Potato Hack on Paleo Blogs - Anyone Doing This?

[sunday]

Originally Posted by Kerry

it is like the fat fast for paleo lol

I so can't wait to try this.....
maybe after my hubby birthday (st pattys day)

Exactly! And can be incorporated into a hack of regular paleo/phd style diet with ease.

[pibble mama]

hmmmm, i'm really curious and tempted! I just stareted following a lc/juddd/paleo (except dairy....haven't found the strength to give up dairy...but i'm cutting back!) But i would LOVE to drop 5-10lbs....i've been losing at a lb a week and it is painfully slow! I don't think i've had a baked potato since the 90s!! EARLY 90s!

ps....how are ya'll preparing the spuds? What are you adding besides hot sauce, mustard etc?

I knew a competitive body builder in the 80s and when they were getting ready for a competition they lived on spuds, tuna and mustard!

[sunday]

I love mashed taters and pour a bit of bone broth on top. I pepper it and sometimes add kraut.

[Key Tones]

Interesting post - I saw Ray Cronise noting rice could be used as a distant second choice if potatoes are not available. Apparently, people on MDA did not have luck with this.


tatertot


Member Join Date:Oct 2012
Location:Oregon

Posts:69 Originally Posted by Zach
Wanted to post this over here, this was my comment over at freetheanimal.

"TT, thanks for that post because somehow i missed the quote from Peter. I believe Ray said that our bodies have quite a bit of reserves when it comes to vitamins/minerals and it will scrounge what it needs. So becouse of this, i wonder if white rice would work just as well for 1-2 weeks. Maybe added soy sauce for a bit of sodium and protein. Its interesting because it would be even easier to eat nothing but rice, just have a cooker going 24-7 and grab a bowl when hungry."

I thought this might be an interesting experiment. A rice cooker is so much more convenient then potatoes and im sure for millions of Asians, rice is mostly all they eat. I know white rice has a pathetic nutrient profile but since its only a week or two and the mechanisms dont seem to have much to do with nutrients, maybe this would work well.

Any thoughts?
I wondered if that was you on FTA this morning...

When Otzi started this whole mess a few months ago, he recommended rice and/or potatoes, but everyone who did rice ended up overeating. I think it could be done, but you'd have to be mindful of the amount of rice you are eating. Rice has that amazing ability to soak in all the flavors of anything mixed with it (soy sauce, hot sauce, etc...) and taste wonderful. I think potatoes maybe retain their un-palatability factor, even when spiced.

It would be neat to see someone try eating rice at about 50-75% of normal calories and see how it goes with hunger and weightloss.

[Key Tones]

Originally Posted by pibble mama

hmmmm, i'm really curious and tempted! I just stareted following a lc/juddd/paleo (except dairy....haven't found the strength to give up dairy...but i'm cutting back!) But i would LOVE to drop 5-10lbs....i've been losing at a lb a week and it is painfully slow! I don't think i've had a baked potato since the 90s!! EARLY 90s!

ps....how are ya'll preparing the spuds? What are you adding besides hot sauce, mustard etc?

I knew a competitive body builder in the 80s and when they were getting ready for a competition they lived on spuds, tuna and mustard!

I heard that the JUDDD group has a recipe thread for down days with a lot of potato recipes in it.

[Key Tones]

Originally Posted by Kerry

it is like the fat fast for paleo lol

I so can't wait to try this.....
maybe after my hubby birthday (st pattys day)

indeed.

[Key Tones]

Post from Otzi at MDA:

otzi

Senior Member Join Date:Apr 2011

Posts:1,877

Originally Posted by wolfstriked

Why are the folks here so anti potatoes?You fine folks may have stumbled onto something here but it might just blow away into the diet fad books.Any thoughts on this?Remember the meat and potato diet?LOL that is one D E L I C I O U S way to eat and maybe just maybe it should be reversed into the potato and meat diet since potatoes are so satiating,energizing etc and just a little meat and fat will give great health benefits to it....???

Nice first post. The Potato Diet has coaxed a bunch of first timers into commenting--of that I'm happy.

