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Note to readers: This post was written in December of 2011. 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 pursuing questions about what I eat in the comment section.
Once people start to “get it” with respect to why carbohydrate reduction, or all-out restriction, leads to good things, the inevitable question I’m asked is, “So….what exactly do you eat?” I’m always a bit hesitant to get into this. It’s sort of like asking a pilot, “So…how do you fly this plane?” It’s a great question, but probably the wrong first question.
For many people it’s so overwhelming to contrast what they currently eat – probably a typical American diet of 500-600 daily grams of carbohydrates (200 grams of which are sugar) – with a diet of less than 50 daily grams of carbohydrate, which is what I consume. Remember, what I’m showing you here is what I have been eating for about the last 7 months. For the first 20 months of my nutritional transformation, I was gradually reducing carbohydrate intake from about 600 daily grams to 300 daily grams to 150 daily grams.
It’s really important to understand that carbohydrate reduction is a continuum. There is no “right” amount of carbohydrate to eat. Let me illustrate this with the following “2 by 2” matrix, below (sorry, once a consultant, always a consultant). When asking the question, “How much should I reduce my intake of carbohydrates?” it’s a good idea to start with two broader questions:
- What is my inherent level of insulin resistance?
- What are my goals?
There are technical ways to quantify the answer to the first question, which I will detail in future posts. However, the simple version of determining your inherent amount of insulin resistance is checking how many criteria of metabolic syndrome are present. In other words, are you overweight? Is your waist large? Is your blood pressure high? Do you have elevated blood glucose or triglycerides (these are determined from a standard blood test)? Do you have low HDL cholesterol? For the purpose of this question, even responding “yes” to one of these questions means you are predisposed to being insulin resistant. I was a “yes” to 3 of these questions.
Consider this matrix, and let’s use me as an example.
- How predisposed am I to insulin resistance? One look at a picture of me in my non-lean state, coupled with an understanding of my family history, and it’s clear I didn’t hit the genetic lottery with respect to insulin resistance. Hence, I am towards the right of graph.
- What am I optimizing for? Some folks want to lose 15 pounds. Others want to have fewer swings in daily energy level, or stop taking their blood pressure medicine. In my case, I want to maximize as many variables as possible: I want to be as lean as I can; I want to cure my insulin resistance; I want to be sure I never have a single symptom of metabolic syndrome; I want to do everything I can to avoid cancer and Alzheimer’s disease; I want to be metabolically flexible. Hence, I am towards the top of the graph.
As you can see, based on my poor genes and lofty goals, I find myself in the upper right square, which means I need to adopt the greatest amount of carbohydrate restriction. My wife, in contrast, has good genes, coupled with high goals, placing her in the upper left box. As a result of this combination, she does not need to restrict carbs as much as I do. If her goals were even more modest, she could get away with very little reduction in carbohydrates – probably just reducing sugar without much reduction in starch.
Below is a picture of a few of the foods you’ll typically find in my refrigerator. Note that on average I consume about 4,000 to 4,500 calories per day. I get this from approximately 400-425 grams of fat, 120-140 grams of protein, and 30-50 grams of carbs. In addition, there are a number of supplements I consume daily, which I describe in the table below. In future blog posts I will go into greater detail as to why I consume each of these supplements, but for now I’ll give a very quick explanation.
Finally, note that under no circumstance do I ever count calories (for the sake of limiting them). When I was first transitioning into ketosis I did need to count how much carbohydrate and protein I was consuming – anything over about 50 grams of carbs and 150 grams of protein makes it difficult to generate sufficient ketones – but I do not ever count calories for the sake of restricting them. I eat when I’m hungry. I don’t eat when I’m not hungry.
Regular supplements I consume every day
*I will be writing a great deal about the role of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids in our diet in subsequent posts. However, if you want a quick (albeit high-level and not overly nuanced) overview of the topic, take a look at what Dr. Andrew Weil and Livestrong have to say about it.
One last point on supplements – I do not take a multivitamin at this time, but I am looking into it a bit more closely. My concern is that 1) they may not be necessary when you remove glucose from your diet (I’ll write about why in the future), and 2) they may actually do direct harm, as a result of contaminants.
