I just started the Schwarzbein Principle diet because of the following health problems: fibrocystic breasts, low protein globulin level and poor/irritable mood. I'm also taking supplements. My boyfriend is very athletic and I've convinced him to adhere to the plan as well (makes my life easier). He seems to feel better, have less muscle pain and fewer cravings, but I'm having some odd experiences. The first couple of days my brain felt somewhat "foggy", like I was in a daze. My eyes seem slightly blurry, as if they can't focus easily. I also felt really tired yesterday. At one point, before my pilates session, I had a tootsie roll and I immediately felt better. I've tried increasing carbohydrates at breakfast (one egg, half bowl of oatmeal with raisins and butter), but my symptoms were worse. Then today I increased my protein and slightly decreased the carbohydrates at breakfast (two eggs, half-bowl of oatmeal with butter and a little ricotta)and I felt better. Nuts also seem to make me feel better (cashews and almonds). Does this go away? Could this be an indication of bigger blood sugar issues?

How many days on the plan? I know this post is several days old. Are you feeling better yet? I felt better after a few days of initally feeling rotten. Don't forget your supplements.

Today is day seven. Yes, I'm taking my supplements, got them with the Schwarzbein Principle book from a company called "Women to Women". I've improved a little, but only by avoiding bread, pasta, oatmeal and sugar. I'm getting all my carbs/fiber from fruits and vegetables, also yogurt and nuts. Seems to make a difference. Although I'm starting to wonder if I might be hypoglycemic.

Well, that's the best way to get your carbs anyways! Grains are not really a great thing to eat anyway. I'm so glad to hear you're feeling a bit better.

Tell me about yourself? Which book are you following? I've read all 3 books, but I follow the carb recommendations from the first book, which, for me is 60g per day. I'm coming to SPP from the opposite direction of most people, from a LowCarb background (specifically Protein Power) and not a high carb/low fat one. I have to get some more information before I can be on board with 125g carbs per day after so many years (10) of trying to be very low carb. It worked for me for many many years, but some weight came on in the last 4 years (3 babies, a major move, 9/11 impact on airline-pilot hubby, etc) but a couple of months ago, I tried to get back to it, and lost nothing in a whole month of diligent LC dieting and exercising. I was absolutely devastated. Mild depression has been a problem, too, most of my life. I need to lose about 30-35 pounds, not really sure, I don't weight myself any more. I know that I wear a 14, and I used to wear an 8, 4 years ago. I'd be happy getting back to a 10. I can't blame it on the pregnancies....I gained weight BETWEEN babies. My last baby, I gained only 10 pounds and Ben weighed 9 pounds. 7 days later I was 20 pounds lighter than when I got PG! Too bad I've already gained back at least 10 of that.

I'm happy to say that starting to take Carlson's liquid fish oil, borage oil caps and B50-complex has helped alot with my 'blue' feelings. I'm going to check into the Calcium/Magnesium soon. I may also add CoQ10 at some point. I don't want to over-supplement. I hate taking pills, so if I can keep it to no more than 2 per meal, I'll do it.

A note about hypoglycemia...I have thought for YEARS that I'm HG. I finally bought a glucose monitor to prove it to myself. Guess what? I'M NOT!! I tested myself many many times, when I felt really really bad, before eating, after eating, feeling great, fasting, you name it and it was always NORMAL. Perfectly textbook NORMAL--right around 90. Really threw me for a loop.

Nice to meet you! If you'd like to see me, go to http://babiesonline.com/babies/s/sentfromheaven3

I recently received the first book as part of a package from a company called "Women to Women" along with progesterone cream and nutritional supplements. I have fibrocystic breasts and a small uterine fibroid and the doctors told me "avoid caffeine and take some multi-vitamins". Then I read that progesterone cream and diet could have some benefits, so I thought I'd give it a try. I was a vegan vegetarian about 10 years ago (became one for health reasons)and had BIG problems with my blood sugar. Then I had a lowfat/high carbs, some protein diet for a long time, because I thought that would make me "healthier". I have had serious bouts with clinical depression and one of the worst episodes that put me on medication was while I was a vegetarian. I'm beginning to think that my mood swings are directly attributable to my poor diet. I really miss my oatmeal or raisin bran with soy milk, but I'm willing to try anything that might improve these issues. I had back surgery in October, and exercise frequently (pilates twice a week, walking about 10 - 12 miles a week) to keep my recovery on track. Weight isn't really the issue, but it would be nice to have better muscle strength and recovery.

