Archive for Sugar

How To Avoid Fatigue Induced Food Cravings; and more Food Pics

September 10, 2014 / / Comments Off on How To Avoid Fatigue Induced Food Cravings; and more Food Pics

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERALast night I had a very rare bad night’s sleep.  Normally, I’m the type that when my head hits the pillow, I don’t slowly drift off, I plummet into oblivion.  I don’t even move very much and some mornings my hair’s perfect 🙂

Anyway, something went wrong last night, and I couldn’t get to sleep until around 3:30.  I get up at 5, so clearly, I been “off” today.

What wasn’t off?  MY EATING.  Honestly, a few years ago a bad night like that would of had me snacking or binging on and off throughout the day.  I would have gone from feeling bad to feeling miserable.

These past few years of eating more fat, and these past several months eating GOBS of fat, and …. nothing.  No desire, no cravings, no inkling of an idea that eating might make me feel better.  What a relief!  I wish I had known about this when all my kids were little and I had over a decade of interrupted sleep, but better late than never.

Food cravings strike for many reasons; and food cravings can strike for absolutely NO REASON AT ALL.  You just want the food,.. because.  I think the science is pretty clear that CRAVINGS are a symptom of a high carb diet.  Here’s a line from a study published by the NIH, comparing Low CARB diets (LCD)  with Low FAT diets (LFD): Compared to the LFD, the LCD had significantly larger decreases in cravings for carbohydrates/starches and preferences for high-carbohydrate and high-sugar foods. The LCD group reported being less bothered by hunger compared to the LFD group.

Exactly!  Our body is made out of Water, Fat, and Protein; a little bit of mineral, even less vitamins, and just a teeny, tiny bit of Carbohydrate. ( Most carb is converted to fat and stored.) For the past several decades, during the Low Fat push, our dietary fat’s decreased and our carb consumption has increased, greatly.  What’s been the result?  Obesity and disease, with the CDC predicting NO END IN SITE TO THE RISE OF EITHER.

(When they talk about statistics in 2030 or 2040, they’re talking about what OUR KIDS will be facing.)

Eating disorders, food compulsions, they’re also on the rise.

A day of cereal or toast for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch, pasta for dinner, and carby snacks in between are a recipe for exactly the health and weight situation we’ve got.  It’s also a perfect way to create food addiction.  Substances in grains and sugar trigger the addictive pleasure centers in our brain.  The glucose nature of grains and sugars causes them to quickly be digested and absorbed into the blood, sending blood sugar HIGH, along with the Insulin necessary to lower it.  High Blood Sugar and High Insulin lead to:  Inflammation, Heart Disease, Diabetes, Cancer, Auto-Immune, Migraines, and I could go on and on.

It matters what we eat; stay away from the Cereal, the Bread, the Pasta, The cookies/cake/croissants/muffins/pretzels/crackers/waffles.  Load up on good meats and eggs, healthy fats, TONS of vegetables, some fruit, some nuts and seeds, and some full fat dairy if you tolerate it.  You’ll say good by to health issues, good by to excess body weight, and good bye to cravings, I promise.

Meals for the past two days:

Smoothie Tuesday: water w/flax and chia/Jay Robb protein/2 raw eggs/MCT oil/frozen spinach/frozen banana/cinnamon/ginger/coconut flakes/pumpkin seeds

lunch 9:10Lunch Tuesday:  sardines/basil/tomatoes/S&P/balsalmic   and a coconut oil fat bomb.  It doesn’t look very good but it tastes fine – honest.

 

dinner 9:10

 

 

 

Dinner Tuesday:  ground sausage and liver fried in butter topped with a little cheese;  roasted potatoes;  and in the bowl:  cauliflower, tomatoes, mushrooms in butter, w/ thyme and oregano.

Today / Wednesday:

Smoothie: I KNEW I NEEDED TO EAT VERY HIGH FAT TO GET THRU THE DAY:  a cup of full fat coconut milk ( can, not box), flax, 2 raw eggs, vanilla and stevia, MCT oil, raw greens powder, coconut flakes, blueberries, nutmeg, and mace.

Lunch:  out to eat:  a big cobb salad with salmon, olive oil and vinegar.

And that’s it so far.  Oh, Tip For The Day:  Plan.  Did you think each day would be a different tip? Planning is EVERYTHING.  Plan your lists, plan your meals, plan around your schedule, plan when you’re going to chop and cook and pack.  The busiest people in the world get the most done because they Plan.  Eat well!

Category: Carbs, Cooking, Fats, No Recipe Paleo Meals, Paleo Diet, Paleo Recipe, Smoothie of Day, Sugar, Weight Loss / Tags: , , ,

Got Heart Disease? There’s a Good Chance You Do. Luckily, You Have Power Over That.

August 24, 2014 / / Comments Off on Got Heart Disease? There’s a Good Chance You Do. Luckily, You Have Power Over That.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAI wrote a Newsletter yesterday on Heart Disease and how to both prevent it and diminish any damage you’ve possibly already caused.  It takes about 20 years for a disease to develop blatant symptoms; “Silent Damage” is very real, and statistically, if we live a Standard American Life, we have it.

If you read my Newsletter already, re-read it with another horrible disease – Cancer – on your mind.  Most of the causes of Heart Disease are also causes of Cancer, and certainly causes of Inflammation.

Further, most of the causes of Heart Disease, Cancer, and Inflammation, will inhibit Weight Loss. 

This Newsletter contains both Reasons for damage to your arteries and heart, and Solutions.

Heart disease is the #1 killer in the U.S. About 1 million people die EACH year from heart attacks, strokes, or a “cardiovascular event”.

According to the American Heart Association, to lower our risk of Cardiovascular Disease we need to lower our cholesterol by eating low fat foods and taking statins if needed, exercise, reduce salt intake, and stop smoking.

