Diet and Exercise Still Going Strong

Knocking on the Door - 100 Kilograms (220lbs)

I've now lost about 10 kilograms (22lbs) in weight, I'm walking a distance of about 4.0 kilometres (about 2.5 miles) a day, it varies but hovers around that distance, sometimes a little less, sometimes a little more, I generally have one "sloth" day each week, usually on a Sunday, where I do virtually nothing, except for eating the right way of course, that's everyday. My walking has definitely improved, if my phone's step counter is accurate, I'm doing about 5,000 - 6,000 steps a day.

If I take rubbish out to the bin I take the long way around, so that helps to add to my daily steps, that's why it varies, though I always get the 5,000 steps from my morning walk. The rest is usually low intensity walking, my morning walk is where I "push it" a bit harder. I'm doing five laps of "my block" and try to do that in the morning. If I go for my walk close to bed time I am too "wired" to sleep and have the energy to stay up most of the night, which of course negates the benefit of a good nights sleep...

I've been adding more variation to my diet, all Paleo Diet approved foods, I generally have Salad with Sardines or bacon or salmon or whatever meat I have thawed for Breakfast, I now rarely have lunch, I might just have a snack like a boiled egg or two instead, occasionally I have three meals a day but it is occasional, not common at all, my appetite has definitely decreased. I have mostly stuck to my dinner meal of some kind of meat and steamed vegetables. My walking's improvement is less fatigue as I get "fitter" of course and my balance has also improved, I still do get some "foot drag" by the end of my morning walk, but it's on the last lap when the physical fatigue starts to kick in, yep I am pushing it so that's expected.

My weight is at about 103 Kilograms (227lbs), I must say the lower your weight becomes, it seems the slower you lose it, but as I've said many times before I hope to make this a lifestyle change, but that 99 Kilogram mark is my next goal, it's a big goal lol, I haven't weighed below 100 Kilograms for a looong time ;). Just remember though, weight loss is the bonus, it's not the main goal, the main goal is to see how eating the Paleo way can benefit my MS and it's symptoms, so to realise the possible benefits of MS improvement, I will need to stick to the diet for quite a while. The weight loss period of this experiment is tangible, you can see the results as they're happening, the scales and how your clothes fit show the weight loss, you do feel the general health benefits as well, so there is no doubt about that aspect of the Paleo Diet when it comes to losing weight, it works and works quite quickly, so that's on track.

The next part will be more difficult to prove or "see", it will be all about how I feel, it won't be easy to put into words, I think there has been some benefit on the Multiple Sclerosis/symptom front, but nothing that's happening is a large enough change to really talk about. I guess all I can really say is that I'm feeling quite well. I'm sure the eating better, the getting more sleep, sleeping longer and exercise all have something to do with that, but that's quite obvious really, it's bound to have a positive effect. I could probably say that all of this healthy living has seemed to improve my fatigue in the positive, even if I do get a minor afternoon MS crash, I might need to or want to lie down for half an hour to an hour, but I'm not falling asleep just having a lie down.

I need to get some kind of "Fitness Band", I would like to be able to monitor my sleep, I have a feeling that even when I do seem to get say 6-8 hours sleep a night, I can't be certain if it's "good sleep" so I might just need to buy one of those fitness bands to see if it can shed some light on my sleep behaviour. I mention this because some days I wake up and get ready for my morning walk and it's like I'm overflowing with energy, then on other days it's a real struggle, I still do the walk, but there's a bit more "clonus" symptoms and just a little more very minor foot dragging right from the start of the walk. I'm fairly sure that my nutrient intake is fine and I'm eating enough, so at this stage I have a feeling it's a lack of "good sleep".

Oh the last "shop" I did for groceries I thought I would add some Berries, I bought Blackberries and Blueberries, the Blackberries are lower in Sugar, the Blueberries are slightly higher, I have to say even when eating the Berries, mainly the Blueberries, I did get a Sugar rush headache lol, seriously, I never had too many Blueberries I might have had 5-10 at a time maximum, as nice as they were, I think I'll stick to the Blackberries for an occasional treat, they seemed to be less headache inducing...weird eh?

My Tip: People please give up Sugar filled drinks, eg. Coca-Cola and any fizzy drink that is full of Sugar, that also includes fruit juice, the concentrations of Sugars in Fruit juices is enormous, have a real orange etc. instead of it's concentrated Sugar filled juice!

This blog post is a tad all over the place, because I'm just cruising along, doing what I need to do and I just wanted to log my progress and let others know I'm still on the diet and exercise path ;)

The Video below is an Interview with Loren Cordain, the father of the Paleo Diet, the guy asking the questions is Pete Evans, he is an Australian Paleo Diet advocate and Chef.

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

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!

