Note to readers: This post was written in September of 2012. PLEASE do not ask me why I eat ‘this’ or why I don’t eat ‘that’ — as what is shown here does not necessarily reflect what or how I eat today (or more importantly, how you should eat). My diet evolves constantly, due to my constant tweaking and self-experimentation. Over time, I’ll share it here and there, but what I eat is not at all the focus of this blog. I ask that you refrains for asking questions about what I eat your comments.
For reasons I don’t fully understand the most read post on this blog is one I wrote very quickly and with very little thought. I wrote it in response to a question I’m asked all the time, “What do you actually eat?” The post, aptly titled, What I actually eat, has more than twice the traffic of the next three most read posts combined. Go figure.
After a full year in “strict” (i.e., no “cheat” days) nutritional ketosis I wanted to experiment with other eating patterns. I had been reading about intermittent fasting (IF), and had a few discussions and exchanges with Mark Sisson and Robb Wolf about it. Though I don’t know Brad Pilon or Martin Berkhan personally, I’d also read a few interesting things they had written.
Why the change?
My curiosity was sufficiently piqued to break a golden rule – if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
I was very happy after a year of nutritional ketosis, but I did wonder if I could improve on a few things. For starters, as my cycling season was about to ramp up, I wondered what it would be like to weigh 75 kg (165 pounds) instead of my steady-state weight of about 78 kg (172 pounds). I know 3 kg does not sound like a lot, but it can make a huge difference when riding up Mount Palomar, assuming one can preserve power output. I also liked the idea of not spending so much time eating. As you probably know, I’m pretty obsessive about how I utilize the 168 hours in each week and resent anything that takes me away from my family, my work, and my training. (This includes sleep, which I wish I could figure out a way to thrive without.)
In the end, I think Mark Sisson finally just egged me on enough to agree to at least give it try – even just one day per week. And with that, I embarked on the next phase of my nutritional odyssey.
I decided, in early May, to start with the following protocol: one meal per 24 hours, twice a week. On the other 5 days I consumed my usual keto-diet. On the two IF days I would just eat one meal at around dinner time. I still consumed normal amounts of liquids (water, coffee, tea) and supplements (see list below), with one exception – on fasting days I doubled the amount of sodium I supplemented via bouillon from 2 gm per day to 4 gm per day.
Like all nutritional changes, this one took some getting used to. Because I exercise in the mornings, on fasting days I would get pretty hungry by about 10 or 11 am. Interestingly, though, by about 2 pm, as my blood glucose levels would be between 60 and 70 mg/dL, I would start to feel completely fine. In fact, by about 5 or 6 pm, just before eating my meal, I found I wasn’t really hungry. This may have been due to the fact that my B-OHB levels were usually above 3 mM by this time of day.
Why do I call it “IFIK?”
Not surprisingly, after eating 100 gm of protein and 40 gm of carbohydrates in one sitting, my B-OHB levels would fall, often below 0.5 mM, the practical threshold of nutritional ketosis. Usually within 24 hours I’d be back to my normal levels, generally between about 1 and 2 mM. But, the cycling in and out of ketosis was new to me, hence the phrase “intermittent fasting, intermittent ketosis,” or “IFIK.” I guess you can see why I didn’t end up in marketing – “if-ik” doesn’t really have a nice ring to it.
The purpose of this post is not to provide a detailed overview of IF or ketosis, but rather to address the following common questions I often get asked in response to the original post on what I ate:
- Question: Peter, why do you eat so much dairy? Answer: I don’t. That was a year ago. I did eat a lot of dairy, and seemed to tolerate it quite well. I realize that’s not true for everyone. Regardless, I seem to eat much less today.
- Question: Peter, is ketosis for everyone? Answer: Of course not. Besides oxygen and water, few things are.
- Question: Peter, why do you eat so much meat? Answer: I don’t. In fact, some days I don’t eat any. Other days I do. I obviously don’t think there is anything harmful with eating meat (read this post for a refresher), but I’m quite happy eating lots of non-meat items, too.
- Question: Peter, how can anyone possibly do anything athletic without carb loading? Answer: It’s easy. Anyone can do it, if they are just patient and let their body adapt.
- Question: Peter, you eat like a freak (ok, not really a question!) Response: And your point is?
What happened after several months of IFIK?