Hmmm. Americans ARE taking statins ( 1 out of 4 over 45), we do eat less fat than 100 years ago ( when heart disease was rare), more people exercise than ever, salt intake IS down, and fewer Americans smoke.

The CDC predicts Heart Disease will increase EVERY SINGLE YEAR FOR THE NEXT 30 YEARS.
The advice has some problems.

One of the main causes of heart disease is damage to our Coronary Arteries, or CAD for short ( coronary artery disease). What damages our arteries? It’s not what you think.

Delete the image burned into our minds that we eat foods with saturated fats and cholesterol and within minutes those substances have filled our bloodstream, and then literally clog it. That’s biologically impossible.

If you’ve worked with me, you know that fat takes hours to digest. (that’s a good thing.) Fats from food sources are readily and easily used by the body for their individual fatty acids to build and repair. Remember, our body is made out of Water, Fat, and Protein; a teeny bit of mineral, and even less vitamin and carbohydrate (1-2%). Good fatty acids are CRUCIAL for our health. ( http://www.rocksolidnutritionandwellness.com/the-basics/fats/ )

We don’t develop heart disease because Saturated Fat and Cholesterol are horrible villains destroying our arteries. Other things do that. Here’s a list of reasons, and the solutions to go with it.

1) Insulin. Insulin is produced by the pancreas in response to sugar/glucose ( from flour, grains, fruit, beans, etc.) Insulin’s okay in SMALL amounts, critical even, and incredibly damaging in large amounts, like the amounts the average American makes due to ingesting simple carbohydrates several times a day. Think of the hormone Insulin like BARBWIRE COURSING THRU YOUR ARTERIES. It’s caustic and damaging in large amounts.

If you’re overweight, or over 40, and/or have high Triglycerides ( > 100) ask for a 3 hour Glucose Test. If your body can’t handle a bolus of glucose, that means your cells are saying “NO” to the Insulin, aka, Insulin Resistance. This is bad because this means high levels of Insulin and high levels of Glucose are staying in your blood stream WAY TOO LONG. The Insulin literally INFLAMES YOUR ARTERIES, and the Glucose attaches to the proteins in your arteries ( collagen, a protein, is a main component of arteries), and “GLYCATES” them: sticky sugar molecules inappropriately attach to the proteins and fats in your body and blood and DESTROY them. Their shape, their function: ruined. It’s bad.

Even easier: Buy A Glucometer and test your postprandial/after meal blood sugars. It’s simple – ask me how.

Solution: Quit eating Grains and Sugars! Insulin will decrease, Blood Sugar will decrease, Inflammation will decrease, Triglycerides decrease, VLDL ( the “bad” cholesterol) decreases, HDL INcreases, and your WEIGHT and STOMACH girth will decrease. Can’t imagine eliminating sugar and grains? Neither could I. It was easier than I thought; you can do it too. If you’re addicted, email me.

There’s NO medication to lower Insulin, there’s NO medication to lower Triglycerides, there’s NO medication to raise HDL, there’s NO medication to decrease Inflammation ( permanently). Statins don’t do any of that except for possibly, in some people, reduce some inflammation. SOME PEOPLE. What you put in your mouth is the only solution. A high fat, low carbohydrate REAL WHOLE FOOD diet, with great supplements, good sleep, and movement, is the fix.

2) Man made chemicals, found in foods ( preservatives, emulsifiers, flavors..), personal care products, lawn and garden chemicals, cigarettes, are LOADED with toxins that have the same effect on your arteries that Insulin does: they’re caustic and damaging. Did anyone read the Washington Post article on the FDA’s INABILITY to regulate and monitor all the chemicals in our daily lives? Pitiful. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/food-additives-on-the-rise-as-fda-scrutiny-wanes/2014/08/17/828e9bf8-1cb2-11e4-ab7b-696c295ddfd1_story.html) 100 years ago we had NO chemicals in our food supply, 50 years ago we had less than 1000, today, there’s more than 9,000. Many of these HAVEN’T been tested, and many that have, and are deemed possibly CARCINOGENIC, are granted a GRAS status (generally regarded as safe), and incorporated into items we eat, drink, and slather on. Other countries all over the world say NO to hundreds of chemicals that are prolific in American processed foods and products.

Solution: Quit eating processed foods! Shop, chop, pack, and cook. Become picky about food quality. Be suspicious of restaurant food. Read labels of your food and products.

3) Lack of Vitamin D3, the B vitamins ( the heart LOVES B’s), K2 ( essential for placing Calcium in BONES and not arteries), along with other nutrients. How could you be deficient in Nutrients? Your gut. If you burp, bloat, or reflux, you don’t have enough stomach acid. If you don’t have enough stomach acid, breakdown and absorption of nutrients are reduced and good gut bacteria, who have thousands of jobs, are negatively affected. All disease begins in the gut.

Solution: (a) fix your gut with HCL and/or digestive enzymes (b) supplement with D3, K2, and other nutrients. If you’re confused, ask me.

4) Plaque build up and Inflammatory compounds from the damage you keep doing. Plaque is literally a God-Send. It saves our lives over and over. Plaques get sent to the damaged areas in our arteries to prevent them from busting open ( an occlusion). If we didn’t have plaque, heart disease would kill us a whole lot faster than it does. Atherosclerosis is “never-healing-lesions”. They don’t heal because we keep damaging them over and over with Insulin, Glucose, chemicals, etc. The assaults don’t stop, so the plaque can’t stop.

Our liver makes the plaques and sends it to the damaged areas. What’s in plaque? 68% is fibrous tissue, 8% is calcium, 7% inflammatory cells ( they call our fighter cells to them to remedy damage), 1% foam cells, and 16% lipids/fats. MOST OF THE FATS, ~74%, ARE UNSATURATED.

