Re: Heavy mid sections, salt...

[Guest guest]

Big tummy's do seem to be a commonality for us hypos.... Well, big tummy may not be the right term for all of us.. I have a belly. To be fair, not all of it is fat. I'm now dealing with lymphedema issues too, from the RAI I took..

We've discussed this in the past... the belly padding. I have a theory, but no proof. When we're hypo we tend to have lower body temps. Our organs and digestive system need a minimum temp to be able to work.... is the extra fat to the belly our body insulating the organs and increasing core body temp?

Without adequate temps the bacteria in the gut can't flourish. Without that bacteria to help us break down and digest food the stuff will ferment... which produces gas...

Makes you think....

I'd like to hear other thoughts on this... I kinda fascinates me.. the changes our bodies make to keep us alive....

Salt cravings are suggested, by some, to be a sign of weak adrenals. I'd like to hear more from you guys about what you think about that.... I know I go through phases now. I can go for weeks not caring a whit about salt.. then, especially during hot weather, I'll crave it... rather than add it to foods like crazy I do 'salt licks' Like someone drinking tequila. I'll lick my hand and sprinkle salt on it and then lick it off. I find that I do less total salt that way and am able to satisfy the craving.

I keep a small container of salt here in the office for just that purpose.

Topper ()

On Wed, 15 Dec 2004 04:23:38 -0000 "gpsoaps" writes:

Now this really caught my eye:> > This last 4 or 5 weeks I was REALLY stressed out, I mean BIG time. And I> gained in the mid section again. Enough to notice. I was blessed with a flat tummy (hips and thighs are another story, LOL). Even after two kids I didn't have to worry about my stomach, but in the past year that I've been dealing with thyroid issues I've noticed that it is the first place I notice the weight gain during a fluctuation. Is this a thyroid thing, too, or just coincidence? Now, when my pants start getting a bit too snug it's in the waist, whereas it used to be anywhere but (no pun intended). Just another thing that makes me go, "Hmmm."BTW, thanks for the ideas on salt. I will definitely do some casual salt tests, since I really haven't made an effort to cut back and I do love salty foods. I'll let you know if I notice a difference. ~

[Guest guest]

> Big tummy's do seem to be a commonality for us hypos.... I'm now

dealing with lymphedema issues too, from the

> RAI I took..

>

I haven't hear of this lymphedema, . One more thing to

research, I guess. Your theories about " belly padding " (love that

term - so much more inviting than " fat, " LOL) are very interesting.

Definitely something to look into. ~

[Guest guest]

About insulating the internal organs? Absolutely. It is a well known fact, as a matter of fact, that it is cortisol (during a time that it was available to the body, before an adrenal crash) that redirects the fat to the middle of the body for this very purpose. Isn't that something? I mean we really are made right, actually. No, I don't like that xtra load that I have around my waist now, but I know pretty much why it's there. It's a protective device during times of stress, when we are in the "fight or flight" syndrome, when the body senses danger. Trouble is, even with an adrenal crash, when we're no longer producing eNOUGH cortisol, it's very hard to get off of there.

Re: Heavy mid sections, salt...

Big tummy's do seem to be a commonality for us hypos.... Well, big tummy may not be the right term for all of us.. I have a belly. To be fair, not all of it is fat. I'm now dealing with lymphedema issues too, from the RAI I took..

We've discussed this in the past... the belly padding. I have a theory, but no proof. When we're hypo we tend to have lower body temps. Our organs and digestive system need a minimum temp to be able to work.... is the extra fat to the belly our body insulating the organs and increasing core body temp?

Without adequate temps the bacteria in the gut can't flourish. Without that bacteria to help us break down and digest food the stuff will ferment... which produces gas...

Makes you think....

I'd like to hear other thoughts on this... I kinda fascinates me.. the changes our bodies make to keep us alive....

Salt cravings are suggested, by some, to be a sign of weak adrenals. I'd like to hear more from you guys about what you think about that.... I know I go through phases now. I can go for weeks not caring a whit about salt.. then, especially during hot weather, I'll crave it... rather than add it to foods like crazy I do 'salt licks' Like someone drinking tequila. I'll lick my hand and sprinkle salt on it and then lick it off. I find that I do less total salt that way and am able to satisfy the craving.

I keep a small container of salt here in the office for just that purpose.

Topper ()

[Guest guest]

The trouble with us and eating meals like this is that we usually developed cellular resistance to the uptake of almost anything that's supposed to be going into them, so, we get a ton of insulin pouring into our blood streams from meals this size and quality. Then, guess what, our bodies are working their little hinies off to make the sugar go into the blood cells, and part of it won't. Gwala, fast heartrate or hard beating heart, because our blood and circulatory system rushes to the aid of the digestive system to help with that, then it's working on it forever because we're on overload, when we eat like this. I LOVE bad carbs and the whole bad shebang, and I do still eat the stuff sometimes, but here comes that higher, harder heartrate and all the other miserable things that go with it. I flat can't get away with it any more!

Re: Re: Heavy mid sections, salt...

Well, C'mon.. are any of us here really just sitting on the couch eating chocolates all day long and never getting up and moving around like they always say is our problem?

Our bodies are marvelous.. how they can adjust and compensate for all the things that we do and come in contact with and all of that...

I just noticed the strangest thing.... Maybe it's one of my flukes again... I don't know.. but part of the power of this group is sharing our observations and seeing what we can learn....

I've been doing mini meals.. that helps me a lot with my energy levels and was a key thing for my finally starting to lose weight...

Well I got busy with some stuff yesterday and didn't cook to set up my meals for today... I had first meal in the fridge but nothing after that.... so the morning wore on, I got involved with stuff, I know better.. but I skipped two meals.... by then I was ravenous, still didnt' have anything made, no meat defrosted and I don't have junk in the house either... I was too lazy to go down to the freezer to get something from my stash - stupid, I know....

So I quick whipped up some pancakes (scratch) and sat down with them.... I was too hungry and ate too much.. My tummy isn't used to that.. So I'm sitting in the kitchen, it's sunny, the room bathed in it and I kick back in the chair and just decide to watch tv for a few minutes before coming back in here (I'm trying to piece together a puter for myself out of donated parts)

So... I'm fed and relaxed and watching the show.. sun shinning all comfy... and I notice my heart rate. Beating a bit fast. Hmmmm why? Hmmmm been sitting here quietly for like half an hour... nothing exciting on TV... why?

The only thing I could think of was what I ate. Pancakes with syrup. Hmmmm Carbs and sugar.... hmmmmm fast to digest, quick energy hmmmmmm what do hypos deal with regularly? Low energy levels. What do we crave, mostly, sweets, carbs... stuff like that...

It just hit me... you guys let me know what you think. Sugar rush, metabolic surge... for a short time after eating we feel ------- normal? Is that why we crave the sweets and carbs? That for those few brief minutes our bodies, with the aid of the quick energy source, are normal?

The problem is, though... that there are too many calories in that stuff that end up getting stored, our normal body function is to store the excess...

So.. .there goes my brain again... Is that why the mini meals work so good? That they give us the sustained energy level cause we are eating good food often enough to keep the blood sugar and blood chemistry more even (since our hormone imbalanced bodies can't do that by themselves like they used to)..

[Guest guest]

I understand about the stress response and the weight gain. But I've gained all the weight since taking the isocort.

Re: Heavy mid sections, salt...

So if we make too much cortisol, we get fat. And if we don't make enough we get fat. So, what do we do that keeps it in the exact right place to allow weight loss? I'm taking isocort, and worry that's not helping my weight loss efforts. I've been on it for 3 months.