Interestingly, I did lose weight. After briefly hitting 163 to 164 pounds, I settled out at where I am right now, about 165 to 166 pounds, right at my 75 kg target. I have not yet repeated a DEXA scan to confirm, but I suspect I lost a bit of muscle, along with more fat, probably at about a 1:2 ratio. My last DEXA measured a body fat of about 9%, and I suspect I’m about the same, though my waist is half an inch smaller than when I started, so I may be closer to 8%.
Why do I think this happened?
In the IF community there are really two (maybe more) theories on why I lost weight. I won’t describe them here in any detail, but will do so in subsequent posts. One hypothesis is that I’m simply consuming fewer of the same high quality calories than I did before. The other hypothesis is that the physiologic response to IF (rather than the response to prolonged fasting) is to increase my REE during the period of IF, possibly through the up- and or down-regulation of various hormones. Of course, it could be a combination of these, or something entirely different, too.
Drumroll….
Before getting to the part that folks who are still reading probably care about, let me point out a few differences between what I eat today and what I ate a year ago.
- I consume, on average, fewer calories per day. I am also lighter, and we know TEE varies with body mass, so it’s not surprising that most days I am not eating over 4,000 kcal, as I used to. Of course, one might argue my body has become more metabolically efficient at utilizing substrate, and so my REE is lower than it was a year ago. Finally, I do exercise less than last year. Hence, there are many explanations for this difference.
- I consume less dairy. Don’t read too much into this. There is nothing deliberate about it, just an observation of my behavior.
- I consume less meat of all varieties. Again, don’t read too much into this. I have no explanation except that I seem to crave it in lower amounts and less frequently.
- I consume more overall carbohydrates, though still virtually zero sugar or refined carbohydrates. Most of this additional carbohydrate is in the form of nuts and SuperStarch.
- I consume virtually zero sugar substitutes, except for the little bit in my SuperStarch and protein powder (sucralose). I also drink, at most, about one diet soda per month.
- I spend less money on food.
- I spend less time eating.
- Currently I only eat three meals per day about once a week. I eat two meals per day probably 4 times per week, and one meal per day twice per week.
To calculate the nutritional content of my intake I use a piece of software called Nutritionist Pro, which is not for the faint of heart. It’s one step removed from a DOS prompt. In addition to costing about $600 a year, it’s not exactly user-friendly. I’d probably describe it as “user-hostile,” actually. But, it’s really accurate and has a database that is unrivaled. The reports, once you learn how to generate them, are very good, also.
Three consecutive days of representative eating
Keep in mind, I don’t count my calories or weigh my food normally. I do it periodically, such as at this time, when I’m curious as to what I’m actually eating. I believe I’m able to do so without eliciting the Hawthorne Effect, but obviously one can never be positive.
Tuesday
- 7 am — morning workout – flat intervals on bike (75 minutes).
- 1 pm – Nicoise salad:2 cup butterhead lettuce, 1 tomato, 10 black olives, 8 oz tuna steak, 1 hard boiled egg, 0.5 cup red onion, 2 oz lemon juice, 4 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp mustard.
- 7 pm – Chicken salad with nuts:2 cup romaine lettuce, 1 tomato, 0.5 cup cucumber, 2 oz cashews, 2 oz walnuts, 8 oz chicken breast, 6 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar.
Daily totals:
Carbohydrate – 89 gm
Protein – 131 gm
Fat – 218 gm (about 15% SFA, 70% MUFA, 15% PUFA)
Calories – 2,900
Wednesday
- 6 am — morning workout – high intensity dry land (90 minutes).
- 3 pm – The “Peter Kaufman shake” (named after my good friend, Peter Kaufman at Generation UCAN, who hooked me up with the recipe):
4 oz heavy cream, 8 oz zero-sugar almond milk, 1 pack chocolate protein SuperStarch, 2 tablespoons almond butter, 8 gm additional glutamine, 1 tray of ice cubes (blended to smoothie consistency). - 7 pm – Chicken-nut omelet:
4 eggs, 0.5 avocado, 3.5 oz cheddar, 3 oz red onion, 2 oz walnuts, 2 oz cashews, 4.5 oz chicken thigh, 2 tbsp butter
Daily totals:
Carbohydrate – 60 gm (30 gm of which is SuperStarch)
Protein – 151 gm
Fat – 226 gm (about 40% SFA, 35% MUFA, 25% PUFA)
Calories – 2,800
Thursday
- 7 am — morning workout – hill intervals on bike (75 minutes).
