S2E4 6-Day Potato Diet Journal

[Compdude]

NOTE: Ended Potato Diet 1 day earlier than planned. So ignore inconsistencies in the daily entries.

Day 0/7 - Prep Day

Purpose: To detox the body of lingering toxins that cause a painful arthritic attack on right foot and left wrist. Due to arthritic pain unable to exercise so diet only option. Did a 14-day Potato Diet to break my carb/sugar addiction and change my taste palate. Also to eliminate cravings during fasts and binging during refeeds triggered by unexpected stress.

For next 7 days will have only boiled potatoes and water. No counting calories. Eat as much as I want. Reason is potatoes are ranked #1 on the satiety scale of foods. HOWEVER, will do Time Restricted Eating schedule to take advantage of time body is most insulin sensitive. Specifically NO eating past 3pm.

Scrubbed clean the skin of 3 Russet potatoes. Boiled them and put them into refrigerator overnight to change starch composition to resistant starch. This lowers the Glycemic Index rating and makes the starch indigestible. This feeds the gut bacteria in the lower intestine. Kept skin as most of nutrients stored there.

Since potatoes rich in potassium and magnesium don’t need these supplements. As for salt, probably don’t need it for such a short period as should have enough stored from 11 days of ReFeed.

[Freedumb]

Starch is digestable hot and indigestible cold? Or, is it a time factor? What takes place to make the change?

[Compdude]

Check out today’s entry. I’ve included a video that does a good job in explaining it.

[Compdude]

Day 1/7 - Potato Diet

Still typing with one hand. Completely exhausted from the unrelenting wrist pain. In a paradoxical way it made me realize how much time is in a single day when you are in pain for every second of it. No weight or glucose measurements for the 2nd day in a row, Still can’t stand,

Good news is that by yesterday evening, the pain in the left wrist had ebbed to a 1/4 of the wrist so by elevating and placing it in a certain position i didn’t feel pain. Was able to sleep 6 hours. The downside is the pain traveled to the knuckle of the middle finger and is why I’m still typing with 1 hand. The pain in the right foot has ebbed to just the right side but now I’m feeling pain and stiffness in the right knee.

Still NOT taking any medications, (that includes pain meds), as I dumped everything in December after being declared “medication free.” However, I’m using various heating pads and its helping.

Had 1 boiled potato at 7am. 1/2 a large at 11am and another 1/4 at 2:30pm

The most frustrating aspect of this experience is I thought I was DONE with these type of arthritic attacks. My last one was over a year ago. Guess it will make me wary when I start digging into the last of that decades old fat as who knows what types of toxins are there and have been accumulating over the years!

@Freedumb had a question regarding resistant starches, here’s a video that gives a detailed explanation.

Educational:

Motivation/Inspiration:

[Compdude]

Day 2/7 - Potato Diet

Still typing with one hand. The left wrist is pain free. However, the middle finger is still swollen and finger between it and the thumb is now stiff. No weight or glucose measurements for the 3rd day in a row, Still can’t stand. However, I can momentarily stand not long enough to take a measurement though.

Had another good sleep last night as I continue to recover from the complete exhaustion I suffered on Friday.

Had 1 boiled potato and the remaining 1/4 from yesterday at 7:30am. Another large potato at 1:30pm.

Now that I have a sense of my body’s response and my increasing health I can create a plan:
2/22 - Saturday - Completed an 18:6 IF and stopped eating before 3pm
2/23 - Sunday - 18:6 IF and no eating after 3pm
2/24 - Monday - 18:6 and no eating after 3pm
2/25 - Tuesday - 18:6 and no eating after 3pm
2/26 - Wednesday - 18:6 and no eating after 3pm
2/27 - Thursday - !8:6, no eating 3pm+, dress rehearsal of contestant speech at Toastmasters club & get final feedback from club
2/28 - Friday - 18:6 and no eating after 3pm
2/29 - Saturday - END FAST 18:6 with Scrambled Eggs w/carmelized onions, Italian sausage & Hash Browns, compete in 1st round of World Championship of Public Speaking

Goals:

1. By 2/26 Thursday be completely pain free and have full mobility for dress rehearsal
2. On 2/29 Saturday WIN the 1st round (Area Contest) to advance to 2nd round (Division)

Educational: This is Andrew who completed one year Potato Diet. His achievement popularized the Potato Diet worldwide.

