I need help losing weight and getting back in shape (1 Viewer)

[ProstheticRGK]

You have two choices in dieting if you want to lose weight very fast.

• Go extreme low carb
  
• Go extreme low fat
  

Both will work equally well at accomplishing core objectives of fat loss.  The potato diet just happens to be from the scope of the second one.  A serving of potato is about 7g of protein more or less so it's not just starch.  If you remove all fat from your diet you will more selectively lose fat.  Same thing happens if you selectively remove carbs, but for different reasons.

I think I'd want to kill myself fairly quickly on something like that.  Most research does indicate a no-fat diet is more successful in the short term so you seem to be evidence of that to an extent. 

Those different reasons are why I don't think low-carb diets are sustainable. Putting one's body into ketosis is bad- It's a diseased state. Long-term Atkins is hard on the kidneys and liver, and raises cholesterol levels while throwing off the balance of LDLs/HDLs, which probably promotes heart disease. I only say probably because I don't know if there are any studies that have been published that show a substantive scientific link, even though it seems like common sense that it would.

I know people have success with it, but I worry about the long-term health effects of extreme low-carb dieting, especially diets based heavily on animal products.

Downsides of high protein diets, John McDougall, MD

 

[Otis]

I haven't even hit the 90 days yet. But for the first 10 days, it was nothing but potatoes and salt and pepper, black coffee and water. 3 days in, and all food cravings went away and was never hungry, even though I was only eating about 800-1000 calories/day. I dreaded eating potatoes by the end of the week. Then for the next 3 weeks or so, I added in onions, garlic and green, leafy vegetables to the potatoes: Kale, spinach and some broccoli and cabbage. I needed to get some variety in my diet, and even though my energy levels were through the roof, I worried about such a huge calorie deficit. Made a big difference in just being happy, but didn't slow down the results, at all.

I haven't even hit the 90 days yet. But for the first 10 days, it was nothing but potatoes and salt and pepper, black coffee and water. 3 days in, and all food cravings went away and was never hungry, even though I was only eating about 800-1000 calories/day. I dreaded eating potatoes by the end of the week. Then for the next 3 weeks or so, I added in onions, garlic and green, leafy vegetables to the potatoes: Kale, spinach and some broccoli and cabbage. I needed to get some variety in my diet, and even though my energy levels were through the roof, I worried about such a huge calorie deficit. Made a big difference in just being happy, but didn't slow down the results, at all.

After that first month, I was reading where you could add any kind of condiments you wanted, as long as there was no added fat. So, no ranch dressing or mayo, but salsa, ketchup, sriracha are good. This bit of reasoning came via dr. John McDougall, from one of his mentors, Dr. Walter Kempner at Duke Univeristy, who devised the first diet to treat malignant hypertension in the U.S. He fed his patients a diet of white rice and fruit juices, supplemented with table sugar, to get them to lose weight and keep their hypertension in check. That blew my mind, and really turned a lot of what I used to think I knew about nutrition on its head. I added in 2-3 pieces of fresh fruit per day- which tasted like the greatest thing in the world after nothing but potatoes for over a month and started using a ton of salsa and sriracha- even started making my own ketchup without HFCS. Just made sure that my fat intake was below 10% of total calories and calories still were down (1200-1400, even on the biggest eating days). After a week of that is when I had my doctor's appointment and got my results for 5 weeks on the diet.

sorry, this is running away from me, because I am really excited and have a lot to say about this... Don't mean to ramble. Anyway, after I got my results from the doctor, I knew that I was adopting the McDougall diet for a sustainable change for life. Instead of doing strictly potatoes, I switched to vegan/starch-based/no oil added, with 80% of calories from starchy plant foods (potatoes, rice, millet, barley, quinoa, wheat, oats) 20% from vegetables and fruits. No added fats. I think that's basically the secret to the potato hack- that ratio of keeping fat% under 10, and getting 80% from starchy plants, which have a really high satiety factor, with little caloric density. So, I'm basically doing the starch hack now, with a much more varied diet that doesn't feel restrictive. I just started doing the potato hack hardcore again on work days (12 hour shifts Su, Tu, Thu) and just do the McDougall's diet the other days of the week, with Saturday's as an almost cheat day, with stuff like vegan cookies, vegan ice cream or pizza. I bought a book on making vegan cheese, because a lot of vegan substitute foods taste like they were fermented in the trousers of an indigent. Trying this out from Tim Steele's book, the Potato Hack, that Maurile recommended up thread.

for cooking potatoes- I might not be the best person to ask, because I still get a little queasy thinking about all of the cold, boiled potatoes I choked down, just to put something in my stomach. I boiled a lot of them. Made mashed potatoes with no butter or milk added, substituted vegetable stock. Baked them. Made potato curries out of them. Made rosti and hash browns and potato pancakes. I have gotten pretty good at frying stuff with no oil added. Made potato chips in the microwave- surprisingly good. Made a really good potato soup with leeks and celery and mushrooms. I like to cook, and I'll share recipes if there's an interest or a place for it.

Otis, if your personality IRL is even 75% of your online persona, this is the diet for you. There's all sorts of links and information out there, but here's the gist of it. When you are hungry, eat a potato.

Are ice cream sandwiches allowed? No. Eat a potato.

how many coronitas can I drink? None. Eat a potato.

How many potatoes can I eat? Trick question. You can eat as many as you want, but you will get full and not crave anything to eat way faster than you ever thought you would.

seriously, it's Taco Tuesday. I'm having a bucket of Coronitas. Put the mini beer down, oven mitts, and grab a frosty potato.

Commit to a timeframe to do this diet, at least a week, and follow it hardcore with no cheating, and you'll keep going. You'll see amazing results and you will lose food cravings and not be hungry, with a huge spike in energy level. Potatoes are like, the perfect food. No supplements, no shakes, no handfuls of almonds, just potatoes. You don't need to think about it, you can shut that part of your brain off that thinks about food. Plus, it's as extreme as full-Bale, but way more interesting and better for you. Plus, I guarantee you can finally beat Woz in that bet that's taken 100 years and finally get that embarrassing albatross off your neck. I mean, what kind of super-heroic comeback story would that be, if you rose from the dietary dead, Jon Snow like, and absolutely crushed it? An Otis comeback story, that's what. You got this.