- 5 pm – Attia super salad:
1.5 cup romaine lettuce, 0.5 cup cucumber, 0.25 cup mushroom, 1 tomato, 3 oz sliced T-bone steak, 2 oz cashews, 2 oz peanuts, 2 oz macadamia nuts, 8 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar. - Between 6 and 8 pm – after-dinner snack consisting of:
3 oz cashews, 1 oz almonds, 2 oz peanuts, 1 oz macadamia nuts, 2 cups of coffee with a total of 6 tbsp heavy cream.
Daily totals:
Carbohydrate – 94 gm
Protein – 93 gm
Fat – 369 gm (about 20% SFA, 65% MUFA, 15% PUFA)
Calories – 3,800
My daily supplements
Note: I am only listing the products I use, and not trying to convince you that my brand of vitamin D is superior to another. If I feel strongly about a product, I note it. But this is not a product pitch. I don’t make one penny off you buying any of these products.
Fish oil
1 tablespoon of Carlson’s Very Finest Fish Oil, providing 2,400 mg EPA and 1,500 mg DHA. I do feel this is a superior product and I’ve had detailed toxicology analytics conducted on the product to confirm the absence of lead, arsenic, mercury, and other toxins.
Vitamin D
5,000 IU D3 in gel capsule, by NOW.
Magnesium
400 mg magnesium oxide by Nature Made.
Sodium
2,000 mg in the form of bouillon, typically by Knorr.
MCT oil
Either 2 or 3 tablespoons, depending on activity level, by NOW.
Probiotic
2 capsules of Mark Sisson’s Primal Flora, providing 60 billion CFU. The reason I use Mark’s product is because I know and trust him, and I know how much homework he did in formulating this product.
One of the topics I’m currently getting steeped in is gut biota, and I’m hanging out a lot with a San Diego expert on the topic, UCSD Professor Larry Smarr, who has repeatedly sequenced his entire gut biome, with the help of Craig Venter at Synthetic Genomics and others at MIT. As Larry points out, the challenge of “moving the needle” with probiotics is that they only provide the aerobic bacteria while, of course, most of our gut biome is anaerobic. Stay tuned for much more on this topic.
Closing thoughts
- My performance, especially in light of my reduced training volume (or maybe because of it!) has not deteriorated. In fact, this week I had 3 best times in 3 of the activities I do weekly (tire flipping/sledge hammer/plyometic routine (1:04); short sprint up 15-18% grade (0:39), and long sprint up 8% grade (3:29)). It’s possible the added carbohydrate, relative to my constantly ketotic state, has facilitated this, despite consuming about 15% of the carbohydrate I used to consume on my “standard American diet” circa 2008.
- I will discuss the impact on my biomarkers in a separate post.
- The only drawback I’ve noticed of IFIK so far is that I’ve inadvertently turned my daughter off nuts. About 4 months ago, after having three consecutive identical dinners (chicken-nut-salad), she called my wife into her room as she woke up and said, “Mommy…we need to talk. We need to have something different for dinner tonight. We can have steak…we can have sausage…we can even have regular salad without nuts…but I can’t have nuts in my salad anymore!” Poor girl… So now I have to make my salads separately.
Dr Attia, I am so impressed by your humble TedMed talk. I’m a retired physician assistant who hated trying to manage obese, and consequently mulit- system problem patients, because nothing I said or prescribed worked. Before that I was an ER nurse and did CPR on those enormous bodies or struggled to move them from wheelchairs or stretchers with never enough help, grumbling while risking my back. Before that I was a home health nurse, teaching diabetic care (wrong information) filling insulin syringes and doing wound care for their amputated limbs.
During your talk I was nodding as you apologized to that obese woman, because I am guilty of a critical attitude myself. Not always, but wish I could say- not ever.
Now, I’m struggling to lose weight. It’s crept up from a chronic 20 lbs overweight to 50 lbs too heavy. Nothing I did in the past worked except grit my teeth and starve while obsessing about food. I had limited sucess to be sure. Eventually I would relaspe back to eating and resting. Silly me. Of course, I would scold myself for not doing enough exercise, and not eating in ‘moderation’. I’d righteously eat whole grains, lots of beans, and nearly zero fat, but as I got older, even that didn’t work. I joined Weight Watchers and then did South Beach Diet. I was always hungry. Finally, I’d say screw it and eat a Snickers or a big bowl of chocolate ice cream or both. . . with great remorse later.
