

The Startup Diet: How I Lost 35 Pounds While Working Overtime - PStamatiou
http://paulstamatiou.com/programmers-startup-diet-how-i-lost-35-pounds

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KirinDave
I'm not sure why people feel any type of carb is bad for regular weight loss.
There is no significant evidence that refined or unrefined carbs are bad for
your weight loss (assuming you are not diabetic). Carbs can be bad because
carb-rich foods tend to be surprisingly high in calories, but that's about it
from a weight loss perspective.

Also, 1,200kcal/day diets are brutal. Caloric restriction diets have
overwhelming scientific evidence of being an ineffective strategy in the long
term. Even if you have some elaborate food system with rest days, it doesn't
matter. They fail for the overwhelming majority of people. They lose weight,
fail to maintain the difficult diet, then pop back up.

Your body doesn't defy thermodynamics, but your metabolism is a clever thing.
The best way to achieve permanent, long term body-fat loss is to reduce your
diet to something reasonable and exercise (both aerobic and weight) regularly.
I know hackers desperately want the clever solution, but as it stands there is
no evidence-based way to get results that is as reliable as the "eat-less-
workout-more" approach.

~~~
msluyter
I don't believe the evidence is on your side. The reason carbs damage us more
than merely their caloric content is, to quote Dr. William Davis of The Heart
Scan Blog:

 _"Carbohydrates increase small LDL particles. Or, in the cholesterol-speak
most people understand, "carbohydrates increase cholesterol." It's
counterintuitive, but carbohydrates increase LDL substantially, far more than
any fat.

Carbohydrates increase blood sugar. Eggs don't increase blood sugar, nor do
chicken, raw almonds, onions or green peppers. But a bowl of oatmeal will send
your blood sugar skywards.

Carbohydrates make you fat. Carbohydrates, whether in the form of wheat flour
in your whole wheat bread, sucrose in your ice cream, fructose in your
"organic Agave nectar," or high-fructose corn syrup in your dill pickles. They
all provoke de novo lipogenesis, or fat formation. They also stimulate
insulin, the hormone of fat storage.

Carbohydrates cause glycation. High blood sugar, like the kind that develops
after a bowl of oatmeal, triggers glycation, or modification of proteins by
glucose (blood sugar). This is how cataracts, kidney disease, and
atherosclerotic plaque develop. Small LDL is 8-fold more glycation prone than
large LDL, providing a carbohydrate double-whammy."_

I also recommend Good Calories, Bad Calories, by Gary Taubes, which is a well
documented indictment of our common wisdom regarding nutrition (ie, things
like the preposterous food pyramid). The general point is that not all
calories are alike.

My own merely personal anecdote: after eliminating all wheat and almost all
other carbs from my diet, I lost ~35 points effortlessly. All this while not
doing much exercise at all (recent evidence suggests that your body simply
adapts to exercise by getting hungrier). I was much hungrier and unhappier on
a low fat diet.

~~~
KirinDave
> I don't believe the evidence is on your side.

Interesting. I can find a lot of studies on pubmed with dietary restriction
comparisons. While I am not a doctor, I'm familiar enough with scientific and
academic literature to read papers and work through them. I think you probably
can to, so here are a lot of links:

1\. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20679559> (No difference with carb
restrictions vs. fat restrictions)

2\. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20663066> (Inconsistent results on
carb restriction.)

3\. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20670466> (Medium-term suggests low-
fat diets are superior to low-carb diets in obese individuals due to
complications).

4\. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20571327> (Obesity treatment is a
maintenance treatment, not a triage)

And the final nail I will hammer in your statement today:

5\. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20670466>

The conclusion to this paper is quite germane:

    
    
            Ad lib, low fat, high carbohydrate diet was superior to fixed energy intake 
            for maintaining weight after a major weight loss. The rate of the initial 
            weight loss did not influence long term outcome.
    

