amino acids like glycine, proline and lysine that are required by the body to build connective tissue to regulate cell growth. It will benefit hair, skin tissue, muscle, cartilage, ligaments and blood cell growth. Some doctors are referring to this product as the new anti-aging product of the century. 

What are the benefits of Collagen Hydrolysate

Hydrolyzed collagen gelatin will provide the missing nutritional links for most dietary supplements. A nitrogen balance is maintained for the support of age related collagen loss and cartilage damage. It is an excellent product for those with a sedentary lifestyle who may suffer from repetitive joint pain or discomfort. 

Proteins are a primary element of life’s sustenance. The body contains millions of amino acids and peptides which are smaller than proteins. These are essential to the body which regulate functions of the cells. Glycine content of collagen assists the liver in handling foreign substances for individuals exposed by habit or occupation to toxic substances like chemicals, pollutants, alcohol or tobacco. Feeling of alertness, improved concentration, balanced mood, improved energy and increased sense of well-being have been reported by many users. 

Hydrolyzed Collagen differs from gelatin as it will dissolve in cold, warm, or hot liquids and will not congeal when chilled. This feature allows taking a high protein product in a convenient way that suits your needs.

 
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I never gave up mayo, mind you.

 

 

I haven't given up on the mayo either. 

 

I am not giving up the mayo at this point, either.  

 

I must say.......  I DO feel better today without eggs, so far.  BUT.  I also have not had any coconut, or any nuts.  So... time will tell.

 

I did see a recipe for egg-free mayo the other day somewhere.  But I'm hoping it doesn't come to that.

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First of all, loved Sugar Crash.

Second, I've been thinking a LOT about food, kids, etc lately. How to raise kids right regarding food... Something Brewer and I have certainly discussed a lot.

So here's a question for the group:

Keto and pregnancy.  Discuss.

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Jess, I have not read a single book on this subject ~ and I don't believe one exists.

 

You may want to check out more from this woman:  Maria Emmerich

 

I have heard "experts" I respect, on both sides of this question.  I have heard that we are more fertile during times when carbs are found in abundance, and I have heard that many of women's fertility issues are improved by a ketogenic diet.  Flip and flop.  Back and forth.  I think your research will find opinions all over the place... and when it comes right down to it, you are going to have to do what feels best for YOUR body.

 

I don't believe pregnancy is a time to weigh, measure, track, or stress about weight.  I think a Whole 30 way of eating is the absolute BEST.  If you get there, and you find that your body is screaming at you for carbohydrate, no matter what you try -- eat a potato.   See how that makes you feel.  Nauseous?  Have some plantain chips.  

 

I think you are very in-tune with your body, and you won't do something for very long that just doesn't feel right.  And as an added bonus:  You know exactly where to come for help and support.   :)

 

 

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Oh man, Brewer, that sucks.  So what ARE you going to eat for breakfast (and other previous "egg times")?

 

I'm actually going to cut my tracking phase short and NOT track macros this week - it WAS starting to get crazy-making and I was feeling restricted and deprived.  I'm glad I've got enough experience/awareness to actually notice that and not blame something else (like the food itself).

 

My carbs may slide up this week and I fully expect that vacation mode next week may introduce more carbs (tropical fruit).  The real key in ALL of it is staying mindful and aware in case I start feeling NOT good.  I'm glad I've got both Whole30 and Whole30-ish keto/LCHF in my back pocket.  EAT. ASSESS.  TWEAK.

 

I probably won't be checking in here much in the next while, but I do wish you all well and appreciate the support, insight and information you have given me!

 

-Lauren

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Oh man, Brewer, that sucks.  So what ARE you going to eat for breakfast (and other previous "egg times")?

 

 

Well...  there is some nitrate-free bacon that is on my son's list he can have... and we've recently stocked up on that, on a good sale.  So I confess:  My breakfast today did not look very Whole 30-ish.

 

I had my usual coffee w/ collagen powder... and bacon.  Lots of bacon.   :ph34r:  I fried it up in a pan, instead of cooking it in the microwave ~ so I could have it nice and greasy.

 

I will just have to take this one day at a time.  Thankfully, after a couple of years here ~ I am not necessarily stuck in that "breakfast food" mindset...  So it will just have to be whatever I've got.  {shrug}

 

I don't feel sad about it yet.  I am actually a little excited to change things up.  :)

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Boost Your Brain: Dopamine and Diet

 

 

"While fat may not have the same effects on the brain as sugar, combining the two in one’s diet (especially in their worst forms) is akin to putting your brain in the freezer, or maybe even throwing it out in front of traffic."

Why is it akin to putting your brain in the freezer?  A numbing effect? Or this was just a creative way of saying "you're basically killing your brain"?