How wonderful to now be on a low carb, high fat diet. I’m losing weight and not hungry. I’ve also lost the negative self punishing attitude. (Ric Elias would be happy for me). I’m down 17 lbs. Thank you, thank you, thank you Dr. Attia for working on the science of obesity through nutrition. We need more physicians like you.
Jennifer, thanks for sharing your experience. I’m really humbled when others “from the trenches” recount, openly, their personal experiences. If my talk could play even a small role in helping you re-discover the empathy that I would bet anything was once there, I’m grateful and touched. Best of luck as you also pursue your own nutritional journey.
Hi, Pete-
Congrats on your TEDMED talk. I had the pleasure of meeting Gary on two occasions last year through Tom Dayspring, we really appreciate your work at HDL, please keep it coming. You guys are doing wonderful things for the future of science and nutrition.
You touch on B-OHB frequently in your posts. Can you please discuss possible mechanisms for the increased production of alpha-Hydroxybutyrate in the insulin resistant state? I was dx with PCOS (BMI 22) last year and interestingly enough my DPMP panel lends itself to primarily skeletal muscle IR. Any insight you have on skeletal muscle vs. adipose tissue IR is much appreciated.
All my best,
Lydia Snyder, MS, RD
Lydia, not sure I have insight to answer that. Perhaps others?
Dear Peter,
I was telling my sister about your website. She is vegan and told me that dairy causes cancer because it is full of estrogen type hormones that adults were not meant to ingest. Do you have any thoughts on this?
Thank you!
Michelle
Michelle, probably worth asking for the experimental and clinical evidence of these claims. It may be possible that some cancers in some individuals are responsive to hormones, but I’m not aware of prospective data that demonstrate this.
Hi Pete,
Thanks for this valuable resource that I’ve been coming back to for the last year and a half or so! For IF, would “Bullet Proof Coffee,” with butter and MCT, or Coconut Oil, be a good idea in the morning instead of having regular coffee? Just wondering if you’ve experimented with it or believe there is scientific evidence that it would actually work. Also, would you comment on mycotoxins in coffee, especially if someone is drinking decaff. Thanks for your great work! I appreciate your time. Jeff
I love bulletproof coffee. Not a fan of decaf, primarily because the chemical processing.
Peter,
Any thoughts on releasing a 2013 version of “What I Actually Eat?” I’m curious to see how your diet has continued to evolve. Very inspiring for those of us in the early stages of LCHF.
Aaron
Not sure, Aaron. I’m kind of hesitant to do so, because it gets people to focus on the “wrong” thing. What *I* eat is, at most, interesting, but more likely quite irrelevant to what *you* should eat. Same for how I train, or how I dress. So it I don’t see a part III to this any time soon, unless it’s to explain this concept.
Hi Dr. Attia,
What is your take on the Leptin theory, which says that timing of meals is very important to the balance of Leptin to Insulin, and that plus amount of daily food consumed at any one meal plays a large role in storing fat? What I read recently says that three meals, at least 5-6 hours between each, and 12 hours between dinner and breakfast, with no snacks, and don’t consume large meals.
I’m curious about your meal timing as represented here. How do you go so long before your first meal of the day, especially after such heavy exercise, without feeling light headed or queasy? And how can you consume so many calories per meal without gaining weight? I am led to believe by what I read (which is so confusing) that the body will store excess calories as fat if the meal is too large, even if daily total calories are not excessive, and that spacing these out into lower calorie meals over three meals per day will NOT cause the body to store fat.
I believe, based on what I have read on your blog, that I have been insulin resistant most of my life. I have all 4 metabolic syndrome markers. It would be impossible for me to exercise for 90 minutes at 7 am and then not eat until 1pm. I realize this is your life plan, and you are not advocating it for everyone, but I am looking for some sort of template.
I appreciate your information here, and much of it is too complicated for me to understand, so I, like many others here, just want to know what I should eat. It is alarming to read of all the people who have had an increase in LDL-P after going low-carb, high fat. And is it really possible to reverse high-blood pressure, or rather, to normalize it and be able to go off medication? I have been treated for HBP since 2005.
Also, what is the knowledge available that speaks to any differences between men and women in this science?
Would I be a candidate for any studies upcoming?
Paula, I’m wildly interested in leptin, though I’m not sure I accept this theory. I believe leptin’s purpose was more to protect us on the “downside” (i.e., avoiding starvation) than to protect us on the “upside” (i.e., play a huge role in over-eating). I probably (like in a year or so) will write a hopefully thoughtful post about leptin. As far as studies, once they are enrolling, NuSI’s website will likely link to the sites so you can see if you’re interested and eligible to participate.
