Download a transcript of this episode
Show Topics
1. [1:39] Power Oly Lifts
2. [10:56] High Cholesterol on Paleo
3. [17:59] Paleo & Body Composition
4. [22:40] Peripheral Neuropathy
5. [23:37] Bulemia & Digestive Tract Recovery
6. [30:14] Bone Health After Oopherectomy
7. [34:18] Low Adiponectin Levels
8. [37:30] Post Myomectomy Recovery
9. [43:29] Genetically Suited for Low-Fat?
Questions
1. Oly Power Variants for BJJ
Mark Says: Why do you recommend Power Snatch/Clean as opposed to the full Oly movements for BJJ type supplement training? I know you’ve mentioned the power movements a few times for supplemental training.
2. High Cholesterol on Paleo
Hey Robb, I am 20 years old and recently got my cholesterol levels tested because my mother thinks I’m killing myself eating so much meat on a Paleo diet. I tacked on A1C, morning cortisol levels, and total testosterone.
Well, I received my results back and I’m wondering whether or not I should be worried. My results were as follows:
Total – 309 mg/dL (expected range: 100-199)
Triglycerides – 57 mg/dL (0-149)
HDL – 99 mg/dL (>39)
TC/HDL – 3.1 (0-5.0)
VLDL(calculated) – 11 mg/dL (5-40)
LDL(calculated) – 199 mg/dL (0-99)
a1c – 5.3% (4.8-5.6)
Cortisol – 18.2 ug/dL (AM – 6.2-19.4)
Testosterone – 349 ng/dL (249-836)
A little background: I’m a 20 yr old student, eat a strict Paleo diet (except occasional grass-fed butter), usually around 3 lbs of meat a day with some kind of green veggies and around 75-200g carbs from yams/day (depending on training), much of it right after training. My training for the past four weeks (blood tested at third week) has been the Catalyst Athletics 5-Week Strength Cycle. Before that, I did a low volume, heavy lifting program, a little jogging (<3miles/week) because I felt like I was overtrained (too much CF), but it seems like I may still be. I am 5’7, 170lbs, ~10% BF. I try to sleep around 8-10 hrs per night, but wake up frequently and have a hard time falling asleep, so I might get around 7-8 hrs per night.
I plan on getting a direct count of my LDL, LDL particle size, oxidised LDL, CRP and fasting glucose.
So my questions are
1. Are my numbers something to be alarmed about?
2. Why is my total cholesterol so high?
Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us!
3. Paleo & Body Composition
Racheal Says: Hi Robb, I have been trying to make the switch to a Paleo Diet for about 3 months now with great success. I have finally given up the dairy and feel that I can do it now. When I started the diet I weighed about 110 pounds and I have lost even more weight over the last couple of months. I am 5’3″ with a small frame and now weigh about 105. I am a very active person moving all day gardening, caring for children, etc, but I do not “exercise ” very much. My question is that I am a “skinny fat ” person so to speak. My stomach is where my body fat concentrates. Is there a solution to this and what beginning steps do I need to take in order to lean out the stomach bulge. I do not want to lose any more weight because obviously I am already very thin. Thanks so much and listen to your podcast regularly.
4. Peripheral Neuropathy
Jim Says: Hey Robb and Greg! A member at my gym has been diagnosed with Peripheral Neuropathy. He basically loses feeling in his hands and feet. The doctors at some of the best hospitals haven’t been able to do anything for him except prescribe pain medication. I was wondering if you had any thoughts on this or suggestions? Could a Paleo Diet be beneficial or help with his ailment? Thanks!
5. Bulemia & Digestive Tract Recovery
Dori Says: Hi Robb, I was wondering what the effects of bulemia are on the digestive tract and if the behavior is stopped will there be full recovery?
6. Bone Health After Oopherectomy
Sue Says: Hi Robb: I am one of your 6 Australian listeners ;-). I am 41 years old, have 3 children (21, 19 & 16) and have recently had a total hysterectomy and oopherectomy. Prior to the surgery I slowly began changing my eating habits to the paleo way and am now eating almost totally paleo.
