Sandra Cabot is in Broadway, New South Wales.

She says, among other things, that if you have syndrome x you can't lose weight because the liver is not able to process food properly, no matter how healthy it is. You may have a large tummy area. Syndrome x will also usually leave you very low on energy.

now that is very curious because I know for a fact I have metabolic syndrome (or syndrome x) and it does indeed leave you very low in energy, after a year on LA weight loss I realized very quickly that my body simply needed a "diet" break, I already see a couple of things that have helped alot, stopping the used of artifical sweetners has almost eliminated every craving I was having, along with sufficient protien, however I have started retaining water, and unfortunately it might well be from eating meat particularly chicken, and even the organic chicken doesn't seem to make a difference in that respect --I am the only person I know that gains weight on chicken :-P
I might very well try doing an elimination on Dairy and see what happens

thanks!

Hey, Taz--
would you consider joining me on a liver cleansing process--either Fat Flush or Sandra Cabot? We could try it out and share how it is going. Because I also am certain I have Syndrome X.

Artificial sweeteners are a problem for me, especially Splenda. I don't like the taste of any others, so I don't seek them out like I do Splenda. It seems so innocuous, but then I grow to accept it as a replacement for sugar. Mercola shows how detrimental it is on his website.

Wow! Organic chicken causing bloating is not anything I ever considered, but we are all so different. One size does not fit all!

Cannot find a emoticon or "smilie" that relates to any of the above....So there it is, without the fun accessories.

Sure sounds like a good idea, I was reading up some on Sandra Cabot, she makes sense a lot like Schwarzbein, whole foods, good fats I don't know much about Fat Flush but I could check it out and see what I think, one thing I am not into tho I supplements....frequently they contain stimulants that I don't tolerate very well

I know red meat isn't recommended on healing but I think I am going to add in some very lean red meat, to give me another option so I can reduce or eliminate chicken, I tolerate turkey fairly well(figure that one out) I like fish but not well enough to eat it daily, and also this week I will eliminate dairy

Tazzie

OK, check out both plans and let me know which you think you prefer.
I've done FF before--but probably not long enough. She has a new one day plan. Cabot has a weight loss component where you eat according to body type--alot like Michael Thurmond's plan, at least the theory of it is. Don't know if the food choices match his.
All I can say is that either I need to treat the Syndrome X or I need to go with a no carb plan--which I really don't want to do if I don't have to--since I don't know how to properly reintroduce carbs after the weight loss (assuming it happens)without very major weight gain.

Santabarb - I like the prayer group idea!!

Taking thyroid has made a definite difference in how I feel. I have more energy to do things which make me happy (like write letters, listening to music, messing around with my chickens ) and also battle self image issues that always get at me the worst when I am too tired to fight them off. Like, I'll find myself absently staring at new stretch marks and berating myself for not excercising more, like it's my fault. When I am feeling better I shrug that off, catch myself and stop that line of thought with something like: I can't do any more exercise than I am already because I have CFS and my body will get worse if I do too much (more than a half hour walking/yoga). And my body is healing, and is healthier now at this weight than it was when I was 12 kilos lighter and malnourished, living on apples and taking reductil. That sort of positive self-talk is just too hard to conjure up when you're tired, and now that the thyroid has kicked in I'm able to have a more positive attitude.

Anyway, I've rambled... hope everyone is doing great

well from what I read so far I think I will be more comfortable with Cabot, the fat flush is way to low in calories, from what I can see on the site it is:
fresh fruit and especially veggies
good proteins
lots of fluids
it says no caffeine but says green tea is okay
no artificial sweetners
no dairy
good fats--but don't over do it
she doesn't specifcally mention items like bread or pasta except to say they encourage water retention--so I believe those are eliminated too

it seems like the basic idea is to only feed your body foods that will encourage it to work right (where have we heard that before) especially the liver

I did purchase some milk thistle since it isn't a stimulant, and flax oil capsules.
also got salad fixing, a salmon filet (which I baked and froze in portions) some very lean thin cut steaks, some I froze so they are ready to grill and then I made 2 portions of beef, broccoli and mushrooms, which I froze and other assorted veggies which I will eat fresh, 2 apples 2 oranges and I boiled eggs so I can just pop them in my lunch bag for snacks :-) along with a can of natural almonds

shall we start a thread for our detox?
how long do you want to do it I think 30 days is a good start :-)

You're well ahead of me, Taz. I'd like "to go by the book," but need to buy it first. I hope to find a used one on the internet.