Ok, at long last, here is a list of what I ate over the past 5 days (excluding water, still and sparkling, which I consume about a gallon of each day)
Wednesday
Breakfast: “Fat shake” (In a blender: 8 oz heavy whipping cream, 8 oz sugar-free almond milk; 25 gm sugar-free hydrolyzed whey protein, 2-3 frozen strawberries)
Lunch: About 4 or 5 oz of assorted cheese (Gouda, Swiss, Manchego), 2 or 3 oz olives, about 4 oz of particularly fat salami and pepperoni
Late afternoon: About 2 oz of mixed nuts (almonds, walnuts, peanuts), large latte (latte made with heavy fat cream instead of milk) at Peet’s
Dinner: Garden salad with olive oil (lots of extra oil) and balsamic vinegar dressing, about 6 oz grilled salmon with a lot of butter and lemon juice
Thursday
Breakfast: Scrambled eggs (6 yolks, 3 whites**, with added heavy fat cream) cooked in coconut oil, 3 or 4 sausage patties (be sure to look for brands not cured in sugar).
Coffee with homemade whip cream (heavy fat cream hand whipped)
Lunch: Half chicken (thigh, breast, wings) with lots of skin; about 2 oz of Gouda and aged-cheddar
Dinner: Wedge blue cheese salad with bacon; 12 oz prime rib with lots of butter; 5 or 6 pieces of asparagus coated in butter
Coffee with half and half cream, 2 cups (the restaurant did not have heavy cream, so I had to settle for half-and-half)
**The reason I typically minimize egg whites, at least when making my own eggs, is to ensure I keep protein intake under about 125 grams per day. Ketosis is pretty easy to attain if one is eating, say, 2500 calories per day. However, given my caloric demands – and the requirement that I keep protein intake limited – I really need to go out of my way to ensure I’m not eating too much protein. I will be writing about this in much greater detail in a future post.
Friday
Breakfast: Whole fat latte at Starbucks (made same as above), scrambled eggs (about 4 eggs), bacon (high fat pieces), slice of Swiss and slice of cheddar (since I was eating in the airport, the scrambled eggs were made “normally,” not with the additional fat I use when making my own)
Lunch: About 4 oz of especially fat salami and pepperoni, about 2 oz Parmesan cheese
Dinner: Ground beef sautéed with heavy cream, onions, broccoli, and melted cheese
2 large cups of decaf coffee with homemade whip cream (heavy cream whipped with a touch of xylitol)
Saturday
Breakfast: Scrambled eggs (6 yolks, 3 whites, with added heavy fat cream) cooked in coconut oil, 3 or 4 pieces of especially fat bacon (not cured in sugar), about 3 oz of cream cheese
2 cups of coffee with heavy cream
Lunch: Tomatoes with basil and mozzarella and balsamic vinegar and olive oil, about 2 oz raspberries with homemade whip cream
Dinner: Leftover ground beef sautéed from previous night, salad with homemade cream dressing (whole fat Greek yogurt, olive oil, basil, blue cheese, garlic)
1 cup of decaf coffee with homemade whip cream
Sunday
Breakfast: Omelet (6 yolks, 3 whites, coconut milk, sautéed onions) cooked in coconut oil, 4 or 5 pieces of the fattest bacon I can find
2 cups of coffee with heavy cream
Lunch: Plate of assorted cheeses (aged Gouda, Swiss loaf, aged Parmesan – about 3 oz), about 2 oz salami, about 1 oz olives
Dinner: Cream of mushroom bacon soup (heavy cream, chicken broth, shredded Parmesan cheese, mushrooms, chopped bacon, garlic, butter, chopped papers, various spices), leg of lamb (baked in sauce made of red wine, balsamic vinegar, diced tomatoes, garlic, and a lot of spices)
2 cups decaf coffee with homemade whip cream (as above)
So there you have it — 5 days in the eating life of Peter Attia. This may look a bit strange, relative to what you may be eating now, but remember, I’m at the far end of the spectrum – i.e., nutritional ketosis. You may just be starting your own journey of reducing carbohydrates, but I hope this gives you an idea of what I eat. In particular, what probably stands out is:
- I go to great lengths to avoid sugar which, unfortunately, shows up in virtually every highly processed food.