I think that simply the intake of the quality proteins in the amounts SPP recommends will help you with muscle strength and recovery, as well as your 'foggy' feeling. My foggy feelings disappeared when I ate every single gram of protein coming to me at meals and snacks.

I just remembered that the first book doesn't give specific protein amount recommendations, but the 3rd book actually does...if you'll give me your height and weight and body frame size (S,M,or L), I'll be glad to look it up for you so you can be sure you're getting the amount she recommends.

BTW, are you taking AT LEAST 1 gram of EPA/DHA per day? I was astounded at how my mood lifted within 1 day of starting Omega 3 supplementation. I take 1 tsp of Carlson's Omega 3 oil a day with breakfast, and it provides 1.3 g. And I have been struggling with depression for a very long time.

I'm 6'1" and 181 pounds with a large frame. I'm not overweight, just a large person. My mood actually seems better since I started this plan and the supplements, but I would like the "fogginess" to lift. The supplements have the following amount of EPA/DHA:

Natural Triglyceride Marine Lipid Concentrate 2,000 mg *
P ro v i d i n g :
Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA) [18%] 360 mg *
Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) [12%] 240 mg *
Total Omega-3 Fatty Acids 600 mg *

Is that enough?

OK...let's see.

Your daily protein requirement is, for sedentery to moderately active: 12-15 oz per day. For very active to extremely active: 18-21 oz per day. Multiply each number by 7 to get the number of grams per day, if that's easier for you. Protein can be divided equally between sittings, or more at 3 meals and less at snacks, whatever works best for you. Proteins are considered to be beef, lamb, pork, chicken, turkey, fish, shellfish, eggs, cheese, tofu, tempeh.

My guess is that, coming from a vegan/high carb/low fat background, you're not consuming enough protein per day. I know it seems like alot, but the USDA requirments are WAY too low, especially for you, being a large, active woman. if you eat 3 oz of protein a day at your size and activity level, you WILL be 'foggy!' Trust me, once you get used to eating protein at each meal and snack and see how much better you feel, you'll never go back!

The dose of DHA/EPA DS recommends is 2-3g per day. Other authors recommend starting with 1g per day. You should be taking 2 doses of the supp you gave me, as a minimum and that will give you 1200mg or 1.2g which is a good place to start. But if that means taking many many capsules in a day, then I'd recommend the Carlson's Omega 3 oil. It has a light, lemony taste and only a tsp per day is needed to start with to provide 1.3g.

Let me know if I can give you any more help from the newest book....

Well, I think I'm getting that amount now, but here's an example:
breakfast is usually two eggs with mushrooms and 1 small chicken sausage breakfast link with a nectarine
lunch; about 4 ounces of turkey breast with 1/4 of a yam and some pea pods with mushrooms and bean curd or a large green salad with carrots, olives, chees, and tuna or salmon.
dinner; 6 ounces of salmon with steamed spinach and a green salad.
for snacks, I have almonds or some celery with almond butter or maybe a piece of cheese and a fig.

Why do I feel still have this lightheaded, foggy feeling almost immediately after I eat? How long does this take to get better? I know I was very dependent on carbs and sugar, but ever since I started introducing protein and cut out the sugar and caffeine, I feel like I'm in a daze.

oops, sorry, no way to delete posts, so I have to leave this in

My first guess is that your carbs may be a little too high for you, or possibly too low. I'm curious as to your actual carb intake for the day? Are you adding some fat to meals?

Just thought of something...Did you stop the caffeine and sugar right away upon starting the plan, and cold turkey? SPP (3rd book) does NOT recommend this. A little "self-medicating" as she calls it is OK to get you through until your body adjust to the food changes. Then once you have the basic diet and sleep down, then you start the other 3 steps. She talks a great deal in the 3 rd book too about 'overexercising.' It really is a great book, she really tells you how to do the steps and in what order is best for you and your unique challenges, whereas the 1st book just says "do it" and it sounds like it's all at once.

