Advice On Transitioning From Long-term Low Carb To A Peatarian Diet

[1n9u2]

Hello,

I'm new here and just recently found out about Ray Peat. I'm a 43 year-old male and two years ago in May I was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy of an unknown reason; doctors think it was viral. Before then I was very lethargic and felt horrible. I started looking at my hormone levels and my testosterone was lower than my 72 year-old father's, but since it was at the lower end of the normal range doctors would not help.

I healthy other than that one episode and for being obese. I have had success with low carb diets in the past and at one point lost 80 pounds only to gain it all back. However, since my heart condition I have been unsuccessful losing weight although I have tried numerous different diets. Nothing seems to work!

I still feel that it is a hormonal/thyroid/metabolic issue. I'm interested in the fastest way to transition form a high fat low carb diet to try and heal my heart and lose weight. Any and all information regarding diet, supplements etc would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[damngoodcoffee]

Welcome! Are you eating carbs already? :) What's your diet like otherwise?

 

[Richiebogie]

Saturated fat makes you feel full and helps you burn sugar. Ray Peat also recommends some protein, so you should be able to keep eating say 300g meat and eggs and some butter or lamb fat, while introducing drinking 2 litres of OJ (throughout the day), a raw carrot with salt and vinegar, and some other fruit or potato and coconut if you like.

Supplement with a few teaspoons of gelatin, and avoid nuts, seeds, grains, avocados and stabilizers. ie beware of biscuits, cakes and other processed foods.

Peat likes milk and cottage cheese but these can be tricky.

Pay attention to how your body feels. Some foods will make you feel good straight away, others will cause issues up to 48 hours after eating.

Caffeine and aspirin are supposed to help thyroid, but start with small doses.

 

[1n9u2]

Welcome! Are you eating carbs already? :) What's your diet like otherwise?

Yes, I am about three days in on eating like the Ray inspired eating on Danny's youtube channel.

 

[1n9u2]

I sta

Saturated fat makes you feel full and helps you burn sugar. Ray Peat also recommends some protein, so you should be able to keep eating say 300g meat and eggs and some butter or lamb fat, while introducing drinking 2 litres of OJ (throughout the day), a raw carrot with salt and vinegar, and some other fruit or potato and coconut if you like.

Supplement with a few teaspoons of gelatin, and avoid nuts, seeds, grains, avocados and stabilizers. ie beware of biscuits, cakes and other processed foods.

Peat likes milk and cottage cheese but these can be tricky.

Pay attention to how your body feels. Some foods will make you feel good straight away, others will cause issues up to 48 hours after eating.

Caffeine and aspirin are supposed to help thyroid, but start with small doses.

I started based off the Ray's inspired Eating on Danny's youtube channel. The first day I ate/drank, 20 oz of OJ, 18 oz of Sugared Milk with added coffee, and Two eggs. I had no craving and wasn't hungry the rest of the day. I'm not sure if that's good or bad just stating what happened.

Should I shoot for a certain number of calories or just the amounts?

Thanks so much!

 

[arien]

Dr. Peat has said that often the first thing he recommends is his carrot salad:


The importance of relative intestinal sterility is hard to overstate. If you consume the carrot salad daily for a few weeks, you will notice improved digestion and mood, consequences of lower bacterial growth, endotoxin absorption, serotonin, oestrogen, etc. I know two people who have entirely reversed 'lactose intolerance' by the use of the carrot salad. For this purpose it is also nice to saute mushrooms and/or bamboo shoots in an excess of coconut oil (Dr. Peat recommends boiling mushrooms for 1-3 hours before consumption to eliminate liver toxins. I am not sure how this would translate to sauteing, but probably much shorter as oils can reach much higher temperatures than unpressurised water).

Understand that the intestine takes about two weeks to adapt to changes in diet. Rash, manic changes are rarely a good idea and probably result from PUFA mediated excitation overtaking the brain. Therefore, very gradually introducing carbohydrate, as you let the carrot salad do its work, while paying attention to pulse, body temperature and mood is probably safest. Dr. Peat's work has had a profound effect on me, but only when I have been calm and patient enough to let it work.