Week Two - Paleo Diet

I'm into the second week of the Paleo diet, as far as weight goes, I have lost between one and two kilograms, I can't be too exact as my scales are a basic unit and analogue so will need to weigh myself on some decent scales at some stage, preferably hospital scales, they are usually spot on. I wonder if Chemist stores have scales anymore, most of them used to when I was growing up, don't think I've noticed them for a long time now though.

26-10-2014 to 1-11-2014

After the first week withdrawal symptoms from the carbs, sugar and coffee, the start of this week has been a breeze to handle, though there is a little fatigue still, but considering I have MS, it's pretty normal, the last time though, I was definitely less fatigued so I am hoping the same thing will occur by the end of the month at least, to stay positive you need a few "wins" along the way, so far the weight loss is on track. I think my brain might be coming just that wee bit clearer, I've felt like writing more lately and the words are coming a little easier, but it's too early to know whether it's from the Paleo Diet or just the way MS works, you do have some good days occasionally where you can take on the world, not often, but now and then.

I will need to do another grocery order this week at some stage, I am down to the last of my meat, that's a bit scary lol. I even had to buy some Bacon from the Servo/Coles mini mart, I love all bacon, but I am enjoying the streaky bacon a bit more since eating the Paleo way, more yummy fat in the streaky bacon, Coles mini mart only has the usual bacon we seem to prefer in Australia, I like it as well, but Paleo does like more fat to burn!

"You don't win friends with salad", though it is a quick and easy supplement to your meat, it's important to eat the veggies/salads, the Paleo diet is not about eating meat only.

I think my eyesight might be just a little clearer, in my "looking through fog left eye", that might just be wishful thinking as well, though things like this are what happened last time, a lessening of symptom severity overall! It's like the fog is starting to clear, with holes in the fog that make it a little easier to see through.

I'm drinking between one and two litres of water a day.

Ketosis and Ketone Test Strips

These strips are not needed, though I am going to get some to test my urine to see if I am in ketosis, more of an interest than anything else, I just want to know lol.

http://www.lowcarb.ca/tips/tips011.html

Got the ketosis test strips, yippee I'm in ketosis, expected that, but just had to know for sure lol

I tested my urine with the strips and I'm definitely in Ketosis, I've been in "Moyen" (third one from top) going by the scale and colour of the test strip, it's all very interesting!

I have also started walking, baby steps (literally), around the block, haven't measured the exact distance, but it is a somewhat hilly sloping block I am on, not sure what's worse, going down the slope or going back up lol.

I've lost two Kilograms in weight, I find the best time to weigh myself is the morning, during the day your weight goes up and down like a yoyo, I guess when your drinking litres of water it will tend to add weight as will the food of course, but after a good nights sleep letting the body do it's thing I'm always losing weight after a sleep each day, just a bit but it's happening!

Week One - Paleo Diet!

Paleo Diet, first week start date

19-10-2014 to 25-10-2014

I started the Paleo Diet again this week, I did my shopping for the week, so that's all sorted, hopefully it lasts me a little longer than one week! Yes I tried not that long ago to get back on Paleo, but now I have no commitments or old friends dropping over to corrupt me lol, which makes things a little easier to give it another go and hopefully  stay on it for a while. 

This week I bought

Chicken Drumsticks

Roast SilverSide Beef (accident)

Porterhouse Steak

Bacon

Eggs

Red Kale

Cos Lettuce

Coral Lettuce

Tomatoes

Red Onion

Butter

Coconut Milk

The very first meals were meat and steamed veggies, seeing as the weather has been a little warmer, the meals have since been salad based with meat. I have been very diligent in unpackaging the meat and freezing it before it spoils, after the two roast beef's were cooked I carved and froze them, they make a great lunchtime snack, especially nice with salad.

I have made a Coconut Milk smoothie, nothing fancy just a tin of coconut milk, a little vanilla essence, a touch of nutmeg, a little Macadamia oil and blend, chill before drinking.

I seem to be getting some joint pain, especially in my hips, hopefully it's because of the diet, I think I got some joint pain the last time I was on Paleo, so I'm not to concerned at the moment. Also getting the odd headache, just annoying more than anything else, that will definitely be from the Paleo experience. Also today, I had a bit of the runs a few times, though it did happen last time, must be the transition to fuelling the body with fat rather than sugar, my guess :)

Oh I'm always on the search for fast Paleo Food, there are no Paleo type restaurants or Cafes near me so I need to make do, after doing a bit of searching on the fast food stores web sites, out of the three right near me, McDonalds is good until you read the ingredients of the chicken (coated with some crap), so Mc Chucks is out... On to Kentucky Fried Chicken, salads don't exist in their world. The winner is Red Rooster for those who don't know, it's barbequed chicken but it's just like a roast, or how a roast chicken is done the fast food way is how I see it, it's not Paleo as such, but it's damn handy for a change and quite nice to boot!

