honeebuns's Journal, 20 January 2024

Plus I used to put a heavy splash of milk in my coffee. Now it’s almond milk in decaf. I also cut back on dairy and not having Greek yogurt every morning. My guess since I was in the bathroom after a.m. coffee and again after breakfast there may have been some lactose intolerance I didn’t know about. lol 

Or my body was responding fast to the probiotics / gut health from the yogurt. 

Plus the cold weather this past week has me eating heavy dense hot filling foods. Not more calories but just heavier, more filling and satiating. Just had a few big spoonfuls of sauerkraut to see if that helps. 

Plus my sodium intake has been averaging around 2200. I usually try keep that below 1500. 

Plus I recently added chia seeds and last week flax seeds. Not sure if that could slow digestion down but it is more fiber in my diet which has also been higher average than in the past. 

No cookies, cake, ice cream, soda, burgers, fries, chips, candy. That’s it I am rambling on my own post. I will give it a week and see what happens. 

And then there is the cortisone shot I got in my right knee 2 months ago and saw almost the same drop in weight. It could also be the systemic anti inflammation effect is wearing off and inflammation is building up again. But I don’t see it or feel it in my joints which doesn’t mean it isn’t building up again everywhere else. 

And because I have been drinking up to 200 calories (2 glasses) of red wine every day…the macro that took the hit was protein. That’s a lot of protein grams. 

So after thinking about all the variables for me anyway it’s not the calories it’s the food choices. OUT !! 

I noticed I had about a week of digestive slow down after adding chia and flax seed. Then things went back to regular emptying along with more bulk. The coffee/caffeine thing....well...I love my coffee and I go into freakout mode if I even think about cutting it out. I don't drink sodas or alcohol, I like green tea, but other teas...not so much. Kudos to you for having the wherewithal for trying to ditch it!! I have two 12 oz cups in the early morning, I don't drink any more than that. It's pretty much water only for me...but sometimes I will brew a cup of green tea then have it over ice after dinner.  

Debra I am thinking it’s most likely the chia, flax and the coffee. Caffeine is an anti inflammatory. I cut it way back and doing a 75/25 blend right now. My sleep was bad before this but now it’s worse ! I only have 2 cups in the morning. I may need to add it back in. 

as an Greek and italian, 1 glass of red wine 🍷 is perfectly fine and normal. but if you drinking excessive amounts of wine therein lies an issue. 

Dazey thank you for expressing concern over alcohol use. 

I had to give up caffeine in my early 30s so I know what you mean. I am glad I did though.  

Good job on going caffeine free. 

Everything I am doing is because I am trying to lower ldl. Caffeine can raise ldl, omega 3 in the flax and chia is heart healthy, and more fiber can lower ldl. I am not a drinker…but they also say red wine can lower ldl. I am stopping with the wine because that is a slippery slope. My next labs are end of April so will be able to tell then if any of this changes anything. My labs are in normal range but I would like ldl lower. I went off statins last April and my test in October everything is in the normal range. But because I have some plaque in my heart arteries I need to get it lower and figure out how to keep it there with sustainable food choices. 

And a quick google tells me chia and flax does in fact slow digestion. It slows the absorption rate…so hopefully that will correct itself soon. 

A slower absorption rate is a plus for limiting glucose spikes, but in the beginning it looks bad on the scale as it adds bulk and slower transit time to the entire digestive process, but it showed up on me as a reduced loss because of my fasting. If I weighed every day I might have seen the increase, but since I only weigh in on my break-fast day now, well it flew under the radar! 🤣 

Debra I weigh myself almost everyday and post it randomly on FS. But this has kept going up and up. So today decided to share with FS. I have felt some relief today and think things are starting to move. I am going to do my best to stay off the scale a few days and give it some time to correct.