I am looking for (and not finding much) information on how best to care for my bones now that I do not have my ovaries. Most information I find suggests I eat a lot of diary. I generally feel ill and get very stuffy sinuses when I eat diary products and do not want to do this.
Once I have fully recovered from surgery (it’s only been two weeks) I will be using regular exercise, my favourites are running and Bikram Yoga, to help maintain my bone density, however I would like to know if there are any specific foods I should eat more of (perhaps sesame seeds) to maintain a good level of calcium in my body and exactly how does having no ovaries affect all this?
7. Low Adiponectin Levels
Jenny Says: Robb, My adiponectin levels are low. (4) I am currently on 10mg of Lycopene and 150 mg of Resveratol. And it hasn’t budged. I have been taking this for 3 months now. I eat paleo. I am also hypothyroid (non-hashimoto’s) and have that under “control” with 125 mcg of Levoxyl. I do have a family history of Diabetes. Is there anything else I can do to control my adiponectin? All my other lab work is within “normal” limits. Cortisol, leptin, C-reactive proteins, ferritin, CBC.
8. Post Myomectomy Recovery
Roselena Says: Hi there Robb, Thank you for your wonderful job.
I was checking your old podcast looking for information about pre and post surgery recovery. You had touched the issue of post surgery recovery in podcast 39, but it is not complete, (also, was a minor surgery, not an abdominal myomectomy). I am going to have that procedure in about one week and a half, and I was wondering what will be the best nutrition for helping with a fast recovery. I am a 42 years old woman, that would prefer to wait and see if after a year of pretty much fulfilling with the paleo diet, the fibroids go away, but the biological clock is also ticking and surgery/IVF looks right now like the immediate solution for infertility. 🙁
More information, if you needed. Super active: Crossfit five time a week, running everywhere, good sleep habits, getting over what I think is a case of adrenal fatigue (unfortunately under medication for thyroid and glucose resistance -Syinthroid 50mcg and Metformin 1500 mg) and hormonal unbalance due to ovary cysts. Fish oil 3600 mg, Vitamin D3, 4000 IU, iron and b12 supplements -because anemia- and natural calm).
I will rather stay active, but the doctor said I will have to stay away for any workout for about a month. I won’t challenge that, but eating crackers, bread and ginger ale doesn’t seen like the best option for recovery to me. What can I eat that provide me with a fast recovery?
Thank you very much again for your help.
9. Genetically Suited for Low-Fat?
Victoria Says: First, thanks for all the info you provide. I read Gary Taubes’ new book about a month ago and that led me to your blog and book, amongst others. I’m 51, female, 5’8 and 159ish pounds. I was recently diagnosed as being prediabetic, which naturally freaked me out, because I always feel like I’ve eaten a healthy diet, gotten reasonable exercise (I walk every day 30-60 mins). HA1C 5.7 and fasting glucose 97. So I bought a glucose meter and started eating about 80% Paleo about a month ago. Unfortunately, I’ve actually put on weight doing this. A few months ago I did the Inherent Health Weight Management Genetic Test, which told me the perfect diet for me was low fat and the perfect exercise high-intensity cardio. Please tell me that this isn’t really what I need to do, because otherwise I think I’m going to shoot myself.
Here are the details: I very quickly went from from 156 pounds to just under 160 and I’ve stayed there for the past 3 weeks. I’m pretty sure I’m eating fewer calories, because once I noticed that the belly wasn’t going away and the jeans weren’t feeling any looser, I started tracking calories as well as I can. I usually have a couple of pastured eggs with spinach and a little salsa for breakfast, then a big salad with leftover protein (grassfed beef usually or wild salmon or black cod) for lunch, then meat and veggies for dinner. I’ve been making curries a lot using coconut milk because they taste so darn good. I really don’t think I’m eating huge portions. I do eat dairy: not much and all raw, but it was just one of the things that was too hard to give up. I have about 1/4 cup whole raw milk a day in my tea and occasional heavy cream on berries (hardly ever), a tablespoon or so of grated Parm every now and then on salads, and use grassfed ghee in cooking. Other than that, I’m off all grains, sugar and legumes. I eat very little fruit and try to keep a lid on any nut consumption (I have a little almond butter and some macadamias every now and then, but try to keep the amounts small). I’ve also added in some high-intensity strength training and some Art Devany style stationary bike sprints one to two times a week. I take 9 g fish oil, K2, vitamin C, a lot of magnesium, and vitamin D for underlying depression/anxiety.
