Two Steps Forward, No Steps Back: My Health Focused Log

[UConnJulie]

Originally Posted by Espi

Wasn't it your plan to take it easier in your workouts. They still look quite strenuous to me!

Two steps forwards and not a single one backwards, remember ?

BTW, do you follow BR.com ? AF is once again both a good thread (quite informative) and an awful one at the same time (nasty to the extreme).

Espi, really they are not that strenuous ... or I should say, they are incorporating plenty of rest periods to allow my heartrate to return to low levels which is the plan. Interval type work is good (according to Dr. Schwarzbein) as long as you allow the heartrate to recover after no more than 5 minutes of continuous elevation. So that's what I've been doing. But if my heartrate gets way up there during a set, I do take rest.

No steps backward I don't think ... I feel better nearly every single day. This week it is my daughter's interrupted sleep that is causing issues ... thankfully she slept all the way through last night and I'm feeling much better today.

I haven't been over to BR.com lately ... that place intimidates the heck out of me ... I can't imagine speaking to anyone the way they do there!!! But I will go check out that thread ... thanks for the heads up!

So, slept nearly 9 hours last night ... eats still on target ... planning some yoga later today ... and I think I'm going to have to switch my workouts around. Since number one priority is sleep ... I have been told to sleep until I wake up which is usually around 7:00 am (when the kids wake me!!). Now I have to be out of the house on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday by 8:45 ... and I'll be gone until nearly noon at least on Mondays and Wednesdays ... I just don't have the energy in the afternoons to do my weight workouts. I seem to be able to do yoga no problem, but not my lifting stuff. So I think if I switch it to Tuesday and Thursday, only do 2 days per week, and add an extra yoga session, it would probably be better for me anyways. So that's my new plan for now ... it might change again if that doesn't work ...

[Lost Dog]

9 hours of sleep... That's what I got last night, too. It's been a long time.

[Espi]

Espi, really they are not that strenuous ... or I should say, they are incorporating plenty of rest periods to allow my heartrate to return to low levels which is the plan. Interval type work is good (according to Dr. Schwarzbein) as long as you allow the heartrate to recover after no more than 5 minutes of continuous elevation. So that's what I've been doing. But if my heartrate gets way up there during a set, I do take rest.

Interesting on the HR. What did me in most of all with NROL FL2/3 was having to workout with predescribed rest times. I hated that much more than the actual exercises which are fun, but challenging. Just go with how you feel = first few sets with very little rest and later on much more time in between , even with some yakking.

I've got to get that Schwarzbein book as well. Things finally fell into place for me when I realized why I can't go/take the very low carb route anymore. It used to be that I could eat sub-50 g of carbs no problem, but I'd put out loads and loads of cortisol. I'd never get tired either, just could go on & on. Obviously , this together with chronic use of EC completely wore me out. Got a real nasty disease because of suppressed immune system (very low carbing does that too).

Interesting part about that AF thread is someone mentioning supps with very high B-vitamins. I swear esp sulbutiamine helped me most after sublingual B12 as I'm no longer forced to eat all of the rice cakes , cookies or chocolate. Apparently B-vitamins help cure AF! Most interesting though is how people with a thyroid problem have their adrenals overcompensate for the lack of thyroid output, which can lead to AF.
Indeed.. very true.

In the meantime no more very low carb. But neither very high carb , as it will mess up the blood sugar (don't want no diabetes and feel crap on very high carb anyway)

[UConnJulie]

Originally Posted by Espi

In the meantime no more very low carb. But neither very high carb , as it will mess up the blood sugar (don't want no diabetes and feel crap on very high carb anyway)

Agreed. Not counting fibrous veggies, I am getting about 100g (so total probably 125g-150g) per day of carbs ... mostly from starchy veggies (sweet potato, potato, artechoke, leeks, etc), legumes, brown/wild rice, and occasionally sprouted breads, whole wheat pasta, etc. 20-25 g per meal is not a lot, but it is enough to keep my energy levels stable and keep the cravings at bay ...

