Primal Potato Diet (PPD) page 42

[gopintos]

Keep workin' it, Mel--you'll get there! Since I started eating PHD after Christmas, my weight went up about 3 pounds in first 2 weeks and has leveled off perfectly. My weight seems more stable than it ever has. I don't know if that's the resistant starch or what, but my thyroid and everything seems to be firing on all cylinders for a change. If I were you, I wouldn't mess with the potato diet until you've found a stable point, then stay there for quite some time. After you have stabilized, then maybe try a week or two of 'advanced hacks', before going back to regular eating. If you are gaining on PHD, it's easy to cut a few things slightly like excess fats, pleasure foods and starch. Did you read 'tatertots' talk about RS from plantains in the Q&A forum on PHD website last couple pages? I'm doing that now, too. 20-30g/day from dried plantains.

How are your horses?

I will check it out.

I don't know wth is going on. New low right before Christmas. And I didnt do that bad over Christmas. Like one day of festivities. And I have just not been the same since. <cries in her beer> ummm I mean water. Just kidding, I dont drink. Much. (seriously rarely ever)

So I gained about 5lbs in a week, and then up a couple more, and I have been up and down the same few pounds since 12/26/12. On 3 occasions since then, up a couple more pounds even but then back down.

I weigh within 2-3 lbs less than I did back in AUGUST!!!!

So I am guessing I am fairly stable. (not mentally though) And while I am not 100% certain, I would guess I am fairly close to the weight I carried for many years, before I gained the 65+ that I just took off. I gained that weight over the course of a year, or less after our house fire, and now that is gone. I am NOWHERE close to where I need to be, but maybe my body thinks I am happy here since this was my weight for so long. I never weighed during that time, but I am guessing this was my setpoint for a long time, like 10+ years maybe. So I dont know if that has anything to do with it.

I bent Paul's ear the other day. He said

First I would say don’t stress about a few pounds of weight gain. Your goal should be to be healthy and feel good; weight loss will come as you fix other issues, some of which take time to figure out. For instance you may be mildly hypothyroid and that will cause some weight gain. (You might ask your doctor for thyroid tests.)

I would focus on highly nourishing foods (eg liver, bone broth, seafood, etc) and on circadian rhythm strategies. Don’t make your exercise too intense – intense exercise only 1 or at most 2 days per week, the rest just circadian rhythm promoting activity. Maybe you should stop counting calories or following a program (other than intermittent fasting with 2 meals per day) and focus on listening to your body, eating to appetite, stopping when 80% full.

Not counting calories is scary. Stopping at 80% full, maybe scarier ha.

I was thinking maybe I was still just too low on calories. I really just don't know. So confused & frustrated when I stop to think I have not gained any ground for 7 months. I should be about there by now. I added calories in the last few months, but still under BMR. So maybe it is time to take the calories back down and I am thinking the PPD would do the trick and maybe give me a little boost in the right direction.

But I do feel good. I feel great actually, just not losing weight anymore.

Horses are doing great. I have had lots of exercise pushing 1000lb bales out to them - sometimes in the mud. In the snow. My dogs, my little chihuahua especially is doing great. Her hair has all grown back in. I have been giving her Whey every day, from my homemade greek yogurt, and more meat scraps and bones. She really loves salmon and eggs. Just a few weeks ago, I switched their dog food to grain free but her hair was already mostly grown back in. She is much happier. So at least something is working for her

[marthat]

Another success story! I started last Monday at a rather bloated (bad weekend) 156 lbs, up about 3 lbs from my usual range the week before. Each day consisted of potatoes all day, then a moderate mixed supper, usually nothing but tea after supper. One day I IF's until 12:30 (fancy way to say I skipped breakfast).

And this morning? I saw 149.5 on my scale! The first time in months that I've broken through into the 140's - a major mindshift, if you know what I mean. WAHOO!

So I'm eating normal primal this weekend (2 eggs, 1 breakfast sausage for B, black coffee, BAS with avocado and tuna in olive oil at L. Supper is a dinner out/birthday party. At friends. Ribs, Caesar salad (which I'm bringing), a home-baked spelt-based cake, not sure what else. And I'm not drinking at all, so that's one source of bloat that I don't need to worry about.

Plan is to do 5 days of potatoes again next week. Mon-Fri days is easy, regular Primal supper with hubby, then weekend "off".

