Tuesday, June 23, 2020

6-23-2020

So I injured my left knee yesterday. According to my chiropractor, I strained a quad muscle or tendon that connects to the top of the patella. I wasn't expecting to be even a teeny bit better, but when I woke up this morning, I was a whole lot better. Now this is the second injury I've had since switching diets and the second time I was almost 100% by morning. This shit never happens. 

Chiropractor commenting that my neck was markedly less stiff n I wasn't out of whack like i always am. If I read this on some testimonial, I wouldn't buy it but living this ... Well, the cynic in me is questioning reality. Am I dreaming or is this all really happening?

I've also been quite extroverted, kinda out of nowhere. I'm not sure what to make of all the changes. I keep reminding myself it's only been a week, maybe this is psychosomatic. However .. then why no placebo type effect with anything else I've tried? Idk. These are weird times for me.

Monday, June 22, 2020

6-22-2020

So far.
Improved sleep n pain tolerance.
Still stiff n achey upon waking up.
Better sex drive n overall mood.
Still terrible headache at base of skull in the back right side.
Slight improvement in breathing pain in left ribs.
Improved right hip pain n function.
Less numbness in fingers n arms.
Knee function up but still crunchy, painful joint in both.
Less jaw pain.
No dental improvements.
Better balance n endurance when standing prolonged period of time.
Way less appetite. 
Weight loss of near two pounds.

Friday, June 19, 2020

6-19-2020

After this, I'm switching to a week update on Fridays. So far today has way more bathroom issues than yesterday. I feel I slept deep last night n hardly tossed n turned. No skin clearing up and pain levels and energy about the same as all week. Again, I'm not expecting miracles the first week, just noting.

Thursday, June 18, 2020

6-18-2020

Yeah I missed a day. So far today, I've kept much stricter to the diet. I was lazy today, just felt kinda fog headed. Not depressed but no happy. I'm just kinda here. No nap though I did consider one. Sex drive reved up so that's still moving forward. Still having some bathroom issues but not near as bad or frequent. It's harder to crack my joints n my pain levels have reduced ever so slightly. Things hurt more acutely than chronic if that makes sense. Kinda as if I just worked out n it's been that way all day n yesterday. Muscles in neck/ shoulder area still knotted but I didn't expect that to change ever let alone in a handful of days, just noting it for posterity.

Tuesday, June 16, 2020

6-16-2020

After this first week, I'm going to switch from daily updates to weekly. So far, today's been a lot like yesterday. It's only noon so I'm not sure if I'll have a sugar drop after 3pm but it's likely. I've made good friends with my bathroom. I can't say energy is a thing yet but it may take me a few weeks to heal to the point I can have energy. I'm still doing diet soda too so that may be also negating some of the effects.

I'll write more later.

Well, no real slump. Noticed my sex drive reappeared already. It has been gone for idk close to a year, give or take some months.  Sleep was deep but not as good as the night before but I also tried to go to bed much earlier.

Monday, June 15, 2020

6-15-2020

Day one on the carnivore diet, God help me.

So, it wasn't too bad taste wise. But ... When a vlogger on YouTube tells you to stay near a bathroom for the first two weeks, don't disbelieve him. Holy mother Mary of God. I won't get too graphic, but take your worst bathroom experience and multiply it by ten. 

For me, this effect was almost immediate. I think maybe 10-15 minutes. I had actually expected constipation. Nope, very much nope. I am not exaggerating when I tell you to keep extra clothes and a well stocked shower. Maybe it was the sudden extreme switch or the fact I'm pretty sick in general idk. But be prepared just in case. You'll thank me later.

My energy seemed consistent in the morning and early afternoon. Then, I suddenly got ravenously hungry so I ate again at three. But shortly after, I got real tired and fog headed and kinda shaky. I'm guessing there's not enough sugar in animals left over and I'm borderline diabetic. So, instead of keeping strict, I ate some breaded chicken with jalepeno ranch sauce and felt almost instantly better. I've decided to do this as needed until I no longer need to as it's in lieu of a transition period.

I have noticed today, from early evening on, that my two pinky fingers that have been numb for a year now almost feel entirely normal. I'd think that's a little too quick, but it's been a year steady and boom. I don't think it's the meat, though, I think it's the lack of vegetables and fruits. Perhaps I'm really that sensitive to these oxalates. Who knows. 

I'm still in pain otherwise, but I'm also still drinking copious amounts of diet mountain dew code red for energy. I plan to do this until I don't need to any more. I realize I may not get all the benefits until I quit diet soda. 

Still, an interesting day and I still can't get over the finger numbness thing. I can't wait to see what tomorrow holds.



Time to Revamp. Entirely.

So ... Been a long time. I deleted everything except my introduction entry. Since then, I've tried several different things, the last being a vegan diet in which breakfast and lunch were fruit and vegetables smoothies then a non pureed vegan dinner. Welp. I felt good for maybe a week, not enough to rave but not getting worse. Then, I fell on my face health wise, including this crippling depression that seemed to come out of nowhere.

I was pissed. Legit pissed. So I threw the diet away and made some terrible food choices. Over the weekend, I happened upon a Jordan Peterson video while researching Jung psychology after watching an analysis of Kubrick's the shining. I had watched a few Jung based videos from Peterson, but YouTube suggested one where he talks about his diet. He seemed pretty smart on Jung psychology so I clicked on it. Couldn't hurt, right?

He briefly described his entire family's auto immune mystery. I didn't have rhumatoid arthritis like his daughter, but I closely matched enough of his and his wife's ailments. They eat meat. Literally beef, salt, and water. But saturated fat?? Cholesterol?? Nutrient deficiencies?? But, I had grown worse on veganism and even gluten free was too much a pain in the ass for how small the results were. 

So I researched more on this type of diet, mostly on YouTube, because I wanted to hear how others fared doing this diet for years. And I was desperate. And these results sounded amazing. What the hell, maybe I'll try two weeks I thought, so I went shopping. And it's expensive and I hate meat, especially fatty meats. The mere smell of liver can also make me vomit let alone trying to eat it. Uphill battle, but I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired.

I couldn't afford to do grass fed, but told myself if I see at least modest improvement, I can always find a way to upgrade my selection. So I jumped in. I kept researching and found out about oxalates in plant foods. Spinach is one of the highest of this ... Poison.! I was eating about 2-4 cups of that stuff a day before. Well, no wonder I felt like I was dying. Still, I didn't expect that a mono diet of red meat, of all things, would result in much besides heart disease. I had binged Dr. Michael Gregers videos of study after study. I was scared.

But so many vegans thrive. Yes and many look like they're dying. What gives, right? My uneducated theory is which diet works for you probably comes down to your ancestry. While many cultures evolved on starches, I think some may have evolved more on meat. Or it could be a blood type thing. I don't think we'll ever find out the truth because there's big bucks to be made on both sides and the regular people argue and debunk everything that's against their diet to the point you can't tell which is true. They both are. You have to try both and see what you respond to. If you're vegan for ethical reasons and your health is tolerable then keep at it. If it's not, you have an incredibly hard and painful choice you're going to have difficulty living with either way. I am sorry, that's certainly not fair to you.

Listen to your body, decide between ethics and health if this applies to you, and do what you feel you must. May we all find our path to health and approach everyone's choices with compassion.