Motivation/Inspiration:

[Freedumb]

Two days until dress rehearsal! What is your pain level?

[Compdude]

Pretty good. I can stand now. Have to start walking tomorrow. Otherwise, I will go to my backup plan as I HAVE to be mobile by Thursday morning.

[Compdude]

Day 3/7 - Potato Diet

Weight loss: 12lbs from 2/20.
BGL: Normal
Exercise: Involuntary Rest

Typing with both hands now, though the middle finger and pinkie are still swollen and painful. Standing is becoming easier now though still can’t walk yet. If I can’t walk by tomorrow, I will execute my backup plan which is to start taking ibuprofen in the form of Advil. I HAVE to be mobile by dress rehearsal Thursday morning to be ready for the competition on Saturday.

Finally was able to stand for a stable period of time so I can weigh myself. Surprised by the amount of weight loss. I know from previous experience that most of it is water weight. I’m a bit concerned I may be losing the lean muscle mass I worked so hard to build up as my quads have gotten smaller from lack of exercise. Oh well, get healthy FIRST.

The topical treatments and heating pads combined with the Potato Diet appear to be working. Feeling a lessening of arthritic symptoms all over. Still hoping to not have to resort to any type of medication by tomorrow.

Had 1 boiled potato at 7:30am. 1/2 large potato at 12:30pm.

2/22 - Saturday - Completed an 18:6 IF and stopped eating before 3pm
2/23 - Sunday - 18:6 IF and no eating after 3pm
2/24 - Monday - 18:6 and no eating after 3pm
2/25 - Tuesday - 18:6, no eating after 3pm & walk a few steps
2/26 - Wednesday - 18:6 and no eating after 3pm
2/27 - Thursday - !8:6, no eating 3pm+, dress rehearsal of contestant speech at Toastmasters club & get final feedback from club
2/28 - Friday - 18:6 and no eating after 3pm
2/29 - Saturday - END FAST 18:6 with Scrambled Eggs w/carmelized onions, Italian sausage & Hash Browns, compete in 1st round of World Championship of Public Speaking

Goals:

1. By 2/26 Thursday be completely pain free and have full mobility for dress rehearsal
2. On 2/29 Saturday WIN the 1st round (Area Contest) to advance to 2nd round (Division)

Educational: This is a couple that successfully completed a 14-day Potato Diet and how it helped them change their lives:

Motivation/Inspiration:

[Compdude]

Day 4/7 - Potato Diet

Weight loss: 2lbs - Total: 14lbs (9lbs water - 5lbs fat & LBM)
BGL: Normal
Exercise: Able to walk to bathroom and back with cane

Arthritic symptoms continue to abate. Swelling continues to go down in fingers of left hand as strength and nimbleness returns. One complication is stiffness and pain in left elbow. Made walking complicated as could only use the right hand for the cane for the stiff right foot. Right ankle a bit stiff and painful but took it slow. What this means is I get to hold off on the ibuprofen today and do another evaluation tomorrow.

The loss of another 2lbs is right on track from my last Potato Diet last August for this point of time. Hunger has also abated. If hunger is still not an issue by 2pm, I will shoot for doing an OMAD for the day.

Had 1 and 1/2 boiled potatoes at 7:30am.

2/22 - Saturday - Completed an 18:6 IF and stopped eating before 3pm
2/23 - Sunday - 18:6 IF and no eating after 3pm
2/24 - Monday - 18:6 and no eating after 3pm
2/25 - Tuesday - 19:5, no eating after 3pm & walking to the bathroom.
2/26 - Wednesday - 18:6/OMAD and walk .1 mile
2/27 - Thursday - !8:6, no eating 3pm+, dress rehearsal of contestant speech at Toastmasters club & get final feedback from club
2/28 - Friday - 18:6 and no eating after 3pm
2/29 - Saturday - END FAST 18:6 with Scrambled Eggs w/carmelized onions, Italian sausage & Hash Browns, compete in 1st round of World Championship of Public Speaking

Goals:

1. By 2/26 Thursday be completely pain free and have full mobility for dress rehearsal
2. On 2/29 Saturday WIN the 1st round (Area Contest) to advance to 2nd round (Division)

Educational: This is from an unpublished article that Anna and I are collaborating on:

Six Benefits of the Potato Diet

1. No calorie counting as you eat as much as you want.

2. No set meal times as you eat when you feel hungry.

3. Re-establish priority of your body’s satiety systems over your hedonic system’s desire for simple carbs and sugar. Potatoes are a high satiety food, approximately 2.5 times that of rice and pasta. The higher the score on the satiety index the greater the feeling of fullness for a longer period of time. What is the satiety index? The satiety index (SI) was developed by a researcher at the University of Sydney to compare the ‘feeling of fullness’ of a range of foods. Hunger, appetite and satiety regulate the amount of food we want to eat and how much we consume. What does satiety mean? Satiety refers to the physiological and psychological experiences of fullness that come after eating or drinking. It is influenced by the volume of food consumed in addition to its water, dietary fibre and macronutrient (protein, carbohydrate, fat) content. The higher the satiety index the greater the feeling of fullness for longer.

4. Resetting the tastebuds means resetting the neuroadaptation. As an example, when you’ve been outside in the sun, and enter a darker room, it’s pitch black at first, but after a while, the eyes are adapting and you can see much better and realize that it wasn’t really that dark. The tastebuds adaptation occurs when we haven’t had food or any flavor in a longer period of time, and when you finally eat again, the flavors can be very strong. Many people who hate plain vegetables are used to big amounts of salt, sugar or other condiments they can’t taste the smaller amounts of natural sugar and salt in the vegetables.

5. Feeds good gut bacteria when prepared to create resistant starch. The main reason for resistant starch is that it functions like soluble, fermentable fiber. It goes through your stomach and small intestine undigested, eventually reaching your colon where it feeds your friendly gut bacteria. The bacteria in your intestine (the gut flora) outnumber the body’s cells 10 to 1. Most foods feed only 10% of your cells, fermentable fibers and resistant starches feed the other 90%. There are hundreds of different species of bacteria in your intestine. Resistant starch feeds the friendly bacteria in your intestine, having a positive effect on the type of bacteria as well as their number. When the bacteria digest resistant starches, they form several compounds, including gases and short-chain fatty acids, most notably butyrate. Butyrate is important because it provides fuel for the cells of our gut lining, supports immune system functions of the colon wall and protects against certain diseases of the digestive tract.

6. Makes the fasting (by decreasing intensity of cravings or eliminating them completing) and refeed process easier (decreasing intensity or completing eliminating the urge to binge).

Motivation/Inspiration:

Personal Story: After teaching Beginning Windsurfing classes for the UCLA Sailing Club for four years I felt I was ready to take the next step up which was competition. Because of the extensive “water” time experience I had from teaching I was able to win beginning with my 1st nationally ranked competition with a 3rd place to start competition season. Yet, by the middle of the season I was getting frustrated because I could never win first.

During the off season I realized that I had been focused on the wrong thing. Going into my 2nd season my goal going into a competition changed from from winning 1st place to learning something new. As long as I did that I’d be happy no matter the result. Soon enough I started winning multiple first places and by the end of the season I was rewarded with my 1st national ranking by the USBA (United States Boardsailing Association) now known as U.S. Windsurfing.

Moral of the Story: Focus on learning and/or improving ONE thing each day and before you know it you will get to where you want to go. In some cases, sooner than you think.

[donna]

I hope you are feeling better. Your experience with the potato diet is interesting to me.

Have you any idea if eating this way affects your muscle mass? Since calorie restriction has been proven to cause muscle loss but fasting does not, I wondered about just eating potatoes even though you are not trying to restrict calories.

Without adding fat, potatoes are certainly going to be low calorie. Is it hard for you to eat them plain?

[Compdude]

Yes, I know I’m losing lean muscle mass because the Potato Diet by its nature is a a caloric restriction diet due to it being the #1 food highest on the satiety scale. I think before I went OMAD today, I was averaging around 600 calories a day and that’s eating to satiety on 2 meals. I’m working to alleviate the LBM loss by going OMAD but I’m willing to pay the short-term price of lean muscle mass to fully detox and ensure no future arthritic attacks.

Looking at my Project Plan, after I finish the 7-Day Potato Diet and a day off for the Speech Contest this Saturday I only have 16 days remaining for the workout phase before starting up a new 21-day fast. It’s my hope to regain what I lost and add more during that time.

As for eating them plain, its not a problem for me as I love potatoes. Hash browns is among my favorite foods. Actually this arthritic attack is a blessing in disguise as I had suspected that my carb/sugar addiction was creeping back so I probably needed to quash that little uprising from happening again.