Links: check out the McDougall's website above, search for the MWL (Maximum Weight Loss program) and Mary's Mini diet. Also, get your hands on The Potato Hack, by Tim Steele. All the info you'd need is in that book. 

Potato Hack blog

Mark's Daily Apple forums

Spud fit videos this is an Australian guy who committed to doing the potato diet for a year. Check out his results and how much weight he loses so fast. This is what inspired me to do it.

Paleo blog on the potato hack

tl;dr eat potatoes. It works

Awesome.  

What do you do if you have to go out to a restaurant for work, and everyone else is eating normal meals?  I'll have a potato and a chunk of broccoli. ?

 

[culdeus]

Those different reasons are why I don't think low-carb diets are sustainable. Putting one's body into ketosis is bad- It's a diseased state. Long-term Atkins is hard on the kidneys and liver, and raises cholesterol levels while throwing off the balance of LDLs/HDLs, which probably promotes heart disease. I only say probably because I don't know if there are any studies that have been published that show a substantive scientific link, even though it seems like common sense that it would.

I know people have success with it, but I worry about the long-term health effects of extreme low-carb dieting, especially diets based heavily on animal products.

Downsides of high protein diets, John McDougall, MD

There are drawbacks to restricting any macro. Fat plays an important part in testosterone and estrogen production in men and women.  Once you evacuate yourself of adipose tissue you run all sorts of risks continuing down this path. But for someone in the 20-50% fat range there are lots of worse ideas out there. 

 

[matuski]

I haven't even hit the 90 days yet. But for the first 10 days, it was nothing but potatoes and salt and pepper, black coffee and water. 3 days in, and all food cravings went away and was never hungry, even though I was only eating about 800-1000 calories/day. I dreaded eating potatoes by the end of the week. Then for the next 3 weeks or so, I added in onions, garlic and green, leafy vegetables to the potatoes: Kale, spinach and some broccoli and cabbage. I needed to get some variety in my diet, and even though my energy levels were through the roof, I worried about such a huge calorie deficit. Made a big difference in just being happy, but didn't slow down the results, at all.

After that first month, I was reading where you could add any kind of condiments you wanted, as long as there was no added fat. So, no ranch dressing or mayo, but salsa, ketchup, sriracha are good. This bit of reasoning came via dr. John McDougall, from one of his mentors, Dr. Walter Kempner at Duke Univeristy, who devised the first diet to treat malignant hypertension in the U.S. He fed his patients a diet of white rice and fruit juices, supplemented with table sugar, to get them to lose weight and keep their hypertension in check. That blew my mind, and really turned a lot of what I used to think I knew about nutrition on its head. I added in 2-3 pieces of fresh fruit per day- which tasted like the greatest thing in the world after nothing but potatoes for over a month and started using a ton of salsa and sriracha- even started making my own ketchup without HFCS. Just made sure that my fat intake was below 10% of total calories and calories still were down (1200-1400, even on the biggest eating days). After a week of that is when I had my doctor's appointment and got my results for 5 weeks on the diet.

sorry, this is running away from me, because I am really excited and have a lot to say about this... Don't mean to ramble. Anyway, after I got my results from the doctor, I knew that I was adopting the McDougall diet for a sustainable change for life. Instead of doing strictly potatoes, I switched to vegan/starch-based/no oil added, with 80% of calories from starchy plant foods (potatoes, rice, millet, barley, quinoa, wheat, oats) 20% from vegetables and fruits. No added fats. I think that's basically the secret to the potato hack- that ratio of keeping fat% under 10, and getting 80% from starchy plants, which have a really high satiety factor, with little caloric density. So, I'm basically doing the starch hack now, with a much more varied diet that doesn't feel restrictive. I just started doing the potato hack hardcore again on work days (12 hour shifts Su, Tu, Thu) and just do the McDougall's diet the other days of the week, with Saturday's as an almost cheat day, with stuff like vegan cookies, vegan ice cream or pizza. I bought a book on making vegan cheese, because a lot of vegan substitute foods taste like they were fermented in the trousers of an indigent. Trying this out from Tim Steele's book, the Potato Hack, that Maurile recommended up thread.

for cooking potatoes- I might not be the best person to ask, because I still get a little queasy thinking about all of the cold, boiled potatoes I choked down, just to put something in my stomach. I boiled a lot of them. Made mashed potatoes with no butter or milk added, substituted vegetable stock. Baked them. Made potato curries out of them. Made rosti and hash browns and potato pancakes. I have gotten pretty good at frying stuff with no oil added. Made potato chips in the microwave- surprisingly good. Made a really good potato soup with leeks and celery and mushrooms. I like to cook, and I'll share recipes if there's an interest or a place for it.

Otis, if your personality IRL is even 75% of your online persona, this is the diet for you. There's all sorts of links and information out there, but here's the gist of it. When you are hungry, eat a potato.

Are ice cream sandwiches allowed? No. Eat a potato.

how many coronitas can I drink? None. Eat a potato.

How many potatoes can I eat? Trick question. You can eat as many as you want, but you will get full and not crave anything to eat way faster than you ever thought you would.

seriously, it's Taco Tuesday. I'm having a bucket of Coronitas. Put the mini beer down, oven mitts, and grab a frosty potato.

Commit to a timeframe to do this diet, at least a week, and follow it hardcore with no cheating, and you'll keep going. You'll see amazing results and you will lose food cravings and not be hungry, with a huge spike in energy level. Potatoes are like, the perfect food. No supplements, no shakes, no handfuls of almonds, just potatoes. You don't need to think about it, you can shut that part of your brain off that thinks about food. Plus, it's as extreme as full-Bale, but way more interesting and better for you. Plus, I guarantee you can finally beat Woz in that bet that's taken 100 years and finally get that embarrassing albatross off your neck. I mean, what kind of super-heroic comeback story would that be, if you rose from the dietary dead, Jon Snow like, and absolutely crushed it? An Otis comeback story, that's what. You got this.