It's important to understand that linking to a book or a single doctor's blog
is not going to be good evidence. These studies are what good evidence is,
because they are _evidence_ instead of hearsay and anecdotes. And please note
the dates on these studies, they are not old.

~~~
briancooley
_1.<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20679559> (No difference with carb
restrictions vs. fat restrictions)_

No difference?

"A low-carbohydrate diet, which consisted of limited carbohydrate intake (20
g/d for 3 months) in the form of low-glycemic index vegetables _with
unrestricted consumption of fat and protein._ " (emphasis mine)

"During the first 6 months, the low-carbohydrate diet group had greater
reductions in diastolic blood pressure, triglyceride levels, and very-low-
density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, lesser reductions in low-density
lipoprotein cholesterol levels, and more adverse symptoms than did the low-fat
diet group. The low-carbohydrate diet group had greater increases in high-
density lipoprotein cholesterol levels at all time points, approximating a 23%
increase at 2 years."

That's a pretty big difference if you ask me. The low-carb group was not
calorie-restricted. The low-carb group had more positive changes in the most
important heart disease indicators (VLDL and HDL). Notably, the HDL increase
is very important.

~~~
KirinDave
I meant within the context of weight loss and long term results. I did not
mean to imply there are no differences, and I welcome a clarification there.

And even if I did read a few of them wrong, I'm fine with that. I want people
to talk in terms of evidence and fact, not "this very smart doctor's blog" or
"this book hawking yet another clever secret diet". That's of far more value
to the news.ycomb community, and if it costs me a few bruises to my ego, so be
it. These studies are accessible and readable, let's use them.

~~~
scotje
Good Calories, Bad Calories has a pretty robust bibliography, and the author,
Gary Taubes, is a well respected science reporter. It would be a mistake to
characterize his book in the way you have. Check it out from the library and
read some of it yourself. :)

~~~
Tichy
I tried to read most of Good Calories, Bad Calories, but in the end felt no
smarter than before. Yes, he dug up a lot of documents, but I can not verify
them myself. Most diet "philosophies" can cite any number of research articles
(as Taube himself explains in every chapter - it's just that almost all
studies seem to have flaws). It actually made me distrust the book a little
bit that it was so badly organized. That is, rather than arguing a point well,
it just dumps an insurmountable heap of information on the reader.

------
maukdaddy
_Some of the “low fat” foods are actually bad for you because they are high in
HFCS or other sugary additives._

This is a biggie. Much bigger than people realize. Foods that are advertised
as "low fat" must have those fat calories replaced with something. And that
something is usually refined carbs of some sort, be it sugar, HFCS, or
something else.

My wife has fructose intolerant, so we don't eat anything containing fructose
or HFCS. You would be shocked to see how much food contains HFCS, and REALLY
shocked to see how much "healthy" and "low fat" foods contain HFCS.

~~~
matwood
Obviously if you're fructose intolerant you need to avoid it, but HFSC isn't
the evil it's been painted to be. I like reading this guys blog because it's
no nonsense nutritional information with ALL his sources.

[http://www.alanaragonblog.com/2010/01/29/the-bitter-truth-
ab...](http://www.alanaragonblog.com/2010/01/29/the-bitter-truth-about-
fructose-alarmism/)

~~~
gxs
I appreciate your point, but typically you want to stay away from things that
contain HFCS not simply because HFCS is "bad" for you, (jury is still out on
that one), rather, because foods that contain it tend to be very calorie
dense.

The problem with our diets as americans is that EVERYTHING contains
sugar/HFCS.

For example, I get all my carbs from brown rice, and bran cereal. I have the
occasional slice of 100% wheat bread. Why? Because almost all bread on the
market contains HFCS and each slice is typically 110 calories. I'd rather get
the same amount of calories from a much more satisfying bowl of brown rice and
veggies then from a dense, unsatisfying piece of bread.

------
manvsmachine
Nice writeup Paul. One thing I'd point out is that your dietary needs will
evolve as your body and metabolism does. Once your body adapts to its new
state and you start gaining muscle mass, you'll actually start _needing_ more
calories and you can relax on the little thing like egg yolks, etc.

Another thing that you might want to consider if you're not the hardcore gym
type is adding some less traditional forms of exercise. A lot of people really
get into martial arts despite not liking to "workout"; I know you like
driving, so I'd recommend seeing if there are any good karting options in SF.
Karting is crazy amounts of fun, and its a great all-around workout:
[http://www.itv-f1.com/News_Article.aspx?id=46561&PO=4656...](http://www.itv-f1.com/News_Article.aspx?id=46561&PO=46561)

~~~
eru
Why do people eat egg whites without the yolks? The yolk is the best part of
the egg (flavourwise).