Solutions: quit building plaque! and supplement: Niacin increases HDL which helps reduce plaque, and lowers LDL and triglycerides; Vit K2 reduces calcium in arteries; Vit C is heavily used by arterial walls to rebuild; a good fish oil soothes inflammation (instead of plaque patches soothing inflammation); CoQ10 reduces amyloid plaques ( Statins turn OFF the cells that make CoQ10, they’re the same cells in the liver that make Cholesterol.) and CoQ10 is a preferred fuel for the hearts cells mitochondria ( fuel furnaces).

5) Magnesium Deficiency. Magnesium is critical for over 300 daily functions, magnesium deficiency is EPIDEMIC. It takes 28 molecules of Magnesium to process 1 molecule of sugar ( from dessert, bread, or pasta). Magnesium relaxes the artery walls, reduces blood pressure, and makes it easier for the heart to pump blood and for the blood to flow freely.

Solution: Supplement every single day with Magnesium. It matters that you use GOOD magnesium and not one that passes through quickly without being absorbed into your cells. Ask me if you need a recommendation.

6) Fibrinogins. These are blood clotting cells. I know about these because I’ve had 2 blood clots. Instead of Coumadin ( never!), I’m on Systemic Enzymes. I get my blood analyzed on a regular basis, and I haven’t had Fibrins in my blood for years now thanks to Systemic Enzymes, fish oil, and an Anti-Inflammatory diet ( Real Whole Food, no sugars or grains).

Have you ever heard of Systemic Enzymes? I LOVE them! What an enormous difference they’ve made in my life. I’ve been on them for about 10 years, I’m almost 50, I work out HOURS a week, and my level of pain and inflammation ( from exercise or injuries) has never been lower. I’m savvier at how to manage it via years of trial and error with which enzymes work best for me.

Basically, the inflammatory compounds in our body are mostly Protein based. Bacteria, virus, most pathogens, are protein based. Systemic Enzymes break down proteins in our blood and tissues: scar tissues, blood clots, cysts, plaques. There’s studies all over the world validating Systemic Enzymes in not only the fight against inflammation, but cancer too. ( http://www.inflammation-systemicenzymes.com/).

Again, if you’re interested, ask me. There’s several different fantastic Enzyme Formulas out there, you’ll need to find the one that works best for you.

7) Excessive alcohol. If I had a dime for every time I heard that wine is healthy, I’d be a millionaire. We’re NOT Italian or French. We don’t eat, live, or sleep like them. We’re Americans, and we’re fat ( 70% overweight), sick ( 70% are on at least 1 drug), and tired ( the CDC says it’s EPIDEMIC: http://www.cdc.gov/features/dssleep/). We can’t get away with excessive alcohol. Alcohol’s effects on the heart are many: it directly causes a “weak heart” or Cardiac Myopathy; alcohol ruins liver functions which is critical for the CoQ10 and good cholesterol the heart craves; and alcohol literally ruins stomach lining, which decreases stomach acid which decreases nutrient breakdown and absorption. Stomach lining also produces Intrinsic Factor, which attaches to B12 and escorts it into cells for use. Deficiencies in B12 are associated with high Homocysteine, a HUGE risk factor for Heart Disease and Stroke. ( Acid suppressors also reduce B12)

B12 should be sublingual for good absorption. CoQ10 is an excellent idea for anyone over 40, as even if you’re NOT on a statin ( and you probably shouldn’t be), your body produces less as you age. Your heart needs CoQ10 for “food”, so supplementation is a very good idea.

8) Trans fats in Margarines, and Vegetable Oils that are heated, or exposed to light and air (O2), are damaging to the arteries. Quit using them! Use Saturated Fats for cooking instead: they’re LOADED with nutrients, and their chemical structure is STABLE, which means heat, light, and air don’t oxidize or damage them.

Heart Disease is preventible. Become informed, be proactive, learn, study, read. Don’t take your doctors advice if it’s old-fashioned and clearly not working. Reread the info in the Newsletter, and then read the link at the bottom. There’s so much science out there that’s not getting to the masses. Don’t let that be you!

Here’s an interview with 2 doctors from one of my favorite books, The Great Cholesterol Myth.  

Category: Exercise, Fats, RWF, Sugar, Weight Loss / Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

School’s About To Start, How’s Your Immune System? How’s Your Kid’s Immune System?

August 18, 2014 / / 2 comments

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAI’ve got a great reader question about Strep Throat, but I’m going to morph that into a Post on the Immune System.   After all, that’s what it’s all about, right?  Here’s the email:

 I was hoping to find out more about which brand of probiotics I should be taking.  I have a long history of frequent occurrences of strep throat and still get it frequently in adulthood. I have always been given antibiotics so I’m thinking I do not have even close to the amount of good gut bacteria that I should have.  I have noticed over the years that when I get strep throat the symptoms have become more and more severe with higher fevers and a horribly sore throat.  Do you think this could have anything to do with all the antibiotics I have put into my body?
In addition to probiotics, are there certain foods that will increase good bacteria more than others? And for the next time I get strep, do you think its too late for me to try natural remedies after a lifetime of antibiotics?

Strep, and sore throats, used to be my Achilles Heel also.  For everyone reading this, take out “strep” and put in whatever illness is your primary problem, because it’s not the Bug that’s our issue, it’s our immune system.  It’s either weak or strong, and for the most part, we have a lot of control over that.

If you have a weak immune system, and start building it TODAY, in a year, you could be a completely different person.   It’s never too late to build a strong immune system, but it does take consistent effort for the rest of your life.

The bacteria that cause strep, Streptococcus pyogenes,  is actually a NORMAL bacteria for us.  As a matter of fact, our skin and mucus tissues ALWAYS have bacteria on them, this strep bacteria being one of them.  What happens is sometimes it, or other “Normal Flora”,  overstep their bounds and become pathogenic.  Why?

