Thank you for mentioning menopausal women still having cyclical variations. No one talks about this so I wondered if I was crazy. I have definitely noticed I still have food sensitivities cyclically like I did before my period. I just recently experienced this again. It is making it difficult to get the proper nutrition when I react to dairy and collagen and so I don't know if I should plow through or take a break. I guess if I took a break I'd have to smooth out the rest of the month, as you suggest.
You’re welcome! The narrative on menopausal women has been interesting to watch. It’s almost as if people now view this cohort of ladies as more like men which is baffling.
Interestingly enough this came across my feed at the right time.
Being straight forward; I have cPTSD that I have been working on over the years.
Some of which I have unconvered lead to psychosis and regained skills (communication and memories and such).
Question is- would a sudden reconnection to neurons previously inaccessible due to trauma cause a sudden change in metabolism?
Due to something I overcame recently I feel as if it lead to a major reconnection that has lead to weakness in my left half of my body but also feeling as if now I am struggling with mental processes and fatigue.
I am trying to figure out what I am deficit in- it may be glucose if I now have new connections to support due to the trauma happening when I was 8.
Any thoughts or insights or speculations are welcome 🫂💜
I appreciate all you do- I have been on a similar interest dive in nutrition and histamine and such myself after my autism diagnosis in 2020 and dealing with PMDD and such.
Interesting. That sounds like something I've been learning about: German New Medicine, which is a theory that every reaction from the body is to help compensate for some trauma.
I think this article is one of the most approachable you’ve shared (thank you) notwithstanding that I, like a lot of people, are not yet tracking actual calories and macros - but rather, winging it with a general idea - a la veteran dieter. That said, after about a year of trying to allow myself to eat, to do the opposite of the years of long intermittent daily fasts and relatively low carb or extremely low carb… I am at a cosmetically undesirable but stable weight (fluctuates in a 3kg range if that) but seeing increases in reperfusion in my fingertips (famous for cold hands all the time, they are now warm), improvements in pulse rates, better energy, generally warmer even in subzero temperatures, and I’ve somehow managed not to pick up any respiratory bugs the past few months (knock on wood).
I’m not convinced that I’m definitely always eating enough, or perfectly, but eating in a more old-fashioned way with having at least something for the traditional mealtimes and allowing a piece of fruit or a cup of yogurt even if it’s nearly bedtime has had an overall soothing/calming effect even in the face of significant daily stress.
Oh man this was so good. I’m 5’8 140 lbs maintaining on 2350 but no period and GI issues (slow/mixed motility, chronic). The absorption piece you wrote about was such a good reminder. I was shocked to have my period at 130lbs eating around 2000 cal, only 4 months ago then lose it after increasing! (Carbs increased to 250-270). But also I haven’t been eating as much red meat, trying to keep fats moderate, so I know there’s probably minerals missing from that. Also white spots on my fingernails. Lots to think about from this article! Thanks
Very interesting read. Thanks Kathleen. Where can i learn more about how to set an appropriate calorie target for women who want to lose weight, how long to do it for, and when to switch to maintenance?
Thank you for opening my eyes to the "at least get 100% of your RDAs from food". Absolute common sense, strict minimum, but I wasn't. And I assume that 90% of people who are looking into niche solutions to their health issues aren't either.
Thank you, Tyler! Also, cranberry juice for vit E.
Check that you're using the nccdb listing as it has the most micro data.
Many of the foods are missing the Cr data, but broccoli, grape juice, and meat. It’s another that seems to be in a lot of foods, but the amount is low, like Vit B5, this is another indicator we probably need to eat more than many want to admit.
The big one for biotin is eggs. Also, sweet potato and avocado.
A very interesting perspective, although also very intuitive. Sometimes someone needs to put it in proper form for things to take on more clarity!
I have clearly encountered the first two. Daily LEA in terms of intermittent fasting, and weekly in restrict-binge cycles.
I am still struggling with my approach to the latter. As I have increased my daily calories and eating multiple regular meals, a lot of the urgency of overeating has gone away, but I have had 1-2 days per month where I overate (past satiety or comfort) because of other situational factors that have caused this in the past (the day after night shifts when I am too tired; returning from a holdiay on which I have not been able to follow my usual routine). This has made me gain weight and caused discomfort, but I have forbidden myself to compensate the next day to avoid LEA as much as possible. Any advice?
Hi Kathleen, I have been listening to your Rooted in Resilience podcast episodes and getting so much amazing knowledge from them as well as from your Substack and Instagram. I feel grateful that you've already shared so much and continue to share! I am currently struggling with transitioning from a pretty long term LEA state and increasing calories. As in, maybe it's the sheer concept of increasing calories or maybe it's from bumping up my carbs significantly but I find myself so hungry as of late. I want to slowly increase calories to avoid excess weight gain but some days I feel as if I am falling more into a classic binge restrict cycle (currently typing with a stomach uncomfortably full of pizza, definitely not metabolically supportive). Do you have any tips on weathering this storm? Am really struggling, I haven't even officially increased my calories yet because I've been failing to stay within my baseline goal calories for a week and definitely overshoot almost daily. Luckily no significant weight gain yet but it seems inevitable if I continue these trends. Any advice is so appreciated!!
Thank you for mentioning menopausal women still having cyclical variations. No one talks about this so I wondered if I was crazy. I have definitely noticed I still have food sensitivities cyclically like I did before my period. I just recently experienced this again. It is making it difficult to get the proper nutrition when I react to dairy and collagen and so I don't know if I should plow through or take a break. I guess if I took a break I'd have to smooth out the rest of the month, as you suggest.
