Leptin Reset - One week later

So, for those of you who have been reading my blog I have been doing a Leptin reset. This is to help your body become sensitive again to leptin (see what I did there?)

I'm going to dork out medically for about a paragraph here so if you don't want to be a dork (or it's boring to read medically specific info) you should skip down to the "condensed" version.

Long Explanation of Leptin: 

Human leptin is a protein of 167 amino acids. It is manufactured primarily in the adipocytes of white adipose (adipose is fat FYI) tissue, and the level of circulating leptin is directly proportional to the total amount of fat in the body.

Leptin acts on receptors in the hypothalamus of the brain where it inhibits appetite by (1) counteracting the effects of neuropeptide Y (a potent feeding stimulant secreted by cells in the gut and in the hypothalamus); (2) counteracting the effects of anandamide (another potent feeding stimulant that binds to the same receptors as THC, the active ingredient of marijuana); and (3) promoting the synthesis of α-MSH, an appetite suppressant. This inhibition is long-term, in contrast to the rapid inhibition of eating by cholecystokinin (CCK) and the slower suppression of hunger between meals mediated by PPY3-36. The absence of a leptin (or its receptor) leads to uncontrolled food intake and resulting obesity.

Short Explanation of Leptin: 

If it's working right you can control your appetite and metabolism better.

I've been doing this, and I'm not hungry at all and even when I do eat,  I don't want to eat much. It's either working/meat makes me full/I'm controlling my intake better. Either way I'm holding steady at my current weight loss with no gains AND with eating stuff like bacon MMMMM Bacon.

I do seem to feel better as well. Now I've been tired but I think that has more to do with a sleep study and a stressful work week. Which brought on a few bouts of dizziness. Could also be the MS. You never know what that silent little asshole is doing. I have more energy though in general and my mood is much better.

Last night I had Salisbury steak and today I turned the leftovers into Chili. I LOVE Chili.

Picked apart Salisbury steak turning into Chili before my very eyes.

Chili! With some aged cheddar!

Ok, so that above? Not 100% Leptin good. He suggests staying away from nightshades (tomatoes, hot peppers) I can't. I do better with them then without so I made an adjustment. I also had some cheddar but...well ok so I'm doing more Paleo/Primal then leptin today lol.

(looking around cockeyed) or Thank you Nom Nom Paleo!

Two things here. First I'm going to whine and vent and second I'm going to give huge Kudos to Nom Nom Paleo (CLICK THIS LINK CHECK THIS OUT!).

What the hell is going on? I'm SO TIRED again. I slept for 14 hours the other day. Literally came home from work, cooked, ate, went to sleep, and my little Asian eyes didn't open again until I was trying to find my alarm. Which is my iPhone, which was missing somewhere on my bed in the blankets and pillows. I was a 'wee' bit angry. This does not feel like fatigue so I wonder what the hell this is! Grrrrrrr

Maybe it's because I've been cooking (laughing). Today I made Salisbury steak with garlic herb gravy, and cauliflower rice. So good and I am stuffed! I lost 25 lbs before I started my leptin reset and I've been holding steady at that. I wanted to slow my weight loss down and it has. I am really happy about that! I was losing way to much to fast at first.

Shallots, onions, spices from tea and spice in Winter Park, grass feed beef and pork, ghee, and cauliflower rice! YUM!

To bad I didn't take any photos of the rice (big smile).





 NOW To give KUDOS to a site and two people that deserve it! Nom Nom Paleo is an amazing website. Click here RIGHT NOW -------->  Nom Nom Paleo

What drew me in at first was the amazing photography. The second was that it was all Paleo (Hence the name of the site - pretty tricky huh?) and that there are a LOT of great recipes. Cauliflower rice people! (smile)

They recently (Friday) released an iPad app full of amazing recipes and all kinds of bells and whistles!

Well, I have a first gen iPad and this app was optimized for the new High Res screen in the new iPad. Unknown to them, the optimization effected the performance of the app on the first gen.  I found out after I purchased it (sad face) but this was not their fault and I was happy to purchase it! They promised a update would come to help fix the problem!

Well I commented on their blog. Something like "Drat, I have a first Gen and I already got it!". To my utter shock, they sent me an iTunes gift card to make up for the issue with the app!

I'm not shocked that they cared and would do it (They seem like lovely caring people that like to cut up sides of cow and eat pigs) but I guess in this day and age you don't expect someone to be considerate.

So a huge hats off to Nom Nom Paleo for being the best site for Paleo foodies, and for being amazing people that take others into consideration!

Oh, and  for being able to butcher a cow by hand! 

Things that Annoy Me Part 3

From time to time I get so annoyed that I have to post lists. This is one of those lists.