I too have sub-optimal thyroid function. We didn't talk a whole lot about it at my last appointment, but thyroid function and adrenal function are very tied together. Dr. S does a great job in her second book ("The Transition") at tying together adrenaline/cortisol output with thyroid hormone function. I'm not sure that I notice a huge difference on the Armour Thyroid, but it might be that my dosage is not perfect yet. I see my doc again in about 2 weeks.

[Espi]

The weird part was that my T4 was actually quite high but (total) T3 still subrange. TSH was highish, but not crazily so. Seems that food sensitivities are a major cause of T3 dropping. Funny you mention the starchy carbs. I'm staying away from all grains, all legumes (including peanuts but not pb and soy) with the exception of starchy tubers (white & sweet potatoes, cassave, carrots). But .. still eat candy and very high GI fruit (dates, raisins, grapes). I have heard Schwarzbein is very anti-sugar. I'm liking sugar a lot as my body digests them more easily. But only right before and during exericse though as sugars mess up the blood sugar.

[UConnJulie]

I believe that's how my profile was too ... all were within normal range, but T4 and TSH were at the high end of the range while T3 was at the low end. Since the body is unable to convert T4 (unusable thyroid hormone) to T3 (usable thyroid hormone) without cortisol, it makes sense that my T3 was low. She (my doc) also said something about rT3 (which is completely unusable) ... and that much of my T3 might actually be rT3.

The only food my doctor told me to avoid was SUGAR!! Bummer. I do cheat every now and then, but am no longer having sugar in my coffee ... and I've cut wayyyyy back (my chocolate even has very little to no sugar in it!! 85-100% cocoa depending upon my mood). She did warm me about grains saying that one of the major causes of AF is poor gluten tolerance. The low level of inflammation that it creates in the gut can lead to adreanal burnout. She said that folks of Northern European descent seem to be particularly at risk (for low tolerance). My heritage is mostly Northern European (Danish, French, Ukranian, English, Scottish, Swedish). I don't seem to have any digestive issues though so I've been skeptical to cut it out completely. I have switched to sprouted grain breads though.

Dr. S is fairly anti-sugar ... depending upon your metabolism. For me, with burned out adrenals, I am to avoid it and all high GI fruits, especially dates, figs, and bananas. I guess what it does is cause a spike in adrenaline, which taxes the adrenal glands. For her it's not just about cortisol, but adrenaline too.

[UConnJulie]

Shitty day yesterday ... not sure what happened, but I crashed big time right after breakfast and pretty much spent the day in bed. Feeling better today so I guess it was just needed. I only gave myself half points for food yesterday since I didn't eat much, but what I ate was on track.

We have three funerals to attend over the next three days ... one of the groomsmen in our wedding, his MIL passed ... Matt's cousin's husband's mother passed ... and Matt had a student pass from a seizure disorder that was only recently diagnosed. Very sad ... she was only a sophomore.

The weather is nice here today ... planning some yoga (to make up for lying in bed all day yesterday!) and maybe a walk or hike with the kids. I need to grocery shop too ... fun is.

Yesterday's ScoreCard:
Sleep: Friday night 9 hours 6/7
Meditation: 6/7
Me Time: 2/1 I ended up with lots of alone time yesterday!
Eats: Not good. 5/7
Workout: Did not make up the resistance workout. 5/7
Mood: Really really really tired yesterday. Spent the day in bed resting and sleeping.

[L'ilJ]

Originally Posted by UConnJulie

Shitty day yesterday ... not sure what happened, but I crashed big time right after breakfast and pretty much spent the day in bed. Feeling better today so I guess it was just needed. I only gave myself half points for food yesterday since I didn't eat much, but what I ate was on track.

We have three funerals to attend over the next three days ... one of the groomsmen in our wedding, his MIL passed ... Matt's cousin's husband's mother passed ... and Matt had a student pass from a seizure disorder that was only recently diagnosed. Very sad ... she was only a sophomore.

