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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.
Photo by Dan Gold on Unsplash
I really do enjoy this blog, and appreciate all of the work that goes into it.
But I remain mystified by some things. One is that you could be surprised by the popularity of your “What I actually eat” post. You run a blog that is now called the “Eating Academy.” Notwithstanding the provisos and disclaimers, you clearly are designing the blog to attract people who are interested in how they should eat–to learn at your “academy.” They want answers on what to eat in order to be healthy, not necessarily long treatises on cholesterol (rollicking as those can be). So naturally, your “what I actually eat” post appears to most to be the one time where you allow yourself to be specific, applying your rigorous thinking on the science to the daily reality of eating. I imagine many read that post as “what YOU should actually eat.” Not your intention (wink, wink, disclaimer), but everyone kind of knows that’s what’s going on. If you are genuinely surprised by that, then I think you are not being honest with yourself.
But now we get this somewhat bizarre update, and to people who have relied on your most popular and specific post in the Eating Academy (in direct contravention of your instructions–wink, wink), you now say that you don’t really eat that way anymore. It’s all now, painfully, yet more complicated, with plenty of other provisos and things-you-will-write-about-later. For people wanting to learn how to eat well, this site can be immensely frustrating. Not because your readers are stupid, but because you have mismanaged expectations.
All of this is fine so far as it goes. Of course, you are free to write whatever you want. But I think your decision to change this site to an “Eating Academy” was bizarre in light of the content you generate. Better to stick with the notion that it’s one man’s war on insulin and his assorted thoughts on food science (because that’s what it is!).
Interesting take, I guess. If you really think about an “academy,” though, it’s not about giving you the facts. Facts are the easy part. It’s about teaching you think. That’s actually what I aspire to do, regardless of the name of the blog. I’ve long since accepted there is no name that will make everyone happy. It’s a shame — and I hope you are wrong in your assertion — that folks read this post or it’s version 1 and assume I’m telling them what to eat. For the record, I am not. But I understand that not everyone is as “theoretically” bent as I am, and just want to know how I personally implement my interpretation of the data.
If the title “Eating Academy” bothers you, read the subtitle. That’s probably a better reflection of what I try to do with this blog. Thanks for the feedback, though. I wonder how many others feel this way?
Yeah, I don’t get this at all as a blog giving instructions for eating, given that Peter has stated more times than I can count that he doesn’t want people to eat like him, he wants people to figure out what works for them. That’s the whole deal about the n=1 experiment. Moreso, it’s hard to miss that most of the content deals with the diseases of civilization. That everyone has been brainwashed to eat the same diet for the last 50 years, when you think about it, is exactly the problem that spawned NuSI!
Really running a long-term self-experiment with careful data collection inevitably leads to eating and training evolution. Things change with adaptation and time. There should be no expectation that Peter always eat the same way, My perspective is that the way to any goal involves serial re-engineering of the process to account for the adaptation. That’s exactly what I’m observing here.
There’s really no safety in the notion of concrete facts. Too much is unknown, information is constantly changing, and any single person’s physiology is dynamic and also always changing. Better to get comfortable with applying critical thinking and the process of experimentation and see what happens. I have found this blog a great example of doing just that.
Btw, I’ve been more deeply experimenting with foods to feed the ol’ microbiome this summer. I’ve been fermenting vegetables, and sauerkraut, and making kefir from the raw organic milk I can get across the river in PA. And to my delight I discovered that salami is just fermented ground beef/pork! I have a LOT of pastured ground beef in my freezer and that’s my next project because it’s one of those foods that you always wonder what’s really in it when you buy it, but love it so much you buy it anyway! I’ve also been making salty bone marrow broths for the sodium and mineral benefits.
I couldn’t have said it better, Lorraine.
Great post Peter. What are your thoughts surrounding fish oil and it being ruined through the processing it goes through? I know others recommend just eating cold water fish vs supplementing with fish oil:
“The trouble with this approach is that omega-3 fats are chemically fragile: their carbon double bonds are easily oxidized. EPA has 5 double bonds and DHA 6 double bonds, so they are the most vulnerable of all dietary fats. They easily become rancid.”
