Quote:
Originally Posted by esammy12
Okay, after my tsp of tartar sauce and drizzle of ranch dressing lapse yesterday (on day 4), I had a day perfectly on program today. But I'm feeling a couple of things and want to check in with everyone. 1) I have a weird taste in my mouth all the time. 2) I still have very little energy, I tried to do my walk today and I was just wiped out before I even started. 3) I am cold all the time. 4) I'm not sleeping very well. 5) I'm constantly thirsty. 6) Now not going to the bathroom.
I have been using salt after I got lightheaded yesterday and the Doc told me to take it.
Does anybody know why our blood pressure falls on this diet? It's one of the major reasons I'm doing it - to lower my blood pressure - but does anybody know why this happens?
Also, I'm a Type II diabetic that has lowered my Blood Sugars to almost normal through diet and exercise. I lost 41 lbs. following low carb - I haven't eaten a slice of pizza, pasta, rice, most desserts or alcohol in 5 years since I was diagnosed. And I exercise 45 -60 minutes on my treadmill every night. So I'm no stranger to discipline. But even after all of that, I then developed high blood pressure. I have to take thyroid meds every day - but I don't want to take any other meds. So this diet and the health benefits mean a great deal to me.
Any advice and thoughts would be appreciated!
You sure are no stranger to discipline, either in health or profession. I'll take a stab at your questions and I'm sure others will be helpful, too.
Bad taste = ketosis. Congratulations. Lose the exercise for the time being, at least 40-60 minutes on the treadmill. 15 maybe, at a gentle pace? You don't have the calories to support exercise right now or the acclimation to the program to support anything at all even slightly strenuous. Strenuous burns muscle, as in heart muscle, among others.
You'll see a reoccurring theme here: listen to your body. You've already mastered that, that's why you're picking up on all the signals, like being cold. It comes with the territory and is probably compounded by hypothyroidism and, possibly, low humidity. (Good grief, I just looked up the humidity in LA [40%] and gasped. 24 degrees? Then I realized this crazy internet connection was giving me Celcius rather than Farenheit.) The sleeping is totally unpredictable, as far as I can tell from what others have posted. Some sleep like lambs; others count sheep. I was in the latter category and I'm sorry you are, too. But it passes.
Thirst is a combination of at least three things. Type 2; hypo; and the need to flush toxins out of your system. Give into it, in spades. A good rule of thumb is to drink 1/2 ounce of water for every pound you weigh plus 10 ounces to add to the flushing. If you believe the "at least 64 ounces a day" dictum you're up a dry creek. And the occurrence of constipation also goes with the territory because there's so little fiber in the IP products (a constant complaint of mine); and even if you eat high fiber vegetables you'll only get 10-12 grams a day. You need 25 or more. Novi-lax, an IP product, seems to work well for most people.
Lower blood pressure -- I hope someone more knowledgeable will jump in. I have normally low blood pressure and when it dropped to 95/55 early on I was too concerned about getting it higher to think about much other than that. But it's true that you probably take in at least 1/2 the sodium you would normally, even though you add it for light-headedness.
And I made an assumption above that may not be correct. I assumed that when you said you were taking thyroid medication you meant for hypothyroidism. If that was wrong, please ignore what I said. If I was right, then you need to be aware of some serious implications regarding the program. One, soy reduces the effectiveness of thyroid medicine and there are only 4 IP products that don't have soy in them. Two, you should never eat goitrogenic vegetables raw. Many of the allowed vegetables fall into this category. And three, calcium negates or diminishes the effectiveness of thyroid medicine depending on when it's taken. Should be at least 6 hours after taking your medicine although some people here have been advised that 4 hours is OK. You really need the magnesium and potassium supplements, with their calcium, so make sure you space them pretty far from the medication.
I hope this helps. Later today I intend to post something else about hypothyroidism and the IP Program. Just need to be somewhere now. Cheers.