Kickas.org Forums Treatments, Drugs and Alternatives NSD and diet-related; Frustrating relapse - any advice?

If how I feel during a fast in comparison to eating is any guide then I would think that over-eating will make me feel worse. I will try to be observant about that but I think it is true.

Also, a chemist that knows a lot of biology told me that eating too much protein can contribute to higher sugar levels because the body will want to convert the protein to sugar. But I suspect that is in the blood and organs, not the gut. Just my guess. Or perhaps once our body is satisfied with the level of available amino acids it sends signals to the gut which alter the functioning of the microbiota and they increase breakdown of protein to sugar and have a big feast!!!???

* SNACKING!!

Just to add, I suspect that snaking will promote microbial overgrowth. Perhaps mother's advice was best to not snack between meals? Perhaps fruit or dessert at least half an hour before a meal is best, not after. That is the current advice; I don't know why.

I have never found that overeating non-starchy foods makes anything worse. For me, all that matters is starch and dairy - if I stay away from those, I'm fine.

Last year when I started I had a really hard time getting it right - I had lots of bad days and I lost weight. It was really hard to find truly non-starch veg and fruit and still eat enough calories. I tried fasting out of frustration but I hated it. I already have low blood pressure and not eating made it so much worse. So my pain went away but it wasn't worth it.

After fasting failed, I tried feasting - I turned to high-fat cuts of meat like pork ribs, pork shoulder sausages, chuck roast, chicken thighs, salmon steaks, etc. to get non-starch calories. And it was enough food that I could get away with eating totally NSD veg like spinach and zucchini, even though they have few calories. Most people around me were horrified, but I finally started to feel better - that's when I started having 0-1 pain days. I regained the weight I lost and have been stable every since.

Except for an irresponsible holiday season, I still eat this way and have no issues (though I haven't had my cholesterol tested since I changed diets). I've now started adding more vegetarian fats (e.g., olive oil, butter, coconut milk) to have a little more variety. I'm also able to eat veg and fruit with slightly more starch now, but still, it's hard to hit my calorie needs without the high fat content (I am a cycle commuter - I burn a lot of calories every day). I have lots of energy, my weight is stable, and I will probably stay with this diet until my starch tolerance improves (if it ever does).

Sounds like you don't eat much in the way of sugars (honey, dried fruits, etc) ?

I didn't eat much fruit early on - it was too unpredictably starchy and I was too sensitive. It was often problematic and part of my early frustration.

But I eat fruit almost every day now. I find blueberries, cranberries, raspberries and cherries are almost always ok. Pineapple, strawberries and kiwi mostly ok. Grapes are often ok but they can be really starchy, so when they are bad they are really bad! I haven't tried many dried fruits - just dates and figs which are starchy. I've started drying my own pineapple and cherries.

I use honey as my go to sweetener but I don't really like it enough to have it just for the calories but it's not a bad idea. I also use maple syrup.

So I do eat lots of fruits and sugar - it really helps me hit my calorie targets, especially on workout days (when I aim for about 2500 calories). But it's the first to go when I flare since it's just too unpredictable. I also drop it during my 'weeding' phase, which I try to keep strictly no starch to make it more effective.

When I look at the high omega-3 to omega-6 ratios of spinach, red cabbage and bok choy, and their relatively high quantities of those oils in comparison to other vegetables, then I conclude that they will be good sources of anti-inflammatory vegetable broth (throw away the actual vegetable after boiling the nutrients out).