Can you recommend any books relating to eating a ketogenic diet that may plan out meals for me. I tend to work better with a structured plan. I really enjoyed your Ted talk and I have changed my diet since I saw it. It would help me to have a more detailed plan.
Thank you,
I too am a self- experimentor
Of recent books I think “The Art & Science…” by Volek & Phinney is most comprehensive.
I have been a long time experimenter in nutrition and fitness. I really enjoyed the Volek/Phinney book. It won’t provide you a framework, per se, but gives the toolset to create your own. A lot of good information.
Dr. Attia,
I just discovered your site today and I want to tell you that I really appreciate this! I am in my late 40s and was diagnosed with type II about a year ago. I have made some major changes to my diet (greatly reducing carbs, greatly increasing fresh veggies and fiber, etc.) and regularly exercise (which I hate but do anyway). Along with drugs I have kept it under control with my doctor requiring blood tests only once every few months. I am disappointed, however, that, like most people, I have not lost more weight more quickly. (At the same time I think about what my diet used to be and surprised I was not the size of a small Brahma bull). I know that you try to avoid telling people what they should eat, but I was wondering if there are things beyond full sugar sodas and Twinkies, we should avoid. I was surprised in a nutrition class that diabetics should avoid bananas! Also, how often do you cheat? I was told by my doctor that since my diabetes was under control, I didn’t need to be too restrictive. I just hate the idea of going to a party where they are serving pizza and birthday cake and either not eat at all, or bring a baked chicken breast and a salad.
Thanks again!
Eric
I don’t really “cheat” Eric, but I also don’t think what I do is relevant to what others should do. The goal is find some combination of sustainable changes you can make to your diet that get you the results you need to be happy. Then living within those boundaries. For me, my goals are pretty lofty, so the pleasure I might get from eating a piece of cake is much less (today, this wasn’t true 4 years ago) than the pleasure I get from not doing so.
I’ve noticed in several posts that you emphasize eating nuts. I also know that my mom, who was diagnosed prediabetic and then switched her diet to one that is very similar to yours, relies on nuts as a quick snack and meal enhancer. When she comes to stay with us for more than a day or two, I can see her struggle a bit because our house is nut free as a result of my daughter’s severe allergy to peanuts, walnuts, hazelnuts and pecans. Each of these allergies is known from actual reaction to exposure (in two cases anaphylactic reaction) and we avoid other nuts to be safe and avoid cross-contamination.
I am wondering how hard you feel you would find eating if you had to eliminate nuts. Metabolic syndrome runs in my family and multiple members have decided to go to a low carb diet to try change the way our generation faces this, but all of them rely heavily on nuts, nut butters, nut milks, nut flours etc…, none of which would be available to me for at least another 10+ years. I also worry about this daughter, who, of all my four children, has the body type and cravings of my metabolic syndrome oriented family.
Do you have any ideas, or recommendations of places to look for ideas, about how to successfully follow a nut free low carb diet? My mother resorts to more dairy when she visits, but I can tell it doesn’t work as well for her and she would struggle after more than just a few days. I feel trapped by this dichotomy in my family.
Not hard from a nutrition standpoint, but hard given my near-addiction for nuts. It’s definitely possible to minimize dairy and nuts on a well-formulated LC diet. There are several books out there with diets. I don’t really espouse one diet book over another.
Hi Peter,
Intrigued by the diet, but am mostly vegetarian for moral reasons. I have no problem with sustainably caught fish, but the Carlson fish oil is a bit of a turnoff, as they don’t actually say what kind of fish it is from. The phrase “deep, cold ocean-water fish” is a huge warning sign as we now know many of the deep water fish are slow to mature and very sensitive to over-fishing. Personally, I think I may try to get a large proportion of my animal protein and fats from low-impact seafood such as farmed shellfish and fish lower on the food chain, ie anchovies & sardines (besides dairy & the eggs from our CSA chickens). I wonder what you think about how difficult it would be to get the sufficient amount of fats and proteins on a mostly vegetarian diet. A lot of coconut oil, avocado & nuts I think!