- I eat zero starch (e.g., bread, cereal, rice, crackers, pasta).
- I consume only modest amounts of fruit (one serving per day, at most, and only in the form of berries, which contain the least amount of fructose).
- I eat vegetables, but primarily because they are a great way to get more fat (e.g., high-fat salad dressings, butter), not because I “need” them.
- I go out of my way to eat as much fat as possible, especially monounsaturated and saturated fat (the only fat I avoid is omega-6 polyunsaturated fat).
- I have a few “go to” meals that I eat several times per week. I do this because I really like them and it’s quick and easy make them. Yours need not be the same!
Photo by Glen Carrie on Unsplash
Doctor, is it possible that the substance that alcoholics get addicted to is really the easy carbs in the alcohol and not the alcohol or intoxication as such. (I think this may be a blond question, if so, pse excuse.) I was thinking that before I started the LCHF way of eating, I was addicted to food (“foodoholic”) in the same way that alcoholics are addicted to alcohol. When I stopped eating refined carbs, my food addiction was “cured.” It is my experience that even now whenever I “spoil” myself with some refined carbs, it triggers the addiction (in the same way that even a taste of wine can undo a recovering alcoholic) and it causes a literal avalanche of refined carb eating that I am totally powerless to stop. The following day I find it so much more difficult to keep to pure LCHF again. Thank you.
Totally not a “blond question” Elsa…but I don’t know the answer. It certainly seems testable, though. Alcohol, depending on the type, may have several addictive components.
Just received this post from the “Human Food Project.com” concerning a high fat diet in relation to gut bacteria: Full post “An eaters guide to a healthy microbiome”. Does this sound possible?
“Some interesting studies in mice and humans have shown that a high fat diet can shift your gut microbes which in turn has the knock on effect of low-grade inflammation as measured by circulating levels (in your blood) of a plasma endotoxin known as lipopolysaccharide (LPS). LPS is the primary structural component of the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria found in the gut. So how can shifting your gut microbes cause an increase of LPS in your blood? Turns out, the high fat diet reduces (shifts) the levels of Bifidobacterium. These particular bacteria are known to produce short-chain fatty acids (butyrate, propionate and lactate) as a byproduct of fermenting things like dietary fiber. When their numbers go down – as with a high fat diet – the amount of short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) go down as well. These SCFAs are known to improve gut barrier function (think leaky gut) through a number of mechanisms.
So, if you change your diet (higher fat in this case) you can reduce your SCFA production – which is an ecosystem service provided by your microbes – then your gut starts to leak and things that do not belong in your blood start showing up (LPS) and cause low-grade inflammation (the lab coats call it endotoxemia) which has been linked to insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes and obesity. It’s interesting to note, that its not the fat per se that causes the Bifidobacterium to shift downward in abundance and thus cause a leaky gut, but the reduction of fermentable substrates. That’s is, you cut off the Bifido’s food”
This topic is enormous, but we’re only beginning to scratch the surface of it. I do hope to deliver a series on this, at some point.
What is your opinion of grass vs grain fed cream, cheese & butter? I’ve heard the grass-fed cows generally have more favorable fat profiles in the meat, but haven’t seen much information directly comparing the Omega3-6 ratios in heavy cream for example.
There may be a 2nd order effect, but I haven’t see real data to confirm it.
I am concerned about the amount of animal fat you are consuming.
Animal fats aren’t bad in themselves but they are repositories for steroid hormones and certainly one must wonder just how much estrogen, testosterone and progesterone you are consuming every day through your whipped cream diet.
I assume everything you purchase is grass-fed but not every person can afford this nor does it change the fact that dairy cows are produce hormones in their milk regardless of the bovine diet. Furthermore, cows bred for beef are often injected with hormones*.
