A DD Hack

[Dottie]

Do you want a potato hack recipe thread sticky?
If you do, someone start one and I can make it a sticky.

[Yennie]

Dottie, I think someone started one that's a few pages back. If noone beats me to it I will try to find it tonight & bump it for you.

[Yennie]

Ok, I guess I didn't remember correctly. The thread was for potato DD recipes which ended up including recipes that don't technically follow the hack rules but are still low cal.
I'll start one for a sticky, I guess.

[LOW_CARB_LOLA]

Did anyone go from vlc to potato days?
Did you see a gain?
I'm scared about the scale jumping due to glycogen stores refilling

I know it's just a number but being over weight for the entirety of my life, seeing the number jumps causes me much anxiety!

[Yennie]

LCL,
Its most likely water. I just posted an explanation to the thread Svenska started about feeling poorly on PDDs.

[LOW_CARB_LOLA]

I posted this on another forum but thought I would post it here too

So..... I stepped on the scale today and I lost 1.2 lbs
Still not down the complete weight I put on from day 1, and I am still 5 lbs over my lowest, but its a loss!

Onward and downward!

[Luv2Eat]

Originally Posted by Dottie

Do you want a potato hack recipe thread sticky?
If you do, someone start one and I can make it a sticky.

Hmmm, I think since ouizoid started this thread, she should have the honor of starting the potato hack sticky, that's mho .. . .

I personally would love a potato hack sticky!!

[Berta48]

I am wondering if I do the Potato Hack on my DD do I count the calories or just eat potatoes until I am full?

[dazygyrl]

berta....i am planning to start doing potatoes on my DDs....i am not planning on counting. i think some do, some don't.

[Berta48]

Originally Posted by dazygyrl

berta....i am planning to start doing potatoes on my DDs....i am not planning on counting. i think some do, some don't.

I made some homemade potato chips in the microwave today and they were really good. Next time I think I will sprinle some McCormick BBQ seasoning on them!Tomorrow is a DD so zI am going to try it and see if I loose on the next DD morning

I just peeled and washed the taters then sliced them very thin and layed them on a paper plate and zapped for about 5 min.You have to watch them close and when they start to crisp up take them out let them cool and eat!!They get more like a chip when they are cooled off.

[Shari4]

Originally Posted by Berta48

I am wondering if I do the Potato Hack on my DD do I count the calories or just eat potatoes until I am full?

Berta, when I do the PH, I count everything! The first time I did it, I did not count & regretted it!! Then, when I began to count, it worked beautifully! I could not believe that my cravings for junk went completely away. I was satisfied all day long! I hope it works well for you!

[Yennie]

Originally Posted by Berta48

I made some homemade potato chips in the microwave today and they were really good. Next time I think I will sprinle some McCormick BBQ seasoning on them!Tomorrow is a DD so zI am going to try it and see if I loose on the next DD morning

I just peeled and washed the taters then sliced them very thin and layed them on a paper plate and zapped for about 5 min.You have to watch them close and when they start to crisp up take them out let them cool and eat!!They get more like a chip when they are cooled off.

Tried this, very very yummy. I used a bit of the Johnny's seasoning salt - ok, I used a lot of the seasoning salt. Mine may have been too thick as it took about 8-9 minutes for them to be done but so satisfying to have a crunch. Then I made ranch dip using fat free greek yogurt & low cal ranch powder mix. Just sprinkled a little of the ranch into the yogurt & mixed. Dipped my chips in there to replicate one of my all time favorite junk food meals: Ruffles & ranch dip!!!

[LOW_CARB_LOLA]

I may just have an emotional breakdown...
I'm up 2.4 lbs. What happened? What am I doing wrong

H E L P M E

[LOW_CARB_LOLA]

Down the 2.4lbs I gained yesterday, BUT still weigh more than I did when I started this hack.

We will see what tommorrow brings.
I learned that eating one potato when I am hungry instead of a couple at atone, suppresses my appetite instead of making me ravenous an hour later

[Key Tones]

Lola,

I did eat a large quantity of mashed potatoes for breakfast one morning (maybe 3 potatoes' worth), and that was my worst day. I have decided to move away from mashed, except for a treat in controlled situations.

