Whole 30 and a Ketosis diet

[lewis]

It's been touched on here a little bit I found but I just wanted to share my experience and see if anyone has has any similar experiences. My sister got me onto the whole 30 diet and I learned alot from there site as well as mark sission's primal diet. I'm a couple days away from the end of whole 30 and it has really helped me. I lost 25lbs in the process and also lost the 20 pvcs I was having a day. My nerve pain is minimal and heart is more stable. I'm even entertaining the idea of weaning off propranolol. My ortho static intolerance has faded and some days is gone. It is weird though I'm not as happy on this diet. I guess sugar makes me happy. Anyone else tried the whole 30?

[Lily]

I haven't tried Whole 30, but I try to follow the Primal Blueprint.  My compliance varies, but when I am more compliant I feel better in general, have no joint pain, no postprandial hypoglycemia symptoms, and I lose weight so very easily.  I have no idea if it impacts my POTS, because I haven't been paying attention to that aspect. 

The biggest problems I have with it are that I get bored (ADHD), and if I don't eat enough healthy carbs during the work day I run the risk of overeating nut butter or some other treat after work.  I can't do ketosis, but I function best on 80 - 150 g carbs.  I usually end up getting about 50% of my calories from fats.  And yet my cholesterol numbers and ratios are about as good as they can get.

Breakfast today is 3 hard boiled eggs with arugula pesto (dairy-free) in an ancient grains wrap, coffee, and a banana.  I may or may not be hungry for lunch.  Maybe a snack at 2pm.

About your happiness comment:  Sugar and grains (and dairy) can be addictive, so if you have only gone off them for this Whole 30, then you may still be adjusting.  Your mood may recover yet.

[lewis]

I hope my mood recovers. Haven't had any refined sugars or grains for 35 days and it still hasn't recovered yet. Going to slowly add a few things in to see if I can figure out what bothers me the most. Going to start adding some sugars like rice malt syrup and stevia but plan on sticking with the primal diet and staying away from grains and limiting refined sugars. 

[Lily]

Perhaps you dropped your carbs to low for you.  I'm trying to remember what I used to know about neurotransmitters and diet, but I'm coming up blank right now.  Maybe you unintentionally shorted yourself in a major or minor requirement to make a neurotransmitter.  Have you checked the Mark's Daily Apple forums?  Not everyone is knowledgeable, but some have good solid knowledge.  They may be able to offer better advice than I.  

[lewis]

I will look over at Mark's daily Apple, thanks.

[Hello Darling]

Is the Ketosis Diet the same thing as Ketogenic Diet? I have been looking at this (my dad is on the Ketogenic diet). I've also bene looking at the Pegan (Vegan + Paleo) diet. I think my heart rate is being really affected by sugar and carbs, but I'm not positive that this is what is going on. I'm still trying to figure out if that's really what is making some of the bad days really bad or not. The other day I ate a brownie and my heart rate was about 160+ just from standing and walking for a minute or two at a store. While sitting my heart rate was about 110+. Earlier in the day it was about 85 sitting and 120-130 standing. After a few hours it went back down. I'm not sure if it's a coincidence or not. Many times that I eat sugary foods, I feel really sweaty and passy-outy (I don't actually pass out). ANYWAY. I need to really pay attention to what I'm eating and how I'm feeling. Have any of you had a similar experience? 

[lewis]

Yes and anytime I eat anything with gluten my heart would race. I heard an explanation why it affects the nervous system the other day and will dig it back up to get the specifics. I highly recommend doing the whole 30 diet for the 30 days, however I'd spend a week weaning yourself off carbs before hand or it will be really hard. I didn't think sugar was really affecting me but I feel the best I have in years on this diet. I am almost done with the 30 days and can introduce other things slowly to see how they make me feel. I plan on staying away from fructose and getting any sweetener from stevia or brown rice malt syrup which is purely glucose. I'll  continue to follow mark sissons primal diet as it is a little less restrictive than the whole 30.

[yogini]

There can be many reasons. Sugar and gluten can affect us, but carbs also tend to be filling and pool blood to our stomach. Pots patients are told to limit carbs to help with postprandial hypotension.

[yogini]

The whole 30 diet sounds interesting though! I may give it a try. 

[Lily]

One of the things most dietary philosophies seem to agree on is that we should not eat much if any processed food.  I like to point out to my historical geology students that Homo species first appeared in the fossil record about 2.5 million years ago, Homo sapiens about 200,000 years ago, and processed food about 100 years ago.  Processed food is evolutionarily novel, and just because we can eat it doesn't mean it is good nutrition.

[yogini]

I agree. It also makes sense - why put harmful chemicals in your body!

[shan1212]

I'm wondering about this too. I went to see a concierge endocrinologist last week . . . I went solely hoping for help with POTS, but I felt like he gave me the basic "weight loss" spiel. He recommended a low carb diet, with almost no carbs in the morning and more as the day progresses. Some of his advice was pure bunk (like when he pointed out that exercise does nothing for weight loss -- sure, but without exercise I will not be functional -- or his recommendation to eat as much sugar-free jello as I like). But I do feel much improved after 5 days of eating this way. No headaches, better energy. As a result, I have been exercising harder, and I think that is paying off too. Obviously it's too early to tell, but I am hopeful that addressing some reactive hypoglycemia I may have had will help keep me more stable, improve energy, and create a "virtuous cycle" that leads to POTS symptoms improving. 