*www.fao.org/ag/againfo/programmes/es/lead/toolbox/…/GMSFAO4.pdf
“Milk stimulates growth of prostate cancer cells in culture.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22043817
“The possible role of female sex hormones in milk from pregnant cows in the development of breast, ovarian and corpus uteri cancers.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16125328
“Concerning prostatic cancer, milk (1961-90) was most closely correlated (r = 0.711) with its incidence, followed by meat and coffee. Stepwise-multiple-regression analysis identified milk + cheese as a factor contributing to the incidence of prostatic cancer (R = 0.525).”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11857417
It’s time to do more homework, Doc.
Dr. Molly Maloof, MD
Do you think the correlations from these studies establish causality, Molly? The correlation between shoe size and reading comprehension is off the charts, but we know there are some pretty big confounders (age!) that tell us no cause is present. I’d be pretty concerned drawing conclusions from correlations, unless the hazard ratios were much higher than we typically see in these observations. The other thing to be very careful of is not confusing relative risk with absolute risk. A RR increase of 50% can sound really scary, if you don’t realize AR went from 0.02% to 0.03% (0.01% AR can still be 50% RR). I’m not trying to talk you (or your patients) into eating meat or drinking milk, but I hope you can appreciate the limitations I see in these analyses. P.S. I hate being called “doc”
ok I am fat!!!! I did Atkiens and loss weigh but people told me I was eating unhealthy so I stop. I started following the so call heathly diet and gained and gained. I worked out running 3 to 4 miles or more a day. Nothing but fatty me and I gave up. Now, I would like to try your diet, but I am confused on how much a female , age 56 should eat. Thank you
Peter:
I am 45 years old and about two years ago lost over 60 pounds going low carb. After reading Dr Davis’ book “Wheat Belly” I decided to try dropping the carbs further. I went from about 100 grams of carbs a day to about 50, replacing them with fats (cheese, cream, nuts). I did this a few weeks ago and I gained about 5 pounds that won’t go away. My body fat is up and my water is down significantly.
Any thoughts on this?
Thanks,
Judy
Tough to say, Judy. It’s certainly possible that you’re very sensitive to dairy (which a non-trivial segment of population is). I wonder what would happen if you replaced the wheat with non-dairy fat and protein?
Dr. Attia –
I’m 59 years old, type 2 diabetic and want to lose about 40 – 50 pounds. Two questions re the low carb diet.
Many of the low carb proponents claim that diabetes can be reversed. I don’t know if you are one of them or not, but assuming you are, how do you know if your diabetes is reversed rather than just having your blood sugar under control? How do you know your pancreas is now functioning properly? (Which, I assume would be the main – perhaps only – “proof” that you have reversed it.)
When your blood sugar gets low (sometimes in the normal range for non-diabetics) you get the shakes and feel extremely tired. (Kind of scary, if nothing else.) How do you deal with that or get past it?
Thanks very much. (There may have been a better thread to ask this in, but I noticed you replied in this one today, so my apologies if it should have been elsewhere.)
Really good questions, Mark. I think what you’re getting at is what the actual cause of T2D. From your question, I see that your hypothesis is that the pancreas is the problem. It turns out, the problem is in the cells of your body, which become resistant to insulin, making your pancreas secrete more and more (for less and less of an effect). If one is resistant to insulin, a very logical treatment is reducing insulin levels, which is accomplished by reducing the agents the cause insulin secretion (glucose) and worsen insulin resistance (fructose in high amounts).
Thanks for replying, and I follow what you are saying. So I guess my question still is, can I “retrain” (if I can use that word) the cell/pancreas/insulin mechanism to reverse the condition or only control it? And what about the shakes when my sugar is low? Is there a way to get your body to adjust so that you don’t have the shakes when your blood sugar is in the normal range? Can that ever go away?
You almost certainly can. Most clinical studies indicate just that.
Hi, I just saw you on the Stossel show so I wanted to know more and came to your blog. I have a question regarding digesting fat if the gallbladder has been removed. Is a high fat diet possible for someone like that?
Yes, but it’s probably best to ease into it. Your liver still produces the same amount of bile sans gallbladder, but you have a smaller reservoir.
