I had been skinny for my whole life and was always very active growing up and through high school. In college I started to struggle with my weight sophomore year of my undergrad. The summer following my sophomore year (2007) I went on a calorie restricted diet. I always ate at least 1200 calories, and no more than 1600 per day. All foods were fair game. I did steady steady cardio (running 1-3 miles at a time 4-5 times a week). I started at 140lbs and got down to 127lbs and a 27" waist by the end of the summer. I started to slowly increase my calories, and in the fall I started to be ravenously hungry and miserable all the time. I became miserable, felt tired, insatiably hungry and slowly started to gain weight. I became frustrated and at this point I began a vicious cycle of binge eating (5000+ calories a day; to the point I felt physically ill) for days or weeks, and then feeling immensely guilty and then eating only 1200-1400 calories a day for a few days or weeks. I would ultimately fail and return to binging. Throughout this cycle, I took an up and down journey in my weight and got up to 152lbs with a 32" waist by June of 2010.

This is the most unhappy I had ever been with my body. I hit the running agenda hard, and kept a moderately level of calories. I lost weight to an extent (140lbs, 29" waist at my lowest), but ultimately it wasn't something I could maintain. When 2011 started I began my training for a half and full marathon. I was running 40-50 miles a week from March 2011-August 2011. I was always hungry and refused to restrict myself to a low calorie diet. In August of 2011 I weighed 150lbs and had a nearly 30" waist. I was very frustrated and didn't understand how someone running half and full marathons could still be chubby, especially in the stomach area, on their 5' 5" body.

In August of 2011 I discovered CrossFit. I went three days a week for August to the end of the October. In November I decided to start going 5 days a week, and transition to a paleo diet. I went the month of November transitioning, and it was mostly seamless and easy. In December I was full paleo, and dropped down to 142-145lbs range and a 27" waist.. I've continued training at my crossfit gym 5 days a week since, and my weight falls around 145lbs. If I had to estimate (and I have superb estimating skills based on my calorie counting past) I'd say I eat anywhere from 2500-3000 calories a day. I currently have a 27" waist. I am wearing the exact same pants I wore when I weighed 127lbs.

I've probably 'fallen off the paleo bandwagon' 2 times since I started. I've found wheat is what causes the most problems: I feel sick, bloated, and have problems going to the bathroom. I am unable to feel full, and despite knowing my stomach hurts and is physically filled, I want to keep eating. Ironically, although it makes me feel terrible, I actually crave wheat. It's incredibly difficult to remove the wheat for about 2 days, but once removed, the thought of eating it disgusts me.

What was the biggest challenge to adopting a carbohydrate-restricted or paleo diet?
Cutting out wheat.

What advice (if any) would you give to someone interested in trying a carbohydrate-restricted or paleo diet? Were there any obstacles that you overcame that could help future dieters?
Take 3-4 weeks to transition into the nutrition plan. Start by adding one paleo meal per day during your first week (breakfast is an easy place to begin). The second week, add a second paleo meal a week, and so on. Give yourself 4-6 strict weeks and then start to slowly reintroduce foods and see what works for you. Tailor the diet to your body and figure out what works for you.

These prophetic words were taken directly from the original Dietary Goals For Americans, published in 1977. Worried about the unintended consequences of dramatically changing the American diet, Mr. Percy voiced his concern in bold letters, urging the American people to carefully consider the scientific controversy underlying the integrity of these recommendations before accepting them as fact. 

Without knowing what was in store for our health, the next 35 years would see the most unprecedented rise in obesity and diabetes our world has ever seen.

Since the guidelines have become policy, doctors and dietitians all over the country have been blindly recommending the diet given to us by the USDA, based on the assumption that there is overwhelming clinical support. Anyone who even questions the veracity of these recommendations is simply ill informed and likely a profit-seeking quack promulgating his late night television pseudoscience. These same doctors and dietitians have seen the largest rise in obesity and diabetes ever. There are two major explanations for this: either Americans aren't listening, or the information is wrong. 

My question is simple: After 35 years, are there any randomized clinical trials demonstrating that a low fat, high carbohydrate diet is more effective than a low carbohydrate, calorie unlimited diet to lose and/or maintain your weight?

If doctors are expected to practice evidence based medicine, prescribing drugs and performing procedures supported by the largest body of clinical evidence, then surely the same should apply for diet. There are at least 14 randomized clinical trials refuting the use of a low fat diet as the standard of care. Where are those supporting it?


Challenge to the World

The challenge is simple: 

1. Find clinical trials supporting today's standard of care as compared to a low carbohydrate diet. A randomized control trial in which a calorie-restricted, low fat, diet results in more weight loss than a calorie-unlimited, low carbohydrate diet (more).

2. Submit them by email to [email protected].

3. Donate to the pot and increase the stakes.

After six months, the person(s) who find such trials will win a percentage of the donation pot. 100% of the remaining money will be donated to the Nutrition Science Initiative.

Donate and Share

If you want to help our efforts and contribute to a better understanding of how food affects our health, then:

1. Share this post on facebook and twitter
2. Head over to our challenge page and donate. Even $1 would be helpful.