The idea that the oil sit’s on a shelf for some time before consuming it doesn’t really sit well with me but I really dislike the taste of salmon and other cold water fish like sardines, etc.
What are your thoughts on this particular brand of oil becoming rancid before we consume it?
Thanks again!
Eric
I prefer the oil be made from the smallest youngest fish, ideally bait fish. Let processing and less time to accumulate toxins.
Hi Peter, I’d like to ask about your cycling in and out of ketosis — usually within a 24h period as you state. I see many people stating the same with the exception of Phinney & Volek. They seem to claim — in their books as well as in many interviews I’ve heard — that once you go out of ketosis by eating higher carb/protein even just once that it can take weeks to become ‘keto adapted’ again. There also seems to be the implication that this is less than ideal somehow. Personally I don’t feel any the worse when I do as you do. The reason I ask is that they persistently state this position. What are your thoughts if you don’t mind me asking. Btw, thanks for you wonderful work.
In my experience, they are correct. If you’re trying to really optimize for ketosis, it’s best to stay in. Hence, I never really did “cheat days” (except for 2 or 3 days when I deliberately gorged on berries — like a bowl larger than my head) and “knowingly” knocked myself out of ketosis for a couple of days.
Hi Peter,
Thanks again for a really interesting post. With respect to going in and out of ketosis you wrote “In my experience, they [Phinney/Volek] are correct. If you’re trying to really optimize for ketosis, it’s best to stay in. Hence, I never really did “cheat days” (except for 2 or 3 days when I deliberately gorged on berries — like a bowl larger than my head) and “knowingly” knocked myself out of ketosis for a couple of days.”
I’m still so curios about this. It sounds like you are now experimenting with eating a bit more carbs and kicking yourself out of ketosis, and it seems you perform better and feel fine. If your ketone levels drop for a spell but you feel fine then what does it matter? After about 6 months of being careful to eat below 50 gms of carbs per day (and zero starch or sugar), I finally started experimenting myself, and while I don’t measure my ketones (I only measure things subjectively, don’t have the gadgets), I have noticed that I seem to feel fine eating a few more carbs (mostly in the form of 50 gm or so in one sitting of fruit). I think I’m fairly insulin sensitive, so maybe I would need to eat even more carbs to cause a noticeable difference.
Could you add any more to this discsussion like: does it feel bad to go in and out of ketosis? sometimes?
never? And what does it feel like? Anyone else?
Thank you,
Jesse
I think there may be too many variables to draw a conclusion that strong (i.e., despite eating more carbs I feel and perform better). Remember the one variable we’re not controlling for…time. How do I know I wouldn’t be performing this way in ketosis (with another 4-5 months of adaptation)? Also, I wouldn’t say I feel better, and if anything, I think my mental energy was better in uninterrupted ketosis. Of course, there are many other confounders, also, not the least of which being the 5x increase in my stress level during the past 4 or 5 months.
In the final analysis, what I like most about IFIK is the complete freedom I have from the “need” to eat if suitable food is not readily available. Tomorrow morning at 5 am I’m getting on a plane to go to France for a week (no, not a vacation…I haven’t had one of those since 2005). A year ago I would have been freaking out trying to figure out how to stay in ketosis for a week in another country. Now, I’m not even thinking about it. I’ll eat when I want and not eat when I don’t want to. Stress free.
Peter–thanks so much! I’ve been following your site for several months now. I’m running the twin cities marathon in one week (Oct 7th). I’ve been on a ketogenic diet for about 10 weeks while completing my marathon training. All is going well, I fell good, steady energy, etc. I’m not a fast runner but I have a goal time (under four hours)I’m hoping for and wondering what my best strategy is during the race (as it pertains to a ketogenic diet and the absence of carbs before and during the race). I have been integrating super-starch, and my current plan is to have one packet 1 hour prior, then maybe 1/2 a packet somewhere in the middle of the race, along with some salt, and maybe a handful or two of my favorite chocolate covered (sugar alcohol) low-carb almonds ( I love them, and they seem to go down well while running).
