Carving out my own thread - Posting odd experiences

[spirilis]

Well today I had an odd experience--after reading about Pork rinds being zero-carb I went out before lunch to grab a few bags (plain, NO sugar or maltodextrin--I read the ingredients on the label), and ended up eating 3/4ths of a bag by the time I was ready to eat my normal lunch (grilled salmon + spring mix greens). They were tasty, I ate most of my lunch although had to stop midway because I was so FULL ... like FULL beyond all comprehension. Think I overdid it on the pork rinds. Ended up grazing the rest of my lunch and then for the next 2 hours afterward felt like I seriously needed a nap.

I thought the whole "needing a nap after lunch" thing was due to carbs. What was going on here then? FYI I have not consumed a single carb all day... besides the salad greens. Although I am not 100% sure what's in the salad dressing my wife included with it. It was already mixed in with the greens and salmon in a pyrex container.

[spirilis]

Huh, now that the sleepy spell is over I find myself a tad overheated like my metabolism just kicked up. I guess something I ate for lunch (shouldn't be the pork rinds, maybe something in the lunch) kicked on the insulin feed?

[ouizoid]

although they say it ain't so--for some of us, fat seems to trigger an insulin dump. I am one of those folks--can't eat too much fat without gaining and craving. weird, eh?

[spirilis]

huh yeah, that is weird. guess I need to keep it all in moderation

[spirilis]

Hmm, I wonder if it's not the fat that's causing this effect, but the protein--as protein stimulates glucagon release according to Glucagon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Excessive protein is consumed, pancreas releases glucagon anticipating hypoglycemia, blood sugar rises thanks to the liver, insulin rises, what little glucose gets sequestered into our fat cells--but thanks to metabolic syndrome insulin doesn't drop as fast as it should--and BOOM! The infamous carb crash, low-carb style.

The best experiment will be to increase my proportion of fat to protein when I eat my next meal. Cook everything in butter or coconut oil (reminds me--I need to get some of that, I've had good luck with it well in the past).

[spirilis]

Hmm, well, woke up this morning to 259lbs. I am usually dehydrated in the morning (thanks to a warm bedroom and/or the heat pump and its nonstop stream of dry air) so my weight is usually at its lowest after I wake up and use the restroom. Haven't seen 259lbs in a while. Very encouraging. I noticed I was using the restroom a lot yesterday, and every time it had this semi-transparent medium green color (think someone described that as the ketone color), plus had to get up in the middle of the night once or twice. Rehydrating right now and making breakfast.

[spirilis]

This morning - 257.6. Quite encouraging! I was drinking a lot of water yesterday and woke up feeling a little less dehydrated too.

[spirilis]

Feeling rather warm in the face... and warm overall, in fact I walked into the house which is 73F and thought at first it'd be too warm in here if I started the woodstove, but I did it anyway. My wife loves the brute-force heat. Reminds us of summertime.

In addition, certain ... "subtle" mental impulses are appearing in my head now, giving me cues about what to do next when I'm doing mundane tasks and thinking about things. I know I had these all the time in grade school but they seemed to disappear somewhere around college. Like my brain's autopilot is taking a more active role. Weird. Not like I was stupid before, but, it seemed I frequently have been forgetful and absent-minded about things a lot.

The bowel issues have subsided for now, and I hope they never come back! Disgusting and annoying it is.

[spirilis]

Weigh-in this morning: 255.2
This is happening really fast. I think the "whooshie" is starting to slow down/subside (had 2 episodes of it yesterday)... will be GLAD when that is overwith. I'm guessing the weight loss will slow down a bit after that. I'd be fine with a 0.5lb/day drop

Yesterday morning I had coffee with HWC, which reaffirmed why caffeine is a no-no: not 15min after getting halfway through my coffee I started to get the jitters, with that uncomfortable "gah I really need to snack on something" feeling and shakiness in my demeanor. Last night I bought a pkg of looseleaf decaf tea to try (gotta remember to bring my tea filters too), Assam estate (my favorite, mmm) which should go splendidly with cream. It's satisfying drinking some kind of non-water beverage at work especially with cream so I'll see how the decaf tea works.

Think I might do 10 minutes on the elliptical, which I haven't touched in a while. Didn't get a good walk in yesterday so I'm due for some exercise.

Lunch yesterday: Pork and onions (Carnitas a Sabor at a local mexican restaurant, I ignored the tortillas, rice and almost all the beans.)
Dinner yesterday: 4oz steak and 1 bratwurst

Breakfast today: 1 egg w/ parmesan cheese and spices plus a link of chorizo
Lunch today: Ham and salad greens

[yorick]

spirilis - I just saw this thread and wanted to comment about feeling tired after eating the other day.

Digestion requires a lot of energy to accomplish, so large meals can leave one feeling sleepy in general, even without taking into consideration insulin issues.

I have more energy if I eat no more than 3 meals a day - and no snacks. I often Intermittent fast (IF) by not eating a breakfast meal. Many in the IF community report more energy during the fasted state.

I'm not suggesting you IF, but do take into account meal timing and volume. I find that typical "grazing" pattern eating definitely leaves me more sluggish.

Although I don't keep a food journal, this would be a good thing for you to log into a journal if you decide to start one. You can list what you eat, how you feel at various times of the day, weight loss, etc.

[spirilis]

Originally Posted by yorick

spirilis - I just saw this thread and wanted to comment about feeling tired after eating the other day.

Digestion requires a lot of energy to accomplish, so large meals can leave one feeling sleepy in general, even without taking into consideration insulin issues.

I have more energy if I eat no more than 3 meals a day - and no snacks. I often Intermittent fast (IF) by not eating a breakfast meal. Many in the IF community report more energy during the fasted state.