Hello Dr Attia,
Been on a low carb / high fat diet for 2 months, lost 20 lbs so far (still 5-7 to go and I will try to maintain my body weight). I entered ketosis a few times during these two months but have not really counted carbs. From a quick estimate, I must be under 20-30g / day. When I feel like a sweet treat, I usually sprinkle a bit of xylitol (e.g. on my full fat greek yogurt mixed with full fat cream) or have some berries or a couple of pieces of mandarin. The rest of the carbs come from veggies and nuts only. I did recognize the ketotic state (no hunger for more than 12 hours, fruity breath, endurance activity like commuting to work on my bike – 1h30mn each way – without facing any sugar cold episodes, etc).
One question that came to me lately is the alkaline vs acidic aspect of my diet. I do eat a lot of everything but I heard that ~ 80% alkaline vs 20% acidic would be optimal. What is your take on this aspect ?
James, I think I addressed this point in a previous question/comment. Basically, there is great confusion around what constitutes “acidic” vs. “alkaline.” The issue, from a health standpoint, has to do with the cellular (e.g., cytosol) environment, not the plasma per se.
Curious…do you avoid salad dressings in restaurants and try to stick with olive oil and vinegars? I thought maybe the creamy dressings (Ranch, Blue Cheese), even the Italian would contain a pretty significant amount of sugar?
Generally, yes. I ask for olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice.
Peter, thank you for addressing the gallbladder question. I am wondering if I should have mentioned the back story. I had no gb problems, and then I did Atkins. The first week I lost 11 lbs. and had problems after that. I did not have any stones, and all the tests could never determine why it was not working. The only reason I resorted to removal was years of pain. I have been scared to do a low carb diet since, but it is the thing that works best for me, being pre diabetic with numbers getting worse.
Hi Peter, I have been supplementing with bullion as you recommend and it has made all the difference in how I feel (thank you!); however, I just purchased salt tablets for when bullion is not possible. The tablets say “sodium chloride 1gm”; however, the back of the label says each tablet contains sodium 394mg. I’m not sure how much to take. I am also wondering if it is ok to take the tablet or if it needs to be dissolved in water. Thanks for the guidance, maryann
You know, I have found (for me, at least), that the tablets are not as effective. Perhaps it’s the combination of volume (water) plus the sodium?
1 gram of sodium chloride (NaCl), I believe, is 1 gram of the molecule sodium chloride—one sodium atom bonded to a chloride ion. NaCl’s molecular mass is 58.44 g/mol, and chloride alone has a molecular mass of 35.453 g/mol (from Wikipedia). So, I would think that you can calculate the percentage that sodium contributes to 1g of NaCl by doing (58.44-35.453)/58.44 = 39.33%. Multiply by 1000 mg/g and you have 393.3 g.
I believe you’ll want to dose based on the label’s sodium listing. Of course there’s nothing set in stone on dosage. I’ve never taken more than 1g per day of additional sodium (from bouillon cubes), and I’ve recently found that more like half a gram extra seems to keep my cramps at bay. I suspect there’s a ton of variation from person to person here, based on other dietary sodium as well as genetic variation.
Just found your site, wonderful information. While I respect your blood testing results, I am curious if, despite your terrific numbers from zero to low carb, high fat diet, …. have you had any CT scans of your heart, arteries to verify whether or not you have plaque build up or not? I’ve been following Dr. Davis’s blog for some time, and often terrific bloodwork numbers do not translate to clear arteries. Just wondering……
I had a coronary CT in 2009 which prompted this intervention. I have not repeated it because they, too, can be quite misleading. The only other thing to do (I’m obviously not going to get an angio) is a CIMT, but I never one before, so there is nothing to compare it to.
Hi Peter.
Thank you for a great pile of information. I stumbled upon your site via Marksdailyapple and have been living “primally” for a year. Maybe you can answer a question that’s been laying in the back of my mind all this time:
In the Paleo/low carb community I hear a lot about how one of the big advantages is controlling your insulin response by eating less carbs. But then when you check out the actual numbers or insulin index for certain foods, you find that certain amino acids (like Leucine, valine etc) have an even greater insulinogenic effect than glucose itself. There’s a great graph of this over at suppversity (I hope outside linking is okay)
https://suppversity.blogspot.dk/2012/06/whey-more-insulinogenic-than-white.html
Why is it that insulin released as response to carbs are worse than insulin from amino acids? I may have completely missed something here but would be thankful if you cleared this up for me =)
It’s really a case of timing and dose. It is quite likely that whey, especially if hydrolyzed, is very insulinogenic. The point is that you would only consume this in modest amounts, say 30-35 gm, and do so immediately after a heavy training session where the insulin is maximally driving the AA into muscle. It’s true, of course, that during that window of time you’ve turned off lipolysis, but it’s difficult to be simultaneously anabolic and catabolic.