Anyway, here’s my question. I’m 37 years old, and if I’m running at an easy “all-day” pace (say 9:30 pace for me), my heart rate is typically in the mid 130’s. This is the pace and effort I’ve done most of my “long runs” at. I’d really like to run a sub-4 hour marathon. I need to average 8:45’s to do this. Last week I did my long run at this pace, and my heart rate started at 145, averaged 150, and peaked at 160 when I ended at mile 20. I felt pretty good all things considered, but the last 6 miles of the TC Marathon are tough…some long steady climbs. I’ve never pushed it past 20 on a ketogenic diet, and wondering what to expect if I run at a harder intensity for most of the race… I know, tough question to answer, sorry. Just thought you (or someone) might have a tip for me. If I shoot for this pace, I know I will spend the last hour of the race at 90% of max hear rate (220-37=183 x .9 = 165). I don’t want to take sugar, gatorade, etc. I just don’t know what to expect at that point, and what I can do this week to be prepared.
I sure appreciate all your effort. It blows my mind how the entire endurance world is “buried” in sugar.
Jon
A sub-4 hour marathon, or even a sub-3 hour is entirely achievable on a ketogenic diet. Check out the work of Tim Noakes in South Africa.
Jon, if I may, re your goal 4-hr marathon. It sounds to me like you are well-prepared (20 mile long run, tested race pace). If you properly taper and are well, you will not believe how easy a 4-hr pace will feel. It should actually feel like you are at a lower intensity and you will be; that is, until you get near the end, where it is normal to have the HR drift up. My warning, based on running a few of these (and at a similar pace) is to be sure to hold yourself back on the pace from the start. Don’t think that because it feels easy that you should push the pace in order to save time. It’s best to stay with a pace group, if offered. Also consider taking in some kind of fat for fuel around 3-hrs into it.
Hope I’m not out of line here offering suggestions. I guess it’s vicarious for me (I miss running those). Really, from what you say here, you are doing great!
(Also, you need to average 9:09’s actually.)
Also check out Ben Greenfield. Go to his website & ask him a question.
chris
noah was here
I wonder whether that magnesium nitrate liquid laxative in doses too small for laxative effect would be absorbed better than the oxide. I use that but have no proof it’s better.
Sort of off topic, but are you aware of studies showing vitamin c reducing cortisol levels post workout? I’ve become skeptical of any “study”.
I’ve used IF successfully to break thru weight plateaus. However, I’ve also read that in some, there is an increase in cortisol levels, as the body is reacting to no food and the stress involved.
Started to think added Vit c during IF might be beneficial.
Keep us posted on what you find.
Peter,
I think people hear all kinds of seemingly reasonable and consistent theories about what to do about almost anything, but what is most convincing is what advocates actually do. I don’t find it at all surprising that your column on what you eat is by far the most popular. Practice trumps theory. I’m glad you’re continuing to fine tune this diet. I think it will help me to try some variations, since after losing 30 pounds I’ve been stuck on a plateau for most of the year.
I’m glad it’s helpful.
Have you intentionally reduced your consumption of SFA and increased your consumption of MUFAs or do the foods you happen to enjoy now just have lower levels of SFA and higher MUFAs compared to before? Put more simply: Did you purposely change the ratio of SFA to MUFA in your deit?
Not purposely, no, but you’re correct, I’m down from about 50% of my fat being SFA to about 25%, with MUFA making up the delta. In total amounts, I’m down also, since I consume less fat in aggregate.
“No, but you’ll have to stay tuned for my series on omega-3 and omega-6 to find out why…”
REALLY looking forward to this one.
Another great post Dr. Pete! First off, I just want to say that your blog site is a gold mine. I have been following your posts since about February 2012 and I have learned so much from it. Thank you very much!
A quick question though on your 3 consecutive days of representative eating. I noticed that you don’t consume any post-workout meal or supplements immediately after your workouts. Is this mainly to follow your IFIK protocol? Just wondering what your thoughts on this. Thanks again so much.
