My diet

[dime]

I started the WaiDiet properly a few days ago, so I though maybe I could write something here.

I wake up every day at 6am. In an hour or so I eat all the concentrated protein foods for the day: 3 egg yolks (~50gr), followed by 50gr fish, and finally ~10 brazil nuts. In the next 3-4 hours I don't do much, don't eat, don't drink any water, just sit and do my job on the computer.

For the rest of the day I eat fruits, at approximately one fruit per hour: 1/2 avocado, bananas, apples, oranges, a mango sometimes, tomatoes, cucumbers, fresh dates, dried figs, raisins. After each fruit I drink some olive oil (not sure how much exactly, I'm drinking from the bottle. I guess ~5grams). For now I'm a bit lazy to make orange juice.

I'm 23 male, 190cm/70kg. My diet amounts to ~2500 calories, maybe some more on the days I do swimming, cycling, or some weight lifting.

The only problem for now I'm trying to figure out is orthostatic hypotension, not sure if someone else is experiencing this. For me it's not necessarily related to the WaiDiet, but to raw food in general (I think), as it started about two months ago when I did a two-week fast after which I switched to raw food. I mostly have it in the morning until afternoon/late afternoon, and then it usually disappears in the evening. I'm thinking it might be related to the low sodium intake on a raw diet, which leads to lower blood pressure. I'll try one day adding some salt and see whether that makes any difference.

[RRM]

Dime, why are you doing this diet?
Whats your motivation?

I wake up every day at 6am. In an hour or so I eat all the concentrated protein foods for the day: 3 egg yolks (~50gr), followed by 50gr fish, and finally ~10 brazil nuts.

Why do you take all the protein in the morning, and not in the evening?

In the next 3-4 hours I don't do much, don't eat,

So, if your glycogen depots were low in the morning (which is likely on this diet)
you will be using much protein for energy,
since you dont take sugars to prevent that.

For the rest of the day I eat fruits, at approximately one fruit per hour: 1/2 avocado, bananas, apples, oranges,...

One fruit per hour is too little on this diet, because you are not having big meals to compensate for this.
Instead, you should eat / drink something at least every half an hour.

I'm 23 male, 190cm/70kg. My diet amounts to ~2500 calories, maybe some more on the days I do swimming, cycling, or some weight lifting.

If you are also physically active, you definitely need more...

The only problem for now I'm trying to figure out is orthostatic hypotension, not sure if someone else is experiencing this. For me it's not necessarily related to the WaiDiet, but to raw food in general (I think), as it started about two months ago when I did a two-week fast after which I switched to raw food. I mostly have it in the morning until afternoon/late afternoon, and then it usually disappears in the evening. I'm thinking it might be related to the low sodium intake on a raw diet, which leads to lower blood pressure. I'll try one day adding some salt and see whether that makes any difference.

Its not salt, but sugar. Mistake number 1 on this diet (and other raw food diets).
With a raw foods diet, there are no taste enhancers that increase your appetite;
once you have ingested enough calories to replenish your blood sugar, you are inclined to stop eating.
with a normal diet, you would continue till your stomach is full.
If you do the same on a raw foods diet, your stomach may be full, but as this food is less energy dense,
your energy needs will not be met yet, compared to the non-raw food diets.
Most likely, you dont feel very energetic, and you will not perform so well regarding swimming / cycling etc as before.
Naturally, a two weeks fast completely eats up all your spare energy, and after that, your body never had the opportunity to bulk up on glycogen.
Hence no spare glucose, hence the dizzy spells. (lack of glucose for the brain)

[dime]

Dime, why are you doing this diet?
Whats your motivation?

I want to live a better, healthier life, avoiding problems caused by bad nutrition as much as possible.
I don't have problems with acne (a pimple will appear here and there occasionally but I don't bother about it).

Why do you take all the protein in the morning, and not in the evening?

From personal experience it seems better in the morning. Before I started a few days ago, I was eating protein throughout the day, and in the evening it seemed somewhat harder to digest it. On empty stomach in the morning it seems to be digested very easily, I hardly feel like there's anything going on in the stomach.

So, if your glycogen depots were low in the morning (which is likely on this diet)
you will be using much protein for energy,
since you dont take sugars to prevent that.

Just did the math, and it makes sense. Sleep burns about 500 calories (although these calories are probably not just glucose). I eat 1-2 bananas just before going to sleep, and the liver has 400 calories, which sums to a bit above 500. Probably I could first eat some sugar/honey as soon as I wake up, and then continue with the protein? But in general I don't feel tired when I wake up. Later on I'm also not tired, but it could very well be that protein is used for energy.

One fruit per hour is too little on this diet, because you are not having big meals to compensate for this.
Instead, you should eat / drink something at least every half an hour.

Yes that was a rough estimate, sometimes if I feel more hungry/tired I eat more. But good that you mention, I'll try to break it to even more often.

If you are also physically active, you definitely need more...

Not at all, sitting all day long, swimming three times a week for an hour in the evening, and lifting weights for half an hour twice a week.

