Dietary update - energy levels, explaination of my symptoms of low energy/exhaustion

Week 1 of 8 on the Plant Paradox diet

So its been about a week since I started the Plant Paradox diet advocated by Dr Stephen Grundy. Ive been having green smoothies for breakfasts, wild caught fish plus allowed vegetables such as spinach, roasted cauliflower, fried onions, mushrooms etc, plus nuts ( macadamia, pistachio, hazelnuts) and using avocado oil for cooking boosting fat/calories, drinking herbal/fruit teas ( no sugar).

Ive continued with my regime of looking after myself, listening to my body, getting good sleeps, drinking plenty, pacing everything I do carefully, resting as needed, accepting help/asking for help when Ive needed it, keeping stress levels low, taking all my supplements/vitamins but omitting D Ribbose for a couple of weeks.

So far the only noticeable change is that I have increased clarity in thinking, my brain fog is massively reduced in the last couple of days - now this could be a coincidence or down to my new diet and all the other measures Im putting into practice. I will keep monitoring daily.

I am still experiencing all my other symptoms and my body is continuing to struggle. My energy levels dipped even lower - to rock bottom for a few days after starting the diet - this is hard to explain but  when my energy levels are at rock bottom and I try to do something simple such as brush my teeth - I get totally exhausted and the muscles that I am using for the task feel painful, like a burning feeling, but also as if they are not getting energy/oxygen to the muscles Im using. I feel mildly breathless and unable to complete the task - having to stop quickly as my muscles /limbs cannot function. Its really hard to explain this feeling to anyone who doesnt have M.E. - yes it is an exhaustion/fatigue but unlike any exhaustion Ive felt prior to having M.E.  The only thing I can liken it to is when I used to go hiking and climbing mountains or cycling - when I would push myself to my limits ( I did this a lot as I wanted to cycle fasted each time) - at the moment of pushing myself past my limits I could quite literally feel the burn in my muscles - when I ran out of energy/fuel/was getting hungry etc I could feel this in my muscles - I could feel a different sort of pain in my muscles - whether it was overuse, lack of energy because I had burned all my body fuel - so was hungry/thirsty needing to eat/drink, or I was so out of breath that oxygen wasnt getting to my muscles enough. Possibly all of those. But that burning /aching feeling and difficulty in keeping going because of lack of whichever fuel is very very similar to the feeling I get with M.E. when my energy is low - but through careful pacing and all my management techniques Ive managed to help reduce this feeling, despite incredibly low energy levels. My energy levels are always low since having M.E, but this last 18 months or so of relearning more pacing techniques and being stricter in sticking to my regime as resulted in my energy levels being more of a 15-30% level instead of the 5-10 % that I get when I cannot manage anything. The 5-10 % is where I estimate that my burning /minimum energy levels cause my most of the exhaustion and inability to do simple tasks. So I feel starting this diet has knocked my energy levels back down to the lowest they have been again.

However, I listen to my body carefully and I know that my body functions better on higher levels of animal protein than the 3-4 ounces that Dr S Grundy suggests in his dietary plan. His plan isnt created with people who have M.E. in mind its to help people with many illness and is not specific to energy levels/energy manufacture - where as Dr Myhills paleo keto diet which encourages higher amounts of animal protein and fats is specifically aimed at helping M.E. patients to produce energy more efficiently. So given this reasoning, plus my nursing knowlegde and knowing during healing our body's require more protein, I decided to increase my animal protein intake to twice a day - double what Dr Grundy advocates - I started eating closer to 200grams wild caught fish each day and within 2 days could feel some difference - I need to monitor this carefully and observe how my body responds whilst keeping everything else the same.

After the 3 days phase one I moved into phase two of the eating plan which allowed me more food choices and I follow this for another week, after which I can also add in Olive oil and coconut oil - the extra fats will hopefully give me more energy. I am looking forward to that. I remain in ketosis - tested with urine sticks daily.

I heard today that my aquaintence who largely recovered with this diet is eating a mostly normal diet now although gluten free, and is living a normal healthy life still - this gives me so much hope. So I am sticking to the plan for another 7 weeks - and evaluating as I go.

As usual I like to round off on a positive and add in my positives for the week. This weeks positives - There were a couple of articles about me, my photography and how it helps me to cope with M.E. on the Evening Chronicle website ( well written I thought) and in the Sunday Sun newspaper. It is myy are f hope that my story raises awareness of M.E. and also that it gives hope/inspiration to those with it.