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Does this help?   :lol:

 

Screen%20Shot%202016-01-26%20at%2012.00.

 

Lol.  

 

This is one where you maybe need to read the article to get the full context.

 

I have seen jmcbn mention several times here, that you get the "same dopamine hit" from fat as you do from sugar.  Yet I have never read that anywhere else... not described in that way.  

 

Our discussion today reminded me that I have been wanting to do a search of "fat+dopamine" so I could see if I could find it described in that way, and better understand it.  Because -- the way I am feeling from eating a high-fat diet is very different than getting a hit of dopamine from sugar.  Very different.  Level.  Even.  No crazy highs ~ but no crazy lows, either.  I intuitively know that it is not the same.  What I am experiencing is much better than that cycle.

 

What I am finding (in my treadmill research time today) is all very fascinating ~ but it is revealing, as I suspected, a much larger and more complex picture.  ...Isn't there always?

 

This is why it is so much easier to say things like "avoid food without brakes" and "just eat real food".

 

The problem I see here is that so many struggle with avoiding the FWOB feeling ~ even during a Whole 30.  As we all know, it is all too easy to find replacements in "real food".  Then they try to go out ...out into the great big world, on their bicycle... and all of those old pathways are still totally in place.  

 

Anyway.

 

This one, in particular, was long and a little difficult to get through ~ but brought up some really great things to ponder:

 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2812808/

 

"The lack of control over food intake bears resemblance to drug addiction, where loss of control over behavior leads to compulsive drug use. Work in laboratory animals has long suggested that there exist common neural substrates underlying both food and drug intake behaviors. Recent studies have demonstrated direct leptin effects on dopamine neuron function and behavior. This provides a new mechanism by which peripheral hormones influence behavior and contributes to a more comprehensive model of neural control over food intake."

 

...

 

"The full behavioral consequences of metabolic hormones acting on dopamine neurons will require much more work to appreciate. Recent data from our lab have shown leptin-mediated suppression of drug seeking during withdrawal from psychostimulants. These and other observations have provoked renewed attention toward defining potential common mechanisms between food intake and drug addiction. Likewise, imaging data suggesting that obese patients resemble drug addicts (53) has also inspired discussion and set up a potential convergence between animal models and clinical conditions. At this point, it seems even more critical that we fully describe the molecular and neural players so that we can interpret and extend the findings to humans."

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Just a comment on the article.  They stated:  "If you’re having a hard time swallowing the idea that diet alters dopamine levels, this was only first “discovered” by researchers in 2003.26 Other researchers have stated that excessive intake of dietary fats leads to diminished brain dopaminergic function.27, 28,29, 30 What must be noted here, again, is that they are not referring to healthier fats, but rather poor quality ones. By contrast, one can extrapolate that healthy fats (such as those included regularly in a Paleo Diet) will improve, or at the very least normalize, dopamine levels.31, 32, 33"

 

I think that it is a huge stretch to extrapolate that good fats will normalize or improve dopamine level just because the listed studies show diminish dopamine function with poor fats.  I would like to really look at these studies - and find a good randomized control study that shows a difference between the good fats and the poor fats before "extrapolating" what I would like to see.

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^ Karen, the other thing that bothers me about the research is that so much of it is done on mice and rats... in a laboratory setting, where they are often putting them under conditions that not only are completely unnatural for mice and rats ~ but would also be completely unnatural even for US.

 

A lot of the stuff I read today was referring to feeding mice a high-fat diet -- using poor quality fats, yes -- but it was ALSO a high-sugar diet!  That is not what I was looking for.

 

As we all know, there is a HUGE difference between a ketogenic diet and... what is essentially a SAD diet.  

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My brain is foggy from being up so early, and a long flight, So I can't comment of the article, yet. But on the subject of no eggs - my fave for breakfast right now is nom nom paleos cracklin chicken. I make a HUGE batch to last us the week and heat the thighs in my toaster overnight to get the skin all crispy again. Omg. Amazing.

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My brain is foggy from being up so early, and a long flight, So I can't comment of the article, yet. But on the subject of no eggs - my fave for breakfast right now is nom nom paleos cracklin chicken. I make a HUGE batch to last us the week and heat the thighs in my toaster overnight to get the skin all crispy again. Omg. Amazing.

You heat the chicken OVERNIGHT?  

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Hey guys!
So after nearly a month of being sick, two rounds of antibiotics, a short course of steroids, and a horrible IBS flare yesterday, (care of a trip to Disneyland), I am thinking maybe of doing a keto Whole30 for February to get myself back on track and heal up some of this damage.  I feel gross and kinda toxic at the moment.  I was in such a phenomenal place a month ago, and now I feel.... ugh.  Yeah.  I loved my first Whole30 in theory, but I hadn't yet realized my fat needs and my super sensitive carb threshold, so it resulted in me not feeling the greatest.  But my gut is telling me (kinda literally at this point) that I need a detox.  Anyone with me on doing a keto Whole30 next month?  

