I'm trying something, and it may be dumb.

Hey, Brandi - how are your iron levels? Mine are in range but I think they are low for me. My ferritin is barely in range and I used to have hemoglobin levels of 14.5-ish but now they are 13.3-ish. So I'm taking more iron.

And, guess what? My hair doesn't fall out when I get less than 120 g of protein any more. (But it does when I get less than 100 g for a few days.)

I read something about certain kinds of exercise requiring more iron and that set off a light bulb for me that maybe my protein issues were actually iron issues or at least iron related.

I get my annual labs done pretty soon so I will find out if what I am 'feeling' is real or not.

Ferratin, still lower end of normal, (low on these labs being 10.0 and mine being 15.7) but better than 1 year out (when it was 10), working on getting that up, Vitalady has her ranges between 200 and 300, so *chuckle* that isnt even nearly close Ha!

Hemoglobin 14.8 with high normal being 15.5, last year being 13.2.

I  saw you saying that your hair wasnt trying to depart! 

I always look forward to your labs to see if anything pans out about what stuff could be! 

I keep waiting to see what the fix is so I can just eat those durn calories  :}

How much iron are you supplementing? I am taking a Proferrin ES in the AM and a Celebrate Iron+C (Carbonyl) in the PM.

I get annual labs "any day now" and based on that I'll adjust.

I was taking the Hemoplex from 1 year to 2 years, and it did help some, but obviously not a lot, so I am back to the 2 Bifera daily, away from all the offending other things, in addition to C.

If the 2 Bifera does not make a big enough difference then I will do the lumping and order the Proferrin.

The cool thing about proferrin is that you can take it with your calcium!

Reeaaallly!!

That would eliminate a nice chunk of my food/vitamin juggling! 

We don't malabsorb but we can maldigest. This is a particular issue for protein, calcium, iron and B12. But, even if you don't maldigest, I personally think traditional protein recommendations are just too low. For everyone!

Most of us don't work out in the fields doing manual labor any more. Most of us sit at a desk and think for hours a day. That requires a different kind of diet, one that has more steady fuels (protein and fats) and less quick fuels (carbs).

That said, since I am an endurance athlete, I do need more carbs. I'm not 'out in the fields' for hours a day every day but I'm doing the equivalent several times a week. But even with those extra hours of "manual labor," I still need a lot of protein to stay healthy.

This is the way I look at it:

In the beginning we were healing and also losing weight. Both require protein. Healing goes better if you eat a lot of protein. We lose less lean muscle mass if we eat a lot of protein while losing. So we're only eating, say, 800 calories and getting, say, 100 g of protein. that means 50% of our calories come from protein. That might seem like a lot when you put it that way.

But once we hit maintenance, we need more calories and those calories can come from carbs. So absolute grams of protein required may not go down but the relative place of protein changes.

In my case, protein is now only 25-35% of my calories. But I eat the same amount of protein as before (100-150 g a day). My protein needs haven't changed because my activity levels are so high. OTOH, if you engage in only moderate activity, then maybe you don't need 100 g of protein any more but I sitll think pretty much everyone should get at least 70 g of protein a day minimum.

But, if you eat 1200 calories a day and get 70 g of protein, that's only 23% of your calories from protein which is not that much higher than traditional recommendations of 20%. If you eat 1500 calories, then you are getting *less* than 20% of your calories from protein if you only eat 70 g a day.

Personally, fad diets do not help with making long term lifestyle changes. If you can feel the sugar from the fruit, perhaps, cut back on the amount that you are eating and add some protein. A balanced nutrition plan would include protein, veggies, and a small amount of fruit. It looks like you are missing the dense protein component. You can still have a no processed food diet and have it be more balanced, so that you are not hungry. What you are doing, is why diets fail. Cutting out food groups, is unsustainable in the long run and really doesn't help one to make lifestyle changes.

I know you want to get the weight off, but doing it on plan, might be more effective in the long run.

Adding some fruit or a small amount of a complex carbohydrate to the protein and veggies may give you more variety and leave you more satisfied in the long run, and keep you from running back to the "crap."

Are you able to exercise at all? Walk or water aerobics?

Hi Dorothy,
It was a pretty interesting documentary.  I've seen half of it so far and would like to see the rest.  This worked for this guy.  He was a pretty sick puppy when he started.  Can't wait to see the end of it.
I love this board because we all share our own journeys with each other.  What works for one may not work for others, but it's our journey.  We learn lessons from everyone.
Let us know how this is working for you.  I love what you said..."eating crap makes me feel like crap".  So, so true!  Now that I'm back on track I sleep better and feel better.  More energy to do some exercise.  I say, some cuz I'd like to do more.  Take care and it's so good to hear from you . ♥

Interesting concept but why not just eat the fruits and veggies and get the fiber instead of drinking just the juice. Seems like ith would be better for you. I will watch for this show - maybe record it if I can figure out how.

If you are starving don't forget you need dense protein to take care of that. Might help balance. Let us know how it all goes. Diane