I submitted a bit about my story to the M.E. association and heard back that they are going to share my blog on their website, they already shared it on their facebook page. They also replied to say that they will include my story in their publications for M.E awareness week in May. Im particularly happy about this - its good to be involved and to help with raising awareness.

I got to spend a half hour photographing my favourite flowers this week - Anemones - Anemone mistral pastel blues and I have some some Anemone neros to photograph in the coming days - Im trying to keep them cool enough to last a week so I can have a couple of short sessions photographing them.

Yesterday I did something I rarely manage these days - I baked cakes! My partner set a high stool in the kitchen for me - I gathered the ingredients ready on the bench the previous day and my partner grated a couple of carrots ready for me. I made carrot cakes  - but following a recipe in the Plant paradox cookbook - theyre not bad and its nice to have a snack type food.  It might not sound like a lot making some simple cakes - all I did was weigh and mix the ingredients - but it took it out of me. But its a little achievement, its nice to actually manage something with an end result and nice to contribute to making food - not that I will do it often whilst I am like I am at present. I only manage doing something that uses that much energy about once a week or fortnight at the moment, but it beats sitting on the sofa!

The quest for good health continues - huge dietary changes.

So since my last blog, 8 only days ago Ive made large changes to my diet. I have done a lot of reading - mainly a booked called CFS unravelled, which explains one mans theory of the causes of CFS and how to recover. Its not that far from my own theories and thoughts so Im following his advice, as its extremely close to my current plans for health. As he has explained the reasons behind the requirement for supplements, I have restarted taking :-
 Magnesium,
 Vitamin B complex,

Vitamin D3 - 5000 IU after a good bit of research, I know this is more than what is conventionally prescribed but I really have researched it and i would need moe than 30,000 daily before it would be considered possibly too much. I am currently defficient, not surprising living in north UK and not getting out much lately.

Iron - the average woman at my point in life needs 33mg a day, more than twice what men do. Now after looking at my current diet plans of mainly raw vegan food, I get loads of Iron from a 2-4 of large handfuls of spinach/kale/rocket, fennel, courgettes, dandelion greens plus from various nuts, sunflower seeds and other seeds plus raw cacao, raw hummus, raw tahini,  But Im not convinced I will always get 33 mg so I will supplement and eat iron rich foods alongside vitamin C to help its uptake. I do wonder how people with rubbish diets eating takeaways and junk get enough iron though, at least I know Im giving my body the best nutrition possible.

Chromium which helps normalise blood sugar levels
 CoQ10 which helps with energy at a cellular level
Ginseng
St Johns wort
Ribbose, Creatine and Theanine all to help with M.E

I have also continued reading another book called Raw energy regarding the benefits of a raw plant diet. I already have a fairly sound understanding of nutrition due to being an ex nurse but reading this plus reading numerous articles/research on vegetarian, vegan and raw food websites has me absolutely convinced that Im doing the right thing for my body in changing my diet for the better. If only I had known as much about the benefits of eating raw foods years ago... I feel like shouting it from the roof tops and telling everyone how much better they can treat their bodies by changing even just one meal a day.
So my changes are - one or two fresh fruit and vegetable juices a day, one raw meal a day - could be a smoothie - I can fit so much nutrition into a smoothie, or a salad type meal, a soup or numerous other ideas.  Looking at all the recipes I  feel excited at the wonderful choices. So many are incredibly easy to make. For my last meal I might eat cooked food, it depends on what I fancy each day, but at the very least it will be vegetarian.  Meaning about 60-70 % of my diet will be raw food, packed with more nutrients than Ive ever had in my life, so I'm not worried about becoming defficient - I will need to keep an eye on things such as calcium content, pottassium and sodium levels, protien intake etc whilst getting used to this new way of living. I will be speaking to my GP re all this on my next visit and request that we keep an eye on my bloods etc whilst making these changes. My attitude to food has changed, I am eating for enjoyment too, but more eating for health. I do not look at becoming vegetarian and possibly vegan/rawist in time as losing out as many people do, I look at it in a positive way as Ive actually been m,issing out on such an amazing way to eat and live for so long.  I am excited at the opportunity to try new foods/ recipes. I have loved every single m,eal I've had this week and whilst I am not brimming with energy yet due to a couple of other reasons this week, I am 200% sure in time I will reap the benefits, and soon - I just need to get over a minor stomach upset and look at my other aspects of health regarding recovering from M.E.
Seriously, that first fresh juice of the day is like drinking a glass of pure sunshine. I've found a couple of recipes that help with any cravings for my favourate foods to, not that I will eat them in excess :) Here is one I love -
Thick Chocolate, peanut smoothie
1 frozen banana,
 2 handfuls of spinach/kale/dandelion greens - whatever greens you fancy
2 medjool dates
a tablespoon of peanut butter
a few almonds
a few sunflower seeds
almond milk
add a pinch of bee pollen and spirulina for extra nutrition if desired
After having a small one of those - I honestly don't think I will be craving conventional chocolate bars too often - this is tastier