I have been eating paleo/Primal Blueprint for exactly 2 years to date! During that time, I lost almost 100lbs and completely reversed the entire range of metabolic syndrome illnesses (fatty liver, pre-diabetes, high bp, high trigs, gout, skin eruptions). I went from a 250 pound weakling to a lean and fit 166 pound fitness geek.

When I first started losing, I eliminated almost all carbs, eating at the 0 - 30g range almost the whole time. It took me 6 months to get from 185 to 175 and I stalled at 175 for almost a year.

I stumbled across a vegetarian-esque website (Thermogenex - Fuel the Burn |) and in some random comments, the blog author mentioned eating just potatoes for a couple weeks to make your fat move. I first thought 'no way would that work for me', but several weeks later, several people had tried it and it worked like a miracle.

I did a 2 week run back in August and went from 175 to 165 in that time. During the past 4 months, I have tried variations and found it works every time as lond as you stick to mainly potatoes, there is no weight re-bound or water weight fluctuations, just seemingly good, clean fat-loss.

"Tatertot", the OP for this thread and I have been in close communication since he found out about the Potato Diet. He's working on a potato diet book and has a potato farm in Oregon that he hopes to rejuvenate next summer. Maybe we'll see him on Dr. Oz one day. Look at all his past threads for some good info. He said he's going to try to come back to the forums later this winter.

Anyway, for me the Potato Diet has been a huge turning point. It made me not scared to try new things that may increase (God forbid) my weight since I now know how to get back to where I was. It also made me not fear the evil potato, and I'm planning on making it the centerpiece of my diet for the next year.

There was a huge debate about 'Safe Starches' last year, the outcome was uncertain--some still hate carbs--but Paul Jaminet updated his Perfect Health Diet book Toward a Happy, PHD-in-the-Mainstream New Year | Perfect Health Diet to include 1 pound of the starchy food a day. A line of reasoning I'm willing to follow.

Someone asked Paul about our Potato Diet and he said: Perfect Health Diet Q&A with Paul*Jaminet - Latest in Paleo Podcast Blog - Latest in Paleo Podcast - Paleo Diet - Paleo Fitness - Paleo News

"the Potato Diet like all highly restrictive diets is very effective for weight loss in the short term. It is probably better than many restrictive diets because potatoes are a healthy, nourishing food, and have relatively few toxins (thus we classify them as a “safe starch” and recommend their regular consumption). They also have a lot of an especially beneficial form of fiber.
...So I would suggest that the best strategy is to eat a nutritionally balanced diet from the beginning – at a minimum, potatoes and milk, like the Irish, but preferably also with eggs, seafood, organ meats, and vegetables – and use intermittent fasting and conscious effort to achieve a calorie restriction similar to that achieved on the Potato Diet. This more nourishing diet is likely to be equally effective for weight loss and healthier in the long run.

Of course, with those changes the Potato Diet becomes an implementation of the Perfect Health Diet! "

And you know what? He's right.

Good luck all!

[Xexist]

I had never heard of this.

What seasonings are 'allowed'? Someone mentioned mustard, and hot sauce, anything else?

What kind or rotation would work to do this frequently for best results? Ie 2 weeks on 1 month off? Also, just how bad does cheating sabotage you.. I mean if you went 1 week on the potato diet, broke down and ate normally one day, then ate potato for the remaining 6 days, will you likely see results almost as if you had done the full 2 weeks straight, or does the mid week break really sabotage you?

Just curious and thanks for this thread!

[sunday]

Hi Keytones,

I would love to quote this post from Paul over at PHD thread. Or if you would like, please share!

Xexist, You can do a search and find a huge Tater Hack thread in the JUDDD forum. I will try and find it for you. Actually, it doesn't matter if you only would like to do it 3 days per week, it will work. Some do nothing but taters every other day.

[sunday]

I have used salsa, malt vinegar, hot sauce, and my very fav is bone broth w/ mashed taters.