I have IBD and find I do better if I get a reasonable amount of fiber, which usually comes with carbs. Have you seen any research or evidence that using NET Carbs (ie. subtracting fiber grams from total carbs to reach net carbs) is as effective as using straight carbs in reaching Nutritional Ketosis and staying there in an effort to lose a significant amount of body fat?
Nope.
Peter, your diet seems to be high in fat and cholesterol. I am 37 y old physician an have IIA type hypercholesterolemia with baseline LDL 300 and low HDL. I’m on lipitor 80 and zetia 10. My BMI is 28. I do not exercise much and eat what I want. I eat pita bread daily. Bad genes as both parents with CAD with dad’s first MI at age 39 (still alive at 66 now) Do you think your diet will be good idea for someone like me? I appreciate any help.
Doctor, Can you remember that I asked you about my own theory that alcohol addiction is actually carb addiction and that if alcoholics go on the LCHF they might find that they can overcome the addiction. I saw this series of three videos last night and I felt so sad. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUwC340u6eU They are mostly children that are grossly overweight because of “Prader-Willy?? Syndrome” A doctor said on the tapes that the kindest thing would probably be to let the kids eat anything they want as much as they want and literally eat themselves to death because this will be kinder than living with this terrible hunger. I am so sure the LCHF way of eating will help these children but they are given high carb, low fat meals with controlled calories of course. I just wanted to share this with you.
Great point. As you know, this condition is very rare, but it would be interesting to know if other manipulations (e.g., diet composition) could make a difference. I’ve forgotten from med school most of the genetics of this disease, and what drives the hunger. I assume it’s central? I wonder if they have tried leptin replacement in these kids.
Hi doctor, I googled and although there seems to be conflicting research results (as usual), I copied/pasted this one for its brevity and to-the-pointness. Thanks for your (informed) interest…
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10651760
OBJECTIVE:
This study explored leptin concentrations in Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS), a genetic disorder characterized by significant obesity and presumed hypothalamic dysfunction. The potential interaction of leptin metabolism with the growth hormone (GH) axis was also studied.
STUDY DESIGN:
Plasma leptin concentrations and percent body fat were determined by radioimmunoassay and dual energy x-ray absorptionmetry, respectively, in 23 children with Prader-Willi syndrome and 23 children with exogenous obesity.
RESULTS:
Log plasma leptin concentrations were positively correlated with percentage body fat in PWS (r = 0.844) and exogenous obesity (r = 0.869). When the regression lines for the two groups were compared, there were no differences in their slopes (P = 0.737) or intercepts (P = 0.701). Administration of recombinant human growth hormone to PWS children for 12 months significantly reduced both percentage body fat and plasma leptin concentrations, but the relationship of log plasma leptin to percentage body fat was unchanged.
CONCLUSION:
Prader-Willi syndrome is not accompanied by deranged leptin concentrations and there was no evidence of an interaction of the GH axis with leptin metabolism in these GH-deficient children.
First, there is a psychologist who posited that alcohol addiction is akin to the same thing as sugar addiction. She noted that at the meetings she attended of AA that the sugar bowls and the donuts always emptied out quickly. Her diet solution was to eliminate sugar and white flour. it’s not a low carb diet because she substituted potatoes as a solution to depression that she said was the problem I believe the book she wrote was Potatoes not prozac. In light of what I’ve learned I think she was on the right track with noting that sugar often gets substituted for alcohol when alcohol use stops. Dr Lustig in his lecture pointed out that alcohol and sugar (fructose part) are metabolized in the liver which can cause damage to the body. Main difference is sugar doesn’t act quite as strongly on the brain as alcohol does.
