linky123
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posted
So I think my metabolism is now non-existent. I can't eat anything anymore without gaining weight.
And the waistline of my pants are now up to my armpits.
Nothing in my blood work shows anything. Thyroid etc ok.
So depressed.
-------------------- 'Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.' Matthew 11:28 Posts: 2607 | From Hooterville | Registered: Apr 2009
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Carol in PA
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Lyme does something that messes up the endocrine glands, including the thyroid.
You can compensate for this by taking adaptogens, like Rhodiola and Siberian Ginsing. Chaste berry (Vitex) can help female hormones come back into balance.
Coconut oil can help the thyroid somewhat, and can increase your metabolism enough to begin losing weight. I lost five pounds per month when I began eating two or three ounces of coconut cream concentrate daily, which is mostly coconut oil.
Even though I was eating fat, my metabolism set point began adjusting back to normal, and the weight just melted off, without doing anything else. My waistline got smaller and I could see my neck going back to its earlier (thinner) appearance.
When I stopped after two months, the weight gradually came back on.
The endocrine glands and hormones are in a delicate balance. Look up symptoms of Cushing's syndrome, and see the pictures.
There are many many people walking around looking like this, and when the hormone problem is fixed, they go back to a more normal, youthful, appearance.
Posts: 6947 | From Lancaster, PA | Registered: Feb 2004
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Carol in PA
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quote:Originally posted by linky123: Nothing in my blood work shows anything. Thyroid etc ok.
Most people don't know this, but the lab values accepted for "normal" for thyroid function have changed over the years.
TSH is thyroid stimulating hormone and when your thyroid is too slow, the TSH goes up, telling the thyroid to work harder.
Over the years, they have gradually adjusted the accepted "too high" numbers downward. This is good for people with slow thyroids, as it means they qualify for medications to replace the thyroid hormone they are missing.
However, many people have symptoms of low thyroid but their TSH number is still in the "normal" range. The doctors refuse to prescribe thyroid hormones because of this, even if doing so will relieve symptoms of low thyroid. They are working within the "accepted standard of care" because if they do something else and make a boo boo, they risk getting sued.
Some researchers are sure that the accepted "high" number is still too high, and should be lower so that people with symptoms of low thyroid can get medication.
Depending on your current meds and your medical history, you could try eating coconut oil and see if that helps the metabolism. You can google for tons of information about coconut oil.
Coconut cream concentrate is the ground up meat of the coconut, without the oils removed. I melted it and added some honey to sweeten it, and nibbled at it while I was on the computer.
If you're interested in buying this, sign up to get on the email list. The company puts things on sale on a rotating basis, and sometimes offers free shipping. This way you can buy it for about half price.
Posts: 6947 | From Lancaster, PA | Registered: Feb 2004
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-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96223 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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linky123
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posted
Thank you, Carol. I have some Coconut Oil capsules on hand. Do you think they will work also?
Also, what brand of rhodiola and ginsing to you buy and how much do you take?
Tutu, I do eat some healthy fats. Sometimes use olive oil to cook, take cod liver oil, and sometimes omega 3's and 6's, but not that consistently.
-------------------- 'Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.' Matthew 11:28 Posts: 2607 | From Hooterville | Registered: Apr 2009
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posted
Eat avocados, put coconut oil on your toast and use it to cook eggs, etc.
Do not be afraid of healthy fats.
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96223 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- Focus on getting enough healthful foods. Focus on the nutrients for your body. Focus on health and just enjoy the flavor of good food, as your body will use it wisely.
posted
When my C-reactive protein goes up, a marker for inflammation, I can't lose an inch or a pound, either. Mine is currently at 1.5 and am gaining again. Crapola! Eating the good fats and hoping I am not on a lyme flare or a parasite flare.
Posts: 482 | From Oregon | Registered: Feb 2011
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posted
Stay away from anything starchy. Most of us are insulin resistant due to Lyme and coinfections. The abx don't help either. Eat as clost to nature as you can.
Eat good fats and stay away from anything that says it is low fat. Those foods are so full of additives and junk that your body can't recognize.
I hope you are taking some detox supplements to help with inflammation.
-------------------- Faithful
Just sharing my experience, I am not a doctor. Posts: 2682 | From Colorado | Registered: Oct 2009
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posted
Faithful, fish-oil, eating right and just taking a wait and see approach. Had a lung infection so not sure if that is responsible.
Posts: 482 | From Oregon | Registered: Feb 2011
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posted
My metabolism is really really bad. I am on a steady weight gain for about two years.
I have ordered some of the coconut cream. I would like to know how much should I take a day and how long before it takes before I can tell it is working?
Also, just wondering.....is this considered a 'mufa'. I did the Flat Belly Diet for about six months. Did Zumba for about three months.