I do best eating as few potatoes as possible - usually none for breakfast, just two for lunch around 11:00 am, maybe two around 4:00, then around three of them in the evening. When I eat in pairs, I pick a small and medium. I sprinkle with chili pepper, curry powder, and sometimes vinegar. Definitely eat when really hungry (if hunger passes in 15-20 minutes, I don't), and I drink plenty of chai or cinnamon apple tea all day long and coffee in the morning, no cream, just pure stevia to sweeten now (did use Splenda the first few weeks but was going hog wild with the splenda)

Mashing them with bone broth disrupts my ability to do this (I can even eat a lot of these cold), so I will go back to roasting in crock pot and having bone broth on the side. Just my experience. I haven't weighed in yet this week, but I don't think it will be good. I find I don't know how many potatoes I am eating when I mash them and can eat much more than usual.

[tobelowcarber]

Can this be done with sweet potatoes?

[Yennie]

Originally Posted by tobelowcarber

Can this be done with sweet potatoes?

I've never really gotten a concrete answer to this but my feeling is no, you can't. There are some who say absolutely not, there are some who've had success adding in a bit of sweet potato, but no more than 10-15% of the total potato load overall.

I've made the personal decision to not use sweet potatoes, because I'm having success with the russets and yukon golds.

[Luv2Eat]

Oooh, if I have sweet potato's, it has to be with all the trimmings - butter, sweetner and marshmallows melted on top

Will stick to russets and yukon golds. . . . for the hack. . . . .

[renedlb]

So how does the potatoe hack work?

How many calories ? Do I just stay within my daily allowance

[Otzi]

Hey, guys! Otzi here from Mark's Daily Apple. I have been doing the Potato Hack for about 6 months in various forms, and would love to share some of the things I've learned in that time.

I'm a 48yo guy, went from 250 to 180 with LC over 2 years, then from 180 to 165 with potatoes over 2 months. I now keep my weight in a very tight range around 170 using the potato trick.

I eat very healthy, carbs in the 100-150 range every day, this keeps me warm, full of energy, and able to work out. Cutting to below 100 makes me cold and unable to do even basic exercise with much ooomph. The trouble is, it also leads to a bit of weight gain.

As soon as I see the scale hit 175, I do a potato diet until the scale hits 168. This usually takes about 5-7 days. I've only had to do it once since Christmas, so I don't think I'm in a dangerous yo-yo pattern.

When I do the potato diet, here's what I do:
- Buy 10 pounds of smallish reds, about golf-ball to tennis ball size, and 10 pounds of bigger ones like russets or yukon golds, about 1/2 pound in size (baseball).

- Immediately boil 5 pounds of the reds, don't boil too long, just until you can poke them with a knife. Cool and keep in fridge.

- Skip breakfast, eat 2 of the bigger potatoes for lunch, 2-3 of the bigger potatoes for dinner, and if snacks are needed outside meal times, sprinkle salt on a cold red potato and munch on that.

- I don't eat anything other than potatoes. If I have so much as a couple almonds or a piece of cheese, I might as well call it quits. The cravings hit hard. When I stick to just spuds, I can go indefinitely. I made it 14 days once!

- To prepare the larger potatoes for meals, I like baked potatoes to eat while at work because they are so easy. Fix the night before and heat in microwave. Sometimes I will dip it in ketchup/mustard, like 1 packet per potato, and I always salt pretty heavily. For dinner, I like to slice or shred and dry-fry. I could eat these hashbrowns every day! I use salt, pepper, and vinegar.

- I have tried mixing other foods, but it doesn't work for me. Same as using butter or oil to cook in, the satiety effect is gone.

- I have found that in adding potatoes to my menu most every day when not doing a potato diet, my weight is much more stable and my energy level is very high. On LC I was subject to pretty wild weight swings if I ate off-plan, nowdays my weight is very stable day to day.

- When coming off a potato diet, I expect to regain about 2 pounds over the next week or so, but most of the weightloss is fat it seems. I always experience a loss of waist inches and never a loss of energy or muscle as noted in the gym.

- When doing a potato diet, I lay off of working out that week and just walk for exercise. No running or lifting etc...

Hope I hit the highlights--I heard you guys were interested in this on MDA. I used to lurk here a lot!

If you have any questions, let me know!
Otzi from MDA

[ouizoid]

Otzi--I followed all your early posts on MDA--thank you so much for coming over here and posting your potato wisdom! This hack has helped so many people--

A lot of folks try the hack and give up because they have an initially awful reaction. I try and encourage them to keep trying--that something ends up detoxifying or working through or the like--that the initial insulin crisis won't happen every time they eat a potato--just wondered if you had any further thoughts on that.

Thanks again Otzi

Ouis

[Joyjoy]

Thanks for visiting, Otzi. Loved your posts at MDA.

