trying the slow carb diet (SCD)

I’m going to give the slow carb diet (SCD) a shot for a while and see how it goes. The “slow carb diet” (SCD) is summarized in this pdf from Tim Ferriss. The basic rules are:

1. don’t eat “white” carbs
2. eat the same meals over and over
3. don’t drink calories
4. don’t eat fruit
5. one cheat day per week—anything goes

There are also additional recommendations to complement the main rules, including to eat 30g of protein within 30 minutes of waking (“30 in 30” rule).

I’m trying this mostly out of curiosity after listening to Tim and Andrew Huberman discuss it on a recent podcast. Two purported benefits stood out to me in particular:

• increased, steady energy
• mitigating a tendency to overeat late in the day (largely due to the “30 in 30” rule) when skipping breakfast (intermittent fasting)

I’m always after the holy grail of more energy and often succumb to late-day overeating when following a intermittent fasting routine, which has until now been the most successful and sustainable eating pattern for me. So these purported benefits of the SCD are intriguing.

I expect this has more potential as an occasional “reset” type diet rather than an all-the-time diet, falling back on something more akin to Valter Longo’s Longevity Diet (except with more protein) as a daily driver. Time will tell, it’s all a work in progress.

FYI, my current eating routine can always be found here.