I’m putting up another intermediary post just because I need to. I’m hard at work on veg vs meat part II, but I’ve had so many interruptions due to promotion of the new book that I’m having trouble being able to focus on the post at hand.

I’m getting a lot of comments on these last posts from people who have read our new book and have questions. I don’t want this blog to transmogrify into the blog for the 6-Week Cure, so after much consultation with the bride, we’ve decided to start another blog for the 6-Week Cure that we’ll both moderate. Problem is, we’re still in the throes of getting the current blog and website as it should be, so it may be a day or two before we get the thing up. On the 6-Week Cure site we will post the schedules for any media appearances and book signings we will be forced to do, so anyone interested can keep up there. We will also answer the questions that come in and use the questions to develop an FAQ. And we will use the blog to disseminate any messages or info we need to get out that is specific to readers of the new book.

Speaking of which…a journalist from First magazine is interested in talking to women who have done the 6-Week Cure, and who would be willing to give testimonials and allow their names and photos to be used in a magazine article. If you are interested, you can contact Lisa Maxbauer at lisamaxb (at) yahoo (dot) com. You can check out her Twitter site at twitter.com/FIRSTmagLISA as well.

I’ll have the meat-eater post up as soon as I’ve got a little consolidated time to finish it.

And the post immediately after the meat-eater post will be the post on our change-the-world project MD and I have been working on for a year and a half.

Feel free to comment on this post about what you would like to see on the 6-Week Cure blog.  Thanks.

216 Comments

  1. Definitely FAQ section. Today I tried to make the protein shake you recommend a bit differently. I put two cups of flavored ice into it. What a differece two cups of ice made. Instead of regular somewhat milk shake consistency it was almost like an ice cream or pudding. It was the same ingredients but tasted more like a meal and a treat rather than liquid shake. Makes a difference!

  2. I have noticed that many people, myself included, are wondering if DAG oil can be substituted for any other oil? On Jimmy Moore forum tons of people are asking about it. How do you feel about replacing DAG oil with fish oil or rich omega 3 flax oil. I know it would probably not a make whole of lot of difference in the weight loss equation but many people feel like sticking exactly to your program the way you subscribed. It is a human nature to be led once you are being led and since you are leading the herd, people want to oblige to your book to every single last dot. But again DAG oil question seems to be the universal so far.

    DAG is a different kind of oil. There is no substitute. You substitute a tablespoon of the DAG for a tablespoon of one of the other oils you might use. If you can’t get the DAG, then just use your regular oil. Of all the components of the program, the DAG is probably the least important and can easily be eliminated. A number of studies have shown, however, that adding just a little DAG can boost weight loss, so we added it in because we used it ourselves because we wanted to do everything we could do in the 6 weeks we had to get ourselves ready for our show.

  3. Dr. Mike this is great news! I’m reading the book as fast as I can and have already started the program. At this point I have no idea what I’d like to see on the blog but I’m sure I’ll have an opinion shortly 😉

    I am so excited about this … the book, the program AND the blog.

  4. It’s good to see pics of you both at work in your mobile radio studios! It’s much nicer than the make-up and hot lighting of television. Hope it still going well.

    Been reviewing your Twitter posts and have a question: is Visceral Fat Diameter (VFD) the same – or closely similar – to Sagittal Adipose Diameter (SAD)?

    I have Googled extensively to find any studies, with measurements, which relate supine SAD to standing SAD, and supine SAD numbers to survival pecentages. Any pointers?

    While awaiting Amazon’s delivery of 6week cure, I downloaded an eReader version.

    Congratulations on the manner in which you have integrated the narratives of all the interactions of all the hormonal axes. It is the best I have come across.

    For myself, I have decided to go non-dairy for weeks 1 & 2, mainly by using coconut milk and ghee.
    By going to water only liquids I seem to have found I have some caffeine dependency as evidenced by headaches in first few days, now disappeared.

    As far as what I would to see on on 6 week cure:
    i) more on SAD, visceral fat and inflammation
    ii) the influence of dairy on slowing fat loss

    Thank you both again. Great read and advice.

    In the study I posted on Twitter, the VFD was determined by ultrasound, and it was the distance between the inner front of the abdominal wall and the inner surface of the rear of the inner tube. The SAD measures the front to back from the outside. With the ultrasound measurement you don’t have to do it standing and lying because you’re measuring the visceral fat directly. By doing the standing and lying SAD, you’re measuring visceral fat indirectly.

    We purposely didn’t put any figures in because those wouldn’t be accurate because of the different heights and different degrees of obesity of the many different people who use them. Basically, if you don’t see much of a drop in SAD when you measure supine as compared to standing, you’ve got a fair amount of visceral fat. When you really see the difference – as some readers have reported in the comments – you’ll see an increase in the difference between standing and lying after you’ve been on the program for a bit, which tells you that you’re losing visceral fat.

    Your requests for other material are noted.

  5. I am SO excited that you are going to have a blog dedicated specifically to the 6-Week Cure! I received my book today, and am sure that I will have some questions/comments.

    Your book couldn’t have come at a better time… Starting out at 215 pounds on a 5′ 2″ frame, I reached my goal weight of 125 pounds in November 2007 by following the 2002 Atkins plan, and maintained that weight for over a year. Alas, my body has changed dramatically in the past 10 months. I’ll be 50 on my next birthday, and am in full-blown menopause. I’ve gotten sloppy with my eating and I have re-gained 25 pounds that I just can’t seem to get rid of. I had just about resigned myself to give up the quest, when I saw an ad for your book. I plan to give it my all, and can’t wait to see what happens. Again, thanks for your book, and for giving me hope. I’m sure that you’ll be hearing from me, again.

  6. You can’t get the enova oil – DAG oil in Australia. Can you use something else as an alternative or can you just miss it out?

  7. Am on the 6-week cure. At day 8, my body rebelled against the whey shakes (the runs), and I had to go on meat-only for a day. Back on shakes, only with rice protein. I’ve never had that good a relationship with dairy, and I suspect my body is just rebelling. At one week + 2 days, down 1-1/2 inches at waist and 1 inch at hips–and NO POUNDS. The scale hasn’t moved a bit.

    Sometimes when you start eating a lot of good quality protein, you build muscle as you lose fat. Since muscle weighs it compensates scale-wise for the fat you lose. You can tell your losing fat by your weight loss around the waist – the scale will catch up.

  8. Though I haven’t read your new book, and likely won’t for at least a good while, as I’m neither middle aged nor have the corresponding middle, I’ve recommended your book to my folks simply based on the tremendous clout you have developed, in my mind, through your blogging. I’m certain they will benefit from it when (and if) they buy it.

    I definitely think the new blog would be a good thing. Folks like me could continue tuning in here, and those like my parents could find the support they were looking for on your 6-weeks blog.

    Looking forward to the breaking news, and the “Calvin and Hobbes” reference definitely made me chuckle.

    Regards,
    Bryce

  9. Among other things, I’d like to know more about the function of the supplements – especially silymarin, a-lipoic acid, and the mega-dose of biotin.

    Noted. We can put that up on the new blog so it will all be in one place.

  10. Many of us are really looking forward to this new forum. In your book you mention 2500mg of Leucine in the shakes. EAS makes a protein powder that contains just that and more. It is EAS Premium Protein Stage 3 Blend. Leucine is hard to find all by itself and if this is an acceptable product, it will save your readers a lot of running around. I got mine from Costco.

    It is acceptable.

  11. faq/kb section is good, and maybe an amazon shopping cart area with links to recommended products that coincide with your book? the biggest problem with free-range diets is getting all of the ingredients in one place. pop the book in the cart with the whole “care package” and voila: amazon commission! Doesn’t amazon have a way to make lists?

    Noted. Thanks for the suggestion.

  12. Although it doesn’t bear directly on recent posts, I’m quite excited about something I saw recently while watching a nature documentary on DVD. The series was David Attenborough’s Life of Mammals (highly recommended by the way), and the scene that caught my eye was the filming of a so-called ‘Persistence Hunt’ by San tribesmen in Africa.

    Over the past couple of years I’ve become thoroughly persuaded of the value and history of meat/fat eating by humans and their ancestors (largely thanks to this blog), but some aspects of the theory ring truer than others, and one area I’ve always felt was a little unclear was the issue of how pre- tool-making humans would have got their meat. Scavenging, sure. But there’s a lot of competition by ferocious carnivores and the prime bits could seldom have got left for long in the wild. Let’s just say that the leap from miserable scavenger to skilled spear-wielding hunter always struck me as a pretty huge one.

    So I was intensely interested when I saw that there was another possibility – a kind of missing link.

    Out-sprinting and bringing down any wild quadruped is clearly out of the question. But tracking one and wearing it down by sheer endurance seems, surprisingly, to be entirely within the capabilities of an anatomically modern human (albeit a fit one!). In the footage, when the hunter strikes the fatal blow with his spear, it’s clear than a group of men with sharpened flints or sticks could then quite easily dispatch the unfortunate animal (though it would have been messy).

    So, using no technology whatsoever, only skill and a heightened sensitivity to the though processes of the animal, the best hunter in the tribe could supply a mountain of meat, with a huge head-start on the other predators/scavengers in the vicinity by being present at the death of his quarry.

    As luck would have it, the footage is available on youtube here. It’s about 8 minutes.

    If anyone is unable to view the video I’ll be happy to provide a summary of the contents.

    Thanks for the interesting links.

  13. A dedicated blog is a great idea. I actually started one for tracking my own progress, and was considering starting a Facebook group — kind of a like a support group, but in a good way! An official 6-Week Cure blog would be wonderful.

    I’d like to see a place to post success stories, before and after pictures, creative ways that people have modified those protein shakes, etc.

    I’m also interested in hearing more about that strange ab exercise. I’ve been trying it, but I’m not sure I’m doing it right.

    Thanks for the suggestions. We’ll try to get them incorporated.

  14. This is a fantastic idea! I do have questions but wasn’t sure where to ask them. I’m loving 6-Week Cure so far. 5 days and I’ve already dropped 5.6 lbs and my clothes are already feeling loose.

    Glad to hear it.

  15. I kinda feel bad because that was the exact reason I came online tonight! (to ask a question about the 6 week cure). I personally would like a place for people to put their stats – how much they are losing every week or at the end of the 6 weeks; I find it very encouraging and it keeps me motivated. I started last Wed morning, right after reading the book and buying the needed things, and as of this Wed morning I lost 8 pounds! (31 year old female with 40-50 pounds all over fat).

    My main question is – can we stay at certain weeks longer, or is it better in your opinion to progress through the 3 stages as in your book? Does it yield the most weight loss doing it exactly as in the book compared to staying at certain stages? Because I would love to stay with the 3/1 plan as I am loving the shakes (especially with a half can diet tangerine pop or half can raspberry pop with 1/2 cup frozen strawberries) and don’t know if I can make myself eat meat 3 times a day, it’s hard forcing myself to eat a whole portion once a day (I know, I’m weird I guess as I am not fond of meat). But if it would yield faster weight loss going through the stages, then I will try and force my way through it.

    And you had shake suggestions with the addition of strawberries but you didn’t say anything about limiting it to once a day or anything; is it okay to use the fruit twice or even three times a day?

    Very fabulous book by the way!

    Thanks. There is no problem staying on the shakes for longer. The fruit is okay, too, as long as you’re continuing to lose. If you run into a plateau, I would back off of them a little.

    When we get the new blog up, we’ll figure a way that people can post their results. That’s a good idea.

  16. I have the book; I’m reading it; I’m getting ready to start it when I get back from Paris in mid-October. Any thing those of us who have been following the Protein Power Life Plan for several years should do differently? I.e., different supplements or lack thereof?

    Thanks for all you do! Paula

    MD here. Mike asked me to answer a few for him this afternoon while he’s otherwise occupied. The 6WC is quite structured, by comparison, but it’s intended as a tool to get a quick result (that should be motivating to all) and then to move to more of a PPLP existence for maintenance. The focus of the first two weeks is on taking the load off the liver and encouraging it to dump fat droplets from the interior of the hepatocytes (liver cells) to improve its function. There are some newly recommended supplemental nutrients that help in that. Enjoy Paris. We’re quite jealous!

  17. I’m glad you will have a forum for diet/book questions – it’s that personal touch of actually getting timely answers to specific questions that helps to create a lifestyle change rather than simply another diet book on the shelf. My first suggestion follows out of the previous thread discussing the inclusion of recipes: how about a simply presented rundown of the protein/fat/carb/calorie ranges for each phase of The Cure? I was able to figure most of the the carb limits for each phase, but I had to read very carefully for that information in The Cure since it was presented more in recipe format. Those of us already on board are more used to choosing our own menus based on given parameters.

    Along with that, some simple bullet points about the main goals of each phase would be helpful. Again, it was careful re-reading that reiterated that weeks 3 and 4 were about increasing calories to fire up the metabolism. I think I may have been reading more for the new information and wound up skimming too much (my bad!).

    Down 7 lbs now – whoo-hoo!

    The point of giving a selection of specific meal plans and a list of allowable substitutions for fruits and vegetables was to take the guesswork (and need to count carbs or anything else) out of the first couple of weeks of the plan. You’ll see that in weeks 5 and 6, where the aim is to move toward maintenance, it’s pretty well spelled out for how much of what kind of carb to add. Glad you’re doing well!

  18. Looking forward to the new blog. I would volunteer for the interview, but I’ve only just started (today is Day 17 for me). Also, I don’t twitter so I’d have no clue how to get in touch with this woman.

    That’s her email, so you could contact her via email.

  19. The 6 week cure blog is a great idea. I’m on day 7 of the diet and am a bit discouraged. I’ve lost about 3 pounds and am wondering if the half cup of berries in the shakes are too many carbs for me. Also, I’ve had times where eating the 3 shakes has been hard and I’m wondering if I should lessen the protein powder in them. The FAQ would be very helpful. I’m so early into the diet that I won’t give up hope and the body re-compositioning could be going on now (I hope!). I haven’t lost any inches yet but if I get stuck it would be great to have tips/feedback from others to help me along with the process. Thanks a lot, the book is fantastic with so much new and helpful information!

    (MD here– Mike asked me to help him answer a few of these comments this afternoon while he is otherwise occupied.) Hey, congratulations, not discouragement! Three pounds is a half-gallon of fat volume. And a half-gallon of fat lost in a week shouldn’t be a disappointment. It could certainly be that 1/2 cup of berries (about 5 to 7 grams of added carb) three times a day is too much added carb for you personally. Getting in the requisite amount of protein is key, particularly the leucine content. If you’re having trouble getting in the three shakes, then when you need to do so, divide a sufficient amount of protein (the amount you’d have taken in in 3 shakes) into two ‘meatier’ shakes, so that you’ll not be lacking in leucine. And you’re correct that you may be re-composing, too.

  20. Maybe I’m not looking hard enough at the resource section of the book – but I am having trouble finding an easy supplement list (or multi vitamin) that I can take to cover what is recommended for the first two weeks of the plan (pg 110). I really don’t want to have to go and buy 23 different supplements.

    We didn’t provide a list of specific multivitamin products, just some general guidelines. Just about any good multi product will cover the bases. You certainly don’t need to go out and buy 23 different products. Find a multi that comes close and be done with it.

  21. Drs. Eades:

    Kudos!! Timing is perfect. My “retirement” occupation is as a Health and Exercise Psychologist and I operate within that context a private strength training studio which follows the model of Dr. Doug McGuff, Fred Hahn, John Wood and others (with an initial certification from Ken Hutchins). My business partner, a former elite gymnast, and my wife, also a psychologist, and I have all decided it’d be a great idea to model the impact of the diet on our clients. While we three are in pretty doggone good shape, I have several strength training and one clinical client (with ankylosing spondylitis) who could clearly benefit from your protocol. In fact, two strength training clients have just gotten your book and are pumped about doing the protocol. Neither has had any success whatever with anything else before, so, it’ll be a good test with them. I also ask my wife and business partner if they’d be up for posting pics.

    Question: my wife’s clinical schedule has her in her Philly office x2 days per week where there is simply no option for her to make smoothies, short of carrying ice with her, along with the other ingredients in packets, buying a small fridge and putting in a blender in her waiting room 🙂 Any other suggestions?

    take care,

    tony
    H. Anthony Semone, PhD

    She has a few options that I see. She could do a shake in the morning, a shake right after work for with another for dinner and have her protein meal at lunch those two days. The other thing is to make the shakes without the ice by simply shaking them in a shaker with cold water. Or she could make the shakes at home in the morning and put them into two thermoses, which MD and I have done. The shake separates a little, so the thermos has to be shaken to get it back together. The thermos option isn’t perfect, but it does work.

    Good luck. Keep me posted.

  22. Congratulations on your new book! May God bless your efforts (and those of Mary Dan) to help others lead healthier and “thinner” lives. I’m sure whatever you write on the blog will be of great interest to all of us. Love this blog!!

  23. Dr. Eades: What about DAG oil(Enova) for general everyday use, frequency, etc?

    Thanks,

    I don’t see any harm in it, but we certainly don’t use it as an everyday oil. And I wouldn’t use it for cooking.

  24. Dr. Mike, I’ve sent my e-mail in to First. I’m just starting week four as one of the group who agreed to provide pictures and testimonials. I couldn’t be happier. I’m never hungry, I feel great and I just squeezed into a pair of pants that definately didn’t fit at all when I started. My husband, who is sort of slapping at the program, is still doing shakes at least once a day because of the convenience and because they really satisfy his appetite. Both of us are pretty big eaters so not being hungry seems miraculous.

    One clarification that you can make on the new blog is that eating based on the suggested recipes is just that, a suggestion. However, people will need some idea of how low to keep the carbs. When I don’t follow the recipe suggestions exactly, I do my best to approximate an appropriate substitution.

    I’m delighted to hear you are doing so well. You have done a good job – probably a better job than we did – of clarifying the situation with the recipes. They are truly that: suggestions. We structured them for those – and their are many – who simply want specific recipes and plans. Those who are creative can modify these recipes or create their own keeping the protein and carb counts about the same.

  25. This morning the hardback 6WeekCure arrived, courtesy of Amazon and Par Avion AIR, from Auckland, New Zealand. I could have received it on Monday but was in Budapest; the order was processed on 8th September, so it was just ONE week in transit.

    I am impressed, as I had been given an expected delivery date of 4th October.

    I do like the the cover, the colours and the feel of the embossed title.