[Blonde with a Rose]

Otzi thanks so much for posting here! Lots of good guidance material.

[Otzi]

Originally Posted by ouizoid

Otzi--I followed all your early posts on MDA--thank you so much for coming over here and posting your potato wisdom! This hack has helped so many people--

A lot of folks try the hack and give up because they have an initially awful reaction. I try and encourage them to keep trying--that something ends up detoxifying or working through or the like--that the initial insulin crisis won't happen every time they eat a potato--just wondered if you had any further thoughts on that.

Thanks again Otzi

Ouis

I'm always happy when I see people talking about the Potato Diet. I think it has the potential to be a game-changer for many and it's so simple it shouldn't turn into a big-profit machine like so many other diet plans (Atkins, Weight Watchers, Paleo, etc...) anybody can do it--Eat Potatoes, Repeat.

I will admit, your head has to be in the game to get started and keep it going. It's hard, but losing weight is hard, and this makes it easier.

I have started a few potato diets and had to quit after a few hours or days just because I hadn't planned ahead enough or forgot about a food-centered event, but the beauty is, you aren't really 'out' anything if that happens. It's a very personal experience that only you control. I find it very empowering once I get going and have 4-5 days under my belt of eating nothing but potatoes--your weight is decreasing daily and you are not hungry, food planning is a breeze, you have extra money, you discover how good potatoes can actually taste not drown in butter and sour cream.

I took a lot of heat over the insulin aspect early on, so I went and bought an Ultra Mini OneTouch glucose monitor and 100 test strips and tested my BG until my fingers were raw.

I found that at first, I would get glucose readings at 200mg/dl an hour after eating 1 pound of potato, but only 140 with a half pound. It would dip to 65 or so at the 3 hour point and quickly climb back to the 80's and level out for the day. The second meal would never cause a spike over 160 no matter how many I ate--even 3 pounds.

My suggestion for anyone who is curious or has had issues with blood glucose, is to buy a $25 meter and a bunch of strips and test yourself at 15 minute intervals for 3 hours after eating 1 big potato. Make a chart with those readings, even if you just hand-draw it on a piece of paper. Keep this chart and compare with other amounts on other days. It's like giving yourself a 3 Hour Oral Glucose Tolerance Test. If you see a spike that is unacceptable to you, you should see a doctor. I think any spike over 200 that lasts more than 30 minutes is probably cause for concern. You should see a climbing trend for about 1 hour, then a sudden drop which will continue for 1-2 more hours ending well below your fasting glucose, and it should then climb to very near your fasting glucose level. 12-16 strips are needed, it's a pain in the butt, but if your only hold-up is worrying about glucose, this is the way to set your mind at ease, and if you see a problem, it's good to find out this way than to go on for years undiagnosed.

People with diabetes and on meds know what they can get away with and whether this is a good diet, they need to think long and hard before they do it, but they already know this.

Hope this helps!

[piratejenny]

I just want to mention that I've been taking raw cornstarch (in a glass of cold water) after eating potatoes, and it has prevented the blood sugar "crash" I had the first couple times I tried it.

I got the idea from this study:
Cornstarch ingestion after oral glucose loading: effect on glucose concentrations, hormone response, and symptoms in patients with postprandial hypoglycemic syndrome.

[Otzi]

Originally Posted by piratejenny

I just want to mention that I've been taking raw cornstarch (in a glass of cold water) after eating potatoes, and it has prevented the blood sugar "crash" I had the first couple times I tried it.

I got the idea from this study:
Cornstarch ingestion after oral glucose loading: effect on glucose concentrations, hormone response, and symptoms in patients with postprandial hypoglycemic syndrome.

I posted this on the other potato thread:

I take really green plantains, cut them in thin slices, salt and dry them. A whole plantain contains about 100g of RS, so only a quarter or so of one is needed per day to get more RS than you could ever hope for eating potatoes.

An easy way to handle green plantains (they are almost impossible to peel) is to cut them in half cross-wise and length wise, then kind of roll the meat out of each quarter-section. Take these sections and cut in half again so you end up with 8 pieces shaped like a tongue, about 1/4" thick.

Lay these pieces on a cookie sheet and sprinkle with salt or whatever spice you like (cinnamon, chili, etc...) and either air dry for a couple days or put in a heated oven--but not over 140 degrees! It will ruin the RS presumably if heated too much, they have to air-dry as much as possible.

