Fat Head / The Seasteader Diet

[Alex Libman]

Adding some sugar and artificial crap to your diet once a day won't kill you.  I think the article you're looking for is:  Twinkie diet helps nutrition professor lose 27 pounds.

I think that shows that the priorities are:

(1)  Exercise.

(2)  Total calories.

(3)  Qualitative nutrition.

The FatHead film only briefly mentioned #1, what made his diet a success was mostly #2, and most of the film's content was about #3.  The first two take will-power, which is why people look to the third in hope of finding a shortcut, and who can blame them?  If a certain choice of foods causes you to have more energy to exercise and fulfills your appetite with fewer calories, then - great!

And for that I must once again recommend...  Kale!   

[hellbilly]

Thanks for the recommendation. As a diabetic (an undisciplined one, mostly) watching Fat Head probably added a couple years to my life. The bit about Glicemic Index of whole wheat bread was a surprise, and my doc. is pretty hardcore about the proper cholesterol types & lipid balances. Now I feel as if I need to question him about that.

[Alex Libman]

So, after a year and a half on the 99% vegan "tax resister diet" (during which there were ~5 days on which I've made exceptions), I'm doing a total 180-degree turn and going high-protein medium-fat low-carb.  Cows everywhere collapse in horror. 

It's an experiment.  I'll see how I feel after a months or two, and then consider changing it again.

A big part my new diet is going to be eggs -- yummy government-subsidized eggs -- the whites being the cheapest and most potent source of pure protein.  And, did you know - the yolks make a great all-natural nutrient-rich shampoo, among their many other non-edible uses.

[Alex Libman]

I've recently made a related post on NHU's Kale thread:

Libmanologists who read me on other forums will already know the big news - after 1.5 years on the vegan "Tax Resister Diet", I've done a complete 180-degree turn and switched to a low-carb "Seasteader Diet" instead!

None of the anti-vegan points made on this thread or elsewhere had anything to do with it (and I might have some more responses to that later) - I'm simply conducting an experiment to see how that diet would affect me and what the differences are.  I definitely still believe that the vegan diet is more efficient, and thus more beneficial for an agorist community / micro-nation secession movement (except when seasteading), and a vegan diet would have greater longevity benefits for someone with a family history of heart disease and cancer.  (See the first post in the "Seasteader Diet" thread for a list of other vegan health advantages / low carb disadvantages that I'm aware of.)  There are, however, other things I must consider...

My primary interest is in how this diet change will affect my depression, which has been getting rather bad lately...

I'm also curious to see which diet will make it easier to consume less calories, increase metabolism, get more exercise, and thus lose more weight.  (I've already lost 70lb since I became a tax resister, but there's plenty more to lose.)

So, as of 1-2 weeks ago, I'm now eating plenty of lean (or not so lean) meats and most especially fish - and little else.  I try to limit my portions so that I'm not getting more than ~45 grams of protein at a time, which is all that my body can absorb in a single meal, and if I go more than 3 hours between meals I snack on some egg-whites (raw or cooked) to maximize the protein.  I avoid shellfish and egg-yolks because I'm getting more than enough cholesterol already.  I'm still excluding dairy, because I went from being very lactose tolerant to becoming very lactose intolerant in the last few years (even before the vegan diet), but I can now have a little bit of cheese because it has no carbs.  In theory I can still have tofu, which contains no carbs, but I'm cutting it out as well to better see how the diet change will affect my mood.

I try to limit carbohydrates to 30-50g a day, and only from leafy sources.  My vegan dietary staples -- beans, peas, legumes, whole grains, etc -- are definitely 100% forbidden.  (Even while vegan I was always avoiding "junk carbs" like potatoes, rice, white bread, processed corn, fruits, anything sweet, and especially alcohol.)  I also avoid processed meat products that can contain carbs - corn sugar is very cheap, and the customers mindlessly enjoy the taste and want more, so the manufacturers try to inject it into everything.  In theory I can have as much artificially sweetened beverages as I want - I learned to live without them on the Tax Resister Diet, but fatty meals make me crave a Diet Pepsi more than ever.

