Issues with allergens

[Jordan Glasser]

Originally Posted by Heidi Anschultz

How could I be starving myself if I eat 2000 calories daily? What must I eat to "solidify" my diet? Because I'm pretty sure I'm only eating the best quality foods I can get my hands on, a lot of them, and getting at least 2000 calories in a day.

Isn't muscle loss caused from lack of doing resistance exercise, not "starving yourself?"

And also, what do you consider healthy? Because a lot of people have differing viewpoints on what foods make them feel the best.

What kinds of foods do you think I should be eating?

Great question! How could you be starving yourself? If had been doing a ton of resistant exercise to gain muscle mass, succeeded, and then stopped. Losing muscle mass with a normal diet wouldn't be a concern. Often, people have do a ton of work, and eat way more food to gain mass. And when returning to a normal diet, return to normal size, ie, loose their muscle they gained. That would be one of few scenario's I wouldn't be concerned with muscle loss.

I didn't intend to offend you, or put you on the defensive, but, muscle wasting is an undesired effect of any diet. It's a sign that there is a deficiency. Why this is happening could be a variety of factors, but, these factors are magnified on a IF style of eating. Mike mentioned not enough protein, that may be the fix right there! Your age is another factor. You could need more calories then you think. But, my point was is that I truely believe that first fixing what you consume before you implement intermittent fasting would be a prudent approach. It's an assumption to believe there's something to fix, but, given what you've described, that is my opinion. Like I said previously, I wish you the best of luck. Dr. G, MOD, and so many others do a great job of helping others, I am sure you are well on your way, a little tweak here maybe all you need.

[Mike ODonnell]

Honestly it's too hard to answer all these questions without taking proper measurements, knowing your whole diet, etc. If you are feeling you are still losing muscle and gaining fat then it may be time to seek out a local professional physician and trainer (who knows what he is talking about). You may need week to week adjustements that can not be done properly and safely through an internet forum. I can only give some advice in general but always recommend seeing a professional in person (a physician and maybe a trainer) to make sure you are getting progress in your health.

[Garrett Smith]

Heidi,
If I remember correctly, it's 7g protein per ounce of meat.

The liver needs particular amino acids to do its job. If you haven't been eating enough protein and you've been exercising intensely (for you), then your body likely hasn't had enough to go around.

Good detective work, I believe you found the issue. If you have trouble eating enough protein, some branched chain amino acids (BCAAs) may help you get more down without filling you up too much. I can help you with this if you'd like, just PM me.

[Garrett Smith]

Heidi,
Keep up the elevated (for you) protein intake. See how you feel.

Then, after about a week, you could experiment with a "lower" protein intake (like you have generally currently been doing). See how you feel when you do that.

80g of protein a day is the minimum I recommend for women who are exercising with any intensity at all, so you really should shoot for that number.

One can put premium gas into a car, but if they don't put in enough gas, the car doesn't get you where you need to go. We need both quality AND quantity in our diets.

If beef makes you feel better than other meats/fish/poultry in general, it may be a sign of deficiency of B12, protein/amino acids, or both. That's where some basic bloodwork could shed some light on the subject.