My blood sugar numbers have responded pretty well and I feel SO much better off grains and legumes, so that’s a plus. But I would like to lose some weight and I just don’t get what’s going on. Is there any chance this could be a cortisol issue? I do have trouble sleeping and have just put in some black out blinds, but I often can’t get to sleep and if I do, I wake up. I sleep about 7 hours a night, but it is disturbed. I’m also looking for a job and worry about money, which causes a little stress.
What I’m really worried about though is that I am genetically programmed to a life of misery eating low-fat food and spending hours on the treadmill. Help.
Possibly a future podcast question:
Any studies out there on the effects of a cyclic usage of caffeine? My job has me doing this all the time. I stalwartly hold onto my free weekends, and spend most of them sleeping and recovering and coming off the coffee. Then by Tuesday I’m back on at least one or two cups, then by Thursday or Friday I could easily be back on four or so. The volumes may seem small to seasoned veterans of the drink, but I’ve never been a big coffee drinker and still find I respond solidly to even a half a cup.
20 hour days in an office = no bueno. Working on that.
Thanks for any thoughts you may have and keep up the good work.
Just wanted to ask a few questions assuming your main issue is sleep quality.
1) how do you sleep on the weekend when off coffee?
2) Any withdrawls when stopping on weekends?
3) Come Tues are you back on it because you want to be or because you feel you need it?
4) What time do you usually have your last cup?
5) what time do you workout?
6) If you get a hit off 1/2 a cup why 4 cups?
Reason for the questions is I think cycling could be good and an easy google search (http://www.naturalnews.com/012352.html) (I searched more adrenal+caffeine cycling) you should find enough interesting stuff to keep you busy. It seems though that you are taking serious jabs at your adrenals throughout the weak and barely recovering during the weekend.
High cholsterol on paleo could be the result of micronutrient deficiencies: http://perfecthealthdiet.com/?p=2547.
Yea…that does not make sense to me at all. Less micronutrients than grains and legumes? Worse gut health? Does not compute.
His LDL could have gone down on his paleo diet, yet still be high. A copper deficiency, a choline deficiency, a selenium deficiency, an iodine deficiency, all of these can elevate LDL.
If you read the post, the prescription is something to the effect of adding egg yolks and grass fed beef liver on occasion, and potentially supplementing things like Vitamin D, K2, Iodine, Selenium, Magnesium, etc.
Robb – I had the same reaction when I read that post from Paul Jaminet over at Perfect Health Diet. I too have a higher than expected/normal LDL (195) on a 2 year+ VERY clean Paleo diet. It “did not compute” for me that my diet could be worse than what I was eating before. However, Jaminet makes a good case for mineral deficiencies as a result of a low carb Paleo diet. Since reading his post and getting the book I’ve been eating more liver and supplementing with Kelp (iodine) in addition to my Magnesium and other supps along with other recommendations from his book.
I haven’t had my lipids retested but his stuff just makes sense and I “feel, look, and perform better” now. I would recommend you have Mr. Jaminet on your show in the future and/or check out his book. Here is what your recent guest, Chris Kresser has to say about The Perfect Health Diet: “My new favorite book on nutrition and health”: http://thehealthyskeptic.org/my-new-favorite-book-on-nutrition-and-health
Will do, and yea, I think iodine deficiencies could be easily had, especially if folks avoid salt.
Robb, I have a thought on that. Many people that eat a SAD supplement with a multi-vitamin. Then, when switching to a Paleo diet they stop supplementing because the common advice is that you should be getting most of your micronutrients from your diet.
This is what happened to me. Went from SAD with vitamins to paleo with only magnesium. While my triglycerides went down, my HDL stayed the same and my total and direct (not calculated) LDL went up.