[gopintos]

Plan is to do 5 days of potatoes again next week. Mon-Fri days is easy, regular Primal supper with hubby, then weekend "off".

You know, when I reached my low, I was doing many days of "tators till supper". That finally got things moving again after my LCHF experience. Then Christmas hit and now a 7lb gain, and I have not done this protocol since before Christmas. hmmmmm

I still might eat a tator, but I was having it at dinner. The carbs later in the day thing.

I was also reading about iodine and thyroid. I have sea kelp supplements but I havent taken it for a long time either.

Anyways, I have 10# of tators that need used up anyways. Might even be 20. 2 bags anyways. Should I slip over to the secret thread and do this over there so no one gets their loin cloth in a wad on the nutrition forum?

[Dena]

White potatoes (as opposed to sweet potatoes) seem to be the most effective. Any kind - russets, redskins, Yukon golds, mini potatoes, regular white potatoes - all work OK. Cooked mostly without any added fat. Salt, pepper, spices, vinegars and mustards are OK, sugarry condiments to be mostly avoided.

I eat redskins mashed without peeling and some beef broth added for flavour, mini potatoes baked in the oven (wee bit of olive oil on them, plus spices), grated and cooked in a frying pan (can also be done on a George Foreman grill) like a big hash brown pattie. I also have a potato chip maker that goes in the microwave and makes awesome fat-free chips. Lot of options.

Thanks! I'm a little nervous about the boredom factor but am actually looking forward to a week of not having to plan meals. I'm IF'ing today and starting the PPD tomorrow along with my deload week. My only real concern is Tuesday. I co-teach a creative writing course and Tuesday is the last day and typically the class goes out for drinks afterward. I'm going to be missing my red wine but perhaps will comfort myself by slipping some small red potatoes into my purse and noshing on those as others imbibe around me.

One other question - does PPD need a full week to be effective? I was thinking I'd do 4-5 days my first time out. And Sambo712 - I'd take a 2 lb loss and well defined abs as a win. Hope I have good news to report at end of the week.

[marthat]

I found 5 days super effective, but then so was 2 days. It seems to get easier the longer you do it. It has some dampening effect on your appetite.

[InSearchOfAbs]

Yeah Martha! That's awesome!

Dena, I found the 5 days effective as well.

I can't remember what I lost...it's over in the super secret potato project thread over
in Odds and Ends...but I think I started out at 127-and ended up at 122?

Or, I could just be old and not remember the factzzz.

Good luck to all starting Monday!

Julie

[otzi]

I think even 1 day would work, but it's hard to measure success with a 1/2 pound loss since that's in the normal daily variance range. 5-7 days makes a difference you can see and turns you into a believer...then you can start doing 1-2 days at a time knowing it's working even if you can't measure it...if that makes sense.

[calee]

I did two potato meals yesterday with dinner being a salad with romaie, a hard boiled egg, a strip of bacon and 1/4 of an avocado. Up 1.6 pounds this morning. Carbs were previously under 50 a day so the up isn't totally surprising, but disappointing. I'm planning 5-6 days. My goal 1s down 3 and be able to sustain it.

[calee]

It shows that people see 'potato diet' and are drawn into thinking 'fad', 'cabbage soup diet', 'yo-yo diet', 'Vegan' etc...

Or drawn into carb refeed. I'm at a normal weight. This is less a diet and more a "get the last stubborn 10 pounds off".

[marthat]

On the weekend, I did regular Primal meals with two small cheats (one was home-made birthday cake, small piece with whipping cream and other was some sweet bits - mostly gluten-free - at a baby shower). Otherwise, moderate intake, fully primal. And as usual, I rebounded greatly. Some folks come off the PPD with no bounce, and continue to lose another lb or two in the next few days. Not me! I always rebound.

So this morning I weighed 152.5, rebounded 3 lbs from Saturday morning. But on the positive side, last Monday when I started PPD, I was at 156 lbs. So this is a better place on a Monday than last week.

I'm back on potatoes today. All potatoes until supper then a regular moderate meal - today was coconut curry shrimp (like a soup) - delicious, and I'm feeling stuffed. Plan is to maintain this for 3 days, take Thursday off for a daytrip to Toronto, then resume for Friday-Sunday, I hope. But I'm on holidays for the rest of this week (March Break), so the lack of routine may make it more difficult. We'll see.