Also, I am currently a graduate student in biochem at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Although I don’t personally work on the gut microbiome, one of my committee members is Rob Knight, who started the American Gut Project. I remember you mentioned somewhere on the blog that you were interested in your gut micobiota, and I think it would very interesting to see what kind of microbes you got going on down there, especially with your high fat diet. Specifically, does your gut look overweight, does it look lean, is it more like a Westerner or someone with a “traditional” diet? If you have gotten your gut sequenced, I would be really interested in seeing a blog post about it, and if you haven’t, you can get it done for pretty cheap: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/american-gut-what-s-in-your-gut–7 . I had it done after I had developed food sensitivities, and now that I seem to have cured them, I want to try again, although I haven’t yet gotten the results from the first time around. Just be sure not to overload the sample because then they have problems extracting the DNA!
I’d suggest a fish oil made from bait fish, which also minimizes the risk of toxin accumulation. I did some testing on the Carlson’s oil looking for the “big 4” toxins, which was negative, but I have to admit, I was not considering your other point. I think there are several other ways to move closer to an aquatic photosynthetic sources for your EPA and DHA, that may even allow you to avoid fish oil altogether.
I’ve been digging into all this material in your blogsite, & shifting my diet to low carb. I’m wondering about how you test your B-OHB? seems like you’re able to monitor yourself during the day, that its not a lab test you send out for & wait 2 weeks for results. you had a link one of your pages, but it was broken. is there a test kit or website you could direct me to?
Portable monitor (Precision Xtra by Abbott).
Peter,
I was just randomly thinking about this again the other day and tried to recall your thoughts on the topic of kidney stones or gall stones risk with a HFLC or ketogenic diet. I was trying to search all over your blog but for the life of me I couldn’t remember where you had posted anything about the subject. I will admit, I did not make it through the 1,000+ comments from all the postings but I was trying be thorough in finding the answer myself before asking it :). So what are your thoughts about the risks for developing kidney stones or gall stones when on this type of diet? I have heard from a handful of people that have been on this type of diet that they did develop kidney stones. I understand that it could be just a coincidence. Do you take any sort of supplement to that is potentially protective against this? Thanks!
May be an issue for some folks. Not sure, though, exactly who is susceptible, and why. That said, a 24-hour urine test can show if one is in need of supplements (e.g., calcium) to ensure normal and non-stone-predisposing levels of electrolytes. Having taken such a test, I do supplement OTC Citrical. The gallstone issue can be a problem, so I’ve read, in phases of rapid weight loss. Not sure how valid this is vs. anecdotal.
Hi Peter. I am curious about how you are finding your skin, eyes are on this diet? to me that is always a sign that a diet is good. And how was your skin when eating alot of dairy? Also what is your blood type? I am guessing it is an O? I am an o myself and find I seem to feel best when I limit grains. One last question. have you heard of Kimberly Snyder? I did her diet for a week and felt amazing – only eating animal protein in the evening, zero sugar except for a small amount of low sugar fruit, and masses of greens/ veges. Have you tried a diet like this. its supposedly what alot of celebrities do to “get the glow” what are your thoughts on this? Thanks 🙂
Never better, for what it’s worth. Not familiar with Ms. Snyder. I think I’m AB+ or B+
I’m trying to absorb everything. I’ve struggled with weight all my life. The doctor my parents took me to when I was 7 years old put me on a diet “as a preventative measure” and I’ve had weight problems ever since. I feel like my metabolism is permanently broken. I’ve lost weight twice in my life, once in college when I was able to run 3-5 miles every day, and 10k on the weekends, but I destroyed my hips, knees and ankles doing it. The next time was after my second child was born and I was on a special diet for gallstones that a Naturopath put me on. Both time I gained back TWICE what I lost before I went on the weight loss regime. Now I am somewhat terrified to lose the weight again, because I really can not afford to gain back twice again – it would be way too much!! But at the same time, I hate being heavy and hate that I can live on just 2 meals a day and never lose weight while other people eat 3 or 4 meals and never gain. Now I have the complication of arthritis and fibromyalgia, and I really NEED to exercise to keep my bones from freezing stiff. I’ve bought these Vibram FiveFingers shoes and they are healing my feet. I’ve gotten to where I can walk 6 blocks now, when just 3 months ago I could barely walk across my house. I could only do 5 heel raises when I got them, and now I can do 30. They ARE helping. And it is exciting to have more mobility. I want to be able to get out and do things again without worrying I’m going to have to call someone to come get me.
