Hi Everyone!

After having done what is basically Atkins for years I have switched over to PPLP. I am a lot happier with my eating and just now seeing what I believe is an end to a stall. I've been eating this way for a week.

I weigh everything I eat, so I know what I've eaten for the past several years. I finally looked at my protein intake and found that on average for a week I come in about 10% *below* the recommended minimum under PP for a person with my stats. I bumped up my goal for the day to the minimum under PPLP, with the thought that if I miss it by a few grams I'm still getting what I need according to the more exact numbers from PP. That is working.

I feel better! I haven't had any lasting muscle aches even after a long hike -- something that I usually have the next day. Apparently, despite what I thought was true, my body wasn't getting enough protein to heal efficiently.

I also like the fact that the Drs. Eades think we are adult enough to determine for ourselves which of the 3 ways of eating suit us, and to use whatever source of carbs works for us. I had 3 oz of beets -- something Atkins has an issue with -- for carbs at one meal and was in heaven. Another thing I like is the lack of emphasis on fat -- I don't add fat beyond levels to make a dish taste right, so the shimmering taste of the basic ingredients comes through. Whipping cream is no longer in my coffee -- I'm back to half & half which yields remarkable calorie savings and allows me to taste the high notes in the coffee again.

I've always had issues with Atkins "carb ladder" -- for the life of me I can't understand why my carb sources should be defined by what other people's results have been.

Anyway, I just wanted to give a shout out to everyone on the forum!

Hi Liz, and welcome! Do NOT be fooled! PP/PPLP is actually a high fat diet. It HAS to be. The Drs. Eades start out saying you must get enough protein to supply your daily needs. Then they have you cut as much carbohydrate as you can, thus the flexible three tier sample plans, hedonist, dilettante, and purist. In one of his blogs (that I now cannot find) Dr. Mike says something to the effect, "something like 150 gms of glucose per day is needed by the red blood cells and those few others that do not have mitochondria." So the consumption of less than this amount would/should not invoke an insulin response - one thing we want to avoid. 100 gms or less is probably safer.

After that, they are not as succinct but they do talk about getting enough calories so you do not have the starvation syndrome which will slow down your metabolism and stop the weight loss. SO, you HAVE to raise you fat intake to make up for the lost calories from the carbohydrates you are not eating. You can make up some of the loss with more protein, BUT something like twice your basic protein intake would be the upper limit to keep from having the protein act like carbohydrate. Thus you will find when you “do the numbers”, that fat is going to be something in the 50% range AND up. Dierdra is a good example of how well the high fat PP/PPLP diet works.

Some where, wish I could link to it, I read comments from Dr. Mike about the writing of their books. He said that they carefully avoided the high fat aspect of the diet. Given the anti-fat mantra in vogue at the time the books were written, a publisher would have “file 13ed” a manuscript that really said what the diet was like - high fat.

Yes, it is high fat -- by definition any diet that is low carb and not excessively low in calories is going to be high fat. But check out what the Eades actually eat from their blog and from their recipes. High fat? Yes. But quite different from the Atkins approach. Also a great deal higher in protein.

I basically ate the PP way for a while before I read the book. I started with Atkins and loved it, but always struggled with the % fat. I couldn't see adding fat just to get my % up! And I much prefer protein! I still eat a lot of fat, but it's closer to 50% than 70% of my calories!

LessLiz, welcome to the fold and how exciting that this is working so well for you! I know what you mean about feeling empowered and exhilirated by making your own choices regarding food...having the flexibility to create a menu that works for YOU. Keep up the good work and be sure to join us in our monthly chat area and let us know how you're doing!

Hi Liz

I'm pretty sure I'm going to be switching to this plan. I like the idea of counting protien requirements first, then the carbs, etc. It already makes sense. Getting my PPLP book on Tuesday.

I wondered, how have things been going? It's been a month since this post... I've been stalled for at least a month so am hoping this change will do it...

I have to say PP has helped me manage my low carbing.
I'm able to block my meals better and I love their website.
if I could figure out my new blood meter maybe I can test my blood to see where I am at (I'm type 2 diabetic). But one thing I have definitly seen is that my hypothyroid doesn't seemed as bothered by PP than Atkins (If I went too low carb wise I would lose hair and be so sleepy) I'm not so sleepy my eyebrows are fine.

I haven't had the smoothest month, but I think it went better because of PP. First, work put me on the road for 10 days then I got a horrible cold the second day on the road. It was so bad I considered going to a hospital with fever spiking at 103. Got back home, spent 5 days doing almost nothing. Then we had major upheaval at home with my husband changing jobs and going to work for a competitor. It was a career move but caused a lot of hard feelings.

During this I wasn't too particular about what I ate. I credit PP with helping me get through this because I made an effort to eat enough protein, which probably stopped me from going nuts on carbs. My weight is up slightly, but I figure that is water weight since I have eaten quite a bit more carbs than I should but still haven't gained back all the water weight I usually lose when going back to strict LC.

I still believe this is a better approach, and have just gotten back on the wagon. I'm pretty happy.