Years ago, before my diagnosis, I read the book Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy by a Harvard med school doctor. It was nothing revolutionary, and did not recommend one diet over another (said that people tend to lose more on low-carb than low-fat diets, but did not push a low-carb approach), but it helped me eat less processed, more whole foods, more healthy proteins, more healthy fats, etc. With kids and fatigue and everything, I have a much harder time stopping bad habits and eating this way, but I am starting to think that diet is the one piece of this puzzle I have not given enough attention to. 

[Hello Darling]

Have any of you tried the Deliciously Ella Cookbooks written by the girl who has pots? I feel (like you shan1212) that I haven't really tried diet changes but it seems like a lot of people find this an important part to feeling better. 

[RobinB]

Lewis I'm wondering if you are still feeling better?

[lewis]

On 5/11/2016 at 11:24 AM, RobinB said:

Lewis I'm wondering if you are still feeling better?

Yes I'm still doing great. I've been tapering off my propranolol as I feel like I don't need it anymore. My life feels like I'm almost back to normal although I'm still not running. I'm pretty use to this diet now and don't feel I'm missing out on anything.

[RobinB]

Lewis - thank you so much for replying!  I'm going to try this.  Any advice starting out?  I cannot express how happy I am for you!  This is wonderful!!!!

[SarahA33]

Yes, Lewis that is great news. Really happy for you!

[lewis]

Robin sorry I didn't reply sooner. I do have some advice for you our anyone that wants to try it. Take a week or two before you commit to wean yourself off carbs. Going cold turkey is really hard. It will be still hard even with weaning yourself off. The first two weeks or so if you feel you need carbs then research and eat some of the vegetables that are high in carbs such as sweet potatoes or squash. I don't have cravings for such things any more which is weird cause I've always been addicted to sugar. Just listen to your body. 

Also I'm completely off propranolol which I thought would never happen so I feel even better cause I no longer have the side affects it gave me like parathesia. I worked 8 hours in the heat today building a deck with no salt pills and only one bottle of water. It felt like I accomplished something just making it through the day remembering the days I could barely walk when it was hot outside.

[RobinB]

Lewis I'm so happy for you.  Do you credit this diet completely for your improvements?  Or do you think other factors played into it?  I'm going to start weaning off the carbs this week.  How were your symptoms prior to trying this diet.  Obviously you needed meds, but were you severly affected?  I just can't believe that a diet change could work this well.  Also how was your diet prior to making these changes?

[lewis]

I don't think it was solely the diet. I have to give some credit to excersize as well. I started slowly exercising doing what I can and working my way to getting stronger.  But the diet really made a huge difference. 

My symptoms I thought were pretty bad but not as debilitating as others on here. I tried to eat fairly healthy before but was definitely addicted to sugar and simple carbs. 

[jknh9]

I did strict Paleo for a few months a little while back (I think I made a post about this) and now follow a gluten-free part-time Paleo plan. I have suspected for years, pre-POTS even, that I had Celiac disease, and I think going gluten-free has proven that I am, based on my results. I am at the very least intolerant to gluten. I keep grains fairly low these days still, generally in the form of brown or white rice or a gluten-free whole-grain seeded bread. I also avoid dairy besides butter. Going Paleo helped me immensely--it contributed to an increase in exercise tolerance (although my pushing at it persistently was also a huge factor), and seems to have reduced my brain fog. I still have POTSy days, but they are typically much milder compared with what I had when I was still doing gluten. I have also switched to only eating pastured eggs as I've noticed that eggs from chickens who eat wheat/grain products give me side effects. My skin is also better than it has been in my entire life. I'm 31 and struggled with severe acne, oily skin, dry patches, and dandruff since I was 10. You would never know to look at me now that I had an acne problem. I'm still a bit oily, but the dry patches have gone (except in the dead of winter) and the dandruff is mostly non-existent. 

I run 5k races, exercise every day for 40 minutes to 2 hours, go on multi-day backpacking trips in the mountains, do yoga, lift weights, do HIIT and Tabata classes. I eat very clean. My diet is a lot of the same stuff every day, but I'm a routine-oriented person so this actually works out well for me.

I recommend the Balanced Bites podcast, the Paleo for Women podcast (also applicable to guys!), the book Practical Paleo, and anything by Chris Kresser. I even considered seeking an NTP certificate because of the changes this lifestyle has brought me  

[RobinB]

Wow that's awesome jknh9!  Thanks for sharing your experience.  I'm definitely going to give it a shot.  I was doing well with the exercise for a few months earlier this year but then I just got lazy about it.  I'll try that again too.  Are you still on meds jknh9?  I can't imagine being able to work out for 2 hours or go backpacking for days.  The old me yes the new me no way!

[jknh9]

RobinB, yes, I take mestinon 60g twice per day (morning and night), vitamin B complex, magnesium 500 mg a day, and vitamin D supplements currently. I also take Xanax when the anxiety gets the better of me--I have horrible anxiety issues. Honestly, I think I pushed myself to see how far I could take it because I had some major life event stresses going on, and I sort of became obsessive about it. I wouldn't necessarily recommend that route, although I do recommend backpacking, especially starting out slow with a group of experienced people. My hiking friends (who I met through Meetup.com) REALLY helped with exercise motivation at first, especially since several of them have their own medical issues. Good luck!