How to Become Smarter (73 page)

Regarding why this high-calorie diet causes a weight loss, my theory is that there are fattening calories and non-fattening calories. Fattening calories come from starchy foods, nuts, vegetable oils, junk food, and foods cooked at high temperatures (fried or baked food). Non-fattening calories come from fatty meats cooked at moderate temperatures (boiled or steamed), non-starchy fruits and vegetables, and low-fat milk. Although the starchless diet may also work with
high-fat
dairy, I haven’t tested this approach yet. Some of the fattening food products (boiled grains, boiled potatoes) are “healthy calories.” If you gain a little weight on these foods, your health will not deteriorate in any way (at least that is my theory).

Avoid physical exercise:
it will prevent you from losing weight. Self-control is a limited resource and if you spend it all on physical exercise, you won’t have anything left for compliance with the diet. For example, if you force yourself to run two miles every morning, then you will find it harder to comply with the starchless diet. You may come home from the run feeling like a hero, then take a look at all the alluring junk food, and, “Ah, what the heck,” load up on bread, candy, donuts, hamburgers, potato chips, and so forth. The only exception is team or game sports, which people do for fun, not because they have to. I play tennis once a week with my trainer, not because I have to exercise but because I enjoy it.

Don’t count calories and don’t starve yourself:
eat to satiety; in particular, you can consume unlimited amounts of boiled veggies (non-starchy ones); you can also eat moderate amounts of sweet fruits, such as dates and grapes.

Take care of your teeth:
do not chew acid-rich fruits such as apples and berries because they will slowly erode the enamel. Use a blender to make puree.

Avoid pungent vegetables and spices:
the starchless diet may make you more active and impulsive than usual, and you may go through episodes of insomnia and hypomania. My two decades of dietary experiments lead me to believe that pungent vegetables (garlic, onion, radish, and the like, both raw and cooked) provoke feelings of anger and hostility. If you combine this with the hyperactivity, then you will go nuts. Speaking of nuts, they also tend to promote irritability (and weight gain too). Because bland food is unacceptable to most people, you can use half the amount of salt that you normally use.

If your mood swings to an extreme:
{a} if you become hypomanic (this includes abnormally low need for sleep), exclude dairy from your diet temporarily and stop taking cold showers (hot showers too, only warm showers are allowed); increase the air temperature in your home (or room) and put on an extra layer of clothing; if all of the above doesn’t help, then add boiled grains to your diet temporarily; {b} if you become depressed, exclude meat and fish from your diet temporarily, i.e. use unprocessed unsalted cheese and low-fat milk as the only source of protein for several days; take adapted cold showers or contrast showers (a head-out hot shower followed by an adapted cold shower) 2 or 3 times a day.

If you get constipation:
exclude dairy fat from your diet. Ever since I excluded high-fat dairy products from my diet, the problems with constipation have disappeared. Low-fat milk and cheese are OK. Fatty meat and fish are OK too. Take fiber supplements with each meal (psyllium husks are most effective); restrict the amount of protein foods to 3 ounces (100 grams) in each meal; if all of the above doesn’t help, then add boiled grains to your diet temporarily.

In conclusion, it is worth repeating that I had to discontinue this diet and regained most of the weight afterwards. Any diets will have some effects on mental health, and you need to be aware of these effects when trying to lose weight. My view is that a balanced diet containing boiled whole grains is essential for good mental health. You can exclude grains from the diet for a few days if you get bored, but a permanent exclusion of grains is likely to cause problems. Below is a summary of negative psychiatric effects of some weight-loss diets, based on my personal experience. These effects may not always become manifested right away.

• Starchless diet:
  irritability and impulsivity (risk of financial ruin or losing your job)
  
• Atkins diet:
  tiredness and low work capacity
  
• Ornish diet:
  attention deficit and low work capacity
  
• Paleo diet:
  irritability and low mood
  

If you are healthy and overweight (BMI < 30), there is no reason to bend over backwards trying to lose weight. Mental health, work capacity, financial security, and sufficient leisure time are more important than an “ideal” body weight.

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