First Goal Achieved Paleo Diet and Exercising!

WooHoo, I'm just past the two month mark - Paleo Diet

Why is this goal important to me? I have only ever made it to just under the two month mark previously, so I'm quite happy I've beaten my previous record, piss off, yes it is a big deal to me lol. Yep if you can bother to read my previous Paleo Diet blog posts, all I've really done is get back to where I ended up the last time I tried this diet, so no smart arse comments, it takes me a while to get my mind right, the planets also need to align perfectly to get into that head space that I need to be in to achieve results. As I've said before though this time I really do think I can possibly make this a lifestyle change that I can stick to. I won't hide my Paleo Journey "ups and downs" you can read all of my posts on the Paleo Diet at the link below...

All blog posts tagged "Paleo Diet"

When you get over or near the two month mark of eating the Paleo way and exercising, things really do start to fall into place, well this is the time frame for me anyway, we're all different though, you are now starting to see real noticeable results, weight loss, better sleep patterns, less fatigue, clearer mind, less fog in the brain and a better attitude and I'm walking a lot more these days, so I'm quite a bit fitter and my "gait" has improved out of sight. I promise you all these things that are happening are real, but honestly you'll never know unless you try the Paleo Diet yourself and do your best to exercise, whatever exercise you can do will help immensely, I have no doubt of that. I will say though, you really do need to stick to it strictly, especially in the early days in my opinion, the more strict you are the quicker you will see the positive benefits, but rest assured you will see results even if you can't do any exercise at all, it's true, you will benefit from eating the Paleo way!

I'm becoming a bit of an expert on living and eating the Paleo way, more particularly, I have a good understanding of what you can and can't eat and how it all works, I guess that's what I know now, so it's pretty much second nature to me and that makes everything a lot easier. Having said that (don't you hate it when people use that term lol) I definitely don't know everything, but I continuously read and of course experience it while doing the diet. I have nearly finished "The Wahls Protocol" book by Terry Wahls, next chapter is the "Epilogue" so I figure I'm close to the end... I'll finish it up as soon as I can in the coming day or two. I must say that I always thought Terry's wonderful book was a much more stricter version of the Paleo Diet that I had ever done, not so, believe it or not, so I'm very happy and surprised by that, it means I've been doing it quite close to Terry's version.

After reading "The Wahls Protocol" I have though learnt a lot more and will slowly incorporate some of her ideas and theories into how I'm eating, she also suggests some supplements that might be worthwhile adding to the diet. Though she does make it very clear that supplements are not the way to go, she fully believes in consuming the right foods and lots of them especially at the start, she lists everything and also has three versions for her Protocol, me, I pretty much jumped right into her most strictest version her "Paleo Plus Diet", though let me clarify my statement.

 I am not eating the exact same foods as Terrys strictest version, though I do only eat Paleo allowed foods and do follow quite a strict version, so I'm very close to her version, but she has given me a few aspects to think about, for example she doesn't recommend eating eggs, but she does qualify that statement with "if you are allergic or have a sensitivity to Eggs" she advises not to eat them, now I wouldn't have a clue whether I am or not, though as I said it has given me something to think about. I will probably try an experiment on myself, eg. I will "cut them out" of my diet at some stage (when I finish what eggs I still have left) for a couple of weeks, see how I go and how I feel then add eggs back to my diet and see if I can  feel any difference.

One difference I'd really like to get on board with is the consumption of "Organ Meat", yeah, never been a fan even though both my Mother and Father occasionally did eat "Organ Meats" when I was growing up, they never pushed them on us, in fact didn't even offer "their" delicacies to us at all, well not that I can remember anyway. I did see them cook these meats and eat them, I'm sure if I had asked for some they would have let me try them, I doubt I ever asked though lol. So I do have a few things I'd like to look into further and possibly try, but I'll definitely need to ease into organ meats and learn how to cook them etc.

Hey I really do understand if people scoff at my improvements, I really do, but honestly I really don't care, I know what I'm feeling, I'm feeling great, I have no reason to lie as I'm not selling anything or getting any commissions, I've been on this journey for quite a while now, most of that has been reading and getting organised slowly to start eating Paleo allowed foods, when your not wealthy you can't just buy everything you need in one shopping trip and it's silly to throw out good edible albeit processed and sugar laden food and fill your cupboards with Paleo only. It all takes time, but you can definitely slowly work up to it and start adjusting.

I promise you I have more money left over each week now more so than when I was consuming sugar laden processed non Paleo food stuffs. Oh and that's something I need to say, after the two month mark, your appetite lessens and you're not craving the crap you used to live on, sure you might say once a week crave something from your past poor eating habits, but seriously that craving disappears rather quickly, but it does pay to have something Paleo approved to eat if you're hungry of course, just in case, rather than being caught short and buying some quick and easy processed food from some shop, just be prepared, don't slip into old eating habits!

Oh I should say as well, I do get most of my meat and vegetables from "supermarkets" yes you're right, strictly Paleo food is Grass Fed Meat and Organic Veggies, you're absolutely right, but at the moment at least I can't easily source or afford these foods, but I will, the main Paleo bonus I'm benefiting from at the moment is weight loss, I want to mainly concentrate on that first, get my weight down while feeling better whilst doing it. As I eat less I will have more money to spend on the best kind of meat and vegetables, Grass Fed and Organic respectively, I am feeling heaps better and once the weight is off I hope to feel even better when I can source and afford better produce.

Don't get discouraged or give up on Paleo eating just because you can't be 100% Paleo perfect with what you consume with the meat and veggies, you really will feel much better regardless, hang in there and look for discounts and specials, go to farmers markets, buy cheaper cuts of Grass Fed meat or Organic veggies that are bruised, you know what I mean, be smart, grow your own veggies, just do your best with what you can achieve, it won't be a waste of time, just aspire to buying better quality Grass fed Meat and Organic Vegetables when you can ;)

My walking is up to about five thousand steps, well that's my goal and I'm making that goal if not more, I do try and have one slow day at least each week, some times even two, but I usually at least do about 1500 steps on those days, just to keep the legs active and I really am in the mode of walking everyday, like I really feel like I have to do it, it's a good place mentally to be in. You never know I might just make it to 10,000 after all, but I am hurting after doing five laps around "my block" which I've just started doing, the worst thing is it takes me about an hour, that's time I could be relaxing lol!

