This, That, and PP Chat for Feb. '08

[MamaSara6]

Just thought I'd start a new thread---this way I'm subscribed if anyone responds. :lol:

If you've kept up with me at all on other threads, I'm still nursing my 4 sick children and dh. Although my 16 yo went back to school, he's still pretty tired out. My littlest may be cleared to play today! :yay: DH sounds terrible and 2 other boys are still feverish. And thanks to Dr. Mike and his 5000 IUs of Vitamin D, I'M FINE!!! :yay: :yay:

[007]

Sorry to hear your kids and your designated hitter aren't feeling well, Mamasan. But, can you elaborate on your vitamin D dosage? I believe the USRDA for vitamin D is 400 units. That means you're taking over 10X the rda (5000 IU)? And you got this from Eades? Is it in the book? I'm still on chapter two although I did read the suntanning chapter. As I recall from the book, sunlight is the preferred source of D because your body only takes what it needs, therefore OD is not possible. Sorry if this subject has already been covered on this message board.

According to the Nutrition Bible by Jean Anderson: Beware of Vitamin D supplements. D is fat soluble and highly toxic. -- I'm not trying to be a Negative Nelly, I just want to learn. I long ago stopped believing in USRDA's. In fact, since I've been reading about low carb diets in the last two months, I'm starting to think scientific concensus is wrong about all things nutritional. Like Eades says in chapter 2: Scientists learned that E=MC squared before insulin was discovered. Therefore, nutrition is indeed a science in its infancy. That's why I'm open minded on this subject.

EDIT: I just went back in the Suntanning thread and you said you got the info from Eades Blog. So, never mind. Unless you want to elaborate. And Eades says he takes 50,000 unit supplements? Wow. That sounds like a lot. I still haven't gone on Eades Blog yet (I'm going to finish reading his book first so I can be fully informed on the issues).

[LessLiz]

Sara -- whoohoo on the staying healthy while caring for a sick family. I'm taking 2000IU of D3 a day plus the 400IU in a multivitamin. I read Dr. Eades blog, too, and was wondering how long you have been taking 5000IU and what changes you've seen because of it.

[lisaz8605]

Ooh, Sara...a sick household is NO fun. (Been there, done that, thankful it's not happening right now.) I'm really happy you're doing well, though! Just keep eating well and taking those supplements because I know how having a sick house can drain you.

I'm still way behind on sleep, but having a one-month-old (as of today) means that's par for the course. I have made a concerted effort to eat better the last few days too and decided to rediscover coconut oil as a possible energy booster. "Back in the day" when I was taking it regularly I really do think it helped, so I figure why not. The recent supplement discussion inspired me to do so. I've even found a cool pill supplment form (which means less fat ingested). We'll see how that works!

Sounds like a little one is "calling" me...Sara, thanks for starting the new thread!

[MamaSara6]

007---You're right about the toxicity, I guess. I just looked in PPLP to see what he says and he does discuss that aspect of it and tells how long per day to spend in the sun because our bodies regulate vit. D better that way. BUT, he must have newer research to indicate that 5,000 is a safe number and it must be on his blog somewhere. We'll all have to look for it! I'm not very good at searching blogs, nor do I have the patience for it! :lol:

LessLiz, aside from being healthier for the past 2 months or so, I can't think of any other improvements. Maybe my mood is better, because I hate the dead of winter, but I'm also struggling with the loss of my mom this past year, so it may be balancing out! Who knows, maybe I would have gone off the deep end without the D3. Even if I've only had fewer colds, that's enough improvement for me; I get everything the kids bring home usually, and then some.

[LessLiz]

That's enough improvement for me, too!

[MamaSara6]

Here (http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/supplements/dispatch-from-the-wilds-of-new-york/) is a link to another blogpost from Dr. Mike where he talks about the safety of Vit. D. He also references an abstract, if you want to read that, too. He did specifically mention somewhere else that it should be in the form of D3. The older forms of D are more problematic.

[CindySue48]

Wherever you get it, just get it and start taking it. And don’t worry about vitamin D toxicity. An excellent review article in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition about a year ago showed that based on a large number of studies a dosage of 10,000 IU per day would not be toxic in the long run. So, if you only take one supplement this winter, make it vitamin D3. From Dr Eades' blog. I've been taking 5000 IU for several months.

[jkmfrog]

thanks for chatting about thios, I've been considering supplementing with the D3 as well...

yesterday I got mine in by sitting out in the sun in the 74 degree weather here in NC. yummy!