If you have a Paleo diet that does not include liver or other similarly micronutrient dense foods, it seems plausible that at least some of your micronutrient intake could be lower than a multivitamin supplemented SAD diet. Just a thought. I’ve added some supps back into my diet to see if there is any change. I’ll let you know what happens!
Regardless of whether you think a Paleo diet would or could have fewer micronutrients, do you have any thoughts on whether some cases of elevated LDL could be a sign of vascular damage due to a copper (or other micronutrient) deficiency?
Talked about this on chris kressers podcast. Look for it in a few weeks. Short answer, I do not think that’s an issue.
Robb/Greg,
Really interested in what’s going on w/ Welbourn. It sounded like from the fitness podcast that he’s accomplished the elusive goal of building muscle and cutting fat. And I remember him saying he’s not a genetic freak too. I would be interested to learn more about what he’s doing nutrition wise. Who wouldn’t love to gain 20 lbs and lose body fat?! Is he following his CFFB programming or does he do his own thing? It would probably be best to just have him on the program.
-Jim G.
Hey Robb, Do you have an estimation on when Gary Taubes is going to be on the podcast? And “The Craken” again, too?
Soon on both! Within 2 months.
Great podcast, guys. However, Robb, not to be “that guy,” but you are STILL getting efferent/afferent mixed up.
Efferent goes out, afferent comes in. Countless hours in PNS class beat that into my head, fortunately. 150 Gs in school loans wasn’t wasted! Yay!
It’s funny…I can write out vast sections of integrated fuel metabolism, enzymes included, from scratch, I can still kick some pretty good ass at chemistry and physics…but certain things (like afferent/efferent) kill me. I can walk away from this and come back and give myself a 50% chance of success.
The way I always remembered it was: anything that takes EFFort is efferent. The more you know!
Thanks doc!
It’s the least I can do since I’ve leeched so much life-changing information from you for free, aside from the pittance you charge for your book, of course. Now I don’t feel like such a mooch!
Hey Robb, great podcast. Im also a huge fan of Welbourn. Would like to see him on podcast to hear what his programming and diet look like. Awsome athlete!
How would you compare something like the power clean or power snatch with simply doing speed powerlifts (i.e. speed deadlift, squat, bench) for athletic power development?
Not even the same planet IMO. I’d hit gymnastics movements for speed upper body movements, and or throwing objects. This stuff is well fleshed out in Zatsiorskies (sp?) and others work.
Science and Practice of Strength Training, i’m guessing? Thanks Rob, I’ll be sure to check it out.
Audio level is much improved, thanks!
Robb,
Thanks for the response, both in the previous comment and on the podcast (I certainly wasn’t expecting to hear it on there)!!
Just to clarify, it’s more of a personal preference for you than necessarily a better/worse lift from a training perspective?
Greg made the comment about the 2nd pull giving the most benefit and seemed leaned toward the power movements for this application. I guess I don’t understand why I would be losing out on the 2nd pull benefits doing the full movements. If he’s suggesting power movements at ~70% of the full movement, why wouldn’t I get the same benefit going at the same weight(70%) and rep scheme for the full movement?
For some reason I prefer the full movements but I was just curious if there would be some added benefit to doing the power movements instead.
Thanks again,
Mark
NO, this is the very problem!!! If you really fucking PULL that weight the way you are supposed to you CANNOT do the full variants! It becomes a PC+FS…or you entrain the movements of a less than full force hip extension which completely destroys the point of doing the movement at all. This is where crossfit absolutely shits the bed on programming, getting people to do tons of reps entraining the pattern of submaximal force production.
folks need to understand WHY they are doing a particular movement. A clean perfumed at 70% of 1RM MUST be performed both slower and less powerfully. That, in my opinion is pointless.
I guess I am still a bit confused. I understand the argument against “crossfit slop” etc but still not sure i understand the rest of your explanation yet.
