Peat Eating And Weight Gain

Birdie

Member
Joined
Aug 10, 2012
Messages
5,783
Location
USA
I haven't been able to read all of the latest posts but was thinking about this earlier in the day. The thing that came to mind is that for a lot of parts of the Peat inspired way, we'd want to specify exceptions. Do you know what I mean? Maybe this has been discussed already.

I can't think of a good example. I'll say the carrot salad. Things like that some might need to do a tiny one at first or at different times. Not that Ray ever said this. I'm just trying to dream up an example.

Whether we ever come up with this or not, it's a good discussion. Makes you think about what parts are necessary for you and what Peat says vs what the sort of accepted view is that might not really be Peat's advice.
 

naftaep

Member
Joined
Oct 18, 2012
Messages
15
My wife and I have been on the RP diet (defined as no PUFAs, no HFCS, no starches, no vegetables (except for The Mighty Carrot!), lots of juice, and coconut oil as the only fat except from 1% milk and cheese) for almost 3 years. At first, it caused us to gain muscle only. But then we added thyroid (T3 and T4) 18 months ago, and have been gaining fat ever since--20 lbs. each.

Previously we were both extremely lean.

I wonder: could thyroid supplementation cause weight gain if one doesn't increase calories enough (we've added calories, but maybe not enough), because the body's higher metabolism, in the absence of enough calories, leads to stress and thus fat deposition? :?:

When we cut calories, we gain weight! :!: (As long as we don't go really low carb.)

If anyone has had this experience and has learned how many calories to add per 10 mcg. of T3 (for example), please share! I know everyone's different, but we're looking for benchmarks from which we can begin.
 

charlie

Admin
The Law & Order Admin
Joined
Jan 4, 2012
Messages
14,359
Location
USA
naftaep, welcome to the forum!

How is both your temps and pulse looking?
 

naftaep

Member
Joined
Oct 18, 2012
Messages
15
We arrived at this thyroid dose because it keeps our hands and feet warm, temp above 98, and pulse 70s (me)/80s (wife).

I'm 51, she's 31.
 

charlie

Admin
The Law & Order Admin
Joined
Jan 4, 2012
Messages
14,359
Location
USA
Are you tracking calories?
 

naftaep

Member
Joined
Oct 18, 2012
Messages
15
For sure.

I like your Coke insignia--we in Texas get a cola from HEB stores with no HFCS!
 

charlie

Admin
The Law & Order Admin
Joined
Jan 4, 2012
Messages
14,359
Location
USA
Maybe someone else can chime in on whats going on. Would seem, just too much calories though.

Hey thanks, I really dig my mexican coke. Might not be totally optimal, but I am just about spot on with the rest of my diet so I figure I can swing one a day.
 
J

j.

Guest
naftaep said:
I wonder: could thyroid supplementation cause weight gain if one doesn't increase calories enough (we've added calories, but maybe not enough), because the body's higher metabolism, in the absence of enough calories, leads to stress and thus fat deposition? :?:

It sounds like a natural thing to try is stopping thyroid supplementation. Maybe that warm feeling is overrated if supplementing thyroid makes you fat.
 

kiran

Member
Joined
Aug 9, 2012
Messages
1,054
naftaep said:
My wife and I have been on the RP diet (defined as no PUFAs, no HFCS, no starches, no vegetables (except for The Mighty Carrot!), lots of juice, and coconut oil as the only fat except from 1% milk and cheese) for almost 3 years. At first, it caused us to gain muscle only. But then we added thyroid (T3 and T4) 18 months ago, and have been gaining fat ever since--20 lbs. each.

Previously we were both extremely lean.

I wonder: could thyroid supplementation cause weight gain if one doesn't increase calories enough (we've added calories, but maybe not enough), because the body's higher metabolism, in the absence of enough calories, leads to stress and thus fat deposition? :?:

Were you low carb before this?
Because there have been reports of weight gain as people go Peat and stress hormone levels drop initially.

If you aren't getting enough carbs you'll probably become shaky and irritable. Your body will work hard to not raise metabolism despite the T3 you take, unless there are adequate calories. Additionally calories from carb and protein are not equivalent, so you might want to consider them separately.
 

naftaep

Member
Joined
Oct 18, 2012
Messages
15
We were indeed low carb, but that was more than 3 years ago.

Three days ago my wife and I decided to raise our calories by 300-400 per day to test our theory. I wrote to you all because I was afraid we might be setting ourselves to gain even more weight! However, as of this morning we have each lost half a pound after three days.

I'll keep you informed and I hope others will make comments. Maybe this is the answer for Peatians who have gained weight?
 

charlie

Admin
The Law & Order Admin
Joined
Jan 4, 2012
Messages
14,359
Location
USA
Gaining weight, eat more!! I love it!

Seriously though, please keep us posted. This is pretty darn interesting.
 

gretchen

Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2012
Messages
816
Hmm, and I was just thinking that adding thyroid would be my next step. :? I've also decided to eat normally,having finally realized I am eating disordered. It's not as bad as it was, but I noticed some lanugo on my face the last few days which of course is from trying to do calorie restriction, even just moderately. A few months ago when the scale crept up I started restricting every other day, hoping I would be able to control the weight gain.

All these years (15 at least) I lived on 1200 calories a day or less, I don't know how I did it. :? I'm thinking I was in torpor/hiberation most of the time. I wasn't hungry... and sure, calorie/carb restriction aged me. Ugh, I wish there was some quick way out of this mess.
 

kettlebell

Member
Joined
Oct 14, 2012
Messages
417
Location
UK
I have not read this thread for a while but noticed this being discussed on ray peat fans.