    It is so nice to have a proper book to use, rather than the eBook as rendered by ePub. You cannot flip through the pages or look at the index of an eBook. I’m not yet about to buy a Kindle or Sony eReader.

    Proper books are just marvelous!

    I’m glad you got the book. Hope you enjoy it and that it was worth the hassle to get it.

  26. I think this is an excellent idea. I know I have little things I’ve been wondering about, but I hate to keep going off topic in your other posts to ask questions about the program. I start the 6 week cure on Sunday (first I wanted to clear the refrigerator of some things I can’t have for the next 2-4 weeks). Even better, my husband asked to do it too, even though he’s not really overweight, so I won’t have the distraction of foods for him around that I can’t have.

    Good luck with it. Keep me posted.

  27. I would certainly enjoy a 6 Week Cure blog, but I fear you’d be pressed later on to write a ‘life after the 6 week cure’ blog. Where will it all end? I’m reluctant to ask for any more than you’re giving us now, free of charge. You both do this community a great service.

    On another note, I went to the web site of a large Canadian book seller, and found out that their local store has 12 copies of The Cure in stock. I went there to buy it a couple days post release, but could not find it on the shelf, so I asked a clerk to check on it. She went to the storeroom at the back and reappeared, book in hand. “We haven’t put them out yet,” she said. I bought the book and made a mental note to check back and did so several days later. Still not on the shelves! I called the manager to let her know they are losing profits and delaying a service to humanity.

    Finally, I am fully compliant, 6 days in, and 6 pounds lighter. But the caffeine thing has me beat. Without coffee, I feel like someone is driving a rusty railway spike straight through my head. I had to squint most of day 2, and fell off the wagon. Other than that, great work Drs.!

    Thanks for riding herd on the book stores for us. I hope they ultimately get the books on the shelves.

    Did you try switching to Americanos for your coffee? It’s only half the caffeine. And I think decaf Americano is good whereas I can’t stand decaf drip coffee. Hang in there.

  28. I have the book – and have been utilizing it for almost 2 weeks – with excellent results. I do use the egg in the shakes (i agree it seems to make them stay with you longer). I use all the supplements (my normal multivitamin met or exceeded your recommendations). I added potassium as you suggested. I added l-leucine (although I will admit that in order to buy powder I ended up with what i believe will be a LIFETIME supply even if I eat this way forever! lol) 🙂 But i do not use the DAG oil – and have continued with coconut oil. Other than that, I’m following the shakes and routines pretty darn closely. Feel great, have lost inches and pounds – and this is from someone who is Insulin Resistant and has been in a stall (even though not cheating and I do exercise several days a week). I think it’s a good solid book that makes sense. I am sure it was a balance to write it – not to go too far into all the LC principles (and bore many of us out of our minds with redundancy) – but to give enough to get the reader started and interested. I think that a little clarity for some folks on the menus (more guidance in an organized manner) of how to “substitute” would be helpful (have read a number of complaints that seem to be mainly from those less familiar with low carb eating). I also think you might want to stress or highlight that if you have a lot more weight to use, how to cycle from week one to week two for a longer period. I think that needs to leap off the page *I found it, but again, lots of people seem to think “It’s not for me because I can’t lose all my weight in 6 weeks” – stress that! People seem to miss that.
    I enjoyed the book and the “science” behind it. And most of all…. it’s working for me at this point.

    Good for you. I’m happy to hear you’re doing so well. You’ve made excellent suggestions. We’ll figure how to incorporate them in the 6-Week Cure blog when we get it up.

  29. Hmm, well I’m glad DAG oil is the most disposable component as none of the supermarkets in my area (at least none of those I have checked, which is most of the nearby ones) carry it, including the one chain that is listed as having it on the enovaoil website. I only found one supermarket that even admitted to having heard of it and said they used to carry it but had discontinued it. And I’m not really willing to mail order it at this point, especially with the unfavorable omega 6/omega 3 ratio I found for it on another website. I don’t generally use liquid oils of any sort – though I do love coconut oil.

    On the other hand I am on my 7th day of the Cure right now and so far have not lost so much as an ounce or an inch, and I’m still starving almost all day long, which gets old fast. Who knows what DAG oil might do? But I’ve tried all the other things that say they boost metabolism and promote fat loss and don’t lose an ounce with them either, so I do get a little leery of something like DAG oil that I can find so little information on.

    But I do love the idea of a blog devoted to it to see what others experiences are.

    Something is obviously going on here if you are not responding to the program whatsoever. I doubt that DAG will help, so I wouldn’t waste a lot of time looking for it. I would suggest that you get worked up by a bariatric specialist to see if there is some underlying problem thwarting your weight loss efforts.

  30. Dr Mike, can you please cover vitamin C hypothesis in relation to essentially meat only diet ? I know that raw meat diet is supposedly anti-scorbutic. But how about cooked meat ? The only info out there is on raw paleo blogs. Is there any hard science on raw meat ?

    Lightly cooking it is fine. Say, medium rare. Stefansson lived on fresh meat for a year without developing scurvy.

  31. I’ve had so many questions about the Enova oil (the brand name for DAG) that I figured the most efficient means to deal with them is by a comment myself. I want to hit the high points here, but I plan a longer post in due course.

    First, the Enova oil is a minor part of the program. It’s basically provides maybe a little painless boost in weight loss by replacing one oil you are already using with another. A number of studies have shown that replacing salad oils and other fats with an equal amount of DAG (the generic for Enova) brings about weight loss, especially of visceral fat. When MD and I were trying to crank up our own rate of loss within the 6 weeks we had to do it, we added a little Enova to our shakes and to our salads. Not a lot – maybe a tablespoon here or there. We don’t know if it helped our loss or not because we had no controls, but we wanted to do everything we could to hasten visceral fat riddance, so we used it. And we used it because the medical literature was clear that it worked and that it was harmless. If you’re worried about using it or if you’re having difficulty finding it, I wouldn’t stress over it. I don’t think it will make a huge difference. MD and I discussed whether we should put it in the book at all, but since we used it on our own regimen, we decided to go ahead and put it in. If you decide not to use it, you don’t need to substitute another oil for it. Olive oil or coconut oil or any of the other oils you might use won’t have the unique properties of DAG, so it’s pointless to substitute.

    If you don’t live in the United States, I don’t know where you can find DAG oil or if it is even available in your country. (We’ve finished the editing for the UK version of the book and the DAG was removed from that edition because it isn’t available in the UK.) If you do live in the US, you can find it in many grocery stores. Here is a list from the Enova website.

    Just so you’ll all know in case you’re wondering, MD and I don’t have any affiliation with Enova or the company that makes it. We don’t own the stock, we don’t profit in any way by our recommendation.

  32. Is the 2500 mg of Leucine in the shakes a total amount per shake? The protein powder I have already lists 1300mg per scoop, so a two-scoop shake would already be at 2600mg. I’m assuming this means I don’t need to add any more, but I figured I ought to ask and be certain.

    See my earlier comment on l-leucine.

  33. We’ve had a number of questions about the l-leucine. The medical literature says that from 8 to 12 grams of l-leucine are required to maintain lean body mass while in weight loss mode. When MD and I did the program ourselves, we made sure we got at least 12 grams per day. A number of people have written wondering if they should count the l-leucine that comes in their protein powders because a number of off the shelf powders do have a fair amount of l-leucine in them.

    If you calculate that the l-leucine already in your protein powders adds up to 12 g per day, then you don’t need any additional. If not, you may need to supplement with some. To be on the conservative side, you can figure that you’re getting about 0.5 g of l-leucine in each ounce of meat you’re eating. If your protein powder is made of whey and there is no l-leucine listed on the label, you can figure that about 10 percent of the whey will be l-leucine. So, if you are using a 30 g scoop, you will be getting about 3 g there.

    Just make sure that you’re getting at least 12 g per day from all sources.

  34. Question: Does it matter if I spread my shakes and one meal into 6 take ins instead of 3? In another words does it matter if I drink my shakes three times or use it througout the day sipping it all day along. I would still be getting all 180 grams of protein. I found it a bit easier for me to handle protein shakes if I drink them when my body wants it the most instead of clocking it. I might be in minority of people on this one. But I for one get very busy in the day time with two jobs and hunger is simply not an issue. But when I hit home then when I get extreamly vulnerable. I am just curious if all together the nutrion wise equation wouldnt change, would it matter?

    I doubt that it would make a huge difference either way. Do whatever works best for you.

  35. Any harm in taking 24 g of leucine per day? I am using a protein powder with with 2620 mg per scoop and I am using three scoops per shake plus an egg, three times a day that adds up to 23.5 g.

    It seems like you are using a lot of protein all together. But I can’t say without knowing your size.

  36. Huge fan of the Drs. Eades, always try to read every post….for anyone having trouble locating L-LEUCINE…TRUE PROTEIN sells leucine in bulk by the pound….here’s the link…http://www.trueprotein.com…hope this helps
    Keep up the great work everyone 🙂

  37. Pre-ordered your book through Amazon — it just arrived. Am only at roughly page 40 and want to complement you on the material on fats, hormones and physiology — what a brilliant condensation of the very best science!

    I’m blown away with awe …

    Thanks for the kind words.

  38. I also love the idea of a 6wc dedicated blog! I agree with several ideas so far.
    – Information about supplements, and how critical each one is in the scheme of the program.
    – A priority list of which elements of the plan are most important, and which are less, like the DAG oil being less important and the Leucine being very important. It would also be great to tie this in with a few low priority things to skimp on for the person with a really tight budget.
    – I would definitely love to see a video of the abdominal exercise at some point. (Maybe Mark Sisson would write a guest post for you and share his experience with us!)
    Thank you for being so accessible and generous with your knowledge!! You are making a big difference in the lives of many!

    Thanks. We’re trying. And thanks for the suggestions.

  39. Dr. Eades, can you weigh in on whey vs egg white protein powder? You mentioned that a number of your clients got stalled on dairy, which is one reason weeks 3 and 4 are dairy free. So how about the egg white protein powder for weeks 1 and 2?
    Also, you come out against aspartame, but splenda is ok. Would you say that stevia is better than splenda? Or is there no difference health-wise? Or are there just not the kind of studies you would find definitive on the subject? A lot of folks seem concerned about both aspartame and splenda.
    Looking forward to the FAQ. Thank you so much for trying to keep up with all these different blog posts and topics.

    I think egg white protein is fine for the first two weeks if you want to go that way. I haven’t read anything scientifically that has turned me away from aspartame, but I have had a few patients who had pretty severe reactions to it. For that reason, I avoid it. I don’t mind Splenda because we don’t really absorb Splenda, but now that it’s becoming more widely available, I prefer stevia as long as it’s not bitter. I’ve never had a patient have an untoward reaction to Splenda – that’s not to say that there aren’t people who have problems with it, just that I haven’t seen them. Not the same with aspartame. I had a number of patients and even a doctor who worked with us who had terrible reactions to aspartame.

  40. Dr Mike, I look forward to reading your next post which is supposed to reveal to all of us mere mortals how you and your truly beautiful wife are planning to change the world. For some reasons I have this intuitive notion that it will have something to do with opening up chain restaurants that will feature low carb cuisine.

    Are you gearing up for a new football season yet?

    It won’t be the next post, but the one after next. I can tell you for absolutely positively certain that we’re not opening a chain of restaurants of any kind. I value my sanity too much for that.

    Football season started off great. I won both Monday night games. Got the Bills at +13.5 and the Raiders at +11 and won both of them. Wish I could be that lucky for the rest of the season.

  41. Hi, I am already quite muscular for a woman with strong legs and tend to be square and dense under the best circumstances (way too much for my liking!) Will all these tools to gain muscle or at least not loose muscle not make it worse for me?

    Still waiting for my book, but getting some ideas from the blog in the mean time, I hope to be up and running by next week (-:

    If you want to lose a little muscle along with the fat, don’t add the leucine to the program.

  42. Seems like a lot of protein powders have more than 15-18 g per scoop. The one I bought has 25 g, for example. With the new blog, could you post some height/weight guidelines for the amount of protein to use? I am 5’10”, 205 right now. I am thinking 2 scoops per shake (50 g) is either “enough” or “too much”.

    Two scoops should be plenty. The protein power we use contains 18 g per scoop, and I use 2.5 scoops while MD uses 1.5.

  43. Why can’t there be a new section over on the Protein Power FORUM for all these questions? The blog really isn’t a good venue for Q and A. JMNSHO.

    And for folks who didn’t know there was a forum … check the top of THIS page for the link.

    2 days on the cure and down 3.8 pounds already. 🙂

    I guess there can be, but I don’t have anything to do with the forum, so the folks there will have to do it.

  44. I’m so glad to hear that you’re kicking off a 6Week blog and thank you for your generosity answering questions here.

    I’m kicking off day 4 and have to say that my blood sugar has been on the floor since I started- I’m cranky, shaky, and dumb (keep forgetting things, etc). I’m young- ish (34), healthy (ideal blood pressure and cholesterol numbers), and have about 10 lbs to lose. I’ve lost about a pound a day- so make that 7 lbs.

    I’m a big fan of your work and have been following the cleanse to the letter (in other words, I’m not looking to complain or fail, I’m really committed to following through)- but I can’t stumble around, starving, in a fog for 2 weeks- help! What should I do?

    What is the science behind so few calories in the first 2 weeks? Doesn’t that kind of deprivation give your body famine signals and shut down the metabolism?

    With so little to lose, you may have to crank up your protein and fat (ie your calories) to be able to sufficiently support your blood sugar. An additional scoop of protein, for instance, and a bit more cream or coconut milk in your shakes. A slightly larger portion of meat at your meal than your weight would predict. A couple of weeks, with low calories but plenty of fat and protein for feeding you at the ‘cellular level’ shouldn’t be enough to trigger starvation responses. The number of calories a day in the first two weeks obviously varies with the size of the person doing it, but appears to come in somewhere between about 1250 and 1500 for most people, which is enough to forestall ‘starvation.’

  45. Dr. Mike,

    Regarding the note on page 112 that says “federal oversight agencies in charge have banned collecting plasma via apherisis (machine separation of the plasma from the red blood cells” from this group of women” [meaning women who have been pregnant].

    I just dontated blood this past week and wondered about giving platelets (via the apheresis). I asked at the drive and no one knew about it or had even heard of TRALI. So, when I got home I called the Red Cross. They didn’t know, but took my name and number for a doctor to call me back.

    He just called to say that using platelets from women who have been pregnant is NOT YET banned. He said they’re studying it. He also said that if you have had two pregnancies, you probably have only around a 20% chance of having the antibodies in question.

    He also said that they’re looking into different ways to test for the antibodies and for a different kind of machine separation that will not rule out donations from women who have been pregnant.

    At least that’s what he told me. I just don’t want to dissuade women from at least trying to give blood and platelets.

    I’m sure you can addres this much more clearly than I did. And maybe your sources are better than mine. Regardless, I just wanted to bring this up.

    MD here: In California, where I last gave blood and where I have done apheresis in the past without mention, in fact, with encouragement, I was told about this and barred from giving anything other than whole blood or red cells. The donation personnel told me that this is a federal mandate, but apparently it’s being selectively implemented and enforced. California, of course, being the nation’s leader in early adoption of any onerous regulation, jumped on board right away. Our kids in Texas faced no such proscription. Our intention was not to dissuade women from giving whatever they’re able to give, and in fact we encouraged them to give whole blood (which was the only plasma the donation center would take from me or any other woman who had ever been pregnant for even a short period of time.) Rather the footnote was just to forewarn them that this issue may crop up when they go to donate. It’s good to know that some states don’t feel the need to panic about it and I feel sure, since the proscription would eliminate nearly half of the potential donors for platelets, the powers that be in blood donation are scrambling to find more sensitive and specific tests that will determine who really might pose a risk for the recipient.

  46. Dr. Mike, I have my book on order and am really looking forward to reading it. In the meantime, I am gradually cutting down on my caffeine to avoid the headaches when I start.
    I know you have commented extensively on the Enova oil, but I do have one question that I have not seen addressed. I found Enova but I noticed that it is made from soy oil and canola oil. There seems to be a lot of controversy about both soy and canola– especially soy. Many low carbers avoid it like the plague. Can you comment on soy oil? It is in many of our foods. And how about soy flour? Do you ever recommend its use?
    Thanks

    MD here: Mike has answered a couple of comments on DAG (which is what Enova is) and why we would recommend it (in a very small amount, by the way) as an adjunct for this program, so scroll the comments and you’ll find that response of his. As to soybean oil, we have long discouraged its use, primarily because the methods of processing result in a lot of trans fat content, which holds true even if it doesn’t say ‘partially hydrogenated soybean oil’ on the label. Soybean oil is widely used in processed foods in the US. As for soy flour; we’re not fans of it either. The processing needed to make the product’s taste and smell less objectionable also damages it and a whole wealth of research points to health risks associated with consuming processed soy protein, despite it’s being touted by the pillars of received medical wisdom as ‘healthful’. Therefore, we would never recommend its use without a disclaimer. A good resource for more in depth answers to questions about soy is the Weston A Price Foundation.

  47. a couple of random notes here..

    I got ordered the enova oil from their website, got here in two days. I think I’ll try making mayonaise with the stuff…

    I’m wondering just how dangerously I am living by adding raw eggs that are not pasteurized, and I didnt bother to boil? They are organic, free-range, omega-3, eggs, but as far as I can tell, they have not been pastuerized.

    I’ll be blogging soon on my attempts at the 6 week cure, off to a raggedy start, the no caffeine thing being the hardest. I cut down to one cup, and tried to go cold turkey today. To paraprhase Tom Naughton quoting Home Simpson, going cold turkey isn’t delicious as it sounds….

    MD here: Tom does have a way with words. Let us know how the mayo works; we’ve never tried it, being partial to light olive oil mayo. I would suggest adding in as a minor player first, say at a ratio of 4 or 5 parts light olive oil to 1 part Enova and then work that up. There may come a point past which it doesn’t work well, but that’s just speculation on my part. As to the eggs, I’d say you’re living mildly on the wild side. Certainly less so than eggs from cages chickens living in close quarters and not exposed to sunshine and fresh air. You can increase your peace of mind a bit by giving the eggs a 1 minute swim in boiling water. Not enough to cook the white, but perhaps enough to kill the bad actors that might be residing there. The problem is that egg shells are porous and thus stuff that was on the outside can migrate to the inside, so it’s not at all a guaranteed foolproof method.

