Low Carb Paleo Diet/Intermittent Fasting/Intermittent Diet

[GreatEXPATations]

Anyone interested in/following these? If so, want to compare notes and support each other along the way? There was quite an active Intermittent Diet thread until last month but it's died a death [: (]

Basically, I've been researching around the subject for a while and am very convinced by the principles of low-carbing having read Atkins/Gary Taubes/Briffa/IPD/Dukan etc

I've been on a mainly gluten-free diet for over a year anyway (though hadn't realised how v high-carb rice-cakes and the like were!); I've been doing low carb since Jan initially following the clinically trialled and evidence-based Intermittent Diet
www.genesisuk.org/blog/?p=896
with great success but then fell into the Atkins camp and have been playing around with that.

thats the technique I have been trying to master. I try to land on my mid to forefoot and just kiss the heel to the ground. It does take some getting used to after so long of running with a heel strike.

I have bitten the bullet and started the Couch to 5k plan. Hauled myself out of bed 3/4's of an hour early and went and lumbered round the park. I ran in my Vivobarefoot Ultras, figuring that I wear them all the time so it's probably better not to start with anything different. It seemed to go ok anyway. I felt very heavy and ungainly (hell I've got the best part of 4 stone still to lose) but I managed to do all the runs and walks without dying.

I didn't eat anything until lunchtime as usual and that felt fine. I've done no real exercise except for walking the dogs for years and now they are getting old they only manage about half an hour. I feel a bit achey now and my legs were tired walking the dogs later. I presume I will be somewhat stiff tomorrow. :)

Hi all-not sure if I can condense all the info I need to ask for your advice but I'll have a go.
I have been gluten free for over a year after finding that I just couldn't tolerate it anymore following a very strict low carb,low fat,low cal, no sugar diet.(Alizonne). I lost nearly 3 stone but am now struggleing to maintain it even though I eat low carb 90% of the time.
I tend to eat my own version of dukan/paleo so eat eggs,meat,salad and veg mostly with a few berries 3/4 times a week.Also,been having a pancake type thing for breakfast sometimes (made with egg,1tbs oat bran,1 tbs flaxseed, 1tbs natural yog,little sweetener) And snack on nuts.
About every 10 days or so I might have a day or just evening of eating gluten free carbs.(potato or rice or chocolate!)

Anyway,had an operation before christmas and have slowly put on about 8lb and can not get it off!!

I really need a new plan and some fresh ideas if anyone can help.You all really know your stuff!! Thanks.

P.S I am hypothyroid too!

Well done Whippoorwill! It gets easier - you'll be surprised how quickly too! I have vivobarefoot trainers too. Do be careful about your technique.

14k I'm not an expert on paleo (though I have low-carbed successfully in the past) are you eating enough fat? And drinking plenty of water? Exercise? Also it might be worth looking into fasting - I've been doing it for about a week and am finding it amazingly easy considering how greedy I used to be.

Also the scales do lie; better to rely on clothes/measurements.

Hello l4k and welcome. Well done on your huge weight loss.

I'm sorry to hear you're struggling a bit at the moment. I hope someone with knowledge of hypothyroidism comes along to better advise.

Have you tried strict Paleo for a few consecutive weeks (no oats, potatoes, rice, sweetener...) ? Maybe the hypothyroidism is interfering with your ability to burn fat and 4-6 week of strict paleo should bring you back in full keto-adaptation (Dr Phinney and Dr Volek would advocate

meant to add this link too goitrogens

l4k I don't know much about hypothyroidism but generally it is believed that low carb and low fat together don't work. You need to eat alot of fat to get your body to burn fat instead of muscle, which happens on low fat, low cal.

Going Paleo still includes a high percentage of your calorie intake from fat but it does work.

Also intermittent fasting does work. This is my 2nd week of fasting. I have been fasting 3 times a week, working out at the gym on my fasting days. I didn't expect results in the first week as my body adapted but this week so far I have lost 3lbs since monday. I eat paleo the rest of the time and my gym sessions are fast hard circuit style with a short sprint session at the end. I have definately seen a difference in my body this week too. I feel slimmer and my stomach is now flat and my arms appear more toned and defined

thanks for the responses,I'm not sure the 8lb gain is down to the thyroid problem, but I just don't know!!!
Those articles by Dr Kresser and really interesting,I am treated with T3 meds so I will read it all later.
I could try stricter paleo with short fasts. The hardest thing will be no milk in my morning cup of tea!! that is ingrained in my makeup. At the moment I have lactose free as it's lower carb.