Red Rooster has a "Classic Salad" I think it's called, it has chicken, lettuce, red cabbage, tomato and carrots, there is some sachet with I think Balsamic vinegar type dressing, obviously I didn't use that, it's a simple salad and of course not as tasty as a salad with dressing, but overall not too bad at all, definitely acceptable for when you just can't be shagged cooking or preparing a meal. Red Rooster also has roast veggies, roast carrot, pumpkin and potatoes, you can change the potato to say another piece of pumpkin or carrot if you like, I did, haven't bought potatoes for years now, this will just be an occasional treat though, no doubt they cook with the bad oils, so be it, the important thing for now is to lose weight.

Salads
http://www.redrooster.com.au/menu/140/Garden-Salad-Regular

Roast Veggies
http://www.redrooster.com.au/menu/175/Roast-Vegies

Oh yes I know the Paleo Crowd will be turning in their graves, well some of them  anyway, but with the fatigue from MS and heat, not cooking in my kitchen is a must at times (especially summer time) and it's just nice to have slack days where someone else can do the meal preparation, one day I'll find a handy establishment that serves Paleo meals, but I'll have to make do for now.

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

Unintended Dietary Experiment

In the last couple of weeks I had been struggling with an infected tooth, I could only chew on one side of my mouth and if any piece of food strayed to the "bad side" well let's just say I wouldn't wish it on any good person, the bad, absolutely.

The painkillers helped and as I don't like to take prescription* drugs at the drop of a hat (of course I needed antibiotics on this occasion to stop the infection), I was just using the over the counter pain killers, Neurofen, Aspirin type pain killers you can get at the local shop, so indeed it could have been easier to handle if I asked the GP for some prescription based stronger pain killers, but the ones they would have most likely prescribed usually cause constipation and that really, well "shits me" might not be the correct words to use here, it's frustrating nonetheless.

I had been back on the Paleo Diet more strictly as mentioned in recent previous posts before this infected tooth problem appeared again (yep it is time to take action and fix the problem once and for all), of course as the Paleo Diet involves whole foods and a decent amount of meat consumption, the Paleo Diet went by the way side at least for now. Ok no big deal, shit happens, but I have noticed a few things in this time apart from the infected tooth dramas.

I've noticed that I really am feeling crap in general, my eyes seem to be worse when reading the text on the PC monitor (let alone the tablet or smart phone) it's become more difficult to read, pre tooth infection it wasn't perfect by no means but it was better, my walking has gotten worse as I'm not as stable as before either and spasticity has appeared in the mix as well and my energy levels seem to be depleted also. Now of course these are just my observations they are not science, but I think I'm convinced now that a better healthier diet really is very important for people who have Multiple Sclerosis. it's like I've taken a step or two back as far as my daily symptoms go.

The last time I was strictly on Paleo I noticed the difference as well, I had to move house at the time and did a good deal of it by myself, I don't think I could have if I wasn't following the Paleo Diet at the time. Not science, but it is more evidence for myself.

Let me say, I am not the type to say things or diet will benefit all MSers, people that do that are frankly talking through their arse, but I am saying as someone who has RRMS that eating healthy whole foods is beneficial for me and by what I read many others have experienced this as well.

Back to Diet and Well being, so I'm going to make clear that I absolutely understand that some MSers cannot for a variety of reasons eat as healthy as they would like, we're talking economic concerns, fatigue, getting around, cooking, so I always try to use "Right Speech" my failures are usually from passion and emotion, the truth is important, I try to consider others, I try to look at things from their perspective and just how difficult it would be to control what you eat when you basically have no say in what you are served up at each meal. 

You don't have the money for a personal Chef, you can't get out to purchase the healthier foods, you can't do the preparation or the actual cooking of the food, I really do understand, I've been there briefly from a rather nasty setback quite a few years ago now, luckily and thankfully I recovered from that, not 100 percent, though probably got back to 90 percent then 95 percent, the steroids, rehab and "time" were all part of that particular exacerbation recovery, other exacerbations have been milder.

I have no answer apart from writing this post and letting people know that diet does seem to make a difference in the severity of our symptoms, there are quite a few different diets that seem to be effective, the Paleo Diet is just one of them, though many are very similar to it. I can only suggest to those who have little control over their dietary intake, is to try and educate their carers, their families and friends who help them. Believe me I know this isn't easy, but if there is anyone who would forgive us for our ranting and wanting to do something that might benefit our disability, it's our families and friends, who knows they might be motivated to eat better as well. :)

Am I saying you will get out of your wheelchair or throw away that walking stick or those "walkers" that have wheels, nope, I'm not, but there are some interesting Stories like Terry Wahls (who did get out of the "chair") a doctor from the US, Professor George Jelinek's Book "Recovering from Multiple Sclerosis" there is mounting evidence that eating "right" may just help and let's face it, it's what everyone should do. 