Links: check out the McDougall's website above, search for the MWL (Maximum Weight Loss program) and Mary's Mini diet. Also, get your hands on The Potato Hack, by Tim Steele. All the info you'd need is in that book. 

Potato Hack blog

Mark's Daily Apple forums

Spud fit videos this is an Australian guy who committed to doing the potato diet for a year. Check out his results and how much weight he loses so fast. This is what inspired me to do it.

Paleo blog on the potato hack

tl;dr eat potatoes. It works

Sweet Potatoes count for this?

 

[rascal]

Sweet potatoes count?

 

[Ministry of Pain]

@ProstheticRGK

Hi RGK, I wanted to follow up on the potato euphoria you highlighted and others have found success. Let me get out of my head and beliefs for a minute and embrace what you are doing by adding some information that can only lend more credibility to what you are posting, in fact it makes me feel even better in what I figured out without your potato post. 

I personally have chosen to go more fruits and veggies, lean proteins, low amounts of sugar all the way around. And I am steadily losing weight and have adopted a lifestyle. But where my path and yours cross is the potato. I eat a lot of them, everytime I eat eggs which is 4-5 times a week. In fact I was hiding just how often I eat a serving of skillet potatoes. I realize that's different, much different than what you are doing however I was finding the potato to be a great main food for me because it was curtailing hunger later. 

I just made a Chicken Marsala with real wines and I made a solid match of mashed to go with, make no apologies and I have been losing weight eating a pretty healthy serving of potatoes if not daily, every other day. I DO NOT eat french fries, whole potatoes cut or sliced, skillet with little olive oil to help cook 'em. 

As an Irishman I always liked my potatoes but in the 90s up to now the white starches have come under intense fire from the diet industry. Awesome info, might not be the diet I run to but I definitely see huge value in potatoes as part of your daily or weekly diet. I also think you all are taking it to an extreme but that's my personal silly beliefs, if it works for you then great. I just wonder how you can sustain that over the course of a lifetime. 

 

[Tick]

MOP, congrats on the awesome progress.  That's really incredible.

I think I'm on the precipice of real progress and some real, sustainable change, and possibly beating my fatty demons once and for all.  Feeling good about it.  We'll see where things stand in a few weeks.

I think that if you stop drinking as discussed in the other thread, this will be easier for you.  You can make a big advance that encourages you by dropping alcohol or sugared drinks.

 

[ProstheticRGK]

Awesome.  

What do you do if you have to go out to a restaurant for work, and everyone else is eating normal meals?  I'll have a potato and a chunk of broccoli. ?

Yes. Who cares what anybody else thinks about your diet? I don't have business lunches with clients, and I'm sure there's a lot of pressure to be charming and engaging at those, but it's got to be possible while eating what you want/need. Otherwise, do it modified style: every other day, or only during daylight hours, or a 3 day run with 2 days off. The Potato Hack, by Tim Steele, has entire chapters devoted to this. It's not really well-educated about the metabolic science behind intermittent fasting, and the best way to time your eating, but I am trying an every other day approach and am still losing weight at a good clip, so far.

There are drawbacks to restricting any macro. Fat plays an important part in testosterone and estrogen production in men and women.  Once you evacuate yourself of adipose tissue you run all sorts of risks continuing down this path. But for someone in the 20-50% fat range there are lots of worse ideas out there. 

I do not imagine I'm gonna have a dearth of adipose tissue for a pretty long time. I would be interested in what science there is behind long-term fat restriction, though. If you have any less links/recommendations I'd love to see them. Right now, I am in full-blown zealot mode and am really excited by my results. I can definitely see maintaining a vegan lifestyle, without being annoying about it (I hope). But if I ever get the urge to take down a ribeye steak, I'll do it, with no qualms. 

Sweet Potatoes count for this?

Sweet potatoes count?

Yes, sweet potatoes count. And they're awesome. 

@ProstheticRGK

Hi RGK, I wanted to follow up on the potato euphoria you highlighted and others have found success. Let me get out of my head and beliefs for a minute and embrace what you are doing by adding some information that can only lend more credibility to what you are posting, in fact it makes me feel even better in what I figured out without your potato post. 

I personally have chosen to go more fruits and veggies, lean proteins, low amounts of sugar all the way around. And I am steadily losing weight and have adopted a lifestyle. But where my path and yours cross is the potato. I eat a lot of them, everytime I eat eggs which is 4-5 times a week. In fact I was hiding just how often I eat a serving of skillet potatoes. I realize that's different, much different than what you are doing however I was finding the potato to be a great main food for me because it was curtailing hunger later. 

I just made a Chicken Marsala with real wines and I made a solid match of mashed to go with, make no apologies and I have been losing weight eating a pretty healthy serving of potatoes if not daily, every other day. I DO NOT eat french fries, whole potatoes cut or sliced, skillet with little olive oil to help cook 'em. 

As an Irishman I always liked my potatoes but in the 90s up to now the white starches have come under intense fire from the diet industry. Awesome info, might not be the diet I run to but I definitely see huge value in potatoes as part of your daily or weekly diet. I also think you all are taking it to an extreme but that's my personal silly beliefs, if it works for you then great. I just wonder how you can sustain that over the course of a lifetime. 

Thanks, MoP. Nice post. Congrats on your great success, too. I am definitely taking it to an extreme, but that's kind of my personality. Over the course of 7 years, I went through every major stressor a person can go through. My coping mechanism was to eat. I gained 90 lbs in that 7 years. I had to get myself motivated to start doing something, or I was just around the corner from a heart attack/stroke or type II diabetes. This was it. This was just radical enough and just crazy enough that I could resolve myself to do it for a certain amount of time and know I would get results. I figured I'd switch to a more balanced diet afterwards, but, like I said above, I'm in full-blown zealot mode. The whole vegan thing made a lot of sense to me, so I'm rolling with it. Go with whatever works.

 

[eoMMan]

How is protein addressed by just eating potatoes?

 

[culdeus]

How is protein addressed by just eating potatoes?

There's enough if you eat 2-3 pounds a day.

