I'm VERY carb-sensitive. Yada yada.

My allergies have improved A LOT overall by the way, but I have weird tics and jerking movements thorughout my body and "inside" my head too which keeps me awake at nighttime, and also happen during the day. I am getting NAET treatments which is helping with this and so forth though. I slept well last night after 2 NAET treatments, one of which was to treat my panic due to my inability to sleep in the past (and no, my inability to sleep wasn't due to anxiety as a core cause).

Thus far, I've decided to see the jerks etc as those movements that hapepn due to severe sleep deprivation. And not as a life'long neurological condition. However I do have fibro, and when I started exercising A LOT, pushing msyelf for the joy of it, I experienced all kinds of weird, shuddering, crunching, etc., sensations that I talk to others about, and it sounds neurological. So it could be fibro.

My brand-new naturopathic doctor, who was so awesome because she took such a comprehensive history, and was so throughout, and asked me to create a timeline from birth on to now of major events, allergic reactions trauma, etc., etc., etc., so she could have a clear picture of what's going on with me. She says that people with fibro need to do just moderate exercise, not extreme exercise like I had begun doing. This is disheartening for me, but life is more than exercise classes , although I did have dreams of looking like a Palio woman :-( I did want some muscles and to be really tone, and all that. Not hugely bulky, just nicely muscular. LOL.

I can always dream though ... eventually I hope to get fibro fully under control. Do you know anyone who got her or his fibro FULLY, not partially like me, under control via zone diet and zone fish oil???? I could use some inspiration.

My naturopathic doctor is a primary care physician by the way. Not a medical doctor, I don't think, but I am unclear on the difference between a primary care physician and a medical doctor. but anyway.

The above was an update for Sue and Cranberrycat and the others who have helped me so much in the past. LOL. I wanted to update you on where I am, my progress, hence the above. I'll keep you guys posted. And CranberryCat, I've been reading all of your posts, including the one about (yikes!) your dog bite, the wound, etc. Glad you're healing now though, overall.

Ok. I want to go over a couple of food items. I was upset and I started eating pistactics by the handful to comfort myself. It's a lot better than a chocolate bar, right? Which was what I used to do to pacify myself. LOL.

So ... pistactics (those nuts with the shell on?) ... what effect would they have on me health-wise, zone-wise, etc? I don't care at this point about losing more weight. I already lost 10-15 lbs while I gained some muscle, so I'm fine with stopping the weight loss for a few weeks.

ANother item. I had a snack just now ... pollock, 1.5 blocks; olive oil; 1/2 cup blueberries; and two frozen grapes. I went to the drsears.com website, it says grapes are 1/2 cup for a block. I hadn't realized. Does 2 grapes make a difference when it comes to a SNACK as opposed to a meal?

A third item: I ate 5 walnut halves. (Each whole walnut nut has 2 halves; I thus ate 2.5 whole walnuts.) That was a snack by itself. Again, woudl it throw me off my goal, which is to maintain health to get my allergies and other things--like my neurological conditions--under control?

So that's three food items: pistactics, 2 grapes for a snack, and walnuts. What effect would they have on me?

My satiety has returned, though, by the way. I'm slightly to mildly hungry at times, but it doesn't bother me. It doesn't happen much. And I still don't know why I was absolutely wild with hunger for several days, it was close to a week I guess. I am waiting for my period to come and if it happens again, and seems related to my period, then I will ask for help again.

Thanks to all, bless your beautiful hearts!

Alexy

Pistachios: a couple of good things going here, good source of mono fat, and some probiotic effects, too. I can't help but believe that there are some good antioxidants due to the green color of the nut! Now, obviously, the problem is that it is basically a fat. So, overdoing it is going to give you more fat. However, as long as not overdone, it should not have an effect on insulin levels and I don't see it as a problem.

Grapes: I don't believe 2 grapes will be significant at all. However, it is sometimes better to err on the side of too little carb than too much carb. Dr Sears had stated that we should push ourselves to the "ragged edge of ketosis" without actually going into ketosis (sue says this, too--I recall him saying it but not sure where he wrote it). So, although 2 grapes may not be significant, it certainly won't hurt to drop the grapes and side with a little less carb in your snack.

Walnuts: the big problem here is the amount of omega-6 fat, so this is going to be more of a pro-inflammatory food rather than anti-inflammatory. I'd go with something else, personally--at least for now.

As for the fibro, I have had a few experiences here, I think I had shared the story about the doctor that turned it all around using an anti-inflammatory diet (like the Zone) and fish oil. She was wheel-chair bound at one point, and was able to regain normal function.

I also knew a lady that used to post here (Karen-if you were around when she was here). She had really good results as long as she followed the Zone and took fish oil. She did have a major turn around of her fibro symptoms, as I recall. I had the opportunity to meet her in person about 2 years ago, and she was doing great at that time.

I am currently working with a lady at work who has fibromyalgia. I have been discussing the Zone concepts with her, and also stuff about going gluten free (my other 2 fibro ladies did this, too). I don't know if she is taking fish oil, but she is having great results so far with dietary changes.

And, exercise should be more moderate, I totally get that! If you push yourself, you could have a flare, so go more moderate with it. We all can't look like rock stars!

Sarah,

It's good to hear you're feeling a little better. I hope you continue to improve and manage your health concerns with the Zone diet and Omega Rx.

Pistachios are a favorable fat, but as with any fat, keep it to Zone proportions for the best overall results. The Zone is not only about losing weight.

Two grapes is insignificant. You would want more than that for the carbohydrate portion of a snack. If you are carbohydrate sensitive, berries are a better choice than grapes.

Walnuts are ok if you stick to just a little bit now and then. They are not a favorable fat, so eat them in moderation.




Cranberry, re "ragged edge of ketosis", that is something Dr. Sears told me in a conversation and I shared it here in the Zone Forums. It was said by him in the context of achieving the best fat loss with the Zone diet. Essentially it means to chose the best Zone carbohydrates, taking care to eat enough carbohydrate to prevent ketosis, but not to eat too much. Basically can will be achieved by practicing strict adherence to the Zone diet with most all of your carbohydrates being favorable vegetables.

Hi Sarah - I'm looking forward to hearing more about your NAET experience since I'm considering it, too.

You might try macadamia nuts. They are the lowest in Omega 6 (almost zero). I'm trying to get about 1/2 my daily fat from macadamia.

Re "ragged edge of ketosis", I recall that this has been discussed before and that one such forum member has mentioned it. I have also seen it written somewhere by Barry Sears, however, not recalling where it was... it may have been long ago in one of his early chats.

The one forum member, yeah, me, lol! You'll find it here with a search (I just found it easily). Actually the first time I wrote it here is prior to the start date of the archived postings. The earlier forum posts going back about 10 years ago and more are not available here anymore, but I don't think you were a forum member back then anyway :-)