We compromise our immune system with chemicals and/or sugar.  How?

The primary chemicals in ANTIBACTERIAL SOAPS, triclosan and triclocarbon (T&T), actually ******mutate all the bacteria they come into contact with, both the good and the bad.  By the way, our skin is a PRIMARY line of Immune Defense; that means God made it literally teeming with BILLIONS of bacteria that work FOR US.  Studies show that when these bacteria are exposed repeatedly to triclosan and triclocarbon, Genetic Mutations Happen. This is bad. I can’t even link to one study – there’s too many. Google it if you’re interested.

When good bacteria are mutated, they’re UNable to fight off bad bacteria.

Studies also show that T&T disrupts thyroid function, muscle function ( your heart is a muscle), and imitate estrogen ( a xenoestrogen). So, it slows thyroid, muscles, and imitates estrogen? Hello body fat, fatigue, and moobs!

Another reason to stay away from antibacterial soaps? Triclosan was introduced in 1969… as a Pesticide; and today it’s still registered as a pesticide.

It’s time – right now – to throw away any and all bacterial soaps you have in your house and switch to just Plain Soap.  Look for brands that have FEW ingredients and no chemicals:  Dr. Bronners and Kirks Castille are two we use in our house.  There’s several options in your stores Healthy Aisle.  If you’re rubbing your babies butts or your kids hands with chemical laden wipes, stop now and find a better brand.  They also contain T&T, along with assorted other cancer causing, immune disrupting, chemicals.

Reason number 2 for a weak immune system:  Sugar; it suppresses the immune system IMMEDIATELY, and for hours; and it’s Bad Bacteria’s FAVORITE food.  ( Cancer cells also thrive on sugar.)

Scenario:  You and your child wake up and have a glass of OJ, a bagel or bowl of cereal, and a banana.  Boom:  there’s now anywhere from 70 to 100 grams of sugar in you, or 17 to 25 Teaspoons of Glucose in the blood.  White Blood Cell activity, the exact activity we need when the kid next to ours sneezes, or we push open the door loaded with bacteria at our office/store/gym, won’t be coming to the rescue.  It’s suppressed from the sugar, and possibly mutated by antibacterial soap.

Reason number 3 for a weak immune system:  Too much Bad Gut Flora and not enough Good Gut Flora.  Our large intestine is supposed to contain about 100 TRILLION beneficial bacteria.  It turns out that these bacteria have hundreds and hundreds of jobs, and one of the biggies is interacting with all our Fighter Cells, like T-Cells and B-Cells.

A single round of plain old antibiotics, for strep, may wipe out strains of beneficial bacteria that may never, ever come back.

Our Lymph System, which is heavily involved with our Immune system, runs through our large and small intestine, completely and literally intertwined.  Our gut bacteria and our lymph system work together to create our Immune System.

It matters that we have Great Gut Function:  good strong stomach acid, plenty of digestive enzymes, we poop every day, and that our food goes from one end to the other WITHOUT gas, bloat, indigestion, or reflux.  Those conditions aren’t normal and indicate big problems with your gut.

Problems with your Gut mean problems with your Immune System.  We’re a big cycle.

What to do here:  Evaluate: do you bloat/burp/reflux?  You probably need to supplement with stomach acid (HCl) and/ or digestive enzymes. ( I use Biotics brands. Email me. )  Been on several courses of antibiotics?  Focus on Probiotics and *******Fermented and Cultured foods******.  Probiotics are great and often necessary, but even the expensive ones with billions of organisms don’t approach the numbers and strains in Real Whole FERMENTED Foods.     (BTW, that link highlights an interview with Caroline Barringer, she was my main Instructor when I was in school at the Nutritional Therapy Association. )   Good brands of Probiotics:  Biotics ( email me), Dr. Ohhiras, and Culturelle.  There’s more, and it’s a good idea to rotate them.  Apparently, our bacterial microbiome is literally as individual as our fingerprints, and it’s very varied.

Second evaluation:  do you get sick often, colds, flu, sore throat?  Correlate your weak immune system with the health of your gut.  Fix your gut first, and strengthen your immune system with Real Whole Foods ( which also help fix your gut).  If you have an over active immune system ( auto-immune conditions, like allergies), you probably have Leaky Gut.  You’ll need to heal and seal the intestines; again, email me for a supplement list.

If you have an aversion to fermented foods, ( real saurkraut, keifer, kumbucha ), get over it.  Buy some, and commit to eating a little bit every single day.  Pretty soon, that tart taste goes from bad to good.  Our taste buds do evolve, honest.  Two of my favorite brands of cultured food are Wildbrine and Bubbies Pickles.  If you buy any of the cultured beverages, make sure it has LITTLE TO NO ADDED SUGAR.  Sugar feed bad bacteria.  Add a little liquid stevia if it’s too tart, or add your own berries or fruit to thick keifer and blend them in. ( p.s. Cultured/fermented foods and drinks are ALWAYS in the refrigerator section.)

What else can we do to strengthen our Immune System in addition to cutting back on the sugar and upping cultured foods?  Lots.

1)  Eat garlic, onions, ginger, oregano; they all contain nutrients that make good bacteria thrive.  Those same nutrients are also used by our entire gut lining to rebuild, repair, and reduce or eliminate inflammation.  They also have STRONG anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties. 

2) Eat PLENTY of fiber; that’s what our gut bacteria eat to thrive, be strong, and do their work.  Bacteria in our gut eat fiber and resistant starch, they don’t eat fatty acids or amino acids.  After they eat, they produce ( think, “poop out”) by-products, like vitamins and fatty acids that are used through-out the entire body for different jobs.  One by-product they produce is called Butyrate, and it’s a fatty acid that they eat themselves, and send to inflamed areas of your body.  Butyrate has enormous Anti-Inflammatory action; research is showing it also has Anti-Cancer properties.