Within that three months I only lost about 12 pounds. I was taking in about 1200 calories a day....fish, chicken and veggies only.
I have a calorie counter that I wore and while I did an hour of Zumba each day, I averaged burning 950 calories a day.
Every morning (five days a week) I would go 2 miles on my treadmill. Calories burned was about 700.
So you see, each day (for five days a week) I was burning (thru excercise) about 1650 calories a day.
I did this for five days each week. During the three month period I only lost 12 pounds.
I got tired of killing myself for very little weight loss so I quit. This has been over a year ago.
Posts: 213 | From Tennessee | Registered: Jan 2013
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linky123
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posted
I am still trying to decide whether to try the coconut cream.
I tried the coconut oil capsules but they seem to be breaking me out.
At age 50 who needs zits? Although, I guess I could live with the zits if the coconut will jump start my metabolism.
As mentioned above, I do lots of detox, liver, gall bladder, kidneys, lymphatic, parasites. Not much help there either.
-------------------- 'Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.' Matthew 11:28 Posts: 2607 | From Hooterville | Registered: Apr 2009
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Carol in PA
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Carolann, start slowly to make sure that you can tolerate the coconut cream concentrate. Always start one thing at a time, and stop if you notice any problems.
I started with a teaspoon daily and ramped up to a quarter of a cup (two ounces), sometimes more.
Consider this an experiment, to see if coconut oil will affect your metabolism. In my case it raised the metabolism and my body began burning fat for energy. This is called ketosis.
I felt okay and didn't notice any problems, except that the kidneys produced more urine than usual. This woke me up every one to two hours at night, with a full bladder.
You can also take green tea capsules to raise metabolism.
I did not conciously change my food intake while I was doing this, I even ate some candy. And I did not exercise at all, as I have chronic fatigue.
Posts: 6947 | From Lancaster, PA | Registered: Feb 2004
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linky123
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posted
Carol, what brand of coconut cream do you use?
-------------------- 'Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.' Matthew 11:28 Posts: 2607 | From Hooterville | Registered: Apr 2009
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posted
I just now found some green tea extract, 300 mg, from Vitabase. I hope this is the right stuff.
So now I have my green tea and my coconut cream.
I will go slow on the coconut cream as suggested.
I will see what happens after about two weeks after I take them. Is that enough time?
Posts: 213 | From Tennessee | Registered: Jan 2013
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Carol in PA
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Coconut water is the watery liquid that comes from the young, still immature green coconut.
Coconut milk is the liquid that comes from the grated meat of a coconut. The color and rich taste of the milk can be attributed to the high oil content.
Coconut cream is very similar to coconut milk but contains less water.
Cream of coconut is coconut cream that has been sweetened for use in desserts and beverages like pi�a colada.
Coconut cream concentrate is made from dried coconut meat that is ground very finely. It contains no additives, not even water. It has a creamy consistency due to its high fat content, much like other nut butters. Since it is 70% fat, it is a rich source of pure coconut oil.
Sources: Wikipedia and TropicalTraditions.com.
When I first ordered coconut cream concentrate, I was thinking it would taste like the coconut center of Mounds Bars. The joke was on me...it's not sweet. I added some honey to the melted concentrate to make it more fun to eat.
After buying both the 16 ounce and 32 ounce jars, I decided to get more of the 16 ounce jars, and to heck with the cheaper price of the larger ones.
It was too difficult to melt and mix up the contents of the 32 ounce jars, just too frustrating. Well, maybe not if you have better muscles than me, hah.
I put the jar in a large pot of hot water to warm it up. Coconut oil melts at 86 degrees Fahrenheit.
The top layer in the jar is plain coconut oil, and the bottom layer is the solids.
After melting it and mixing it up, I stirred in some honey to taste. I was doing this in late winter/early spring, and the kitchen is about 65 degrees, so the concentrate solidified again.
Then I would scoop out a spoonful whenever I wanted a snack. I was the only one eating it, so I didn't worry about "germs."
Coconut oil is antibacteria and antiviral. Start slowly with this, until you're sure you're okay with it.
The page above for the Coconut cream concentrate has a video to show how to mix up contents of the jar.
Posts: 6947 | From Lancaster, PA | Registered: Feb 2004
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posted
Thanks so much!!!
Posts: 213 | From Tennessee | Registered: Jan 2013
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linky123
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posted
Thanks for all the info.
-------------------- 'Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.' Matthew 11:28 Posts: 2607 | From Hooterville | Registered: Apr 2009
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Carol in PA
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Carolann, How's it going with the coconut and the green tea?
Posts: 6947 | From Lancaster, PA | Registered: Feb 2004
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I am not sure how well it is going. I take two tablets of the green tea capsules a day.