Thanks, Allen. Correct, on fasting days, the most I’ll consume post-workout is some glutamate (6-8 gm) and BCAA during the workout. What I didn’t show is my “long” workout days, which right now is one long ride per week (75-120 miles). For these rides, I rarely fast, though I have gone up to 90 miles on a fast.
Hi Peter,
I absolutely love your blog. Your principles are directly inline with what I believe and practice.
Incidentally, I came across your blog while searching for a pre and post workout recovery solution. I see that you use Generation UCAN and my question is specific to that product. In reviewing the label, I see that one serving has between 26 to 31g of carbohydrates.
From your audio interview, it would seem that ingesting that many carbohydrates along with other foods you eat daily would result in more than 50g of carbohydrates. Is that correct, or is the remainder of your diet so restricted that you never surpass that number?
My diet is *very* similar to yours, and I’ve successfully lost a lot of weight. However, I’m still carrying a lot of fat around my abdominal area, but nowhere else. At one point I was 92 lbs overweight. I’m 68″ tall, currently weigh 160lbs and every other area of my body appears to be very lean, except for the fat still stuck in my abdominal area.
I’ve been eating this way for awhile, and currently consume about 1g/lb of protein. I exercise daily, both by riding my bicycle 11 miles and another 1hr workout later. I’m beyond frustrated that I’m stuck not losing anymore fat.
What would you suggest?
Thanks so much in advance!
Try asking Ben Greenfield for some advice on this one.
Chris
is there an advantage using bouillon as your source of sodium as opposed to Himalayan Salt which has 1980mg sodium per teaspoon.
seems to me that Himalayan salt is a more natural choice.
regards….
Convenience, especially as I love to drink “broth.” Nothing wrong with adding salt or using other sources of sodium.
Peter,
I thought of one other question. I noticed you consume heavy cream; that’s something I do not consume, but instead use full fat coconut milk. Is there a reason you favor heavy cream? And about how much per day?
Thanks again.
I love the taste, but I do use coconut milk, also. Great substitute for those who don’t tolerate dairy.
Interesting post, and thanks for that.
Glad to hear you’re doing something on omega’s. My wife and I are currently taking a tablespoon of chia seed daily. Our understanding is that one tablespoon has all of the daily omega 3 requirements a body needs. I’m hoping to get your opinion on chia seed as a source of omega 3.
Hi Peter,
I am happy to see that you are coming around. I started doing 24 hour fasts some 4 years ago, first 1 day per week, and eventually 2 days. And although it took a little time to really get used to it, with time I felt that it was really one of the best things I had ever done for my overall health and physical and intellectual performance.
Now the next phase, which I suppose you will also get to in time, is fasting everyday until about 15 or 16. Drinking lots of water and green drinks and eating salt all the way through. That’s even more effective at cleansing and healing the body from the inside out and increasing metabolic efficiency: consuming less calories but continuing to strengthen and build muscle.
That’s what I’ve been doing for the past 6 months, and it is really amazing to see what happens: I’m down to 56 kg (super lean) from my initial 61 before cutting out simple and starchy carbs 5 years ago, I have probably at least 1 kg more of muscle, my strength has doubled in the sense that I used to bench press 20 kg each hand, and now I use 40 kg, I used to shoulder press with 15 kg each hand and now I use 30 kg, I used to seated upright row 30 kg and now I use 60 kg, and I use to leg press 100 kg, now I use 200 kg. This gain in strength over 6 months is partly due to the diet, but maybe mostly to the type of training: super slow, adapted from Doug McGuff (Body by Science; I don’t train only once per week like he suggests. Instead I do resistance training 3 times per week, but work a large muscle group only once per week). I highly recommend it, especially for you who is a training buff concerned with time efficiency.
I invite you to browse my health blog: https://healthfully.wordpress.com, I’m pretty sure you’ll learn lots of stuff, and at the very least, find it interesting to read.
Ok, will check it out. Thank you.