The craving for more carbs was very strong at first, but it went away for the most part after the first week, especially if I eat more fat.  This makes the low-carb diet much easier than the vegan diet, with which I've had to suffer with meat cravings for the first few months.  I think I've lost ~6lb in ~10 days, but that isn't significant because I've been losing and regaining the same 5-10lb for quite a while now...  Even if my weight remained the same, that is good news, because I've been eating a lot of meat and other things I've been craving for 1.5 years - I decided I can be less strict about counting calories at first.  I'll proceed with this experiment for at least 1-2 months and see what the differences are.

Getting back to the subject of this thread, the one major food source that hasn't changed between these radically different diets is leafy greens.  If you limit your carbs, you want to use your daily allowance on the best low-starch high-micronutrient plant foods you can get.  When you get 20g of carbs from kale (200g plant weight, as all plants are mostly water), you're also getting 6x the daily requirement of vitamin A, 4x of C, a third of calcium, and 16% of fiber (which is much needed on a diet like this).  Kale's per-carb micronutrient value beats brocolli (350g plant weight per 20g carbs), Brussels sprouts (200g), celery (666g), cabbage (370g), artichokes (200g), lettuce (730g), gralic (60g - just going by nutritional value and not other health claims), carrots (230g), and pretty much any other vegetable that's not a leafy-green.

Unfortunately, when per-carb-gram efficiency is considered, kale it is no longer the #1 champ.  You can instead get those 20 carb-grams from 540g of spinach, which is a lot more plant chewing, and it will get you half the daily requirement of calcium / fiber / vitamin E, 81% of iron, and more B vitamins as well.  Other low-carb micronutrient champs include Swiss chard (also 540g plant weight for 20g carbs), bok choy (950g), mustard greens (400g for 20g carbs), collard greens (330g), dill (280g), parsley (320g), and possibly avocado (240g - specifically for its fatty acids and fiber).  Of course if you don't particularly like any of those greens, aren't so fanatical about carbs, and want to measure by weight (i.e. more nutrition for less chewing time), then Kale is still the man!  It is also significantly cheaper than most of the per-carb champs listed in this paragraph (except collards).

[Alex Libman]

OMFG, Fat Head is the easiest diet in the world!  I just had a fine black pepper steak for dinner, a spinach and olive salad, and a dessert made of -- I kid you not -- whipped heavy cream (!!!) with sugar substitute - less than 15 carbs total!  And the best part is, with this combination of meat, fat, and artificial sweetness, I feel perfectly satisfied, so I can stick to just two meals a day (not counting egg whites and some leafy green munching in between).  If this turns out to be healthy (which I seriously doubt), I'd gladly eat like that for the rest of my life! 

I think my arteries are feeling clogged, but that's probably just psychosomatic.  I'll give it a couple of months and get more strict for the second month about eating more fish instead of meat and reducing total calories.


PS:  big 'thank you' to tax-victim subsidies.  They're delicious!

[Alex Libman]

OK, after ~30 days of experimenting with this meat-centric super-low-carb diet, I am calling it quits and going back to veganism.  Observations:

• My weight stayed exactly the same.

• The change in diet had no effect on my ailments: exhausted eyes and clinical depression.

• I did not crave carbs as much as I thought, and I could go with almost zero carbs without feeling any major side-effects.  Although maybe it's just the first month.

• I never felt hungry, because I ate lots of animal fat.  In fact I found myself eating only two large meals a day on most days.  I also snacked less, because my desire to munch on leafy greens went down for some reason, and snacking on the go is a lot less convenient on this diet (unless it's beef jerky).

• I think on some days I actually got less protein into my cells than on a bean-centric vegan diet, because of large infrequent meals and there being a limit to how much protein the body can absorb per meal.

• Although I did not feel any difference, it makes sense that this meat and sodium-heavy diet would cause more stress on the internal organs.

• Animal products are definitely a lot more expensive than beans, grains, and vegetables, especially ones of highest quality, in spite of all the government subsidies and stuff.  Processed meats and canned fish are cheaper, but you get what you pay for.  They're also more perishable and just pretty darn inconvenient for frugal and on-the-go lifestyles.

I think I'll try this experiment again in a couple of years, when I'll be better able to accurately benchmark how diet affects my physical performance, and also when I can afford to eat lots of highest quality beef, sashimi, etc. 