[Key Tones]

Originally Posted by sunday

Hi Keytones,

I would love to quote this post from Paul over at PHD thread. Or if you would like, please share!

Xexist, You can do a search and find a huge Tater Hack thread in the JUDDD forum. I will try and find it for you. Actually, it doesn't matter if you only would like to do it 3 days per week, it will work. Some do nothing but taters every other day.

Sure, go ahead. I don't feel comfortable just breaking in with the potato hack on the PHD thread.

[Key Tones]

Originally Posted by Xexist

I had never heard of this.

What seasonings are 'allowed'? Someone mentioned mustard, and hot sauce, anything else?

What kind or rotation would work to do this frequently for best results? Ie 2 weeks on 1 month off? Also, just how bad does cheating sabotage you.. I mean if you went 1 week on the potato diet, broke down and ate normally one day, then ate potato for the remaining 6 days, will you likely see results almost as if you had done the full 2 weeks straight, or does the mid week break really sabotage you?

Just curious and thanks for this thread!

I think people are just finding ways to make it work, using whatever as condiments as long as it is a small amount - I have heard 1 tsp of fat per potato or anything else (even meat, as in bacon) as long as it is kept to a condiment level.

[Key Tones]

Another post with potato hack instructions from MDA:


otzi
\ Senior Member

Join Date: Apr 2011Posts: 1,878


EAT MOAR TATERS! Huh?


I have been dying to unleash this fat-busting trick on you guys, but I have been kind of holding back because it seems so impossible. It works. It works really well if you are a fat-adapted, fat-burning primal animal because you will go straight into burning your own fat!

Here's what you do to lose 1/2 to 1 pound a day for up to 14 days. Eat potatoes. The only thing else you can eat is salt (sparingly), vinegar (all you want), hot sauce, ketchup (very sparingly), soy sauce (very sparingly and only fermented), spices--especially cayenne pepper.

Edit 12/21/12:

They have taken to calling it the “Potato Reset” and it’s been especially popular around the holidays. We look at it as a way to “reset” your eating, weight, and relationship with food.

These are the rough guidelines we came up with for the best version of the Potato Reset:

1. Plan on eating mostly potatoes for 5-7 days (90%+ of calories)
2. Eat between 2 and 4lbs of potatoes daily, include cooked and cooled daily!
3. Other foods allowed (but optional!): 1/2 cup sauerkraut, 1 cup bone broth, 1 tsp max daily coconut oil, olive oil, or butter,
1-2oz lean meat daily. Unlimited coffee, tea, and water.
4. Spices, salt, pepper, and vinegar OK.
5. Lifting of Heavy Things discouraged, think ‘de-load week’ Lifting light things/walking OK.
6. All normal supplements OK to continue
7. IF’ing, especially by skipping breakfast encouraged.
8. If you need to lose more weight, alternate the “Potato Reset” diet with healthy Primal Blueprint in 5-7 day increments.
9. Not recommended for people who eat every 2-3 hours, have glucose issues, or have eating disorders.
10. Highly recommended for people who have their hunger under control, have been eating PB style for 6 months or more, and are having trouble losing weight with the normal approaches.


Some suggested reasons this works so well:
- Food Reward/Satiety
- Calories Restriction
- Resistant Starch/Butyrate/Gut Flora Connection
- Insulin Sensitivity Regained
- Ketosis from calorie restriction/butyrate forming short chain fatty acids

Last edited by otzi; 12-21-2012 at 08:37 AM.

[Key Tones]

More ideas on how to make them:


otzi


Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2011Posts: 1,878

Have you tried grating them and dry-frying in a no-stick pan? That is my favorite way. We call that 'hashbrowns' not sure if you have a similar dish in the UK. Another good way is boiled, mashed, then browned in a pan. I know what you mean about the wedges not cooking up right without oil.

I also baked 10 potatoes, wrapped in tin foil, to use for lunches all week. Sometimes I eat them cold, sometimes nuked.

[Key Tones]

Another tatertot post from MDA:

tatertot



Member


Join Date: Oct 2012Location: OregonPosts: 69

Originally Posted by GoJenGo

I'm always intrigued when reading about the self-experiments shared by posters, so I'm enjoying following this thread.