  48. Glad you’re planning to clarify some of these finer points of the Cure, since the DAG oil is fast becoming the magic bullet on other LC sites. Some folks are operating under the misguided notion that if a little is good, more is better. It’ll be good to have an official place to come for information.

    We’ve got our webmaster working on putting the blog framework for it in place, so it shouldn’t be long. We hope.

  49. What I meant with the coconut oil question was this. Mary Enig thinks coconut oil is better than butter. I wondered if you agreed.

    What bothers me about coconut oil is that it comes from countries without strict safety controls. I once bought some solid coconut fat that said it contained a little cholesterol. Either they misunderstood what cholesterol is or they diluted it with lard or something.

    Hmmm. As we all know, there is no cholesterol from plant sources. Don’t know what happened in the sample you got, but you’re right. They either mislabeled it or added something.

    We use both. Spectrum coconut oil is the specific brand we use. Depending on what she’s cooking, MD uses either butter or coconut oil. I don’t know (neither does she) which would be ‘better.’ Perhaps people with problems with dairy would do better on coconut oil. For me, however, nothing beats the taste of butter.

  50. Dear Dr.’s Eades. I just wanted to thank you for continuing, even in the face of a hectic book launch schedule, to thoughtfully field questions from your readers. You have made such a difference in my health prior to this book and I am very impressed with the writing, the research and the accessibility of this effort. How fortunate for all of us that you found your calling as you did. You touch in the ending of the 6WC on the issue that I think is at the core of your good work in the world, and that is, the ability for people to sense that they have control over their health and, to an extent, their physiology. Knowing that you aren’t at the mercy of your body — even if the cure does require some work — is just so liberating and confidence inspiring.

    I’m only in day 3, but I feel just great and have high hopes for the coming weeks and years. Sending a heartfelt thank you.

    Thank you for the kind words. Good luck with the plan.

  51. Is “the 6 week cure ” suitable for some one late 50s with a large amount of weight to lose (> 50#) as well as having a middle aged middle? I am still waiting on my book to arrive. I realize that this question may be addressed in the book and upcoming blog.

    Sure. That’s the very person it’s designed for. You can’t expect to lose 50 lbs in 6 weeks, but in that time you can make huge changes in the amount of visceral fat you are carrying.

  52. I’m on day 6 of the cure, and I have to say other than some modest dips in my enerygy level, I’m feeling pretty good. I undertook the cure mostly to rediscover my waistline (my ratio is .79, but because I’m pretty slim hipped, this means I don’t have much waist), but also as a good reason to stop drinking wine every night. Cleaning out my liver was and is good incentive! I’m 49, female, athletic build (i.e broad shoulders, big biceps and a lot of muscle), very active (cycling, walking, equestrian sports and helping run a horse training farm, plus a ‘day job’ in higher education), and I’m pretty fit. But I am a little soft around a few ‘middle’ edges. I’m also in the latter stages of menopause, which I’m pretty sure has contributed to the blending of my waistline into my hipline. I’ve not had serious symptoms from menopause and am greatful I’ve not had to result to any treatments other than tincture of time and exersize.

    My activity level and calorie requirements have made it easy for me to get through 3 shakes a day plus an evening meal. I figure I’m getting 120 – 160 grams of protein per day through the shakes alone because I”m using a high protein whey powder. I’m 5’8 and started out at about 150 lb. Not sure of my weight now but I know its down because my clothes are loose. Given my build and my activities, 135-145 is a healthy range for me.

    One question I have is wether or not it is advisable to continue one or two shakes a day on the second two weeks of the plan ( and in fact, indefinitley!) I am finding the shakes way more convenient for breakfast and lunch at work rather than trying to figure out what protein and veg I can get my hands on. I’ve been eating a moderated carb/whole and organic diet for years now, so am a brown bag ‘snob’. I have valued the extra time I’ve re-discovered by being able to just chuck some stuff in a blender and forget it.

    Thanks for the program, Dr. Eades. My husband is equally active, is a professional horse trainer and amateur cyclist who hits the gym and the streets hard. We both look, feel and act 15 years younger than our biological ages might suggest, and both want to keep up this trend as we move on in our lifespans.

    MD here: You certainly can. In fact, in a ‘box’ in that Weeks 3 and 4 section, it says that it’s ok to do it, with the small change of not using dairy cream in it, but rather coconut milk. You could even use egg-white protein powder instead of whey in those weeks, if you wanted to really hang with the ‘no dairy’ prescription. Glad to hear that you are doing well on it.

  53. Dr Mike, is it acceptale to use half and half rather than water and two TBS heavy cream/coconut milk? I HATE thin watery shakes. Or is that too much dairy and too many calories?

    MD here: Made the way the recipe states, there is absolutely nothing thin and watery about these shakes. Promise. And yes, 8 ounces of half and half would be too much of both. The other alternative you might try is Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Original Unsweetened Almond Milk in place of water. It’s quite creamy, has negligible carb and only 40 calories in an 8 ounce serving. You’d still want to add a bit of cream or coconut milk for the fat content and calories.

  54. Dr. Mike/Dr. MD:

    If I have my subcutaneous fat estimated by skin-fold measurement, and if I estimate my total BF% by means of a BodyStat 1500, and subtract the former from the latter, will the resulting figure estimate my visceral fat?

    tony

    MD here: No, not really, because the subcutaneous fat estimate made from skin fold measurements isn’t really a subcutaneous fat estimate. It’s a total body fat estimate based on the subcutaneous measurement. Additionally, skin calipers are notoriously unreproducible even in experienced hands.

  55. Re: Dr. Eades response
    “It seems like you are using a lot of protein all together. But I can’t say without knowing your size.”

    I started PPLP 9 weeks ago. My starting weight was 260lbs and I am 5’7″ tall. I got down to 221lbs and stalled until I started the 6 week cure. I am on week 1 (5th day) with the protein shakes. I am currently 216lbs. I am using Kaizen Brand whey protein with 24g of protein per scoop. Each scoop has 2620 mg of leucine. I have been using 3 scoops because I tried 2 scoops and felt i wasnt getting enough and was feeling a bit hungry between shakes. I have my first shake at 6am then my second shake at 12 and my third around 3 or 4 and dinner around 6. Problem is my work schedule interferes a bit. Any suggestions would be great.

    MD here: At that amount of protein per shake–about 72 grams it looks like–you might be able to just have two shakes. You might want to put a bit more cream or coconut milk in them to up the calories for better/longer satiety and not have to drink the third one. That, of course, dependent upon whether two slightly larger shakes would hold you. I’m not entirely sure what you mean by your ‘work schedule interferes’. Is it that you can’t find time to drink the shake at noon and 3 or 4 or that you have to prepare the shake at work and that’s burdensome? If the latter, you can prepare them at home and put them into a thermos to keep them cold. If it’s the former, an option might be to have a shake before you leave for work, eat your food meal at lunch, drink a shake immediately upon arriving home and then the final one about 3 hours later. That, too, might interfere with your normal schedule for having dinner with family or friends, so there’s no perfect solution. But then again, it’s just for 2 weeks in the beginning.

  56. I just read your new book “The 6-week cure for the Middle-Aged middle” … I loved it and would like to go on the diet… however, I have severe “lactose” and “gluten” allergies… is there any protein powder you recommend without whey or gluten? I have IBS and my “middle”can change by 6” during the day and I’m sure that can not be good for my health and hoping this diet will help….Thanks much !!!!!!

    MD here: Most of the cross-flow filtered whey products, while they’re made from milk, don’t have any significant lactose content, since they’re low in total carb (1 or 2 grams per serving) and lactose is a carb. If even that small amount would cause your GI tract distress (which is entirely possible) then try Jay Robb Egg White Protein Powders. They have no lactose, no gluten, no casein, and no a-whole-list-of-other-things. You could then see how much leucine the product had and just add a bit more in powder form. Our grandson is casein and gluten intolerant and this is the one we buy for him.

  57. Please referee a dispute about when to donate blood. Someone on Jimmy Moore’s blog pointed out that in the book you say to donate at the end of the first two weeks, and Jimmy says that you said people could do it after three days (which he and Christine have now done). Does it make a difference of when people donate blood?

    MD here: The book clearly says to donate blood at the end of the Weeks 1 and 2 period, but as long as you’ve been on the program long enough to really begin mobilizing fat effectively (since that’s where the toxic load you’re trying to dump comes from) you’d be fine. Three days would be a little quick for that. We’d say at least a week, but we put it as the coda to the first two-week phase of the diet to be sure.

  58. Dr Mike, i have noticed that a lot of people are confused about Leucine in the protein shakes. You already clarified it partially stating that Leucine intake should be around 12 grams a day or 12ooo mg. So if any given protein powder contains that much a day no further supplementation necessary!

    Comment and suggestion: If I may put my two cents in the whole leucine confusion, let me say the following. Dr Mike there are lots of protein powders are out there as you are well aware of. Some are whey mostly, some are dairy free like egg whites. Even amongst whey protein powders there are various varieties with various amounts of leucine in it. For example Isopure 0 carb whey protein contains whooping 8 grams of leucing per serving and that is 2 scoops 50 grams of protein. So if a person makes 3 shakes as suggested that would equal 24 grams of Leucine. I usually take it on days I perform very heavy lifting. on days when I am not I take Casein-whey protein powder which only contains around 1.2 grams pers scoop.

    So i think it would be prudent to warn people especially women to read labels carefully. At times the amount of amino acid profile is not listed on the nutritional label but rather on a side. Just read the label. I know that Isopure may be attractive for a lot of low carbers since it is carb free, 0 carbs but it is geared toward Bodybuilders. Read labels guys!

    As far as DAG oil goes, i think lots of people are overreacting. Most people would pay attention to the insignificant many rather than a significant few! Lots of people want to follow the plan 100 percent and if they miss even a minor component they feel like they are failing! Dr Mike I think it would be of enormous importance to explain to folks that this plan is not about leucine or DAG oil. i think you already did state it clearly but it would be worth addressing again. Yes, DAG oil might help a bit but its not about the oil. Its about following a plan that has three integral parts, one supplementing the other! 3 shakes with adequate amount of protein combined with some fat and fruits will do number of things, including keep you relatively satied due to high protein amount and allow your liver and digestive track to take a break. Plus its always good to confuse your body once in a while instead of following same old plan. Second part is eating liberal amount of saturated and other fats to increase your metabolism and third part is to gradually adjusting toward maintenance.

    Couldn’t have said it better ourselves.

  59. I agree it would be a great idea to have a blog on the 6 Week Cure site!

    Today was day 6 for me on ‘The 6 Week Cure’ and it’s working great. I’m down 3 lbs (205 to 202). I’m pretty sure that is all fat since I was already on a long-term very low carb maintenance diet before I started and so I think I experienced no water weight loss due to depleting glycogen stores. That’s a very nice rate of change. Pants are looser. It will be easy to stay with for a few weeks, especially with results. I enjoy exercising and this diet hasn’t affected that at all one way or the other (i.e. neither more sluggish nor more energetic). I was curious if the d-ribose would make a difference in exercising but not yet, I’ll give it time.

    I thought the big issue would be cutting alcohol. That’s one thing I like about the low carb maintenance diet (been in maintenance for 18 months), I could have a low carb cocktail after work and some wine with dinner. I was really not sure that I could give it up and even was making excuses for delaying my start of the diet for a week.

    But then I read the part in your book about taking the plunge into cold water, which is something I have literally done many times (as in 45 degrees Fahrenheit), and I just dropped the drinks. It was no big deal like I thought. Missed it for the first day or two, but it’s not forever, just for a few weeks. Just a word of encouragement if anyone else reading the blog is concerned about that.

    The last thing I want to mention is that this will be the perfect maintenance plan. I want to lose 20 lbs now, it’s inevitable that if you live a good life and enjoy food, the weight will slowly creep back on even with low carb. At least for me, I’ve been very prone to weight gain since I was born. My plan is to set a threshold of maybe 5 lbs, and when I hit that go on the first two weeks of The Cure, and I should be right back on track. (Or maybe even 2 lbs followed by a Mon-Fri ‘Cure’). That seems to me a lot better than perfectly towing the line all the time forever (which ain’t gonna happen)!

  60. And now for something completely different:
    Two of my family members [who have hi-carb diets] have developed vertigo, and I just surfed across this article linking it to diabetes, depression.
    Could vertigo be caused by hi-carb?
    Who better to ask than Dr. Eades?
    Or at least put this out there for fellow protein admirers. : )
    The study:
    http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1471-2377-9-29.pdf

    This study doesn’t actually link vertigo in general to diabetes and depression – it links specific diseases that often cause vertigo to diabetes in one case and high blood pressure in the other. The vast majority of vertigo is caused by viral infections that are self limited. The symptoms usually subside in a few days.

  61. I am having a REALLY hard time with the no caffeine, though I am only 1 day in. Also, I am quite hungry. Is it acceptable to have lettuce with a no carb/no aspartame dressing, jello or any other ‘freebie’ snacks to get me from shake to shake? (I am 33, about 125 pounds, 5’6″ and have gained 8 pounds in the last 6 months 🙁 I am desperate to lose this extra weight!

    If the shakes aren’t doing it, add a little more protein and a little more fat to the shakes until hunger goes away. I don’t see a problem on munching on a little lettuce here and there, but beefing up the shakes is probably a better bet to solving the hunger problem.

  62. Thanks SO much for getting back to me so fast on the “lactose” and “gluten” questions….. Looking forward to starting the diet….

    Thanks again….

  63. Here’s something I found on DAG oil in Wikipedia:

    “On September 16, 2009, Kao Corporation, maker of Econa Cooking Oil has voluntarily suspended sales of products containing DAG oil in Japan which includes cooking oil, mayonnaise, salad dressing, and pet food products. [10] The company is sited as considering suspending the sales of Enova Brand Oil sold in North America. [11] On the same day, Hagoromo Foods, maker of Sea Chicken brand of canned tuna, and Satonoyuki, maker of tofu products, have voluntarily suspended number of products made with Econa Cooking Oil sold in Japan. [12] [13]
    In its press release announcing the temporally suspension of Econa line of products, Kao sites questions raised by European researches on uncertain health effect of fatty acid glycidyl esters. It states fatty acid glycidyl esters contained in the products are introduced as by-product of deodorization process. It however maintains that the main ingredient DAG (Diacylglycerol) is proven safe, and it plans to resume sale after reducing the amount of fatty acid glycidyl esters introduced in its production method.[14}”

    Interesting. I’ll look into this. I don’t think it’s too worrisome, though, because of the small amount used in our program. It’s much more widely used as a cooking oil in Japan, so the Japanese are exposed to greater amounts.

  64. Dr Mike/ MD I have no idea why my comment was registered under name Katya. I was the one commenting about many people giving too much time and attention to the insignificant many rather than worrying about major few that is a core of the program. Katya is my best friend, but for the world of me I dont get how my comment was registered under her name. Anyway, thats not improtant at all.

    Question: I juggle between two jobs and usually finish work at 12 am. By the time I go home I am starving! I have my last shake at around 11 pm. But when I hit my pillow and my cat jumps on me I feel this ravenous hunger pains. Lol, there is something about quite and peaceful moment when I am finally home, stress free just relaxing, playing with my cat and let my mind just be in the moment. Unfortunately it also means huge spike in appetite. Any suggestion on how to best approach nightly cravings? In other worlds if I was to limit the damage what would be the least dangerous choice of food to satisfy my hunger and not jeopardize my weight loss efforts. And I did try to eat dinner at 11 instead of shake. Still doesnt help! But what does help is having another shake. But I dont think it makes sense doing it right before going to bed. What do you think?

    Why don’t you try a mini-shake right before bed? You can snack on a little jerky or other fat/protein substances, but be careful not to load up on too many calories.

  65. mr freddy:

    regarding the mayonnaise; yes, take it easy on the enova. I don’t use a lot of oil in anything except for my beloved mayo. I use about 2 yolks/cup of oil (I think the Eades recipe is one yolk / cup of oil). I tried 3:1 light olive oil:enova, it will emulsify in the blender okay but be very thin, and the emulsion wasn’t too stable over a couple of days. It didn’t split entirely, and it was an okay dipping sauce or salad dressing, but terrible mayonnaise. Maybe a 5:1 will be dilute enough to not ruin the mayo. Perhaps there’s another way to use full-on enova but it might need a mayonnaise chemistry expert to figure it out.

    And regarding raw eggs: My understanding is that salmonella infection in eggs is exceedingly rare, esp. if the chickens are kept in somewhat sanitary conditions. Futhermore infection isn’t so bad if you have a good gut flora (which you might if you’ve been a good low-carber for a while) and might even go unnoticed. (But IANAMD.) I’ve eaten a lot of raw eggs, and I’m just tossing an egg in the blender for the 6WC shakes. So far so good!

  66. Does anybody out there have any idea roughly how much time needs to be left from consumption of caffeine afore giving blood to maximize the amount of fat/pollutants in the blood to be given Please ?

    It’s not that refined. Just drink a cup of coffee and go give your blood.

  67. I just saw a note by Jimmy Moore on his discussion forum that he is down 10 pounds and his wife Christine is down 4 pounds on the 6 week cure. Since they are doing this together and following the plan exactly, I think, it sure demonstrates the difference in weight loss for men and women.

    On the other hand, it may be demonstrating the fact that Jimmy had more visceral fat to lose and Christine has more sub-q fat.

    Since “the Cure” is targeted to visceral fat, I can probably expect less loss of “poundage” than someone with more visceral fat. (I pack mine on sub-q). The thought that after 2 weeks on a shake-only program, and only a 4 pound loss, is not encouraging. Sigh.

  68. dang this is a weird feeling… Sunday morning and no hangover…. weird weird weird….

    Wish I could say the same thing.

  69. How do you feel about non-dairy-creamer for decaffinated coffee, during Weeks 3 and 4 ?

    Depends on what it’s made of. Most is loaded with trans fat. Try coconut milk or almond milk.

  70. I’d like to respond to anyone might not be having the “luck” they think they should have with the program.

    Debbie, in a comment above, said: “On the other hand I am on my 7th day of the Cure right now and so far have not lost so much as an ounce or an inch, and I’m still starving almost all day long, which gets old fast.”