3) Butyrate is also found in Grass Fed Butter ( like Kerry Gold), and other FULL FAT dairy products from COWS THAT EAT GRASS.  (remember, butyrate is a fatty acid)  Butyrate is made in the cows gut by their gut  bacteria from nutrients in GRASS, not grain.   Read your labels and look for Grass Fed dairy. It’s getting easier and easier to find grass fed dairy products in the stores.  If you’re interested in Raw, Grass Fed dairy from a farm, and you live in Virginia, search www.localharvest.com.
We belong to 2 great raw milk co-ops, and another raw cheese co-op.  Look for a farm convenient to you.

Wrap Up:  Sugar, grains, and chemicals ruin our body. Unnecessary / excessive antibiotics destroy our beneficial bacteria.  For a strong immune system, and to repair damage from a weak immune system, live by the premise that every bite matters.  Every thing we put in our mouth either makes us stronger or makes us weaker.

We don’t get sick because people around us spread their germs, we get sick because we’re not strong enough to fight those germs.

Strengthen your body every day.  Eat Real Whole Food with plenty of good fats, clean proteins, TONS of vegetables, some fruits, some nuts and seeds, and some dairy if you tolerate it.  Pledge to have fermented or cultured foods several days a week.  Take good supplements.  Drink good water, move, rest, control your stress levels.  And stay away from foods that make you sick, weak, and miserable.

Category: Fats, Gut bacteria, Reader Question, RWF, Sugar / Tags: , , , , , , ,

Angel Food Cake! What I’m Eating To Be Ketogenic, Pictures, and Recipes

July 31, 2014 / / 2 comments

angelfood cakeHere’s something that for a long time I considered “Healthy”, but it isn’t:  Angel Food Cake.  I remember my mom making it when I was a kid because my dad was told he had High Cholesterol, and Angel Food Cake had zero cholesterol, which meant healthy (in the old days!).  Then she’d make a fat free pudding with skim milk, and Viola!:  Healthy Dessert!

Here’s the Ingredient list for Betty Crocker Angel Food Cake mix:

Sugar, Wheat Flour Bleached, Egg White, Corn Starch, Leavening (Baking Soda, Citric Acid), Calcium Chloride, Modified Soy Protein, Salt, Cellulose Gum, Artificial Flavor, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (A Whipping Aid), Nonfat Milk. Freshness Preserved By BHT And Sodium Ascorbate.

If you cut the cake into 12 pieces, there’s 32 grams of sugar per piece, along side a giant dose of Cancer Causing, Liver Damaging, CHEMICALS.

Here’s the Ingredient list for Jello-O Instant Fat Free Vanilla Pudding:

Modified Food Starch, Maltodextrin, Tetrasodium Pyrophosphate And Disodium Phosphate (For Thickening), Contains Less Than 2% Of Nonfat Milk, Natural And Artificial Flavor, Salt, Calcium Sulfate, Xanthan Gum, Mono- And Diglycerides (Prevent Foaming), Aspartame And Acesulfame Potassium (Sweetener), Tetrasodium Pyrophosphate, Dipotassium Phosphate, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Artificial Color.

Thanks to a big dose of Aspartame, this pudding only has 8 grams of Sugar per serving, mostly, this pudding is a Giant Chemical.  The food dyes alone make it Poison, but the rest of those ingredients are just as bad.

Don’t do it!! Don’t be fooled by pretty desserts that promise no Fat and low Calories.  Our body NEEDS fat, and nutrients!  All those chemicals aren’t just potentially cancer causing, they’re bad for our LIVER ( the BIGGEST source of our Calorie Burn), our Heart ( oxidized cholesterol), our WEIGHT ( all that simple sugar will raise Blood Glucose right out of the normal range), and our Brain ( some of those chemicals are “excito-toxins”, and literally stimulate brain neurons to death!)

At the bottom of this post I’m attaching a recipe for an AMAZING Angel Food Cake from Maria’s Mind Body Health blog;  Shelby says it’s the best thing I’ve ever made, and Shelby’s a tough critic 🙂

I keep getting questions about What I’m Eating to put myself into Ketosis.  It’s been 19 days on the Keto Diet, and I’ve been updating my What I Eat page pretty frequently.

Monday, my Ketones finally hit the “Medium” range, ( took a while!), my weight’s been incredibly stable at 129/130, my energy and sleep are great, and I’m finding this really do-able. That’s probably because I was already Real Whole Food/Paleo for the past few years, and said goodbye to grains and sugars a long time ago.

That said, on August 1st, I’m going back to my Real Whole Foods diet, with my occasional Potatoes, Bananas, and any vegetable I want! I’m glad I dove into the Keto Diet to figure out the nuances, because I think it’s incredibly Therapeutic and Beneficial for a number of health conditions, including:  Insulin Resistance, Cancer, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Thyroid disorders,  and Diabetes, to name a few.  Oh, and for those who are having a difficult time losing weight:  It’s fantastic!  

Before I show some food pics, and post the Angel Food cake recipe, here’s a little info on my upcoming weekend.

I have the DCAC Fitness Convention Thursday night through Sunday; I’m packing my breakfasts and lunches, but I’ll eat out each night.  I’ll be sure to update food and workouts though out the weekend.  I LOVE the DCAC!!

Here’s some of my Keto Meals from the past several days:

chicken:cauliflower

 

This was bone-in/skin on Chicken that I cooked on foil ( less pans to wash), and in the skillet: 6 tbsp butter, 1/4 c water, a whole head of cabbage, cauliflower, onion, and chives.  Topped with Cheese:)

 

sausage:onion:cauli

 

 

To the right, that’s crumbled sausage, zucchini, cauliflower, chives, and garlic cooked in butter and you can’t tell, but there’s a whole skin from one of those chickens cut up and cooked in the pan too.  Topped with cheese of course!