The weather is nice here today ... planning some yoga (to make up for lying in bed all day yesterday!) and maybe a walk or hike with the kids. I need to grocery shop too ... fun is.

Yesterday's ScoreCard:
Sleep: Friday night 9 hours 6/7
Meditation: 6/7
Me Time: 2/1 I ended up with lots of alone time yesterday!
Eats: Not good. 5/7
Workout: Did not make up the resistance workout. 5/7
Mood: Really really really tired yesterday. Spent the day in bed resting and sleeping.

Julie, what do you think is causing this "crashing" lately? This used to happen to me a lot, but almost never happens anymore unless I'm sick or something. Do you think the more intense workouts are taking their toll or is it just one of those things? At any rate, I hope you feel better soon.

[UConnJulie]

Originally Posted by L'ilJ

Julie, what do you think is causing this "crashing" lately? This used to happen to me a lot, but almost never happens anymore unless I'm sick or something. Do you think the more intense workouts are taking their toll or is it just one of those things? At any rate, I hope you feel better soon.

Oh, I know exactly what it is ... I was up with Hayley three times on Wednesday night for nearly 45 minutes each time, and then once on Thursday night for an hour ... Friday night I had some insomnia ... so even though I went to bed early, I got crappy sleep ... sooooooo ... Saturday I crashed. I feel fine today ... great in fact! At least when I crash, I recover much faster ... in the past this would have been a three day crash ... that's how I know that I'm getting better!!

[Victoria]

Glad you're feeling better. A good day in bed can do wonders!!!

I'm sorry to hear about the funerals you have to attend. Three is a lot to attend in one week....stay strong!

[lance02]

I'm sorry to hear about all the deaths you have been dealing with. Hang in there.

[laurawd]

Hi Julie, Sorry about your crash! I hope you're feeling rested after the weekend.

Was reading your thread about the FT4/FT3. Low FT3 is also called Euthyroid stress syndrome. Typically happens to overtraining athletes. But some people (not necessarily overtrained athletes) also have trouble converting their FT4 to FT3, and much of the FT4 is converted instead to Reverse T3. When this happens, you're not getting enough of the active thyroid hormones into your tissues. I recommend you have a test for RT3. Please let me know what the result is, and I can send you over to a web site that helps interpret the result. (Basically, the ratio of FT3 to RT3 should be no less than 2. (It's the ratio that matters, not the actual RT3 amount, although that's a good indicator sometimes))

How much Armour are you on? Did doc say that Armour is not recommended to people with poor adrenal functioning? There is no firm guideline, but you need to have good adrenals to handle Armour.

Best wishes,

Laura

[Jimbo]

Hope you feel better soon. You guys are seeing a lot of grief there. Three funerals is a lot to go through. I know first hand how draining on your body this can be. Be good to yourself. Take a break..whatever you need to do. We luv ya!

[UConnJulie]

Jimbo, Lance and Victoria, thanks ... I was not close to any of them, so not that it makes it better, just less sad. I felt so badly for my friend Maura last night ... I cannot imagine losing my mother at this age ...

Laura, I'm on a low dose of Armour ... 30 mg twice daily. As I have said before, I am completely trusting my doctor on this one. I don't think she would have put me on it if there was an issue with persons who have poor adrenal function taking it. She is VERY well versed in all of this, and she is an MD. Same for the rT3 test ... if she feels it is necessary I will have it done (my next round of blood work is for FT3, FT4, and Vitamin D). I would guess that the outcome of the test would not change her treatment. As always, thanks for the info ...

Last week's ScoreCard ...
Sleep: Saturday night 9 hours 7/7 Giving myself all the points for sleep this week even though my sleep was so interrupted (darn 2 year old!)
Meditation: 7/7
Me Time: 2/1
Eats: Had some pizza Sunday evening because I was starving (starting to get lightheaded and a headache) and that was all there was to eat after the wake. It wasn't even very good. 5/7
Workout: Went for a hike on Sunday. Just missed a resistance workout. 6/7
Mood: It was generally good all week, just tired, and therefore a little crabby at times.