Primal Potato Diet (PPD) page 2

[Miss Understood]

I was very resistant to this idea at first because. Let's face it, only eating one food for days on end is pretty bizarre and is obviously not too healthy if pushed beyond a week or two. After seeing the thread going on and on and on, however, I decided to give it a try since I typically do some sort of a crash diet for a week or two before vacation. The last time I was living on tuna fish and salad and going hungry, lol, so this sounded like an interesting option. Bottom line, I lost 4.75 pounds in six days and my waist and abdomen are smaller. I measure every Monday so I do have a basis of comparison. After a couple days post potato diet I regained half a pound on two different days but have since dropped a half pound twice so I am back to my low of 146.

If people think it's too anti-primal, then don't do it. As for me, it was just what I needed to get a month's worth of weight loss in six days before vacation.

[tatertot]

I'm lean and muscular, have what most people would consider very nice abs, lift very heavy things regularly, and am concerned about losing muscle mass if I do a week of potatoes. It takes me a while to add muscle back on, and I hate if I lose it. However, I'd like to get my abs into "holy freaking crap" territory. Would this do it without dropping muscle? I'm due for a deload week anyway at some point in the next few weeks, so I'm thinking about the potato-deload combo, but I can't get out of my head that I typically eat a pretty huge amount of meat per day.

The bodybuilding community goes through regular cycles of bulking and cutting. When cutting, they all agree that they will lose a bit of lean muscle. They also normally cut for more than 2 weeks, more like 6 weeks to get ready for competition. They try to lose weight at the rate 1-2 pounds a week. What we are seeing with the PPD is .5 to 1 pound a day. Certainly some of it is muscle, but I don't think it is a substantial part of it. I'd say try it for a week. There is a guy around here called PKLOPP who is doing an experiment with potatoes and protein but no fat, I will be curious to see what he finds out.

[Mr. Anthony]

The bodybuilding community goes through regular cycles of bulking and cutting. When cutting, they all agree that they will lose a bit of lean muscle. They also normally cut for more than 2 weeks, more like 6 weeks to get ready for competition. They try to lose weight at the rate 1-2 pounds a week. What we are seeing with the PPD is .5 to 1 pound a day. Certainly some of it is muscle, but I don't think it is a substantial part of it. I'd say try it for a week. There is a guy around here called PKLOPP who is doing an experiment with potatoes and protein but no fat, I will be curious to see what he finds out.

Yeah, I know all this stuff in my head, but...

I'll probably end up doing 5 days or so of potatoes during my deload week. I'm nowhere near bodybuilding size, so when I drop any muscle it's noticeable. I'm curious about Pklopp's results, as well, but if I decide to do the potato thing I'll probably want to do only potatoes for the duration, mainly so I don't have to think about nutrition or be tempted by other foods. I'm checking this thread to see if anyone like me has done the potato thing, gotten shredded abs, and not lost muscle. It's definitely interesting.

[sakura_girl]

Sakura, water loss is a classic issue with low carb and/or low salt, whereas most people on spuds are not only on high carb by definition but also tend to be a little generous with the salt. Especially by the 3rd day...

Going back to normal eating is probably why most of us find we lose another lb or so after stopping.


AC

Water weight loss = when your glycogen is being used up. Since you're using glycogen on calorie restriction -> lose water weight.

[tatertot]

Water weight loss = when your glycogen is being used up. Since you're using glycogen on calorie restriction -> lose water weight.

I was doing the IF thing last summer. I would fast about 48 hours once every other week. I would lose about 6-8lbs in that 48 hours. Upon resumption of normal eating, all that weight would come right back. That's water weight loss.

PPD caused me to lose about 3/4 of a pound a day for 14 days. At day 14, I was down 10lbs. I then started eating my normal, primal food. I never regained any of the 10 pounds I lost! Over the next week, I even lost 2 more pounds. I was kind of freaking out to tell the truth and started pigging out on steak and eggs and bananas and cheese. I am now weight stable at 12 pounds less than I was for almost 18 months prior to PPD.

I agree that you know what water weight loss is and provided a good definition, but I don't think that is the PPD's effect.

[sakura_girl]

I agree that you know what water weight loss is and provided a good definition, but I don't think that is the PPD's effect.

Muscle catabolism is the other part of the equation that I mentioned.

And maybe you're still glycogen depleted....do you work out?

[tatertot]

Muscle catabolism is the other part of the equation that I mentioned.

And maybe you're still glycogen depleted....do you work out?

I'm not a huge work-out guy. I walk lots and do pushups, pullups, and have a giant tractor tire I flip around the yard a couple times a week. I guess I really embraced the 'play' aspect of PB fitness. I hope Mr. Anthony tries it out and gives a good report on his feel for the muscle catabolism portion of the equation.