You’re welcome! The narrative on menopausal women has been interesting to watch. It’s almost as if people now view this cohort of ladies as more like men which is baffling.
Thanks for sharing.
Interestingly enough this came across my feed at the right time.
Being straight forward; I have cPTSD that I have been working on over the years.
Some of which I have unconvered lead to psychosis and regained skills (communication and memories and such).
Question is- would a sudden reconnection to neurons previously inaccessible due to trauma cause a sudden change in metabolism?
Due to something I overcame recently I feel as if it lead to a major reconnection that has lead to weakness in my left half of my body but also feeling as if now I am struggling with mental processes and fatigue.
I am trying to figure out what I am deficit in- it may be glucose if I now have new connections to support due to the trauma happening when I was 8.
Any thoughts or insights or speculations are welcome 🫂💜
I appreciate all you do- I have been on a similar interest dive in nutrition and histamine and such myself after my autism diagnosis in 2020 and dealing with PMDD and such.
I definitely think the psychoemotional is a significant part!
Interesting. That sounds like something I've been learning about: German New Medicine, which is a theory that every reaction from the body is to help compensate for some trauma.
I think this article is one of the most approachable you’ve shared (thank you) notwithstanding that I, like a lot of people, are not yet tracking actual calories and macros - but rather, winging it with a general idea - a la veteran dieter. That said, after about a year of trying to allow myself to eat, to do the opposite of the years of long intermittent daily fasts and relatively low carb or extremely low carb… I am at a cosmetically undesirable but stable weight (fluctuates in a 3kg range if that) but seeing increases in reperfusion in my fingertips (famous for cold hands all the time, they are now warm), improvements in pulse rates, better energy, generally warmer even in subzero temperatures, and I’ve somehow managed not to pick up any respiratory bugs the past few months (knock on wood).
I’m not convinced that I’m definitely always eating enough, or perfectly, but eating in a more old-fashioned way with having at least something for the traditional mealtimes and allowing a piece of fruit or a cup of yogurt even if it’s nearly bedtime has had an overall soothing/calming effect even in the face of significant daily stress.
Oh man this was so good. I’m 5’8 140 lbs maintaining on 2350 but no period and GI issues (slow/mixed motility, chronic). The absorption piece you wrote about was such a good reminder. I was shocked to have my period at 130lbs eating around 2000 cal, only 4 months ago then lose it after increasing! (Carbs increased to 250-270). But also I haven’t been eating as much red meat, trying to keep fats moderate, so I know there’s probably minerals missing from that. Also white spots on my fingernails. Lots to think about from this article! Thanks
Very interesting read. Thanks Kathleen. Where can i learn more about how to set an appropriate calorie target for women who want to lose weight, how long to do it for, and when to switch to maintenance?
Thank you for your comment! I'm working on writing more substacks that discuss these topics!
If I wanted to email you a question could I?
Thank you for opening my eyes to the "at least get 100% of your RDAs from food". Absolute common sense, strict minimum, but I wasn't. And I assume that 90% of people who are looking into niche solutions to their health issues aren't either.
A few that I never get though:
Vitamin E
Chromium
Biotin
Any tips for food sources of these?
Thank you, Tyler! Also, cranberry juice for vit E.
Check that you're using the nccdb listing as it has the most micro data.
Many of the foods are missing the Cr data, but broccoli, grape juice, and meat. It’s another that seems to be in a lot of foods, but the amount is low, like Vit B5, this is another indicator we probably need to eat more than many want to admit.
The big one for biotin is eggs. Also, sweet potato and avocado.
Thanks Kathleen! What do you think of nutritional yeast or brewers yeast for extra B vitamins?
Kathleen has mentioned getting a significant amount of vitamin E from Broccoli. Chromium & Biotin from meat generally (she didn't mention this)
A very interesting perspective, although also very intuitive. Sometimes someone needs to put it in proper form for things to take on more clarity!
I have clearly encountered the first two. Daily LEA in terms of intermittent fasting, and weekly in restrict-binge cycles.
I am still struggling with my approach to the latter. As I have increased my daily calories and eating multiple regular meals, a lot of the urgency of overeating has gone away, but I have had 1-2 days per month where I overate (past satiety or comfort) because of other situational factors that have caused this in the past (the day after night shifts when I am too tired; returning from a holdiay on which I have not been able to follow my usual routine). This has made me gain weight and caused discomfort, but I have forbidden myself to compensate the next day to avoid LEA as much as possible. Any advice?
Hi Kathleen, I have been listening to your Rooted in Resilience podcast episodes and getting so much amazing knowledge from them as well as from your Substack and Instagram. I feel grateful that you've already shared so much and continue to share! I am currently struggling with transitioning from a pretty long term LEA state and increasing calories. As in, maybe it's the sheer concept of increasing calories or maybe it's from bumping up my carbs significantly but I find myself so hungry as of late. I want to slowly increase calories to avoid excess weight gain but some days I feel as if I am falling more into a classic binge restrict cycle (currently typing with a stomach uncomfortably full of pizza, definitely not metabolically supportive). Do you have any tips on weathering this storm? Am really struggling, I haven't even officially increased my calories yet because I've been failing to stay within my baseline goal calories for a week and definitely overshoot almost daily. Luckily no significant weight gain yet but it seems inevitable if I continue these trends. Any advice is so appreciated!!