I had a great time this week working with my little sister, Ellen, and my friend, Jeff, in setting up a Facebook Fan Page for the Potato Hack book and learning all about #'s and @'s and why it's not cool to send "friend requests" all 9,875 people in an FB group. Also, I started up a new blog, The Potato Hack, on Wordpress simply as a way to promote the book.
In honor of the book release, I decided to do a potato hack this week. At first to support my sis (who unceremoniously dropped out on day 2 with a cheeseburger!), and then just so I could get some good pictures of my potato hack dinners for Facebook.
I really never get tired of the potato hack, even though this is the first time I've done one in since last fall when I harvested potatoes. The potatoes I ate this week (about 15 pounds worth), I dug up last October and they have been in storage ever since. They are still rock hard, but showing signs that they are ready for Spring...I am too!
The result of my "for fun" potato hack was a loss of 5 pounds in 5 days. I hope that everyone who tries it sees the same results. I must say that Day 1 was a bit difficult because there was so much food around, and I even sneaked a spelt-coated chicken finger that first evening (shhhh!). Day 2-5 were uneventful, I was eating cold, salted, pre-boiled potatoes for lunch at work and a nice hot potato meal for dinner, averaging about 3 pounds of potato daily. Just salt and vinegar as spices, I used some chicken broth to make the mashed potatoes nice and creamy.
I noticed that I was sleeping more soundly this week and just overall felt great. I normally exercise daily, doing a variety of pushups, pullups, sprints, and squats. This week, I just walked 15-30 minutes a couple times each day, taking a "de-load" week for my muscles. From experience, I know that come Monday, I will be right back to where I was last week. Eating potatoes for a week does not "waste" muscle like some fear it might. If it does, it's negligible. Nothing compared to the "fat wasting" that goes on, for sure.
Things are getting exciting here in North Pole, Alaska! It stays light now til around 9pm. The birch trees will be ready for tapping in a couple weeks. The bee-man will be here soon. I need to start a new flock of laying hens this year, too.
I think with all the social media and the other blog operating, I will be changing this one back to the VegetablePharm and getting back to blogging fun stuff very soon.
Think Spring!
Tim
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ReplyDeleteHi Tim
ReplyDeleteI'm in Edinburgh Scotland and got my copy via Amazon on Wednesday. Very impressed!
Thanks! i'm hoping to get the attention of the UK potato growers associations to help publicize the book in the UK. Glad you found it, and glad you liked it!
DeleteTim Day two nearly over and I can't believe it but I'm not hungry! Even fixed Dad a potroast dinner tonight and I ate dry hashbrowns- his meal wasn't even tempting! Now tomorrow I might get into the leftovers, esp the carrots, but I think I can wait. We're taking Aunt Grace out for dinner tomorrow so I know I will eat there (Essen Haus) but I definitely will try again next week. I think you wrote that starting before a weekend is harder than during the week! One question---Can chicken broth be used during the potato-only days?
ReplyDeleteHope you have a nice weekend
Mom
Same here. I cooked for Jackie almost every night and was (rarely) tempted. The low-hunger is the best part. People go to great expense to get this same effect with HCG drops and injections. the HCG allows you to eat under 800 calories per day with no hunger. Several people who have done both diets tell me that the potato hack beats HCG in terms of not being hungry.
DeletePlus, I find it very fulfilling, meal-wise, to have a massive mound of potatoes to work through. I usually spend more time eating on the potato hack than I do normally.
Yes, chicken broth is fine. Especially if you make mashed potatoes.
So glad you tried!
Hi Paula, Tim uses broth when he mashes his spuds. He says it tastes good. Have not tried it. Yet.
DeleteI did the potato hack for 3 days this week and did not lose anything. This is the first time I have done it without losing... I will try it again next week, Monday through Wednesday to see what happens. I did start taking chlorella last week and continued taking it this week while doing the potato hack - do you think that could have been the reason I did not lose?
ReplyDeleteThanks,
gina
If you did three days of potatoes, you lost a couple pounds of fat whether the scale shows it or not. You also made changes to your gut flora and possibly improved insulin sensitivity and some other metabolic markers. Why did you not lose scale weight? Who knows? If you are on a long-term weight loss plan, just stay the course, and throw in a potato hack in the future and see how things progress. Weight fluctuations are a fact of life, frustrating as they may be, but it's the long term trend that matters most.
DeleteGood luck and keep us updated!
gina
DeleteRe: Chlorella - how much do you take?
I may be wrong in my conclusion, but as far as I know, Chlorella contains VERY high amount of iron. No good overloading on iron if you are trying to lose weight.
