The fitbit charge 3 is very good. I have the Ionic. If you cant get your hands on one. I might be able to ship you my old charge 2 if your interested.
https://www.fitbit.com/charge3
Here is the data from last night. I find it very useful.
I have a acute anxiety attack. Any recommendations how to deal with that? I took taurine and it got somewhat better.
Do you think avocados are safe? The problem is that keto requires protein to be moderate. Its hard for me to find foods that are purely fat and wont contain anything that could worsen it. I will probaly go beef, nuts and avocado.
I will get one from the manufacture in China. Itās interesting and I will be able to more accurately rate my nights. I also have elevated heart rate and it monitors different things. So yes, Iāll definitely get one.
Good Taurine worked for you, when I was pre-diet, I couldnāt handle it. During the day, you can also try Theanine 200 mg, it worked against anxiety for me.
The best is the diet though. And itās true that ketogenic diet is protein restricted, but carnivore diet work as well and has no protein restriction. It induces light ketosis and while the body can make glucose out of protein, it does not overly do so and it never spikes your insulin.
The real ketogenic diet is problematic. It includes lots of plant, many of which may be 5-ari or pro-estrogen and requires close monitoring (with a scale) of all your macro-nutriment intake (thatās carbs, fat and protein).
Carnivore diet provides the same benefits and is much easier, while protecting you from the bad plants. It does not require any monitoring. Just eat fatty meat like rib eye steak and pork chops (eat all the fat) put 2-3 tbsp of ghee to fry the steaks (again eat all that fat) and youāll lose fat and all neurological symptoms (including anxiety) just the same. Avoid chicken unless itās free range. Caged chicken is fed with soy and has just as much bad estrogen as soy itself. Soy fed beef and pork does not.
This diet has the added advantage over keto diet of avoiding all inflammation due to plant eating. Itās also easier to get on. You can also look for BHB salts to induce ketosis in 1 hour and ward off all cravings while getting into the diet. Test it in smaller dose first to see if youāre Ok with it.
On my part, I added 4-6 oz of spinach, romaine lettuce, cucumber,. Zucchini, mushrooms or eggplant. Those are fine too. I did it to avoid monotony more than for any health benefits. Full carnivore diet is Ok but a little boring.
To answer you question, I think avocados are fine although Iām not sure. Nuts are not. Most of them will lower your testosterone while a few (like brazil nuts) will make it higher. Walnuts have omega 3 but you can also eat mackerel, sardines or wild salmon for the same Omega 3 intake.
Ok. I bought it: a smart watch that monitors deep, light and REM sleep as well as wakefulness.
Looks like a cool gizmo. It monitors heart rate, displays it into graphs and monitors footsteps and shit. Even tell you youāve been NOT exercising for too long, you should start doing it.
Iām not a gadget kind of guy but youāre right, knowing for real what kind of sleep Iām getting can help with finding the right supplements and see if Iām progressing to better sleep !
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Day 401 after I crashed, Day 339 of Ketogenic diet, Day 206 of Amino and Day 7 of Ashwagandha and Bacopa for brain regeneration.
Iām back to where I was before the motorbike crash and the collagen crash episode, but with 1/3 less benzodiazepine. Sleep is good, around 8 or 9/10 every day, and I have no other symptoms.
Also I ditched paleo diet. Too much carbs, it doesnāt feel good. I just feel better eating meat and animal fat along with a few low carbs veggies and fruits (like blueberries)
Sex drive is rising and I have more joy and a more positive outlook on life than Iāve had for a very long time, if ever. Thatās the good side of suffering: when itās over, the little annoying things of life arenāt annoying anymore.
I donāt know if Ashwagandha and Bacopa are doing anything. I seem to be more happy, or at least more normal. I feel at peace to tell the truth.
So it looks like Iām cruising forward smoothly. Thereās not much to report. Sleep is good but not perfect, all the rest is normal. I guess Iāll be doing less of those reports if nothing is changing, and whatās to change ? Better sleep ? Eating pizza with 12 oz of Coke and finish it off with a cheese cake and NOT be sick ? (something I canāt do now !). I donāt think so. Maybe more exercise, training and feeling healthier.
Oh I know what would make a difference. Itād be great if I could have all this without having to take so much supplements. But as far as the amino acid experiment is concerned, I think itās been successful.