Several people mentioned some real basics about calories that jumped out at me. Considering many calories can come from fluid in this way of eating it can be very easy to over consume calories, calorific liquids that go down very easily in addition to meals, hence the weight gain.

Using something like cronometer can make it easy for a person to work out what their daily consumption is and if that calorie count is causing them to put on unwanted weight they can just reduce the sugar intake slightly. I say sugar intake as thats where the majority of our calories should be coming from after we have had enough protein and consumed a beneficial amount of saturated fat. Its just a case of reducing by an amount where you stop puting on unwanted weight.

I can't remember which thread it was in that I discussed at length with Narouz and others about the way I approach this way of eating - scientifically I suppose with the regularity of each meal and what it contains and its easy to see what the calorie count to some reasonable accuracy. X amount Milk X amount OJ X amount cheese X amount Gelatin X amount table sugar X amount liver X amount Melon X amount grapes X amount tinned fruit of some sort etc. Thinking about it, working the calories doesn't really matter - If X amounts of everything causes weight gain shave a little off X from one or more of the foods until weight gain stops. I make it sound very simple because with a little discipline and paying attention to what you are eating and how much, it is.

I saw in another thread Cliff saying a small reduction in calories each day where you are still keeping your metabolism fired up but overall a tiny shortage of calories on the whole days consumption will make you slowly lose weight. I think it was in the range of about 200-300 overall but any amount even if very small would do it of course.

We are constantly burning fat for energy whether active or sedentary, hence the tools we use to try and stop too much fat (PUFA) being used at the cell before it is disposed of. Fat is constantly being released from our tissues and if we over eat, it will be deposited in our tissues. The weight we gain when going onto a Peat style diet will mostly be saturated fat so burning or just disposing a bit more of that in a controlled fashion shouldn't cause any issues. If there is enough glucose in the serum for correct function a lot of the fatty acids being constantly released whether saturated or unsaturated should be disposed of safely.

I understand why eating more will eventually result in higher metabolism hence weight loss, but that is eventually, potentially years, so maintaining good control of consumption as the metabolism rises is paramount.

Enough to keep the metabolism up and healing you, but not too much that you rapidly store the large excess as fat. From what I have read across forums and boards with the frequent stories of "Rapid" weight gain it is definitely a case of large excess for a lot of people.

We need to work with our bodies as they are now, in their current state, not how we expect them to be in 4 years time.

What are you thoughts on this?
 

cliff

Member
Joined
Jul 26, 2012
Messages
425
Age
35
Location
Los Angeles
For the most part you always want to cut fat before sugar.
 

gretchen

Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2012
Messages
816
cliff said:
For the most part you always want to cut fat before sugar.

Yes, it seems that my low-fat days in the 90s set me up to be skinny as I turned 30, and it was after I added omega-3 fats & olive oil (and soybean from Panda rice bowls) in my early 30s that it reversed.

I read that we should cut back on fat over and over on these forums, yet still want to use a lot of coconut oil because I believe it has a lot of therapeutic benefits. Otoh, I know from doing the Zone diet, which is a little lower in calories than what I'm willing to eat now, that you have to keep the protein intake up, eat moderate carbs to keep out of ketosis while reducing fat calories (the Zone is like 2 tsps of fat a day) to help keep the weight off.
 

cliff

Member
Joined
Jul 26, 2012
Messages
425
Age
35
Location
Los Angeles
you want to eat fat with each meal but you don't need very much, most people who gain weight go overboard on fat in my experience.

You only need around 2-4tb of coconut oil to get the majority of the benefits.
 

gretchen

Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2012
Messages
816
cliff said:
you want to eat fat with each meal but you don't need very much, most people who gain weight go overboard on fat in my experience.

You only need around 2-4tb of coconut oil to get the majority of the benefits.

That's still a lot of calories. The question I always have is, doesn't the coconut oil theoretically raise metabolism so you burn more calories? Like it could almost be a "free" food? I've read about people who say they lost more fat the more coconut oil they ate:

http://www.coconutdiet.com/coconut-oil- ... orkout.htm
Last year I was measured at 10.5% body fat. Last month, I hiked up my consumption [of Virgin Coconut Oil] from 4 tbsp /day to 6 tbsp/day. At the same time, I limited my carb intake at dinnertime. In a few weeks time, my bodyweight increased by about 4lbs. but body fat decreased to 9.6%

Well, yeah, this is a pro-low carb testimony, sorry. :?

Maybe the real truth is you have to watch calories AND do something that shifts body composition like weight training.
 

Cgj1

Member
Joined
Nov 21, 2012
Messages
34
Age
38
Location
New Zealand
Hi Ive been trying to loose bf for a while.

I mainly eat OJ plus milk, a carrot plus liver oysters once a week.

Further I take 25mcg of t3 (split int0 4e doses per day) a day with aspirin, gelatin and Coconut oil.

My question is that Im thinking of taking DNP. Ive done alot of research and think its safe and effective at low doses (100-200mg). Besides NWO has any other member taken it?
 

Saphire

Member
Joined
Dec 4, 2016
Messages
148
My blog post on weight loss on my website gives a pretty good outline of what to do if you want to lose weight. Basically you want to use temps/pulse to see how much you can safely restrict without decline
Where do you find this post?
 

Similar threads

Back
Top Bottom