 

[culdeus]

There are lots of reasons 5/x/y diets don't work on both sides. Each have their practical limit.  A zero fat diet works long enough as you have extra fat stores to mainly metabolize water, your body will just continue to pull from it till its gone. 

Once its its gone all bets are off. You will likely lack the ability to do several bodily functions like grow hair, sustain a period if a woman or make sperm, not to mention other long term vitamin deficiencies that can't really be fixed with a multi because they like a lot of things in your body need fat to work right. 

A zero fat fat diet can certainly be used to hardcore cut. It's safe up to a point then it isn't. Then what?

 

[ProstheticRGK]

There are lots of reasons 5/x/y diets don't work on both sides. Each have their practical limit.  A zero fat diet works long enough as you have extra fat stores to mainly metabolize water, your body will just continue to pull from it till its gone. 

Once its its gone all bets are off. You will likely lack the ability to do several bodily functions like grow hair, sustain a period if a woman or make sperm, not to mention other long term vitamin deficiencies that can't really be fixed with a multi because they like a lot of things in your body need fat to work right. 

A zero fat fat diet can certainly be used to hardcore cut. It's safe up to a point then it isn't. Then what?

What's the amount of dietary fat needed to keep that from happening, though? Even potatoes have dietary fat- less than 1 GM, total per potato. How many potatoes would it take to keep that from happening, long term? I have heard potatoes touted as the wonder food that keep populations going through drought/famine times, whatever. The only thing they don't have, supposedly is vitamin B12, which would need to be supplemented if doing a long-term potato only diet. But all of my reading says they meet your needs for everything else.

 

[Maurile Tremblay]

There's no such thing as a zero-fat diet composed of real food. If you're eating fruits and vegetables, including potatoes, you're getting enough essential fatty acids to avoid a deficiency. The only way to induce a fatty acid deficiency is to feed patients a fat-free formula made in a lab.

 

[Maurile Tremblay]

How is protein addressed by just eating potatoes?

Potatoes are about 8% protein by calories, and it's a complete protein with an excellent ratio of amino acids. No worries there.

 

[Otis]

Curious about this. Bought the book. May consider trying. 

 

[bushdocda]

Want an ice cream sandwich? Eat a potato. 

Awesome. 

 

[Tiger Fan]

Curious about this. Bought the book. May consider trying. 

blog it up

 

[NutterButter]

Curious about this. Bought the book. May consider trying. 

I always enjoy your posts regarding the first few days of your latest diet so I look forward to it.

 

[dino259]

@ProstheticRGK

Hi RGK, I wanted to follow up on the potato euphoria you highlighted and others have found success. Let me get out of my head and beliefs for a minute and embrace what you are doing by adding some information that can only lend more credibility to what you are posting, in fact it makes me feel even better in what I figured out without your potato post. 

I personally have chosen to go more fruits and veggies, lean proteins, low amounts of sugar all the way around. And I am steadily losing weight and have adopted a lifestyle. But where my path and yours cross is the potato. I eat a lot of them, everytime I eat eggs which is 4-5 times a week. In fact I was hiding just how often I eat a serving of skillet potatoes. I realize that's different, much different than what you are doing however I was finding the potato to be a great main food for me because it was curtailing hunger later. 

I just made a Chicken Marsala with real wines and I made a solid match of mashed to go with, make no apologies and I have been losing weight eating a pretty healthy serving of potatoes if not daily, every other day. I DO NOT eat french fries, whole potatoes cut or sliced, skillet with little olive oil to help cook 'em. 

As an Irishman I always liked my potatoes but in the 90s up to now the white starches have come under intense fire from the diet industry. Awesome info, might not be the diet I run to but I definitely see huge value in potatoes as part of your daily or weekly diet. I also think you all are taking it to an extreme but that's my personal silly beliefs, if it works for you then great. I just wonder how you can sustain that over the course of a lifetime. 

So potatoes are not as evil as they have been made out to be?

 

[AcerFC]

French Fries count as potatoes right

 

[NutterButter]

I like potato chips

 

[Sand]

I'm not buying the study where your basal rate goes down if you exercise.  In all likelihood, it's simply because people overestimate the calories burned during exercise, underestimate the calories from food, think they can eat more after they exercise so they do, and eat more because they're hungrier after exercising.  

And it's very true that the amount of calories you can burn exercising is a small percentage of your body's total calorie burn.  It's really all about taking in fewer calories.

That really depends.  What do you consider to be "small"?

 

[Higgs]

Nutribullet.

 

[NutterButter]

Would being on a diet consisting almost entirely of lean meats, beans and veggies (maybe 3 servings of kale a day) affect my cycling performance?  Only been on it 2 weeks, but I'm feeling sluggish on the bike.  

 

[Tick]

I can't believe there's a potato diet.  Just cut your calories and lose weight slowly.  Don't screw around with diets that can only be temporary.

 

[Maurile Tremblay]

I can't believe there's a potato diet.  Just cut your calories and lose weight slowly.  Don't screw around with diets that can only be temporary.

Most people who eat too many calories tend to eat processed, hyperpalatable foods like Doritos, ice cream, and pepperoni pizza. It would be nice if they could stop eating those foods and replace them with more plain vegetables ... but for most people, that's a nearly impossible task. When you are habituated to hyperpalatable junk food, plain vegetables will be at best boring, and at worst kind of bitter and gross.

Eating just plain potatoes temporarily can be an effective fix. Plain potatoes are satisfying enough that you can eat them and they won't be gross, but they're not so palatable that you'll eat them just for the flavor even when you're not hungry. Once you've become habituated (or neuroadapted, if you want to be fancy) to eating plain potatoes instead of Doritos, plain raw carrots or celery will actually taste delicious. It will be much easier at that point to eat mostly healthy whole foods and to mostly avoid densely caloric junk food.

(It doesn't have to be potatoes. The same concept should work with any bland food, or even with just water. But potatoes seem rather optimal because they offer nearly complete nutrition.)

 

[Tick]

Huh - I found that restricting calories leaves little room for junk food unless you want to run around hungry all day.  Doritos are something like 10 calores per chip - I can't make it through a day on 160 Doritos.

