LONGECITY

Below there is a representative sample of the CR diet I've been on for about two months. I'm 5 feet 10 inches and weighed 146 pounds when I started. I have only lost 5 pounds so far, but during the last two weeks I've begun to feel pins and needles in m hands and feet. I'm getting my blood test results by the end of the week, but I was wondering if it might be a B12 or iodine deficiency. Any suggestions are welcome.

Thanks in advance!

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Calories
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Description Amount Calories

Seeds, flaxseed 18g 96.12

Lentils, mature seeds, cooked, 200 g 228

Milk, nonfat, fluid, with added vitamin A and vitamin D) 400 g 136

Broccoli, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt 320 g 112

Nuts, almonds 50 g 287.5

Cherries, sweet, raw 100 g 63

Kiwifruit, green, raw 70 g 42.7

Soup, gazpacho, canned, ready-to-serve 250 g 47.5

Tomatoes, red, ripe, cooked 200 g 36

Oil, olive, salad or cooking 30 g 265.2

Carrots, raw 100 g 41

Blackberry juice, canned 170 g 64.6

Multicentrum 0.5 g 0


Spices, cinnamon, ground 5 g 1 2.35

Rice, white, long-grain, regular, cooked 1 cup 205.4

Brussels sprouts, cooked, boiled, drained, with salt 50 g 18

Lettuce, cos or romaine, raw 100 g 17

Macronutient ratios

Energy: 1672 kcal / 2199 kcal (76%)
Protein: 72.4 g / 56.0 g (129%)
Carbs: 214.9 g / 130.0 g (165%)
Fat: 68.0 g / 65.0 g (105%)
94% of Nutritional Targets Achieved
Calorie Breakdown

General

Energy 1672.4 kcal 76%
Alcohol 0.0 g No Target
Caffeine 0.0 mg No Target
Water 1845.9 g 50%

Carbohydrates
Carbs 214.9 g 165%
Fiber 53.1 g 140%
Starch 1.8 g No Target
Sugars 76.3 g No Target

Lipids
Fat 68.0 g 105%
Monounsaturated 39.5 g No Target
Polyunsaturated 16.8 g No Target
Omega-3 5.3 g 330%
Omega-6 11.5 g 68%
Saturated 7.7 g 38%
Trans-Fats 0.0 g 0.009 g
Cholesterol 8.0 mg 3%
Phytosterol 97.6 mg No Target

Protein
Protein 72.4 g 129%
Alanine 2.8 g No Target
Arginine 4.7 g No Target
Aspartic acid 7.7 g No Target
Cystine 0.8 g 321%
Glutamic acid 14.1 g No Target
Glycine 2.7 g No Target
Histidine 1.7 g 272%
Hydroxyproline 0.0 g No Target
Isoleucine 2.8 g 215%
Leucine 4.8 g 191%
Lysine 3.9 g 202%
Methionine 1.0 g 153%
Phenylalanine 3.2 g 400%
Proline 3.5 g No Target
Serine 3.2 g No Target
Threonine 2.5 g 262%
Tryptophan 0.7 g 284%
Tyrosine 2.0 g 245%
Valine 3.4 g 204%

Vitamins
B1 (Thiamine) 2.4 mg 201%
B12 (Cobalamin) 3.3 µg 135%
B2 (Riboflavin) 3.0 mg 232%
B3 (Niacin) 23.7 mg 148%
B5 (Pantothenic Acid) 10.8 mg 215%
B6 (Pyridoxine) 3.2 mg 246%
Folate 1229.7 µg 307%
Vitamin A 7544.5 IU 251%
Vitamin C 445.8 mg 495%
Vitamin D 288.0 IU 144%
Vitamin E 35.2 mg 235%
Vitamin K 742.7 µg 619%
Minerals
Calcium 1167.3 mg 117%
Copper 2.6 mg 291%
Iron 22.4 mg 280%
Magnesium 579.8 mg 145%
Manganese 7.3 mg 319%
Phosphorus 1721.3 mg 246%
Potassium 4937.0 mg 105%
Selenium 62.6 µg 114%
Sodium 1772.6 mg 118%
Zinc 13.4 mg 122%
Edited by Michael, 31 July 2012 - 12:16 AM.

Neuropathy sounds like deficiency in B vitamns. Are you eating meat? Regardless I suggest chugging a 5 hour energy drink or two (low calorie and widely available).

I'll get a B complex multivitamin and see if the symtoms disappear. My diet is largely vegetarian although I may eat fish once or twice o month.

I'd test both blood pressure and blood sugar too. Low values can also cause those symptoms temporarily. In order to mitigate these symptoms, perhaps you need to ease into CR a bit more slowly. Consider going back to your ad-lib diet, then drop 50 - 100 calories each month until you get down to your target calorie intake. This will give your body time to adjust to the new nutrient levels.

These items could maybe spike blood sugar and leave you with an insulin spike blood sugar deficit. You'd have to test yourself to find out how your body reacts.

Milk, nonfat, fluid, with added vitamin A and vitamin D) 400 g 136

Cherries, sweet, raw 100 g 63

Kiwifruit, green, raw 70 g 42.7

Blackberry juice, canned 170 g 64.6

I worry most about the blackberry juice.

Edited by scottknl, 31 July 2012 - 09:42 PM.

I have stopped drinking blackberry juice for the time being, but in my area it's not so easy to find calcium rich foods (i.e. kale or green collards). I'll try ro reduce my milk intake to 200 g a day while maintaining my calcium intake.

BTW, I just got my blood test results and I'm cutting my half a pill of multicentrum, since it seems my zinc blood levels are too high (219 mcg/dl). I didn't get tested for copper blood levels, but I might be having a zinc induced copper deficiency.

The pins and needles have disappeared for the most part, so I hope they stop completely very soon.

the next appointment with my doctor is next month, so I don't really know what I should be eating in the meantime. But I'm definitely cutting the supplements!


scottknl, thanks for the advice!

Personally I would up the Protein intake to 100g, I don't know your body weight, but to maintain muscle, this is a good baseline.

The problem would be upregulating the IGF-1 pathway, which may cancel out some of the benefits of calorie restriction if you eat a lot more than the recommended amount of protein (0.8g per kg) That would be about 56 g of protein a day, and as you can see I'm eating 72 grams a day, which I think is a reasonable amount of protein, taking into account that vegetable protein may no be so bioavailable, and my protein intake comes mainly from vegetarian sources

As for me, it is better to take some diet pills like phentermine 37.5 and don't waste life counting calories