I think one of the reasons Ray Peat has not written "The Ray Peat Diet" book is because he understands that each one of us is unique and what he might recommend for one of us, he might not recommend for another. Some of us are young, some (including me) are, ummm...less young? Some are menopausal, some not. Some have thyroids completely out of whack, some have chronically elevated stress hormones, some have diabetes that is controlled by diet, some require medication, some are insulin resistant but not diabetic, some have been eating quite a lot of PUFAS, some not too many, etc., etc.!

For a price of $75, at least that is what it was 5 months ago, you can have a personal nutritional consult with Dr. Peat over the phone. If I could do this all over again, I would probably have done that, rather than try to piece all the information together, bit by bit.

I could tell you what my experience has been, but that does not mean your body would respond in the same way. I can tell you that I definitely agree with Scarlet that there is going to be an adjustment period. But how long that lasts and what to expect during that period depends on the individual.

I am a type 2 diabetic, age 58, and menopausal. I have a thyroid goiter and a low body temperature and slow pulse, and have a lot of difficulty losing weight. (Probably hypothyroid.) I am morbidly obese. I have delayed sleep phase syndrome which Dr. Peat told me can happen in the case of chronically elevated stress hormones and he suggested I have ice cream or a salty type snack with OJ around 9:00 P.M. to repress the stress hormones. This has helped tremendously with my sleep problems and I am waking up refreshed for the first time in about 20 years!

As for my blood sugar, I was diagnosed as a Type 2 diabetic in November of 2009 with a fasting blood sugar of 273! I refused medication and was able to bring my blood sugar down to pre-diabetic range following the Dr. Schwarzbein plan, which also involved giving up gluten, and then down to normal range following Paleo. I did lose some weight following these plans but then things ground to a halt and my thyroid problems started multiplying - hair falling out, drooping eyelids, edema, multiple food sensitivities, skin rashes, gray, pasty complexion, unable to lose ANY weight, and staying awake until 5 or 6 A.M.!

Scarlet told me about Ray Peat and the more I read, the more interested I became. I started following his recommendations on November 3rd. I was amazed at how much better I felt, almost overnight. I felt much stronger and more agile, I had more energy, and I loved how the food made me feel full and content and happy. Unlike some who are afraid to dive right into the sugar, I didn't hesitate to do so! :-) I had about a pint of Haagen Dazs each day, divided into 2 servings. I also followed the other dietary recommendations as much as possible.

The first few days, my blood sugars remained about the same, which after Paleo were usually around 90 to 100 fasting, and 120s to 130's post meal. Then all hell broke loose for a while. Here are some posts from my journal:

November 9, 2010
Definite weird goings on, hormones wise. When I woke up, I felt very hot, my face was red and flushed, I had no appetite, and my blood sugar was 126. An hour later (I still hadn't eaten), I suddenly became FREEZING cold, and I was ravenous! My blood sugar dropped about 30 points, down to 99.

I checked a 90 minute post meal reading and the blood sugar is 173. NOT GOOD. But my temperature is 98.3. I haven't seen 98.anything in years, unless I had a fever.


November 21, 2010
I took my blood sugar after lunch, and it was 123, so it was higher before the meal than 2 hours after! So maybe I am starting to make some progress. It was in the 190's a few days ago, then 180's, then 170's. Maybe my body IS adjusting to the higher carbs, slowly but surely.

November 26, 2010
I am happy to report that my blood sugar seems to be stabilizing. The last few fasting blood sugars have been 110, pretty much the norm for me. (Even with eating Haagen Dazs and drinking orange juice!) :-) So I think my body just needed to go through an adjustment period to the higher level of carbs. (Peaking at a fasting blood sugar of 151 during the second week!)

So my blood sugars definitely went up for the first 3 weeks. The post meal readings started coming down first, but the fasting remained elevated (120's or 130's) for the first 3 or 4 months. Today my fasting blood sugar was 110, my post breakfast reading was 125, and my pre lunch reading was 102. Needless to say, I am very happy about that! Combine that with my 100% improved sleep, and my increased strength and mobility, and I am pretty thrilled with my progress. My skins rashes have completely disappeared, as have most of my food sensitivities. My digestion and elimination problems also have cleared up. I look younger and feel younger. My hairdresser tells me I have "tons" (her word, not mine) of new hair growth, and I hadn't even mentioned anything to her about this new way of eating. I am hoping that as time goes on, my adrenal system and thyroid will continue to heal and I might even be able to lose some weight, especially with the warmer weather coming, when I can get more exercise.

I will say that in my experience, eating the Haagen Dazs ice cream was very helpful in LOWERING my blood sugar. I would notice my readings would be better when I would end a meal with some Haagen Dazs. Peat says that the sugar combined with the fat and calcium are protective, and at least in my case, that was and remains true. It is very calorie dense, however, and may make weight loss more difficult, but for me, getting my blood sugar under control was my top priority.

This is definitely not a quick fix. But I believe it IS a fix, whereas so many other plans may appear to be helping us at first, but are actually doing a lot of damage to our thyroid and adrenal system.

Cathy