Abandoning the Ray Peat Diet

taylor108

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What do you guys think is the rate of people abandoning this diet?

I ask this because I'm curious if many people leave this diet. Personally, although I don't think I'm anywhere close to having explored all the facets of this diet, I don't really see myself making a dramatic shift away from the RP diet. Even if I come to find that certain parts don't work for me...hypothetically, if I were to decide that I want to eat less dairy, or less sugar for example...I can't see myself going to any other way of eating, knowing what I know now. I can't see myself eating pseudo-healthy foods like salads and quinoa...or low-carb...or lots of meat..ever again. But I'm sure there are many people out there who have tried the RP diet and dropped it for whatever reason. I'm curious as to why, and where people went from RP?

What do you guys think? Is it possible to do an about-face from a RP diet? Or do many people just take bits and pieces of what they learned from Dr Peat and apply to another way of eating?
 

narouz

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taylor108 said:
What do you guys think is the rate of people abandoning this diet?

I ask this because I'm curious if many people leave this diet. Personally, although I don't think I'm anywhere close to having explored all the facets of this diet, I don't really see myself making a dramatic shift away from the RP diet. Even if I come to find that certain parts don't work for me...hypothetically, if I were to decide that I want to eat less dairy, or less sugar for example...I can't see myself going to any other way of eating, knowing what I know now. I can't see myself eating pseudo-healthy foods like salads and quinoa...or low-carb...or lots of meat..ever again. But I'm sure there are many people out there who have tried the RP diet and dropped it for whatever reason. I'm curious as to why, and where people went from RP?

What do you guys think? Is it possible to do an about-face from a RP diet? Or do many people just take bits and pieces of what they learned from Dr Peat and apply to another way of eating?


It would be fascinating to know!
Many here say "There is no Ray Peat diet."
If that's true then makes it very hard to say who ever really does such a diet.
Even harder to know who abandoned it. :D
 

Curt :-)

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Good question. I'm sure some people have high-tailed it out of Peat-Land after initial weight gain.
 

BingDing

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Good thread, OP. Something I've thought about, has anyone ever seen a post on any forum like

"HI all, I've been following Ray Peat's advice for a couple years. At first I felt really good, but lately my health has been going steeply downhill. I hope you: (paleo/vegan/fruitarian/Mercola/80/10/10/fill in the blank) people can help me get my health back".

No! is the answer I expect, I sure never have. It's cause there are no better schemes, theses, approaches, or whatever than what Ray has written about. It takes a lot of work, a lot of time, a lot of study, a lot of trying things, a lot of shopping, a lot of cooking, a lot of going forward and a bit of going backward, but it's all a small price to pay for robust good health and a long life, IMHO.

Weight gain is surely an issue, although higher levels of fat and being healthy are vastly different things. One forum member I remember just could not tolerate the weight gain because she didn't want her health records to show it, kind of a sad commentary about the medical/insurance industry.
 

tara

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narouz said:
It would be fascinating to know!
Many here say "There is no Ray Peat diet."
If that's true then makes it very hard to say who ever really does such a diet.
Even harder to know who abandoned it. :D

This. I am trying lots of things here inspired by Peat's writings and everyone elses thoughts and experiments. But it's all tentative unless and until I actually solve my key problems. I can imagine I might try a few more variations on my diet over the years. But whatever I do, it will from now on be informed by Peat's work, and will continue to be based on a 'perceive, think, act' approach. I'd be very surprised if I ever go back to a regular high PUFA diet, and I am unlikely to ever go low carb (my appetite has always steered me away from that in the past anyway). I'll probably always want to eat protein regularly at least three times a day, and take an interest in getting vitamins and minerals.

So from my PoV if I follow these guidelines, I will alway have a Peat-inspired diet. Would that count for you, even if I change it in other ways?

I think low PUFA, meeting nutrient needs including moderate-to-high carbs and adequate protein are key aspects of a Peat-inspired diet. But beyond that, I think people do their own variants, and there probably isn't anything else that we all do or don't eat, because our systems are all in different states, and we see different aspects as more or less important or doable.
 

dd99

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Does anyone know if some of the - for want of a better expression - 'old timers' like Peatarian and Cliff (who don't seem to post here anymore) abandoned the 'diet'?
 

Filip1993

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I followed the typical Ray Peat diet (orange juice, milk, cheese, eggs, white sugar, no starch etc etc) very strict for a while. Lately I'm just avoiding PUFA and trying to limit my iron intake and it works for me.
 

SaltGirl

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I personally don't believe there is a definitive "Ray Peat diet". What I do believe in is that there are guidelines that are good to keep in mind while living. If anything it promotes awareness of the limitations of certain food sources and how we can explore the ways to boost our own life.
 

jaa

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dd99 said:
Does anyone know if some of the - for want of a better expression - 'old timers' like Peatarian and Cliff (who don't seem to post here anymore) abandoned the 'diet'?

It's possible.

It's also possible they reached a level of comprehension where they don't feel like they're getting enough out of the forums to bother with checking in anymore.
 

Blossom

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jaa said:
dd99 said:
Does anyone know if some of the - for want of a better expression - 'old timers' like Peatarian and Cliff (who don't seem to post here anymore) abandoned the 'diet'?