And here’s the Angel Food Cake recipe, my notes are in BOLD throughout the recipe:

“HEALTHIFIED” ANGEL FOOD CAKE
12 egg whites
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 pinch salt
1 cup Jay Robb strawberry protein powder (or EGG WHITE powder if Dairy Free) ***I USED VANILLA, NOT STRAWBERRY BC I DON’T HAVE IT**
1 cup Swerve confectioners’ sweetener (or powdered erythritol) (I USED REGULAR SWERVE, NOT CONFECTIONERS – WORKED FINE)
1 tsp strawberry extract (or other extract) ( I USED LEMON EXTRACT BC I DON’T HAVE STRAWBERRY)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Sift whey protein and confectioners erythritol together and set aside. In a large clean bowl, whip egg whites with a pinch of salt until foamy (save the yolks for “healthified” creme brule, “healthified” coconut custard, OR “healthified” ice cream). Add cream of tartar and continue to beat until very stiff (you will be able to put bowl upside down and the whites won’t fall out). Add your favorite extract flavor. Quickly fold in whey mixture. Pour into a greased 10 inch tube pan. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45 minutes. Makes 14 servings.

 

*****MY OVEN WAS TOO HOT – LAST NIGHT I BAKED AT 325 FOR 38 MINUTES******

“HEALTHIFIED” CUSTARD

12 large egg yolks
1 cup unsweetened almond milk *****I USED COCONUT MILK FROM CAN – WORKED PERFECT
3/4 cup Swerve (or erythritol and 1/4 tsp stevia glycerite) I USED HALF SWERVE, HALF STEVIA
1/2 cup butter or coconut oil, melted – **I USED HALF OF EACH**

Whisk egg yolks, almond milk, and sweetener in medium metal bowl to blend. Slowly mix in the melted butter so the eggs don’t cook unevenly. Set bowl over saucepan of simmering water. Whisk mixture constantly and vigorously until thickened and instant-read thermometer inserted into mixture registers 140°F for 3 minutes, about 5 minutes total (or coats the back of a spoon). Remove mixture from over water. Serve warm or chilled. (If serving chilled, it can be prepared 1-3 days ahead and refrigerated. Re-whisk before serving.) Makes 4 servings.

Category: Cooking, Fats, Food Additives, Keto Recipe, ketosis, Looks Healthy But Isn't, Sugar, Weight Loss / Tags: , , , ,

Keto Diet Going Strong Update, and Fructose/Leptin/Insulin Facts

July 21, 2014 / / Comments Off on Keto Diet Going Strong Update, and Fructose/Leptin/Insulin Facts

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThe Keto Diet has been easy!  I haven’t missed my roasted potatoes, or the banana in my smoothie, or carrots or peas or corn – yet.  I’ve been tempted by my Mom’s Famous Paleo Cookies twice, and resisted because I knew I had cream cheese bites, which I love.  I’m astonished at my energy levels, which weren’t even bad to begin with; my sleep is HEAVY, and my stomach looks tighter.  I haven’t lost anymore weight, but that’s okay.  I’m staying steady at 129.  Body fat testing today at 10am, and then again in a couple months.   Which means I’ve decided to stay on this for a while.   Remember to look at my What I Eat page to check out my meals.

My ketosis sticks are showing a darker color!!  I’ve moved up the Ketone Production Chain a little:)

I’ve had company twice this past week; I cook dinner every night for the family, and catering to the Keto Diet’s really not very different from the Real Whole Food/Paleo Diet.  My family’s already used to a bunch of meat and vegetables, and no bread or pasta on the table, it’s the norm here.  Everyone likes vegetables cooked in butter and topped with cheese, and I still serve watermelon, corn, potatoes, and other fruits and vegetables I don’t eat.

I’ve had 2 questions on both Fruit, and Fructose this week, and I wanted to give a little info and a resource for you to follow if you’re interested.

Leptin is a hormone, made by our Fat Cells, that’s supposed to signal our brains when the stomach is full.  Just like Insulin Resistance, many overweight people have developed “Leptin Resistance”.  This means the fat cells are producing plenty of leptin, but the cells that are supposed to receive it have become “numb/non-responsive” to the message.  Instead, the message to Keep Eating is received, and a vicious cycle is set in place.

Fructose is a simple sugar that’s in Fruit, and High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS).    HFCS is in most processed and packaged foods, Moms, take note for your kids.  This stuff is NEVER good. The simple sugar Glucose CAN be used by our muscle cells and brain cells for ENERGY;  Fructose can NEVER EVER EVER be used by a cell for energy, EVER.  Ever.   (****Important, we don’t need that much glucose – excess gets converted to fat.)

Fructose always goes right to the liver, where it’s converted to fat.  Often, this fat is actually stored in the liver.  HFCS is one of the main reason Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease is so prevalent right now.  If you’re overweight, there’s a good chance you have some degree of this condition, learn what it means here.

Here’s something that’s surprising about Fructose; DIABETICS and PRE-DIABETICS, TAKE NOTE:  No, fructose doesn’t raise blood sugar.  BUT it DOES make the Insulin Receptors on the muscle cells and kidney cells LESS RESPONSIVE TO INSULIN.   This means that Fructose Contributes To Insulin Resistance and Diabetes and various Metabolic Conditions.

All fruit has Fructose in it.  Fructose from fruit is metabolized EXACTLY the same way HFCS is, by the liver.  ***Studies show that excess glucose consumption can actually be converted to fructose ( and fat).  Remember, a carb is a carb is a carb.  Carbs from grains are reduced to glucose.  If you’ve been eating the Standard American Diet, or on a high-carb, low fat diet, you’ve probably had way too much Fructose in your life.  Look down at your stomach – Insulin Resistance, Leptin Resistance, too much Fructose – are the signs there?