[tatertot]

I know there was a lot of talk about the ownership of the potato diet, but this link provided by MeatGrrrl a couple days ago kinda put credit squarely in Mary mcDougall's hands. McDougall Newsletter June 2006 Mary's Mini-McD Diet

She wanted this to be a life-long eating plan, and seemed to think it would work. I think 'primalizing' it is the next logical step. From the link above:

"In the early 1980s we (John and Mary) went on an “all potato and greens” diet for 10 days—just for the experience. We had hash browns for breakfast, baked potatoes and steamed frozen vegetables for lunch, and mashed potatoes with a salad for dinner. Yes, we were bored towards the end, but we each lost 10 pounds, felt great, and continued our love for potatoes.

A landmark experiment was carried out in 1925 on two healthy adults, a man 25 years old and a woman 28 years old.2 For 6 months these two people lived on a diet primarily of white potatoes. (A few additional items providing insignificant nutrients were added: a few fruits, coffee, and tea. Because they were losing too much weight, pure fat—containing no other nutrients—was also added.)

Could a diet of potatoes meet their nutritional needs? Even though they were both physically active (especially the man) they were described as, “…in good health on a diet in which the nitrogen (protein) was practically solely derived from the potato.”

Did they like this diet? The report stated, “They did not tire of the uniform potato diet and there was no craving for change.”

Starchy vegetables, like potatoes, are very appetite-satisfying. In an enlightening experiment, 38 separate foods were fed to subjects and a rating of their level of satisfaction (a satiety index) was determined every 15 minutes for 2 hours after the meals.3 The highest satisfaction level was produced by boiled white potatoes, and it was seven times higher than the lowest index for croissants. Potatoes were almost 5 times more satisfying than a Mars candy bar and twice as satisfying as beef or cheese. Starchy vegetables satisfy the hunger drive—fatty foods leave you craving.

You can adjust to simple eating, just like your pets are happy eating the same meal every day. You don’t worry if your dog and cat are enjoying their simple chow. They are hungry, the food satisfies them, and you know you are providing the best nutrition to keep them fit and long-lived.

Most animals thrive on simple diets—the koala bear lives on eucalyptus leaves, the panda bear on bamboo shoots, the horse on grass, etc. The truth is that nature has designed her foods complete and balanced for proper nutrition, long before they reach your dinner table. You cannot improve on this blueprint.

White potatoes are 10% protein with all of the essential amino acids provided in generous amounts. These tubers have 2.5 grams of dietary fiber per potato. That translates into 50 grams for an active man and 37 grams for an active woman. Potatoes are very high in vitamin C, B vitamins, potassium and other minerals. In animal experiments potatoes have been shown to have a particularly potent cholesterol-lowering effect.4 Feeding rats a potato-enriched diet for 3 weeks led to a 30% decrease in cholesterol and a 36% decrease in triglyceride levels.5"

[fat belly frog]

Ok I am on day three of a potatoe and white rice only down 3.1kgs (6.8lbs) and broken thru to my lowest weight for 10 years... I now weigh 107.5kgs and was bouncing between 110-112kgs for the last year, BF would be ~ 20%. I am fit an active just completed an 2 hour multisport adventure race last weekend, and am always surfing, kiting, SUP, swimimg. I have eaten primal 80-90% for the last 3 years and dropped 15 kgs (33lbs)

On the Potatoes and white rice Energy levels are great just finished a 1 hour swim squad session of 2500m (fasted) and swam faster than I have in a long time. Last night I also set new PR on pull ups three sets to failure 10, 8 6 previous two weeks ago was 8,6,5. I will use this as a strength base line and check at the end of the period. I dont mind if I lose a bit of muscle as I put it on easy, losing the fat has been the issue to date. I am also doing the Ray Cronse Cold Hot Cold showers and sleeping duvet free..ala CT. Hoping for Weight lose (fat hopfully) and maybe see a reducation in the masses of lypoma's I have had since a teenager (begign tummours made up of fatty adiposal tissue)

Pretty easy to date, 100g Potatoes is ~ 100 cals, 1 cup of rice is ~ 200cals. Bit of salt and vinager or Hot chili sauce, black coffee, black tea, water. I have found this easier to stick to than the whole 30 not cravings simple food choices, no way to add in to many "good fats" (nuts, butter, CO) etc.

Biggest fear was losing energy so I can keep up with an fairly active life style, no problems to date. Anyway I see if I can last the 14 days and report back in on how I am going. The worst thing that can happen is I lose a bit of muscle and bounce back up to 110kgs...

[sakura_girl]

I'm not a huge work-out guy. I walk lots and do pushups, pullups, and have a giant tractor tire I flip around the yard a couple times a week. I guess I really embraced the 'play' aspect of PB fitness. I hope Mr. Anthony tries it out and gives a good report on his feel for the muscle catabolism portion of the equation.

That's quite interesting. That is the main thing I'm concerned about on the potato diet is muscle loss more than fat loss. I'm waiting around for pklopp to finish his self experimentation before trying it out XD