Tag Archives: diet

15 Weeks on “Starch Solution” vs 10 weeks on “Always Hungry?” – weight and blood value changes

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I have now finished 15 weeks on Dr. John McDougall’s “Starch Solution” and have a new set of weight changes and blood tests to report.

The contrast with Dr. David Ludwig’s “Always Hungry?” low-carb diet could not be more dramatic.

To summarize in one sentence: “Starch Solution” works with weight loss and all important blood values, and “Always Hungry?” does not.

After 15 weeks on “Starch Solution” I’ve now lost exactly 18 kg = 39.6 lb. This is actually up slightly from last week, where I had lost exactly 40 lb, but these things have some fluctuation day-by-day and week-by-week.

Today was also my regular visit to the hospital for blood tests. After 15 weeks on “Starch Solution” I am very impressed.

The way the schedule worked was this. I went on Dr. David Ludwig’s “Always Hungry?” low-carb diet starting 2/8/2016. On that date I also had blood tests. I stayed on that diet for exactly 10 weeks and had blood tests at the end, on 4/18/2016. So I know exactly what happened on Ludwig’s diet, and it wasn’t good, including gaining weight, increased cholesterol, no blood sugar improvement, and never solving my hunger problems.

Between 4/19/2016 and 5/22/2016 I wasn’t on any particular diet. My weight stayed pretty much the same during this period, but I was definitely not vegan/no-oil and I would sometimes overeat. I don’t have any blood test data for those in-between 5 weeks.

On 5/23/2016 – exactly 15 weeks ago – I started Dr. McDougall’s “Starch Solution” diet.

While on the Ludwig low-carb diet I gained weight over 10 weeks and my blood tests were not improved at all. In many ways they got worse.

On Dr. McDougall’s diet I have lost a large amount of weight in 15 weeks and all my blood test values greatly improved.

These are the results of the blood values I’m most concerned with:

(1) HbA1c (blood sugar)

2/8 (start of “Always Hungry?”) – 7.9
4/18 (after 10 weeks on “Always Hungry?”) – 8.0
9/5 (after 15 weeks on “Starch Solution”) – 6.4

My doctor was amazed at the incredible improvement in my blood sugar values over these last 15 weeks. This is almost in the normal range for HbA1c now, which is 4.7-6.2%.

Also my glucose level (which I usually don’t pay much attention to because it fluctuates more than does HbA1c) went down from 142 mg/dl on “Always Hungry?” to 99 mg/dl on “Starch Solution”, which is well within the normal range of 70-110 mg/dl.

 

I think this is quite amazing considering my diet is mostly carbs, and I don’t avoid refined carbs all the time (e.g. Dr. McDougall says white rice is ok), and I don’t completely avoid sugar either.

(2) Total cholesterol and LDL (bad cholesterol)

These results were also dramatic. As I mentioned 10 weeks ago, I was surprised by this because I thought, according to recent research, that the cholesterol you eat doesn’t really directly affect blood cholesterol. That obviously is not true in my case at all as you can see from these numbers:

2/8 (start of “Always Hungry?”) – Total cholesterol 175, LDL 95
4/18 (after 10 weeks on “Always Hungry?”) – Total 177, LDL 101
9/5 (after 15 weeks on “Starch Solution”) – Total 127, LDL 67

That’s a dramatic drop in both total and bad cholesterol, accomplished by giving up animal products.

(3) Triglycerides (TG)

The normal range for this is 30-150 mg/dl.

2/8 (start of “Always Hungry?) – 113
4/18 (after 10 weeks on “Always Hungry?”) – 159, way up
9/5 (after 15 weeks on “Starch Solution”) – 146, slowly came back to the normal range

(4) Weight

4/18 (after 10 weeks on “Always Hungry?”) – gained 1.6 kg = 3.5 lb.
9/5 (after 15 weeks on “Starch Solution”) – lost 18 kg = 39.6 lb.

The weight change is very dramatic. Also it indicates that one diet simply doesn’t work, and the other does.

Everything else is normal. My blood pressure remains fine. Today it was 112 / 67, which is about my usual range.

To summarize what I’m eating, I’m keeping it simple. Lots of baked potatoes, moistened with a bit of soy milk. Salads topped with garbanzo beans or red kidney beans. Brown rice. Sometimes white rice. Some sweet potatoes. Some frozen veggies (corn, peas, carrot mix or a lower starch broccoli, cauliflower and green bean mix), sometimes some soba, sometimes some udon (even though it is refined wheat), sometimes some edamame, sometimes tofu – though Dr. McDougall deprecates that because of fat content. But I find tofu helps when I sometimes don’t have an appetite and am worried that I’m not getting enough protein. I’m not really eating much fruit. Sometimes I will have some watermelon, but mostly I’ve been staying away from fruit. I’m not particularly avoiding sugar though; when I had some throat problems this summer I would suck on honey/lemon drops and things like that, and did not go for the sugarless kind.