Its not salt, but sugar. Mistake number 1 on this diet (and other raw food diets).
With a raw foods diet, there are no taste enhancers that increase your appetite;
once you have ingested enough calories to replenish your blood sugar, you are inclined to stop eating.
with a normal diet, you would continue till your stomach is full.
If you do the same on a raw foods diet, your stomach may be full, but as this food is less energy dense,
your energy needs will not be met yet, compared to the non-raw food diets.
Most likely, you dont feel very energetic, and you will not perform so well regarding swimming / cycling etc as before.
Naturally, a two weeks fast completely eats up all your spare energy, and after that, your body never had the opportunity to bulk up on glycogen.
Hence no spare glucose, hence the dizzy spells. (lack of glucose for the brain)

Regarding swimming I actually perform much better (and this is after a few months break, usually at first it takes some time to get back in shape). Haven't tested cycling properly, it's still cold :)
But it could be very related to sugar -- I do swimming in the evening, and I usually don't have this problem in the evening. So I'll try increasing sugar intake and see how it goes.

[RRM]

Why do you take all the protein in the morning, and not in the evening?

From personal experience it seems better in the morning.

If you exercise in the evening, its best to take protein and sugars directly after exercise.
This way muscles will take up more amino acids for (re)construction purposes.

I could first eat some sugar/honey as soon as I wake up, and then continue with the protein?

Sure, you may consume some protein, but its really better to save most of the protein for after exercise.
That way more is used for (re)construction, and less for energy. (regardless of glycogen levels in the morning)

I'll try to break it to even more often.

Good, because that way you will be replenishing your blood glucose more accurately,
and that will make you more sensitive to your blood glucose levels,
which will make it easier for you to manage your energy intake properly.

But it could be very related to sugar -- I do swimming in the evening, and I usually don't have this problem in the evening.

Yes, maybe you are only lacking energy in the morning.
Please keep us posted, because proper energy management is very important.

[dime]

I think avocados are probably contributing to my orthostatic hypotension problem:

1. Avocados create a diabetes-like situation in the body (see viewtopic.php?f=20&t=2772 for background info)
2. Diabetes leads to dehydration by causing frequent urination
3. Even mild dehydration can cause orthostatic hypotension

For a week or so I haven't eaten any avocados, and the hypotension was pretty much gone. Just to test, this morning (4am) I ate half an avocado. From 9am on, I have eaten tomato/cucumber salad, orange and raisins, with olive oil. Right now (2pm) I'm having really strong hypotension, my head even hurts for a minute or so when I stand up. I'm drinking a lot of water, but doesn't seem to make it better (or maybe it is, I can't know unless I make another test where I limit drinking water).

[RRM]

Maybe you can try eating no avocadoes for a month, and see if your hypotension is totally gone?
Maybe, your body is not so good in 'working around' D-mannoheptulose.
So, in your case, i strongly advice against eating avocado in combination with other fruits (or sugar) to prevent elevated blood sugar levels.
Maybe you can also experiment with combining avocadoes with egg yolks, or eating avocadoes alone?
(not followed by fruits)

[dime]

I think I found the nearly ideal diet for me :) I'd like less oils/sugar but it pretty much covers all micro-nutrients so it should be fine.

Code: Select all

Protein analysis for:
 - Apples, raw, without skin (1500.0 grams)
 - Bananas, raw (500.0 grams)
 - Egg, yolk, raw, fresh (140.0 grams)
 - Fish, salmon, Atlantic, farmed, raw (50.0 grams)
 - Nuts, brazilnuts, dried, unblanched (10.0 grams)
 - Sugars, powdered (50.0 grams)
 - Oil, coconut (50.0 grams)
 - Oil, olive, Extra Virgin (30.0 grams)

 Amino acid   Amount (mg)   Relative   Normalized
--------------------------------------------------
   PHE+TYR        3220       128.8        146.4 
       VAL        2373        91.3        103.7 
       LYS        3133       104.4        118.7 
       TRP         426       106.6        121.2 
       THR        1658       110.5        125.6 
       MET         998        96.0        109.1 
       CYS         576       140.4        159.6 
       HIS        1356       135.6        154.1 
       LEU        3432        88.0        100.0  *
       ILE        1978        98.9        112.4 

Protein quality: 80.0%

I intentionally have a few extra grams of protein as I plan to start putting some muscles on from next week. The full nutritional analysis for these foods:

Code: Select all

General (94%)
===========================================
Energy               |  2676.1 kcal   103%
Protein              |    43.3 g      108%
Carbs                |   361.7 g      145%
  Fiber              |    33.2 g      111%
  Starch             |    27.6 g      276%
  Sugars             |   262.6 g      175%
Fat                  |   134.1 g       89%
Water                |  1780.7 g       66%