    Then you (or MD) wrote: “Something is obviously going on here if you are not responding to the program whatsoever. I doubt that DAG will help, so I wouldn’t waste a lot of time looking for it. I would suggest that you get worked up by a bariatric specialist to see if there is some underlying problem thwarting your weight loss efforts.”

    As you and MD know from our emails back and forth, I’ve been struggling lately. I had a great first week (down 5.2 pounds and 3″ off my waist), but really nothing since then. I wrote to you a couple days ago asking for advice. You told me to try to think of what worked for me that first week that I’m not doing now.

    VOILA!!! When I looked back and really studied things and did the math on averages each week of calories, fat, ECC, and protein, and even looked at any change in supplements, several things jumped off the page at me.

    My intake of leucine DROPPED quite a bit from 16 grams the first week, 14 grams the second week, and 12 grams the third week (I’m now on Day 20, so still in my third week).

    My calories were surprisingly consistent all three weeks, averaging 1,475.

    My fat intake INCREASED from 80 grams the first week, to 84 grams the second week, to 98 grams the third week.

    My protein intake DECREASED from 170 grams the first week, to 140 grams the second week, to 124 grams the third week.

    ECC was 26 grams the first week, 22 grams the second week, and 12 grams the third week.

    In terms of supplements, the only thing different was that after the first week I dropped the Iodoral and started taking a second dose of Bi-Est (bio-identical estrogen, along with my bio-identical progesterone) in the evening.

    So, yesterday I decided to do what worked for me that first week. My goals now are 1,475 calories, 80 grams fat, 12 grams ECC, 170 grams protein, and 16 grams leucine.

    This morning I’m down 2 pounds!!!

    Who knows if the combination of more protein, less fat, fewer carbs, more leucine, taking the Iodoral again, and stopping my second dose of hormones helped or not, but you better believe I’m going to keep at it!

    By the way, I’m 54 years old, 5’7″, and started The Cure at 187.6.

    DON’T GIVE UP HOPE!!! Use the old adage, plan the work and work the plan.

  71. One problem with any liquid diet, even if it’s only 75% of the time, is that one misses not necessarily calories but chewing. If you want to get rich (or richer?), you should develop a carbohydrate-free chewing gum that contained the supplements that you recommend. That would kill two birds with one stone, preferably not the dieter as well.

    It’s a thought. And I’ll settle for rich. Haven’t quit made it to that point yet. When I do, I’ll start thinking about getting richer.

  72. Thanks for the pep talk Kathy! Boy, you have really been tracking your numbers. Far more than I have. I spent months weighing and measuring every bite that went into my mouth, and never saw a pound drop, and it was such a chore. So when I started the 6-Week Cure I stopped all that measuring. I just made the three shakes according to the recipes (though I never add any fruit) and one meal of meat/eggs of some sort and about a 1/2 cup of cooked veggies with some butter, and figured I would not need to do all that counting! I gave up caffeine and alcohol months ago in a useless effort to break my stall, so that part of the program was easy for me. 🙂

    But I am on day 10 of the Cure and so far am down one pound and zero inches. I’m one of those who has not found the DAG oil – no supermarkets anywhere near me carry it, including the only one in my area that is on the Enova list of supermarkets, and I’m not willing to pay $16 for a bottle, which is what it would cost to buy one and have it shipped to me – so I’m glad that’s not a vital component! When you are not seeing any results you don’t want people pointing figures at you and saying “you didn’t do the plan correctly because you didn’t have any DAG oil” -or whatever other component you might be missing.

    I will say that the shakes as made exactly to the recipe were a little too thin and watery tasting to satisfy me, so I made a few changes there. I FROZE both raw heavy cream and coconut milk in my ice cube makers, and now when I make a shake I toss in one cream cube and one coconut cube, cut down on the water a bit, add only about 2 ice cubes, and add a tbsp of ThickenThin not/Sugar (and sometimes an egg). This makes a shake that is smaller in volume, but which I find creamier and more satisfying.

    But sometimes life can get awkward, like getting a last minute dinner invitation from my son’s in-laws when I’ve already eaten my one meal of the day! I was only on day 2 of the plan at the time and trying to be 100% with it, so I turned them down and stayed home and drank my shake all alone, LOL.

    But sounds like it is back to weighing and measuring every bite. Bummer.

    And speaking of protein powder, I found that one of mine, made by Healthy N’ Fit, has *45* grams of protein per scoop (and their scoop is the same size as everyone else’s)

  73. I stumbled onto some paleo-diet literarture about a month ago. This also happened to be right before a trip to Greenland where I had a pretty easy time avoiding the weird bread, etc. over there. I ate a lot of cured meats at breakfast and then nuts, banana chips and tuna during the day (out on the ice cap) and whatever meat they served at the hotel in the evening. In the week I was there I lost 10lbs.

    I came home, have remained wheat-free, sugar-free, etc. I continue to lose 7-10 lbs a week; down about 30lbs total. Even though I’m only 27, I bought 6WC out of sheer curiosity. I immediately began with the supplements but I haven’t really begun with the plan entirely. I’ve been eating 1 or 2 shakes a day with two generous portions of meat and eggs. I figured I had already been entirely carb-restricted so I only half-committed to this portion of the plan.

    Can I skip to week 3-4 or do you see a benefit in starting from week 1? I’m 6’4′, 250lbs, BF=24% and have begun biking to work (75 miles a week). My ultimate goal is to reach BF 14-17%.

    Also, thank you for your contributions to the LC movement. It’s been a blessing to have your work as resource in addition to others like Dr. William Davis.

    My advice would be to start at the beginning. I think you’ll be surprised with the results.

  74. 5 days on the plan 🙂 I’ve lost 5#’s and BF is still stable. Gorging myself on water (anyone know who makes portable porta-potties? LOL). I also now have data on my first high intensity strength training session since beginning the Cure (and the first session in 3 weeks because of vacation). Relative to the last time I did this workout, approximately 7 weeks ago – I’m on alternating A, B and C protocols, I either met or exceeded my time under load with either the same or increased resistance on all but one exercise where I was one half rep short. So, anecdotally for me, at least, I have every reason to believe that high intensity strength training is not adversely affected by the first 5 days of the Cure. I’m scheduled for an on-the-water sculling session, either tomorrow, Monday, or Tuesday, depending upon my recovery from today’s workout. Just FYI, the HIST protocol is “b**ls to the wall to complete, total, momentary muscular failure, i.e., you cant do another move of any distance at all. Zilch. Nada. Best resource for this protocol is found at: http://www.bodybyscience.net

    Dr. Mary Dan: thanks for the info on on differentiating between subcu and visceral fat.

    tonyf

    Thanks for the feedback on how the program works with your high-intensity training regimen.

  75. I came up with a trick this morning I wanted to share: I use the 2 Tbs of heavy cream (called for in the shake) in my morning (DECAF of course) coffee; I am a coffee wimp and simply cannot drink it without cream. Unless there’s some critical need for the saturated fat in the cream to be consumed at the exact same instant as the other ingredients of the shake, I can’t think why this would be a problem. I’ll usually have my morning shake within an hour of finishing my coffee.

    Also, my mother – a longtime Weight Watchers devotee who has struggled with her weight her entire adult life – picked up a copy of the book while visiting and plans to start when she returns home. I am thrilled that she’s taking steps to improve her health – it’s stressful for me to know that she’s overweight and possibly shortening her life both in quantity and quality, so THANK YOU for providing this great weight loss and health improvement tool for all ages just when you did !! She even went out and bought her own copy – didn’t want to share mine !

    I started up Week 1 just a few daysa go and have already lost 5 pounds of bloat that I gained while on a cruise last week. The results are encouraging !

    Glad to hear you’re doing so well. The use of the cream in your decaf instead of your shake is fine.

  76. Anybody have any rough ideas how long it’d be safe (afore toxicity would occrr) to take 3-4 iodoral tabs per day please a month and then taper back to 1 capsule every 1-2 days if one canny get the iodine load test done ?
    Been reading about the Japanese and its estimated they eat enough iodine that translates to roughly/equiv to 1 of those iodoral capsules daily.

    Thanks Anybody

    I certainly wouldn’t take 3-4 per day unless I knew my iodine status. It’s probably safe to take 1 per day, which should replenish your levels in due course. You might take a couple per day for a week or so to build up levels, then ratchet back to 1 per day.

  77. Dr Mike, If men are attracted to women who display flat stomack for procreation purposes, what is the reason men are still attracted to the same women 25 years later post child bearing period and less flat stomack? I dont buy into theory that evolutionary bilogists depict in saying men are naturally attracted to women with flat bellies as it is a sign of vibrant health and excellent reproductive and genetic profilig. I was alwasy under impression that it was just the opposite. That men are naturally attracted to women with a bit of a pouch on a women since a bit of fat represents health and vibrant health. I think its a general statement. We havent only evolved as pure biological species but as spiritual beings as well. So it is not only the stomacks that a lot of men are attracted to but their brains and hearts as well. I am sure had your beautiful wife developed a less of a sexy stomack you would still be attracted to her! I know it has nothing diet related but I found it intresting to ask. I

    You recommend blendteck blender. I heard mixed reviews about it. Do you have one? How is it? I know its one of the best on the market but is it worth $400 for a blender. I have Oster and it does a decent job. I do struggle with making my smoothies smooth so wondering if having Blendtec will make a huge difference.

    You’ll have to argue with the evolutionary psychologists about the first issue.

    We do have a BlendTec blender, and MD wouldn’t live without it. She thinks it is the best she’s ever used.

  78. My husband and I are going to make an appointment to give blood. We used to do this twice a year, but somehow got out of the habit.

    My question is, if I’m in the beginning my 3rd week of the program, should I eat my protein breakfast in the morning and have a cup of coffee just before we leave for our appointment? Or should I go on an empty stomach with just coffee? In the past, I’ve always had a low-carb breakfast first and they do encourage that you don’t come in on an empty stomach.

    I have 4 days left of my first two weeks. If we can schedule this in the next couple of days, should I have my protein drink in the morning and a cup of coffee just before we leave for our appointment?

    What say you, Dr. Mike?

    You want to have the maximum amount of fat in the blood when you give blood so that you’ll get rid of the toxins stored in that fat. In order to have the maximum amount of fat in the blood, you need to have fasted overnight so that the body is releasing fat for energy. Adding a cup or two of real coffee will add to the fat release, giving you even more that you can ditch. If you eat – even if it is a protein meal – you will stop the release of fat until all the food you’ve just eaten is dealt with.

    Better to take in plenty of fluids, drink your coffee, and take low-carb snacks to munch on afterward.

  79. I have read your book and want to start the cure but I have been unable to get an answer to one question. The whey protein powder (Now Sports) that my husband takes has 750 mg per serving of L-tyrosine (28 g protein). I am taking a MAO inhibitor drug and tyramine is to be avoided. Some body building web sites state a warning (talk to your physician) about taking L tyrosine if on these medications and I have seen some tyrosine supplements have the same warning. Neither the drug manufacturer nor my doctor can give me any more information than is on the official drug prescribing information which does not mention whey powder or tyrosine supplements. I am not sure I want to risk the hypertension side effect issue even though I can’t get good information. Is there a substitute protein supplement that would not present this problem? Thanks so much for your book.

    All protein is made of amino acids. Tyrosine is an amino acid, so it is present in all proteins. If you eat meat, you are eating tyrosine. The amount listed above is, I assume, the amount found naturally in whey. As such, it shouldn’t bother your medication regimen any more than eating a steak. Since I am not your doctor and have no knowledge of your condition, you should check with your ownphysician, however, to be sure it is okay.

  80. Dr Mike, i have noticed that a lot of people are confused about Leucine in the protein shakes. You already clarified it partially stating that Leucine intake should be around 12 grams a day or 12ooo mg. So if any given protein powder contains that much a day no further supplementation necessary!

    Couldn’t have said it better ourselves.

    Ack…wish I’d read this before ordering a pound of leucine from TrueProtein. Oh, well.

    The book is fantastic, but it does need a shopping list for the shakes. And it would be great if you guys had your assistant put together ‘care packages’ of the hard-to-find ingredients. I would love to pay you a markup so I didn’t have to order from various protein suppliers and oil vendors. (BTW, Enova’s website is wrong about who carries them — Albertson’s most certainly does not. Maybe Walmart really does, but at this point, I’m throwing in the towel on the DAG oil.)

    But these are all nit-picks. The book is wonderful and I can’t wait to start the plan.

  81. Hi — Is there any way those of us stuck with Internet Explorer 6.0 can read this blog? I’ve seen at least one other person commenting on this somewhere (might have been here or on the PP forum), so I know it’s not just me. I can see only the first 6-7 lines of each entry. Clicking on the “button” at the left of each entry — which I would expect would expand that entry — does nothing.

    I’m sure there are plenty of us still using IE 6.0, so it seems as if this would be worth addressing…

    Thanks! (And thanks for all you do!!!)

    — Michelle

    I’ve got a conference call this afternoon about this specific issue.

  82. Mike, just wanted to let you know that a couple users have reported that since the site redesign, they can’t read the full text of long comments. They’re using IE6 as a browser. Just checked on my testing IE6 machine, and they’re right — comments truncate after 6 lines. Anything the web guys can do about that?

    Hey Pat,

    We’re working on that now. I hope to have it resolved soon.

  83. What do you think about Hood Calorie Countdown in any stage of The Cure? It only has 3 carbs per cup.

    I’m not familiar with that product, but if it has only 3 carbs per serving, I don’t see a problem.

  84. Kathy from Maine aka Bawdy, are you sure you are middle-aged and are you sure you need to lose any weight? I think you look absolutely fine the way you are. I looked you up on the forum like you suggested. I see an amazing resemblance of you to Dr MD! No wonder Dr MIke chose you! Listen, glad your weight started to budge. You seem to be doing the program deligently. And you I do agree with you that being a woman on hormone replacement therapy is tough when it comes to losing weight. But i have no doubt you will be there in no time with your planning and work and Dr Mike guidance.

  85. I am interested in trying this out. My doctor has me taking cholestyramine for a gastointestinal issue (not lipid reduction) and I’m wondering if this will have any effect.

    The cholestyramine shouldn’t have any effect. You should probably ask your own doc just to make sure.

  86. …In order to have the maximum amount of fat in the blood, you need to have fasted overnight so that the body is releasing fat for energy… Ohmigod, no wonder lipid tests come back with numbers so high. If I really wanna freak out my primary, guess I’ll have a cup of decaff in the morning before my quarterly labwork. Book just arrived tonight…floods are so bad here (Atlanta) that I haven’t started reading…I was out digging trenches to encourage runoff of the pools of water in my backyard up against the foundation. Really looking forward to reading the book; hoping it’ll help break the stall that started last Feb (lost 53#s, then stalled, got lots more to lose). I have never been able to decide if I’m eating too much fat or not enough protein for current wt ’cause fiddling with amts of either don’t seem to affect the stall, carbs are low, and I exercise 35-70 mins/6 days/wk *sigh*. Maybe metabolism just needs a major shake up *G*.

    Good luck with the plan. I hope it helps.

  87. G’day, I will be starting the plan tomorrow but are finding the solid meal (week one and two) a little hard to grasp. I will not be able to make special recipes and would like broader guidelines and just ingredients allowed.

    Like how many eggs a day or if it is a meat dish, the size of my steak and what kind of carbs and how much for a side dish. I started disecting each recipy to try and fit it into what I normally buy on a low carb way of eating but it became a bit of an ordeal. Is there any way to simplify the meal on week one and two?

    I guess I’m confused. The first two weeks are not solid meal weeks. We use shakes for the most part so that intake can be carefully controlled. There are numerous recipes for the single solid meal.

  88. Doing some further research and having just ordered some leucine: I read where “S Bear” on your forum recommended this article for the over-50’s: http://www.ironmanmagazine.com/site/?p=2035 It seems like an excellent article, but it does suggest that we old folks (I’m all of 53…) might need more leucine than the youngsters? Can you lay out an upper and lower boundary for the leucine, just generally?

    I’m not quite ready to start the 6 weeks — I’ve ordered the leucine, am cutting back on my coffee{sigh} slowly to prevent the dreadful withdrawal (I only drink one large mug=two cups in the morning — but I’m a full-out addict… I even arranged with my surgeon to have a friend bring my morning coffee to the hospital the day after surgery: “they” have finally figured out that the post surgery headache is not related to the anesthesia — because the post-surgery headache only happens to coffee drinkers!!). I’m going to be starting bio-identicals in a couple weeks (thanks, Dr. MD, for the info and positive report!), and once I get the leucine, I’m figuring to start the 6 weeks.

    Thanks SO much for all your fantastic writing! (And I’m a tech editor by trade — it’s *fantastic* writing! You can almost give Gary T. a run for his money!)

    Thanks for the kind words. That is great praise since Gary T is the finest science writer in the country.

    I don’t know that there is a max on leucine. If I were older (which I am) I would make sure I got at least the 12 g per day (which I did). The lower level is 8 g per day.

  89. Hi Doctor Eades.
    I am almost finished reading The6 Week Cure to losing the Middle Age Middle. It is a great book – easy to read and extremely informative.

    I am currently Low Carbing it and losing some extra weight. l will start the 6 week cure in several weeks; I will be traveling soon, and doubt that I can fit it while on the road.

    I don’t have much weight left to lose, and I expect much of it is VAT. But, I do have some SAT. in particular, I have two unlovely “love handles”. I am losing some weight, but not the handles .

    Two questions, please. Am I correct in thinking:
    1) These “handles” are SAT, rather than VAT.
    2) The 6 Week Cure will reduce these “handles” more that low carbing does?

    Thanks for any response.

    BTW, I have already recommended The 6 Week Cure, and will do so lots more while I am on the road.

    Thanks for the 6-Week Cure recommendations. We appreciate it.

    You are correct in assuming that the love handles are SAT. I do think the 6WC will remove those a little faster than low-carb dieting.

    Keep me posted.

  90. You mention on page 92: Fasting Insulin. Could you please tell what would be a healthy fasting insulin level? or the healthy range?

    I like to go with anything under 10.

  91. “We’ve got our webmaster working on putting the blog framework for it in place, so it shouldn’t be long. We hope.”

    If it’s taking your webmaster more than a couple of hours to install a blog, you need a new webmaster. It just isn’t that hard.

    It’s much more complex than that. Normally, it could be done in a couple of hours, but right now we’re in the midst of a sort of scramble between the designer and the tech people. Hope to have it up shortly.