My total calorie input has gone down quite a lot compared to “Always Hungry?” because unlike that diet, on “Starch Solution” I really am usually not hungry between meals. At the end of the day, calories do count of course. Starch Solution concentrates on foods which are lower in “caloric density” and that is key to being satisfied and losing weight. For example, the caloric density of potatoes is about 391 calories/lb. There are 506 calories/lb in brown rice – not as good as potatoes, but ok if you’re careful. On the other hand there is 1187 calories/lb in hamburger and 1,655 calories per lb of buttered popcorn. And if you start talking butter or olive oil – forget it.

I’ve continued my exercise, so I am cycling along the nearby river most days.

My next checkup will be on 11/21, so I will report again then!

 

5 weeks on John McDougall’s “Starch Solution” – report so far

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Well, I finished week 5. This week I lost just a little bit – like 1/2 lb. But since last week’s loss was large I’m ok with that.

After 5 weeks I’ve now lost exactly 6 kg = 13.2 lb.

Also, today was my regular visit to the hospital for blood tests. Some of the results I was very impressed with. Other results less impressed. But I’m not sure how much change I should expect in just 5 weeks.

Also, there was a period “in between” diets and I’m not sure how much the values might have changed during that time frame.

The way the schedule worked was this. I went on Dr. David Ludwig’s “Always Hungry?” low-carb diet starting 2/8/2016. On that date I also had blood tests. I stayed on that diet for exactly 10 weeks and had blood tests at the end, on 4/18/2016. So I know exactly what happened on Ludwig’s diet, and it wasn’t good, including gaining weight and never solving my hunger problems.

Between 4/19/2016 and 5/22/2016 I wasn’t on any particular diet. My weight stayed pretty much the same during this period, but I was definitely not vegan/no-oil and would sometimes overeat and I don’t have any blood test data for those in-between 5 weeks.

On 5/23/2016 – exactly 5 weeks ago – I started Dr. McDougall’s “Starch Solution” diet.

While on the Ludwig low-carb diet I gained weight over 10 weeks and my blood tests were not improved at all. In many ways they got worse.

On Dr. McDougall’s diet I’ve lost a good amount of weight in 5 weeks. The question for me, in addition to that, is what changed and what did not in my blood test results, and how can I interpret the results considering I did not take blood tests at the very start of the diet, like I did with Ludwig’s diet.

I think the answer to that question is I really can’t be sure and I just need to continue on Starch Solution for another 10 weeks and compare the results with today’s results.

In any case, these are the results of the blood values I’m most concerned with:

(1) HbA1c (blood sugar)

2/8 (start of “Always Hungry?”) – 7.9
4/18 (after 10 weeks on “Always Hungry?”) – 8.0
6/27 (after 5 weeks on “Starch Solution”) – 7.9

Given the provisos mentioned above, all I can say is that neither diet seems to have affected my blood sugar for good or bad so far. Lowering carbs did not lower my blood sugar at all. If anything it went up just a tad. And dramatically increasing high glycemic carbs did not increase my blood sugar at all – they went down just a tad. But nothing really statistically significant overall.

I think, from past experience, my HbA1c will come down as I lose more weight. I’ve just lost 13 lb so far. I think after another 10 weeks I should see better results.

(2) Total cholesterol and LDL (bad cholesterol)

These results were dramatic. I was pretty surprised by this because I thought, according to recent research, that the cholesterol you eat doesn’t really directly affect blood cholesterol. Well, that wasn’t true in my case at all as you can see from these numbers:

2/8 (start of “Always Hungry?”) – Total cholesterol 175, LDL 95
4/18 (after 10 weeks on “Always Hungry?”) – Total 177, LDL 101
6/27 (after 5 weeks on “Starch Solution”) – Total 130, LDL 67

Wow. That’s a dramatic drop in total and bad cholesterol in a short amount of time by giving up animal products. So I’m pleased about that.

(3) Triglycerides (TG)

This particularly surprised, and disappointed me because there was no improvement, at least not yet, on Starch Solution. The normal range for this is 30-150 mg/dl.

2/8 (start of “Always Hungry?”) – 113, normal range
4/18 (after 10 weeks on “Always Hungry?”) – 159, way up
6/27 (after 5 weeks on “Starch Solution”) – 164, still a bit up

But, like I said, there were those “5 weeks between diets” so for all I know maybe my triglycerides actually went up even more during that time and have come down over the last 5 weeks. I just don’t know for sure.

