Well, I don't think I can ever bring myself back to eating meat again. I never liked when I was a kid even. I jusst need to watch the calories and processed stuff.

Oh, and to the above poster, I would never stop a diet if it worked for me. I remember I took a lot of crap also about it too.

WOW you just switched on a light for me. I did Vege high carb low fat for years and was very nervy and anxious. I thought it was cos I had growing boys, then teenage boys, then I thought it was smoking, I was slim though!!!!
Well glad to have read your posts, must get to LC veging right now

Thanx all
Lesley

I followed the mcdougal program strictly for quite some time early in my teens. My whole family did after my mother used it to lose a lot of weight.

It worked REALLY well for me to lose my weight I had at the time. There was no denying it for me.....everybody I know personally who has done it strictly has lost significant amounts of weight.
However, that was the least healthy time of my entire life, seemingly every illness under the sun seemed to flare up with me. My cholesterol and blood pressure was horrid (high high high cholesterol and tryglicerides.....and dangerously low blood pressure at times). My hair, nails and skin were all in bad shape at all times. That time period was when my osteoperosis and arthritis got really bad. My blood sugar was always peaking and crashing, and my moods were getting really bad....I was always extremelly nervous and fidgety (much more than normal even, and I am diagnosed as having OCD, and BP2).
It wasnt sustainable to me, as I never felt well, and was constantly hungry.
Sure the mcdougal plan you dont have to count anything like calories, but it is such a low calorie woe even when you eat until you feel like you can burst, you can still end up ravenous shortly after. I feel strongly that the mcdougal woe caused my already bad issues with food to get much worse....soon after I gave up following mcdougal/ornish, I became anorexic (bottomed out at 130 pounds at 6 foot 3 inches tall before I got help). After that my weight ballooned up to my highest ever of 250 pounds binging on junk. Then my experience with low carb began last year, and here I still am, healthier than I have ever been in my life, and finally seeming to have been able to maintain a decent weight for my height, without obsessing over the food I eat.

*** I am no longer vegan or veggie, I eat a LOT of dairy and eggs, some soy, small amounts of other legumes, and two or 3 times a week I have a small portion of meat or seafood.

Btw my mother who I mentioned did the mcdougal plan strictly for years...but has slowly but surely as of the last year with my influence become more moderate...eating more healthy fats and protien...still vegetarian, and not totally low carb, but it is working for her and she says she feels great now and her blood levels are much better and hasnt gained back any of her weight she had initially lost with mcdougal.

I am Confused with the Paleo VS Starchivore theories and McDougall does he look unhealthy for a 70 year old?

My diet History
I followed the Pitkin diet for over 20 years and i had really perfect health, I would have a small amount of meat and eggs maybe once a week or fortnight. But included dairy like goats or sheep’s yogurt and milk, NO cow products. I would also take a B12 and Vitamin E supplement and flax seed oil and linseed meal. Mostly i would have a mixed rolled oats/rye/barley with a sprinkle of linseed meal for breakfast with a banana or apple and a little honey. (No milk).

Snacks would be fruit or date and walnut scones made with fermented whole meal flour, yogurt, oats, dates and walnut, which I would bake and have with yogurt on top.

Lunch would be sour dough rye bread with goat’s milk or water and a piece of fruit or a vegetable (carrot and tomato) omelet made with water and plain whole meal flour and of course the sprinkle of linseed meal and bi-care of soda an egg whites as a rising agent.

Dinner was steamed vegetables lots of potatoes or a soup/stew also with lots of potatoes and barley seeds.

but then i got into the raw Vegan diet and become more fruit and juice focused, and my health has slowly gone downhill since.

I then came across the paleo diet and tried that but i got even more run down, but I think that was because I was mixing the paleo with the vegan ideas but having high fruit juices packed with greens.

Recently i became paleo again but kept it to a paleo breakfast and then lunch and dinner just sandwiches and stir-fry’s, but added the high butter and dairy.

I lost about 10 pounds in 6 weeks and i felt better and my energy levels picked up. Plus i did not feel hungry in the mornings so would not snack. I cut fruits right back to only one a day and no more juices. But I did not restrict what the evening meal would be as it was more often a vegan stir-fry with brown rice.

McDougall
But then i came across McDougall and the high carb starchivore diet which is closer the old Pitkin diet and i am now giving it a try because the science does seem to support what they claim and also i am temporally in Asia and its harder to do a Paleo diet here, so I will give the high carb starchivore diet a trial and see if I keep losing weight as i feel that weight gain or loss will be a true tell of a diets effectiveness.

But what concerns me about the McDougall high carb starchivore diet is that he does not look very healthy in his recent YouTube clips. Googled his age and it comes up at 70 years born May 17, 1947. So i am thinking that if he looks that old by age 70 his diet has problems. Because he is looking like what a healthy 85 to 90 year old should look like.

What i am thinking is that maybe the real truth is that it’s a mixing of both the Paleo and starchivore theories together that maybe the full answer to perfect health.

So does anyone have any thoughts out this, because i am feeling confused, with the whole Paleo vs starchivore theories.