I'm not suggesting you IF, but do take into account meal timing and volume. I find that typical "grazing" pattern eating definitely leaves me more sluggish.

Although I don't keep a food journal, this would be a good thing for you to log into a journal if you decide to start one. You can list what you eat, how you feel at various times of the day, weight loss, etc.

Hmm good info -- Thanks!

[spirilis]

Condition seems to be more stable now, less "whooshie" (I'm adding psyllium husk fiber though) and more active energy--easier time getting "hyper" or excited than usual. Still feel a little woozy when I stand up but it's not that bad--seems to be getting better by the day. Might have been the rapid loss of water that caused that.

Morning weigh-in: 252.8

Today's food:
Breakfast - smoked salmon + cream cheese, a link of chorizo
Lunch - Panera BBQ chicken salad, picked mostly at the greens and chicken, had some carbs from that though.
Snack - Small 2oz piece of leftover strip steak
Dinner - Salisbury steak with some celery

[spirilis]

Morning weigh-in: 253.8

[ChristineCQ]

Yay! I love daily weighers! Looks like you're making good headway here.

[spirilis]

Morning weigh-in: 254.2
0.4lbs higher than yesterday
I think I'm gaining weight via fiber bulk. Had a flaxseed "muffin in a minute" last night that was fit for induction, but added extra fiber. Not too worried about it.

[spirilis]

Morning weigh-in: 254.0

So I guess my "real" weight is somewhere around the 254-256 range right now. Looking forward to watching it drop!

[spirilis]

food lately-
yesterday's breakfast was poached eggs and sausage
yesterday's lunch was chicken salad with lots of celery and some cucumber+cream cheese snack
yesterday's dinner was ribs.... mmmmmmm done dry with a sweet & spicy rub, a little sugar in there I could tell but not too bad. ate 1/2 the rack last night
this morning's breakfast was 2 strips bacon and a flaxseed muffin/cake with cream cheese on top
and I just devoured lunch -- the last 1/2 rack of ribs from last night.
yum those ribs stuff me pretty full. I brought a stick of cheese in case I needed a snack afterwards but I can't look at it.

[ChristineCQ]

I love dry rub ribs!!! Going to make those next week; DH and DS love them as well.

[spirilis]

Originally Posted by ChristineCQ

I love dry rub ribs!!! Going to make those next week; DH and DS love them as well.

Mmm nice! I got these from a BBQ place nearby (which has allll kinds of good stuff... yum)

[spirilis]

Morning weigh-in: 253.2

Clear downward trend now. No "whooshie", no nonstop trips to the bathroom, just normal bodily function and now a clear steady downtrend on the weight. Fantastic!!
Will be happy to say goodbye to the 250's... and then the 240's... and then the 230's... etc

[ChristineCQ]

Keep up the great work! Don't you just love seeing that steady downward movement on the scale?? I find it to be really motivating.

[spirilis]

Morning weigh-in: 252.8

Woohoo!
Breakfast yesterday: Smoked salmon + cream cheese, flaxseed muffin with cream cheese
Lunch yesterday: Veggies w/ cream cheese, chicken salad
Dinner yesterday: Smoked salmon + cream cheese as a snack then Bouillabaise

[spirilis]

Morning weigh-in: 252.4

[spirilis]

Morning weigh-in: 251.4

Yesterday breakfast was 2 hardboiled eggs, lunch was steak plus crab-stuffed shrimp (mmmmm), dinner was Arkansas Beef BBQ at the local BBQ joint with cole slaw. There was a little sugar in the BBQ sauce and maybe a trace in the coleslaw but I still ended up 1lb lower today (although part of that is related to the decaf coffee I had yesterday afternoon, which sent me to the restroom later on...)

[spirilis]

Flaxseed muffin w/ cream cheese and a link of chorizo. Damned satisfying breakfast!

[spirilis]

Morning weigh-in: 249.6

A bit dehydrated this morning but wow. Knocking on the 240's door!!

[ChristineCQ]

Originally Posted by spirilis

Morning weigh-in: 249.6

A bit dehydrated this morning but wow. Knocking on the 240's door!!

[spirilis]

Dayum long day, didn't eat much, had a chorizo for breakfast and that's it, then drove a total of 200 miles (...long story) before coming home around 3-4PM and having a salad with bacon, then dinner was a portion of salmon with snap peas.
Didn't drink much water either, trying to rectify that now. So much for rehydrating this morning lol... just had some smoked salmon w/ cream cheese 'cause I'm still voraciously hungry. Not touching the scale 'till tomorrow morning.

On a brighter note though, part of my 200 miles worth of driving involved buying a Big Green Egg smoker/grill for cheap (off-season prices) from a distributor near Baltimore, and we got a free bassinet off craigslist for our baby we're expecting this summer.
And now it's snowing!

Can't wait to fire up the Big Green Egg though, I got the barebones Large version with the nest but it looks like pretty soon I'll have to look for the Place Setter accessory since it seems to be very important for doing convection oven-style stuff like smoking/roasting and the like. The dealer suggested it to me but I said we're going to buy the accessories when we need them. We watched the instructional DVD that came with it and it made me even more hungry lol... I do love that charcoal-smoked flavor. Brought a frozen ribeye steak from the freezer to fridge so I can try grilling it tomorrow evening when I get home. That'll be the inauguratory meal.

[spirilis]

Morning weigh-in: 250.2

[spirilis]

Morning weigh-in: 250.0

Yesterday's foods:
B: 2 eggs, sausage (link of apple gouda pork sausage), some cream cheese on top of eggs
L: Salmon + salad greens + some cubed cheese, had 2 atkins bars (had a bad sweet tooth, think that settled it down)
D: Ribeye steak (grilled on our new Big Green Egg!) and brussel sprouts