Anyway. Crashes can come anytime so for now Iāll just be grateful for the break Iām getting.
Hmm I just ate 125gr of macadamia nuts.
BlockquoteSome nut varieties ā mainly almonds and walnuts ā are known to increase sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) by 10-20 percent. This was verified in a 2010 study published under the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Its not clear though. Brazil nuts and macadamia have a good nurtrient profile in order to increase testosteron production, but most nuts have Phytosterols (indirectly reducing cholesterol leels) and increase SHBG.
I think carniviore diet is so good, because you are avoiding things that are bad and have a positive influence from ketones.
Rib eye is good but every expensive. Sometimes I need to eat 3500kcals per day, that alone woul require 2kg of fatty meat.
Why do you eat ghee over butter?
Ghee is cheaper and does not turn brown when you fry something in it. Itās just more convenient than butter and also taste better, although this is subjective.
I donāt eat more than 500 gr of meat a day. The rest of the calories, I get from saturated fat: drinking extra virgin coconut oil from the bottle or eating Ghee with a spoon. Proteins and carbs gives you 4 calories per gram. Fat gives you 9. Ketones are far more efficient than carbs also in terms of energy released for the same amount of oxygen absorbed.
About macadamias and almonds, you have to check what you react to: pro-estrogen or pro testosterone nuts. Pfs sufferers fall into one of those two categories.
Day 404 after I crashed, Day 343 of Ketogenic diet, Day 209 of Amino and Day 10 of Ashwagandha and Bacopa for brain regeneration.
Sleep is steadily declining. I canāt wait to have this sleep monitor smart watch to get the exact picture.
Subjectively, I would scale my sleep around 5-6/10 for the last 3 nights, last night being the worst. Iām more intense on the ketogenic diet to compensate but it doesnāt seem to have an effect.
10 days ago I was rating sleep at 9/10.
10 days ago, I started taking Ashwagandha and Bacopa which I both couldnāt tolerate last I tried 6 months ago. Those 2 herbs takes around 2-4 weeks to go into full effect and Itās the only change I made.
It seems I still canāt tolerate one or both of those herbs so I will stop taking Bacopa first. It elevates Dopamine and Serotonin, is excitatory and shouldnāt be taken before sleep. Iāll keep Ashwagandha just a few more days as it is reputed to improve sleep. Ill take a half dose, 250 mg, with hot milk an hour before sleep and stop the morning dose. If sleep doesn't improve or get worst, I'll stop it. If it improves, Ill keep at it and take the morning dose.
I`ll take a break tonight though. No Ashwagandha for 1 day.
Letās see. If it took 10 days to decline, it may take 10 days to improve.
Iāll post the results.
On another note, Iām now getting body odors while taking Tribulus Terrestris. Before, it was only with Horny Goat Weed. When I take Pine Pollen, I have no body odors but get higher sex drive. The switch happens overnight.
Update: The body odors have been the strongest Iāve had since I crashed.
One more day : Sleep has improved to 6/10. Itās still not great but Iām having close to a normal day.
Doing researches I stumbled across Lipopolysaccharides. Itās a toxic substance causing inflammation and neurological effects. Itās produced by gram negative bacteria which usually represent only 1% of the guts flora but become increasingly present when on high stress or socially isolated (both of which are common with psf sufferers) or when on a high saturated fat diet like the keto diet Iām doing.
You can research the effects of high blood Lipopolysaccharides, I will resume it to : not good.
I think this is why people have seen benefits from taking antibiotics: it may kill the gram negative bacteria that produces Lipopolysaccharides, therefore reducing inflammation and neurological symptoms.
At the very least, It could be assumed that if some benefits are observed, itās because of alteration to the guts biodome. Otherwise, I canāt see why antibiotics would benefit someone with endocrine imbalances.
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Have you tried probiotics? I cant remember if I saw that in your stack. I take one a few times a week. Maybe 4 or 5 days a week. Take it about 5 hours before eating. I would not take before bed though.
Yes, I was taking some occasionally. I tried to do once a week but really itās more like twice a month.
I will take some more often, itās an efficient way of diminishing gram negative bacteria.
Day 407 after I crashed, Day 346 of Ketogenic diet, Day 212 of Amino and no more Ashwagandha and Bacopa for brain regeneration.
