My Starch Solution Experiment: Success or Failure?!
/It has been a little over 60 days since I started My Starch Solution Experiment and I am sure that you are all dying to know how it went :). Was it a success or a failure? Did I lose weight? Did my health improve? And will I be continuing with it in the future?
Well friends, I will keep this as short as possible and tell you that I will not be continuing with the Starch Solution Diet. And here is why:
For the first 30-40 days, I felt absolutely amazing! My blood sugar was stable, my energy was high and I truly looked forward to eating. I was loving the potatoes, whole grains and extra starch. However, I still had not lost any weight (keep in mind that was never my ultimate goal for doing this). And then something happened….
I started to feel my energy crashing and realized that I simply was not getting enough calories (for someone with a very active life: a new puppy and numerous workouts a day). So, I tried to increase my calories through fruits, veggies, legumes and whole grains. And my digestion went crazy! I was having a big salad prior to my 50/50 plates and my stomach hated it. I constantly felt bloated and uncomfortable. And although I wasn’t gaining any weight on the scale, my muscles felt incredibly jiggly.
At that point I decided to give in and add a little fat back to my diet (by fat, I mean avocado, nuts and seeds. Not oils or processed food). I immediately felt more satiated and my digestion improved.
What Does my Diet Look Like Today:
I have found a healthy balance of macros: carbs, fats and protein. Also, instead of eating giant meals, I eat 5-6 smaller meals throughout the day. While everyone’s body is completely different, this seems to work well for my digestion. My diet consists of mostly whole plant foods: fruit, vegetables, nuts/seeds, whole grains and legumes (with the occasional Beyond Meat Taco or Quinoa Pasta). Most meals do contain a small amount of healthy fat and my body is thanking me for this (my jiggly muscles seemed to have disappeared a bit). I am still eating plenty of starch and veggies but am no longer following the 50/50 plate (half starch, half veggies).
Will I Take Anything Away With Me from The Starch Solution:
I actually think that My Starch Solution Experiment was extremely beneficial to my health and mental well being. It helped me let go of my fear surrounding carbs and my obsession surrounding protein. I no longer plan my meals based around protein. I just eat…real whole plant foods. I don’t freak out and feel guilty if I eat a potato, rice or a whole grain bagel. In addition, I did learn to make some pretty awesome recipes, especially the low fat, vegan cheese sauce :)
In Conclusion:
I absolutely do not think that the Starch Solution is bad or that people cannot benefit from it. In all fairness, when I started this experiment I had already been eating a low fat, whole food plant based diet. The only thing I really changed was the addition of starchy carbs and the elimination of smoothies. No wonder my weight didn’t change at all!
I definitely think that someone who is eating a standard American diet can benefit greatly from this program and from this way of life!
Having said that, I am saying goodbye to the Starch Solution but it has been an interesting 60 days and I am grateful that I tried it.
Have you tried The Starch Solution Diet? I would love to hear if it worked for you. Please comment below and thank you for reading my journey.
<3, April (Happy Healin’ Vegan)