~~~
markbao
A lot of them eat egg whites only because egg yolks contain a little less than
half of the protein but _all_ of the fat and cholesterol. Some say that the
cholesterol in yolks actually has a small impact on, and even reduces your
blood cholesterol, but I haven't seen a definitive study.

~~~
eru
And what do they do with the yolks?

~~~
markbao
Throw them away.

(I'm one of these people. My doctor told me that my blood cholesterol was too
high for my age and I had to cut back on eggs. I cut back on eggs as well as
foods containing saturated fat, and it's since gone down.)

~~~
eru
Thanks for the answer.

------
mipapage
Nicely done PStamatiou. I went thru the same crunch a couple of years ago and
dropped bread, dairy, coffee etc and it made a world of difference.

I actually had the folks at the gym and some friends casually tell me to eat
more food as I had taken it a bit too far. What happened was mostly me trying
to find that sweet spot where you can get benefits from the gym and not overdo
it on either side (weight too low versus weight too high).

~~~
teej
"I went thru the same crunch a couple of years ago and dropped bread, dairy,
coffee etc and it made a world of difference."

What's the compelling reason to drop coffee? Coffee is nothing but brown
caffeine water and caffeine is a safe, cheap appetite suppressant.

~~~
machrider
Coffee can actually be an appetite suppressant. I don't think there's any
reason to drop coffee for weight loss, but you'll probably want to reduce the
added sugar and cream.

~~~
matwood
And there's the problem. Most people don't drink just coffee, but instead some
bastardized triple caramel pump, white chocolate mocha espresso.

For the record I like my coffee black (mmm espresso) and maybe a little milk
:)

------
InfinityX0
"I lost 20 pounds...How? I drank bear piss and took up fencing. How the fuck
you think, son? I exercised." - @shitmydadsays

------
Oompa
I've lost 30 pounds over the course of 6 months by eating more reasonable
portions (No more downing 2 cokes, 1 lb of chicken wings, and fries in 1
sitting) and exercising more. I did this gradually, never too concerned about
it. Sure it wasn't as quick as Paul's story here, but it works fine and
requires very little effort.

------
Samuel_Michon
The science behind losing weight really isn't complicated: just make sure your
intake of calories is less than you need to sustain your current weight.

To lose 1 lb, you need to give up 3500 kcals. This can be accomplished by
eating less, exercising more, or ideally, a combination of the two.

Say, you're a programmer, you're 6' and you weigh 220 lb. Assuming you don't
exercise, you need to consume 2700 kcals to sustain your curent weight. If you
want to lose 2 lb a week, a doable and healthy method would be to cut your
calorie intake down to 2000 and burn 300 calories through exercise.

Ofcourse, the trick is to eat well, so that you don't feel hungry all the
time. Foods that are rich in protein (like chicken, fish, beans and greek
yogurt) will keep you from feeling hungry. Corn syrup, trans fat, and
saturated fat are the stuff to stay away from (that's most processed foods),
those will only make you more hungry.

Also, timing is important to keep from eating too much. Start with a breakfast
rich in fiber, and don't skip meals during the day. Drinking enough water is
important too, at least 8 glasses a day. And for each cup of coffee,
compensate it with a glass of water.

Finally, knowing how many calories are in the foods you eat helps _a lot_. I
use Livestrong.com's Daily Plate service to track my daily intake of calories,
calorie goals, weight, and weight goals. Any math geek or stats addict looking
to lose weight should use it. There's even a free DailyPlate iPhone app.

~~~
timdorr
Of course, there's a big distinction between losing weight and losing fat. You
can simply lower your calories and lose weight, but your body fat % might stay
the same simply because you're also losing muscle mass too. That's why
exercise is really the key, unless you want to get _very_ militant about your
food intake. You _can_ lose fat without exercise, but it's not fun or easy.

~~~
eru
And by the way, you should not aim to lose weight.

Give yourself a better target: Aim for a smaller waist line. Nobody sees
weight, and but big belly makes doesn't look too nice.

And: Muscles are also heavy.

------
jmtame
laughed a bit at this part:

"My motivation for going to the gym was rather stupid but it worked — I wanted
to become the mayor on Foursquare. I never did get the mayorship.. the gym rat
badge will have to suffice."

------
yummyfajitas
Side topic, but can anyone suggest a diet (vegetarian, ideally) for putting on
muscle?