Everything else is normal. My blood pressure remains good. Actually great. It was like 105 / 62 with a pulse rate of 66 today!

As for what I’m eating, I’m keeping it simple. Lots of baked potatoes, moistened with a bit of soy milk. Lots of salads topped with garbanzo beans or red kidney beans. Lots of brown rice. Some sweet potatoes. Some frozen veggies (corn, peas, carrot mix or a lower starch broccoli, cauliflower and green bean mix), sometimes some soba, sometimes some udon, sometimes some edamame. My total calorie input has gone down quite a lot compared to “Always Hungry?” because unlike that diet, on “Starch Solution” I really am usually not hungry between meals.

And I’ve increased my exercise a bit so I am cycling along the nearby river most days.

Anyway, I see lots of reasons to continue on Starch Solution and see what happens over the next 10 weeks, and no reasons to modify anything yet. I’m still psychologically “in diet mode” and happy about that.

Starch Solution week 2 report

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I lost 1.2 kg = 2.6 lb this week, bringing my total loss for 2 weeks to 4.6 kg = 10.1 lb.

I now weigh less than I did at the beginning of the year, which is great, because I had been gaining steadily since January.

Also, I’m happy to report that I am just not experiencing any hunger on this diet between meals. It’s amazing. I had long thought that starches were my problem, when in fact it seems it might be my solution.

Anyway, I’m obviously motivated to keep going!

 

Caloric density and weight loss – Starch Solution first week results

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I finished week 1 on Starch Solution and am pleased to report a 7.5 lb weight loss – with no feelings of hunger between meals. On to week 2! Of course I am realistic and don’t expect this rate of loss every week. I realize that the first week on any diet is usually the best.

Some people were asking what I have been eating. I’m not really much of a cook, so I’m eating simple. For example, baked potatoes, sweet potatoes, microwave packages of brown rice, frozen mixed veggies (corn, peas, carrots), salads (cucumber, tomatoes), some legumes mixed in the salad (50 g packages of garbanzo beans or red kidney beans), sometimes non-starchy frozen mixed vegetables, a bit of soy milk to moisten the potatoes, sometimes some salsa on the potatoes. Yesterday I needed to be out during lunch so I got some soba noodles and edamame at the nearby 7/11. Things like that that.

It’s practically what can be called a “comfort food” diet in that sense. You definitely don’t feel deprived. Not only that, it’s incredibly inexpensive eating this way.

What I also wanted to talk about is an interesting article and chart about “calorie densities” here – http://www.forksoverknives.com/the-calorie-density-approach-to-nutrition-and-lifelong-weight-management/

I’m used to calorie counts, of course, but the new information for me was:

  1. Apparently there is a lot of research which has shown that on a day-to-day basis, people generally eat a similar amount of food, by weight (rather than by volume – which surprised me). Therefore, choosing foods with a lower calorie density allows us to consume our usual amount of food (or more) while reducing our caloric intake.
  2. On the calorie density scale (calories/lb), fruits and vegetables are the lowest (60-195) , followed by the starches, which I’ve been eating a lot of, including potatoes, yams and rice (320-630) and legumes (310-780). Pasta fits in here as well, but I haven’t eaten any yet, unless you count the soba I had yesterday. Breads are higher up on the scale (920-1,360) because they are less dense (more air, less water), so this is one reason why it’s easy to eat too many calories of those. Even higher up are things which are mostly air, such as popcorn (1,480-1,760). One serving of air-popped popcorn is not a huge number of calories. But it’s also not very filling, which is why you keep going back for more. Nuts and seeds are way higher up (2,400-3,200). Oils and other pure fats are at the top (4,000). The chart was for vegans, but I checked other sources and see that for seafood, lean poultry and lean red meat the calorie densities are higher than potatoes, rice, sweet potatoes and corn, but in generally the same range as legumes (400-870).

You can see the chart on the link above.

As the article says, it appears that people can eat freely of foods that are 300 calories per pound or less and not gain weight. People can consume relatively large portions of foods that are between 300 and 800 calories per pound and still lose or maintain their weight, depending on their individual activity levels and metabolism.

This probably accounts for why I was able to lose so much this first week.

Anyway, this starch-centric vegan approach has really been a revelation to me. It’s really a diet combination/approach I had not tried before, and seems to fill in some missing pieces for me in the ways I’ve always thought about calories, satiety, hunger control and weight loss. If you aren’t vegan, I think you can still fit in an approach which is conscious of caloric density. But this approach seems easiest for me.