Are you going by the Syndrome X version, or the liver cleanse, or the weight loss book? I'm sure the basic principles are the same (keep the insulin at bay, give the liver a rest/clean up), but there must some variations.

Giving up dairy will be huge for me, my sweetener comsuption is way down since I got rid of the deceptively sweet Splenda. But I can use about 4-6 packets of saccharin (or sometimes xylitol) a day because of decaf coffee. Looks like coffee will be out--which it was with Fat Flush--and that's no doubt a good thing! It brings with it the expense of organic decaf that I buy from a coffee roaster ($US12 a lb), the required, preferably organic, cream, and the required sweetener. No detox program ever promoted those and I can always go back to it later if I must for my mental health .

Your menu looks like Schwarzbein--a healthy balance of real foods--without the dairy. What kind of oils/fats will you cook your food in?

Fat Flush is highly calorie restricted for those of us who are not 125 lbs trying to get down to 118. So I see your point there.

Thirty days sound like plenty . I have no clue as to how to start a thread. So, lead the way.

Which book, then, for you?

Elizlea--
It's great that you are progressing and healing. "Beloved I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health...(3 John 2). A good thyroid function is a good thing.

I bet your eggs are great there! Omega 3 eggs are all the rage here--they just cost twice as much as the regular kind in supermarkets.

May your healing continue to multiply to the end that you abound in wholeness.

Santabarb--just wondering how long you have been following TSP? Even though your weight hasn't changed that much, do you feel like you are healing? I am at a really bad place right now of wanting to find something else to take this weight off, but I know that it isn't healthy so I am trying to stay on plan

Hello all -- I'm checking in here today since this has been the busiest thread lately. On weight gain -- I started SP in Jan. 2005, promptly lost 5 pounds, gained 13 by the summer, then lost 8 by Thanksgiving. Gained those 8 back between Th. and New Year's. Not so much from eating but from way less exercising (which is not as much as it "should" be to begin with).

However ... having felt much better over this past year, I haven't wanted to go off SP. However ... with LDL heading up and HDL heading down, my doctors wanted me to do SOMETHING -- starting with more exercise and niacin supplements. I just went and had blood drawn for a follow-up to early December's results, but haven't heard back yet.

In the meantime, I'm also taking Glucofast, which I've posted about here in another thread. Lost 8 pounds in 4 weeks. However, some of that is "wavering" because ... I'm not exercising as much again! So ... that's my dilemma-for-the-day -- how to maintain even an 8-15-minute per day routine. Some days I'm doing much more walking and running around than usual, and count that as exercise. However, I've noticed -- starting with the 8 pound return in December -- that I can go through extended periods of "close" work (at desk, kitchen sink, washing machine, stove, etc.) that has me getting through lots of stuff, but not moving around enough. I live in NYC, so to go anywhere entails lots of walking, climbing subway steps, etc., but there are weeks when I seem to spend more time than I realize at home and not moving enough.

Well ... I've probably answered my own question here. It just seems alarming how sensitive the body is, and how quickly it adjusts to whatever changes one goes through!

Just want to check in also on Fat Flush -- I've been reading Protein Power, and they are totally off flax oil! They say it encourages the unhelpful prostaglandins. Yikes! We need to read everything! Speaking of which, thank you Santabarb for Sandra Cabot reference. Where is the article you'd found? I've googled her, but find references a bit diffused, and I'm not sure where to start.