It's possible.

It's also possible they reached a level of comprehension where they don't feel like they're getting enough out of the forums to bother with checking in anymore.
Sometimes I think people just get well and move on with life. It's a shame to lose their presence in a sense but I'm very happy for people to reach a point where they feel their life energy no longer revolves around health issues and eating! I actually hope everyone can achieve that outcome. I would be thrilled with the occasional update from those Peat pioneers though. It does take time, energy and effort to post as well. Hopefully they are out living their dreams.
 

HDD

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jaa said:
dd99 said:
Does anyone know if some of the - for want of a better expression - 'old timers' like Peatarian and Cliff (who don't seem to post here anymore) abandoned the 'diet'?

It's possible.

It's also possible they reached a level of comprehension where they don't feel like they're getting enough out of the forums to bother with checking in anymore.

In one of Peatarian's posts, she said was hoping to discuss current newsletters. She was years ahead of most of us on the forum.
 
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They have ascended to Peatimbo, behind the Raymbow. Ray Peat e-mails them for advice on occasion.
 

gretchen

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Curt :-) said:
Good question. I'm sure some people have high-tailed it out of Peat-Land after initial weight gain.

This is what I should have done. :D

The idea that people should get well and move on reminds me of the plastic surgery boards I used to post on in the 2000s. We often discussed the fact that people left after getting their noses fixed.

Is this honestly people's view of Peat's ideas: implement them, get better, then get on with your life? What is this, a hospital?

I thought the suggestion was to "perceive, think, act" which lends itself to an ongoing, unfolding process, not a linear-type protocol.
 

Blossom

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gretchen said:
Curt :-) said:
Good question. I'm sure some people have high-tailed it out of Peat-Land after initial weight gain.

This is what I should have done. :D

The idea that people should get well and move on reminds me of the plastic surgery boards I used to post on in the 2000s. We often discussed the fact that people left after getting their noses fixed.

Is this honestly people's view of Peat's ideas: implement them, get better, then get on with your life? What is this, a hospital?

I thought the suggestion was to "perceive, think, act" which lends itself to an ongoing, unfolding process, not a linear-type protocol.
I just meant that maybe as people recover their energy they find relationships, hobbies and life in general more engaging and rewarding to the point where visiting and posting on a forum may no longer happen as frequently as it once did or even at all.
I don't think it makes the situation similar to a hospital. A hospital would stabilize your condition temporarily- tune you up so to speak- but not heal you. They know if you follow medical advice you will be back sooner or later.
 

Blossom

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gretchen said:
Curt :-) said:
Good question. I'm sure some people have high-tailed it out of Peat-Land after initial weight gain.

This is what I should have done. :D

The idea that people should get well and move on reminds me of the plastic surgery boards I used to post on in the 2000s. We often discussed the fact that people left after getting their noses fixed.

Is this honestly people's view of Peat's ideas: implement them, get better, then get on with your life? What is this, a hospital?

I thought the suggestion was to "perceive, think, act" which lends itself to an ongoing, unfolding process, not a linear-type protocol.
Maybe some people leave the forum because they feel insulted by some of the posts. Many people healing really don't need to be exposed to all the 'fattist' statements. Is this really what people think Peat's work is about? Honestly.
 

tara

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tara said:
I think low PUFA, meeting nutrient needs including moderate-to-high carbs and adequate protein are key aspects of a Peat-inspired diet. But beyond that, I think people do their own variants, and there probably isn't anything else that we all do or don't eat, because our systems are all in different states, and we see different aspects as more or less important or doable.
And other key Peaty principles, like eating for a high metabolism, reducing inflammation, and attending to our GI tract to reduce endotoxin breaches, require different tactics for different people.
 
OP
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taylor108

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Thank you for your feedback, everyone. Some good food for thought!

I agree that there is no Peat diet, but knowing what I know now, it is hard to imagine drastically changing my diet. Perhaps I will add or subtract a few foods here or there, but I can't see myself adding back in high sources of PUFAs, grains, or poultry, or going low-carb for extended periods of time. In that way I think I am following a Peat-ish diet. Also, I have never followed a "healthy" WOE that made me feel so satisfied. On lower carb, I was extremely prone to binge-like tendencies. I haven't felt any sort of feelings since I really committed to Peat. That, in and of itself, is enough to keep me from ever veering towards that territory again.

Obviously people who tried Peat and failed would most likely not be active on this forum...but I wish I could ask them what happened (besides weight gain, which I think we can all agree initially turns people off!) and what they went back to...and if they are happy there.

As to people moving on from the forum; I must admit, I hope that one day I will too. I think that once we have figured out the best way of living for ourselves...diet included...we won't need to come on here as much anymore. The diet will become effortless because it will just be another part of our life. I certainly feel much less concerned/obsessive about my diet than I ever have, or not since I was a kid. Still have a long way to go, but I feel that I am getting there, slowly but surely.
 

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pboy said:
maybe mittir has ascended the raynbow also
:cry: maybe? If you're up there Mittir, we miss you and are grateful for all your contributions to the forum.
 

narouz

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I'm sure Mittir is still about.
Sometimes he's just groovin' on
farmer's cheese, chicken neck stew, and cyproheptadine
and has better things to do than check the forum. :D
 

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