My question is though, it seems you strongly advocate exercising in the morning. It takes me able 4 hours to get moving in the morning. I’m much more agile in the evenings. Is there some connection between exercising in the morning and improving metabolism? Is it really important to exercise in the morning? Or does that just happen to coincide with your schedule? Moving is very painful for me in the mornings. Is this one more card stacked against me?
Laurene, this is purely a matter of schedule. I like to do what I can while my girl sleeps. If I could (but I can’t), I’d work out from 3 to 6 am. Do whatever is best for you!
I’m extremely happy to have found your website. I find your posts very insightful. I’m interested in Thomas Seyfried’s (author of the book Cancer as a Metabolic Disease) belief that if one wanted to prevent many cancers, they should do a 7-10 day fast annually. What do you think of this suggestion?
I’d be open to seeing evidence, but I’m skeptical.
He doesn’t claim to have evidence, but says that since mice metabolism is seven times faster than human, that to get the health benefits mice are getting from calorie reduction, a human would have to fast for three to four days. Presumably there is no health downside to a seven-day fast with a possible upside. I asked my wife if she would do a seven-day fast if she thought it would prevent cancer, and she gave what I suspect is a typical answer–if she had already been diagnosed with cancer she certainly would.
Perhaps. If preventing cancer is very high on the list, though, I can think of other strategies I would look to before a 7 day fast. But I agree, its only harm may be the liberties it (falsely) gives the other 358 days.
I was somewhat skeptical about fasting as well until I had to look into it while updating a website i volunteer to look after and met the term “autophagy”. “animal studies at the University of Southern California have shown without exception that short cycles of water fasting (48-60 hrs) “Retard Growth of Tumors and Sensitize a Range of Cancer Cell Types to Chemotherapy.” https://astrotas.wordpress.com/2012/02/11/january-2012-miracle-of-fasting/ Also you should know that Rodger the guy who turned me onto fasts is the youngest looking 67 yo. everyone thinks he’s a dozen years younger and always pink cheeked and glowing with vitality
I read Dr. Seyfried’s book.
I do fast once a year for a week as he recommends. I don’t know if it will decrease my risk for cancer but it is certainly a fun and interesting journey to go without food that long. It’s not toxic and certainly something the ancients employed to try and convey health. It also seems that humans are exquisitely adapted to low calorie environments (unlike mice) and therefore intermittent fasting would be of limited benefit but a long, sustained fast, might actually “move the needle” toward a more healthy body.
My main reason for posting however is to make sure Seyfried’s reason for writing the book doesn’t get lost with a discussion of fasting. After a career of studying cancer, he is convinced that it should be treated as a METABOLIC disease, not a GENETIC one. Unfortunately, virtually all of the money in cancer research is on the genetic side.
In that regard he’s not unlike the fine pre WWII researches that Gary Tabues discusses in his books who studied obesity by taking the obvious approach of trying to understand fat cells. That seemingly obvious line of research was not the path taken after the war by less than stellar researchers.
Seyfried makes the same argument – Warburg studied cancer cells long ago by focusing on their most obvious difference from normal cells – the way they create energy. He makes a compelling case that the cancer research community is lost, in much the same way the nutrition community is.
Peter, after solving human diet with NuSI, do you think you will have enough time and energy to cure cancer? 🙂
-Eric
P.S. All joking aside, if Seyfried IS right, and the genesis and proliferation of cancer cells lie in their aberrant sugar metabolism, then your work and others on the nutrition side may have helped with the dreaded “C”.
Isn’t cancer just part of the same problem?
I just saw your video, have been struggling with metabolic syndrome myself and I’ve been so confused by all of the conflicting information that’s out there from the vegan/vegetarian and Paleo/Low Carb groups. Thank goodness you have such an open mind. My next question is regarding IGF 1 (Insulin Like Growth Factor 1): I’ve reviewed information that states that IGF 1 stimulates growth of normal and abnormal (cancerous) tissues, and the most highly concentrated IGF 1 foods are isolated proteins of milk and soy. Study in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism compared 40 grams of isolated proteins of milk and soy and found that milk increased IFG 1 levels by 36% and soy by 69%. Are the isolated proteins safe to consume as a substitute for other proteins?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHYFOJBU434&list=PL_SDy5W7G0sDdspe4oIkAsLtfahT-IQ5S
https://jcem.endojournals.org/content/88/3/1048.abstract
I found you via Tim Ferriss’ blog and the subsequent youtube video he posted of your talk.