If it's not already obvious, all I can say is I do truly believe from my own experience that eating the right healthy foods benefits me, you'll note if you read my previous posts that I am trying to give hints about how to eat healthier when you're disabled, slow cookers, microwave vegetable steamers, online shopping etc. I am lazy often from fatigue, so I am always on the lookout for ways to be able to cook healthier with minimum preparation and clean up, all of which I dislike, I'm sure I'm not alone :)

Please know that as I'm single and live alone and my family live 100 kilometres away, I'm one bad exacerbation away from being in the position of someone I describe above. 

*I prefer not to take prescription drugs unless absolutely necessary, I will decline antibiotics and other prescription drugs when I logically can and it's safe to do so. I do however get stoned off my tits at every chance I get ; ) so it's not all that common!

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!

Coffee and Sugar Withdrawal Over the Worst of it!

It's amazing how addicted we get to things and we don't even realise it, well we know when we are craving something because we will naturally just consume it or go and purchase it or make it, but often we're in denial of an addiction until get gets way out of control and consumes us. It's interesting when we decide that enough is enough or we just don't want something or in some cases someone controlling us, I really despise authority yet I know in a society like today we definitely need police and rules as there is to many people out there who get on a power trip or think the world only exists for them to plunder and abuse.

I look at it like this, there are certain things we absolutely need, we need water and food, that's a given, we need shelter and warmth, we need sunlight, if you live in really warm areas an air conditioner is welcome addition, but we can survive without it as long as of course it isn't so hot that we die of heat exhaustion, like being locked in a car with windows up on a 50 degrees celsius day. We don't need sugar and coffee, we certainly don't need processed foods, I definitely don't want to be controlled by some of the crap fast food like Macca's and KFC or sugary delights that taste great but aren't that wonderful for our health.

I started the Paleo diet the first time because I was angry, angry about my circumstances some of which I can't really control, angry about being over weight, angry about my excuses for being over weight, I have never been morbidly obese, never even had a doctor lay down the law about my weight, I'm a fairly big guy even when I don't have a gram of fat on me, so putting on a few kilograms, was never a major problem, as it's hardly noticeable and easy to hide, but when I got to the stage of trousers or jeans not fitting properly and not easily able to get the right size from a normal shop that really pissed me off, it made me angry, angry enough to assess my eating habits and knowing it was time for a change, a big change at that.

Anger is fine as long as it empowers and motivates you to become a better person and realise there is a better way to live, anger can help to achieve this, so I quite like anger in certain circumstances, it may take a while for me to get angry enough to want to change but I know it will happen and I will change sooner or later. So that's what drives me to stay on the Paleo diet, I'm over the worst of the withdrawal headaches and cravings, though I have realised that boredom also seems to play a big part in my reason to over eat or eat the wrong things, it's not so much about "comfort food" I just get bored and then I eat. At the moment I also seem to be getting some massive fatigue, I'm always tired, I think I can recall a similar fatigue level when I first tried the Paleo way, but near the end of the two months that seemed to subside and I was starting to regain some energy again, so I'm hoping it goes the same way this second time around.

Last time on the Paleo diet towards the end of the two months I started to feel less hungry, I was down to eating one meal a day, at the moment I'm eating breakfast and dinner, I could probably go a boiled egg to snack on right about now but I'm too damn lazy to prepare any, but they do make a great snack while on the Paleo diet, fruit would as well or even Paleo approved nuts but I want to lose weight and I want to lose it quick so I'm not eating fruit or nuts at the moment, that will probably change in the future but not for another three months at least. I want to see weight loss and I want to see it quickly, remember I'm not exercising at all as part of the diet, that's another thing I'll address after I have lost a decent amount of weight, the result of losing weight will make it much easier to be able to do some exercise as well.

Having MS, the fatigue issues tend to hinder any exercise aspirations one might have anyway, so losing some weight can only help the fatigue and the ability to move more freely and feel better about yourself. At this stage I'm looking at getting a rowing machine in the future, hopefully I can afford one in about three months if all goes well. I do feel that I am thinking more clearly because I have written two blog posts and the words are flowing more freely than usual, but who knows that may just be a quirk that doesn't last, but at least it quells the boredom a bit regardless, so that's a good thing. 

I think it's about time I go and visit my nearest "Mens Shed" no it's not a gay sauna, it's a place where men can hang out, talk some shit and build some spice racks, it's quite community focused and sounds like it might help with boredom issues, from the sounds of it a lot of the fellas are retired. I might just go and add that to Schemer lol :)