Sleep has improved but is still very drug and supplement dependent. Those 3 mg of Clonazepam Iām now on donāt do the job. I have to supplement with 17.5 mg of Hydroxyzine (thatās actually a decrease of 2.5) and some anxiolytic herbs like Valerian, Kava Kava and Silexan (lavender oil). I believe I get 6 hours of deep sleep and I spin around in my bed the rest of the time.
I have stopped Ashwagandha and Bacopa, as well as the 1000 mg of Taurine I was taking before bed time. It helped.
I also went full carnivore 2 days ago, zero carbs, zero plants except for the bulletproof coffee I drink in the morning, which is really great.
Tomorrow will be my 4th day of carnivore diet and Iām going to water fast the next 48 hours. With all this dieting, I actually never fasted. It will be my first fast and I want to make sure I totally carbs free and ketogenic before starting. I will do light cardio and light weight lifting during that period. I will also stop all supplements except what makes me sleep.
Fasting induces the production of new cells, including brain cells. It also destroys (and feed on) cells that are sick or inefficient. Itās like a big clean up. Many people have had success with fasting so itās my turn to try.
Also, since I will continue on a 99% carnivore diet, I will reduce my supplementation accordingly and post the new regimen under Ozeph Regimen and Supplement
Itās not done yet.
Iāll keep you posted.
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Thank You Ozeph for keeping us informed of your journey. All of your documented experiences will help countless others with their protocols. Good luck to you.
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24 hours into the fast : Everythingās fine.
In theory, I wasnāt going to get an energy drop because I ate only meat and animal fat for 4 days prior to the fast to flush out the carbs. So itās confirmed, I had no carbs reserves and was already running on ketones.
No fatigue, no drop in sugar level (what sugar ?), energy and focus is consistent. I did some pull ups,some push ups and 40 minutes of fast walk. I drove my big bike downtown and did my work as usual.
Iām taking zero supplements except a little salt (1/2 tsp a day) to maintain electrolytes. I drink water but not profusely so. Maybe 1.5 liter a day max, and thatās it. Water tastes sweet, which is a sign of being in ketosis.
I have no symptoms of pfs showing up. As a matter of fact, Iām feeling rather calm and happy, smooth and kind to people.
I will have to take my sleeping drugs and thatās too bad. But I donāt need a benzo withdrawal on top of the fast.
Sleep was good last night despite further decreasing Hydroxyzine. Iām now at 15mg Hydroxyzine, along with 3 mg of clonazepam, down from 4.5 mg before my flash detox. If Gabapentin did some damage, I donāt see any sign of it. Nonetheless, I wonāt take that thing again: itās a brain killer.
Weāll see if sleep will be affected by the fast. Iām on fight or flight hormones and some people have trouble sleeping during a fast because of that.
If anyone does a fast, I strongly suggest not eating carbs at all 3-4 days prior to the fast. Or better yet, get adapted to a ketogenic / carnivore diet first. Fasting becomes a breeze.
48 hours into the fast : Everythingās fine but damned, Iām hungry. Or rather, I have some stomach burn from being empty. Sleep wasnt good either. Its to be expected.
Last night, I dreamed about eating French pasties. Looks like my subconscious is sending me messages! And not only at night, it does so all day long. I just come back from the supermarket: everything looked amazingly good ! Ha ha ha !
So, I was aiming at a 48 hours fasting, but considering the first 16 hours dont count, thats only 32 hours of benefits. I`ll do another 12 hours and see if I can do 24.
No pfs symptoms aside from troubled sleep, no fatigue, still focused and energetic.
63 hours into the fast : Its morning and Im feeling weak. I woke up almost 3 hours ago, brought my son to school, took a black coffee and I just dont seem to clear my mind. Ill see if it gets better in the next 3 hours and if before noon it didnt, Ill stop the fast at 66 hours. Maybe I`ll push through. 72 hours is a land markā¦
It could be that I had 2 bad nights in a row. I usually can handle one, but when they start pilling up I end up being dysfunctional by lack of sleep. Iāve often said that lack of sleep adds a double and just as bad layer to pfs symptoms. For me, lack of sleep means days are lost.
In any case, I didn`t intent to fast more than 72 hours. So tonight I will sleep well.