Years ago, probably like 10, I went on the Atkins diet and lost 95 lbs in 9 months and felt amazing. If I remember correctly, Atkins advises not to stay in ketosis… Then there were all these doctors coming out with studies that talked about more harm than good of the Atkins diet and increase in cardiovascular disease so I immediate quit. Fast forward 5 years from then and my husband is diagnosed with Type II diabetes and very very high Triglycerides and Cholesterol. I put him on a Atkins-esque Low Carb diet that I also followed (it was harder for me the 2nd time around) and his numbers dropped immediately, but he was resistant because the diet itself is still controversial even though the results were clear.
So let me get right down to my question – HOW is this any different than the Atkins? Other than maybe you slowly eliminated bad carbs and completely cut out refined sugars – is there really any difference?
I’m very interested because we switched to a vegetarian diet because of other health issues that are hereditary in my husband’s family. We eat fish and chicken occassionally but not more than 3-4 times a year. And I’m morbidly obese with great numbers and he’s overweight with poor numbers.
This diet for me would help shed unwanted pounds that I’ve been carrying around for 10 years and ease joint pains and probably hormonal issues but for my husband I want him to last another 50 years past his 40th. I’m trying to understand in simple non-medical terminology. If this is a version of Atkins, that would help – if it’s a version of the Zone or Paleo… that would help. If its simpler than that – awesome. If my husband found out he could eat meat again, he’d be ecstatic and if I knew it meant getting him off some of his meds and help me feel better about myself then it would be completely worth every ounce of effort we put into our vegetarian low-sugar lifestyle.
Similar in concept. Much different in nuance and focus, at least as I think about it. Keep in mind, I only post what I eat in response to questions of others. I think it’s no more relevant than how I train or what I wear. These are decisions I make based on my genes, my epigentics, my goals. Not necessarily “right” for you or another reader, per se.
Justiss –
I did Atkins, high protein, etc. Lost weight for a while, quit the diet, put it back on and then some. LCHF works for me – I’m steadily losing weight, never feel hungry and feel fantastic. The key is, as Peter says, is to find out what works for you. I really try to eat most of my calories from fat, with limited protein. Hardly any carbs. It takes a commitment to this, and you have to be aware of what you’re doing. But with such a simple diet, it’s easy to do. But you may have to change it over time as your body changes. For instance – I stopped losing weight, and decided to really curtail dairy and then started losing weight again.
The way I look at it, if I really crave a certain item and eat it all the time, I should probably stop eating that item. And when I do, I usually start feeling better and start losing weight again. What do I eat? Pastured eggs, local organic pork and beef, the occasional nuts or piece of vegetable. But not much of the latter. From what I read of paleo, fruits and veggies abound. It sounds austere, but I’ve worked my way into it, and I’m totally satisfied, can go many hours without eating, never get hungry. It’s truly amazing what one can do with pork fat!
Upon occasion (every few months) I end up having some fries with my burger – nothing like salted fat. I also drink alcohol in moderation once in a while. I don’t feel deprived or ever have a need to “cheat” – I feel so good why would I want to stop or change for the worse?
But, as simple as it seems, it does take a commitment and an adjustment period, but the more you do it, the easier it gets.
Good luck to you and your husband.
thank you for sharing and bless your daughter! Kids are so long suffering 🙂 a present for you both “surviving a healthy childhood” https://www.drkelley.info/2010/12/28/surviving-a-healthy-childhood/ this is an essay by William Donald Kelly’s daughter. I’m guessing from your Ted talk you might like to know about her father as well.
Never really thought of that. I guess that’s a long way away for now, but what an interesting thought.
Hi Peter! Love you blog!
One question for ya – you mention, and I’ve heard many times, that too much protein can kick you out of ketosis. Do you know how much will kick you out? I guess the amount will differ from person to person + lever of activity? I’m a 52 ish kilo active young woman who is in ketosis. I wonder how I can figure out what my threshold for protein consumption is before it’s too much.
Also, have you ever found yourself having too much fat in your diet? Mine is high fat as well, also because I love it (can’t get enough of coconut milk, it’s so good. I recommend putting it in your coffee) however, sometimes I wonder if I can go a bit overboard with the fat and if that can have any negative side effects.
Thank you for sharing !
No simple number. Very context dependent. Muscle mass, anabolic demands, timing of protein in relation to exercise, timing over the course of the day, type of protein — all matter.
Here’s the relevant answer: “How much” is whatever amount prevents you from being in ketosis when your carbs are consistently below 30-40 gm/day.