I spoon out about 1.5 tbsp. of coconut cream and I put a little honey in it and spread it on graham crackers. It is extremely good!!!!
But.....I didn't melt down my coconut cream. I just spoon it out and mix it with the honey.
I really can't tell any difference. I am going on my second week in taking both of them.
But the coconut cream is a really good snack!!!!!
This is supposed to help improve the metabolism. But, I am still at the slow gain in my weight. Somewhere on here I have posted what my weight was a couple of weeks ago.
I think I was at 170. (I started out at 135 about two years ago) and this week I am up to about 175 pounds. This is begining to scare me....this steady slow weight gain.
That would be about 5 pounds in two weeks.
I am also taking the Parastroy. I think the salt/c was doing a better job. But I can't take that because of my swelling.
My first LLMD appt is April 9th. I hope I haven't gotten up to 190 pounds by then.
Posts: 213 | From Tennessee | Registered: Jan 2013
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
Hi six, Every morning I will eat Quaker instant oatmeal (low sugar), a piece of toast with 1 tbsp. butter. (yes I measure it. My butter is marked by tablespoons.) and a glass of unsweetened tea. (I don't drink coffee).
For lunch (at work) I will either eat: 6" turkey w/ lettuce, provolone, green peppers, black olives and spicy mustard. Ice tea, unsweetened.
or:
1 small Mcdonalds hamburger, small ff and small ice tea (unsweetened)
or:
Salad
or:
I will take the pita bread with lettuce and a couple of slices of turkey and roll it up into a sandwich. Ice tea (unsweetened) and maybe baked Lays.
We live in a small town, not too many restaurants. One day a week, I might get a couple of slices of pepperoni pizza.
For dinner:
Schwans baked fish with Schwans Mediteranean veggies, or Lemon veggies or Fire roasted veggies.
Schwans chicken filet with bunches of different recipes from the Flat Belly Diet.
Schwans has a line of 'Live Smart' foods and I buy each week from them. They deliver.
Also, I will eat pears and cottage cheese, Schwans no sugar fudge ice cream bar. Peaches and cottage cheese.
Nothing much in between meals, Except around 7:30 in the evening and I will eat one of my snacks.
I used to follow the Flat Belly Diet as close as I could. I discovered I really enjoyed the food. It made me feel better.
I don't do Zumba anymore, I haven't been on the treadmill in several months.
That is about all I eat. Every day just about the same. I do indulge one day a week of eating whatever I want, within reason.
I am going to read the link on Borrelia weight gain....
Thanks,
Posts: 213 | From Tennessee | Registered: Jan 2013
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posted
I eat according to this plan - www.marksdailyapple.com - but I am sure to eat three cups of greens and three different colors of vegetables per day within this plan.
I am eating healthier than ever and have dropped ten pounds without even focusing on weight. My husband has dropped closer to 20 pounds and he doesn't always follow the rules. I do "cheat" 1-3 times per month.
I have more energy, too. It's a moderate protein, moderate fat, low carb (low starchy carbs but LOTS of fruits and veggies!) way of eating. I describe my diet as vegetable based with meat, eggs, a little dairy, and fish.
I know from past experience that I would gain weight with the foods you're eating. For years I could eat whatever I want, but now that I'm almost 50, I can't. It wouldn't be an easy change for you, I know that, but it's worth it. Adding three cups of greens was life-changing.
-------------------- sixgoofykids.blogspot.com Posts: 13449 | From Ohio | Registered: Feb 2007
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Carol in PA
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quote:Originally posted by carolann2013: I spoon out about 1.5 tbsp. of coconut cream and I put a little honey in it and spread it on graham crackers.
But.....I didn't melt down my coconut cream. I just spoon it out and mix it with the honey.
If you haven't melted the coconut cream concentrate and mixed up the layers, then I think you're just eating coconut oil at this point.
Did you buy the 32 ounce jar? The top couple inches is solidified coconut oil, and after you get through that, you'll be spooning out ground up coconut meat (without as much oil in it.)
I was eating two or three ounces per day, which is four to six tablespoons of coconut cream concentrate. When the solids and the oil are mixed, it's about 70% oil.
I had already tried eating plain coconut oil and didn't like it, but you should be able to do this with plain oil.
The coconut oil has something in it that affects the thyroid and speeds up the metabolism. Green tea has something in it that speeds up the metabolism too. I was taking both of them together.
The only thing I can see in your diet that would not be good for the body is the deep fried french fries. It's not the fat that's bad, you need animal fats in your diet, both for nutrition and to feel satiated.
But they use vegetable fats, and deep frying can change the makeup of the molecules.
