Salt and Whopper Headaches

[lilmizcheezcake]

Well here I am again with a few more questions and observances. I have been having two macro meals twice a day and then a moderate regular family dinner for about three weeks now. At first I was having issues with meal portions and feeling hungry in between meals, but I solved that issue by just adding a miso soup for breakfast and more steamed veggies for lunch. The whole percentage thing throws me off, (50-60% grain,) and I wasn’t sure how to balance everything. For me it is much easier to look at pre-made balanced menus for now because I don’t have the yin and yang thing down yet and, nutrition wise, would like to be getting the correct things from the food I am eating. I have checked out some books from the library that do have weekly menu planning and have been really helpful.

I still have so far to go but am so thankful for all the information available out there. I have noticed that by adding multiple dishes to a meal things get really interesting and so far haven’t been that difficult to make, only different. I have noticed that I feel better after my two macro meals than I do after my “regular” meal. It is actually often a big difference, and I have noticed that even when I am eating things I used to enjoy, they don’t taste as good anymore but I actually am thinking about eating different veggies/ grain. This is very exciting for me to feel because after just a short amount of time I am noticing a big difference and I thought it would take much longer to feel that.

I am having one problem though, in the evenings around about sevenish, I start to get a whopper of a headache. It is one of those headaches that make you feel exhausted and all you want to do is crawl into bed. I also get soreness in my back, so my guess is that there is too much salt in my diet. Does that seem a correct guess?

I have miso soup for breakfast and some for lunch if any left over. It is about a two cup amount of soup with one tablespoon of miso in it. I do add soy sauce to things also but I didn’t think I was over doing it on the salt. Also I don’t seem to be getting thirsty very much and I noticed my fluid intake is very low. I know that I do get more fluid from veggies and do get some from the soup but if I don’t think about it I can go through out the whole day and not drink anything, I just don’t get thirsty and don’t think about it. I have been trying to add a glass of water to the end of my meals or make some tea. What do you think, not enough fluids?

It has been pretty constant that I have been getting these headaches in the evenings so I know something isn’t right and any help with this would really help.

Other than that I am really excited about the way I feel so far and feel I have made some progress by taking dairy and other stuff out of my diet. I think it is so wonderful that after eating these foods my body actually looks forward to them and I don’t miss things I thought I would or feel deprived. Another exciting thing is that my kids see me enjoying and eating these great foods and they want some. Sometimes after a bite they don’t want any more but at least they tried it, and surprisingly sometimes they love something I thought they wouldn’t. MB is all worth the bit of work in the beginning and I look forward to the day when I have all the kinks worked out, and feeling even better.

Lil Miz

[Klara]

Hey Lil Miz,

It's so exciting sharing your excitement - and almost as thrilling sharing your progress (meaning must be more thrilling for you!!!).

Again, I probably don't have the exact answer you may be searching for, but only hints that may help you find your direction.

As for soy sauce, it's GOOD that you don't feel your food is salty and that you are NOT thirsty after. When I am thirsty after a meal, it's a sure sign the food had something I shouldn't have had. But do you add your soy sauce at the table?????? All salts, soy sauce, miso, salt should be cooked into the food - not exactly sure of the times, I believe 3 minutes for miso, 10 for salt, and don't remember for soy sauce - but very very clearly not to be added after the food has already cooked.

The biggest plus you have is you do see yourself changing - and that you love the food!!!! So just know you will continue to see yourself changing as you continue to eat this way. Why do you feel you need to have the old SAD food - the "moderate regular dinner"?? You can serve up more and more of mb food that your family would eat and then just divide up the rest of dinner - what they eat and what you eat - you can still eat "wide" but you don't need to eat food that you know you don't feel as well after - actually, you don't even need to eat wide - you can have your grain, while they have their meat and all can have same vegetables. Re kids liking the food, with my kids they went through different phases and I never knew what to expect - sometimes they'd eat up all my ume pickles, and sometimes not touch it. Just continue to love your food and offer it to them with love, with no criticism of their own food (which can be difficult, I know!!!!!! - but always easier for me to give you advice than do it myself :>) )

For drinking, that's only the worry for those who are into meats, etc. You really are getting good at listening to your body, so continue. If you are NOT thirsty, don't worry. That's old tapes in your head that just doesn't apply with mb - as you read more about it, you will begin to understand more. There are no rules but to listen to your body - thirsty? drink - not thirsty? don't worry!!!!!

Variety WILL give you all the nutrients you need - lots of vegetables, different colors, different parts of the plant (leaves, roots), a little sea vegetables, a little fermented foods, a little beans, and a nice portion of grains - yin and yang will also come later, and so will more precise balancing for your condition - it really sounds like you're doing fantastic.

I may be dense here, but you get headaches after eating "regular" food and you don't think there's a connection??????

If you feel the cause may be not enough liquid, you can make your food more "liquidy," have more yin kinds of vegetables (leafy rather than roots). Or it is possible something you are eating is not right for your condition, nuts? oils?? flour products???? yeast?? fruits??? These are the common foods that are eliminated when people are dealing with serious diseases, but again, this is only a guessing game and there might be other factors that we over the net are not privy to.

I would deal with one thing at a time, and let go of the regular dinner which you don't enjoy anyway. Sit with your family, serve up all the wonderful mb dishes, and then serve something they may still desire, but not for you. Then see how you feel.

I can't remember all that you have written - did you ever see a counselor? btw, I hate to burst your bubble, but I don't think any of us ever have "all the kinks worked out" - that would make us perfect, and we're just all human, never perfect. But it's fun to keep working at it :>)

Great hearing your progress.

Klara

[lilmizcheezcake]

Hi Klara-

Sorry it has taken so long to reply to your post, I have been putting the garden to bed for the winter and haven’t had much time for the computer lately.

Yes it is very exciting and will be even more exciting when eating MB will come naturally and I think I might even notice even more benefits. Right now it seems like I am only at the tip of the iceberg but at least I found the iceberg, and I am pretty happy about that at least.

Usually I don’t cook with the soy sauce but put it on at the table so that is something that needs to be changed.

Sometimes my mind plays tricks on me and I go back to the “regular dinner” because I think, “O’boy that sure smells, or looks good, I think I will have some.” Or I have a bad habit of not cooking my dinner the same time as I am cooking the other and am hungry and just think, “sure, a small amount will be fine.” When I first started MB I looked forward to a “regular dinner” meal and helped me feel like I wasn’t missing out on something. Now though I have found that my body is actually enjoying the MB meal and with more planning and experimenting with more recipes dinner won’t be a problem. I too thought maybe the headaches where due to the “regular dinner” but when I changed it up and ate a MB dinner for a couple of nights I still got the headaches. I did start drinking a glass of water here and there, and I personally thing I need to up my veggies because I think I feel better after a lot of veggies than a lot of grain. Sometimes some of the grains are so comforting that I get really sleepy.

Thanks for your support and ideas. I feel pretty positive about everything so far. Take care.

Lil Miz