1. Don't take your shit out on me. If you're having a bad day or your hair isn't falling they way you want or the wind blows up your ass sideways I don't care. If I work with you I REALLY DON'T CARE. Grow a pair, put your big boy or girl pants on and fucking do your job. I do mine, deal with you, and not scream, you can do yours too. Kai? Kai, bye.  
2. As well, if you're going to talk on the phone, talk to co-workers, surf the net, and look at other companies websites. Don't ask me to do YOUR work. The work you couldn't get too. This makes me angry. 
3. Why do peoples cars smell like french whores? Ok, I get it you have perfume you want it to smell pretty etc etc but then let me drive!! I get car sick and I'm sensitive to smells. JUST LET ME DRIVE. If you feel bad give me gas money we'll call it even. I'd rather not puke! 
4. If your daughter can't get her own job and wont go to school so you make her your receptionist. Please at least tell her she has to not have an attitude. The incompetent prissy face is going to get slapped one day. 
5. Please stop telling me that you know someone that has MS and is in a wheel chair and can't speak anymore. That's not me see (jumping up and down). 
6. Akin to number 4. I don't care if you know someone who's brothers, uncles, sisters, boyfriends, mother, did high protein and got some kind of rare south american disease. Leave me alone and let me eat what I want to eat. 
7. I don't mind listening to people vent but stop venting to me about made up, psychosomatic, fake things in your head. After while I'm just going to look at you like you're an asshole and you're just going to call me judgmental and mean. 

That is my list at the moment (smile). Tomorrow = one week of Leptin. I'll discuss more tonight. :) 

Half-Korean Cavegirl Who Didn't Sleep

So today I started the leptin reset. You can read about it at Dr. Kruse's website Leptin Reset. I had a huge breakfast of bacon and eggs. I really couldn't eat it all but I needed to get the protein in.

I've decided to do this because I've always had huge fluctuations in weight. For example in one day I can gain 10 lbs of water weight. I'm thinking that the reset can help me with that. If it doesn't then I'll go back to just paleo (smile). No, I'm not crazy but I need to find a way to get under the weight I seem to be stuck with. Between MS, insulin resistance, my new fun breathing problem, and other issues, I need to get to a healthy weight!

Yes even with running I struggle with weight. So something has to give, and if that means I have to eat 6 thousand eggs every morning so be it. lol

I also had a sleep study last night (hence the no sleep - pointing up). Yeah... that was a blast. The sleep tech was horrible. I'd had one previously and she was amazing. This was my follow up and I got to wear a very sexy mask this time (laugh). The woman tried to command me to go to bed and how to sleep i.e., don't move until 1:30am, shut the TV off etc. So.....how do you expect me to sleep normally? She annoyed me more then anything which kept me up longer then if she would have just shut the hell up and let me sleep.

Well, it's time to go to the farmers market! 

Food Porn and Sleep Studies

Food porn are well taken pictures of succulent and tasty looking food. Since I've been switching my diet around I have been visiting a lot of food sites. One of the sites with the best photographs is Nom Nom Paleo. She also has an amazing amount of paleo recipes and an iPad app which is coming soon! I cannot wait for that iPad app!

I have also been looking for local farms to get meat, poultry, and veggies from. There is a great website where you can search your area for local co-ops and farms called Local Harvest. I found a few farms around here and let me tell you the meat is AHmazing.

I also have been partaking in my local farmers market and my produce bill is really much lower.

I've also decided to do a leptin reset. Which pretty much means eat A LOT OF MEAT. This I can do! (BIG SMILE)

I've been eating pretty much paleo for about a month now and I have to say I do feel much better!

So, tonight I have a second sleep study! Yay for me! It seems even though I don't snore, don't keep my boyfriend awake, don't wake up coughing, etc etc that I have sleep apnea (sigh). That means tonight I get to go put all the shit on me again and see what happens if I use a machine.

My friend who has sleep apnea had me go to one of the equipment websites. Do you know they have machines in pink? WHY? (sigh) So, my evening should be fun and sleepless. (smile)

I Haz a Sad

Yep, I get sad's sometimes. Today it was something that had nothing to do with me. My boyfriend was able to cheer me up though!

Me: "I got my feelings hurt"
Him: "What happened?"
Me:"People. It's my fault I'm being a girl."
Him:"Fuck em."
Me:"Not that easy."
Him:"Listen all I need is you and that's enough. So, I don't worry about other people. You shouldn't worry about other people either."

He's not perfect but he is a keeper. 

Food Glorious Food!

I am a huge believer that fad diets don't work. I also don't believe all of the hype that surrounds the touted MS diets i.e., stay away from gluten because it inflames you! This makes me picture very angry swollen organs and blood vessels stomping around inside my body, looking pissed off.