On the other hand, I sort of suspected that part of the potato hack magic might be that it generously feeds gut flora with all the fiber and polysaccharides, and microbes multiply. To multiply, microbes need iron. Potatoes have some (variable) but maybe not enough, and maybe the microbes somehow manage to use the iron previously hoarded by the body, for themselves. Just an idea, of course.
Thanks! Yes, I plan on staying the course. In February I started doing 3 days of the Potato hack a week and then eating kind of Paleo the other 4 days of the week. I got off track with a 5 day trip to Phoenix and am just now getting back on track. I do plan on giving it some time but glad to know that I lost some fat even if it doesn't show on the scale. Thanks so much! Happy Resurrection Day Peeps!
DeleteI remember my first attempt I also did not lose any scale weight. I ate all the spuds as hash browns (with no added fat/oil). I tried a second hack shortly after but this time ate only boiled spuds. This time it worked and I lost weight. Don't ask me why.
DeleteMaybe the boiled spuds are more filling than grated and fried and so less overall calories consumed? plausible.
Deleteand boiled perhaps more bland in flavor or mouth feel, so less consumed? perhaps.
DeleteBeen reading your stuff for awhile, still never can latch onto the Hack idea. I get it as a onetime kick start your diet thing, but to keep returning to it is the sign that you haven't mastered a proper living diet and exercise plan. I don't mean you specifically, but everyone who has these woes. I am not immune as I struggled with weight most of my life.
ReplyDeletesamc - I hear you. The potato hack is best suited for people who just can't seem to master their weight no matter what. So many people struggle daily, stressing over every bite and following diet plans for years and still gain.
DeleteThe reason I latched on to the potato hack is because I saw time after time where people that could not lose weight by any other means, all of a sudden dropping 5-10 pounds in a couple weeks using the potato hack.
I think that traditional Weight Watchers type diets actually "break" people and as soon as they go off-plan, they gain uncontrollably. That whole "starvation mode" and "adrenal fatigue," if they are real, show themselves when people reduce calories long-term. The potato hack lets people eat more regular foods and amounts and still maintain a downward trend in weigh long-term.
Not everyone responds perfectly to the potato hack, but those that do can use it as a way to gain some freedom from chronic dieting. A week or two of potato dieting once or twice a year most likely simulates ancestral eating patterns when food was scarce. The hunger-abating properties of potatoes make them a perfect food for a short-term hack.
I agree, though. Everyone should find a way of eating and exercising that allows them to maintain their weight year-in and year-out. Tough to do in modern times. But it can be done. I think the more normal scenario is that people wake up one day and realize they need to lose 20, 30, 40 pounds and have a real hard time doing it. They try all the traditional diet schemes. Some find success, but most of the popular diets are designed to keep you hooked on their products.
Learn to eat real, whole foods and if you need a correction, maybe the potato hack makes sense.
I'm taking the weekend off but plan to get back on the potatoes Monday....if I can wait that long. I love the satisfied full feeling I've had the past few days. Am already planning to make some potato soup with chicken broth & some potato starch to thicken it a little. Started today with a banana and then some veggies from last night's pot roast. So far haven't missed meat at all. Wish me luck!
DeleteGive us the recipe for the potato soup, please! That sounds perfect for the potato hack...I did not have one soup recipe in the book, did I?
DeleteI made the potato soup too but didn't thicken it with the potato starch so thanks for the tip! I just diced up some regular red potatoes and cooked them in chicken bone broth until nice and tender. It was yummy and a nice change of pace! I am anxious to start my potato hack routine on Monday too!
Deletegina
Tim, potatohack soup wouldn't be too complicated unless you don't mind adding other things to it besides broth and spuds.
DeleteLike for example, I've made it by sweating onion and celery and the mooshing some cubes of cooked potato into it. Chopped fresh dill on top. At least it's more interesting than just plain chicken broth and potato. (Of course with no codfish and no clams it is... Unchowder Soup.)
@Tim, what do you mean by this?... "Not everyone responds perfectly to the potato hack". What are examples of the imperfect responses? Do SOME people actually GAIN weight???
DeleteSome people have reported weight gain, but it is usually followed up with a report that they quickly lost it, as if it were just a normal weight fluctuation. Other people report that the are not satiated and instead hungrier on the PH. Others say they simply do not lose any weight.
DeleteThere is NO diet that will work 100% for everyone.
