--- In FailsafeNT@yahoogroups.com, "piratehyde2" <dreamwinds@...> wrote:

> Welcome back Emma :) I sure have missed your advice, really I don't
> trust anyone but you on this subject(!)

Wow, thanks for the vote of confidence :)


>I'm having quite a tough time
> actually. On the one hand, a high carb, 20~% fat diet seems to suit my
> energy levels, libido etc. on the other I feel so lazy and undriven,
> like I could waste my whole life flooded with serotonin. I felt more
> driven with less carbs in my diet but it really gives me so much
> digestive problems and tiredness I know I could never return to true
> low carbing. What works for me is a low glycemic diet but combining
> that with failsafe is near impossible. I've been in a cycle of feeling
> good on low gi foods for a few days then the chemicals build up and I
> get sick, then once they clear, I feel good again. But I can't keep
> this up! I'm so frustrated :(... I do wish to failsafe truely but in
> some ways all the refined carbohydrate is hurting me more than the
> chemicals...
>


Hmmm. I kind of know what you mean by this. I don't know whether this
relates to you or not, but I feel utterly unmotivated when I eat wheat
and milk, and to a lesser extent oats. I have been on and off wheat
and dairy several times over the last few months and I realised at
some point that wheat was stopping me from getting any work done in
the afternoons. It was very subtle - just making a choice - I could
either sit down tired in front of the telly, or I could get on with
more decorating. Sushi rice doesn't seem to affect me in that way, so
I spent most of my time on a wheat-free, rice-heavy "decorating diet".
LOL.

I wonder how you are with sushi rice, and whether wheat/oats/milk etc
are bothering you in this way or whether it is a genuine carbohydrate
thing? Also, how well do you tolerate beans/pulses, as a low GI
alternative to rice?

If the probiotics thing hasn't panned out, the only other thing I can
think of (and I really don't know why I didn't think of this before)
is that some people react to high levels of ketones with diarrhoea and
sometimes vomiting. Maybe your body is really good at making ketones
or particularly sensitive to ketones. Too much fat can have the same
stomach-upset effect as well. Come to think of it - I am normally
constipated on a high or moderate carb diet, and I start to poop
normally when I go low carb or eat tons of fat. I wonder if we're both
experiencing the same effect but with a different tolerance threshold
to carbs and ketones? I guess if this is true you are pretty lucky
because it must mean you have low insulin levels!

I think the only way to test this is to see whether fasting upsets
your stomach in the same way low carbing does. Or even try some
experiments with vinegar and see if that upsets your stomach.

When you are on a low carb diet, are you keeping a track of how many
calories you eat, and are they enough to maintain your weight? You can
lower ketone producton by increasing calories, but not eliminate it.

I think if you can somehow figure out a diet that will just keep you
out of ketosis - higher levels of protein and carbohydrate and
adequate amount of calories, maybe that is the ideal compromise?
Perhaps eating more frequently would also help prevent ketone rises?
And test the rice/wheat thing too?