Let me provide a little more background into the programming I’ve been tinkering with. I tried creating a program based on Gant Grimes’ Hybrid Programming from the Catalyst Athletic forums. Basically an doubles and singles of an olympic lift, 3×5 sets of a “slow” lift or two and then a very short 5-10 min metcon. I’ve got a pdf of my program though week 13 charted out here. If I remember correctly, I based my week 1 numbers of a combination of my 3RM or 5RM and the %-based MEBB programming. Each week I try to add 5-10lbs and then take a rest week each 4th week. I’ve been trying to use this in the morning while training jits at night 3-4x a week.
If I am doing doubles and singles of the olympic movements, I don’t understand why a clean would vary in hip extension that the power variant? Doesn’t the hip still need to fully open to properly execute the lift?
Thanks again,
Mark
Mark
Mark-
I’m stumped how to make this more clear…if you clean a light weight you are not recruiting as hard as you would i you power-clean the same weight. It’s not about simply “opening the hips” it’s about the intentionality. I can punch to a target, or I can punch a foot behind the target…both have completely different intentionality’s and subsequent results.
This is all I’m going to answer on this for now, read Science and Practice of Strength Training, Power: A Scientific Approach.
Hey Robb,
Good response to the question about recovery from bulimia.
I would like to point Dori (and anyone else) to the work of Julia Ross. She wrote two books — The Mood Cure, and The Diet Cure. They’re both fantastic, and are especially useful for helping people identify the specific dietary and lifestyle imbalances that are causing whatever they’re looking for help for — everything from weight loss to severe PMS to depression to adrenal fatigue.
She has some wonderful information about eating disorders and how they are very often the result of neurotransmitter deficiencies/imbalances, like you mentioned in the podcast. The book includes really helpful questionnaires that address all kinds of symptoms that most people would probably never guess are related or are the result of the same underlying cause(s). Her recommendations on diet are not necessarily “Paleo,” but they are for sure low-carb, real food, lots of good quality protein, and lots of good animal fat. She constantly points out that most of the “mood disorders” people experience are really just neurotransmitter and hormonal imbalances, and in order to *make* those things fire properly, we need PROTEIN and FAT. She also walks people through very user-friendly supplementation info.
I really recommend her books for anyone trying to recover from an eating disorder, low thyroid, adrenal fatigue, or even just “the blues.” Heck, I recommend them for pretty much *anybody* who knows something’s “off,” but isn’t sure what or why. The Mood Cure has some great stuff about serotonin, dopamine, tyrosine, etc.
It’s especially tragic in the age of young women being absolutely terrified of saturated fat. We have an entire generation of women living on fat-free yogurt, skinless chicken breasts, egg whites, Nutri-Grain bars, and soy lattes, and we wonder why depression and infertility are at all-time highs.
When I look at what people eat these days, I have to say, I think we have more an epidemic of *fertility* than INfertility. Truly — to me, in our current food environment, it’s a mystery when anyone *does* conceive, not when they don’t. (Sorry, I know that’s politically incorrect, but hey.)
And no, I do not have any financial interest in Julia Ross’s book sales. =) I’m just a lowly student working on a nutrition master’s, and hoping to help people help *themselves* by cutting through the BS and getting them back to REAL FOOD.
Forgot to mention…
It’s interesting that people with eating disorders tend to binge on insulinogenic foods — sugars and starches. You don’t hear much about binging on steak or broccoli, or roasted chicken. It tends to be cake, cookies, bread, etc.
Definitely something going on there with whacked-out brain chemistry and the opiate-like effects of grain and sugar.
Exactly.
Hi guys
So my life has gone a little pear shaped at the moment reg money.
Am finding it really expensive to live Paleo in the uk.
Also am finding it hard energy wise when it come to doing my workouts.
Is don’t feel any if the energy that people mention once they get pass the first 3/4 weeks
Shape wise as well I feel if not worse naked!
What’s do you guys think I should do reg the energy
And how can I make the Paleo as cheap as possible. Alot of people at my box are all on the zone.
What’s ur take on this.
