Anybody here with Gilbert’s syndrome? I’d love to swap thoughts about training and nutrition.
I do, or at least I think I do. I’ve always had elevated bilirubin. About 12 years ago when it first showed up on a blood panel, I had other tests done, including a liver biopsy, but nothing else seemed amiss so the GI diagnosed Gilbert’s syndrome. I’ve never noticed any symptoms other than sometimes being slightly jaundiced. Has it affected your training & nutrition? What sort of bilirubin levels do you typically have?
My bilirubin is typically ~1.7. Somewhat elevated, but mostly it doesn’t bother me. Even hard exercise doesn’t affect me AS LONG as I’m staying well hydrated and nourished. But poor sleep for a few nights, plus stress, plus unbalanced nutrition or riding fasted and I’m out for a week. Or sometimes even longer. Not great if I’m on a program.
I can say with certainty now that fasting is a big NO NO for me. But the finer points of nutrition are still a mystery. Five, six meals a day, loads of carbs—that seems to work okayish to keep the liver happy. But I’ve not been able to drop extra weight for years now! No matter how hard I exercise! And every time I try to count calories and whatnot I suffer consequences. Basically, the conventional approach to weight management doesn’t seem to work with Gilbert’s syndrome. And so far I have not been able to find any good information about that.
Interesting. My bilirubin is usually more like 2.0 or up to 2.5. Were you tested for other conditions when you were diagnosed with GS? I’ll feel like garbage if I don’t sleep well or eat well, or if I’m training too hard, but I always considered that normal and not related to GS. I’m pretty strict about sleep hygiene though insomnia can plague me from time to time. I’m not one for fasting and have never tried it for training or for weight management. I eat all day, especially when I’m training, and take the approach that as long as I’m eating nutrient-dense foods, it is okay to keep throwing fuel on the fire.
When you say that 5-6 meals a day with lots of carbs keeps the liver happy, do you just feel run down otherwise?