 

[Maurile Tremblay]

Huh - I found that restricting calories leaves little room for junk food unless you want to run around hungry all day. Doritos are something like 10 calores per chip - I can't make it through a day on 160 Doritos.




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That's why people who try to restrict calories tend to go back to eating 4,000 calories worth of junk. It's why "just restrict calories" has a terrible track record as advice in the real world. People find it nearly impossible to follow.

 

[Tick]

That's why people who try to restrict calories tend to go back to eating 4,000 calories worth of junk. It's why "just restrict calories" has a terrible track record as advice in the real world. People find it nearly impossible to follow.

Yeah, but everything has a terrible track record in the real world.

 

[Otis]

If this potato thing is so great, why not just integrate more plain potatoes into your diet?  Does one need to go Full Spud in order to achieve any of the professed benefits of potatoes?

 

[NutterButter]

Yeah, but everything has a terrible track record in the real world.

Not the potato diet.  The potato diet is the Gary Johnson of diets.

 

[culdeus]

If this potato thing is so great, why not just integrate more plain potatoes into your diet?  Does one need to go Full Spud in order to achieve any of the professed benefits of potatoes?

MT said it best, there's nothing particularly special about why only spuds.  What they are doing is a body hack where eating a very low fat diet spurs on selective fat removal at a rate that may exceed just a calorie restricted diet.  Certainly some recent studies seem to show this.  

A diet using spuds, green vegetables, fish, egg whites, and coconut oil (sparingly) is the downshift version of this diet.  I believe they call this phase 2, or maybe phase 3.  

If you can keep your total fat intake to under 5% of your diet you will be in this zone, just so happens once people start to push the envelope with other foods they tend to just go back to their old diet and blow up again.  

And it would seem for some people going spud only seems to be somewhat easy once in the groove, if not a little weird.  

 

[Ministry of Pain]

That's why people who try to restrict calories tend to go back to eating 4,000 calories worth of junk. It's why "just restrict calories" has a terrible track record as advice in the real world. People find it nearly impossible to follow.

I'm really trying to keep to myself and not spew about something I don't know that much about but MT...you know losing 30-50 lbs in 30-60 days is not something most people who find long term success typically do. 

You have a very warped view of fruits and vegetables. I understand as I don't really love them and I never ate them in quantity before this go around but the benefits are undeniable and I learned from my brother who is 6-5/190 and he basically doesn't eat except for fuel...few exceptions. I understand that's not sexie but you have to deal with the psychological reasons we tend to eat. The body can survive just fine on 1200-1500 calories of healthy f/v+lean proteins, healthy fats like olive oil, you won't die or end up in an emergency room. 

I eat sweet tweets but they are more centered around fruit now. If you drink fruit/veggie smoothies to start you will eventually migrate to salads and whole foods. I also suggest you skip Jamba Juice, Smoothie King, Robek's...find a hippie vibe organic smoothie/juice place where deodorant and underwear are optional. 

You and others seem to think once you cheat the body down to "Pick a weight/number" that you can magically start eating a balanced diet, that's the reason WE(You and I) got in this position to begin with. You don't get a prize or a big cake or suddenly get to go back to what turned you into a fat man to begin with. I'm not trying to be a preacher or chastise you but this information IMO is dangerous for people wanting to start a healthy lifestyle. I really didn't even get going hard on my journey until halfway thru Feb as we were wrapping up a home down in Miami and quite pre-occupied. 

You can lose an incredible amount of weight eating fruits and vegetables. The more you eat them the more you will want them and be OK with them. Some veggies are gross and I avoid them but a mix of tomatoes onions, cucumbers, carrots, nothing in there is gross. I'm not cooking leeks or beets, occasionally I cook up some broccoli or green beans but I actually like both of those green veggies. Jacques Pepin has a fantastic method of cooking broccoli, very simple and I never knew there was good stuff down in the center of the stalk...but there is and it's yummy. 

I'm sorry MT, if you are losing weight I am happy for you but it won't magically transition from potatoes 24/7 to a balanced diet IMO. I'm here to cheer and help though, it sounds on the surface like it is mostly a mental thing/block.  

 

[Ministry of Pain]

If this potato thing is so great, why not just integrate more plain potatoes into your diet?  Does one need to go Full Spud in order to achieve any of the professed benefits of potatoes?

This is where I am at. I eat a serving or two of potatoes/onions in a skillet about 4-5 times a week much to my friends dismay. I take great pride in my baked potatoes when I have a steak or burger, no french fries lately. 

I think there is merit in some of the stuff the Spuds folks are saying but still I think it shouldn't exceed a certain amount of the plate in front of you...40% but I do think the potato has gotten a terrible rap over the years. 

 

[fantasycurse42]

Both times my wife was pregnant I ballooned to the heaviest of my life. Upper 230's, probably touched 240, I'm about 6'2". I've also been muscular, I've worked out since I'm 15, but when I let loose, I get gigantic and the muscle turns over to a fatty muscle watery bulky overweight look, if I could describe it. In the summer of '14 I dropped to the lightest I've been since my sophomore year of HS, which was 185, stayed between there and 200 fluctuating, but keeping great shape. She got pregnant in June of '15 and I started to balloon again to the 230s by the time my second was born in Feb. I've been animal style since late Feb and stepped on the scale just now at 206.

March 1st 230-232 range- http://i.imgur.com/rXpCXCH.jpg

Early to mid April 215ish - http://i.imgur.com/C9riD0M.jpg

May 12 (today, 206) - http://i.imgur.com/XILsIqd.jpg

Still have some fat to trim, but I should be around 195-200 and body fat hopefully in the 10% range in a month's time. 

Cut out a lot of drinking, a lot of the eating I love, and found a bunch of healthy alternatives and snacks that I've been enjoying. Once you get through the initial hurdle and you see the weight coming off as well as on the scale, it becomes routine and something you want to continue. Breaking through the wall for the first month is the hardest IMO.

