EAT MOAR TATERS! Huh? page 64

[mom5booklover]

Just started the potato feast yesterday. This is how it has gone so far.

My temps before the feast have been consistently staying around 97.8 to 98.2 upon rising. I eat one meal per day at about 1200 to 1400 calories normally (since July). I have not lost any weight for about 4 weeks now. I typically fluctuate between 130 lbs and 133 lbs.

*Sunday before feast - 132.2 9:00 am/ temp 97.9 (Did Bikram yoga for the first time in over a year so I believe I have some serious swelling)
*Monday 1st day of potato feast - 135 lbs 6:00 am/ temp 97.7 (walked slowly for about 30-45 minutes)
*Tuesday 2nd day of potato feast - 134.4 lbs 6:00 am/ temp 98.0 (I am really swollen and sore from Bikram still but going to go again tonight)
I have to say I felt fine other than the sore joints and muscles from yoga. I was not loving the potatos though. It was REALLY hard for me to choke them down.
I dry fried about 1 lb of skinned russets and put salt and a little hot sauce on them. They were mildly enjoyable for about the first half of the plate then I felt really naseous and found myself making the face my kids make when they are forced to eat peas:P While I was eating the fried potatos I boiled 1.5 lbs of small white ones. Then added mustard, salt, and pepper. It kind of reminded me of a potato salad. I struggled to eat about half of them and decided to save the rest for later. I knew I wasn't going to be able to eat any more potatos but was still only at about 600 calories for the day. So I ate half of a banana (I know too much fructose) and about 10 macadamia nuts (I know too much fat but I was worried I was too low in calories). I also couldn't give up the half n half in my coffee. So I probably had about 3-4 tblsp of half and half. After entering all of my calories into paleo tracker I only was able to hit about 900 calories. Too low for my comfort level but I was done eating and couldn't even think about putting another potato near my mouth. I really want to try the potato feast for at least 3 to 5 days but am finding that since I am not a huge fan of them in the first place it may become increasingly more difficult. I will see how today and tomorrow goes at the very least. I may try to give up on the half and half tomorrow if I still am not losing. Hope everyone else is doing well

So I attached my quote for a better idea of what the situation is with me.
I seriously failed on my first attempt with the potato feast.
After my first day of banana/potato/macadamia nuts under 900 calories I really struggled the next day. I was ravenous. I don't know if it was the banana or what but I could not eat enough. I am never hungry in the mornings anymore. I usually only eat one meal so my body is totally used to not eating until 5ish. But I had absolutely no control over my hunger and ended up eating way too much that second day. No potatos at all.
So my new strategy consists of not eating 1 meal per day. But rather trying a more traditional eating style while on the potato feast. Since carbs are less filling and obviously digest faster my body needs to eat more often. So I started again yesterday. With this new way of doing it.

Here how its gone so far:
Tuesday before feast: Weight 134.2 morning temp - 98.3
Wednesday day 1 of feast:
Morning weight: 133.4 lbs Morning temp: 98.1
-Found a new use for my waffle maker Made dry fried waffle hashbrowns with 3 med. red potatos/vinegar/chile powder/ salt and pepper (actually was kinda good
-One large sweet potato nuked then skinned and eaten with salt and vinegar.
-3 Russets baked then skinned with salt and vinegar and mashed.
Probably was only about 800 calories.

Thursday Day 2:
Morning weight: 130.6 lbs/ Morning temp 98.3
- Made dry fried waffle hashbrowns with 3 med. red potatos/vinegar/chile powder/ salt and pepper.
-One large sweet potato nuked then skinned and eaten with salt and vinegar.
-Lemon and hot water to try to alleviate bloating.
-For dinner I will probably have 3 Russets waffle hashbrown style with vin/ chile pwdr/ salt/ pepper.

Now even with a loss of 3 to 4 lbs, because I fluctuate so much water weight-wise (adrenal issues)I am not gonna call it a win until I actually break through my plateua of 130 lbs. I can fluctuate 3+ lbs in 24 hours depending on my stress level and sodium/ potassium intake and losses through exercise. So.........not bad so far but still not gonna jump for joy yet.

[primal_jessjane]

Mom Book Lover ... Just curious, you are trying to cure a thyroid/adrenal imbalance by fasting nearly everyday, skipping breakfast, and partaking in chronic calorie restricting and/or crash dieting? ........... Rationale? ;-)

[mom5booklover]

Rationale.............on a thread like this is an odd question.
First I have experimented on myself for years now. I did cure my thyroid and adrenals by eating whole foods and getting rid of the alergens that were causing my body to attack itself. I am still leary of eating the things that caused the problems in the first place but am not going to sit back and hope my body gets better by not doing anything. I was gaining weight very rapidly when I found out I could not tolerate alot of foods. I stopped eating those foods and started feeling tons better. I still was over weight and could not lose it for anything. Enter Primal blueprint. Which did not work for me on it's own. So a few months in I started paying attention to my lethargy and my eating habits. I would eat breakfast and get really sleepy. Then comes lunch and sleep and serious issues thinking straight. So I started reading the threads on intermittent fasting and Pklopps info and it made sense. I tried it while closely monitoring my temps. If they didn't go up from the 96 to 97 average they were at then I would know that it wasn't helping. Same goes for the adrenals. Only I monitor them by how much my temps fluctuate. If it's more that 3 degrees differenc on average for 3 consecutive days then I know my adrenals are struggling. I am at heart a self experimenter. That is truly where most of my rationale comes from. The potato feast is just another addition as my temps have leveled off and so has my weight loss. So I move on to a new experiment.

Plus just like you I have people I haven't seen in a long time coming and I want to look my best.
Just because I have these endo diseases does not mean I have to settle for fat and boring........