This is where a High Fat/Low Carb diet, or a Ketogenic Diet ( they’re slightly different), can come in.  Study after study shows that they can reverse the damage from years of High Blood Sugar, High Insulin, and Leptin Resistance.

Here’s a great article from Dr. Mercola on Leptin and Fructose.  The more you know, the easier it becomes to make good choices for your body.  When choices are easier, there’s less stress.  When there’s less stress, your brain is more compliant with your long term goals.  Sound good?

 

Category: Fats, ketosis, Sugar, Weight Loss / Tags: , , , , , ,

Can High Fat-Low Carb Curb Your Appetite and Cravings? Yes! Client Email, and A Recipe.

July 2, 2014 / / Comments Off on Can High Fat-Low Carb Curb Your Appetite and Cravings? Yes! Client Email, and A Recipe.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAI had an email yesterday from a lady who said she believed in the benefits of a high fat-low carb diet, but that she really struggles with food cravings;  she hasn’t stuck to her diet plan  for more than a few days.  That’s a familiar problem, and I’ve got an answer:  Up Your Fat.  Way up.  That allows you, mentally and physically, to cut back on the carbs.  Here’s why.

Cravings, hunger, and food addictions are a HUGE issue; if you’re trying to conquer them with your “same old plan”, nothing will change.  The cravings and addictions will keep winning.  You know the scenario:  the morning starts out with the best of intentions only to be derailed by hunger, or a trigger, a few hours later. Anger and disappointment sets in.  It’s a bad way to live, and it can be incredibly consuming.

I have a great email from a client who went from “Diet Obsessed, to Happy and Calm”, from EATING MORE FAT . ( And she looks AMAZING – seriously.)

“I know I have some work to do still but it really is amazing. I can only remember ever worrying about the fat and calories in food and living my life based around that. Just in the last couple years when things were at their worst I was literally writing down every calorie and making sure to keep it under a certain amount and eating no fat at all. I was weighing myself when I got to the gym and before I left (everyday). I literally couldn’t think of anything else besides what I was eating, when I was working out, and what the latest scale number said. It was beyond exhausting….and at the same time trying to be a mom to two little kids one who was pretty sick…….

But in learning all I am about the truly nourishing qualities in food and how it can heal us, I don’t see how I could fall back into such an intense fear of food. I have a real sense of control now and know I am doing something truly healthy for myself.”

See that word “control”,.. that’s what we’re all seeking, right?  The ability to not feel so weak in the face of our triggers or even actual hunger? High Fat-Low Carb is the answer, honest.  Our bodies are made out of water, fat, and protein.  Carbs don’t make any part of us, they’re just a fuel source.  That’s all.  Even if you workout, you don’t need that many carbs to fuel your life.

Remember:  All Excess Carbs Are Converted To Body Fat.  All Of Them.

If we live a life of constant high blood sugar ( oatmeal, cereal, or bread for breakfast, sandwich and chips for lunch, pasta or pizza for dinner, carby snacks in between),  *****WE DON’T BURN MUCH FAT**** we just burn all that excess sugar. If our blood sugar does dip down below normal, chances are our body actually uses MUSCLE TISSUE (converted to glucose) BEFORE FAT TISSUE for energy.  

Famous Line:  Our Body isn’t a Math Equation; It’s a Chemistry Set. 

Fat Satiates the Appetite; a high fat/low carb diet keeps Insulin low; high fat/low carb induces the body to use Fatty Acids for Fuel; fatty acids are also used to build our hormones, organs, cells, glands, bones, and tissues; fatty acids have anti-viral/anti-bacterial properties; our brain is 60% fat.

Sugar and certain proteins in grains actually STIMULATE areas of our brain that control pleasure and desire, or should I say, cravings and addictions.  We’ve all read the news stories about the rats who consistently picked sugar over cocaine, right?  Last night I saw a commercial that depicted a woman starring longingly at a handsome man, but when they went inside her head, all she wanted was the giant burrito he was eating.  These processed carbs are really, truly addictive; and most of the time, trying to “limit” them, has ZERO effect on dampening the urges for them.

Besides stimulating our appetites, a High Carb – Low Fat diet does NOTHING for our satiety. Carbs are digested so quickly, EVEN OATMEAL, that hunger’s a fact of life.  Trust Me:  Not Feeling Hungry Is WONDERFUL, FREEING, AMAZING.  That’s how you can feel when you ditch the grain and sugar, and add the fat.

Remember that email from Mandy, who said she feels like she’s been Freed From Diet Prison?   You could feel that way too!

Still dubious that eating plenty of fat can squash cravings? Here’s a quote from Dr. Tom Cowan’s book, The Fourfold Path to Healing,  “Our brain is specifically designed to sense the fat content of our food and to tell us to stop eating when the proper amount of fat has been ingested. When the need for fats and the nutrients they contain is satisfied, we stop eating. The body’s requirement for fats is so great, and the appetite that spurs the body to obtain those fats is so strong, that binge eating is likely to occur if fats are omitted from regular meals.”

Re-read that last sentence.  Fats are NUTRIENT bombs. Our brain and body want them.  Stop equating fat from foods with fat on your body.  They’re different!  Human’s make fat from excess carbohydrate.

Tips to get started: (1) clean out your kitchen; no one in your whole family needs crackers, cookies, or pasta. (2) make a grocery list and include coconut oil, coconut butter, olive oil, kerry gold butter, whole dairy ( if it works for you), nuts, seeds, plenty of vegetables, and good meats and eggs.  You can do this!

Here’s a recipe for Pesto – one of my all time favorite foods; perfect for any High Fat, Low Carb diet.

pesto In your blender, mix 1/4 c walnuts, or pecans, or pumpkin seeds 1/2 c shredded parmesan 2 cups basil 2 crushed garlic cloves juice of 1 lemon S&P ****1/2 c MCT oil ( I use Skinny Fat, by Carlton Nutrition), and 1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

We ate this Sunday on fish and vegetables, Monday on meat loaf, and Tuesday on chicken.  So Good!

