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MRMom · 06-03-2009, 08:17 AM

Hi all,

I just purchased the FLTS and MRM last week and am new to this forum. I'm thrilled to have finally found something (MRM) that seems to address the issues I've been dealing with for years.

Question #1 - In the MRM it mentions that the last stage of repair gets you ready for the Meta Burn Program OR another round of Repair. How will I know whether or not I need another round of repair???

Question #2 - If I do need another round of repair, should I begin it at the same calorie level that I started the first round with?

Some background in case it will help in answering my questions:

I've been eating in a deficit and overtraining (cardio and strength) for approximately 10 years. My deficits have increased over the years and eventually got to around 60% less than maintenance for the past 4 years (lower carb, but not keto). (I do weigh and measure food.) In spite of this I have never reached a low body weight. The lowest I've gotten to is 156lbs at 5'10". Maybe because of this I've never had any trouble whatsoever with my cycles. Also, I've had hypothyroidism for 10 years (I'm on T4 replacement and my dose has been stable since day 1.) My sleep habits were 5-6hrs/night. And about 3 years ago I was diagnosed with severe chronic autoimmune neutropenia. I may be wrong, but I completely contribute that to my poor lifestyle. I've been feeling worse and worse over the years... then about 18 months ago I just couldn't do it anymore. I had recently had a baby (continued overexercise and undereating throughout the pregnancy as always - gained 45lbs eating 1000cals/day and exercising for 2hrs). I couldn't lose even 1 pound continuing on that regime (at a highter intensity) after the birth (I was at 183 then). And even more importantly I was completely EXHAUSTED. I could get through my workouts but then had NOTHING left for my family and my moods were horrific. I did a home saliva test for cortisol and the numbers came out below the normal ranges (but DHEAS was high, which supposedly put my at stage 6 adrenal fatigue). I knew I needed to change. So, I cut back my workouts to 5 days/wk, 30mins/day, and lightened the intensity a lot with a focus on strength rather than aerobics. I also began trying to sleep 7-8hrs/night. However, I continued with eating 1000 cals/day, because #1 - every time I've tried to increase I've gained fat, and #2 - I wanted to lose the baby weight. Eventually I slowly began to lose the weight after I started taking licorice root (it's supposed to extend the life of the cortisol that you have).

So fast forward to now - it's been a year and half since I've overtrained (well, I don't take training breaks at all but 30mins/day 5 days/wk is nothing compared to what I was used to). But my eating is still messed up and my energy level has not remotely recovered to what I would consider normal. The repair program makes a lot of sense to me, but I question whether my body will respond and adjust to a normal caloric intake in a mere 8 weeks given my history.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

Michelle

06-03-2009, 08:17 AM	#1 (permalink)
MRMom Member Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 86	Repair Questions Hi all, I just purchased the FLTS and MRM last week and am new to this forum. I'm thrilled to have finally found something (MRM) that seems to address the issues I've been dealing with for years. Question #1 - In the MRM it mentions that the last stage of repair gets you ready for the Meta Burn Program OR another round of Repair. How will I know whether or not I need another round of repair??? Question #2 - If I do need another round of repair, should I begin it at the same calorie level that I started the first round with? Some background in case it will help in answering my questions: I've been eating in a deficit and overtraining (cardio and strength) for approximately 10 years. My deficits have increased over the years and eventually got to around 60% less than maintenance for the past 4 years (lower carb, but not keto). (I do weigh and measure food.) In spite of this I have never reached a low body weight. The lowest I've gotten to is 156lbs at 5'10". Maybe because of this I've never had any trouble whatsoever with my cycles. Also, I've had hypothyroidism for 10 years (I'm on T4 replacement and my dose has been stable since day 1.) My sleep habits were 5-6hrs/night. And about 3 years ago I was diagnosed with severe chronic autoimmune neutropenia. I may be wrong, but I completely contribute that to my poor lifestyle. I've been feeling worse and worse over the years... then about 18 months ago I just couldn't do it anymore. I had recently had a baby (continued overexercise and undereating throughout the pregnancy as always - gained 45lbs eating 1000cals/day and exercising for 2hrs). I couldn't lose even 1 pound continuing on that regime (at a highter intensity) after the birth (I was at 183 then). And even more importantly I was completely EXHAUSTED. I could get through my workouts but then had NOTHING left for my family and my moods were horrific. I did a home saliva test for cortisol and the numbers came out below the normal ranges (but DHEAS was high, which supposedly put my at stage 6 adrenal fatigue). I knew I needed to change. So, I cut back my workouts to 5 days/wk, 30mins/day, and lightened the intensity a lot with a focus on strength rather than aerobics. I also began trying to sleep 7-8hrs/night. However, I continued with eating 1000 cals/day, because #1 - every time I've tried to increase I've gained fat, and #2 - I wanted to lose the baby weight. Eventually I slowly began to lose the weight after I started taking licorice root (it's supposed to extend the life of the cortisol that you have). So fast forward to now - it's been a year and half since I've overtrained (well, I don't take training breaks at all but 30mins/day 5 days/wk is nothing compared to what I was used to). But my eating is still messed up and my energy level has not remotely recovered to what I would consider normal. The repair program makes a lot of sense to me, but I question whether my body will respond and adjust to a normal caloric intake in a mere 8 weeks given my history. Any insight would be greatly appreciated! Michelle