  92. I’ve really been enjoying your blog and appreciate your research and views. I’d like to pick up the Cure for my parents 50-60 range, but I’m in my 20’s and have LC’d on and off for a few years. I look and feel my best on protein and want to be able to manage my weight and health throughout my active life. Which of your other books would be appropriate? I don’t really want to buy all of them and then be confused.

    Thanks and congratulation on your new book!

    Thank you. As to the books, I would recommend Protein Power and The Protein Power LifePlan to get the essence of our tenets of eating. The Cure would be good for your parents, but it adds to the information provided in the two books above.

  93. So who’s gotten constipated, besides me 🙂 and, if so, what have you done to “make things run” again LOL

    tony

    To fight the constipation, increase the fat intake a bit, especially during the solid meal. It really does help.

  94. Thanks for answering about Insulin.
    Arthur De vany says that he prefers to have such a low insuline that it is hardly measurable. What´s your opinion about such a low level?

    Another question about the book on page 87 you say we can watch a video on your website http://www.6weekcure.com how to make the measurement of the SAD. I can´t find it though …..

    The lower the better as long as you’ve got it when you need it.

    The video is produced, we just haven’t gotten it from the producer. Hope to have it up soon.

  95. My DH & I are on the second day… we are using EAS protein powder which has 2550 of leucine in 2 scoops; we both need 3 scoops since we weigh 195 & 205; that elevates leucine to 3825, with 40.5 protein. Is that a problem to have that much leucine? or should we do 2 scoops & add 1 or 2 eggs to shake? Thanks so much for this book!! We had no idea we were in trouble with fatty liver !!1 i’ve been on PP for 6 years, and lost almost 60 pounds, but even tho pretty consistently low carb, haven’t been able to lose the 25 more I need to lose. The book helped understand what’s been happening!!!

    The leucine in the 3 scoops is no problem.

  96. Finished week 2. Lost a total of 1.8 pounds….not bad, considering I’ve been strict LC for the past several months. BUT….I lost 1 1/2″ off my waist and another 1 1/2″ off my hips! AND, my SAD lying went down 2″!

    Started week 3 today….had a cup of coffee that tasted SO good! These 2 weeks will be easy as this is how I normally eat!!

    Nice work. I’m glad to hear you’re doing so well.

  97. Has anyone in CA found Envoa? As others have mentioned, the only store I see on the Enova website (Cosentinos in SJ) in the Bay Area that is supposed to have it, doens’t carry it anymore. I have been to Walmart, Nob Hill, Lucky’s, etc. I can’t find it anywhere. I am on day 4 and haven’t lost a pound yet, so before I get too frustrated, I would like to see if Enova can help.
    Thanks in advance!
    Sophie in Walnut Creek, ca

  98. Dear Dr Mike.

    Here is a question I would like to see you address:

    In your opinion, is breast fat considered as VAT or SAT. It is under the skin, but it also surrounds an organ of sorts (the mammary gland). As such, would fat in the immediate breast area behave somewhat like VAT does elsewhere (i.e. in a detrimental fashion?)

    Whenever I lose weight, thighs and hips are first to go, but belly and breasts are stubborn (yeah, I know, many women would be envious for the latter). I am wondering if your 6-week cure could change something there?

    Breast fat is SAT. It does surround the mammary glands, but that’s not the same as the viscera.

  99. I know you must be VERY busy. Are you familiar with the ‘leucine zipper’ DNA binding motif? This is a transcription factor that is pretty ubiquitous and possibly key to immunity and the anti-inflammatory response. I thought of this when your Cure book recommended supplementation with leucine.
    http://ajrcmb.atsjournals.org/cgi/content/full/26/2/161

    I’ll admit. I had never heard of the ‘leucine zipper.’ I need to read the article. Thanks for sending.

  100. Dr. Mike,

    I owe you an apology for my question about eating before donating blood. You clearly outlined what to do in your book and I overlooked it in an effort to start the program as soon as possible when I received my Amazon pre-order. Tomorrow I complete my two weeks and I must say that I have impressed my husband and myself. I think all the protein and fat helped my resolve.

    We gave blood this afternoon and I followed your instructions to the letter eating salami and dill pickles afterwards. Plus lots of water upon awakening and up to our appointment. My one meal was afterwards and I watched my hubby have corn bread with his lunch, and one of my favorite beers while I ate my perfect lunch with lemon water. I’ll finish up the evening with my powered-up protein drinks.

    Thank you! Don’t know what I would do without your Blog and Twitter posts.

    Stats at Red Cross Blood Donation Center:

    Blood Pressure: 110/70
    Hemoglobin: 14.7
    Pulse: 72
    Age: 66 – Female

    Nice stats for a female in early middle age. Probably a lot of youngsters wish they had ’em. Keep it up.

  101. Dr. Mike, I have a question regarding the protein shakes. How harmful is it to skip the meal all together? I’m finding I’m plenty full with the protein shakes. Just wondering …

    Probably not all that harmful if your taking in the three shakes. Maybe skip a day here and there if you feel like it.

  102. I made it through the first day of the first week! I’ve been low carbing on and sort-of-off since 2003, but I never thought I could do 3 shakes in one day!

    My question (so yes, a FAQ section on the new blog would be great) is this– what about fiber? I’m worried that with both the shake weeks and the mostly meat weeks, I’ll get constipated. It happened when I first did “induction” on Atkins, and I’d rather not repeat it.

    Would it be ok to add 1-3 tablespoons of ground flaxmeal (so .5 – 1.5T of whole flaxmeal total) per day? I know it’s negligible in carbs, loaded with fiber and good oils (I grind mine fresh to order) but I wasn’t sure if it’s ok to add this since it’s not mentioned anywhere in the book.

    Any advice would be super helpful, thanks!!!

    If you want to add it in, that’s fine. You can usually prevent constipation by upping the fat content a bit.

  103. OK, I’ve read beginning thru Weeks 1 and 2. Got questions; got a place to ask? (tell me where and delete the rest of this and I’ll repost wherever). I’ve lost 53#s, then stalled last Feb (got laid off), still have more than that to lose.

    I take 750 mgms Metformin ER at breakfast and dinner, monitor BG fasting, b’fast PP, pre lunch & PP, pre-dinner & PP, mid evening if I have a snack, and post-exercise (I’m a nite owl & exercise best before bedtime). I eat b’fast, lunch, sometimes a snack, dinner, sometimes a snack, protein or protein-fat snack pre-exercise. I tend to 5-15 carbs at meals & 0-6 at a snack. I assume that monitoring as often as I do will alert me to drops in BG so I can reduce Metformin BUT it’s the ER form so in my system awhile…am I likely to see it drop so fast I might see hypos? I tend to have ‘false’ hypo symptoms if my BG drops really fast or when it drops below 100; if I get symptoms (shaking hands, etc) I typically have a snack (1 oz Mozzarella stick, 5 ozs low sodium V8, if bad, 1/2 small square Dove choco C 1/2 shake? Fasting BG now 115-120, PPs typically 5-20 pt rise (spikes above 140 rare, usually a combo of stress & too much carb, new food or amt), 15-20 mins post exercise BGs 105-110 with a pulse rate of 66 (low intensity exercise bike 35-70 mins).

    I take 12.5 mgs Maxzide (37.5 mg formulation) as I still have some edema (lower legs, rarely pitting) . When I forget it, its 1.5#s gain the next morning. Used to have systolic hypertension until the CPAP therapy made it go disappear (took Cozaar gradually reducing from 50 mgs to 12.5 mgs over 18 months). Not sure how much effect the diuretic has on my BP which is typically 128/74 and not sure what effect Weeks 1 & 2 might have on my BP. I have apnea and sleep with CPAP, systolic rises about 10 pts if I have multiple night-time events that wake me up (I assume oxygen desaturating is what wakes me up). Without the diuretic, I get short of breath in about 4-5 days so I still need it; cardio thinks I need to lose at least another 40#s before I can drop it. Any idea how will this be affected during Weeks 1 & 2?

    I drink 5-6 ozs of low sodium V8 daily for potassium which I can seem to retain and eat parsley with everything. I take 800 mgms magnesium citrate. I eat crucifers and 2-3 ozs cheese daily for calcium (it’s in my multiple too). Take 4000 IU vit D & 300 mgs benfotiame. Because I take more than what is recommended & some not mentioned like DHA, Coromega, Proline-Lysine, tocotrienols, Quercetin+C, is there anything I should be aware of? Like more potassium (is more V8 OK, about 1 carb per oz) as I seem to be sensiive to minute shifts?

    Or, would it be more prudent for me to start with 2 meals and 2 shakes (maybe split into halves and spread out) and see how my body responds?

    My primary knows I’m gonna start this (quarterly bloodwk today, added the ApoB test) after I read and understand the book and get all my questions answered. He’s not familar with your work but I had the 6WC with me so he scanned the section on ApoB; however, he is familiar with the concept of low carb eating. If my stall disappears, maybe he’ll get interested.

    Thanks for help-suggestions, great ideas in 6WC, my liver is obvious stressed, maybe helping it has been the missing step all along, at least I don’t do caffeine (‘cept in occasional dk chocolate) or alcohol or veggie oils. KerryGold butter, Spectrum’s coconut oil, and olive oil are staples.

    This metformin shouldn’t be such a problem, but the Maxzide will probably need to be tapered. I can’t possibly give you specific advice over the internet. You’ll need to work with your own physician. Please read An Important Word of Caution on page 91.

    Those of you who currently take prescription medications for fluid retention or lowering blood pressure, blood sugar, triglycerides, or cholesterol, particularly those that lower blood pressure or control blood sugar, take heed of the following information: This dietary structure works amazingly quickly to lower blood sugar and blood pressure. Nothing you have ever used to control these conditions will have prepared you for the response you are likely to get. The same may be true for your doctor.

    You must work with your physician who can monitor you and work with you to help change medications as needed.

  104. I just started the diet, this is day 3, a friend who is vegetarian asked, what would you replace the meat with?

    As we say in the book on page 144 in the section on vegetarians, it depends first on what kind of vegetarians they are.

  105. I am on day 13. So far, I have lost 5 pounds and my stomach is noticeably thinner. My only concern is that I seem to be very weak. I am a superslow believer (my trainer is the one who recommended your book) and when I worked out on day10 my times were considerably lower than usual. And oddly, the next day, my muscles were more sore than usual. I find I get winded doing simple chores. I am following the regimen as closely as I can, any thoughts about what might be happening?? Thanks.

    I would ramp up the D-ribose, especially immediately after exercise. And you should make sure you are taking adequate potassium.

  106. Arrghh… Amazon just informed me that my order for the Cure (placed in August) won’t be shipping until October 6+. I hope it’s because they sold out and need to reprint. 🙂

    Where are you? They are shipping like crazy here in the US.

  107. Dr. Mike,

    I’m a 69-yr-old female who has followed the low-carb, high protein lifestyle for several years. In the past 2 years I have been plagued with the “middle-aged middle.” I have just finished reading your 6-week Cure book and found it fascinating. I will be starting the plan very soon.

    4 questions for you. (1) I already take nearly all the recommended supplemental nutrients but no phosphorous is included. I have looked and cannot find phosphorous. Where can I find it? (2) There are so many protein powders on the market. Would you tell us which one you and Mary Dan use and believe to come closest to all your recommendations? (3) Are there any suggestions or changes needed for those of us who have no gall bladder? I had mine removed many years ago but seem to have no difficulty eating any type of food. (4) I deep fat fry occasionally and have always used canola oil. You say this is not good. Would you recommend using peanut oil? My husband says coconut oil leaves too much coconut taste.

    Thanks in advance for your help. I’m looking forward to getting started toward losing my belly fat.

    Don’t worry about the phosphorous; you’ll get plenty in your food.

    We use MRM Low-Carb Whey

    No changes for no gall bladder, especially if you do fine with all foods.

    If your husband doesn’t like the taste of coconut oil, use palm oil or even lard.

  108. Drs. Eades, Thanks so much for your excellent new book, and for both of your generous blogging (I follow both of your blogs regularly — learn a lot and enjoy them thoroughly.) I picked up PP and PPLP 6 years ago, and lost 50 pounds (I’m 6’1″, currently 52 yo, went from 229 to 179 and felt great.) I started running again, and have run 8 half marathons in the past 4 years. Unfortunately, I fell into the trap of thinking that with all that exercise, I could return to eating more bread and other carbs. Slowly I crept back up to 209. 10 weeks ago I returned to the PP fold, and readily lost 15 lbs. (I was followed by my 15 year old son, who read and now loves PP, dropped his adolescent fat in a flash, and now eats healthy vegetables and fruits as never before!) My own weight loss stalled after the first 15 lbs., and of course the fat is around my abdomen, so the 6 Week Cure came out at the perfect time for me. I’m now on day 3. Day 1 I couldn’t stop thinking about “real” food in the afternoon, but never enjoyed a dinner more. On Day 2 I had a nasty caffeine withdrawal headache, but aspirin got me through. And now on Day 3 I’m enjoying the rhythm of the Plan, feeling great, and sliding off the plateau. I’m recommending the book on Facebook and to anyone who will listen to me!

    Thanks for the recommendations.

  109. Some questions for the blog or FAQs, whenever they are up and running:

    A few brands of whey protein powder have mild warnings on the labels to not use them for weight loss. Is this a caution against using them as a sole source of nutrition for long-term dieting? Or should we look for those brands that specify that they are intended for meal replacement?

    Also, is there any harm in mixing plain whey protein powder with a good-quality chicken broth and little cream and seasonings to make a type of cream of chicken soup? I’d rather take something hot and soupy in my thermos for lunch. Thanks!

    I wouldn’t worry about the whey proteins powders, especially since you’re adding some fat, taking a multi and eating a solid meal per day. The whey is a complete protein all by itself. There should be no harm in mixing the whey as you describe.

  110. Hi, Dr. Mike
    I just finished your book and especially enjoyed reading about all the metabolic changes that occur as we age. I bought this partly in the interest of prevention for me partly because I know my husband is concerned about his waistline. Also, I just LOVE reading your blogs and all the wonderful nutritional info you provide.
    And now for the questions:
    1) Is there a way to do the diet plan without the shakes? My husband is French and I can’t see him going for a liquid meal. (not to mention that ice and blenders are hard to find here).
    2) Is there a way to prevent needing the diet in the first place? You mentioned that you were low-carbers yet you still ended up with a middle-aged middle. What gives?
    3)Would you recommend the diet for someone who is not the least bit overweight, trim, triglycerides .93 (have been that forever)? I am talking about myself…47-yr-old woman, not menopaused, BMI 20, running 6 miles (in 55 min) 3x per week and eating low-carb (ie, usually less than 65 gr per day)? Living in France, we do drink a bit of wine, so maybe the liver’s fat, who knows? I’d have no trouble eating only meat for a few days.
    4) What is the story on the fat that we eat? In one blog, I saw you say that it is absorbed by the lymph system and not the blood stream. In the book, you say that it passes directly into the blood and goes into the cells as triglycerides? Can fat still make us fat then? I have also read a report somewhere that said that unused fat is excreted….not stored.
    5) According to your book, the only lipids worth looking at are triglycerides divided by HDL…which in my case comes to something like .76, which is great. Nonetheless, I am one of those folks who has been harassed all my life by doctors (at least since 1984) because I’ve always had a total cholesterol over 200–even in my 20s. The HDL has always been very high, I have no other risk factors, but they look at my lipid profile and shake their heads. To make things worse, they have now revised the lipid guidelines in France to mirror those in the US; ie, if you have TC over 200, you are marked for statination. What can I do? I know The Truth about cholesterol so it doesn’t worry me, but I sure wish I could pass under their radar screen.
    6) Ever hear of a French delicacy called rillettes? It is basically shredded pork, goose or duck mixed with a good deal of fat from said animal. Boy, is it GOOD. Wish they had that in the US…it would be great for your diet. A few spoonfuls and you’re not hungry for HOURS. I think it must be kind of like what pemmican used to be.

  111. Yesterday was Wednesday, the last day of the first two weeks, so this morning I measured my L-SAD and S-SAD, my waist and hip. I’ve lost 2.5 inches on my S-SAD, and 1 inch on my L-SAD. But the best thing, is I’ve lost 2.5 inches on my waist, and 3 inches on my hips ! In two weeks! I am really jazzed.

    I’m really jazzed for you, LC. Good job!

  112. Is there a target blood sugar range I should be aiming for? I’m a non-insulin dependent Type II diabetic (though I’m on 1000 mg of metformin each night). I notice that after 2 hours of consuming the shakes, my blood sugar readings are around 110ish. Is this too high? I thought your goal in the first few weeks of this diet is to keep blood sugar low enough to reduce insulin levels.

    I do add frozen strawberries and xylitol sweetened flax oil to my shakes. If you recommend, I can omit these. Dr. Bernstein and others do believe that sugar alcohols can increase blood sugar in diabetics.

    I, too, believe that sugar alcohols can raise BG in those with diabetes. But, in your case, I don’t think the 110ish is all that high. Check the protein content, and maybe lower it a little if you’ve been using more than necessary. You might want to drop off the xylitol and frozen strawberries from one of the shakes just to see what happens to your blood sugar.

  113. We all hear a lot about too much protein with not enough fat equals protein starvation….but can you please give some light on what the recommended percent of each should be to avoid this? Or is it not something to worry about?

    I do know for me, if I have a protein shake without adding some additional fat, I often feel lousy after. The shakes are all (at least the ones I’ve found) low fat, so I’m only getting a couple grams of fat along with my 40 or so grams of protein. Adding a little cream or coconut oil helps.

    I’m not at all trying to avoid fat, but is there a minimum we should strive for? gram per gram or percent of each?

    This is the reason we add the fat to the shakes. If you’re not doing it already, you should add two tablespoons of heavy cream or premium coconut milk to each shake. That adds up to a lot more than “just a couple of grams of fat.”

  114. Dr. Mike – the whey protein powder I have contains creatine. Do you know if this could negatively affect weight loss? (The powder is relatively cheap so that’s why I use the particular brand – all the other ingredients are perfectly fine, it’s just the creatine I’m worried about since I’m not a bodybuilder)
    Thank you so very much!

    I wouldn’t worry about the creatine.