This next week I am going to concentrate on learning a few more recipes and trying those. I am also looking into changing a handful of fruits veggie purchases into organic produce to avoid pesticides, I wish I could afford more, but slowly and surely I will get there. There are guidelines on the best 15 fruits and veg to buy organic which helps. I am also hoping to pass on some of this desire for tasty healthy foods to my daughter, but teenagers aren't always interested in what their mums say or do :).

I will be attending a yoga meditation class this week too, another area I am trying to help myself with, in reducing stress and how I react to it. This should hopefully be beneficial in my recovery, although I anticipate it may take time to learn to put into practice properly.

I've taken a step back from making my jewellery so I can put as much energy as possible into getting well/recovering. I have made a couple of bracelets in the last two weeks and have produced components for two other which I will be completing soon. But taking a step back will allow me to refocus on exactly what I want to make, what I enjoy producing, also whether to pursue this as a very small business or keep it as a hobby.

I have been out taking photographs once this week, images totally for myself, so no pressure involved. I visited the most beautiful, ancient woodlands in Morpeth, filled with more bluebells than I have ever seen in my life. It was heaven. Three of us spent about 3 hours wandering around with our cameras, it was bliss. Although I did not rest enough, causing a bit of a crash this week. Next time I will remember to take frequent short rests. I am tempted to rerturn as its so beautiful and I only just discovered the heaviest concentration of bluebells on leaving. Plus the light will be different. I will see how I feel over coming days as they wont be in bloom long.

Oooh and another benefit of eating so healthy - Ive lost 5lbs this week, which is a positive thing as I could do with losing about 20 lbs to be a really good healthy weight for my height. So I'm a quarter of the way there without trying really.

My pain levels remain better than they were too, no pain at all yesterday and today which is wonderful.

M.E Awareness week

Ive only just realised thast it is M.E awareness week and wish to share this great informative article based around fact versus fiction.
M.E article

It really is silly just how many people do believe M.E is all in the mind. Time for a mini rant.
All my life I have enjoyed being VERY active. Up until 7 years ago I cycled or walked almost everywhere within 15 miles. I worked 12 hour shifts as a nurse, I enjoyed decorating my home, loved gardenning and loved nothing more on a weekend off than to pack up and go to the Lake district, camping and hiking, pushing myself to the limit and climbing more hills each time. Life changed a bit, I moved, got divorced and changed jobs, but continued to be very active right up until the week before the M.E hit me hard, hiking and snorkelling on holiday on Bali. Then suddenly I could barely make it up one flight of stairs, I often had to stop twice, or ascend a couple of steps at a time on my bum. I couldnt dry my hair with the hair dryer, struggled to hoover one small room or prepare a meal.
I did not take this lightly. It took 7 months before my GP  agreed with me that it may be M.E and I was not referred to a specialist and got very little information, my doctors were pretty poor to be honest. It wasnt until a good couple of years on that I actually had a consultation with a specialist, resulting in several further appointments with an Occupational therapist. Overall the amount of input from the NHS has been negligble and pretty poor. I have learned more and helped myself more by researching the condition, keeping up to date, talking to other suffers and by learning how to pace my activities.

The single most frustrating thing about having M.E for me is not being able to be active, I miss cycling, hiking, swimming, pushing myself to my limits by trying to cycle a route faster each time. Now, although I have adapted, I still get frustrated as I have learned new skills and have new dreams, yet because of the M.E it is incredibly difficult to make those dreams come true. i have so many wonderful ideas that I want to bring to fruition, but I can only manage them very slowly and often with some assitance from friends or family. If I did not have this condition then life would be so different, my determination would take me far and I know that I could achieve so much. As it is I still have that stubborn determination and will just have to plod away slowly at my goals.

I openly welcome anyone who does not believe that M.E is a physical illness to come and spend time with me, see me on my good days and my bad days. See the sheer determination it takes to get through just half a day of what any well person considers an average day and then observe the effects over the following days, then look me in the eye and tell me I am lazy!

rant over for now.....