People think they're being "healthy" by cutting out all the fat from their diet, and this is misguided. Go ahead and eat butter or ghee, but not margarine, which uses vegetable fats. Fry in olive oil or coconut oil, but not corn oil or other vegetable oils.
It's okay to eat eggs, they will not raise your cholesterol. Your body raises the cholesterol as a defense against the Lyme bacteria, which uses up YOUR cholesterol.
All of the nerves are sheathed in myelin, which is cholesterol. When the action of the Lyme bacteria strips the myelin from the nerves, they do not work as well. You can develop symptoms of neuropathic pain and of multiple sclerosis, among other things.
The brain is made up of mostly nerves, and nerves are made up of mostly fats and cholesterol.
Carolann, I think you may need to increase your daily amount of coconut cream concentrate. However, you said something about swelling. WHAT part of your body is swelling, your legs and ankles?
Measure with a tape measure and record it with the date, so if that increases or decreases you'll be able to see how much.
Posts: 6947 | From Lancaster, PA | Registered: Feb 2004
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You see the swelling really bad in my face and my eyelids will just about swell shut. I look hideous. I tried to do without the water pill for a couple of days...can't do it.
I know from the knee down, my legs swell. They get so tight they feel really hard. Especially my lower calves.
I know when I do without my water pill, my weight goes up about five pounds. Those five pounds drop the next day after taking the water pill.
I have asked doctors about it and they don't ever tell me why....they just say I retain water. Never no tests or anything.
The doctors around here are terrible. I live in a rural community about two hours north of Memphis and about 2.5 hours west of nashville.
I am planning on getting a blood test and sending it to Igenex. I have the blood kit. My LLMD appt is April 9th. I want to get it done before I go.
I haven't been diagnosed with Lyme. I just have a gut feeling, with all my symptoms, that I probably have it.
I was bit in 2010. The area where the bite was keeps coming back and itching and swelling...like a mosquito bite.
I did have a regular blood test and they said my results shows rheumatoid arthritis and no Lyme.
I am going to melt down my coconut oil this evening. I did get the 32 oz.. I thought I ordered the smaller one, undoubtedly I didn't.
Posts: 213 | From Tennessee | Registered: Jan 2013
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posted
Back to the swelling.. When I go too long without a water pill and I go to work, everyone asks me "what's wrong?" My eyes swell and get really red, my face puffs up.
Everyone says it looks like I have cried all night.
This is what happens if I miss just one day of the water pill.
Posts: 213 | From Tennessee | Registered: Jan 2013
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quote:Originally posted by katiebobatie: I seem to gain no matter what, but avoiding carbohydrates is crucial for me.
I gain weight so much faster if I eat carbs.
I can't lose weight on a low carb diet anymore (10 years ago I could lose like crazy)... I can just slow down my weight gain these days.
This is why I asked what her/their diets are. For some it's a medical reason. For others it's what's being eaten.
Another thing I noticed and was hesitant to mention is how much processed food is in the diet. Not only carbs, but processed. Processed foods have many more chemicals in them. I realize it's hard when you work full-time to not eat processed food. Part of the reason I only work part time is because I prepare meals for the six of us every day (two kids have moved out). It is time-consuming, and I realize it's harder for those who have to work full-time.
When i was going through pilates training, I brought my food to the studio every day. I would bring leftover salad from the night before along with a sliced avocado, raw almonds and macadamia nuts, and celery with almond butter. I'd eat it in a couple sittings during the day rather than all at once. Sometimes I'd have leftovers (I'd just make more of dinner if it was an easy thing to pack).
I snacked at least once per day on a fresh apple, sliced, with almond butter (I'm allergic to peanuts).
Also, artificial sweeteners will make you GAIN weight. I'd avoid the sugar-free fudge bars! Again, it's loaded with chemicals.
When you eat processed food, your body has to do something with the chemicals in it. If you're already dealing with detox issues like Lyme patients are, then if the chemical is fat soluble, that's where it will be stored, making you gain weight.
-------------------- sixgoofykids.blogspot.com Posts: 13449 | From Ohio | Registered: Feb 2007
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Carol in PA
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posted
Yes, SixGoofy is right, you do have alot of processed foods in your diet, but I realize that you're working and probably don't have the energy to cook from scratch.
For breakfast, how about a couple hard cooked eggs.
A handful of almonds is very satisfying, and high in protein and magnesium. Almond butter too!
1 cup almond flour/meal (from blanched almonds) 2 eggs 1/4 cup water 2 tablespoons oil 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon acceptable sweetener (stevia, etc.--I use Equal/Splenda, etc.)
This makes about 6 pancakes Top the pancakes with butter and cinnamon or other acceptable topping.
Posts: 6947 | From Lancaster, PA | Registered: Feb 2004
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