CindySue how about you?


Jen

[MamaSara6]

The past couple of days when I felt I might finally be getting the family plague I went ahead and took 10,000 IUs. So far, so good! :thup: I have a physical coming up in March----we'll see if I have a ton of calcium floating around in my blood!

I also took my first Krill Oil capsule yesterday since they started carrying them at Costco. I'm interested to see what the effects will be!

[jkmfrog]

Sara - can I ask what costco is charging for the krill oil? I'm looking for a better deal and ahve been thinking of getting a membership there anyway...

[MamaSara6]

I think it was $18 for a 90 day supply. They also have big bottles of Vit. D!

I couldn't get along without Costco. It used to pay for itself just in terms of dog food. Now that we no longer have a dog...We have the Costco American Express card and we get about a $500 rebate every year. We also get a rebate from Costco that covers the membership fee every year. Dh and I also get out movie tix there---2 Regal or AMC tix for $15. That's a deal these days!

[CindySue48]

Jen, I'm going thru a cold spell here (reaction to RA or treatment), so what little I was out, I was bundled up! I did have windows open for a while, that was nice.

Sara, is this Norwegian krill? Neptune is on the label? I'd be very cautious about this.

[lisaz8605]

thanks for chatting about this, I've been considering supplementing with the D3 as well...
Yeah, I agree. I just picked up more supplements while I was out this week. I've been using up my prenatals (I was BFing and now that I'm not I figure they couldn't be bad for me). I also picked up D3 as well. I even found a multi vitamin that includes more D3 than others, which I thought was convenient.

Sara I'm really happy to hear that you are STILL fighting the good fight of the home plague (and that D3 seems to be the answer)! That's especially encouraging since even though I'm very rundown from lack of sleep I'm still doing fairly well health-wise and now I'm bumping up the supplements.

I've also picked up CO (coconut oil) softgels as well. I used to have CO in my coffee but got tired of the "oil slick" so when I found these as an option I was very excited. The bonus part is that it's a completely different fat consumption than the actual oil as well...not that I shy away from fat, but still...

I've been eating a LOT better lately and I'm feeling better as a result. Now that I'm getting out a bit more I've been able to pick up some better food and snacks, too. So things are gradually getting better...

Ok, off to feed the little one lunch...and me too!

[ruthla]

Wow- I can't beleive he's a month old already!

I'm glad you're eating better and feeling better. I'm just getting over a fibroflare, so even though I'm feeling a million times better than I was a week ago, I'm still not doing "great."

[lisaz8605]

Wow- I can't beleive he's a month old already!

I'm glad you're eating better and feeling better. I'm just getting over a fibroflare, so even though I'm feeling a million times better than I was a week ago, I'm still not doing "great."

Yeah, 5 weeks yesterday...wasn't it just yesterday I was still pregnant?

Gotta say I felt a bit like a "fraud" because I was SO not PP while pregnant. I'm really glad to be back to my old "good habits" again.

Sorry you're still not feeling "great" though I'm glad for your progress. Getting better always seems to take so long, doesn't it? Hang in there!

[ruthla]

I'm down another pound!

I had gotten down to 168.5 about a month ago, then back up to 172 when I had that flare and fell off the wagon. Now I'm back down to 171 after about 3 days of eating fully on plan. :)

[lisaz8605]

Awesome news, Ruth! I must've picked up that pound. haha

Actually, I just have my 6-week check-up and I've healed beautifully and am down 24 pounds according to my OB's scale. They were thrilled. Me, I've got a lot more work ahead, but I guess I should cut myself a little slack for what I did drop. I've been taking whatever steps I can to eat better, but I'll admit that sleep deprivation and the scheduling challenges of an infant definitely wreak havoc on my efforts. I've made great strides, but I have more to make. My next endeavor is working out again...starting with a quick visit to the gym before my chiro appointment to do some cardio. (My wrists are being treated so I can't do weight training yet.)

[ruthla]

I never lost much weight after birth until my kids were about 9mo or so, except for the bit I lost immediately after birth (uterus shrinking, etc.) I'm not sure how much of that was from lactation hormones, and how much was from post-partum hormones, but go easy on yourself.

Weight loss might be slower for a while because of physical changes in your body, and from all the infant care stuff. When you get less sleep, it's harder to lose weight. Your focus right now is that little miracle, not your body fat- certainly do your best to eat well and take care of yourself, but don't make weight loss a major focus right now.