----- "Keith Thomas" <[log in to unmask]> wrote: 
> Subject: Re: New Years Resolution 
> From: Todd Moody <[log in to unmask]> 
> Date: Tue, 8 Feb 2011 12:22:15 -0500 
> 
> > I recently read a study somewhere that showed that lab animals "eat to protein". 
> 
> This appears to be the key to Kwasniewski's Optimal Diet. Most people see it as a high-fat diet, but in fact, Kwasniewski's thinking about macronutrients is that: 
> 
> (a) you get the amount of protein right 
> 
> (b) you complement that with an amount of fat, based on the amount of protein 
> 
> (c) you have a small amount of carbohydrate (he is nowhere clear on the reasons for this), also keyed to the amount of protein. 

I haven't actually read any of the Kwasniewski material. That's why I've called my approach "Kwasniewski-ish." I've just used his macronutrient approach, very roughly. 

To determine protein intake, you figure out your "ideal weight" in kg, and eat 1 g/day of protein, per kg ideal weight. As far as I'm concerned, the whole "ideal weight" concept is very subjective. I've chosen 210 lbs, which is about 95 kg. So my target is 95 g/day of protein. For fat, you should get 2.5-3.5 grams per ideal weight kg. For carbs, you get .5-.8, depending on your activity level. 

My approach has been to track protein and carbs carefully, and simply to eat as much fat as I need to get to satiety. I treat the .5-.8 as a carb "window" and try to stay within it. Some days I go under; rarely do I go over. If I make an effort to eat all the fat that he recommends, I don't lose weight, regardless of the carb level. It's difficult for me to eat only 95 g/day of protein, and lately I've been going over, usually to around 110 or 115. 

However, I've started losing weight again, and the only significant change that I can identify is the magnesium supplementation. It really seems to have improved my digestion. I'm quite "regular" again, after not being so for months. In fact, I assumed that the lack of regularity was simply due to my diet being high in protein and fat, and thought nothing of it. The other thing I notice is that my appetite is diminished. I still have a small breakfast and lunch. My dinner is substantial, but no longer Falstaffian, so my caloric intake has fallen, without my making any special effort. I don't know if it will last, but at the moment it's very satisfactory. 

I am not trying to persuade anyone that Mg supplementation is a magic bullet. I don't really know if it, or something else, is what has broken my stall. But I have dropped about five pounds in the past week, which is pretty unexpected for someone who's been on a very lowcarb diet since August. 

Todd Moody