I have been exercising 2-4 x a week for 6 weeks,doing zumba,walks,gym body-combat class and pilates but I've just put more weight on.(and it's definately soft fat not muscle.Clothes are tighter.)

I think I will log everything I eat on my fitness pal too,It might help.

Any more advice gratefully received but thanks for now.

vnmum- That's great news. :)

l4k-What makes you think the weight gain might not be down to the thyroid?

A little thought: a low carb, low fat and low cal might have a negative influence on Leptin production (Leptin resistance is often found in metabolic disorders) and your body is still readjusting. Short fasts might help with resetting of the circadian cycles (both TSH and Leptin follow a circadian pattern). Leptin is also associated with controlling the thyroid hormones. But Leptin is produced together with insulin and we all know the story of insulin...In theory, higher protein intake would reset leptin sensitivity. Leptin is also implicated in starvation, as a mediator to tell the body to use less energy, for that reason it might be worth keeping calories at above you BMR (not that I ever been on low carb, low fat, low cal and wondered why I can't loose any more weight on 450 cals/day :( )

fava,Please- tell me more.
When I finished alizonne a breath test machine measured my BMR at 1380 and I think I've been averaging more like 1100-1200 a day.
It is all so complicated.

Another issue is that it's secondary hypothyroidism that I have.My pituitary gland does not work properly and I also have to take hydrocortisone as a replacement hormone daily,for ever.

Before the pituitary problem started 5 years ago I had no weight problems.

The steroid dependancy also makes me wary of fasting for long.

So how did you solve your situation? is it straight paleo?
Thanks again for taking the time to help.

l4k- Where to start?!

BMR- My understanding is that eating under one's BMR would considerably decrease leptin, decreased leptin signals starvation pushing the body to reduce energy expenditure. Conversely, eating above BMR would maintain a normal leptin production. This article explains leptin role in semi-starvation by looking at anorexia.

Fasting- During fasting leptin levels drop and so do TSH, hence the potential benefit for primary hypothyroidism. I agree with you that in pituary hypothyroidism fasting may be counterproductive

I had started a rather long post about leptin but then discovered that Dr Eades and Mark Sisson ( part2 ) are far more adept at explaining than I am. :)

I hope you'll find this review interesting, especially from 'Leptin and the corticotrophic (HPA) axis' section.

As far as my situation, a strict(ish) paleo seems to be the way to go. My hypothyroidism-like symptoms are improving all the time. My TSH levels are normal at 1.3 (although I sincerely doubt my GP has checked T4 and T3 levels), my Haemoglobin is brilliant,no diabetes, so I'm finally getting referred to a gynecologist (it has only taken 20yrs! )

This is all very interesting. I am finding it difficult to process all the info so I will re-read it all. Thank you so much, fava.
It was a gyne op I had 6 months ago. Hope you get some answers when you see the consultant.

Leptin is implicated with estrogen in some (often serious) gyne conditions, too!

If you only had your op 6 months ago, your body will still be healing. I might be wrong in my intuition here...A diet devoid of estrogen promoting foods (including soy and rice) and phytic acid (grains and nuts) would ensure minimum inflammatory response and maximum nutrient absorption.

Sorry about overloading you with information: it's a very annoying habit of mine.

ladymuckbeth How is the training going with the pro paleo trainer? really interested in their views

I have been thinking of training as a barefoot running coach. There is no one in this area so thought it would be a niche. That is until I found out it would cost £2500. Not sure I can afford it

ok,fava-out of soy,rice,grains and nuts the only ones I eat are nuts.And I love information so no worries there!
no peace here for long post but I have been doing very strict low cal (no nuts etc) for 6 days no and only lost 1 lb. still coming out at about 1000 cals. not sure if I should up or reduce that?
thanks again.