Back to Fat Flush -- I have found using pure cranberry juice helpful for stomach "puffiness." Not juice "drink," the real thing -- a small amount diluted in a glass of water. Of course ... the last time I drank that was ... a few months ago?

I was drinking that in place of 4 PM coffee. Hmmm, maybe that's why the weight loss stopped (pre-Glucofast)? So much to keep up with/keep track of!

I think cranberry juice in place of afternoon coffee is a great idea--most of these plans discourage caffeine anyway...as for the flax oil, just about everything I have read lately encourage using either flax oil or ground seeds, for one thing when you low carb you reduce (sometimes alot) the fiber in your diet the flax helps keep you regular :-) I have a desk job and exercise is necessary to keep my blood sugar down, but being a NON athlete I find my favorite form of exercise is swimming, it also calms and relaxes me :-) really I am fond of SP so far because it advocates REAL food and I think that is totally important!
and I think its true with any plan that you have to find what works well for your own personal chemistry....

I began on February 20, 2006 with Schwarzbein Principle I, the Women to Women supplements 'Essential Nutrients,' and progesterone cream. Today is April 13, so seven weeks ago. Within three weeks blood pressure dropped quickly 30 or more points systolic (the upper number), so I have avoided the meds my doctor was telling me were the only answer.

Right now, I'm at a crossroads mentally. Either I will do the liver cleanse (did Fat Flush before--it's great for debloating, but, man, it keeps you busy in the kitchen and running to the store getting the precise ingredients like cranberry and flax). Its diuretic action means you better never be far from a toilet,BTW.

My other option, as I see it, is to try going to meat and eggs. Since lately I've been eating a larger percentage of meat and eggs I have no cravings. Mind is a peace not having to think about and be creative with food.

Still, I wish it wouldn't come to this, because it seems so limiting. Shrimp cooked in coconut doesn't sound so bad, but the list of foods is not long!

I love the normalcy of the Schwarzbein Principle way of eating. But I stalled after the first week. As we all know, this stuff takes a heck of a lot of mental focus and self discipline. One expects big results for such effort!

Less Mom--
I'm big on pedometers (thanks to WW). I wear one on my waist everyday day and then record steps taken on most days. You want to aim for 10,000 steps. You won't get there unless you take a 30-40 minute walk on your treadmill, or around the streets. I try to do that at least 5 days a week. Somedays I get 14,000, others a miserable 5,000.

I used to live in the City. It's certainly not car friendly, so walking is a huge part of one's life there. What is limiting is if you're a mom with a toddler who's on foot. But strollers help there, or enrolling the child in preschool so you can walk!

Ever heard about fattening the stalled ox? An ancient custom. They put the ox in a stall, feed it grain, not grass, and voila--the animal is fattened and ready to slaughter. I'm afraid our modern Western lifestyle has done this to all of us. My car counts as my second 'stall!' So I walk purposefully, or it just doesn't happen.

Am not sure how to help with the Sandra Cabot reference. I googled it, but really didn't find much as far as how to proceed. Same happens with Schwarzbein. You have to obtain a copy of the book. The detailed info is not on the internet--there's money to be made, after all. But maybe Tazzie has been more successful in that regard.

Sorry I haven't posted in ages, I have had a busy time with family and school. I'm still gaining weight and am at my wits end. I have tried so hard for so long, doing all the right things (I thought), first with WW and now with TSP. I don't eat processed food, I measure my carbs, I eat sufficient protein and fats and vegetables, and I do as much exercise as living with Chronic Fatigue allows. And yet here I am, still gaining weight after already gaining 20 pounds. I can't take it any more. My self esteem has always been fragile but now it is going down the toilet. I would do anything to be healthy and be the weight at which my body is happiest. But I don't feel right with flab in folds on my tummy, and cottage cheese thighs. I have no idea what to do. What am I doing wrong? What can I feasibly do??? I have no idea but I needed to vent because I am so frustrated and fed up with doing my best and getting no where. AAARGH !!!!!! *Tears out hair*... at least I'm having my periods again I guess.