I’ve read about Willi Prader with interest because as a child in grade school I became morbidly obese around eight or nine. Before then I was a stocky child normal weight. A series of physical events in growing and becoming female seemed to set off a firestorm internally. What I could never let on to anyone (I learned how to hide my food ‘problem’ at a very young age) was how hungry I always was. I never felt satiated unless I ate a tremendous amount. The ravaging pain of that hunger is hard to explain let alone have people believe that you are in pain. That intensity abated in my adulthood but only really ended with gastric bypass surgery. I am not advocating surgery for these young children but I wonder if there is more to their hormonal story than is understood currently.
Where I live a young, obese boy was removed from his mother’s care. He was sent to live with his uncle. He lost weight. How was not reported in the papers so I have no idea if he ate low carb or low fat or what… He was returned to his mother with the understanding that she would attend classes in cooking and nutrition and that the boy would continue to have access to exercise and sports. The mother decided to leave the state so nothing is known at how well the boy is doing. I hope that he is doing well because childhood obesity ‘sucks swampwater big time’ (My apologies to anyone I may have offended.) He didn’t have Willi Prader syndrome but he had most likely hormonal changes going on that increased fat production. If he was of normal weight as a baby and toddler and then as he got closer to puberty his weight shot up that could mean a breakdown somewhere of how his body used fat. I don’t think from what was said that his diet changed all that much from one year to the next so theidea that overeating caused his fatness is not the reason. Overeating is caused by supporting fat that is already present. inside and outside the body
To comment briefly on alcohol addiction, I stopped having cocktails and beer as a young adult. We seldom drank at home so it wasn’t terribly hard yet I never kept alcohold in the house because of a fear that I would abuse it just like sugar. Since I overdid sugar I was always afraid that I could transfer that over to alcohol easily. It just seemed that the two were linked in ways I didn’t know why. It doesn’t surprise me when researchers are now commenting that sugar changes the brain like drugs or alcohol.
Morning Peter,
This is just a friendly poke to encourage you to write an article regarding your comment on vegetables.
“I eat vegetables, but primarily because they are a great way to get more fat (e.g., high-fat salad dressings, butter), not because I “need” them.”
I have personally ramped up my varied vegetable consumption after being inspired by Terry Wahls’ protocol[1] and would be interested in reading your take on this. For example I have made efforts to include more sulphurous vegetables regularly.
Also as a side note I have just received Paul Jaminet’s latest edition of The Perfect Health Diet. Looking forward to reading his editions/changes since the first book, have you read either copy?
For reasons Paul outlines[2] I basically eat a couple of sweet potatoes three times a week post-evening-workout, last meal of the day. Every morning I take around 30g of coconut oil and fast through to lunch except supplementing BCAAs on my fasted morning workouts. I am actually interested in getting a blood meter to see if I am actually in ketosis the rest of the time or not; and whether those potatoes are knocking me out full-time.
Many thanks, a really great site and I especially like your FAQ. It’s the kind of usefulness I would have loved to have written myself. Well done.
[1] Julianne Taylor (Julianne’s Paleo & Zone Nutrition): Dr Wahls’ super-nutrient paleo diet, 9 cups veggies a day:. https://bit.ly/KRAhDz
[2] https://perfecthealthdiet.com/category/zero-carb-dangers/
I, too, eat leafy vegetables by the truckload. I would bet I eat more than 99% of the U.S. population. Why? I love them. They allow me to stay in NK. Great and convenient way to get more oils. But have I seen really convincing data that the pounds of salad I pound back are directly and specifically improving my health, beyond the possible substitution effect (i.e., replacing something else in my diet that may be less healthy)? I’m still looking for those data.
I like Terry a lot, and am a huge fan of her work and story. But I need more data to say her remarkable reversal is the resulting of adding X, rather than something else (like subtracting Y).
For those who don’t want to include grains as part of whatever carbs they DO eat, I just learned that buckwheat is not a grain, it is a fruit seed head, related to rhubarb. There are 64 grams of net carbohydrate in 100 grams of dry, roasted buckwheat groats, so it is high in carbs as you would expect from a dried fruit.