Although when you have hypothyroidism your metabolism will be slower, your BMR is 1380 (higher than mine ), so 1000 cals would send your body into a 'save energy' state, even if initially you would loose some weight. Your body needs 1380cal to survive and more to function properly, especially if you are exercising. If you must calorie count... you could try between 10-15% calories less than your Total Daily Calorie requirement

A paleo diet doesn't look at the number of calories per se but at what 'macro-nutrients' ratios are best for you, with the emphasis on 'micro-nutrients' rich food and here is where I think most of us struggle (probably because we still have to count percentages of total calories!). The ratio carbs/protein/fat is so variable: from a carb lax of 30%carb/30%protein/60%fat to a more extreme 5%(or less for some, if on Atkins')carb/15-20%protein/75-80%fat.

Interesting micro-nutrient table, please forgive the Swedish. I think the foods are: orange, banana, apple, egg, liver (average), mackerel.

Personally, it's over a year I've been juggling these ratios; every time I stop loosing weight I inevitably end up re-adjusting these and the carbs and proteins have been coming further and further down and the fat has been going up and up. I have discovered that I do not function well on less than 5% carbs, currently I eat 5-10% carbs, which for me is around 25-50g. As for the proteins and fat, I never seem to make it to target (30% and 65%) because I'm too full.

l4k- When did you start taking the steroid permanently? Does it coincide with you starting to put some weight back on? The dietdoctor suggests that cortisone interferes with weight loss-number 8 in the list.

Sorry about the micro-nutrient table and the diet doctor links, I don't know why it doesn't link directly!

If you follow either the 'micro-nutrient' one or 'the diet doctor' one, it will bring you to 'How to make obesity doctor obese', about half way down the page there is a link labelled '17 tips to loose weight'. The fifth tip is about fruit and has further link 'more on fruit, nutrition and weight' in which there is a micro-nutrient table you can click. The eighth tip talks about medicine interference.

vnmum- how are you getting on with your vibrams? Is it getting easier on your heels and calves?

fava I am wearing them most days as an every day shoe so am walking barefoot (nearly) everywhere. I also did a 5k walk/run in them on saturday. I had been doing a few very short sessions (30sec to 1min) on the treadmill to get the technique right then DH said it was totally different outside to on the treadmill so off I went. I did a variety of surfaces on my route, road, track, field, woods, bark chippings. I felt good doing the running bits, it really is an easier more efficient way of running. My calves have been stiff since though as I think I got a bit too keen and maybe ran more than I should have done . But I am letting the calves loosen off and doing some indigenous squats to stretch the calves and achilles and I will try abit more running and walking. It is a fine balance between doing how much your brain thinks you can and how much your newly found muscles can do

''It is a fine balance between doing how much your brain thinks you can and how much your newly found muscles can do''
So true.

As I've always loved walking barefoot for hours along the uninterrupted seashore (abroad) and love being barefoot at home (well, with slipper socks due to dog's needle-like hair), I will have to take the plunge for outdoors.

How much of the terrain (Lego springs to mind) do you feel? I remember my feet been very sore when I first came to the U.K. as I was used to thin leather soled shoes and a smoother Tarmac; I swapped the leather sole for a thicker rubber sole (which also helped with the rain :) )

you do feel tree roots and large stones if you go over them, especially running if you catch them on your arch. I tend to look what is coming up and try to step over or around large things like that.

I am also barefoot all the time at home, which I thought would make the transition to running barefoot easier but as I have found you still need to do it gradually

Thank you. Off to retrieve some of my old shoes and toughen up my wee old feet then :)

Hi all, back from a weeks hol - and was astounded to be 2lbs lighter! Mixture of low carb and fasting on hol (small fasts, not long ones like at home) and no exercise other than walking and sweating!

thats great cream. I am sure it is the change to paleo and the introduction of IF that has seen my weight loss start again. I was stalled for so long on atkins but took the plunge and stopped anally counting carbs, added nuts and fruit in and started fasting and the weight is moving again. Also, I haven't lost masses of weight but the change in my body shape and how I look naked is quite alot for the weight i've lost IYSWIM

l4k your diet sounds similar to mine and I am also hypnothyroid. To lose weight I need to do low fat low carb (dukan) but with veggies every day.

I assume you have ruled out under-replacement? Weight gain could be due to steriods.