After reading Terry Wahls book and discussing my blog posts with others on Google Plus, I have started to eat more salad type vegetables and cutting back a little on steamed hot food veggies, this gives me a bit of a change and more variety, I have also been eating a lot more Coconut Oil and "good" oils with the salads as well, the Coconut Oil doesn't taste too bad at all, I'm getting used to it and enjoying it more, it's just different, maybe a little sweet tasting, but eh, I think my taste buds are "shot" anyway after a previous exacerbation, though I can "taste" my food more clearly now though, I guess when you haven't eaten sugar or carbs for about two months things are bound to change and they have. Oh and yes as I mentioned on my last blog post I'm eating a max of two meals a day and yes some times just one meal a day with a small snack, my appetite has decreased lots...

Long ago now I started getting ready for doing the Paleo Diet while I was reading up on it all, I started getting rid of Non Paleo foods, by throwing them out, giving them away or just finishing what I had left, I stopped eating bread long ago apart from the very odd Servo sandwich, which were sometimes quite odd indeed...I haven't had sugar laden McDonalds or Kentucky fried Chicken for years now, I do remember having just one cheeseburger around the start of November 2015, but apart from that I've abstained from that horrid stuff they call food for quite a while now.

The one fast food place I do use is Red Rooster, I only occasionally eat their whole Chickens (only) and occasionally their Chicken Salads, I don't use their dressing. Occasionally I'll buy a supermarket BBQ chicken as well, but that's about the extent of consuming any fast food type "foods". The Cheeseburger I had was purchased on the way home after the five days Lemtrada Treatment, eh, give me a break, it was just one cheeseburger and no chips or drinks ;)

Oh I have now finished the Terry Wahls Protocol book, yes I do recommend it, she eases you into eating the Paleo Way and explains everything as you go, you don't need to buy the book everything you need to know can be found on the interwebs, but it is a handy guide that is well worth having so you can refer back to it while giving the Paleo Diet a red hot go. Her advice is wonderful and she has some great tips in the book, yes it has some graphs, lists, testimonies and advice, Terry explains it all and she takes you through her own personal journey.

Terry Wahls on Google Plus you can find her web site and more info at this link.

My next goal is to get below the 100 Kilogram (220 lbs) mark, I'm nearly there, just a few more Kilos to go!

I will of course edit any mistakes in the text above after it's published, cos that's how I roll...

Caveman Family

Lemtrada - Three Months After First Infusions

Lemtrada - Three months since Infusions

It's now a little over three months since I had my first course (5x) of Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) infusions, luckily none of the possible nasty side effects have reared their ugly heads, whew! I'm happy with that, though some of the side effects can show up years later from memory, at least I haven't been someone who had immediate problems tolerating this infusion treatment, so far in my life I have been lucky in that I seem to tolerate drugs quite well, though I've never been under a general anaesthetic so I have no idea how I'd go with that...please don't assume I'm gloating, it's a thought that definitely runs through my mind occasionally because I get a "monitoring" blood test every month and then you wait for the "all clear", from the phone app or email they deliver, just a tad nervously lol.

The list of possible Lemtrada side effects you read about and are made well aware of before you decide to do the infusions are not just minor afflictions, they can be quite serious. I won't list the possible side effects here, I will just link to a FDA pdf and you can read them there, I'll put the whole link so you can see it's on the FDA website, click the link below. Like any drug though, every possible side effect has to be listed, though hopefully because of all the trials and testing they do on Humans before bringing the drug to market, the side effects should be minimal in occurrence, hopefully... I'd rather link to an official source, rather than get them wrong and scare people even more than they already might be and I've listed some of them before in previous posts...

http://www.fda.gov/downloads/Drugs/DrugSafety/UCM426512.pdf

The Nurses and Neurologists should give you some official literature from the drug company that markets/makes the drug as well, so stick to those rather than blogs, then you'll have the official list of Symptoms! Then by all means go read everything you can on the web, in blogs if that pleases you, but check with your Neurologist if you have any questions, don't be silent, we're not all the same, some people seem to get side effects from every drug they take and with a personal "one off" side effect that some one might have experienced, it could be just that, a "one off" that has nothing to do with Lemtrada as such. We are told to report any problems we have to our medicos, so they can keep an eye on things and no doubt the Neurologists document everything and provide feed back to the drug company, well that's my guess anyway.

Official Lemtrada Home Page

Now back to my post infusion three month experience,  everything seems to be fine, in fact I'm feeling quite well overall so I don't think Lemtrada has had any negative effects on my health, of course I really can't say it's had any positive effects either, well nothing noticeable anyway. When I was in the early stages of the pre treatment stage I did ask lots of questions and did read quite a bit about the drug and people's experiences. I would then ask the Nurse's or Neuro's for the "right" answer of claims that were made etc. or if they heard of anyone experiencing this or that, yes I am one who does ask a lot of questions when I am not clear on something.

I've written before that there might be some favourable "maybes" about possible positive Lemtrada effects, but they are just "my feelings" they are not scientifically tested, you can read back through my blogs about "what I think" if you like, but there has been no amazing benefits that I feel have occurred. I just hope I don't have another exacerbation, or they find any more lesions on the brain in the future, if I have no more problems, hopefully that means Lemtrada is doing its job, well that's the plan anyway ;)

I remember asking the main Nurse who was looking after me (I still annoy her with the odd question lol) if they had heard any possible benefits from any of the Lemtrada infusion recipients under their care. She told me no, nothing that they can prove, but she did say that some of us Lemtradians, some call us Lemmies (that's too close to "lemmings" for my liking lol) did find a greater sense of confidence, I asked "how so" she explained that a few have had a greater sense of confidence and have taken to improving their overall health and well being, for instance eating better, exercising and well, just living their lives.

I myself am doing exactly that now as well, so I understand where the other Lemtradian's are coming from. Maybe we're doing this because of the drug's possible side effects, being the healthiest you can be has to help if the "side effect shit hits the fan" surely, or the cost of the drug is huge and we appreciate that we get it for free in Australia's public health system or maybe not having to take some other form of drug regularly gives us time to consider our futures, who knows, but it is interesting nonetheless.