[Freedumb]

How did the dress rehearsal go?

On potatoe fasting: I watched the video on potatoes being indigestible before cooking, digestable cooked and reverting to indigestabe when cold again. When you talk about eating home fried potatoes, are you talking about eating them cold? Are all the potatoes you eat cold? Are we talking room temperature or refrigerator temperature?

[Compdude]

Dress rehearsal is tomorrow morning. Thanks for asking though.

First of all, I boil them and NOT fry them. No, when I take the out of the refrigerator I boil them again so I have them hot.

[Compdude]

Day 5/7 - Potato Diet

Weight loss: 0 - Total: 14lbs (9lbs water - 5lbs fat & LBM)
BGL: Forgot to take it
Exercise: 1 mile walk
IF/TRE (Intermittent Fasting/Time Restricted Eating): OMAD
Mood: Good

Woke up with a headache. Took salt with the boiled potatoes today and that took care of the issue. I had hoped to go without salt the entire 7 days; but, the body had other plans. Finished over 23 hours fasting as I successfully completed an OMAD.

When I set out on my walk today I hoped to achieve a minimum .1 mile walk which was about 3 residential blocks. I also took my cane as a safety precaution. As I sat on a brick wall at the .1 mile mark I checked on how I was feeling. A bit winded and the right ankle was a bit achy but no debilitating pain so I decided to push it to the next rest stop at .3 miles. Felt okay and strived to reach the rest stop at .4 miles. Since I’d come so far I reached the .5 mile mark and turned and headed home. My aerobic endurance came back and I only took one more break at the .7 mile mark. I DID IT! It took me over an hour and a turtle probably would have beaten me if it was a race but I finished the mile. Since I exceeded my original goal and I’m not feeling any pain or swelling afterwards, it means I won’t have to resort to my backup plan of taking Advil.

Energy continues to increase as I’m back to my normal 5 hours a night sleep pattern. Should be able to get some consulting work in today.

Had 1 and 1/2 boiled potatoes at 7:30am.

2/22 - Saturday - Completed an 18:6 IF and stopped eating before 3pm
2/23 - Sunday - 18:6 IF and no eating after 3pm
2/24 - Monday - 18:6 and no eating after 3pm
2/25 - Tuesday - 19:5, no eating after 3pm & walking to the bathroom.
2/26 - Wednesday - OMAD & 1 mile walk
2/27 - Thursday - OMAD, dress rehearsal of contestant speech at Toastmasters club & get final feedback from club
2/28 - Friday - OMAD & 1 mile walk
2/29 - Saturday - END OMAD with Scrambled Eggs w/carmelized onions, Italian sausage & Hash Browns, compete in 1st round of World Championship of Public Speaking

Goals:

1. By 2/26 Thursday be completely pain free and have full mobility for dress rehearsal
2. On 2/29 Saturday WIN the 1st round (Area Contest) to advance to 2nd round (Division)

Educational: This is more from an unpublished article that Anna and I are collaborating on:

Potato Diet: Length, Preparation & Supplementation

How long should I do the Potato Diet?

1. For Alipio, 14 days

2. For Anna, 10 days

NOTE: Our goals for the Potato Diet were NOT weight loss. Therefore, we did NOT do the shorter 3 day period recommended for that goal. The length of our respective Potato Diets were dictated by our specific reasons.

Anna:
When doing shorter periods of eating this way, most people don’t need any supplements, but make sure to always check with your doctor before! If doing this for longer periods of time (meaning over a month), you might want to consider supplementing with vitamin D or B12 after doing your own research.

Preparation Process:

1. Scrub the outside of the potatoes clean

2. Boil enough potatoes to last several days

3. Store overnight in refrigerator

4. Boil again before eating.

The preparation process is important to follow because it changes the composition of the starch into what is called “resistant” starch. Resistant starch lowers the Glycemic Index level of the potato and makes it indigestible. As it passes through the gastrointestinal tract, resistant starch will feed the good gut bacteria. Boiling the potato again after it has been prepared increases the amount of resistant starch.

Anna:
I boiled my potatoes, although baking potatoes is a good alternative too since it keeps more nutrients as they don’t get dissolved in the water we pour out (mainly water-soluble vitamins like vitamin C and B6, and less frequently potassium). Baking may decrease the water content slightly but not to a huge degree. Both are good options. The goal is to have a a simple potato-mono-meal that gives the body enough fuel to function as normal but doesn’t trigger the dopamine pathways as much as flavored concentrated calories.