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Anyone with me on doing a keto Whole30 next month?  

 

Sorry, Jess...  You know I will be here to support you and cheer you on ~ but I am working on Whole Life.  (Not to be confused with Whole 365).  ;)

 

The "30-day clean-up" is no longer a healthy approach for me.  Having done three already, I have a list of reasons why I won't do another.

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Sorry, Jess...  You know I will be here to support you and cheer you on ~ but I am working on Whole Life.  (Not to be confused with Whole 365).   ;)

 

The "30-day clean-up" is no longer a healthy approach for me.  Having done three already, I have a list of reasons why I won't do another.

I knew you wouldn't be in, I know the place you're on with that on your journey.  I want the Whole Life thing too, but I feel like all those medicines made me all unbalanced, and the thought of doing a really clean month appeals so me.  I'm 90% diary free anyway right now, honestly the only thing I'd be cutting are my occasional lettuce wrapped burgers and alcohol.  Which doesn't bother me.  

 

But I'm honestly not sure Whole30 isn't for me anymore either.  Or if I can accomplish the same thing by just tightening down on my nutrition in general.  Something to ponder.  

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Brewer5, I'm curious about this. What exactly does eating keto mean- do you literally eat no carbs? No sweet potatoes, carrots, squash? Or do you just limit them and if so to what quantities?

 

What benefits have you seen from eating this way over eating regular Whole30?

 

All vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds have carbohydrate.  There is even some carbohydrate in eggs.  So yes, I eat carbs.  I hear there are folks out there who eat zero carbs -- but I am not one of them.   :)

 

A ketogenic diet means high fat, moderate protein, very low carb.  

 

I generally do not eat fruit or starchy vegetables. 

 

Benefits of ketosis for me include:

 

~ greatly improved mental clarity

 

~ stable moods (including almost complete disappearance of PMS)

 

~ absence of cravings

 

~ being able to go long stretches without food, if needed ~ and not get funky

 

~ amazing preservation of muscle, even though I have been unable to lift

 

^ These are just off the top of my head.  I'm sure I have talked about a lot of other things in the 33 pages of this thread.

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I knew you wouldn't be in, I know the place you're on with that on your journey.  I want the Whole Life thing too, but I feel like all those medicines made me all unbalanced, and the thought of doing a really clean month appeals so me.  I'm 90% diary free anyway right now, honestly the only thing I'd be cutting are my occasional lettuce wrapped burgers and alcohol.  Which doesn't bother me.  

 

But I'm honestly not sure Whole30 isn't for me anymore either.  Or if I can accomplish the same thing by just tightening down on my nutrition in general.  Something to ponder.  

 

I did not want to discourage you from doing another, in any way.  If you feel like you need it ~ maybe you really do.  ;)

 

If the idea is exciting to you, you should go for it!

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Jess, we can all be here for you, and encourage you. Your body would probably love you for it after your long illness. If I wasn't finishing a whole30 now I would consider one but I know I won't be able to be strict after next week with my travels...or I don't want to commit in case I can't be strict rather.

Watched sugar crash -- Loved it. I want my parents to watch it -- I think my dad would see a huge improvement in his arthritis symptoms if he cut out hidden sugars -- and alcohol...although I don't have high hopes for him doing either :( all the more reason for me to eat clean while I'm home, to lead by example.

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All vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds have carbohydrate.  There is even some carbohydrate in eggs.  So yes, I eat carbs.  I hear there are folks out there who eat zero carbs -- but I am not one of them.   :)

 

A ketogenic diet means high fat, moderate protein, very low carb.  

 

I generally do not eat fruit or starchy vegetables. 

 

Benefits of ketosis for me include:

 

~ greatly improved mental clarity

 

~ stable moods (including almost complete disappearance of PMS)

 

~ absence of cravings

 

~ being able to go long stretches without food, if needed ~ and not get funky

 

~ amazing preservation of muscle, even though I have been unable to lift

 

^ These are just off the top of my head.  I'm sure I have talked about a lot of other things in the 33 pages of this thread.

 

Thanks. I will try to make my way through the 33 pages :)

 

Personally, I get all of the benefits you mentioned (ok, besides muscle, I haven't a clue how much muscle I do or don't have) from the regular Whole30 eating plan. I mean, I guess I could buy the idea that it could be even better, but I'm just trying to figure out if making it "harder" would be worth it for me at this point. 

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