Primal Potato Diet (PPD) page 13

[JoanieL]

It is not superficial to want to lose weight. I bet if you add up all the diseases caused by obesity, and the cost those diseases have to society, they'd come close to or pass diseases and costs from cigarettes. Cigarette smokers who try electric cigarettes, hynotism, accupuncture, drugs, etc., are all treated to an "atta boy/girl, you quit however you can," while those trying to lose weight in whatever manner possible are made to feel like lazy sloths (see avatar for sloth).

Whether you crash it off or take it off slowly, you have about a 90% chance of putting all back on within five years. And I don't know the stats for those who never even hit goal no matter what method they choose to lose weight.

Hopefully, people discovering the benefits of regular exercise, and eating whole, healthy foods in addition to meeting their weight goals will change that 90%. If hacks, whether IF, multi-day fasts, keto, cyclic keto, or the temporary eating of one food that is a natural food helps people, then so be it.

Imo, people over 40 who are more than 50% overweight are absolutely looking at some serious health issues down the line. Barring something dreadful like the Methedrine/laxative diet, they (and I when I was there) should do whatever possible to get that weight off. Sorry, I know that's not popular here, but it's starting to really bother me that some people think wanting to lose weight is trivial or superficial.

[Terry H]

If you don't push yourself to the limit, how do you even know if you have one?

Trust me. You do. Nice on a tee shirt tho.

Imo, people over 40 who are more than 50% overweight are absolutely looking at some serious health issues down the line. Barring something dreadful like the Methedrine/laxative diet, they (and I when I was there) should do whatever possible to get that weight off. Sorry, I know that's not popular here, but it's starting to really bother me that some people think wanting to lose weight is trivial or superficial.

There are some people here who believe it to be unhealthy, and when compared to the PB, superficial. It is how you lose weight that is at issue as well as what kind of weight is being lost. If you are obese the last thing one needs is a crash diet. You wd. agree that how one gets there (weight loss) will determine success, no? As far as I can see the argument is for the last few pounds using this one weird trick isn't it? So if one is going to use this method they are already out of the morbidly obese zone, so to speak, and hope this tweak will get off the last few? Who has said that wanting to lose weight is trivial or superficial? I think your argument is a bit of a straw man.

[paleo-bunny]

My theory on the potato diet is that it boosts fat loss by suddenly removing fat and excess protein from the diet while the body is in fat-burning mode and doesn't have its glucose-burning metabolism cranked up. Hence the body is forced to increase burning of stored fat, and will burn that glucose far less efficiently than someone coming from a CW SAD diet.

Thus the context from which one switches to the potato diet is key. And the reason why it only works as a short-term clever hack.

The low-carb fundamentalists would never spot this because all they can do is bleat 'All carbs bad always'.

[Kilian]

Your theory is fairly unnecessary, as Peter over at Hyperlipid already explained the science. The comments are an interesting read as well.

[Terry H]

Your theory is fairly unnecessary, as Peter over at Hyperlipid already explained the science. The comments are an interesting read as well.

How condescending of you.

[Kilian]

Oh I didn't mean to sound condescending. I just wasn't sure if she was aware that the explanation is already out there.

My apologies...

[tatertot]

My theory on the potato diet is that it boosts fat loss by suddenly removing fat and excess protein from the diet while the body is in fat-burning mode and doesn't have its glucose-burning metabolism cranked up. Hence the body is forced to increase burning of stored fat, and will burn that glucose far less efficiently than someone coming from a CW SAD diet.

Thus the context from which one switches to the potato diet is key. And the reason why it only works as a short-term clever hack.

The low-carb fundamentalists would never spot this because all they can do is bleat 'All carbs bad always'.

This is probably the best explanation I have heard. Peter at Hyperlipid may have you beat in number of big words, but you seem to have synthesized it very well, thanks!

[tatertot]

Your theory is fairly unnecessary, as Peter over at Hyperlipid already explained the science. The comments are an interesting read as well.

Did you know Peter did another post, back in 2011 Hyperlipid: Potatoes and weight loss (1)

"I tried and failed to produce a comprehensive post about weight loss on an all potato diet. It runs to too many pages. This is a brief simplification.

Eating 2-3000kcal/day of potatoes spikes blood glucose. The more potatoes you eat the more you spike glucose. The pancreas responds to hyperglycaemia by secreting insulin but also by upregulating pancreatic glucokinase production, which increases insulin secretion per unit rise in glucose. After a couple of days on an all potato diet your pancreas will be producing impressive amounts of post prandial insulin.

Adipocytes respond to the insulin by shutting down lipolysis. Plasma free fatty acids drop and fat loss stops.

Insulin is degraded by insulin degrading enzyme. Very, very, very crudely (with a ton of qualifications, read the paper!) insulin action leads to insulin degradation. All insulin sensitive tissues degrade insulin. The liver is a massive sink for insulin, especially on a high carbohydrate diet. Anything which increases hepatic insulin sensitivity should increase hepatic insulin degradation. A sudden ceasation of free fatty acid supply from adipocytes will increase both hepatic insulin sensitivity and hepatic insulin degradation. A potato diet supplies relatively little in the way of fatty acids so there is also little dietary fat to supply the lipid intermediates to encourage hepatic insulin resistance."

[Fitness Wayne]

Don't tell Fitness Wayne! Burn Fat Fast with Ketosis « Fitness Wayne

"If you are looking to try to lose weight quickly, you should consider trying a ketogenic diet. The diet that popularized ketosis was the Atkins diet back in the 70′s. The definition of a ketogenic diet is a low carb diet where the body produces ketones for energy instead of dietary glucose. When you are in ketosis organs that normally run on glucose switch over to using ketones instead, including the brain, liver and heart"

Yes I do promote ketosis for weight loss because ketosis has been great in helping me lose weight. There are great health benefits from ketosis including preventing seizures for epileptic patients but since I am not epileptic I will just be grateful that it helps me lose weight. When I just follow a normal paleo/primal diet I eat too much fruit to lose enough weight to get into the single digits for body fat % and going into ketosis solves that problem for me.

I don't think selling ketosis/paleo/primal to people for weight loss is a bad thing. I first went paleo 18 months ago because I wanted to lose weight and a year into it I finally got around to reading a paleo book and realized all of the health benefits of paleo and that it wasn't just about weight loss. I stay on paleo today for the health benefits. The way I see it we can bring more people into the paleo/primal community by hyping the weight loss because there is a huge market for weight loss but there is less of a market for healthy living. The more people that go primal and paleo the better it is for all of us because it will be easier to find grass fed beef, wild caught salmon and organic products when we shop. I look forward to 10 years from now and restaurant have primal menu items the way they currently have vegetarian menu items. And the only way that happens is if we bring in more people.

[otzi]

Yes I do promote ketosis for weight loss

I was just picking on you because you posted that today when a bunch of people were down on me for promoting rapid weightloss with the potato diet. I know many, many people have turned to a ketogenic diet for weightloss and very few are doing it for medical reasons.

You should try the potato diet, not much different than ketogenic, really. Fat loss comes from the same mechanism--burning free fatty acids due to lack of other fuels. Makes good blog fodder anyway!