  115. OK, ignore my preceding post.

    I had a shake for b’fast this morning; 2 single-serve packages of Jay Robb Egg White vanilla protein powder with my metformin ER, supplements, and decaff; PP BG dropped 10 pts…nice. Did add 2 strawberries. Mildly hungry @ 48 gms protein, 4 carbs+1/8 c strawberries, and 800 mgs of sodium…yikes, a whopping amt as I planned to eat food the rest of the day…will see if the sodium increases edema overnight, it’s a concern. Will try his vanilla Whey protein as the sodium for 2 scoops is just 300 mg. Trial & error to see if I can sub a meal, then observe what happens over several days to my BG and wt. What I did get was 3512 mg of isoleucine, 5320 mg leucine, and 4516 mg valine…not yet optimal but at least a start while I see what changes I might need with metformin ER and Maxzide. Anyone else on these doing the 6WC?

    In the meals, the fruit servings are twice what I currently eat…do I have to eat the whole portion or can I eat half and double the veggie?

    You can eat half and go up on the veggies.

  116. Dr Mike,
    Im staring day 4 of 6WC and woke with a bad leg cramp. Ive been doing low carb for a few months and as youve talked about, adding potassium usually prevented this. Can too much potassium cause cramps as well?? I am taking about what is recommended in the book, (about 400mg) but last yesterday took all the suppliments in the evening , as i had forgotten… usually I spread them out through the day. I take flomax (tamsulosin) for BPH… which also lowers blood pressure , and mine normaly is low to start with.. Im concerned that the balance of minerals somehow isnt right for me?…Im going to cut back a little on the potassium and spread it out through the day…
    Other wise feeling good and lost a few lbs.
    Thanks!

    Try some calcium for the leg cramps. Chew a couple of Tumms at bedtime or take a calcium supplement. Either of those usually fixes it.

  117. Dr Eades,
    Per the recommended muscle sparing beverages for the meat weeks of the 6wc:

    I went to my grocery store yesterday to get some Lipton Green Tea on the Go to mix with my leucine, and was shocked to find ASPARTAME on the list of ingredients. I think they must have changed the formulation, because I remember drinking this brand previously without getting sick. ( ASPARTAME makes me very sick! )

    If aspartame makes you sick, you should avoid it. Aspartame doesn’t make me sick, but I still avoid it.

  118. per me Lipton Green Tea on the go comment…
    p.s. I didn’t mean that as a complaint, but as more of a HEADS UP.

    That’s what I figured you meant.

  119. Just an observation— I’ve encountered a lot of people who’ve been reluctant to go on the 3 per day protein shake plan because they claim that it’s too expensive. These people are not poor, and would think nothing of paying $20+ for a meal of primarily pasta. I’ve been telling them to think of it as an investment in their health. And then there’s the total frustration of getting the low-carb message to stick. I thought I had converted my extremely overweight, diabetic mother months ago, but then she came to visit me yesterday very enthused because Dr. Oz is rehabilitating an extremely overweight man with heart disease and thought that she could eat some of the suggestions: low fat turkey chili w/beans, lean meat, oatmeal, etc. I wanted to scream, and I must confess I was a bit vociferous with my refutation, but geez. “WHAT’S WRONG WITH BEEF? WHAT’S WRONG WITH SATURATED FAT??” I don’t want to be the family food police, but I can’t let misinformation go by any longer. And I don’t understand the psychological power that Dr. Oz/Oprah/Bob Greene, etc. have over people.

    I don’t understand it either, but many people apparently hang on their every word. It’s too bad there aren’t more critical thinkers out there. I guess they’re all to busy reading this blog. 🙂

  120. Hi, Drs Mike and MD:

    I’m a little concerned. Been on the 6WC for just over a week, and I’ve been experiencing chronic diarrhea for most of that week. My wife and I have been eating identical meals, and she seems to have no ill effects. Any idea what might be causing my “running” issue? By the way, I’ve lost nearly six pounds that first week…but I’m suspicious most of it might be water weight…

    Thanks

    It may be something in the protein powder you’re using that affects you thusly. Try a different powder and see what happens.

  121. Dr Mike, I’ve read page 112 in the 6WC and relevant comments here from you and MD relating to the blood donation at the end of week 2, but I am puzzled.

    When I was making an appointment I realized I couldn’t make “a unit of packed red blood cells and 2 units of plasma” work.

    How can you give a unit of packed rbcs and 2 units of plasma at the one time? The Red Cross referred me to their special unit about the packed rbcs, but they won’t do without a special order from a physician, that gives the medical reason for the order.

    You can give whole blood or a plasma-apheresis but not both. After the blood donation, you cannot give plasma for 56 days.

    And if you give plasma it can only be a single unit. A second can be made some days later.

    Puzzled in blood-land!

    What you want is called a plasmapheresis. During this procedure the blood bank removes two units of blood from you, then puts back one unit of red blood cells. You end up getting rid of two units of plasma and one unit of red blood cells. If you undergo a simple blood donation, you give one unit of blood, which is composed of one unit of red cells and one unit of plasma. With a plasmapheresis you give the same unit of red cells, but two units of plasma. The plasma is where any pesticide residues and other toxins will be carried, so getting rid of two units of plasma doubles the amounts of these toxins you ditch.

  122. After a very successful 2½ weeks, losing both inches and pounds, I fell off the wagon.
    A carb blow-out (to err is human).
    Should I go back to the Week-1-2 regime?

    I would probably go back for just a couple of days, then move on to the next phase.

  123. Mike,
    Love this 6 week cure. I am on day 5 and have lost 5 lbs., tummy shrinking.
    Another question on vegetarians. I had asked how to work this being a vegetarian. I read the pages
    in the book. My friend is strict, no meat or fish. Is it possible to do this program?

    It’s tough, but it can be done. Really tough and difficult to do if your friend is a vegan.

  124. I just read someone’s comment about constipation and adding flax to the shake. What if the problem
    is the opposite. I have a lot of stomach gurgling and loose bowels.

    I would try a different protein powder.

  125. Do you have any experience with or opinions about hemp products (seed, oil, shakes)?

    I don’t have any experience with them.

  126. What do you mean by “premium” coconut milk ?
    The one I am using has (per Tbsp) 20 calories, 2.13g Total Fat; 1.5g Saturated Fat; 2.13mg Sodium; .25 carbs;.30 Net Impact Carbs; .13g Protein.
    Does that make it “premium” ?

    Premium coconut milk means that it has the fat in it that you want. Light (lite) coconut milk has much of the fat removed. You don’t have to go after the premium (because not all brands use that word), just avoid the ‘lite’ versions.

  127. I’m into the first week of the cure and I am urinating like CRAZY both in frequency and volume. It’s not as if I’ve been drinking a ton of water to prompt this (although I suppose I probably should in fact be increasing the amount of water I drink in order to lose ketones).

    Is urinating so much normal when starting on this diet? I didn’t come across anything about this in the book. Have others experienced the same thing? Am I taking in more water than I think with the shakes (though 6 ounces of liquid per shake doesn’t seem like a lot)?

    You are probably urinating like crazy because you are dropping your insulin levels, which is a good thing. Insulin drives the kidneys to retain fluid. When you lower insulin quickly – as you do with the 6WC – you end up getting rid of all that retained fluid. It’s important that you take potassium supplements as directed in the book because all this fluid you’re losing is carrying some potassium with it.

  128. Any chance we can still use Salicylate topical creams? I’m guessing the Salicylate will still be absorbed into the system and the liver will need to process it so your answer will be no but figured it was worth a try.

    Mary of the temperamental feet

    Salicylate topical creams don’t put as much load on the liver as the oral ones, but they do put some. If you can get by without the cream, so much the better. But if not, it’s a better option than taking it by mouth.

  129. Haven’t read all the other comments so it may have been covered. In the book it states that there will be a video showing how to measure your abdomin. Can you direct me to that.

    It should be on its way.

  130. Please forgive the off-topic post, more relevant topics than the 6WC are old
    enough that I don’t know whether it would get seen, and I have to think this
    through reasonably soon:

    Since reading Taubes last spring I’ve been following a “relaxed” low-carb diet.
    By relaxed, I mean removing all overt carbs, leaning towards low-carb fruits
    and veg, but not counting carbs in fruit or yoghurt, and not losing sleep if
    invited round for a meal with friends.

    I’ve just had some bloodwork back.
    TC 11.79 mmol/L (455)
    HDL 1.39 mmol/L (54)
    LDL 9.55 mmol/L (369)
    TRIG 1.88 mmol/L (166)

    This looks alarming to me. My GP asked me to call in for a consultation, where
    I will no doubt be told that without statins I will be dead within the year. I
    want to understand what’s going on.

    Have you seen others with levels like this, and if so what was the outcome?

    From my understanding based on what you write in PP, am I right to say that you
    view high LDL levels as likely the result of high insulin, which would suggest
    that I’m badly insulin resistent? My fasting glucose is 4.4 mmol/L (79.2) which
    in itself is not a bad figure, but presumably could be requiring an elevated
    insulin level even for my present lowish carb consumption?

    As I’ve said often, when you see figures that are surprisingly unsuspected, think lab error. It happens, and it happens commonly. I would repeat the labs just to double check. Secondly, assuming the labs are the same the second time around, what you’ve got are lab values, not a disease. If you want to treat your lab values, there are a number of things you can do including going on a statin. But remember, lab values are diseases. If I were you and I were concerned, I would get a calcium scan of my heart. If that is okay, then you don’t really have to worry.

  131. Another long term vegan dies early in life!

    ‘ An extraordinary force’ for American Beach, long term vegan Beach Lady’ suffered from stomach cancer and died an untimely death in 2005 by the sea in north Florida. See, The Beach Lady website for more information. She was a tireless worker, environmentalist and an activist, but the vegan diet did not help her.
    I new her personally, she crossed every ‘t’ and dotted every ‘i’ as a vegan, and she wore no leather. She was car free, TV free and child free. She lived alone by the sea for decades.

    Two film documentaries were made about her life: An American Beach and the other, The Beach Lady.
    As a dedicated vegan she helped preserve area, stave off developers at American Beach, Florida. She, refrained from having children and never married. The late Mavynee “The Beach Lady” Betsch, (1935 – 2005) a vegan African-American was, perhaps, Nassau County’s most famous resident.

    In recent years, she has been the topic of articles in national magazines and newspapers. Her willingness to fight for American Beach and its environment, as well as her unique appearance and personality, has made her a household name in Nassau County during the last three decades. In a time when high-priced real estate developments encroached on American Beach from the south and north, Betsch fought to defend and preserve the community and its heritage. With assistance from all the right places, she scored success after success, all with a cavalcade of publicity in recent years, Betsch convinced the neighboring Amelia Island Plantation to donate the NaNa dune to the National Park Service. Today, the landmark is part of the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve. She was a descendant of Anna and Zephaniah Kingsley of the historic Kingsley Plantation. She graduated from Oberlin College Conservatory of Music in 1955 and became a professional opera singer in Europe, where she performed for 10 years before returning to Jacksonville. People who worked with her and those who occasionally found themselves at odds with her had respect for the Beach Lady. Yes, the people (both black and white) in the Jacksonville, Florida community did find themselves at odds with her. In knowing her for decades that by her razor-sharp intelligence, by her tenacity when she hooked onto a cause and by her delightful wit — someone with those attributes doesn’t take long to be someone to be reckoned with. When results of her work were really known, she became an icon, certainly among environmentalists. “Her passing will be a great loss to the community,” said Annette Myers, a past president of the American Beach Homeowners Association, whose positions sometimes were odds with Betch’s. “She was verbal and vocal, telling the American Beach story in her way. She worked along with others in various projects. She took solitary stands in representing American Beach as well. We’ll miss the uniqueness of her colorfulness and her character.”

  132. I see that Envola oil is not a natural oil like Olive or Coconut. It is heavily based on two horribile oils- SOY and CANOLA. I would not use Envola for that very reason.

  133. …I should add, Mike and MD, that I’m not lactose-intolerant. At least I wasn’t last week. Could there be some sort of problem in digesting the larger amounts of protein rushing into the colon (my understanding is that whey protein shakes leave the stomach in a matter of minutes, without benefit of digestion)?

    Thanks again.

  134. Have you read this article by Ray Peat? http://raypeat.com/articles/articles/glycemia.shtml. Here’s a tidbit:
    “Insulin release is also stimulated by amino acids such as leucine, and insulin stimulates cells to absorb amino acids and to synthesize proteins. Since insulin lowers blood sugar as it disposes of amino acids, eating a large amount of protein without carbohydrate can cause a sharp decrease in blood sugar. This leads to the release of adrenalin and cortisol, which raise the blood sugar. Adrenalin causes fatty acids to be drawn into the blood from fat stores, especially if the liver’s glycogen stores are depleted, and cortisol causes tissue protein to be broken down into amino acids, some of which are used in place of carbohydrate. Unsaturated fatty acids, adrenaline, and cortisol cause insulin resistance.” Intriguing article.

    Did a shake this morning with 1/8 c strawberries and PP BG dropped again…nice, usually see a 3-10 pt rise. No hunger…yea! 2nd day of Iodoral 12.5 mg. Temp was 98.6 mid-afternoon (rarely >98), energy level & mood were up, breathing deeper too for several hrs…interesting, metabolism stimulated maybe or just Peat’s aforementioned release of adrenaline & cortisol? Took my usual 12.5 Maxzide & 1500 metformin ER; will continue to sub a shake for b’fast for next several days and observe effects to see if these Rxs need modification.

  135. Dr. Mike,
    I normally take the Carlson’s Norwegian Cod Liver Oil every day that you recommended in Protein Power Lifeplan. Should I continue with it along with the Enova in the shakes?

    That’s fine.

  136. Drs. Eades,

    Although I definitly like the idea of a blog, I think a forum would be a great way for all your readers to share with each other, and learn through each other. Additionally, you could allow moderators and SME’s so that you are not having to 100% cover all the questions asked yourselves. I have learned A LOT through various forum search engines over the past few years. (Incidentally, with so many forum models, I have found the one used by CrossFit to be the easiest to understand/use/search and their requirement for a real name instead of a username keeps people “in check” when corresponding with others).

    Finished reading the 6 week cure yesterday. I love it. I am super excited to order my parents a copy (decided to keep the one I bought for reference purposes). It is simple, yet comprehensive enough, that I strongly suspect my father and father-in-law may even consider reading a page or two of it if the mothers leave it sitting around. Thanks for the new recipe ideas as well.

    For myself, I purchased some Sea-Adine yesterday (Edgar Cayce’s heritage line to be specific) and am purchasing some leucine online this morning. I would never ask my parents to do something I wouldn’t, so I will be doing the two weeks of 3-1, which will end right about the time I have to do my semi-annual weigh-in for the military.

    Thanks again,
    Amber

    Glad you enjoyed the book. There is already a forum on the website, accessible from the Forum tab at the top of any page. There should already be a string developed there for 6WC, but if not, feel free to start one.

  137. For those of you doing high intensity strength training, be aware that the glycogen depletion associated with successfully accomplishing 12 days of the 6WC was enough so that today I absolutely hit the wall during my training session. No such thing as a free lunch 😉

    tony

    The number of carbohydrates in the first two weeks of the plan is pretty consistently low, but not ultra low. On a low carb (even a lowish carb) diet, glucose production is a function of gluconeogenesis. Glycogen stores usually deplete within a couple of days, so 12 days ought to be well beyond the time that the body should have solidly turned to gluconeogenesis for providing blood sugar and fat for providing fuel.

  138. I was reading the side effects of leucine and it stated that it competed with l-dopa across the blood brain barrier. My wife takes l-dopa for Parkinson’s disease. Further reading seemed to indicate that a high protein diet might be bad for her. We were both planning to try the diet in October. Have you had any experience with Protein Power and Parkinson’s ? I have been on PP now for over a year and am stuck, so I am trying to cure to get unstuck. My wife gained 10 pounds after she had the brain implant for PD and wanted to try the diet too. Even with the brain implant, she still takes l-dopa.

    This is definitely something that your wife must discuss with her own physician, who knows her history and has all the facts about her particular case at his/her fingertips. It has been our clinical experience with the few patients we’ve had over the years with Parkinson’s disease, that they do fine on a whole food low carb diet. Not sure that I would use the added leucine, in view of the competition issue, but there’s actually a fair amount of leucine in foods besides whey. If her physician agrees to her using this kind of a dietary structure, she might be best served not to push the supplemental leucine.

  139. “It’s much more complex than that.”

    If it’s taking this long, the problems are political, not technical. Basic blog setup using WP == 15 minutes. Want to get fancy with layout? 4-6 hours, but you can drag it out for a couple of days if you want to try several things. Want to make sure you have all current updates to stay ahead of the hackers? 1-2 hr/month.

    How much you paying your webmaster? I might like to tryout for the job.

    My blogs aren’t all that fancy, but I’ve set aside some time next month to spruce them up.

  140. Oh, back to the 6wc. Day 6, down a total of 4 lbs. On day 4, I was down 6 lbs, but .gained back two on day 5 & 6. Weight went like this:
    Day 2: -4
    Day 3, -2
    Day 4, 0
    Day 5, +1.5
    Day 6, +0.5

    I was kinda hoping for something a little more dramatic, after reading in your book “Nothing in your experience has prepared you for how fast this works.” IIRC, you said that 3 times.

    This morning, I woke up with very sore legs, like I’d overdone it with squats — except I haven’t done any all all this week, only some moderate stair climbing. It’s almost like I was back on those damned statins (actually, isn’t damnedstatins just one word?). At least the headaches are gone. I may try the ALA tomorrow to see if that really was the cause.

    One real positive: If my blood pressure goes down much more, I’m going to have to cut out one of my BP meds.

    It’s been hard to force down that 3rd shake every day, and I’ve been using 2 scoops of powder (~23g protein/scoop) instead of 3 in each shake (I’m at 259 lbs). I tried doing the pasteurized egg in every shake for a couple of days, but I’ve cut that back to one in the first shake of the day only.

    For the meal, I’ve been mixing it up. Fish (salmon) one day, chicken another, beef (rare) another, with about a cup a veggies, usually broccoli and cauliflower, occasionally with some Brussels sprouts (one or two) mixed in. Today was beef (about 6 oz) cauliflower and broccoli, with a pat of butter.

    I’ve also started weighing and measuring everything (except the meat, which I eat until I’m not hungry), just in case that was the problem.

    I’m serious considering giving up that 3rd shake. I’m not really hungry anyway.