The weight loss numbers so far are pretty impressive, but I'm wondering how you Tater Crusaders are feeling overall - as far as sleep, energy, digestion, etc. I'm especially curious how those of you who'd been taking the ketosis route are feeling after such a change in diet.

Is anyone been re-thinking their pre-experiment way of eating?

I'm a potato farmer and had given up potatoes for Primal Blueprint life. Haven't touched a potato in about 2 years or more, was seriously considering growing something else, even though potatoes have been in my family for generations. I will definitely start eating potatoes again after this and think my sales will go up as people are seeing my success. The problem was, for me, eating potatoes meant butter, sour cream, cheese, bacon, yougurt, or margarine. I don't think I ever ate a plain potato in my whole life! When 2 weeks is up, I will start eating potatoes as a stand-alone meal or snack. Those dry-fried hash browns are the best thing I've ever had! Just small potatoes, boiled and with a little salt are awesome.

Today is Day 12 for me. Only potatoes. I wish I would have weighed them before I started, because I lost track thinking this was going to be a big bust. On the morning of Day 12, I'm down 10 pounds! I feel great. I have been eating roughly 3-4lbs a day, I guess I'm kind of a big guy anyway, but that's way less calories than I normally eat and I feel stuffed all the time. The weight loss has been perfectly linear only had a few days with no scale change, but that could be the scale's fault.

Originally Posted by Rosemary 231

Please tell me the variety of ways you're cooking (not eating them raw, I hope) potatoes. Boiling, I know, as well as baking and even shredded as hash browns. We have good, non-stick skillets. Living with my son-in-law and daughter who think I might be overdoing it with Primal, this is going to really draw and attention, not to mention comments. I've noticed some people add beef/bone broth or even mustard. Does this mean there are other things besided spices and herbs we can use to add? I don't want to do anything to mess this up. I'm within 20 lbs of my goal and I've been hanging around 141 for several weeks.

In order of preference: Hashbrowns, sliced paper thin and dry fried, boiled (whole), cubed and dry fried, boiled a little then sliced and fried, boiled (mashed), baked without tinfoil, baked in tinfoil, and oven-baked wedges.

For a super-awesome snack, I make this for everyone that comes over now: Shred some potatoes as you were going to make hashbrowns, put just a thin layer in a really hot non-stick pan (or well-seasoned cast iron pan), and fry really fast, flip once and crisp the other side. Just takes a few minutes. Serve really salty and with vinegar.

I'm seriously thinking about writing a book.

[pibble mama]

I started today! Coffee w/ hwc for breakfast then several hours later 2 yukons for late lunch....not hungry so far and am thinking that the 550 cals of potatoes i have laid out will be plenty...HOWEVER it is late at night that I have issues....ESPECIALLY if i get woke up (say, by two large dogs that have to bolt outside to attack EVERY SINGLE CLAP OF THUNDER! :/ )

I ate regular juddd ud (+) yesterday and "pottied" a LOT yesterday and woke up to a .4 loss this mortning! No, I am thinking it is going to be another frequent potty day...I do drink about 125+ oz of H2O a day though.....

[Key Tones]

Good luck!

I try not to eat a night, hoping for a long stretch of no eating from after dinner to lunch the next day.

I have had a small potato occasionally when I am really hungry at night, and it has not interfered with anything. the light night potato is always sliced into chips then microwaved!

[pibble mama]

Originally Posted by Key Tones

Good luck!

I try not to eat a night, hoping for a long stretch of no eating from after dinner to lunch the next day.

I have had a small potato occasionally when I am really hungry at night, and it has not interfered with anything. the light night potato is always sliced into chips then microwaved!

how exactly do you do the "chips"? So far i've had 4 small/mis size yukons....doing good so far!

[Key Tones]

I slice them by hand about the size of those dry boxed scalloped potato slices.

I have also put them through my food processor to make thin slices, but they are so thin that it takes multiple microwave sessions to make them.

