Starch is usually depicted as the evil of nutrition, ‘it’s bad for Candida’, ‘it’s bad for infections caused by bacteria’, etc., but almost all diets in the world are based on it. In the east lot of rice and soy are consumed, in the west lot of grain and potatoes. So why that bad nomea and how to reach those 2000/2500 calories without half a kilogram of starches (grain, legumes, potatoes, etc.)? Meat is very low in calories and ideally you can’t have them everyday; fruit is sugar, and too much oil isn’t a good idea. So, what’s the point?
Not sure where you got the idea meat is low calorie. Ribeye and other higher fat cuts have tons of calories. Pork shoulder, neck, shortrib, belly, party on. I never think of starches as particularly high calorie, but they make an excellent vehicle for higher calorie foods. Toast without butter is hardly anything.
Then you get into avocados, nuts, seeds, absolutely packed. I can do 500 calories of peanut butter without blinking an eyelid.
High fat Greek yogurt is pretty solid, I get through about 1000 cals in greek yogurt every 2 says (1kg).
There is a reason why starch is on most recipes and diets around the world: we do need to eat starch. I find the presumption of starch being evil to not be correct. It is present in what we use to feed us, as in the examples you mentioned. Trying to ‘avoid’ it would suppose renouncing to complex carbs and fibre for simple carbs (sugars, polyalcohols), which should not be the base of any diet.
There are three macro nutrients, carbs, fats, and proteins. Respectively, 4, 8, and 4 kcals per gram. Also respectively, 95, 85, and 70% bioavailable.
So 100g of lean protein is 400kcals, 280 of which you’ll absorb.
100g of carbs is 400kcals, 380 absorbed.
There is no easy way (or reason) to avoid carbs totally. There are carbs in eggs, in veg, etc.. But we don’t want to avoid carbs totally, they are a good highly available fuel source.
Carbs include slow and fast carbs. Long chain sugars and short chain. If you get some daily calories from long chain slow carbs, no problem! The goal is to avoid frequent insulin spikes related to foods high on the glycemic index like refined sugars, fruit juices, etc (simple sugars with no fiber to slow absorption).. These arguably contribute to insulin resistance and eventually type II diabetes… In any case, to increased inflammation and circulatory system damage.
A fairly high protein 2000 kcal /day is approximately 150g of protein (420 absorbed), 150g of carbs (570 absorbed), and 150g of fat (1020 kcal absorbed).
Fat my friend, fat.
You don’t need much to calorically replace 0,5kg of potatoes if that’s what you’re asking… have some eggs and yoghurt.
On a side note, when not on keto (which is most of the time), I like starches, especially potatoes.
I don’t do especially well with starchy foods like potatoes or grains, and they are mostly absent from my diet. I eat mostly fruit (as do chimps and bonobos, our closest genetic relatives) and green salads, with protein coming from tofu, tempeh, legumes, quinoa, and high quality plant protein powder. I’ll usually also include a small serve of nuts, but no more than about 10-20 of them or I gain weight. Nuts and seeds are quite high in good fats and calories, and they also contain plenty of fibre and minerals. Hope this helps.
Good question! There are a couple of other options for obtaining those 2000-2500 calories without relying so heavily on starches. Eating a balanced amount of proteins, fats and vegetables is a healthy way to hit your caloric needs without over-consuming starches. Nuts and seeds can also provide important nutrients and calories. Additionally, incorporating superfoods like spirulina and chia seeds can give you powerful nutrition without the need for carbs.
There are ways to eat healthy starches. Potatoes, carrots, bananas, pumpkins/butterscotch, oats, beans and legumes to name but a few. On top of this, you can go for integral grains (whole foods) where husks are intact. Think brown rice. So yea you should be absolutely fine with these as your starchy staples.
If you want to avoid sugars and starches you should be prepared for being sluggish, easily fatigued and with mood swings that accompany the start-up phase of any low carb diet. Then, have your meats and fatty fishes like salmon, avocados and nuts to provide you with calories.
Olive and avocado oil. Most studies say they’re good for you even in larger than normal quantities. When I had Candida issues I lived off olive and avocado. Fruit has sugar but berries have less. I ate more protein but it was lean- chicken breast is fine for you as it has less heme iron and saturated fat. Eat more non starchy veggies, more than the recommended servings.
It’s also beneficial to focus more on what your body needs rather than on how anything and everything can be bad for you. Starches aren’t bad for you per say, you just have to eat the right kinds and at the right time. The right time for your body could be all the time. For me personally I can only have them for dinner because I have issues with insulin. Breakfast and lunch are always a serving of chicken breast and as much raw or sautéed veggies I can take without feeling too full (all cooked or topped with a generous amount of extra virgin olive oil). Dinner I can have brown rice, beans, fruit, bread, a small sweet treat, etc. Based on my symptoms, my health, and my weight, my body is happy with this. Try different foods and see what works for you.
Eggs, meats, vegetables, fruits, a bit of nuts are great options for adding calories.
Just because fruit has sugar doesn’t mean it is bad that’s too much reductionist thinking and it isn’t true.
Meats aren’t low calorie at all.
- pasta, rice is 130 kcal per 100g
- potatoes are 80 kcal per 100g
- legumes vary from about 100-400 kcal per 100
- meat is about 180-250 kcal per 100g depending on the type of meat and cut
And the reason it is widely eaten by most populations is the accessibility of them and how easy they are to grow every year in the same places. Quality foods often require more space, nutrients and or care per calorie and hence it is inefficient which effectively makes it expensive. The world is rich but not so rich we can give every human optimal nutrition throughout their lives, not to mention that we don’t even know what is the optimal diet or if there even is one at all or even several.