The main gist of this is to avoid grains because our ancestors (cavemen) did not eat grains. They were meat and veggies. I'm not sure how they explain Asians (pointing at my mom) and how they're not all inflamed (grrr angry artery) and suffering from celiacs disease, but I digress.



I personally have always eaten low carb. I actually don't even know if what I do is technically low carb or if I eat correctly compared to the majority of Americans. I think the problem with most of western culture is that we eat in excess. This could lead to a tirade about entitlement and how we feel that excess is the norm but that is for another blog post.

I've been reading about the Paleo diet recently and while I don't agree with a lot of it's claims and statements. I will say I've come away with a desire to change a few things about how I eat.

• I'm making the switch to totally grass fed meats, free range chicken, and wild caught fish.

Free Range Eggs ooooo ahhhh

This makes more sense to me. I've done this off and on but I've never fully committed to it. I've been eating this for the past month and in all honesty - it tastes better (I'll talk about cost in a bit). It's also a healthier way for the animals to be raised. 

• I'm staying away from Dairy. 

This is more of a me thing. I'm a bit lactose intolerant and I should have been doing this previously. I will eat some dairy for example in my coffee, and Greek yogurt is yummy and doesn't upset my tummy. However, I'm going to stay away from milk in general. 

• Limiting grains.

Again this is more of a me thing. I have blood sugar issues and the carbs are just not worth it. I could never not eat rice EVER AGAIN but that might be the only grain I do eat. This is also a me thing. I don't think grain is making my arteries angry but for me it will help my blood sugar.

• More veggies! 

I've never eaten enough veggies but I've been going to the local farmers market and I've rediscovered vegetables. The veggies you get at the store have no taste to me. I thought it meant that I was just not fond of vegetables. After eating more farmers market fare I've realized that that is not the case. It's also really upped my cooking. I love to cook and fresh makes everything taste so much better!

• Eat more fat!

I never eat margarine. I don't get it and I never will. I did however limit how much fat I was ingesting. I am now going to slowly add more fat to my diet. For example, yogurt is a great recovery food for runners but not the low fat kind. They don't know why exactly but the low or no fat yogurt does not help the body as much as the whole fat versions post run. I'm not going to slather everything in butter and lard but I am going to eat healthy fats. Nut fats, avocado, and ghee (clarified butter) are all on my list!

Now, I know everyone is thinking "That's awesome nut job but you're going to be broke!" and to them I say "pshaw". In all honesty the cost of meats are not that much higher then what you're paying for in the grocery store. One of the best quotes I've heard regarding this from a young kid. I'm sorry that I don't remember his name but he's young and is passionate about whole living (I will find his name). 

When asked this question his response was something to the effect of "Pay for it now or pay for it later with medical co-pays". I agree. 

This also goes back to the whole "eating to much" issue we seem to have. For example right now at Whole Foods ground beef is 4.99 a lb. and wild caught salmon is 9.99 a lb. The prices seem pretty comparable to me. The ground beef costs less right now then at my local Publix. You don't need 8 lbs of ground beef! So, now get some veggies and call it a day! 

So, in reality I am doing a Paleo diet. Lets see how it makes me feel and how my blood sugar reacts. Yeah this means you guys will have to listen to me talk about it (big smile).

Even with MS you can get Hella Laid* (adult content ahead)

(*This is not my title. My good friend Achariya gave it to me! Look at her blog! Achariya Writes.) 

Yep, people with MS have sex. Lots of mind blowing amazing sex. I guess your results may vary depending on the partner you have, but if it's mind blowing and amazing it should stay that way! I did worry that I was broken for awhile. MS effects so much I thought that it would be just something else. Nope!

I'm sure my boyfriend is pretty happy about this as well. Well, I'm positive he is. I think it's also pretty important that you have someone that's sexually competent and compatible with you - This is a general rule for everyone (Going to brag about my boyfriend here for a minute).

This is not my mans first time to the dance and it's so nice to have someone that knows how to dance. Hours and I'm not exaggerating HOURS. It's also nice that we have the same tastes. Makes it much easier to enjoy the hours (wink).

OK, done bragging.

People with chronic illnesses do have a really nice sex life. I think this goes hand in hand about your outlook though. If you're depressed and feel down about yourself, your sex life is going to suffer.

There have been times that I haven't wanted to or haven't been able to have sex. I do get tired or there is something else going on. For example - sometimes I don't have enough strength to be as adventurous as I want to be or to just be on top. Which means he has to do more work but he's willing to do that for me.

I've never had a problem telling him that I can't do something or that I'm having a low energy night. He's always very understanding. If your significant other is not, then it's time to kick that person to the curb. How can you be with someone who would be abusive to you for something you cannot control?