    BTW, I’ve found a way to greatly improve the texture of the shake. About 1/8 tsp of zantham gum powder at start of blend. Let the shake sit for a minute or so after mixing, and then blend for another 30 seconds. Smooths it out, and keeps it from separating so quickly. Did that 1st time today, and liked the results (unless there are other undesirable effects, but I don’t expect any, since it’s a tiny amount of basically pure fiber).

    Please go back and re-read the ‘Nothing in your experience’ part. That was written not in reference to weight loss, but in reference to dropping blood pressure and blood sugar, specifically. Your own experience bears this out, since you mention that your blood pressure is getting low. Are you working with your physician to taper these medications? Also, please re-read the information about how often to weigh, which we specifically recommend as no more often than once a week, since weight fluctuates with time of day, what you’ve eaten, whether you’ve had a bowel movement, emptied your bladder, etc etc etc. The xanthan gum is perfectly fine, though I have to say our shakes, made according to the recipe, are quite creamy and don’t seem to separate quickly. As to the sore legs, are you drinking plenty of fluid and taking the recommended amount of magnesium and potassium?

  141. I’ve turned a lot of people on to your new book, and several are about to start the program (myself included). One woman friend has a question. She is already down 36 pounds from general low-carb, mostly meat dieting, since mid-January. She has fifteen to go to get to a truly trim middle, and is very excited to go fully on the Cure, even giving up the beloved caffeine and tequila. One question is, in dealing with insomnia over the past six months, she has found that medical cannnabis in the form of a butter-based extract, taken right at bedtime, is very helpful and is all worn off in time for a brisk four-mile walk at 7 a.m. (I’m going to get her on some weight-lifting instead of walking, but that’s another story). With all the focus on liver health, she’s wondering whether you know if that would interfere at all, and should she stop that for the first two-week segment. Other than that, she’s not on any medications at all, and only occasional alcohol.

    There is a body of work that suggests that cannabinoids’ effect on lipogenesis may increase the deposition of fat in the liver cells–ie promote the development of fatty liver. Obviously this would be counter productive to the key focus of the 6WC. Whether or not your girlfriend would elect to continue to use medical marijuana for sleep would be something she would better discuss with the prescribing physician.

  142. I have a question about putting low carb fruit in the shakes. Is it permitted to put fruit into all of them? It seems to me that the carbs for the day would then be much higher. I can see doing it occasionally for variety, but I’m noticing that some people are really hitting the fruit portions hard. Eggs, too. In each shake? If I put fruit, eggs, cream, etc. in every shake along with the scoops of protein, each one would be upwards of 400 calories each. Is this what you intended?

    MD here: No it isn’t. But in point of fact, 400 calories 3x a day plus a meal will still put you in at about 1600 to 1800 total calories for the day. I wouldn’t recommend doing a ‘real fruit’ addition to every shake, but to use it now and again for variety. As to the egg addition, those people who already get plenty of cholesterol from eating red meat, bacon, and pork in their meat meal don’t need to add an egg. As it says in the section ‘Add and Egg?’ this recommendation it’s an addition for people who tend to be eaters of fish and egg whites–ie those who have avoided cholesterol. Where the idea that everybody ought to add an egg to all three of their shakes came from, I haven’t got a clue.

  143. I am going into the second week and have lost 7 pounds. My wife started this last saturday but by last night (the end of day two) was weak has brain og and was sometimes dizzy. My wife works in a profession where she has to be mentally sharp at all times. Any thoughts on preventing the dizziness/brain fog besides salt. We upped her salt intake and that did not seem to work. The protein powder we use is VPX Zero Carb….i.e. no carbs. Should we increase her carb intake. She wants to do the 6 week program but if she cannot get past these issues it won’t work for her.

    Thanks in advance.

    Dizziness and brain fog could certainly be lack of salt and adequate hydration, particularly if the dizziness if postural (as in happens when she stands from sitting or stooping over) but could also be related to low potassium or to the level of ketosis. It may be that the upping of the salt intake was insufficient, that she needs more fluid intake, or that she needs more potassium or carbs. If she is in heavy ketosis, which is easy to check, she probably needs a few more carbs. Most people who experience what we’ve long termed ‘ketone brain’ in the early going of the switch to low carb will ultimately adapt to using ketones as brain fuel and actually do quite well once they do.

  144. Hi Dr. Mike,

    I’m really helped by the responses you’ve supplied. I hope that the reason my Friday posting is still “waiting for moderation” is because you weren’t on the computer on the weekend. Now I have another comment/question.

    My weight gets stuck more often than not. I know part of the reason is that I simply have to move. Not move more but move!
    What am I doing? Sitting in my chair, thinking, analyzing what I’m eating, why I’m not losing weight. Well it’s not quite as bad as that, but that’s the way I feel about months, years now, with my low carb life.

    Like many others on this blog, I’m concerned about the amount of different nutrients. Obviously, the total intake on the 6WC wouldn’t be the same for everyone. I’m a 5 ft 1.5 inches, 177 lb female. I know that women need less food than males, and weight matters eg. you suggest a different number of protein powder scoops according to body weight).

    I have no problem keeping my carbohydrate intake low, but I’m not sure how to evaluate the amount of protein and fat. I’m on day 6 and I’ve lost some weight and feel great but I really want to know what works best to keep things moving. How much protein should I have in the shakes? I thought that in the absence of a lot of carb, ingested protein rather than stored fat would be used for production of glucose. Nevertheless, I decided to have the protein shakes and one meal/day. Using 18 gm protein/scoop as my standard (your minimum in the book is 15 gm/scoop, and your MRM protein powder has 18 gm/scoop), I modified the amount of powder in my shakes to be about 36 gm protein/shake. On the first couple of days, I only had 2 shakes (I was still waiting for the leucine to arrive and not sure whether I’d started (:- . This was a total of 72 gm protein/day from the shakes. I lost weight but my leucine was only 7.8 gm (from the shakes). Using a powder with a higher leucine content, I decided to keep my total intake of protein from the shakes at 72 gm/day. My leucine content was now 18.9 gm/day. And my weight loss has stalled.

    Then, I found this blog and saw that you and MD use different amounts of the protein powder. You use 2.5 scoops/shake giving 135 gm protein/day and MD used 1.5 scoops/shake, or a total of about 81 gm protein/day from the shakes. How did you decide on these amounts? I know that weight loss can be misleading if one is losing fat but making muscle. What’s more important in the shakes, the amount of leucine or the amount of protein?

    Thank you very much for your help.

    Weight loss stalls are the bane of every dieter’s existence and a tough problem to try to work out long distance, since there are (from a clinical perspective) dozens of reasons why they might occur. From what you’ve provided here, the amount of protein in your shakes is adequate for your weight (which is what it’s roughly based on and why MD uses 1 1/2 scoops and I use 2 1/2) and the amount of leucine, once you increased it, is also fine. Leucine prevents the loss of muscle mass when dieting, so it could be that your stall was from trading fat for muscle. As we discuss in the book, there can be hormonal reasons, both reproductive and metabolic, and any number of other causes for stubbornly hanging onto fat. If the stall persists, discovering the cause, unfortunately, may require a thorough investigation by a specialist in weight loss.

  145. Dr. Mike, Our son-in-law is starting the 6 week cure after hearing us talk about it yesterday at lunch. Their almost 11 year old daughter wants to do it too…. she’s 125 lbs and 4’11”. She has been trying to lose weight for several years; the family is mostly RAW food vegans with heavy emphasis on fruit smoothies made withe spinach and fruit. Her brothers and mom do fine but Miss M & her dad are gaining weight and hungry all the time. Would 3 shakes a day with one scoop protein and a low carb meal be harmful for her at her age? She is desperate to look like “Other girls”, but her gene pool is a big problem. any suggestions re: her useage of 6 week cure ideas?

    Plenty of protein, good quality fats (especially from coconut milk) and meat, fish, poultry, eggs, organic dairy and fresh fruits and vegetables sounds like a good structure to provide everything a growing body and brain could need. We don’t usually recommend that a child who is slightly overweight go on a substantially reduced calorie diet to lose weight, but rather that children eat a good diet and grow into their weight as their natural growth allows height to catch up.

  146. Dear Dr. Mike,

    Congratulations on your new venture.
    Two things:
    1. Have you heard of the Shake’n Take? It’s a mini-blender-like thing that makes 1-2 servings. The top is like a sports bottle that you can carry around. I have one at home and one at work. I LOVE it. It’s perfect for your 6-week cure and I think your readers would find it handy.

    2. Do you have any experience with how the 6-week cure would work for type 1 diabetics? I have been “easing into” the plan to see how the shakes would affect my blood sugar. I had one for breakfast and my blood sugar was over 200 three hours later, even though I thought I’d covered the protein with insulin. Maybe the protein is so easy to digest that I need more insulin? If I have to take more insulin I’m a little afraid I’ll lose the benefits of the plan.

    I also have a theory that I’m hugely upregulated in CPT-1, so if I have much fat in my meal, my cells take in the fat and leave my glucose alone.
    Thanks,
    Wendy

    If you are a type I diabetic and contemplating the 6WC that suggests that you are overweight. If you are overweight, you are on too much insulin. The first step for you is to get your insulin regulated and I would suggest that, if you haven’t done so, you read Richard Bernstein’s Diabetes Solution.

  147. Part 2….. re: grand-daughter….. forgot to mention this is a very health conscious family & no junk food in the house. Miss M is allergic to corn and wheat, so avoids breads, pastas, etc.

  148. Day 9 Update:

    I’m 5’10”, and the day I started I was at 209 lbs, waist 41″, 12/10 standing/lying VAT, and have followed the plan very strictly with a couple of exceptions (see below) for 8 days.

    I’ve mostly used the protein shakes to replace breakfast and lunch and eaten my meal at dinner. I’ve been very busy at work, and the shakes have been a godsend because I really didn’t have the time to stop for lunch. I rarely feel hungry, and I figure I am getting ~1300 calories per day in the shakes alone, plus a few calories of cream in my morning cup of decaf.

    For dinners, I have had “single threat” meat loaf (had ground beef but not veal or pork in the freezer), the Thai chicken lettuce wraps, an outstanding beef tenderloin roast (that bit of extra muscle by the head), and a grilled Porterhouse. For veggies had stuff like a small salad, broccoli, green beans, etc. No fruit except I tossed a couple of fresh strawberries into the blender with one of my shakes .

    The exceptions: I ended up going out for dinner twice during the week.

    First dinner, I drank sparkling water, and had a Caesar salad, veal medallions and lobster tail with Hollandaise, and a few veggies (squash, asparagus, broccoli). No dessert. Probably overdid the veggies a little in this meal, and I don’t know what kinds of evil oils were lurking in the Caesar dressing, but otherwise I stuck to plan pretty well.

    Second restaurant dinner, I drank sparkling water, had a side salad with blue cheese dressing, and a veal chop stuffed with prosciutto and fontina with a mushroom demi-glace. Also some asparagus with Hollandaise. No dessert. Again, the dressing probably not ideal, and I must have picked up a few extra carbs with the demi-glace, and it had to be a very high calorie meal. Outstanding, though.

    So, after 8 full days, I’ve been eating plenty and well, and still lost 7 pounds! Waiting until the full 2 weeks are up before I re-measure.

    Glad you’re doing well. Thanks for sharing your experience.

  149. Dr. Mike,
    We’ve been low carbing for a couple of years, we feel great and are very happy eating this way. Weight crept back on after our initial losses because we love wine ( too much, too often, I guess) so now we’re on day 11 of the 6WC and doing well. My husband has lost about 8 lbs. and I’ve lost about 3. The interesting part is we both find our jeans are feeling a lot looser! My husband is on medication for high BP and has been hoping his BP would be getting lower. However, it doesn’t seem to be dropping significantly. The only other meds he takes are occasional puffers for asthma. We’re also going through a very high stress time right now. Any thoughts about why the BP hasn’t plummeted? It sounds like it usually does drop for most people.

    It has been our experience that about 80% of people with HBP respond almost immediately to a low carb diet. The other 20% don’t, which means that the root cause of their blood pressure is one of the many other causes of hypertension besides insulin resistance. Additionally, some bronchodilators can elevate blood pressure and certainly stress can, so it’s possible that once the stress subsides, the diet will have a better impact on pressure. Glad you’re both doing well with the diet otherwise.

  150. One week in and I am happy to say that I have lost almost two kilos – this is after stalling for almost a year, so you have a very happy book buyer (-:
    One thing though, my urine has turned an almost fluorescent yellow color is this supposed to happen?

    Bright yellow urine usually comes from taking vitamins or eating foods with lots of the B vitamin, riboflavin. If that’s the case, it’s completely normal. Are you using a vitamin fortified shake powder?

  151. Hi Michael,
    yesterday Arthur De Vany “warned” in his member blog against “chronic acidosis” . I quote him partly:
    “……..It is sometimes said of older people that they are full of vinegar. Well, in a sense they are, because as people age they tend to develop a low-grade systemic acidosis. One of my objections to the Atkins diet is precisely related to this point. The low intake of alkaline-containing foods, such as fruits and vegetables, and a high intake of meat tends to shift the body to an acid state. The high level of ketones also favors an acidic body chemistry. Free radicals can become especially dangerous in an acidic body. The acid enhances the effect of the reactive oxygen species………….A state of chronic acidosis reduces growth hormone, decreases muscle and bone mass, and increases the likelihood of kidney stone formation. It can even retard growth in children. Since growth hormone ordinarily declines with age………… systemic acidosis which tends to increase with age may dangerously decrease bone mass and leave the agent vulnerable to bone fractures. Now, earlier studies including a highly cited one by Abelow attributed systemic acidity to the intake of protein. But, in fact, the intake of grain-based foods is at least equally responsible for this. I think the intake of plant food is far more important…..Deficiency of potassium base foods in the diet increases the net systemic acid load of the diet, whether the deficiency is due to the acid load contributed by grain-based foods or by protein intake………Frassetto and his colleagues argue that any level of acidosis may be unacceptable from an evolutionary perspective and that a low-grade metabolic alkalosis may be the optimal acid/base state for humans….. I take an antacid now and then to counter not only my high protein intake but also to moderate the effect of lactic acid that is produced by my workouts. I take vitamin K in lieu of potassium but, having read this article, I am looking to supplement my diet with an occasional dose of potassium bicarbonate. Experiments show that total GH secretion is increased by about 10% with sodium bicarbonate supplementation and in addition osteocalcin levels are increased. The latter is an important factor in the retention and growth of bone mass.

    Probably the supplementation is not essential, because I eat a great deal of fruit and vegetables. And, as many of you know, I eat no grains or grain derived foods whatsoever.

    So of course my question is: would you also advise during the six week to suplement with potassium or would you advise to take more vegetables during the first 4 weeks?

    As it says repeatedly in the 6WC as in every low-carb book we’ve authored that preceded it, we strongly recommend taking extra potassium for everybody on a low carb diet, particularly in the beginning. In our clinical practice, probably 90% of the problems our patients reported were as a result of their not taking the recommended amount of potassium.

  152. Dr. Mike-

    I had a very good first two weeks on the 6WC, losing about 5lbs and a couple of inches around my waist and my hips. Had a suprise weight gain on day 15 of 4 pounds — the only changes was that I switched out some of my Diet Rite soda (splenda sweetened, no caffeine) for some Diet Pepsi (aspartame sweetened with caffeine). I had a little more fat than usual that day, having hot dogs instead of steak. It’s hard to imagine the extra fat or the aspartame being responsible for a 4lb shift, and it’s three days now and the scale hasn’t dropped back down. Do you think aspartame could do that?

    Perhaps more important, I went to give blood the other day and the Red Cross refused to take me, once they learned I hadn’t eaten before coming in. They said they insist that people eat 1-2 hours before donating. I happen to be a one-meal a day person and have been eating that way pretty consistently for a long time. So I went in not having eaten for 22hrs and feeling great — with a blood hemglobin level of 14.9 and everything else fine. But they wouldn’t do it.

    Does their policy make sense to you? I’m on Medicaid and don’t think I can get my PCP to draw blood for detox purposes, so I’m stuck unless I…um…dissemble.

    I try to dissemble at least once a day, when dealing with institutional idiocy. As to the rapid water gain, we don’t recommend aspartame (and pointedly so in 6WC) but fluid retention has not ever been why. Since that was the only change, it’s a likely culprit, but there are lots of reasons that could involve hormones, medications, food additives, and a long list of possibles that are beyond the scope of a blog comment to go into. The difference in fat content of steak and hot dogs ought not to have done anything.

  153. My wife, sister, myself, and a friend are all starting your program today, and are very excited about it. I’m also very interested in the carb timing approach per Volek and Cordain. I know you’re familiar with their ideas, but I think you wrote somewhere that the carb timing could be a problem for someone over 50, so I would like to run this by you. I’m a 51 year old male who wants to get back into free-weight muscle building, and have Volek’s TNT book. His approach seems very in sync with yours. So I’m considering two or three intense, less than one-hour, whole-body weight workouts a week. He recommends very low-carb diet 24/7, except adding 40 to 80 g of carbs to a low-fat whey protein shake consumed just before and after the workout, the idea being that the insulin release won’t cause fat storage because it will first refill glycogen stores that have been depleted by the low-carb base diet, and that the insulin helps amino acids from the whey go right into muscle for rebuilding and quick recovery. I was thinking of leaving the cream and Enova out of just those two or three shakes a week, and adding somewhat less carb than he recommends–maybe 20 or 30 g, along with d-ribose and creatine. But Volek doesn’t talk about age–I think his book may be more aimed at the twenty to fifty year old Men’s Health reader–so I’m hoping you have some advice on this. I was thinking of frozen berries in the shake, or an apple eaten with it, but the rest of the week would be your regular shake recipe with no added carbs, and the one meal a day would be very low to zero carb.

    We are friends with both Volek and Cordain and respect their work. But what’s true for the under 50 is not necessarily true for the over 50 crowd and you straddle the fence. I’d recommend going up on the D-ribose on those days and not so much on the other carbs, though a little more won’t hurt. You could get some dextrose powder (double glucose) to add to your work out shake to prevent adding too much fructose from the fruit. Otherwise it sounds like a good plan; let me know how it works for you.

  154. The protein powders that I see at my store all have Ace-K in them. If this is detox, that doesn’t seem right. Should I be going for unflavored powders? Or not a big deal. Designer Whey and EAS.