So in closing and in summary, all is well three months after my first set of Lemtrada infusions, I hope it stays that way, I will definitely write a blog post about it if things go pear shaped, oh one more thing, yeah the monthly blood tests are a pain in the arse, but eh, far better for them to be "on top" of any problems quickly rather than later when it's too late to treat the problem. I know people want to hear wonderful life changing news, but I'm just telling it how it is for me, honestly and without the bullshit or possible placebo effects that one may experience, I am feeling better, but I honestly suspect that is from the diet and exercising I have undertaken lately and am still doing, from my own personal experience if someone asked me if I think they should have Lemtrada as a treatment, I would say, Go for it! ;)

Link to all of my Lemtrada tagged Blog posts

Diet and Exercise

Diet and Exercise - Week Six!

I'm into about week six of eating better and exercising, the results are slowly starting to show, the most obvious are weight loss and my gait (walking) and general fitness, even though my walking has improved heaps, I still don't necessarily feel really safe walking, but I guess you become more critical of yourself because of one's memory of how it used to be, the walking has helped me to lift my right leg which is the main one that causes me issues, at one stage both legs inability to walk saw me end up in a wheelchair for two to three months, though the left leg pretty much fully recovered, the right leg didn't.

The right leg is always the one to drag on the ground first when I am fatigued from exertion or lack of sleep, it's usually the one that I will trip over the thin air with, that's slowly getting better now that I'm exercising by walking. I'm up to very recently, as in yesterday, starting to walk around "my block" three times in the morning and once at night, that equals about 3.2 kilometres as the distance around "my block" is 800 metres. I'm absolutely stuffed by the third time around in the morning. Four times around is more than five thousand steps going by Google Fit, they say us humans should be walking around 10,000 steps a day, whether I make it to that many, I'm not sure, but I can say one thing, I'm walking each day much further than I ever have after the diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis was thrust upon me...

Eating the right foods is still going fine, yes I'm getting bored of course, though I am getting used to it and food is starting to taste better, I'm finding if I prepare some meals beforehand so that I just need to microwave them, this helps me to stick the the diet and helps with my fatigue. I prepare the steam vegetables and cook the meat when I'm ready to eat, of course if I have bacon and eggs that needs to be fried when I want, no reheating. I order my food on line and have it delivered, maybe one day I'll walk to the supermarket, but you can only carry so much, so I might need to wait until I can do a couple or three trips in a day...

With the food consumption I'm very slowly starting to get to the point where I'm not feeling hungry all the time, I haven't done it yet but I'm starting to get that hint of not feeling like two or three meals a day, this doesn't mean that's how I will end up living, on one meal a day, but it does mean I'm no longer following the "normal" breakfast, lunch and dinner mantra that we've all had drummed into us since we were "younguns". I'm starting to get to the stage of only eating when I am truly hungry, before I felt compelled to eat at each of those time honoured meal "times" to consume the food I eat.

If I feel hungry in the morning after my walk, I'll eat, quite often now though I don't feel hungry until around lunch time. I'm also happy that I can add two more frozen vegetables to the mix, I will now be adding kale and mushrooms to my list of frozen foods that I can include in my diet. So at the moment I'm only eating two to three healthy meals a day (though mostly only two meals a day), with the odd snack here and there, e.g. boiled egg etc.

Frozen vegetables are so much easier for a single person and someone who can't easily just "nick" down the shop for extras if they run out or what you do have has spoiled before you had a chance to eat it. So now the list of frozen vegetables has grown from six to eight, these are vegetables that are "allowed" on the Paleo diet of course, so you're a little more limited in your meal choices. Of course meals vary though not by much at this stage, the following is a list of frozen vegetables I can now get from the supermarket I order from (Coles).

List of Paleo Diet approved frozen Vegetables
I can buy the following veggies from Coles Supermarket on line
Brussel Sprouts
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Spinach
Kale
Pumpkin
Carrots
Mushrooms

Most of these frozen vegetables are "Coles Brand" so they are reasonably priced, I figure they can't "mess" with vegetables all that much, hopefully...a few are "brands" so I'm spreading the consumerism love, in my own little way lol.

There are more frozen vegetables that are Paleo approved, though I've never had them before at all so I need to do some research on how to cook the buggers and get a sense of what they taste like. Yes even though frozen vegetables can be more expensive, I very rarely waste vegetables now, so I'm confident I'm saving money more so than when buying fresh. I would probably be a lot more efficient as in wastage nowadays if I was buying fresh, because I am eating more healthily so the fresh veggies would be getting used, but they say frozen can actually be better than fresh anyway so that's perfect for me.

I do buy some fresh vegetables for a slow cooker meal I make, but they get used the same day or next day that I buy them, one example in particular is Mushrooms, I buy two punnet's of sliced fresh Mushies, celery, onions and carrots for that slow cooker meal, but the frozen ones will be perfect for breakfast with bacon and eggs if I have that meal. Even though I want to make this Diet and Exercise regime a lifestyle change, my immediate goal is to "crack" three months (I did two months last time) and move on from there, after that, six months, then twelve, that is of course if all goes well and there is a noticeable benefit, regardless I do plan on keeping sugar consumption in "check" by doing my best to eliminate it from my diet altogether as I'm doing right now!

I'm trying to add different types of healthy foods, for instance apart from a couple of new frozen veggies, I'm looking at seafood that has high amounts of good oil, I already try to consume at least some fresh Salmon at least once a week, sometimes more, but this week I have stocked up on some Sardines that are canned with Olive Oil, I hope to add these to some kind of Salad concoction that will also have added "good" Paleo approved "Oils" like Olive Oil and Macadamia Oil (maybe even some avocado oil) both of which I already have.