Vitamins (84%)
===========================================
Vitamin A            |  2933.8 IU      98%
Folate               |   319.6 µg      80%
B1 (Thiamine)        |     0.9 mg      71%
B2 (Riboflavin)      |     1.6 mg     124%
B3 (Niacin)          |     9.1 mg      57%
B5 (Pantothenic Acid)|     7.7 mg     154%
B6 (Pyridoxine)      |     3.2 mg     247%
B12 (Cyanocobalamin) |     4.3 µg     181%
Vitamin C            |   105.5 mg     117%
Vitamin D            |   305.2 IU     153%
Vitamin E            |    11.6 mg      77%
Vitamin K            |    31.0 µg      26%

Minerals (79%)
===========================================
Calcium              |   301.9 mg      75%
Copper               |     1.2 mg     129%
Iron                 |     6.8 mg      85%
Magnesium            |   253.1 mg      63%
Manganese            |     2.1 mg      92%
Phosphorus           |  1013.5 mg     145%
Potassium            |  3541.3 mg      75%
Selenium             |   287.4 µg     523%
Sodium               |   103.6 mg      52%
Zinc                 |     5.3 mg      48%

Amino Acids (100%)
===========================================
CYS                  |     0.6 g      192%
HIS                  |     1.4 g      194%
ILE                  |     2.0 g      141%
LEU                  |     3.4 g      126%
LYS                  |     3.1 g      184%
MET                  |     1.0 g      143%
PHE                  |     1.8 g      179%
THR                  |     1.7 g      166%
TRP                  |     0.4 g      142%
TYR                  |     1.4 g      143%
VAL                  |     2.4 g      130%

Lipids (84%)
===========================================
Saturated            |    64.7 g       81%
Monounsaturated      |    45.8 g      114%
Polyunsaturated      |    14.9 g       50%
  Omega-3            |     2.0 g      128%
  Omega-6            |    12.0 g       71%
Cholesterol          |  1546.5 mg     309%

Carbs/fat/protein ratio is 49/45/7. This is the base, according to energy needs I probably eat more/less apples.
I might eat a few lettuce leafs from time to time, it's pretty rich in vitamin K.
Apples with skin are much more loaded with vitamins and minerals than without skin, but also have double the fiber. Oh well, compromises. At least I get less pesticides with peeling :)

Most importantly, it costs 5eur/day, at least for now. Not that bad.

[abicahsoul]

That sounds great. Are you gonna just eat all that apple, or you plan on juicing some?
I personally might find it hard to eat 1,5 kg apples, but of course.. mixed with some bananas, coconut oil and sugar - not that bad.
If your kcal intake is only 2676 I guess you plan on being quite sedentary?
Otherwise I'm kind of curious about how you will feel if you work out on that kcal basis.. ?
Be interesting to hear more how it's going.

[dime]

Nah I don't have such a juicer. It's not that much actually, around 10 apples. Blended they go down pretty fine :D
I'll see how it goes with the calories this is just an estimate, but I think it should be accurate. I'll anyway exercise only once a week for around 20min, otherwise quite sedentary.
And I'll eat some organs from time to time (chicken heart/liver), this stuff is much cheaper than egg yolks or fish, but also very packed with micro-nutrients and cholesterol.

[RRM]

I might eat a few lettuce leafs from time to time, it's pretty rich in vitamin K.

He he
Thats why we use both sources in our nutrient calculator.
vitamin K in egg yolks is 0.7 mcg (1 datapoint) according to the USDA,
whereas it varies between 13 and 215 mcg (29 datapoints), averaging 147 mcg / 100 g. according to Souci, SW et al.

Vitamin K / 100 g. (Souci SW)
147 mcg egg yolk
29 mcg kiwi
20 mcg avocado
14 mcg strawberries
12 mcg plum
9 mcg hazelnuts
5 mcg mackerel
4 mcg orange
3 mcg grapes
3 mcg peach
2 mcg apple
1 mcg banana

[dime]

Oh cool, that's good to know! And if I remember correctly, vitamin K from animal sources is supposed to be somehow better than from plants (there are a couple of variants of vitamin K).

Edit: yes just checked, plants have vitamin K1 which needs to be activated to K2 by the bacteria in our digestive system. Egg yolks and other organs already contain the activated K2 version.

[RRM]

Exactly.
Here's a thread about vitamin K.

[Oscar]

Carbs/fat/protein ratio is 49/45/7.

This is the energy ratio, yes. Looks like mine.
The amount carb : fat ratio is 2.7 : 1.

[dime]

One slight change though, I decided to eat the egg whites after all. That would be my munch food. I just don't like wasting them and the little extra protein is welcome.

In order to minimize the avidin effects I'll eat the yolks in the evening and then I eat the egg whites in the morning. There's 10-12 hours in between the yolks/whites, during which I'm pretty sure both the biotin in the yolks and the avidin in the egg whites will get digested without any interactions.

I just tried this morning, and all I can say is egg whites blended with banana and apple makes a pretty damn tasty shake :D Also they seem to get digested extremely quickly as there's no fat, so they are good as a morning food (while yolks are perfect before bed).

[RRM]

Yes, thats okay if you are not susceptible to acne.