    Ace-K, sucralose, or stevia, would be OK, but if you want to use unflavored, unsweetened whey, that’s OK to.

  155. A little problem has developed while on the 6wc. My psoriasis has been made worse, and since I’ve made so many changes to my diet since starting 6wc, I can’t pin it on any one thing. Would it make sense to reduce everything to a meat and water program, and then add back other foods gradually? I’ve continued drinking 1 1/2 protein shakes daily and they are whey protein. I’m wondering if this could be the culprit or just one of them.

    You are correct that with so many changes it’s hard to pinpoint what might have caused the flare in your psoriasis. Go onto the structure of weeks 3 and 4, which is a whole-food, meat based structure and do exactly as you suggested, add new things sequentially. Additionally you may want to increase your intake of vitamin D3, which has been shown to markedly improve the symptoms of psoriasis.

  156. Dr. Mike,
    Should have included more in previous question. Do you now recommend Krill oil instead of the Cod Liver Oil?

  157. Is it possible to continue the week 1 & 2 longer and add food more slowly? I don’t even feel like
    eating food, feeling great with the shakes.

    Sure. Go for it.

  158. Dr. Mike,
    In a nut shell … why do the middle age adults store the deadly visceral fat while most teenagers do not even if they both eat way to much carbs …… what is the difference between the adult and the teenager in the process of storing the VAT? Was this direct question answered in the book?
    Thanks
    John.

  159. Day 4 of week 2 — after dumping 5 lbs in week one, I have an additional net loss in week two of zero so far. At the end of week one, I discovered I had misread the part about enova oil, and I was putting a tbl in each shake, instead of a tsp. Starting week 2, I got into much stricter compliance with the plan in the book, cut the egg-in-the-shake down to one a day (jumbo), put 1 *tsp* enova per shake, and went to 3 scoops of protein powder per shake (from 2; I’m at 258 lbs and holding). Also cut back the artificial sweeteners, since I know that they are a problem for me. I started weighing and measuring everything except the meat in my one meal per day (and I estimate I’m eating between 8 and 10 oz of meat).

    Day after tomorrow, I will be traveling and attending classes for 3 days, so shakes is not a viable option, so I will be going on the “mostly meat” week 3/4 plan until I get back. Since my wife started one week after me, I will probably go back to weeks 1/2 with her just for added convenience of not being on separate diets.

    I guess a 5 lb loss is better than nothing, but I was really hoping for something a bit more dramatic when I read the part where you said, “Nothing in your experience has prepared you for how fast this program works.” Next thing to try is a short fast, I guess.

  160. Down 9 lbs in less than 3 weeks on 6WC! Wearing clothes that were too tight to wear just a few short weeks ago! Thanks for kick starting me back into weight loss – I’m finally excited about it again! Can’t wait to see the new blog too.

  161. So being allergic to soy and whey, I’m guessing the two week shake phase of the Six Week Cure wouldn’t be for me. Could I make the meat-only phase four weeks?

  162. I was looking for a kosher Leucine product, the only thing I found so far is from Solgar, but it has other Amino Acids in it. would that be okay? here is what the label says: L-Leucine 540mg, L-Isoleucine 360mg, L-Valine 300mg

  163. I saw my endocrinologist the other day (I’m a non-insulin dependent, well-controlled Type II) who told me that when I become pregnant (we’re planning to try early next year) I will have to increase my carb consumption to a whopping 150 g per day! I was rather appalled. Of course he did note that I’d have to go on insulin for the duration of my pregnancy and that the carbs would be spread throughout the day. But I still can’t quite get my head around it…I haven’t seen many or any of the low carb experts (e.g. Eades, Bernstein, Atkins, Sisson, etc.) address the issue of carb consumption during pregnancy. If it’s a reasonable request, I’d love to see a blog entry one of these days on the issue.

    Moving on to my journey on the 6WC, the scale has not budged HOWEVER my stomach has shrunken and my clothes feel much looser. I find it highly unusual that the change in inches doesn’t coincide with the change in pounds but I’m still pleased with the changes! And I had no idea that insulin makes you retain fluid! Wow!

  164. Me again… Son in law doing well on program & encouraged, but still hungry with 3 scoops. His weight is almost 280# and he has a very physically challenging job. Would 4 scoops be more in line with his weight?
    thanx for the help.

  165. I´m a bit worried that my body becomes too acid from this diet, because as far as I know meat and protein powder are acid forming, from the other hand the Inuit didn´t eat vegetables at all, how come they didn´t turn sauer (acid)?
    Could you please explain, because I´m sure you thought about this as you created this diet ….

  166. Yesterday, nearing the end of week two, and getting weary of my five-day-old stall at 258 lbs, I ate about 12-14 oz of rare beef and a little over two cups of veggies drenched in butter for lunch. Rest of the day was same old shakes.

    And this morning, the scale moved down 2 lbs. Hmmmm….

  167. Dear Dr. Eades;

    Very excited to receive the 6-Week Cure book! Thanks for publishing it! In your book, you mentioned that a person can take BCAA capusules equivalent to the 2500 mg of leucine powder. I was unable to find leucine powder but found BCAA capsules (400 mg per capsule). How many capsules should I take? Also, are there any negative side effects supplementing with BCAA capsules? Can anyone be allergic to it?

  168. Well I have just finished up my first meat week, and I have to say it went much better than the two shake weeks! In the first two weeks on the shakes I lost a total of *one pound* and no inches. Most alarming was the fact that the shakes sent my blood sugar through the roof! It was really scary. When I was having shakes I suddenly found I was getting postprandial blood sugar readings in the 150-160 range. Yikes I can’t recall the last time I saw numbers that high. The whole two weeks on the shakes I don’t think I ever saw a number lower than 144 when testing 1-2 hours after a shake.

    Much better now thank goodness. On the meat week I’m getting blood sugar readings of 110-120 when tested an hour or two after eating. Just tested now, 2 hours after dinner, and got 118. I’m much happier with those numbers, and I have lost *six pounds* this week on my first meat week. No change in either waist or hip measurements, but that’s okay. I’m happy with the scale drop which puts me at a lower weight than I have seen in months and months.

    Oh, no changes in blood pressure either. It was running about 130/70 before I started the Cure and it’s still running about the same today. But the 6-pound loss this week since giving up the shakes has been a huge mental boost.

  169. Before starting the diet, I did a fair amount of wheat-free, very low carb baking, using whey protein powder, among other ingredients. It strikes me that you could take the basic ingredients in the shakes, maybe add a little flax meal, baking powder, and salt, and make a reasonably decent protein bar. My question is, would the heat involved make any difference?

  170. Dr Eades,
    Thank you so much for your book. I only needed to lose 15 lbs. and I have lost 5 in the first two weeks, so I’m very excited, thank you. I also got my niece on your program and she is doing really good!
    I was wondering, of all the things that we did (added) or didn’t do (removed from our diets) what would you say was the most beneficial for the liver? Or the most beneficial to losing the fat from the liver? I seemed to have responded very well to this plan where I was severely plateaued before and I want to make sure I keep doing it. FYI: I did not use the DAG oil and add 3 TBS of heavy cream and 1/3 cup blueberries and one egg to each shake. Thanks! 🙂

  171. I just thought I’d comment for any diabetics who are having blood sugar issues with the shakes. When I first started with whey protein powder (unflavored NOW whey with no sugar, 1 carb per scoop), my blood sugar skyrocketed after the shake. I switched to egg protein powder and am not having any blood sugar spikes.

  172. Dear Drs., I’m getting ready to start week 3 on Monday, and have two questions about the protein:

    1) My powder has 22g per scoop in it. I weigh 335ish (female, 5’4″) so per the book, should take 3 scoops, or 66g per shake, 3x per day = 204g protein per day from shakes alone. This is quite a bit higher than my protein prescription from PP and even PPLP. However, I was still often hungry, so sometimes added another T cream or coconut milk, or another scoop powder. After weeks 3 & 4, my plan is to cycle back to the shakes. My question: is this too much protein?

    2) When I eat food on a LC plan like PP (which I was on for 4 months before starting the 6-week plan), I rarely feel hunger and have to constantly remind myself to eat and often force myself to eat. Do you know of any “tricks” to help someone with a small appetite eat almost 2 lbs of meat a day? That is what I’ll need to eat during weeks 3 & 4 to match my protein intake from weeks 1 & 2.

    Thank you for another good book. At first I was a little disappointed that it didn’t have as much “mind-blowing” info as PP and PPLP have, but there was plenty of new “food for thought”, as well as more good ideas to try to succeed at losing this excess body fat. I was also, in hindsight, looking forward to another GCBC, but I realize the audience for 6WC is quite different.

    Thanks,
    Pam

  173. Does D-Ribose stimulate an insulin response, and if not, does it behave the same way as fructose as far as the liver is concerned?

  174. Now that I have the book and have read it, I have a couple of questions. Both for MD but I don’t know how to reach her.

    What happened to the rest of MD’s story? It stops abruptly when she mentions bioidentical hormones. Turn the page and there is nothing further.

    2nd questions deals with the recipes. The protein counts seem awfully low. Take for example the Tuna (ahi) tartar. Its a recipe for 2 and calls for 4 ounces of tuna. Well that makes 2 ounces per person. Is that supposed to be the entire protein count for a meal? There are others with equally puzzling protein amounts.

    Editing remark: In my book, the top of the page for weeks two and three of the menus reads weeks one and two.

    Thanks.

  175. Hi, I’m the type 1 diabetic who posted earlier. I think you’re right about the insulin… When I used to go high I’d exercise it down. Now I just hit two buttons on my pump.

    No one but me says I’m overweight but I want to lose the 15 pounds I gained this past year. I have read Bernstein, but maybe Bernstein’s book is part of the problem. He tells me I should have normal blood sugar. So to stay under 140 I have to take 17-26 U/day. I used to get by with 10 U and I didn’t freak out so much if I hit 180. I try to eat low-carb but I’m one of those people who overdoes it with the nuts and cheese. I’m also hypothyroid. My endo’s office has me starting with 25 mg synthroid. So I’ll work on lowering my insulin and cutting out the evil nuts and cheese and see what happens. Maybe it would work to set an insulin max and eat to that. I know less insulin will help. I wish books like yours had special advice for people like me. Thanks very much for the comment.

    Wendy

    Thanks,
    Wendy

  176. At the end of week two I have dropped a total of 18 lbs and not been hungry and feel great. I now weigh 413 lbs and would like to stay on the 3/1 plan for the next 3 months and hopefully lose 3-4 lbs per week on average. Is there any reason why I can’t finish out 2009 on the 3/1 plan before moving into weeks 3-4?

  177. Dr Mike,
    I was wondering what your thoughts are about the food product Quorn.
    I am a major low carb canivore but my partner is a lacto/ovo vegetarian and so I end up consuming Quorn 3 or 4 times a week.
    Do you think it fits into a low carb lifestyle? Is it considered a Frankenfood?

    Here is some info
    http://www.quorn.us/PageComponents/LinksList/Files/2127/Mycoprotein%20Protein%20Fact%20Sheet%202006.pdf

    http://www.mycoprotein.org/what_is_mycoprotein/index.html

    Quorn is made from a fungus/mold!!

  178. After weeks 1 and 2, I am down from 209 to 198, a loss of 11 lbs!

    I think my waistline is down a bit, but I’m not sure I measured it right when I did the baseline (am so used to holding the gut in all the time that I’m not sure if I let it all the way out to do the first measurement). Standing and Lying SAD down from 12/10 to 11/9.

    I followed the program very strictly. though I did have one small piece of bread with dinner on day 14 (went to a restaurant that serves bread with parmesan/red pepper flake/olive oil for dipping). Some days I at more veggies than I was supposed to, some days ate less.

    By the end I was really sick of the shakes.

    Today is day 2 of the “meat weeks”. I celebrated yesterday with caffeinated coffee and beer. I now feel like I can eat less than I was used to eating and feel less hungry, compared to before. Like my system has been reset.

  179. Sorry to be a pest, but I have another question. If you buy whey protein in large containers, is it OK to freeze it to keep it fresh or does it naturally keep for several months? Thanks. Judy

  180. I know I should not deviate from the 6 week plan but I have found that adding unsweetend almond milk to my shake has helped in the taste and satisfaction department. The unsweetend almond milk is very low in carbs and calories and is non dairy. I do add either the heavy cream or the coconut milk and the shake is absolutely delicious. I have also added, at times, a splash of coconut kefir (found at Whole Foods). I am an experimenter and have found these additions not to deter the success of your plan.

  181. Just found this on Amazon: Lose Your Middle-Aged Middle!: The Simple Six-week Plan to Flatten Your Belly FAST (Paperback) by Mary Dan Eades (Author), Michael R. Eades Is this a version for another country? I like the title better!

    Also for my week 4 results: Weight down 5.2 pounds! Waist no change, Hips loss of 0.75 inch. (for those of you following plan, lying SAD no change, standing SAD down 1.75 inch) I’m down another size in pants! Feel great.

    GRRRRR!! I keep getting messages that this contains spam!

    This is the version that will be released in the UK.

  182. Hi Dr. Eades,

    New to the low carb movement and just discovered and read your book and am on day 12! I lost 5 lb’s week 1! I’ve been working out 6 days of week (weights/cardio) for the last 6 months. Before staring the 6WC I would drink a fructose based “recovery” drink immediately after my workouts. I haven’t been drinking these since starting the 6WC but would this be a problem if I consumed an 8 oz fructose based drink immediately after working out during the 6 week program?

    thanks for your time!

  183. I have the Bioactive Colostrum powder and I was wondering if I can put it in my shakes instead of letting it dissolve in my mouth?

  184. Five days into week three, I had bloodwork done and my microalbumin went from .02 to 3.5. My doc knows about my 6WC and speculated that it might be related. He wants another urinalysis in two months. I’m diabetic with good blood pressure and stopped lisinopril two months ago. Could the change be from the liver cleanse and only temporary, do you think? If not, I may restart the lisinopril.

  185. Thursday, I start Maintenance. I will have completed my first four weeks of the 6WC and have stayed true each and every day….even when company came over for lunch.

    I have had incredible success, but have lost a bit too much weight since I didn’t really have much to lose. My my Middle is just terrfic. When I do the breath exercise noted in your book, I can make a “C” shape with my Middle….where did that visceral go? LOL

    I thought my cholesterol numbers were terrific last year, but they are even better this year.

    Last Year Total: 218
    Last Week: 191

    Triglycerides Last Year: 56
    Last Week: 46

    HDL Last Year: 89
    Last Week: 79 (I was unhappy with this, but I completed my first two weeks and probably had an effect on my HDL)

    LDL Last Year: 118
    LDL Last Week: 103

    My doctor has been bugging me to take Liptor for at least 8 years…never gave in. He’s not pushing it now.
    🙂

    Female
    66 years old
    5′ 3 1/4″
    Weight this AM: 113 (Starting weight 118)

    QUESTION: Do I continue the Leucine supplementation on Maintenance?

  186. Why can’t I view the answers to questions on the blog? The answer disappears off the post, especially if the question is quite long. Thanks for any help/suggestions.

    You must be using Internet Explorer 6. The problem should be fixed by now.

  187. Now that I am on the meat weeks I am craving just a bite of sweet. Can I have a half or quarter Atkins endulge bar (just a bite) at the end of my supper, before bed?

    Another question, can a person continue with the occasional shake on mealtimes when you want a quick meal?

    Thanks so much for the continued support on the diet. So far everything has been working very well and I had no cramps, craving or hunger.

  188. Dear Drs Eades,

    I am from South Africa. I got your ‘6 Week Cure..’ book finally from the USA but found out that we don’t have Enova oil or anybody with knowledge about ‘DAG OIL’ anywhere in the country. I contacted enovaoil.com and they basically told me that they do not have any interest in shipping their product to other countries. Is there any advice that you can give me that will allow me to follow the program and get the same results please.

  189. For those who have experienced “gurgling and loosened stools” with the first two weeks on 6WC – check your protein powder for magnesium content. Mine (Next Protein Designer Whey) has 110 mg Magnesium PER SCOOP. My gut cannot deal with 990 mg. Magnesium per day – think Milk of Magnesia X 3. OUCH!

    Slightly off topic. Dr. Mike, I have a (MRI verified, hereditary) orange-sized lipoma on my abdominal wall.
    Is it possible that this regimen will reduce the size of this lipoma? My insurance will only pay for removal if it is impinging on a nerve.

    Thanks for this information on the Middle Aged Middle.

  190. Tjhe only leucine I found was Thermo Leucine which containNiacinamide 3.33 mg, L-Leucine 500mg, Cafeine 30mg, capsicum 5.5 mg and Bioperine 0.83mg
    The bottle say that you should take about 6 capsules per day. In your shake it saying to add 2500mg which mean 5 capsules per shake. It this Leucine ok and should I add 5 capsules per shake 3 time per day? Need to know before I start. Thank you

  191. Nearly all the extracts and flavourings I’ve seen are alcohol based. Will the small amount used in a shake make any difference in weeks 1 and 2?

  192. Having type 1 diabetes myself, I would like to comment to the question about type 1 (Wendy P). I find that I also do need extra insulin for protein shakes, even though I would much less insulin for the same amount of protein from other sources, like chicken, meat, and eggs. I call the shakes “fast acting proteins”. For me it turns out to be one unit for each 10 grams of protein from the shake (interesting, that;s the same ratio I use for carbs).

    Rabbi Hirsch Meisels
    Jewish Friends With Diabetes International
    http://www.FriendsWithDiabetes.org

  193. Hi Dr. Eades!!

    i have started your new 6 week cure and i love it!! i want to start my dad also on it but i first want to show him results, and i have what to show, in 2 days!! i have lost 5 lbs!!! i feel great, energized and never hungry!!! i have two quick questions for you if you dont mind.
    1. i found coconut milk that has 1 carb and 50 calories per cup. i use one cup per shake without water is it fine?
    2. i melt 1-2 tablespoons coconut oil and add it in, is it fine?

    i realize the coconut really gives me energy, makes me feel good, puts a glow on my skin and helps me lose weight.
    i would really appreciate an answer. thank you so much and may g-d bless you for all you do!

  194. Lost 15 lbs quickly, then stalled for last 4 weeks. Disappointing.

    However, got moving down again today. Change is almost complete elimination of artificial sweetener. Don’t know why, but AS has aways been a problem for me. And it doesn’t seem to matter what kind of AS.

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