I used to believe that excess water weight meant that I was getting fat.
But now I know better…
Because you can’t lose 8 lbs of body fat in 24 hours. But you can lose 8 pounds of water.
Which is exactly what I did yesterday after I woke up with a load of excess H20 around my gut.
I lost the weight quickly, because that big belly that sprung out of nowhere was really an illusion.
And I knew I could make it disappear just as fast as it showed up, after taking a few simple steps..
Step one was getting back on my probiotic, because I’d slacked off….
So the bad bacteria in my gut had taken over and were obviously kicking butt over the good guys….
So the good guys needed some reinforcements.
But, those beneficial bacteria weren’t going to win this war unless I got this next part right…
Starch selection.
Because if you pick the wrong starch when you backload your carbs you’re going to wind up looking pregnant too…
And if you take this to the extreme and chronically eat a starch you’re intolerant too, you’re going to look like you’re carrying a set of twins.
So it’s important you get this right.
The best starches for humans are fruit based…
Because fruit was designed by nature to be eaten because this is how the fruit plant spreads its seeds…
So starch from fruits like bananas and plantains are well tolerated by most people.
Problem is, if you rely on fruit starch too much, your diet is going to be very limited, so you’re going to fall off the wagon eventually.
So the key to this problem, is to find some common starches that your system handles well, so you don’t bloat up like a water balloon every time you eat.
It’s very unlikely that wheat starch, or conventional flour fits this bill…
So if you’re still doing wheat, go off it for a week, then watch in amazement as you pee out a gallon or two of water.
Once you’ve done this, its time to start shopping for a carb source that your body deals with efficiently.
Next to fruit, the most likely choice is going to be white rice, so I suggest you test this out first.
But before you start testing make you’ve earned the right to eat carbs…
Because if you’re not burning them off or storing them in your muscles as fast as you’re eating them, you’re going to grow a Real belly made from Real fat.
And this one won’t be so easy to lose.
The best way to test them out is to eat very clean paleo meals all day long, low in carbohydrates…
Then when you eat dinner, backload one starch only, then closely inspect your belly when you wake up the next morning.
If you don’t bloat up, you can put that starch on your safe list. The next night, test another starch in the same fashion, and so on.
Example….
On day one, eat meat and fruit until dinner time.
When dinner rolls around, eat the same foods, but add a portion of white rice to your plate.
If you get hungry again, you can still eat, just stay with these foods until you go to bed, because eating another item may cause a false positive.
That’s all you need to do to figure this out.
Ideally, you’ll find three starch sources that you tolerate well, so you can cycle them.
Cycling is a good idea in this situation, because if you eat the same food, day in and day out, you’re likely to develop a new intolerance to that starch as well.
So make sure you don’t get stuck on one single starch source.
Here’s a list of starches I suggest you test first….
- Plantains
- Bananas
- White Rice
- Sweet Potatoes
- White Potatoes
When testing this last one, keep in mind that there are two highly specialized fungi that infect white potatoes – Aspergillus and Fusarium.
So when you eat potato, these mold biotoxins may hit you hard if your immune system isn’t prepared to deal with them.
One clue that you’re not dealing effectively is weight gain and the inability to lose it, despite dieting and hard exercise.
And if the weight gain comes with a side of fatigue or brain fog, there’s a good chance you have a problem with one or both of these mycotoxins.
So when you test white potato, keep an extra close watch on the bloat factor, your energy levels and your mental state the next morning.
Many of you will have no problems at all with potato starch, but a few of you will get killed by it, and I happen to fall into that camp.
As a matter of fact, I ate two cups of potatoes the night before my bloating event, so I either have problem with the starch, the mycotoxins, or both.
Of course, I already knew this, but everyone falls off the wagon every once in a while.
Anyway…
If you’re one of my newer followers, you’re probably wondering why I started backloading in the first place…
I explain everything right here.
Starch Selection and Stomach Bloating – References:
Neurologic and Neuropsychiatric Syndrome Features of Mold and Mycotoxin Exposure
Wheat Flour Proteins in Patients Suffering From Gastrointestinal Symptoms After Wheat Ingestion