Update : Well, I manage to do all my work anyway. itās now been 69 hours. Hunger and stomach pain have disappeared and I got used to the empty stomach. I feel I could do another 24 hours but 72 hours as a first fast seems adequate and in good measure.
The feeling I had this morning would be best described as sleepiness. The same as when I woke up to go pee 20 years ago (before fin). I would feel sleepy, go back to bed and fall straight asleep.
Since I had pfs, I never got back to sleep after getting up. If I have to pee, thatās it for the nigh. I may later feel fatigue, but not sleepiness.
It might be the 2 bad nights of sleep adding up, but Iāll let myself have some wishful thinking, just for the sake of having 8 hours of hope : What if something got fixed and I felt sleepy because I took more sleeping drugs that I now need ? I mean I took the usual ammount, no more, but what if my body needs less now ?
I will test the theory by reducing the sleeping drugs from now on and go back to the usual dose only if really I canāt sleep without it.
If it doesnāt work, well, Iāll have another fucked up night like the past 2 nights. Itās not like Iām not used to that after all that time. But if Iām right, Iāll be avoiding taking more drugs than necessary, avoid building a new tolerance level and set myself on a new, lower level that would let me sleep anyway.
Itās too son to see the results of the fast. But my experience with it so far is that it is some pain and hardship, but in a tolerable measure. I will try again, next month or later as my schedule permits.
For one thing, it saves a lot of time and money, not having to eat. I get at least 2 hours more in my day.
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I did 72 hours once and 50 - 60 hours a couple times. I think anything after 72 hours is a bit dangerous depending on your metabolism. There can be in issue refeeding if you go for extended days of fasting. People have died from refeeding wrongā¦ not from 72 hours but 7-10 days from what I have read. Good luck on all fronts.
Thanks for the advise. I searched the protocol for breaking a fast : lean protein, no more than 3-4 oz, wait one hour before eating reasonably (which I did again with lean protein and ghee). Together, it was less than a normal meal.
72 hour fast, next morning : So I ended the fast with lean protein as described above. 4 oz of free range chicken breast cooked with minimum Ghee and salt, then an hour later 8 oz of the same, cooked in 2 tbs ghee and again 1 1/2 hour later some āoatmealā made with a little bit of milk, water, 3 tbs of oat meal, 2 tbs of ghee, salt, and just as itās boiling I turned off the heat and put a beaten free range duck egg in it to thicken the āsoupā. Some stevia to sweeten, some vanilla et voila ! I end up with a thick mix thatās between oatmeal and English custard, has around 12 gr. of carbs and more fat and protein than carbs.
According to my reaction to the fast, it seems I had carbs left in my cells. I craved it the first day, even more the second day and not at all the third day. Thatās about the time it takes to get rid of all glycogen accumulated. Before the fast, I wasnāt as ketogenic as I though.
I had carbs when I broke the fast yesterday as I felt the saturated fat and protein was not enough. My body was still telling me it needed some carbs. So I will stay on an extremely low carbs diet, around 12-15 gr a day, well below the maximum 20 gr to stay ketogenic.
Another effect : even though I reduced the dose of sleeping drugs I slept like a baby and had a hard time getting up this morning. Normally, itās hydroxyzine that does that (morning grogginess). I did cut it to 12.5 mg (down from 22.5 mg at my highest), I will cut to 7.5 mg tonight and again to 5 mg. From then, I will cut Clonazepam from 3.0 mg to 2.5 mg. Benzos are a different animal. You canāt cut as you want, it needs to be tapered down by no more than a quarter pill (0.5 mg) per month. It would take me 6 months to tapper down the 3.0 mg Iām on now.
During the fast, I took no aminos, vitamin or minerals (aside from sodium to maintain electrolytes and of course lots of water) and had no pfs symtoms. The only symptom I had was from Hydroxyzine, in the morning of the third day.
I know Hydroxyzine well. I took it for 3 years prior to my crash as I was still taking fin and having increasing insomnia. When I take too much, Itās hard to get up and I stay groggy for many hours afterward.
So I donāt know if it will stay like that, but it seems, at the moment, that I improved sleep and need less sleeping drugs. Iāll know more during the week. Insomnia is my last symptom, and the first one that appeared 5 years ago.
Itās now 9am and I feel fantastic.
I will do another 72 hours fast again if it did indeed improve something.
Iāll keep you posted