I've been a bit hesitant to do salads after having the MS drug treatment Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) because of possible Listeria bacteria infection from lettuces, it's in the Lemtrada literature of possible infections one needs to be careful of, yes maybe a bit OTT, but hey I am Male and I admit my cleanliness is not always "top notch" and when I'm advised to do something or be careful of something because of a depleted Immune system, I am especially careful. Lemtrada has some possible nasty side effects so I have upped the cleanliness, but is it enough lmao! I'm fairly sure my MS is from having a great and efficient immune system hehe, I've trained it well over many years of germ abuse, I've rarely been ill in my life and rarely get infections, unlike some people who have been brought up in very sterile environments and seem to get every bug and infection that's available.

Just remember many MSer's can most likely do at least some exercise even if they are confined to a wheelchair and most can eat better to improve their health, it may mean that the whole family needs to get on board and get with the program, as in help the MSer in their life to achieve these things but surely our loved ones, if they really do love us, will have no problem with helping us achieve this goal. I personally live alone so I need to do my best to keep my MS exacerbations at bay as I have no family that live close by and boy do I love my independence, so that's one of the main reasons I'm doing this exercising and adjusting my diet to a much healthier way to eat, will it work, well I'm guessing it has to have some benefit at the very least. I've let my general health decline, I need to rectify that ;)

Caveman!

Paleo Diet Information

Main Paleo Diet page, more information at link below.
http://www.darinallan.com/paleo_diet

Sugar is Bad for You!
http://www.darinallan.com/paleo_diet/sugar-is-bad-for-you

I've Quit Sugar!
http://www.darinallanblog.com/2016/01/ive-quit-sugar.html

I've Quit Sugar!

I'm on the third week of "No Sugar" I started around Christmas day, I thought it best not to make a new years resolution, us humans rarely stick to those, me especially, too much pressure...

I have decided to strictly adhere to the Paleo Diet once again, though I won't be going into detail about that diet as such, I've said it all before, on this blog and in numerous posts on G+. I think the sugar cessation with Paleo might just be the the "thing" that helps the most when it comes to well being, nevertheless I will adhere to the Paleo guidelines strictly as I have never felt better since having MS and eating the Paleo way. I'm actually quite sick of talking about Paleo stuff as most just can't or won't attempt it or even read about it and if they do look into it they cringe in horror and then starting saying things like "I could never just eat all meat" I then immediately know they've never looked into it at all, I then know they read and blindly believe what hack journalist's articles espouse as truth, yeah the "journalist" didn't really look into it either, and so the bullshit flows from one person to the next.

The simple truth is that the Paleo Diet is difficult, very difficult, I'd prefer them just to say "nah not for me" and leave it at that and just leave me to carry on with the way I want to eat for my health and Multiple Sclerosis, most do of course, but some people are "know alls" yet never really look closely into anything they proclaim to be an expert on, or not, it's the nature of the internet of course. I'll help anyone that wants to change if I can, though very few actually do want to. So now I just give them some hints on where to look for good info and wait for them to get back to me if they want to know more, none have, well actually two have and even started to eat the Paleo way and even saw some decent weight loss results (weight loss is the bonus), though never stuck with it long enough to see the positives that eating right can have on one's MS symptoms and their severity, which really is a shame for them, eh, life goes on!

So now I'm just going to talk about Quitting Sugar to other people while still doing my Paleo thing, although I won't be talking about it all that much on G+ or to friends that don't want to hear (all good, it's my journey and doesn't have to be theirs). I've posted a Poll on a MS Community to get an idea of how many people (hopefully honestly) answer the poll to gauge if people consume much sugar in their daily food intake. Not as easy as one may think, as Sugar has been creeping into around 80% of the food we eat (whole foods excluded of course), people are eating far more processed foods these days and unfortunately not cooking as much as we once did. When I was growing up, fast food for example was a treat, at most a once a week treat and mostly for my family it was Fish n' Chips or a Hamburger, though it was a proper burger not this McDonalds etc. sugar laden fast food crap people seem to consume quite regularly these days, some eat it nearly everyday it seems.

So anyway, I'm mostly over the headaches and aches and pains one seems to get when they overcome most addictions and I've started walking for exercise again, walking and exercise helps one get over addictions a little more easily and most importantly quicker than if not doing some kind of physical activity. When I was younger I was full on into sports, one of those kids who would train themselves just as much as the training that the sport/club required, I let all that go in my twenties, you know all the excuses, we've all made them, so I won't dwell on it. My one saving grace as far as exercise goes was the fact that I was a Mechanic, it's a physical job, though any "well being" gain was of course counteracted by the crap fast food I'd often eat in the workshops where I'd work. Well it was most likely somewhat more healthy than what the mega fast food giants serve up, but still it wasn't really healthy food as such, especially when you're eating it everyday for morning tea and lunch. Yes I could have just had a salad sandwich or roll, but nah, it would usually be something deep fried etc.

So I've decided to mainly talk about giving up Sugar, maybe if people can just do that, they will most likely see some benefit to their general well being and possibly some benefit to their Multiple Sclerosis symptoms, the benefits so far for me are, sleeping better and at "normal" times, increase in energy, although when you give up Sugar you will most likely get the "No Sugar Flu", you may get headaches, sore joints and irritability and yes fatigue may increase in this detox time, Sugar is an addiction pure and simple, you will feel a bit crap just like a drug addict coming off his poison of choice, or a heavy drinker giving up drinking after years of imbibing, but giving up Sugar I'm guessing is nowhere near as bad as those two of course, but it isn't a leisurely walk in the park either.

Even years and years ago way before I started dabbling with the Paleo Diet, as a somewhat logical person, I always thought that regardless of our MS, MSers or of course anyone with any disease or medical issue would surely benefit from being the healthiest that they could be, even those who can't exercise easily, eg. those very overweight or people who can't physically do much exercise, eg. people in wheelchairs or those who have mobility issues, all of us can still eat better, we shove far too much crap in our mouths because so much food that is "quick and easy" is also full of Sugar and "numbers" oh and too much salt of course as well.