 

[Otis]

Both times my wife was pregnant I ballooned to the heaviest of my life. Upper 230's, probably touched 240, I'm about 6'2". I've also been muscular, I've worked out since I'm 15, but when I let loose, I get gigantic and the muscle turns over to a fatty muscle watery bulky overweight look, if I could describe it. In the summer of '14 I dropped to the lightest I've been since my sophomore year of HS, which was 185, stayed between there and 200 fluctuating, but keeping great shape. She got pregnant in June of '15 and I started to balloon again to the 230s by the time my second was born in Feb. I've been animal style since late Feb and stepped on the scale just now at 206.

March 1st 230-232 range- http://i.imgur.com/rXpCXCH.jpg

Early to mid April 215ish - http://i.imgur.com/C9riD0M.jpg

May 12 (today, 206) - http://i.imgur.com/XILsIqd.jpg

Still have some fat to trim, but I should be around 195-200 and body fat hopefully in the 10% range in a month's time. 

Cut out a lot of drinking, a lot of the eating I love, and found a bunch of healthy alternatives and snacks that I've been enjoying. Once you get through the initial hurdle and you see the weight coming off as well as on the scale, it becomes routine and something you want to continue. Breaking through the wall for the first month is the hardest IMO.

You're a pretty jacked dude in that last picture.  You lift regularly I assume?  How old a dude are you?

Shaving chests is kind of #### imo.  

Congrats on your progress though.  I basically look like the fat BEFORE picture of you.    

 

[Ministry of Pain]

How bad are sugary fruit drinks like Minute Maid or Florida Orange Juice for your diet?

Great question...they have a lot of sugar. I am an OJ nut, love the Florida OJ, Indian River, Natalie's, backyard...

I do not drink more than about 4-6 oz per serving. I tend to drink my OJ when I come in from walking or exercise, good way to refuel quick. 

Indian River Grapefruit Juice will put a smile on your face and it has less sugar/calories than OJ. 

 

[Ministry of Pain]

Both times my wife was pregnant I ballooned to the heaviest of my life. Upper 230's, probably touched 240, I'm about 6'2". I've also been muscular, I've worked out since I'm 15, but when I let loose, I get gigantic and the muscle turns over to a fatty muscle watery bulky overweight look, if I could describe it. In the summer of '14 I dropped to the lightest I've been since my sophomore year of HS, which was 185, stayed between there and 200 fluctuating, but keeping great shape. She got pregnant in June of '15 and I started to balloon again to the 230s by the time my second was born in Feb. I've been animal style since late Feb and stepped on the scale just now at 206.

March 1st 230-232 range- http://i.imgur.com/rXpCXCH.jpg

Early to mid April 215ish - http://i.imgur.com/C9riD0M.jpg

May 12 (today, 206) - http://i.imgur.com/XILsIqd.jpg

Still have some fat to trim, but I should be around 195-200 and body fat hopefully in the 10% range in a month's time. 

Cut out a lot of drinking, a lot of the eating I love, and found a bunch of healthy alternatives and snacks that I've been enjoying. Once you get through the initial hurdle and you see the weight coming off as well as on the scale, it becomes routine and something you want to continue. Breaking through the wall for the first month is the hardest IMO.

So here is my question Adonis...how realistic is it that you can be a gym rat the rest of your life? Maybe instead of weights you should run/cycle and turn bulk muscle into lean muscle and sustain it for a lifetime. The average male is not naturally built with a muscular chest, it takes some lifting or workout to get that type of look. 

You don't see a lot of guys lifting in their 40s and 50s or beyond...exceptions yes but it is far from the norm. 

Edit to add: Don't mind our cadi-ness and jealousy over your muscles. Good job on losing the weight. 

 

[fantasycurse42]

You're a pretty jacked dude in that last picture.  You lift regularly I assume?  How old a dude are you?

Shaving chests is kind of #### imo.  

Congrats on your progress though.  I basically look like the fat BEFORE picture of you.    

33. I go to the gym every other night, typically for two hours - majority weights and maybe 20-30 minutes abs/cardio. I think if you've worked out for most of your life, your body has an advantage over someone who hasn't. I've been an avid gym goer since I was about 15, so even when I'm on a hiatus, once I get back in, it feels like I'm simply waking my body back up.

I need the gym, with an infant and toddler in the house, a cranky housewife dealing with the little kids all day, 9-11 every other night is my me/gym time... Helps me blow off steam. 

Diet is also huge. In my teens and early-mid 20's I could eat anything and still be in great shape as long as I went to a gym, over the last 5 years that just doesn't ring true anymore.

I see some of the same people doing some serious cardio for over an hour every time I'm there and they look the same to me now as they did a year ago. Maybe they took a long break like me, IDK... But this one guy almost looks like he is gaining weight. I see him every time I'm there, he is doing crazy cardio, drenched in sweat, and looks fatter than he did 2.5 months ago - if it isn't diet, has to be a medical condition.

Sometimes I'll supplement a meal with Fage fat free yogurt, Kind Granola, sliced banana, and splash a little honey on it, delicious, 300 or so calories, filling, almost fat free, lots of protein... I'll never tire of it. 

Also, one thing I've been experimenting with is small dinner, medium lunch, big breakfast. When I do this, I find myself craving food a lot less later in the day and helps avoid going on a binge. 

With all that being said, I've got a wedding and rehearsal dinner Sat/Sun, this weekend will be a set back

 

[fantasycurse42]

So here is my question Adonis...how realistic is it that you can be a gym rat the rest of your life? Maybe instead of weights you should run/cycle and turn bulk muscle into lean muscle and sustain it for a lifetime. The average male is not naturally built with a muscular chest, it takes some lifting or workout to get that type of look. 

You don't see a lot of guys lifting in their 40s and 50s or beyond...exceptions yes but it is far from the norm. 

Edit to add: Don't mind our cadi-ness and jealousy over your muscles. Good job on losing the weight. 

There's this Japanese guy lifting weights in great shape at my gym, guy has to be at least 70. I think I'll be able to lift weights hopefully into my 50's - obviously as I age I need to scale back, but my body is molded like this, probably due to working out basically since I hit my major growth spurt after puberty. 

When im older, hopefully I'll be retired in Florida, swimming is one of my favorite activities, such a good workout too.