The main point of this little blog is that YES people with MS have sex lives and good ones (smile). 

Date Night Shock and Awe

My guy and I went out on a date last night. I made the mistake of saying "I want to do things with you." which was me expressing that I wanted to be with him and say go to a farmers market or walk in the park (girl things). What he heard was "You suck! We never go on dates". So, he made it a point of going on a date with me last night. Which was a surprise and very sweet (awe part).

Not wanting to drive all over the place, we stayed pretty close to where I live. Since I've been on a diet I thought something horrible would be good to eat (BIG SMILE). This means we went to Chili's (laughing). No, he's not cheap. I could have asked to go anywhere but Chili's was what I was craving, and I didn't want him to spend a lot of money. We have other things to do later in the month!

We have Fajitas, he has a beer, I have a diet coke. We laugh, we joke, we talk, we tell stories of our weekends and I talk about the amazing farmers market/plant show I went too.

He gets the bill and it's $45 (this is where the record would skip if this was a bad sitcom - and for those keeping track the shock part).

Pardon?

Somehow, we spent $45 on food at Chili's. We should have gone somewhere else for that price! What the hell did we eat? GOLD Fajitas?! Better have been grass fed Kobe Beef! I like Chili's but what the hell did we pay for?

We're going to Cafe Tu Tu Tango next and actually eating something interesting for forty-five bucks! (Yes I would have cooked, but it was a date and he wanted to take me out. I could have cooked a feast for that much! Next time...)

The Ayes Have it.

Here's a story about MY last two days.

Tuesday I realize that I can't see so well. I was looking at nutritional labels and had to hold the can of tomatoes at arms like - as if I had presbyopia. Funny in January I didn't need bifocals.

Wed. I go to work and the eyes seem to be worse. Well shit. I call my doctor and get appointments and freak out. I have MS so I'm thinking "Well shit I guess I'm going to lose my sight for awhile. YAY!".

I go get an MRI testing blah blah blah. I went to my old eye doctor and he says nope nothing wrong. I go to a neuro-opthamologist today and get poked and prodded. She's then like...let me see your prescription. She does an exam, looks at my glasses, gets my old records faxed from my eye doctor, and....My eyes are better then they were. *blink blink*.

Let me restate that. My vision is BETTER then it was three months ago. Now...I've been running and training seriously lately. As well as eating much better (Paleo all the way!) but...there is no reason my eyes should have that much improvement.

We can't figure out why that would be the case but we're going to chalk it up to "We found it so we can fix it and you don't have optic neuritis" (bad thing with the optic nerve lots of ow ow and going blind for a bit).

I'm...happy(?) that my eyes are better but a little confused (shrug).

Yay for random things that happen to me!

What is Love - Revisited

I've asked this question before but I want to revisit it today. As you grow up you have a pretty set idea about love. I know I did. As I've gotten older this view of love has changed. In the past year I've revisited the topic introspectively and I've made a few conclusions.

Love doesn't give a shit - Love comes at you from the wrong places, when you least expect it, but maybe, when you need it the most.

Love hurts - Not just a little hurt but bawl your eyes out want to die hurt. If you don't get upset you were never in love with that person. There is no perfect love where nothing goes wrong. If you don't hurt sometimes you're not really in love.

Love can overcome anything - No matter how shitty you feel about yourself or how you feel that no one wants you. There is love out there for you. Having MS is a biggie and when someone can overlook major things like that, love is there.

Love is about someone taking your shit (and you taking theirs) - Everyone's got shit. You can't be an adult and not have SOME type of shit. You find that person that makes laser gun noises when he sleeps or clucks like a chicken while he's taking a poop, and he's crazy, but he's your crazy. If everything about him bothers you, or when you do something crazy he dismisses you and ignores you, there is no love there.

Love makes you Jealous - Now I'm not talking about find a person and cut their tires, as you key your name into their door panel. I'm talking about that "That's MINE." feeling you have when someone looks at your guy or girl.

Love annoys other people - Others who want what you have will act differently. It's an odd experience.

Love is one of the most horrible experiences in life but is also one of the most amazing.

The Lifting of the Fatigue (Angels Sing Hallelujahs!! Trumpets Playing)

I've had crushing fatigue for a month or more. I've been working around it and trying to figure out ways to combat it. Nothing was really working. I woke up today and needed to run to the grocery store, post office (PO Box I needed to check), and a few other places.

As I'm running around I realize something. I'm not feeling overwhelming fatigue! YAY!!!

My fog seems to have lifted a bit! This makes me very happy and I hope it continues. I did take a nap when I got home (laughing) but at least I didn't sleep 30 hours this weekend. (smile)