When I tried the hack years ago I gave up by the end of the day due to ravenous hunger and hypos, however I was coming from zero carb.This time no hypos but I did have hunger which I pushed through. Now I'm happy to say the PH is a success, however I feel that my body was ready for more carbs. I feel also it shouldn't be under-estimated how many potatoes people can eat. I feel quite greedy and horrified ed when people say they eat a few taters and are full; I could eat and eat, but it's head hunger. If you're coming from a brain hunger angle I would suggest eat as many taters as you want because if you try to restrict the head hunger persists. The appetite regulation and satisfaction with less comes a day or two after eating heaps of taters. I don't do this just for the weight loss but for the head hunger, and so far it's more effective than anything I have done. Atkins fat fast..pfft...potato hack craps over it...
DeleteRose
Hi Tim, just finished a 4.5 day potato hack with some interesting (although not stunning) results. First some stats, I’ve logged my weight daily for the last 12 months, average weight over that period 78.54 kg, max 80.09 kg and min 76.72 kg. Also BMI 23.40 - 22.42, ave. 22.95, and body fat 20.47% - 17.27%, ave. 19.30%. Starting the hack at 78.00 kg, 22.79 BMI, 18.33%, after the 4.5 days I ended at 76.02 kg, 22.21 BMI, and body fat 17.15%. So, the lowest I’ve been at in 12 months, not bad going! Overall the biggest insight was the nuances of the hunger signals; first 2.5 days were easy then hit the ‘I’m feeling full but really want to eat something other than spuds’, and ‘I could really do with some fruit’ towards the end. I could have carried on but wasn’t enjoying the experience much. Next time I think I’ll try a couple of weeks but prepare better so I have a variety of potato dishes on hand, perhaps adding some bone broth and Greek yogurt to take the edge off the hunger signals. ~ Cheers, Ed.
ReplyDeleteThis is exactly the point! The potato hack burns up fat starting at Day 1 and continues as long as you do it. Scale weight does not always tell the whole story.
DeleteThis is why I feel that the shorter 3-5 day increments do just as much good as longer stretches. 3-5 days once a month will result in long term weight loss. 3-5 days a couple times a year will lead to long term weight maintenance.
Thanks for sharing!
@Anonymous, great results. Instead of a week or two, I would string two or three of those 5 day hacks together with 2-3 days normal eating between.
DeleteAnd you're exercising, right??? I think selfies are more motivating than tracking stat's...
http://m.likesuccess.com/quotes/17/821267.png
Tim, do you know of many women who have had success doing longer potato hacks? From what I have read it's the men who can go longer and lose more weight/BF. Hopefully I'm wrong but that seems to be my take on this, reading this and other forums.
ReplyDeleteRose
I know lots of women who report long-term success with the potato hack. But, in general, men have a much easier time losing weight on just about any diet. Women have a lot more "issues" than men that often complicate weight loss.
DeleteBut if you are talking about who can do an all-potato diet the longest, I have no idea. I have been recommending everyone just do 3-5 days at a time, with days or weeks of healthy eating in between. This seems to work the best for everyone.
I've talked to both men and women who have gone up to about 2 weeks of potato-only and lost 5-10 pounds.
The only way you'll know if its right for you is to try.
Tim, how do you think casava or other roots and tubers would fit in to this? Would they work? Cassava is quite a bit more dense, less water content, but I THINK also has less nutrients than spuds... eg., does not have vitamin-C like spuds. Perhaps less antioxidants and other stuff? Your thoughts?
DeleteI think that there are other roots and tubers that could be used in hacks of their own, but I have not looked into them very much. It's just really hard to say.
DeleteWhat I like about the potato is that almost every single person eats potatoes (or potato products) almost every single day. Most people are well adapted to eating potatoes and have the gut flora to ferment potatoes. These other roots and tubers are quite foreign to most people and rarely eaten most places.
When Paul Jaminet started discussing safe starches, he added cassava and some others along with rice and potatoes. But, as I said, these other starch sources are foreign to us and most people have no idea what to do with them.
Hi Tim! I'm curious, do you think a couple tablespoons of canned coconut milk in my morning coffee will halt any benefits from Potato Hacking? I know black is best, but sometimes I like a little coconut milk and stevia in it. Your thoughts?
ReplyDeleteYou're playing a dangerous game here friendo...
DeleteDumb dog brain is demanding too many taters; I think if I could only eat dirt and twigs the dog would find a way to overeat :( Anyway starting a hack again tomorrow but no more delicious purples just plain low GI (only because they were on sale and I don't find them very tasty). I've cooked up a batch to last 5 days, sliced and portioned, ziplocked and straight into freezer to be taken out each morning for thawing for dinner. Therefore if dumb dog wants extra taters NOW it will have to take out of freezer and reheat in microwave. Dog will have to be very desperate to do this. Rose
ReplyDeleteHey Tim. Do you fast only when you do the potato hack?
ReplyDelete