 

[Gachi]

I really need to get my weight under control. Went to the doctor last week and I had gained 5 pounds and I might be put on an additional blood pressure medication.

I have a follow-up appointment in 3 months, I'd really like to drop 20-30 pounds by then to show my doctor I'm actually putting forth effort to lose weight. 

Goal weight is 225-240. I'm 6'5. 

Since I consume such a high number of calories a day, I figure a calorie deficit would be pretty easy. The first 50-60 pounds should basically fall off if I just stick to the basics. 

Because of my blood pressure, the doctor advised against weight lifting so I'll stick to cardio and ab workouts and maybe transition into weight training as I lose weight. I want to do cardio twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. 

And of course the main things: no soda, chips, pizza, etc. 

Gonna buy one of those nutribullets.

 

[kutta]

I really need to get my weight under control. Went to the doctor last week and I had gained 5 pounds and I might be put on an additional blood pressure medication.

I have a follow-up appointment in 3 months, I'd really like to drop 20-30 pounds by then to show my doctor I'm actually putting forth effort to lose weight. 

Goal weight is 225-240. I'm 6'5. 

Since I consume such a high number of calories a day, I figure a calorie deficit would be pretty easy. The first 50-60 pounds should basically fall off if I just stick to the basics. 

Because of my blood pressure, the doctor advised against weight lifting so I'll stick to cardio and ab workouts and maybe transition into weight training as I lose weight. I want to do cardio twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. 

And of course the main things: no soda, chips, pizza, etc. 

Gonna buy one of those nutribullets.

What do you weigh now?

 

[kutta]

There's this Japanese guy lifting weights in great shape at my gym, guy has to be at least 70. I think I'll be able to lift weights hopefully into my 50's - obviously as I age I need to scale back, but my body is molded like this, probably due to working out basically since I hit my major growth spurt after puberty. 

When im older, hopefully I'll be retired in Florida, swimming is one of my favorite activities, such a good workout too.

I just turned 50 and I'm in some of the best shape of my life and I'm stronger than I've ever been. I weigh 197, 6'1". I've been boxing for 3 years now and still lift regularly. There's absolutely no reason why you can't stay in shape and lift weights into your 50's and beyond.

 

[ProstheticRGK]

If this potato thing is so great, why not just integrate more plain potatoes into your diet?  Does one need to go Full Spud in order to achieve any of the professed benefits of potatoes?

Here's why I did full spud, maybe you can relate: I was motivated to do something, anything. I saw a video of a guy getting tremendous results incredibly easily and quickly. The solution was the easiest solution I saw- eat potatoes. Put fuel in the machine and not have to calculate macro percentages/ phytonutrients levels/ gut health biomes, or anything else. I didn't need an app to start, just a 10 lb. bag of potatoes.

i also realized listening to the spud fit guy that I related to a lot of what he said about how he viewed food. I was using food like a drug. Ice cream, chips, burgers, pizza, that was my go-to way of coping with stress and feeling crappy. I'd always been fairly fit most of my life and was able to eat like a 20-year-old and stay fairly trim because I was so active into my 30s, like fantasycurse42, but when I started to get older and stopped being so active, I ballooned up. The things Maurile wrote about the hyperpalatabilty of food is real. So much of what we eat as the Standard American Diet has been engineered by scientists whose job is to figure out how to make stuff taste so good that it stimulates every neural pathway that you have in your mouth, eyes, nose, and makes an association with happy memories of mom's apple pie, and safe, warm hugs. And, it's designed to make you crave it like the lab rat in the cocaine maze tapping the cocaine dose button until his little paws fall off, and never get hungry, so you can keep eating more. Think about that- every time you've mustered a Herculean effort of will and managed to slim down 15-20 lbs., you slide right back down the rabbit hole and start eating the same stuff. Why? Because science. You have to go through some pretty hardcore "deprogramming" to lose those associations with that food. The blandness of nothing but potatoes works. Food cravings die down after about 3-4 days, and you just think about having to put fuel in the tank. Not about what you're in the mood for, or what sounds good.

the science says you could do it a whole bunch of ways. Culdeus does it his way, MoP did it his way. Fc42 does it his way. You can get great results just doing all of the things you know you should do- drink a ton more water, never drink calories, restrict calories, eat less processed food and more natural, home-cooked food. I was overwhelmed at the thought of trying to figure out all the calories and macros and lists of foods to exploit/avoid. This is simple, and I'm a simpleton. 

 

[Otis]

Here's why I did full spud, maybe you can relate: I was motivated to do something, anything. I saw a video of a guy getting tremendous results incredibly easily and quickly. The solution was the easiest solution I saw- eat potatoes. Put fuel in the machine and not have to calculate macro percentages/ phytonutrients levels/ gut health biomes, or anything else. I didn't need an app to start, just a 10 lb. bag of potatoes.

i also realized listening to the spud fit guy that I related to a lot of what he said about how he viewed food. I was using food like a drug. Ice cream, chips, burgers, pizza, that was my go-to way of coping with stress and feeling crappy. I'd always been fairly fit most of my life and was able to eat like a 20-year-old and stay fairly trim because I was so active into my 30s, like fantasycurse42, but when I started to get older and stopped being so active, I ballooned up. The things Maurile wrote about the hyperpalatabilty of food is real. So much of what we eat as the Standard American Diet has been engineered by scientists whose job is to figure out how to make stuff taste so good that it stimulates every neural pathway that you have in your mouth, eyes, nose, and makes an association with happy memories of mom's apple pie, and safe, warm hugs. And, it's designed to make you crave it like the lab rat in the cocaine maze tapping the cocaine dose button until his little paws fall off, and never get hungry, so you can keep eating more. Think about that- every time you've mustered a Herculean effort of will and managed to slim down 15-20 lbs., you slide right back down the rabbit hole and start eating the same stuff. Why? Because science. You have to go through some pretty hardcore "deprogramming" to lose those associations with that food. The blandness of nothing but potatoes works. Food cravings die down after about 3-4 days, and you just think about having to put fuel in the tank. Not about what you're in the mood for, or what sounds good.

the science says you could do it a whole bunch of ways. Culdeus does it his way, MoP did it his way. Fc42 does it his way. You can get great results just doing all of the things you know you should do- drink a ton more water, never drink calories, restrict calories, eat less processed food and more natural, home-cooked food. I was overwhelmed at the thought of trying to figure out all the calories and macros and lists of foods to exploit/avoid. This is simple, and I'm a simpleton. 