Oh and before people say, "it's easy for you, you're lucky!", that couldn't be further from the truth, yes it is lucky I live alone and that I can still cook my own food, absolutely true, but I am not a cook of any description and I still get fatigued standing over a hot oven or cook top, I still get fatigued from that, though hopefully that may improve as I get fitter and eat better. Ninety percent of my food is plain old meat and vegetables, the vegetables are those that start off frozen and then cooked in a pretty nifty though very simple and cheap microwave steamer (easy to clean and use), it works a treat. Yes I guess you could call what I eat very boring no doubt, but that's how I like it, if it's easy I'll cook, if it's a whole culinary delight that takes a long time to prepare I just won't cook and revert back to "take away" food or processed quick and easy meals, I really don't want to do that so I keep it plain and simple for someone who is dealing with Multiple Sclerosis issues.

The paleo diet is about fuelling your body with good fats rather than Sugars and Carbohydrates it's why you can lose weight fairly quickly, yep, unbelievable isn't it, but it's true, me and many, many others are living proof, I have done it for two months previously, strictly, it works! In three weeks (I started the diet on Christmas day) I have lost about 4-5 kilograms (8-9 pounds), but as I say this journey for me is not so much about weight loss as it is about Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms and their severity and hopefully minimising those and how they effect my life and well being. At the second week mark I was feeling good enough to start walking around my block, it's 800 metres, I do it twice a day, once in the morning, once at night, my walking is still not great or "normal" but I can walk and the more I do it, it can only get better.

I'm slowly starting to increase that, I'm using "Google Fit" to track distance and steps and scales to track my weight loss progress, though the electronic scales reading never really stays still lol, that's the MS...by the way, going by "Google Fit" just walking about two kilometres everyday doesn't burn ll that many calories, the main weight loss benefit comes from being in a state of "ketosis" my body is using the body fat I have built up as fuel to survive, but make no mistake, I am not starving myself, I'm eating more than enough protein and vegetables to live off, before I was giving my body much more than I actually needed and most of that "extra" was Sugar and Carbs that I consumed, not exercising at all doesn't help either. Remember if you do happen to be overweight it can only benefit you, your joints and your mental well being to lose some weight, fact! Eating better can help stave off "Leaky Gut Syndrome" which apparently might help with stopping stomach lining permeability, this may be a cause of some autoimmune issues, from what "they say".

Now for some facts, I have been dabbling with the Paleo Diet or at least eating a lot better for gee, I don't know about four years now, I've lost a lot of weight over that time and I've also put "some" weight back on from relapsing to my previous bad eating habits. I've never let that get me down to the extent of just giving it all up, it's always on my mind to eat better, though the exercising certainly does take a hit, let's be honest it becomes non existant lol.

I'll list below some of the benefits that I think I gained from eating more healthily and exercising, well I don't just think, I pretty much now how much better I feel, but I can't scientifically prove it though of course.

Weight Loss (the weight melts off)
No more bloated stomach (now instead of feeling "full" all the time, I more so eat when I'm hungry)
More energy and less fatigued (the afternoon crash and fatigue is lessened)
Sleeping better and longer (no longer on "Vampire hours")
Skin looks better (not that I care so much about that lol)
The walking helps to improve my "gait" and general fitness.
I think my mind becomes a little clearer
My general mood and mental well being has improved (I'm less negative about everything lol)

Here is a list of why Sugar and Processed foods are bad for you resources, there are many vids on Youtube, but here's a couple

Sugar the Bitter Truth Youtube Video, (it's a Uni Lecture by the looks of it) very comprehensive information.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM

Big Sugar Discussion Youtube Video (how we've been conned etc.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Y_CaFRsO_0

The Secrets of Sugar - The Fifth Estate - CBC News
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDaYa0AB8TQ

Why is Sugar Bad Youtube Search
https://goo.gl/UEDHSM

A page I created with Information and resources.
http://www.darinallan.com/paleo_diet/sugar-is-bad-for-you

Movies/Docos to watch (if you can find these to watch or see them advertised on TV, well worth watching)
Fed Up
Is Sugar the New Fat
That Sugar Film

Sugar Withdrawal Symptoms: List of Possibilitieshttp://mentalhealthdaily.com/2014/07/19/sugar-withdrawal-symptoms-list-of-possibilities/

I quit sugar community (the owner, well known "I Quit Sugar" advocate) seems to have abandon it but I just joined it to say I've Quit Sugar, to see if anything good gets posted by members etc.
https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/117264613745385510960

Some great Books to read that can be purchased on Google Play Books
Sweet Poison
Fat Chance: The Bitter Truth about Sugar

So feel free to contact me on Google Plus if you like, but the resources above are a great start and I'm sure you know how to use Google to search for all the information you need to Quit Sugar and why you should. I can say right now I am already not craving Sugar as much as I did before starting this diet. :)

Disclaimer: Go see ya bloody GP before you do any shit that may effect your health...though quitting Sugar in my opinion is one of the healthiest things you could do...

Paleo Diet weight loss and MS symptoms

The Paleo Diet and Weight Loss!

I realise I haven't said much about it for a while, but yes I'm still doing the Paleo Diet as I've said firstly to lose weight and also to see if it has any positive effect on my Multiple Sclerosis symptoms. Let's concentrate on the weight loss first, now I must say when I first started this time, I only had an old set of Analogue scales, cheap ones at that, of course they're good enough, but the old eyesight isn't as good as it once was and hey when you weigh yourself it pays to have no extraneous weight hanging off one's body, eg. clothing, eye glasses, mobile phone etc. The weight graduations are difficult to read even with glasses on.

So I invested in some digital scales to get a more accurate and more easily sighted idea of my weight. The old scales still had "stones and pounds and kilograms" (in faint red text and graduations) but damn they are hard to read. With the old analogue set I was bouncing at the end of the dial when I first started, if it's at the end is it all that accurate, I'm not so sure, so realistically I can't give a definitive "start weight" but I reckon I was about 18.5 stone after having a think about it, a guess, which is about 117 Kilograms and about 257 lbs. The new digital scales show me now at about 104.5 Kilograms or about 230 pounds.

With drinking heaps of water and eating quite a bit on the Paleo diet your weight does vary about one kilogram over the day, I've found the very best time to weigh myself is in the morning when I wake up after a good nights sleep, seriously for some reason on the mornings after a good sleep you really seem to lose the most weight, no science in that just my experience. I started back on Paleo on the 19-10-2014 so let's say I've been eating this way for about a month and a half, I'm losing weight quicker than the last time, much quicker, the only difference, I've been walking a lot more, everyday I try and walk around the block at least once and even though it's hard for me to believe, I do get a bit antsy if I miss a day, so I really try to make sure I do it and have been! Oh I've also been doing a bit of leg strengthening exercises as well, though not as much as the walking, so I can only surmise that the walking has helped to accelerate the weight loss.