Watch them - when they start to turn brown, they go from brown to burned quickly. I have two microwaves - one does it in 6, the other does it in 7 1/2 minutes. It will vary! Only the outer edges of outer pieces get a little crunchy. The center pieces will be soft, but I don't mind. Some will do it in the oven. I don't mind the chewy microwave ones.

[Yennie]

KT - thanks for this thread and thanks for linking to it from the JUDDD boards. I'm super interested in trying this but 41 pages of comments was overly intimidating. I appreciate the summary.

[Key Tones]

You're welcome! I found three really long threads on MDA - it is a lot to go through. I decided to just stick with reading the posts of Otzi and tatertot to gather the info I wanted.

[ouizoid]

Originally Posted by Key Tones

You're welcome! I found three really long threads on MDA - it is a lot to go through. I decided to just stick with reading the posts of Otzi and tatertot to gather the info I wanted.

this was very smart. Otzi and Tatertot are our Tater Warriors!

[sunday]

Originally Posted by ouizoid

this was very smart. Otzi and Tatertot are our Tater Warriors!

Yep! They are the best! I enjoy reading their posts on Perfect Health site too. They have knowledge and experience to back up the scientific basis for the resistent starch. In fact, I was a bit intimidated or fearful to even introduce taters back into my diet. I believe this goes back to the whole "nightshades can keep you from losing" mindset. Very thankful that I gave this a trial.

[SICCHI]

great thread! Thanks for all the updates keytones!

[Key Tones]

Thanks! I am enjoying the ease of weight loss of the hack so far.

[pibble mama]

Originally Posted by Key Tones

Thanks! I am enjoying the ease of weight loss of the hack so far.

I want the weight loss!! I've seen a 2.5+ and on day 3. I am praying bloat going from a LC diet....it isn't hard....sure, i'd love eggs and bacon and a steak on my up day...but heck, if I can drop 5+lbs before my friend's wedding next Saturday, I will be happy... let me see a drop tomorrow!

[Key Tones]

I wouldn't worry, Theresa. My weight goes all over the place the first few days. It shows up on day 4 or 5 for me.

There is no way you are up that much in fat. That would mean you ate, oh, 90 extra potatoes!!!

You can't gain fat on this!

[pibble mama]

Originally Posted by Key Tones

I wouldn't worry, Theresa. My weight goes all over the place the first few days. It shows up on day 4 or 5 for me.

There is no way you are up that much in fat. That would mean you ate, oh, 90 extra potatoes!!!

You can't gain fat on this!

Gosh i hope not! I'm gonna quote ya on this! I wanted to try to hang on till monday BUT i know I have to go out to dinner tomorrow night...i COULD eat a plain baked potato...if they have them...but if i don't eat for several hours, i should be ok w/ a sensible dinner right? I would normally be on a dd today, and my calories have averaged around 1,000 each day (with my morning coffee and cream, potatoes several hours later!) I know Tuesday needs to be an up day as I'm out of town training all day for a new job. I can't wait to see what the scales say in the AM....though I would KILL to go to my favorite breakfast joint for a veggie omelet in the mornin'!

[Yennie]

PM: I hope someone with more experience and research jumps in here to back this up, or correct me if I'm wrong but I believe I've read in several places that the magic window seems to be 4 hours. You want to separate the potatoes and any fats, etc with a 4 hour buffer. That's enough time for your body to process the fat or the potatoes alone, without one interfering with the other and defeating the purpose of the potato only diet.
Also, be sure you're drinking enough water. There is a thread in the JUDDD boards on the benefits of lemon in your water (many of the "cleanse" drink programs are based on lemon in the water). For me, I find that the lemon helps me drink more water and it also helps "flush" out the retained water. There are other benefits as well - all well lined out in the thread.

[Xexist]

Im at the end of my second day. I am really sick of potatoes, but I will report back once I am done with my results.

I lost like 5 pounds my first day, I assume the majority of that is normal weight fluctuation or water or something.

Still, was very encouraged by the result.