It will likely be entirely feasible immediately to ensure that any fats which are consumed are saturated. Hydrogenated coconut oil is ideal (and raises my body temperature like nothing else), but coconut oil is almost as good and butter and beef fat are relatively safe.

Traditional European cooking, especially the famous French version, is relatively Peaty, often seeming to be a means of using readily available ingredients to render enormous quantities of gelatin, saturated fat and salt maximally palatable, which itself diminishes any damage attending fibre, starch and wheat irritants.

Some simplified, modern examples:



If you follow your appetite and cravings within the traditional paradigm while keeping keeping PUFA low, you will likely consume an impressive array of essential nutrients, while feeling quite satisfied.

Edit: I started writing this before OP had given more detail about what he is up to.

 

[1n9u2]

Thank you so much!

 

[Velve921]

Thank you so much!

Epsom salt baths have worked wonders for myself and my athletes; I think it's a simple and effective way to recuse stress and enhance the metabolism. Most people like to do them before bed time as it enhances sleep function. I currently do 5-7 per week

http://liamspringer.com/magnesium-supplements-better-heart-health/

 

[paymanz]

@1n9u2

During your low carb period you had any veggies included in your diet?!

I ask because it happens when we cut carbs rice,bread.. We also cut on some other nutrients that can't be found in meats,fats but veggies can at least provide them.

 

[1n9u2]

No, I ate vegetables.

 

[Prota]

You need more solid food, especially ripe fruits.
Go for oranges, tangerines, watermelon, cherries..

 

[Richiebogie]

I started based off the Ray's inspired Eating on Danny's youtube channel. The first day I ate/drank, 20 oz of OJ, 18 oz of Sugared Milk with added coffee, and Two eggs. I had no craving and wasn't hungry the rest of the day. I'm not sure if that's good or bad just stating what happened.

You say you are obese, so you won't need as much food now as you will when you reach your lean target size.

If you can find a clean source of fresh oysters (eg a fish market) you could try 3 oysters a week to give you some zinc, selenium and other trace elements the sea can provide.

You may be low on vitamin b6 and vitamin k. Though not necessarily Peatish, 3 ripe bananas and 8 dried figs per day could assist here.

 

[Kyle M]

I would do it gradually.

 

[Wagner83]

I saw this study and thought I would share it:

Arterioscler Thromb 1991 Jul-Aug;11(4):1059-67
Will a high-carbohydrate, low-fat diet lower plasma lipids and lipoproteins without producing hypertriglyceridemia?
Ullmann D, Connor WE, Hatcher LF, Connor SL, Flavell DP. Department of Medicine, Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland 97201-3098.

A sudden increase in dietary carbohydrate invariably increases the plasma levels of very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) and triglyceride. The present studies were designed to test the hypothesis that dietary carbohydrate-induced hypertriglyceridemia need not occur. In the first study we fed gradually increasing amounts of carbohydrate and gradually decreasing amounts of fat to eight subjects. The usual American diet (40% fat, 45% carbohydrate, and 15% protein) was followed in sequence by four diets in a phased regimen, the carbohydrate increasing by 5% of total calories and the fat content decreasing by 5% for each dietary period. In the last dietary period (phase 4), 20% of the energy was in the form of fat and 65% in the form of carbohydrates; the cholesterol content was 100 mg/day. Throughout the study, plasma triglyceride and VLDL triglyceride levels did not change significantly. The plasma total and low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels were greatly reduced, by 15% and 22%, respectively (p = 0.004). Plasma high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels decreased concomitantly. In the second study, after a washout period six of the subjects were initially fed the phase 4 high-carbohydrate diet for a 10-day period. The plasma triglyceride concentration increased over baseline levels by 47%, and VLDL triglyceride levels increased by 73%. We conclude that although a sudden increase in dietary carbohydrate increases the plasma triglyceride level, patients gradually introduced to a high-carbohydrate, low-fat diet may achieve a significant reduction of plasma total and LDL cholesterol without developing carbohydrate-induced hypertriglyceridemia.