A really nifty new app by Google on Android phones is "Fit" so that is keeping a log of my walking, from memory it's only about 800 metres around my block so not even a kilometre, some days I do it twice when I have the energy, but as long as I do one lap of the block I'm happy that I've at least done something in the way of exercise each day.

104.5 Kilograms!

The Paleo Diet and Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms!

Now this as I say, will be the bonus if it proves to be correct, although obviously losing the weight is of course a great thing as far as health, mobility and general well being goes, I just hope that I also get some symptom relief as well, that will be the icing on the cake (don't think about damn cake Darin) lol. So here's what I think is happening as far as symptom alleviation goes:

I'm going to put the word "think" before two of the points below as I really don't know, it's just the feeling I get, it's the Vibe!

I think my old shrinking brain has become a little clearer as I'm finding it a little easier to write and pull those words out of the filing system that is the brain, words are flowing a little more easier, pity I don't have much of a life and actually have something to write about lol.

I think I have had moments of clearer eyesight in my foggy peasoupesque left eye's vision, but that really is a hard one, it really does vary because of fatigue days and just eyestrain days from reading to much or staring at the computer monitor all day, so it's quite difficult to get a true idea if it's improving or not, but I'm somewhat hopeful, time will tell...

I definitely know my energy has improved, though there is still the MS fatigue days that make you wonder sometimes, but as I'm doing more walking, that may be the main reason why, but of course the weight loss has to help with the energy levels as well no doubt.

I definitely know my walking has improved from well, walking more lol, though I really need to get a good nights sleep, if I don't it's definitely worse the next day, all to do with fatigue of course so hopefully with more walking and exercise things will improve even more.

None of these points have been tested so it may all be just wishful thinking and my mind playing tricks on me, though I'm fairly sure of the last two points of course, also they say to really get an idea of any positives from the Paleo Diet you really need to stay on it for three months at the very least so I have another month and a half to go before that happens, now remember you do not need to exercise when on the Paleo diet to lose weight, you will indeed lose weight and quite a bit if you stick to the the diet and you'll lose it quite quickly, certainly quick enough to stay motivated to keep going if weight loss is your goal.

I want the readers to know that yes I have had a few dietary indiscretions here and there, but when I say "a few" (not many) I mean that, the main one, occasionally I get a Chicken Schnitzel and lettuce sandwich from the local service station, overpriced and quite nice, but let's face it, not like a proper bursting out the sides healthy sandwich you get from a "proper sandwich shop" but still essentially healthier than the crap I used to shovel into the pie hole on a daily basis, as they say the only person you are lying to is yourself if you don't come clean on your indiscretions when dieting. In a month and a half I have probably had five of said "servo sandwiches" and may even have a few more if the cravings hit hard, but still I will continue to try and eliminate them from my diet regardless as they are not Paleo approved.

Right now I'm concentrating on cracking the 100 kilogram mark, that will be a good day, hopefully that will happen in the next couple of weeks if all goes to plan. Oh scales are great for tracking weight loss, but ya know what's even better? Watching your clothes become too big for you and having to put more holes in your belts so they might hold your pants up lol, some clothes I haven't worn for years and years are starting to fit well again!

So tally ho and on we go!

Paleo Diet Lose thirty kilograms in six months - Week One

I started back on the Paleo Diet about a eight days ago, although I have been eating the Paleo way for a lot longer, I have also been eating a lot of junk and drinking a lot of flavoured milk. So one very minute good thing is that I am quite used to eating Paleo when I actually cook, I try and stick to the Paleo Diet list of foods.

The first week has been fine, went through the coffee and sugar withdrawal headaches, extreme lack of energy and general tiredness you get when you cut out all sugar and carbs. I am pushing on and each day is becoming easier, at least the headaches have gone, bonus!

I've been eating lots of meat and veg, pork chops, rump steak, chicken and of course bacon, on the vegetable front I have been eating lots of kale, broccoli, carrots, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, spinach and mushrooms. Oh and eggs, lots of eggs. Fairly simple basic choices at the moment, no doubt boredom of eating the same things will encourage me to become a little more creative.

For cooking I have been using my Barbecue, I only use the hot plate side, for frying meat and eggs, I steam all vegetables and always have a plate of veggies ready to be warmed up for meals, usually I eat one to two meals a day, since starting the Paleo Diet again I have been eating three decent sized meals a day.

At the end of the week I am doing well and sticking to the diet, hopefully I can keep it up and reach my goal of losing thirty kilograms in six months!

I am going to try my best, but I want feel to guilty if I fail, I have a feeling I can get back into it now, let's hope so!

I try and eat a fair bit of salmon while on the Paleo Diet!

Kale and its health benefits!

Kale is one of those vegetables that we ate in the way past, we seemed to forget about it and now's it's back as a Superfood fad, having said that of course there are people that have been eating Kale for years, they knew of it's qualities before everyone jumped on the band wagon, now nearly every supermarket and green grocer has this important leafy green on the shelves and that's a very good thing as it makes Kale accessible to one and all.

Greens are our most important vegetables and also the ones eaten the least so it seems, sure people will eat lettuce, peas, beans, I always have in the past, always had green on my plate, always.

Now that I'm on the paleo diet, your choice becomes narrower, paleo people don't eat legumes they're always on the Paleo "foods to avoid" lists, so the availability of Kale is welcomed, "variety is the spice of life" so they say.

I just cooked some Kale, I steamed the whole bunch in the microwave, seems like the easiest way to do it for me, I'm male and dislike cooking and preparing and washing up so I prefer to prepare larger amounts and freeze for later, the main thing with Kale is to strip the leaves off the stems, the stems seem very fibrous and tough, so take the leaves and ditch the stems. I have a microwave steamer and it seems to do a great job with cooking the Kale leaves.