I know that I started to feel positively great after about the 2nd day on about 70g protein per day (10 oz), 60g carbs per day, and adding about 15g added fat (salad dressing, cream in coffee, etc) to each meal. I am pretty sedentery though, you would need alot more food than me, based not only on your activity but just your size.

My boyfriend is Italian, so we use olive oil very liberally. On salads, for cooking, etc.... I also like mozzarella and olives in my salads, so I'm using those. We never use margerine, always butter. I had to cut out caffeine the week before I started the diet, because it causes problems with my fibrocystic breasts. I tried to start out slowly, but it seemed as though certain carbs (bread, oatmeal) made me MORE tired. Vegetables, never seem to cause any problems. I'm wondering if the fruit is maybe the thing I need to cut down, because I didn't have any with my dinner tonight and I felt better. That will make me sad though, because I would really miss my fruit. I had some plain yogurt and blueberries about three hours after dinner and I didn't have as many problems.
I don't really think I'm an over-exerciser, but since my back surgery in October, movement is really important, because I'm a computer engineer and sit a lot during the day. It helps me to get my body moving with some exercise at the end of the day.
Let me give you an idea of my prior diet:
breakfast was a large bowl of organic raisin bran with soy milk.
lunch was turkey on whole wheat bread with mustard and a piece of fruit.
dinner was either pasta (no protein) or a salad with lots of vegetables and some cheese. Then, Vanilla yogurt with fresh fruit.
I was a Diet Coke junkie, sometimes having two or three of those 12 ounce bottles a day.

I guess I need to get some kind of scale to measure my food? I was trying to avoid that :-(.

Hi, just read this thread, and being the caffeine person that I am, I suspect you are feeling the lack of caffeine, that can cause you to be foggy. Just to see if that is it, you might try a cup of green tea, if it makes you fogginess lessen, that might be it. Reread the section towards the back of the book where
Schwarzbein talks about going off toxic substances. Sometimes
the metabolism is damaged from stimulants alone, and it takes more time to heal. Your diet sounds quite good now, olive oil,
mozzarella, etc. I wouldn't measure my food, she doesn't think
it's important, it's more just balancing the pros/fats/carbs and avoiding fake food. There's a section in SP 1 where she talks about caffeine/adrenaline causing our bodies to use up our muscle mass, damaging our metabolisms. So protein is important to heal that, but it can take a while. Also, somewhere I read that you can take digestive enzymes if you think that the protein is alot in the beginning, if you weren't eating that much protein before. But it sounds like you are on the right track!

I just wanted to add, that along with saying that caffeine damages our metabolism, Schwarzbein also said that it can cause us to be insulin resistant when we quit it, so that can
make you feel foggy also. I'm pretty sure it's all in that first book of hers. I had to reread them several times because I wanted to understand it all. Keep up the good work!

I totally agree that your diet sounds great! But, I think you're onto something with the fruit-thing. I personally don't think that a person needs more than 1 serving of fruit a day, if that. Fruit contains the sugar fructose, which is one of the highest stimulators of insulin production. While the carb number in the piece of fruit may be right on target, fructose causes a higher production of insulin gram for gram, and that will throw off the insulin/glucagon balance DS is trying to get us to acheive. She mentions all this in her 3 rd book. So, I'd take a look at that. I don't eat much fruit at all, occasionally I eat strawberries in season, or orange sections in a salad, but it's not every day, not even once a week.

I tend to agree that the caffeine may be an issue, too, but I surely understand the need for you to get off of that b/c of your fibrocystic breasts.

I also agree that you shouldn't weigh or measure your foods, at least not yet, and only for a short time if you feel the need to 'learn' correct portion sizes. I can attest to DS assertion that doing that produces more obsessive feelings and actions toward food. I used to weigh LETTUCE, for heaven's sake. Now that's sick! My diet scale dropped and broke a few weeks ago and I have made the decision NOT to replace it. I have a very good eye for portion sizes after all my years of weighing and measuring everything. I've decided to eyeball it, using my palm, finger etc as guides. I do still tend to measure oils, but that's OK I think.