One guy said to me
“zone is good for energy and working out the Paleo is good to trim them final pounds”
Is this right
Please help
All I want to be is a caveman
Cheers
Dam
What I would love to see is robb do a budget Paleo,
Ps I have dyslexia so please don’t rip my post apart
I’ve posted this in the forums
http://robbwolf.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=1722
but would love to see robbs take on it
Not really a fan of the Zone, read the archives! here is a good paleo on a budget article:
http://balancedbites.com/2010/10/priorities-for-eating-paleo-on-a-budget.html
I’ve eaten this way as a grad student making less than $9k per year. In Seattle. Easy, no, doable, yes.
Hi Robb–I also liked your response to the question about bulimia. As someone who is in recovery, I’ve found that keeping my diet as close to Paleo as possible while keeping my carbohydrate intake relatively low has helped more than anything else I’ve ever tried–and I feel like I’ve tried just about everything. The final comments you and Greg made about that chemical imbalance/OCD craziness being triggered by inflammation or imbalances caused by gluten and sugar is, in my experience, the cornerstone of the physical manifestation of this eating disorder and the key to curing it. Eating bread, sweets, or for me, even too much fruit, switches a circuit in my brain and just leads to more eating high carb, high fat foods. When I stop being scared of eating more than a 3 oz portion of protein or moderate amounts of healthy fat, my mood stabilizes, I get full, and my mind stops fixating on chocolate chip cookies. Even too many vegetables with not enough protein or fat can cause my mind to swing over. If this happens, I’m more likely to turn to wheat and sugar, which sets the cycle in motion again. Keeping the carbs low keeps the cravings quiet.
I’m not sure how much anecdotal knowledge you have about others who’ve dealt with eating disorders through a Paleo or ketogenic diet, but I’d be really interested in hearing about it. To me, it seems like whatever psychological issues are lying behind the eating become almost irrelevant once my brain and body chemistry are sufficiently stable from the food I eat (I also read Julia Ross’s books and think she’s right on the money!).
In response to the listener’s question directly, I had horrible GI issues when I was at the worst of my bulimia for about a six month period after maybe two years. I couldn’t digest anything except for meat without clearing a room. It was awful. After cleaning up my diet and recovering to the point where the disorder wasn’t an every day thing, my GI tract is happily back to normal, and when there’s no sugar in it, I rarely have any gas at all, let alone the room-clearing kind. Again, I know it’s different for everyone, but my experience was total healing. FYI, I’m 45 years old, so it’s not like I’ve got a teenager’s resilient body.
Thanks so much for all the info you provide. You’ve been a huge help and inspiration to me.
Hey Marjie –
Have you seen http://paleopepper.com/?
Yes, I have (thanks anyway!). It sounds like we’ve both experienced similar reactions moving from SAD to a more Paleo diet. I was just curious if there was something more than anecdotal evidence of a link between ketogenesis and recovery or if Robb had any additional insights from a brain chemistry perspective.
Lots of issues of the brain/gut connection and neurotransmitter status being affected by proper nutrition might be what you’re experiencing. It’s real that when you eat “right” your brain is quiet vs when you don’t… not sure another resource for you beyond “The Mood Cure” & “The Diet Cure” as you mentioned but Datis Kharrazian talks about this stuff in lectures often- perhaps searching health oriented podcasts would be useful!
Robb,
Just saw this at:
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/72824/title/News_in_Brief_Body_%2B_Brain
Abstract here: http://www.ajcn.org/content/93/4/748.abstract
“High-fat diet’s quick effects on heart and brain
A high-fat, low-carb diet can trigger worrisome changes in the body in less than a week. University and hospital researchers in Oxford, England, fed 16 college-age men two different diets for five days each. One diet derived 75 percent of its calories from fat, the other got just 23 percent from fat. “Cognitive tests showed impaired attention, speed and mood after the high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet,” the researchers report in the April American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Moreover, the scientists found that the high-fat diet boosted chemical markers of impaired heart metabolism and function in the volunteers. —Janet Raloff”
Thoughts? I’m trying to get my dad on board with Paleo (his FBG = 108, Trig = 109) because he clearly needs to be (err like everyone), but this kind of research is wrecking my attempts!
best,
Ashley
Ashley-
I’m goign to put osme of this back on you…how LONG was this study?