I totally get this. And you were spot-on when you said above this is the kind of thing that would be right up my alley. I'm not questioning it one bit, and I'm tempted to give it a go. 

But my question was whether one could achieve some benefit by adding just some plain potatoes to a diet?  Wouldn't it have the same "it makes your gut chemistry good and fills you up" effects even if you only ate one a day?  Or is this an all or nothing proposition?

 

[AcerFC]

Here's why I did full spud, maybe you can relate: I was motivated to do something, anything. I saw a video of a guy getting tremendous results incredibly easily and quickly. The solution was the easiest solution I saw- eat potatoes. Put fuel in the machine and not have to calculate macro percentages/ phytonutrients levels/ gut health biomes, or anything else. I didn't need an app to start, just a 10 lb. bag of potatoes.

i also realized listening to the spud fit guy that I related to a lot of what he said about how he viewed food. I was using food like a drug. Ice cream, chips, burgers, pizza, that was my go-to way of coping with stress and feeling crappy. I'd always been fairly fit most of my life and was able to eat like a 20-year-old and stay fairly trim because I was so active into my 30s, like fantasycurse42, but when I started to get older and stopped being so active, I ballooned up. The things Maurile wrote about the hyperpalatabilty of food is real. So much of what we eat as the Standard American Diet has been engineered by scientists whose job is to figure out how to make stuff taste so good that it stimulates every neural pathway that you have in your mouth, eyes, nose, and makes an association with happy memories of mom's apple pie, and safe, warm hugs. And, it's designed to make you crave it like the lab rat in the cocaine maze tapping the cocaine dose button until his little paws fall off, and never get hungry, so you can keep eating more. Think about that- every time you've mustered a Herculean effort of will and managed to slim down 15-20 lbs., you slide right back down the rabbit hole and start eating the same stuff. Why? Because science. You have to go through some pretty hardcore "deprogramming" to lose those associations with that food. The blandness of nothing but potatoes works. Food cravings die down after about 3-4 days, and you just think about having to put fuel in the tank. Not about what you're in the mood for, or what sounds good.

the science says you could do it a whole bunch of ways. Culdeus does it his way, MoP did it his way. Fc42 does it his way. You can get great results just doing all of the things you know you should do- drink a ton more water, never drink calories, restrict calories, eat less processed food and more natural, home-cooked food. I was overwhelmed at the thought of trying to figure out all the calories and macros and lists of foods to exploit/avoid. This is simple, and I'm a simpleton. 

This sounds great. I am that guy who routinely loses 40-50 pounds and puts it back on. Been about every two years, lose and gain.

My issue with doing something like this, and Im hoping you can chime in, is that I can not do this forever. So while it sounds great and it clearly works, how do you transition regular food back in. I understand the deprogramming of snack and junk food. But if Im at the beach for two weeks and we go out to eat, I want to be able to eat something other than a potato. Even if I eat chicken and a potato, how does eating regular food again work (Again, not talking about the junk food, just regular food)

 

[ProstheticRGK]

I totally get this. And you were spot-on when you said above this is the kind of thing that would be right up my alley. I'm not questioning it one bit, and I'm tempted to give it a go. 

But my question was whether one could achieve some benefit by adding just some plain potatoes to a diet?  Wouldn't it have the same "it makes your gut chemistry good and fills you up" effects even if you only ate one a day?  Or is this an all or nothing proposition?

The short answer is yes. Because they will fill you up and have low caloric density and high protein and resistant starch which will help your gut biome. But the thing you need to figure out is exactly how much of your diet is dedicated to potatoes (or any other starchy plant food) and what other foods you are eating along with them. The reason all potatoes worked for me is dietary fat restriction to under 7% and calorie restriction to well under 1500. I didn't want to crunch numbers by figuring out how much of what other food I could eat.

 

[culdeus]

This sounds great. I am that guy who routinely loses 40-50 pounds and puts it back on. Been about every two years, lose and gain.

My issue with doing something like this, and Im hoping you can chime in, is that I can not do this forever. So while it sounds great and it clearly works, how do you transition regular food back in. I understand the deprogramming of snack and junk food. But if Im at the beach for two weeks and we go out to eat, I want to be able to eat something other than a potato. Even if I eat chicken and a potato, how does eating regular food again work (Again, not talking about the junk food, just regular food)

This is why you need to eat like you plan to, forever.  Clearly what regular food is to you isn't working.  It's over your basal rate by 1kcal or more per day.  Hack diets that are just extreme macro profiles aren't sustainable no matter whatever the construction is.  Some people it makes sense to do these types of hacks for a month or more, perhaps to start of, but I'd rather see people do it when they stall out towards the end of their goal.

 

[James Daulton]

So here is my question Adonis...how realistic is it that you can be a gym rat the rest of your life? Maybe instead of weights you should run/cycle and turn bulk muscle into lean muscle and sustain it for a lifetime. The average male is not naturally built with a muscular chest, it takes some lifting or workout to get that type of look. 

You don't see a lot of guys lifting in their 40s and 50s or beyond...exceptions yes but it is far from the norm. 

Edit to add: Don't mind our cadi-ness and jealousy over your muscles. Good job on losing the weight. 

Actually the older you get, the more important weight lifting becomes.  You don't have to be throwing around 3 plates on the bench, 4 on the squat, etc, but you should be able to at least bench your bodyweight and squat and deadlift 1.5x your weight.

A muscular yet lean physique looks great at any age.

 

[fantasycurse42]

I think it is important to find snacks you like that aren't going to crush you. 

Replace a slice of pizza in the afternoon with a cup of yogurt, chips and dip with cucumbers and tzatziki sauce... Small changes like this that are sustainable. 

I still enjoy a gut busting meal here and there, don't get me wrong, but keeping it within moderation is key.