P.S. and as far as the calorie restricting that is only on this potato feast and because I can't eat anymore than about 800 to 900 calories of them(if I'm lucky). I normally do not ever calorie restrict and am avidly against it. That is why it took me this long to try the feast.

[primal_jessjane]

Fasting does not skew your temperatures? How long did it take you to bring your temps up to a normal range? I'm sorry if you felt I was singling you out or whatever, just curious because a lot of people (myself included) will go to some pretty extreme measures just to drop a few pounds while sacrificing sanity or health. I know if I intentionally "diet" for more than a few days, I'll get too fixated on my appearance and my performance in the gym suffers... Which is really what gives me a consistent love for myself.

Of course having an endocrine disorder does not mean you have to be "fat and boring"!!!! Where did that even come from?!? One... I am sure you are not "fat". And two, eating a potato diet is more "boring" than anything else I can freaking imagine.

I was going off your signature, by the way... 1200 calories, 5x/wk fasting.

[mom5booklover]

I figured you were going off of my sig. 1200 calories is a generic number for my actual BMR which is around 1246ish as I don't do alot of exercise most days. Mom, wife, full time job, kids activities, homework, etc..... make exercise very hard to fit in. I (try) to take a long slow walk with the dog 4 to 6 days a week which does not use many calories(other than the fact that she's a st bernard and quite strong). I have a desk job. I do yoga 2 days a week. I try to sprint once a week but really haven't been able to since I injured my ankle 3 months ago. I lift heavy on my lunch hour about 2 days a week. So my caloric needs are very low (1246 on rest days according to IF Calculator). When I do yoga I use alot more calories and usually do eat more than this but still in order to lose I stay under 1500 calories or so. I have learned over the years since my thyroid diagnosis that my metabolism is just slower than most peoples so I can't eat like everyone else. Thats what put me at the weight I was at in the first place.
I get what your saying about self image and believe me I know the extremes you speak of and I won't deny that I have gone there in the past. I just have reached a point where health is also important where back then I didn't even have an inkling what my health was like while "dieting." The IF -ing is something I just feel better doing. I am just trying this potato "hack" for a few days to see what happens. If I feel terrible like I did the first time I tried it then I won't do it again. I also have been thinking about adding more carbs into my eating and I feel like this is a good way to see how badly I might react to them.
I did feel slightly singled out but no worries. I understand what it might look like to others. I wasn't saying you said anything about "fat and boring." I just think some people do sit back and hope someone helps them by giving them another pill to pop while gaining massive amounts of weight and drowning in thier own misery. I am not one of those people. I have a problem...........I find a way to fix it. The "fat and boring" statement has been said to my family members who think I should just do what the doctors say.......Which in the long run is to be "fat and boring."

[Dirlot]

You know I was just joking! I love your posts and am extremely jealous of that flag-pole thing! Reminds me of my hero, Al Kavadlo.

Missed the joke part but all good and those flags are doable....go for them!

[jacksongirl1]

Sorry if this is a dumb question but how do you dry cook hashbrowns??? My first attempt turned into a sticky mess that I ended up just mushing the result... On day 3 of taters and down 2.8 lbs!

[otzi]

Sorry if this is a dumb question but how do you dry cook hashbrowns??? My first attempt turned into a sticky mess that I ended up just mushing the result... On day 3 of taters and down 2.8 lbs!


I shred 2 or 3 medium sized potatoes. Then get a non-stick pan really hot, not red-hot, but hot enough to burn butter if you know what I mean. Then plop all the potatoes into the pan and turn the heat down a bit. Let them cook undisturbed for about 2-3 minutes, they will turn pretty dark, but won't burn if you get it just right.

Now, with a good plastic spatula, scrape underneath until they are free, then turn all at once or in sections. Once they are all turned, put the lid back on and let them cook 3-5 minutes. Scrape again and flip, now you can also salt and pepper them. Turn heat way down and let cook until they are done. Total time is about 8-10 minutes.

I read earlier today someone else is making them in a waffle maker. I'm going to dust mine off and try it in the morning.

Good luck!

[gopintos]

I am sure I missed some posts, so not sure if this was discussed. But Mark talks about carb refeeds for weight loss for the purpose of restoring leptin levels in the dieter. Anything starchy 250 - 300g worth. Talks about a day, or 2-3 days, or some experts say a week long refeed. He says:

You’ll probably get that bloated, water-weight feeling the following day, especially if your diet is relatively low-carb, but that will go away after a day or so. Leptin will rise (independent of fat storage), glycogen will replenish, and your appetite will normalize.

I may not find refeeds necessary for my goals, but I recognize that they can help people reach their goals. Everyone’s different. I can’t guarantee my way will work – you may have to get super strict and follow Martin Berkhan’s or Lyle McDonald’s methods to reach your desired level of leanness. Still, the Primal refeed is worth experimenting with, especially if you’ve reached a plateau lasting a month or more.

I’m a big fan of steady, gradual weight loss, and the leaner you get the slower it gets, but it’s not for everyone. The above recommendations simply represent a way you can adhere to the Primal eating plan and still tinker with carb refeeds without overly disrupting your usual diet.

If you’re still having trouble reconciling the refeed notion with your idea of Grok’s lifestyle, just imagine you found a bushel of mangos, or happened upon a particularly fruitful trove of edible roots. You think Grok would have tossed those mangos to avoid the carbohydrates?

.

[Daydreamer]

otzi, I am the person who asked Before and After pics.
But what you didn't understand is that I asked pics to prove the success of your potatoes strategy, not just before and after pics of your overall weight loss (congrats on that by the way man).

Don't you have some pics (shirtless ?) of you before and after a potato fast ?

Thanks.