Anyway, I munch on a few of these with dinner or as a snack. They are just like saltine crackers texture-wise and are good to spread things on, like pate or almond butter.

Alternatively, you can cut the whole thing into rounds and eat them like chips. Just be sure you let them get really, really dry. They taste nasty (bitter) when still moist--you'll see if you try! Without salt they are like a salt-free cracker, very bland, but edible. You have to salt them when you first cut them otherwise it won't stick when they are dried.

Cheap, easy, fun, tasty, and a super resistant starch source.

I read the article you linked. I think it's a great idea if you are worried about a hypoglycemic crash, but like it said, compliance is low because cornstarch is hard to eat. You may want to try a handful of these plantain chips and see if it does the same thing. I would think about 1/4 of a plantain would provide the same amount of starch as 3-4TBS of cornstarch.

Are you checking your BG with a meter? If so, I'd be curious to see what you find. I have checked my BG after eating a large portion of plantain chips and saw that it only went up slightly (120), but I never did a long term test with them and potatoes to check the after-drop.

[adillenal]

Welcome to JUDDD Otzi. I too have read a lot of your posts on the other forum. And have learned a lot.
I had to work my way up to a full day of potatoes since they m,ade me REALLY hungry at first. Now I do most DD's as a potato day although I still have breakfast of 2 eggs and coffee with HWC. Nothing until noon and then cold boiled potatoes with salt the rest of the day. it is working well for me in maintenance and I can eat more calories on my DD and still maintain and sometimes I lose.

[piratejenny]

Originally Posted by Otzi

...compliance is low because cornstarch is hard to eat. You may want to try a handful of these plantain chips and see if it does the same thing. I would think about 1/4 of a plantain would provide the same amount of starch as 3-4TBS of cornstarch.

Are you checking your BG with a meter? If so, I'd be curious to see what you find. I have checked my BG after eating a large portion of plantain chips and saw that it only went up slightly (120), but I never did a long term test with them and potatoes to check the after-drop.

I really don't find cornstarch hard to take. I stir it into cold water and drink it--it doesn't taste like anything. Buying, slicing, & dehydrating plantains would take a long time & cost more! But your "chips" sound interesting...I ate plantains often when I was a kid; grew up in Costa Rica & Puerto Rico.

I'm low on strips--usually I just test in the morning. If I'm doing an "experiment"/trying a new food, I go through a lot of strips.
I have Type II diabetes, so I'm only doing the hack for a few meals per week. I've had better readings doing the potatoes + cornstarch than I did with potatoes alone.

PS--I'm not entirely sure that the effect raw cornstarch has on blood sugar is entirely due to resistant starch.
As far as I can tell (from reading several forums for parents with children who have Type 1 diabetes or Glycogen Storage Disease), raw cornstarch is rather unique in that it digests very slowly. Replacing it with plantains or other sources of RS might not work...I do think RS is wonderful, and I'm trying to get more of it, but the cornstarch is a bit of a mystery to me.

[Librarygirl]

Since I don't have any desire to do more than one day at a time of potatoes, I don't see how it could work any better on DDs than nothing at all, or less than 300 calories of other foods....

ETA: I just read Otzi's description of how he follows the hack, and I still *might* try a week one day! He makes it sound so easy!!!

[Yennie]

Originally Posted by Librarygirl

Since I don't have any desire to do more than one day at a time of potatoes, I don't see how it could work any better on DDs than nothing at all, or less than 300 calories of other foods....

ETA: I just read Otzi's description of how he follows the hack, and I still *might* try a week one day! He makes it sound so easy!!!

It works better than straight fasting because with fasting you're (in theory) creating a calorie deficit so you're working off the calories in, calories out premise (other benefits of JUDDD notwithstanding).

The science of the potato hack is that you're blasting your system with a high glycemic load with no additional fat or protein. Th protein will slow the absorption of the carbs, which negates the big glycemic load.

In order for your body to produce and utilize insulin, you need fat. Normally, when you load your potato with butter and sour cream, you provide the necessary fat for insulin utilization from the dietary source. However, if you don't have any fat (or negligible fat) from a dietary source, your body is forced to mobilize peripheral fat for insulin utilization.

We (mostly me) have been chatting it up on the Paleo board, where there is also a potato hack thread. I'd been stalled for about 2 weeks after a 2 week "vacation" from JUDDD. This is potato hack day 4 and I'm down 3.5#. You can read my daily blogging on the other thread detailing my experiences thus far. And yes I'm sure its not all just water