Re: [fast5] wake up starving in the middle of the night

I'm coalescing the responses here. I think it's great that you are analyzing your foods. You can learn a lot by observing!

First, on stomachs that stick out: that was a HUGE issue for me growing up. I looked like a malnourished waif. It turns out I was celiac, and my gut had major digestion problems. That poochy belly may or may not be fat. Given that you work out so much ... it may very well not be fat. You have 30 feet or so of gut, and if it gets irritated, it fills up with liquid which makes you weigh more and makes your belly big.

The way to fix that, if that is the case, is to make your gut happy. Food reactions are one cause: so experimenting with what foods you are eating can help. Grains are THE biggest cause, followed by dairy. But it varies from person to person.

The next biggest cause is general gut inflammation. I think there are two main causes in our culture. The first is: we don't feed the bacteria in the lower gut. They eat certain kinds of fiber, and produce butyrate. Your gut cells eat mainly butyrate, and when they don't get it, they are unhappy. So how to feed them? The best foods are glucomannan (in konjac powder), pectin (in apples), and the various fibers in vegetables. Probiotics are also good, and foods like kimchi and fermented kraut (Like bubbies, or make it at home: most brands aren't as good).

Another big cause, I think, is a high-iron diet. The gut cells take up the iron and store it, and are supposed to release it to the body only as needed. They act as a buffer, since though we need iron, too much is toxic. However, some diets are VERY high in iron, and I think all that iron is irritating to the gut cells. Food in the US has loads of iron added (ferrous sulfate mostly), and if you are eating a lot of beef and liver you get even more. Potatoes are loaded with it also. And the iron seems to promote appetite, much like sugar can, by affecting insulin.

Anyway, I changed my diet to more like the Japanese diet, based on fish, eggs, and greens, and rice, and that has made a huge difference in my health and appetite. It's worth an experiment anyway.

MCT affects a person's appetite, in my experience, and it does seem to promote weight loss. It does get your metabolism going too, and is great if your hands keep feeling cold. I don't know if it would keep you awake or not. You'd have to experiment. Having it in coffee does not pass the "yummy" test for me though. I squeeze garlic into it and use it as a crab dip, as one would butter.

I'm not sure how I feel about butter. I know people swear by it. I used to eat it a lot. And then I got more migraines. So I dropped dairy altogether ... and stopped getting migraines! I used to have 5 or so a month. Now I get them very occasionally, when I eat dairy when we go out to eat. Since my migraines were very much hormonal, I think that there could be cow hormones in butter. Which might be good for some people, but it also might affect weight. Cow milk is designed to make calves grow BIG quickly, so it probably affects all kinds of genetic triggers.

I don't have many thoughts about carbs vs. fat. Humans seem to handle both of them very well, and trusting your appetite is, I think, usually a good idea. The nice thing about Fast-5 is that it gets your appestat working correctly, and you'll crave whatever it is you need, after you begin to trust it. I have in the past followed many different diets, but the thing is, the foods they "chose" for me didn't really work for me, and I'd get health effects. Like, dry scaly skin, or getting depressed. I have been tweaking what kinds of cuisine I cook these days, but it's informed by what tastes good to me and how I feel after. Some people really do better on carbs vs. fat or vice versa. But also: keep track of what kinds of carbs and fat. Wheat/barley/rye have all kinds of effects in the body, other than the carb. Fat comes in multiple styles too, and some, like trans-fats, are just plain bad.

The kind of protein has a lot to do with weight also. This has mainly been studied in farm animals, because recently they are looking for big animals (read: lots of meat) that are also lean. The amino acid methionine seems to be key in this. Methionine is particularly high in egg whites, which guess what? Is what body builders use a lot. Also it is high in fish. I started eating more eggs, and my body really likes that. I eat the yolk too though, since it also has loads of good stuff in it.

Most people who say "they don't like vegetables" ... don't know how to cook vegetables. I know a guy who "hates vegetables". But, he goes out to eat Thai food and eats plate after plate of green beans. Apparently, whatever Thais do with green beans, it's no longer a "vegetable". Seriously, Thai green beans are amazing. Also very fast to make: toss green beans with soy sauce and oil, and bake at 425 for a few minutes. I make Tom Yum soup a lot too, which is like: put some water in a pan. Add some Tom Yum paste and some vegies. Cook til hot. Add some seafood. Eat.

Learning to eat vegies is a learning curve, sure. It took me years and years, but that was before they invented YouTube. Watch Maangchi or Cooking with dog, and you can see some seriously amazing meals cooked in a few minutes, mostly based on vegies. (No, the dog isn't eaten: the dog is the host of the show. Cute dog too). Anyway, once you get addicted to vegies, then start visiting the local Farmer's Market and get some really GOOD vegies. Generally fresh is better, yes, and by fresh I mean they were just picked. Frozen is ok in soup, but they are too full of water to cook correctly in most meals. Canned ... yech, except water chestnuts and coconut milk. Dried onions, mushrooms, herbs, and peppers work great though, and are super convenient.

I have been growing more of my own vegies, not for political reasons but because I got addicted. They really do taste different, plus they are way more convenient (Go out to porch. Cut onion tops. Cook.). The thing is, some years ago, if you told me if it made a difference if they were local/organic or not, I would have said "of course not". But after eating from our local farmer, we got addicted. Alas, he moved, so now I have to grow my own.

Green onions are a great place to start. You can plant the bottom part of some you bought at the store, in any old pot, and they will just keep growing. Don't worry about all that right now though. Just start with cooking whatever seems good and it's convenient. A good way to start is watching YouTube for one vegie ... carmelized onions are a good place to start. (adding a dash of balsamic vinegar makes them extra good).

BTW, on my vegie soapbox, this TED video is very interesting. It does make you think.

http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/weight-loss/mitochondria-rejuvenating-diet-the-nutritional-experts-bash/

We keep concentrating on fats/carbs/protein ... but your body might actually be craving, say,

sulfur or antioxidants or whatever. The more we learn about vegies, the more we learn about how

complex they are.

On Wed, Feb 29, 2012 at 11:06 AM, Churyl <churyl@gmail.com> wrote:

Thank you. Such great advice! Yes, I do need more veggies. I don't seem to make the time, and I also dont like veggies all that much. But I'll make more of an effort. Thank you for that.

I don't generally eat grains or dairy, but I do here and there. I'll cut it out completely and see how that helps.

I weigh 130 and want to lose a few pounds because my stomach sticks out more than my boobs do. It spills out over the top of my pants. I can't wear some of the clothes I used to. I'm not looking at weight as much as I'm looking at how clothes fit me. And measuring parts of my body: biggest part of stomach, below belly button: (1.12.12 and same measurement now, 2.29.12) 33.5", biggest part around bottom and thighs: 38.5"

I just got some MCT oil! I was playing with doing bulletproof coffee (www.bulletproofexec.com). He says to have a coffee with grassfed butter and MCT oil in the am, an then eat paleo between 2p and 8p. He says te coffee and mct oil are fat burning. But I want to do fast five. I dont like the idea of having coffee everyday. I have trouble sleeping with even one cup in the morning, and I'm concerned that burning out my adrenals.

Do you suggest having the MCT oil before bed? At the close of my eating window?

When you say fresh veggies, do you mean raw? Or not previously frozen?