Hi Robb,
I see… it was 5 days, and revisiting Good Calories Bad Calories reminded me that when first moving to a higher fat, lower carbohydrate diet, in which one might be entering a ketogenic/near ketogenic state, cholesterol/lipid panel numbers may be inflated temporarily… eh?
Best,
Ashley
Don’t forget about what they call “the carb flu.” Besides the bloodwork numbers getting a little wonky, people tend to just flat-out feel terrible the first few days of a low carb/paleo regime — the more addicted they were to carbs, the worse they’ll feel during that adaptation period.
Headaches, dizziness, fatigue, irritability. It’s literally withdrawal from a drug — SUGAR. Think of it like a kind of detox — there tends to be a “die-off” reaction — you feel worse before you feel better, but once you feel better, YOU FEEL BETTER than you thought you COULD feel. If your body’s been running on carbohydrate for, say, 45 years, it only makes sense it might not feel like a million bucks the very second you stop giving it carbohydrate. The body *will* switch over to fat-burning, but it takes a few days, and it ain’t pretty while you’re working your way there.
I have a few questions about the paleo diet. I recently discovered this diet 2 days ago and I’m very interested in starting it for my husband and myself. Last year, my husband was diagnosed with testicular cancer. 2013 has been the hardest year of our lives. My husband went through the expected chemo and after that he had a major surgery to remove the left over tumor markers and affected lymph nodes called (RPLND) surgery. We expected to be out of that hospital in 6 days but ended up staying 4 months because of a very rare complication in surgery. A lot of things happened in the hhospital.he now has a mechanical complication with his lymphatic system. During the surgery, the Dr Removed one of his lymph nodes and it sprung a leak and hasn’t stopped since June of the surgery. This leak is called chylus ascites and it is rare. It usually happens to people with liver disease but if it testicular cancer related, it’s even more rare. They tried everything to seal the leak. The fluid would leak out into his third space abdomen and he would gain 40 pounds of fluid in 2 days. They would have to do emergency paracentisis to remove the fluid. This fluid is important it has all the nutrients he needs-t cells everything. He was on TPN for four months. It was horrible he didn’t eat any food for a month in an attempt as a way to seal the leak. Nothing worked so to save his life they put in a Denver shunt to reroute the fluid back in his system through his jugular vein. He is doing better. He eats whatever he wants now and he has gained some weight back. I can’t tell you how bad he wanted a cheeseburger once he got out of the hospital lol. We don’t know if this shunt will be permanent if the leak heals then the shunt comes out. If not, it’s with him until it does. There are problems with the shunt tho. It is imperative the he takes blood thinners. He didn’t for 2 weeks when we came home and they found a massive clot in his heart from a routine echocardiogram. Thankfully it caused no problems at all and it went away from starting the blood thinners again. He even has pulmonary embolisms from that and had no symptoms. The shunt also gets clogged from time to time and we have to get it clot busted. He is about to start working again soon after being out for a year now. I have a few questions. Do you think the paleo diet would help him heal this lymphatic leak? He needs to gain weight so would it make him lose more weight? I too want to be on the diet but for different reasons. During the hospital stays I lived in that room with him. I quit my job and gained 30 pounds because all I could eat was fast food or chips from a vending machine. I feel depressed and anxious. My skin is bad and I have no energy or motivation. We also have trouble sleeping. I want to start a diet for my husband’s post cancer recovery and one for me I guess it would be a weight loss plan? Could I follow my husband’s plan and would that be just as effective for me to lose weight? Please let me know
Someone trying to gain weight will need to be eating a bit differently than someone trying to lose weight usually. Sticking to more calorically dense foods can help, adding extra fats/oils to lots of foods, making shakes with stuff like coconut milk and blended foods, eating more starchy carbs if appropriate, etc.
If you would like some specific help, especially for your husband, I highly recommend consulting with Amy Kubal. She’s one of the great Registered Dietitians on our team and would be able to help you both optimize your diets and nutrition for your situation and goals. You can take a look at her page and rates here http://robbwolf.com/about/team/amy-kubal/.