I've been hitting the gym regularly (2-4x/week) for the past year, lifting
weights consistently each time, and haven't made any major gains.

~~~
misterbwong
Have you tried taking protein powder along with your diet? Depending on how
much you want to gain and the type of shake you get, you'd probably want to
drink one within 20 mins of a weightlifting session and one a day in the
morning.

~~~
Gormo
A cup or two of lowfat plain yogurt will provide as much protein as a typical
shake, and is a much more healthful option.

~~~
sbov
1 scoop of many whey proteins provide 20+ grams of protein. If you throw 2
scoops thats 40 grams. Most yogurts don't even approach this. Then add milk,
peanut butter, etc.

Some people also mix their whey with other things, such as in their oatmeal.

You can just eat more yogurt, but a lot of people go the shake route because
its a lot easier to drink large amounts of protein than eat it.

~~~
eru
Quark is a pretty decent source of protein (casein). I often put quark, milk
and fruits (and oat meal) in a blender to make my own shakes. At least when I
am too lazy to prepare a proper meal.

------
_emice
_Simple Carbs like refined white flour, pastas – instead I opted for only
whole grains, nothing milled or crushed._

Is he chewing on whole grains? Boiling them as porridge? I figure you have to
mill or crush at some point to make most things. Whole grain flours,
unbleached and with the germ/bran unfiltered seems fine to me. When dealing
with wheat, some people may want to watch the gluten content as well,
depending on their sensitivity.

------
Tamerlin
"a post for programmers and startup folks that are looking for a way to learn
some healthy eating habits while doing their necessary 12+ hours per day on
the computer thing:"

That would be the FIRST thing that I would fix -- if you're doing 12+ hours
per day on the computer, odds are you need to rethink your development process
first, and then use the extra time to improve your health. Then reap the
benefits that a healthier mind and body have one one's productivity.

This obsession with long hours is a bug, not a feature -- rather than trying
to find ways to enable it, we should be looking at how to fix it.

------
xyzzyb
Why is there no love for the (appropriately named), Hacker's Diet? Incredible
results here.

<http://www.fourmilab.ch/hackdiet/www/hackdiet.html>

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peteforde
I love that you've proven the Butterfield Diet Plan works!

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjnuBTPOaKY>

Don't forget... Saturday is Treat Day.

~~~
peteforde
I object to the down-mod. Stammy suggests eating anything you want, one day a
week.

Sorry if you don't have a sense of humour, but my comment was topical.

------
lessthanideal
I'm writing about my journey to getting in better shape as a programmer and I
find stories like Paul's to be inspirational. Thanks for all the information
Paul. My goal is two-fold: get in shape / live longer and to get as strong as
possible. The "getting stronger" part keeps me motivated through those long
and arduous cardiovascular workout sessions. Here's my journal:

<http://www.strongestprogrammer.net/>

------
duck
Nice write-up Paul. As a fellow GT grad I think I gained 15 pounds because of
the Varsity.

One tip - lose the metal spatula on the non-stick pan.

~~~
PStamatiou
Yeah I got a softer one a few months later. I had a metal one in that pic
because my dog chewed up my plastic one...

~~~
maukdaddy
Actually a nice cast-iron pan would be better.

~~~
rcoder
This is actually a great tip -- cast iron is not only great to cook in, it
helps provide dietary iron, which is especially important if you're eating a
diet light in red meat (which naturally contains iron) and prepared cereals
(which tend to be fortified with it).

------
ptn
I can recommend a guy called John Berardi, specifically these 2 articles:

[http://www.johnberardi.com/articles/nutrition/masseating_rl_...](http://www.johnberardi.com/articles/nutrition/masseating_rl_1.htm)

<http://www.johnberardi.com/articles/nutrition/7habits.htm>

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bconway
Congrats on your success, even if you do get a few critical responses on your
food choices. I had a lot of post-college weight to lose (45 pounds) and did
it with cardio and not overeating. My diet stayed mostly the same, much to my
wife's chagrin, but I got through all the weight in 9-10 months and it hasn't
been back since (a few years now). Keep up the good work.

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asadkn
All the low-carb advocates, one link!

<http://www.leangains.com/2009/02/low-carb-talibans.html>

And the OP did well to keep it simple and basic. It's all about energy
balance.

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jc-denton
Probably by not eating all the time :D