The Kale started out somewhat like the following pic
Kale usually comes in a plastic covered trumpet shape, it's usually individual stalks secured together with a rubber band, so it looks nothing like below, to big to fit on shelves I guess... There are different varieties of Kale, another you might see at supermarkets or green grocers is called Tuscan Cabbage it's certainly called that at Coles supermarkets and safeway as well I think.

Here's a pic of the leaves taken from the stems and placed in the steamer, ready for microwaving!
When microwaving I usually just keep checking how it's going, generally I start with five minutes on high and see how that goes, I do like it more limp though so I usually need to add a few more minutes of cooking

Here's a pic of the Kale after it's been steamed

I would often put the Kale in with all the other vegetables when steaming, that proved to be wasteful, I'd forget about the Kale and I would throw half of it away, so this time I thought it best to cook the whole of the bunch and get it all done so there would be no waste.

Here is a pic of the Kale that has been cooked and laid out on a plate
Apparently it's fine to freeze Kale, so I will freeze some of this so I can add it to each meal I have, I mostly eat frozen vegetables, I find I waste so much less than I do with fresh food, of course most salads ingredients can't be frozen so they're always fresh, they say Kale is lovely in salads!

I'm not much of a cook, because I am lazy from Multiple Sclerosis fatigue and I'm just lazy in general...so I'm not much of an experimenter and have no interest in cooking huge banquets or time consuming meals, unless it's using a slow cooker, set and forget, wonderful! Though slaving over a hot oven is not for me as it exacerbates the fatigue as well, so I avoid as much as possible.

What are Kale's health benefits?

Nutritional Value

"Kale is very high in beta carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C, and rich in calcium. Kale is a source of two carotenoids, lutein and zeaxanthin. Kale, as with broccoli and other brassicas, contains sulforaphane (particularly when chopped or minced), a chemical with potent anti-cancer properties. Boiling decreases the level of sulforaphane; however, steaming, microwaving, or stir frying do not result in significant loss. Along with other brassica vegetables, kale is also a source of indole-3-carbinol, a chemical which boosts DNA repair in cells and appears to block the growth of cancer cells. Kale has been found to contain a group of resins known as bile acid sequestrants, which have been shown to lower cholesterol and decrease absorption of dietary fat. Steaming significantly increases these bile acid binding properties." 

from wikipedia

More information on Kale at Wikipedia!

Kale is well worth looking into and adding to your weekly food consumption, Kale another "new" food that isn't so new and now it's a superfood, I'll continue to have Kale in my weekly shopping list.

There is a sauteed Kale recipe on the following page, looks nice, I must try it at some stage :)

Sautéed Tuscan Cabbage (Kale) Recipe

You can also buy Kale in a ground up powder form from iHerb, if you just can't handle the kale in it's fresh form, it's not to bad at all and quite reasonably priced
Eclectic Institute, Raw Kale POW-der

There is quite a bit of discussion about people who have Multiple Sclerosis and that they should eat Kale, Terry Wahls who looks like has reversed her MS is a Kale advocate as part of the diet she follows, which is similar to the Paleo Diet.

Good luck Kaling :)

Here we go again - Paleo Third Time Lucky?

It's the third or fourth time, could probably just count from posts on this blog, bugger that, don't really want to know lest I get disappointed with myself.  I might as well use a post I made on the G+ Multiple Sclerosis Community for this first post on this latest Paleo try with some extras of course.

Well the weather is getting better in the southern hemisphere and for me it's the perfect time to be drinking lots of water and eating salads, of course I'll still be eating meat and steamed veggies as well, but summer gives me more options to eat the Paleo way more easily, not sure why exactly but I have trouble consuming salads in the cooler months lol.

So I've been brushing up on all things Paleo lifestyle, although I definitely haven't been eating paleo for a while now, I have still been eating the right foods as best I can with some of the crappy or non paleo foods thrown in.

I gave up alcohol long ago, my main vice these days is the occasional smoke (tobacco and ganja) I do mean occasional, money and supply are issues these days, so it's not often I partake for those reasons. Fatigue can be a real problem, some days it's just easier to get a takeaway or ready made frozen meals, neither of which are part of the Paleo diet, so preparing, cooking, and cleanup can be a real hassle with the fatigue obviously getting worse on the warmer days.

I will start doing paleo from today with the odd indiscretion and be aiming for this Monday to be in full paleo mode from that day on. I need to lose weight regardless, so that will be a bonus, but I felt really good last time I was on Paleo as far as MS goes, so I'm hoping I can get that advantage again, that's the main reason I want to try again, weight loss is a wonderful bonus and with Paleo exercise is not mandatory, of course still very worthwhile, but with MS well you know, it's easy to be unmotivated to exercise. 

Last time I was on strict paleo I was losing 5 kilograms (about 11 pounds) a month doing no exercise at all apart from just living of course. I've added a link to a Multiple Sclerosis Paleo diet story and it's benefits below if you want to have a read.

I'm going to give it a red hot go, but I'm not going to beat myself up if I fail again, though I will be very disappointed, hopefully that can keep me going, I'll document the journey good or bad on my blog, when I'm in full paleo mode.

I've made my first paleo grocery order that will be delivered this friday, I have ordered only one "treat" Green & Black's Chocolate Block Organic Dark 85%, the rest is meat, fish (salmon), vegetables, salad ingredients and eggs, that's it as far as food goes. Of course I have ordered "Kale the super green" as well. :)

Below is my first order for my latest Paleo Diet try, I took a screenshot with the 85% chocolate highlighted, I'm an idiot it means nothing, bear in mind optimally when on the Paleo Diet one should be eating organic food, or at least try to, yep if I drove a car and had more money and could access all organic I definitely would, alas I can't I try and buy the organic "version" when marked down or on "special" but that's the best I can do for now, I don't stress about it, it's just how it is!