[LTKoblinsky]

Here's my normal diet:
Breakfast:
Canadian Bacon
one egg if I'm not running late for work
2 bananas
Sugar Free Red Bull

Lunch:
2 Polish Sausage links
Salad, no dressing.

Snacks:
2 apples daily
pepperoni sticks
popcorn
chocolate

Dinner:
Roasted Chicken/Tacos/Pork Chops/meat of some kind.
2 steamed veggies

I've lost 30 lbs and my grocery bill has gone down from when I was doing this (no change in exercise level):

Breakfast:
Cereal and Milk
2 Bananas
Red Bull

Lunch:
Canned Soup
or
Heater Meal

Snacks:
Chips
Muffins
Chocolate
etc..

Dinner:
Spaghetti/Alfredo/Macaroni
Grilled Chicken and veggies
Chicken and Dumplings

[Alex Libman]

OMFG, how are you not in a hospital yet?!

You can have animal fats with no carbs, or carbs with no animal fats, but when you mix the two...

Sacrilege!  Anarchy!  Early grave!

[Sam Gunn (since nobody got Admiral Naismith)]

Here's my normal diet:
Breakfast:
Canadian Bacon
one egg if I'm not running late for work
2 bananas
Sugar Free Red Bull

Lunch:
2 Polish Sausage links
Salad, no dressing.

Snacks:
2 apples daily
pepperoni sticks
popcorn
chocolate

Dinner:
Roasted Chicken/Tacos/Pork Chops/meat of some kind.
2 steamed veggies

I've lost 30 lbs and my grocery bill has gone down from when I was doing this (no change in exercise level):

Breakfast:
Cereal and Milk
2 Bananas
Red Bull

Lunch:
Canned Soup
or
Heater Meal

Snacks:
Chips
Muffins
Chocolate
etc..

Dinner:
Spaghetti/Alfredo/Macaroni
Grilled Chicken and veggies
Chicken and Dumplings

Sounds pretty good, but I eat a lot more beef and a lot less pork.

[Alex Libman]

Bah, I just ate a couple of bagels and I'm already having second thoughts.

Zomg, evil carbs attacking me and shrinking my muscles!!!

How was I ever a vegan for 1.5 years?!

It's all in my head...

It's all in my head...

It's all in my head...

[LTKoblinsky]

Removing a lot of grain and sugar from diet was inspired by the Paleo diet and Fat Head movie, but I used my brain and balanced enjoyment, price, taste, and health. While its nice to be lighter and faster (I was never a fatty, FYI, topped out around 220 and just shy of 19% body fat.), I don't think it's as absolute or dramatic as Libby makes it seem.

[Nik from Illinois]

What's anyone think about this? (Jacob Spinney, "What Is a Healthy Diet?")

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjMP90CfFQg&feature=feedu

The key point that stuck out to me was the claim (supported by a study) that the weight loss that accompanies a low-carb diet tapers off after 6 months, compared to the consistent long-term benefits of a vegan diet.

[LTKoblinsky]

What's anyone think about this? (Jacob Spinney, "What Is a Healthy Diet?")

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjMP90CfFQg&feature=feedu

The key point that stuck out to me was the claim (supported by a study) that the weight loss that accompanies a low-carb diet tapers off after 6 months, compared to the consistent long-term benefits of a vegan diet.

Are we talking Atkins low-carb (10g a day), paleo low-carb (20-30g a day), or Fat Heads low-carb (<100g a day)? and what benefits?

I read in an Outdoors Magazine article last year sometime about a man who spent significant time with everything from the the paleo to vegan to the Okinawa diet. He reported that the Mediterranean and Paleo diet gave him the best results (he tracked blood pressure, body fat, energy, weight, etc... throughout the course) while (I believe) the Okinawa diet and vegan diet were the worst. I'll try to dig it up somewhere.
Full Disclosure: didn't click the link, at work.

[Fred]

Protein Power - the book

30 grams of carbs a day

[dalebert]

Vegan/Vegetarian trolls have the comments up to 52 now.

http://anarchyinyourhead.com/2011/02/23/vegan-diet-2/#comments