Leptin Reset Update Part 2 March 2012

Yesterday I shared my progress on the first eight weeks on the leptin reset. Today I will share what’s been happening since.

MONTH THREE – January

On January 2nd, I wondered if my leptin was reset and went through the signs Dr. Kruse says you should see if you are leptin sensitive again. 1) I lost 10 pounds, 2) I did notice a change in mood and my sleep did eventually improve, 3) I wasn’t sure about the changes to my sweating pattern, 4) my energy levels were better, but not where I hope they will one day be (is this ALL I get?), 5) cravings completely gone and I’d even been able to skip lunch several days in December which was quite a difference for me, 6) I wasn’t sure if I wake feeling refreshed. So, four out of six ain’t too shabby, right?

However, on January 4th, I decided I was going to continue the leptin reset. This was mostly due in part to getting only 29 grams protein with breakfast and then spending the day feeling hungry. It is so interesting to me how we think something isn’t so bad when we’re coping with it every day, all the time. Like my food cravings, I really didn’t think I was experiencing food cravings prior to the leptin reset. But after being on the leptin reset 8 weeks, and then experiencing food cravings with a vengeance? I was not about to go back to having to fight food cravings all day long, when all it takes is getting 50 grams protein for breakfast to completely annihilate them.

So I decided I would stick with the big protein breakfast, and about midway through January I relaxed on my carbohydrates and also stopped using My Fitness Pal to log every morsel of food going into my mouth. I also stopped trying so hard to eat by 7pm, and decided to eat within an hour of rising (instead of 30 minutes). Throughout the entire time on the leptin reset I have had great difficulty getting to sleep by 10pm – Dr. Kruse says “Lights out by 10pm.” I have tried and tried and tried (and stressed about it), but one of the main reasons I cannot is because my husband interprets that as, “Get into bed at 10pm and as long as the lights are out you can talk and spend time together until 11pm or midnight.” I keep telling him we need to go to bed by 9pm at latest, but just the thought of going to bed that early kills him.

Since for the better part of last year he was not home at night, but instead was out working, I am just thankful he is home almost every night now and tries to make it to bed by 10pm. I have to be thankful for the small things.

I lost 3 pounds in January, in spite of loosening up on the carbs. This, of course, gave me the green light to go hog wild with carbohydrates, woohoo!! I must be doing EVERYTHING right!! Surely I’m leptin sensitive now and the weight is just gonna drop off no matter what I do! Also Valentine’s Day was coming, so I had to have some special goodies to celebrate! 😉

MONTH FOUR – February

I am sure this won’t stick with me because I seem to have selective memory when it comes to carbohydrate consumption. For one thing, it’s like a slippery slope. Wait, let me back up a bit. Before I started GAPS, I had problems eating fruit or sweets alone. I had to be sure to eat them with a meal that had protein, otherwise, eating fruit all by itself would cause me to have an uncomfortable blood sugar drop which resulted in feeling tired, agitated and grumpy. After I had been on GAPS for a few months, my blood sugar normalized and wow, I could have a banana all by itself and not turn into an ogre! Awesome! Back to the slippery slope, I can have a banana one day, and I’m fine. And I think, wow, this is great. So I have another banana the next day, and maybe some peanut butter [affiliate link] with honey [affiliate link]. And then the next day something else, and more the following day. When I have carbohydrates progressively it seems as each day passes I begin to feel morose and start to have a lot of negative thoughts, but I’m not really aware that this is happening. Eventually I’m feeling really depressed, my sleep is affected quite terribly, which I’m then not able to cope with hardly anything, can’t get up to go to work. I’m a basket case.

Throughout February I stuck with the big protein breakfast, but was very loose on my carbohydrates, not paying much attention and eating more vegetables with dinner, and feeling a lack of joy for life, which grew progressively worse.

I gained 3 pounds in February.

MONTH FIVE – March

I blogged about the depression funk I went through in my blog post I Feel Better Than I’ve Felt in Weeks!

With this most recent depressive period, I was stuck inside, unable to see clearly what was happening. Everything seems worse when you are depressed. Finally, I realized I had to stop eating the cashew milk yogurt, bananas, honey, nuts and everything else I’d been eating (remember this: Pink Blossom Mini Cupcakes, Coconut Pecan Frosting, Coconut Almond Candy Clusters, incredible lemon curd, chocolate hearts – all GAPS legal, mind you!), and once I did, within 24 hours the depression had lifted noticeably but I was still feeling negative. Within another 24 hours, the negative thinking left also.

I decided I had to get serious about sticking to the leptin reset again, mostly the part where I need to stay low on my carbohydrates. Even now I find myself questioning exactly what happened? Maybe it’s not truly the carbohydrates… maybe it is the nuts in which I was overindulging? All those Omega 6s, not being balanced by enough Omega 3s? Or maybe it’s the raw, unpasteurized, unfiltered honey? Why suspect the honey? Well, our coop manager just learned, after watching the documentary Vanishing of the Bees and calling our honey source, that he uses corn syrup and/or high fructose corn syrup to feed his bees, and allows them to pollinate on crops that are sprayed with pesticides.

It just seems safer to stick to meats, vegetables, fats and limited amounts of carbohydrates for the time. I’m gradually sleeping better, and feeling much more able to cope with life in general. Unfortunately, I have a great deal of stress in my job, mostly because I’m overworked due to additional burdens placed on me by outside vendors and their new billing requirements, but I have no control over this, and we can’t afford to hire additional help so I just need to figure out how to manage the stress which comes with perpetually running around putting out fires after the fact.

I also started the Cold Thermogenesis. I think with going back to the limited carbohydrates, and doing the face immersion into ice water, I am feeling better. I am improving, and I have even been forgetting to use my hydrocortisone. This is a good sign, indicating that I can drop my dosage, which I have. Dr. Kruse says in his post Evolution of the Leptin Rx:

This blog is designed for those who have been previously left out of the the reset protocol. Those people are gastric bypass patients, HCG users, those on exogenous steroids, chronic pain patients, and those with T2D and metabolic syndrome as a few examples.

In the article I’ve linked to explains what exogenous steroid use is, and the use of hydrocortisone to support the adrenals is one.

Now I just need to find the time to read Dr. Kruse’s lengthy, information filled blog posts on Cold Thermogenesis. He also says to be sure to read the comments for “gold nuggets” of information.

Here are my posts about the Leptin Reset:

• November 1, 2011 Dr. Jack Kruse Leptin Reset GAPS Style
• November 4, 2011 Thoughts so Far on the Leptin Reset
• November 21, 2011 Three Weeks GAPS Style Leptin Reset
• December 31, 2011 Last Day on the Leptin Reset, Last Day of the Year
• January 2, 2012 Is My Leptin Reset?
• January 4, 2012 I’m Going to Continue on the Leptin Reset
• January 13, 2012 Sleepy = Leptin Sensitive?

Are you doing the Leptin Reset? What about the Cold Thermogenesis? Are you interesting in trying either one or both?