I was keto/Paleo for a solid year and while I enjoyed it, I found myself looking for a change just to shake things up. For the last 7 weeks I have been doing a Leangains protocol where I do a 16/8 hour fast/feed and cycle my macros and calories on training versus non-training days. I do intense reverse pyramid strength training 3 days a week for 30-45 minutes. I’m just not into vengeance style aerobic activity. The biggest change in my macro intake has been the addition of rice on workout days. Anyway, I have dropped about 7 pounds and my strength is up significantly. I feel excellent and spend less time cooking, but I can sympathize with your daughter because the tendency to cook the same things over and over is strong for the sake of efficiency.
For anybody who is looking for something different, this has been a great way to go for me. Note: I have done this with a coach, which has been key.
Peter,
I have a question about ketosis and the percentage of fat / protein / carbs. Should the goal be to eat each meal with the fat ratio of 85-87% or by the end of the day reach that ratio?
Thanks, Chuck
Absolutes matter, not ratios. Generally carb < 40-50; protein < 120-130 max.
Hi Peter,
what is your end game? where is this going? Are you trying to gain an edge? Improve your total muscle mass to body weight ratio and you will perform better, yes? Not putting down your N=1. Just curious that’s all.
Facilitating world peace, I guess 🙂 My goals change over the course of the year. What I’m trying to do athletically in the fall is very different from the spring, for example, so performance goals change. Health is always at the top of this list, especially given my family history. Mental acuity and energy levels, also.
Thank you, Peter. I always enjoy seeing a new post.
I can see that for your work with NuSci, the $6000 database you’ve described will be very useful. For myself, a $6000 database wouldn’t be any improvement over the $65 one I had on my computer and finally abandoned. Assuming one is eating real food, every duck egg, every pound of ground beef, every head of cauliflower, has different “nutrition facts.” There were just too many unknowns to fill in all the blanks on the database. Checking other databases simply compounded the problem; for the same portion of the same food, the values often varied widely from one source to another. After spending more of my life than I care to think about trying to keep track of all the details of my diet, I’ve finally just made a list of foods I eat on a Word document, picked a set of values for fats/carbs/protein for each that seemed most reasonable and gone with that — when I keep track at all. 🙂
It’s only $600, but it’s not a NuSI-related expense. All personal.
I must be among the few who are more interested in the cholesterol posts than your dietary intake! Learned much there, and use NMR test results as a guide to how i am doing diet wise. I do not follow a ketogenic diet, and will eat a potato at dinner several times a week. Trgs very low( 26) at last testing so i guess i am not getting to much carb matter in my diet. I take Carlsons fish oil, and had both an Omega 3 index done and absolute level of O3 measured. Results: O6:O3 ratio of 1:1, and O3 level at 9.3%. Only issue which from your series highlights it not to be an issue is the level of small LDL-P which can be 50% of total LDL-P which is well under 1,000. Must take meds to get there.
Be interested to see final installment(s) of the cholesterol series. thanks for the great work. Us older guys appreciate it!
Yes, I’ve got a few things to say in the yet-to-be-completed part X of that series.
hi steve,
if you haven’t already seen the following post you will find it interesting:
https://azsunfm.blogspot.com.au/2012/09/font-definitions-font-face-font-family.html?showComment=1348701001328
chris
Hello Peter,
Your blog has been an immense help to me as well as my wife in thinking through actions we can take together to improve our health and for that we are both extremely grateful. As for my more immediate situation, according to my NMR and coronary calcium scan results, there is, unfortunately, a lot of “opportunity” to lower my CV risk..
The cardiologist I am consulting with remotely has made some recommendations and one is to begin fish oil supplementation. A recent blog posting by Dr. William Davis at his trackyourplaque site recommends that to get the best health benefits of DHA, you should either eat fish and/or supplement with fish oil in the triglyceride, as opposed to ethyl ester form. Dr. Davis further states in his posting that many leading and popular brands, some of which I was considering trying, were ethyl ester formulations.
https://blog.trackyourplaque.com/2013/05/dha-the-crucial-omega-3.html
I would be very interested in your thoughts regarding the differences in the two different formulations of DHA, as this is all new territory for me.
Best regards,
I am not really an expert in this but have tested (for contamination, not bioavailability) the Carlson’s brand.