Eating:

Boiled potatoes should be eaten with the skin on. The only condiment allowed is salt.

Required Supplementation:

From Alipio:
I only required salt to maintain my electrolyte levels as magnesium and potassium is amply supplied by the potato.

From Anna:
When doing shorter periods of eating this way, most people don’t need any supplements. If you decide to do this for over a month or longer you should consider supplementing with vitamin D or B12 after doing your own research.

Motivation/Inspiration:

[Compdude]

Day 6/7 - Potato Diet UPDATES

Weight loss: 1lb - Total: 15lbs (9lbs water - 6lbs fat & LBM)
BGL: Forgot to take it
Exercise: Rest - UPDATE - 2 mile walk
IF/TRE: 15:9
Mood:

UPDATE: One of my TM friend’s volunteered to be my 1st Patron by buying me breakfast at each TM meeting. He says my showing the progress I’ve made with my contestant’s speech over the last month is helping him tremendously with his own preparations of his construction presentations at work.

Broke the Potato Diet today at 15:9 falling short of OMAD. Reason is pretty unique. I’ve been working in my head the last week on finishing the conclusion of my speech. It’s 99% done, but as any veteran speaker will tell you you’ve GOT to have a GREAT opening and close.

As a computer guy I always got that needed burst of inspiration from happy hour and/or food. Since my final dress rehearsal is in 6 hours, I said “screw it.” Had a bag of chips/crisps, mashed potatoes and gravy and 2 biscuits. I have my cup of herbal tea ready and as soon as I finish this entry I’m ready to “rock n roll.”

Exercise:
Since I’ll be wearing dress slacks, dress shirt, tie, braces and good shoes, my friend’s going to pick me up to take me to the meeting and back home. So I won’t be walking later today.

I’m feeling good, after resting all day, from taking my 1 mile walk. Another reason I felt comfortable breaking the diet is most of my arthritic conditions are gone or barely noticeable. Most importantly is I’m walking easily now which was my BIG goal heading into rehearsal and the competition this Saturday.

UPDATE: After lying down to recover for a couple hours after this morning’s successful dress rehearsal, I decided to take a walk. At the .1 mile mark I reached a decision point. Turn left was the 1 mile round trip to the grocery store. Turn right was the 2 mile round trip to WalMart. Felt good so decided to go for it. Found out endurance hasn’t deteriorated as much as I feared as I took breaks every half mile and took my cane as a precautionary measure. Pace is still slow but I did the FULL 2 miles.

12:30am - Bag of chips, mashed potatoes and gravy & 2 biscuits
UPDATE: 7:15am - Steak, Eggs & Hashbrowns (NEW Patron’s treat)

2/22 - Saturday - Completed an 18:6 IF and stopped eating before 3pm
2/23 - Sunday - 18:6 IF and no eating after 3pm
2/24 - Monday - 18:6 and no eating after 3pm
2/25 - Tuesday - 19:5, no eating after 3pm & walking to the bathroom.
2/26 - Wednesday - OMAD & 1 mile walk
2/27 - Thursday - 15:9, speech dress rehearsal and 2 mile walk
2/28 - Friday - OMAD, 1 mile walk & Flexibility workout
2/29 - Saturday - Breakfast & Lunch, my Area contest starts at 1:30pm & no exercise

Goals:

1. 2/27 - Full mobility for dress rehearsal
2. 2/29 Saturday WIN the 1st round (Area Contest) to advance to 2nd round (Division)

Motivation/Inspiration:

Keep the faith and keep moving forward

[Freedumb]

Good luck with your speech.

[Compdude]

Thanks. Just got back. Went well. Went over time but I expected that. Now its time to integrate the feedback and major editing up until Saturday’s competition.

[Compdude]

De-Brief of 6-Day Potato Diet

1. Total weight loss: 15lbs (9lbs water & 6lbs fat)
2. Achieved goal of curing arthritic symptoms and walking pain free
3. IF daily ranging from 15:9 to OMAD
4. Able to achieve results with NO medications, including pain medication
5. BGL average: 87

NOTE; Ended Potato Diet 1 day early due to needing food to fuel creativity required for speech for upcoming contest tomorrow, Saturday 2/29.