As you can see I am big on the frozen version of vegetables if they can be bought that way, being single it's the best way to buy, I waste far less food if I buy frozen, I always buy lemon juice as well as I was always wasting lemons, so yeah it's not always the best way as far as price goes, though frozen veg and lemon juice suits me and my lifestyle :)

First grocery order for third or fourth Paleo Diet try

Paleo Shopping list

Paleo Shopping list

Paleo Diet - Two appliances to help me succeed

I'm back on the Paleo Diet, it's been about 2-3 weeks now, the reasons for going off it have been discussed before, so I won't go over that again, though one thing that frustrated me about the diet was the actual cooking and the subsequent clean up of dishes, nope, don't have a dishwasher (don't particularly want one either), I'm the dishwasher, I'm the one who has to do the scrubbing. Cooking, well, as I have Multiple Sclerosis standing over a hot stove too long eg. the time it takes to cook said food can leave me with shaking legs, I can't stand still for long periods of time. If it's difficult. these days I find it really difficult to stay positive and I'll just go for the easy option which is usually take away food or processed crap in a box.

This time I have come prepared with some tools that make things much easier for me to prepare Paleo goodness, enter "The Breville fast slow cooker", it's a slow cooker and pressure cooker combined, a bit more expensive than a slow cooker only, but I've always wanted a pressure cooker for it's energy efficiency and speed when cooking, it was the perfect appliance for me, with either function you do not need to stand over and watch food cook, tick! I have never owned a slow cooker although, my mother did have an electric crock pot years and years ago, it's exactly the same as a slow cooker as I have since realised lol.

The humble hard boiled eggs are just the best snack that is also Paleo approved, now, remember I'm a single male, I can boil water, but I could never seem to get boiled eggs right, they would always have the green tinge or be too soft or over cooked, waiting that six minutes or whatever the perfect time is was like six months for this single male MSer, I know, don't worry, I already feel like a fool lol. So there had to be a better way and guess what, there is, I found the right tool that is absolutely wonderful and simple to use, I don't need to watch the eggs while they come to boil so as to take them out at that exact time, although I do need to be within earshot, which in all honesty could be about 500 metres away, it has a really loud buzzer when finished, which is great for me because it makes me actually get up off my fat arse and turn the machine off, lest I burn the place down.

I found "Breville Egg Creations" a dinky little egg boiler, except it cooks with steam, heaven for me, it is so damn simple, uses about 40/ml of water to hard boil seven "cackleberrys" at once, how long does it take, never timed it, but it doesn't seem much different to doing it the old water and saucepan way. Now I get two dozen eggs and boil them all straight away, ready to snack on as needed. Whack them in the fridge and you have Paleo snack goodness. The vessel that comes with it to measure the right amount of water to use also has like a pin in the base to pierce the wider end of the egg, anyway that's all in the instructions!

These two appliances have made what I considered difficult, time consuming and tiring to now be a pleasure because they make my life so much easier when preparing meals that someone on a Paleo Diet, needs to do quite a bit of, that is cook food and lots of it. Both products are simple to clean, seriously they are, I wouldn't lie about something I despise doing lol. I am also now on the search for the best vegetable grater, I bake a decent Pumpkin bread these days and grating the pumpkin, the second main ingredient, really grates on my patience....

Next up I might talk about some recipes, but it will just be links to sites where I found the details, I won't be ripping off other peoples hard work and passing it off as my own, I might give the ingredients though so people can fight about whether it's Paleo or not :).

Oh I need to make it clear I have no affiliation with Breville, although I would accept a donation from them if they care to give me one, I do think they make decent products though, that's why I bought them!

Going Caveman - Paleo Diet

Back to basics

I have been interested in the Paleo diet for quite a while now, unfortunately because of laziness and being quite busy pre 2012, I just never got around to really taking a good look at it. I had watched some vids on youtube that explained the more technical side of things, but never got around to finding out what exactly you should eat, how much and how often, I never took the time to find the information I needed to do this on a daily basis.

I don't drink alcohol unless it's to make someone else feel better about their own drinking problems, it's so sad watching drunks drink alone, especially when you're in the same room as them lol.

I don't smoke "tobacco" anymore (see what I did there), but I still get a nicotine fix from electronic cigarettes, I am working on cutting that down as well, it's a slow process.

I do drink lots of milk though, the funny thing is I was lactose intolerant as a baby, but I definitely grew out of that, I guess I have been making up for lost time since I was a baby lol. I particularly like "Iced Coffee" more than I do hot coffee only having the hot version when needing a real pick me up or it was the only version available and no I have never drank those caffeine energy drinks and never will, not for my generation thanks, well not for me anyway.

I had pretty much given up red meat and mainly eat fish or chicken, not that I would ever refuse bacon, didn't eat it on a regular basis, but it sure does taste good.

So now the time has come to really look into the Paleo diet, they say what you eat could make a difference with your Multiple Sclerosis and how it progresses, I'm not sure about definitive proof, but many seem to think diet could be part of the problem when it comes to autoimmune diseases. The funny thing is I was probably closer to eating a Paleo type diet before I was diagnosed, lots of meat and I always had some vegetables as I quite like them, haven't been a big fruit consumer lately either. Having said that, I was definitely eating things that aren't allowed on the Paleo diet as I have now found out.

I'm hoping a Paleo diet can help me lose some weight and benefit my Multiple Sclerosis as well. I've always been a bit of "two birds with the one stone" kinda guy, so I am starting my Paleo diet journey to see if I get any benefit from it.

Here are two links which are a great start, the first is

Paleo 101

http://paleodietlifestyle.com/paleo-101/

the second is

Paleo diet food list

http://paleodietlifestyle.com/paleo-diet-food-list/

Here is that sites Google+ page if you G+ people are interested

https://plus.google.com/u/0/112800333961921511492

I have taken the first steps, I ordered some of the food I need for the Paleo diet, but not all yet as I am still reading up on what I can have and what I can't have. I haven't drank milk for three days, big deal you say, I would agree with you, though you need to realise I was a very big Milk drinker, I can feel my body craving the milk and the coffee. I am going to ease into it as well, I'm not going to throw away food when there is people starving and it should be easier to make the transition whilst finishing food I already have.

If you're interested at all, those links above are a great start, there are also many recipes on that site as well, it's well worth a look. I'm sure there are other great resources around as well and I will link to them as I find them, you need to start somewhere and I'm glad I was directed to that site at the start.

I really want to give this a good go, so I will be updating my progress regularly as I can and if I have something new to say, amongst other ramblings of course!

:)