Category: Fats, Hormones, Paleo Recipe, Psychology of Eating, Reader Question, RWF, Sugar, Uncategorized, Weight Loss / Tags: , , , , ,

Ketogenic Diets and Weight Loss; Keto Recipe

June 28, 2014 / / Comments Off on Ketogenic Diets and Weight Loss; Keto Recipe

I’ve had a few email questions this week about a comment I made in this post about Ketogenic Diets, it was about weight loss.  Here’s the quote that raised the questions: “If you’ve got a lot of Insulin Resistance, you’ll need to go Ketogenic,” .   

The questions can be summarized like this:  What’s a ketogenic diet?  Will it help me lose weight?

Here goes.   When we burn glucose ( sugar/carbs/pasta/bread/vegetables/fruit/etc), for fuel, that means that glucose goes into the cells “furnace” or mitochondria, and gets “burned” for energy. ( Geeks, I know I just skipped a bunch of steps..)  If you’ve been reading my blog or you’re into the whole sciencey world of metabolism, you know there’s several “negatives” about Sugar Burning.  Here’s a few ( no one has time for all of them.)

1) We need very little glucose to live/perform/grow, very little.  Our Normal blood sugar ( NOT JUST FASTING, BUT NORMAL), should be between 80 and 100.  ( Read this to know what I mean.)  The average daily intake of sugar in 2010 was 63 teaspoons a day; this doesn’t include the grains that become sugar in the body via digestion.  Obviously, we eat WAY more sugar/glucose than the body needs.

2) High blood sugar is Incredibly Damaging to our body.   Here’s a short list of what can happen:  brain tissue shrinks, blood becomes thick and sticky, the vasculature of our eyes, kidneys, feet, and hands narrows, our immune system is suppressed, proteins and fats become Glycated/Fried/Damaged, AND ALL FAT BURNING STOPS UNTIL LEVELS ARE NORMAL.

3) High Blood Sugar is met with corresponding High Insulin.  Insulin also wrecks havoc when there’s too much of it:  systemic inflammation, inhibition of cellular uptake of vitamins, minerals, and proteins; arterial wall damage, blood pressure increases, and HDL decreases.

You might have heard that our brain needs glucose to function.  And if you read Runner’s World, or listen to advice from 1980, you’ve heard that athlete’s need to carb load before a big workout.  Worse, you might think that AFTER a good workout, you actually DESERVE a carb load, or in the very least, you’ve created such a calorie deficit that you can take your carb load and crush it with your starving muscle cells.

If. Only.   It’s thinking like this that get’s a lot of us in trouble!

Here’s where a need for a ketogenic diet comes in.

Years of high blood sugar cause our muscle and liver cells to become damaged and sensitive ( in a bad, “get away from me” fashion) to Insulin.  (fyi,  Insulin attaches to Glucose/Sugar and tries to get it out of your blood and into your cells.)  This is called Insulin Resistance.   It’s the cells response to what’s basically an assault; they’re protecting themselves.  Insulin Resistance is a blanket term for a whole host of health issues that result when (1) our cells can’t absorb their needed nutrients, and (2) we have sustained, high, circulating levels of glucose and insulin.

Interestingly, the cells on the backs of our eyes, our kidney cells, and the cells of our extremities CAN’T say no.  That’s why in diabetics, they become so damaged.

Anyway, a Ketogenic Diet is a very high fat, moderate protein, low carb diet.  This has several positive effects, here’s a few:  (a) because blood sugar levels are low, there won’t be any further damage to cells from Glycation ( high blood sugar kind of “fries” a cell, like a grilled cheese sandwich – literally.) (b) because insulin is in low amounts, the Fat Burning Hormone GLUCAGON can be released from the pancreas ( Insulin and Glucagon are pretty much an “either/or” situation) and fat can be used for energy instead of just glucose  (c)  cells that have been assaulted by both the glucose and the insulin will start to reverse their
“get away from me” stance, and (1) nutrients will be allowed into the cells once again, and (2) blood levels of glucose and insulin will normalize.

What about your brain, will it starve if there’s not enough glucose?  Is ketosis dangerous? Or the whole exercise conundrum – who wants to bonk while we’re out on a run or lifting weights?

No, no, and won’t happen.  A ketogenic diet produces a substance called Ketones, and our cells LOOOVEEE ketones.  As a matter of fact, the heart and the brain work 25% MORE efficiently on ketones than on glucose, and ketones have NO bad side effects.  Our muscle cells THRIVE on ketones, and ketones have an ANTI-Inflammatory effect.  (They also have “anti-seizure” properties, which is why it’s a great diet for epileptics.) The anti-inflammatory effects helps counter the normal inflammation that occurs with exercise.

Go back to this sentence: “because insulin is in low amounts, the Fat Burning Hormone GLUCAGON can be released from the pancreas ( Insulin and Glucagon are pretty much an “either/or” situation) and fat can be used for energy instead of just glucose”.  

If we have Insulin Resistance, that means that the insulin levels in our blood is probably always high, despite what our blood sugar readings are.  That’s why blood sugar ISN’T always a good indication of your Insulin levels.  If you’re overweight and have belly fat and yet you don’t eat much and you exercise, that’s a good indication that you have Insulin Resistance.  Your body literally RESISTS burning body fat.  It’s actually more normal than not in todays world to have Insulin Resistance by middle age; for many today, even younger than middle age.   If you’re Insulin Resistant, you burn mostly Sugar.  A Ketogenic Diet can make you a Fat Burner.  ( Yep, you have to eat fat to burn fat. )

If this is the case, you need to reverse the Insulin Resistance by stopping the assault on your cells.  This happens when you lower your carbs, which causes less Insulin to be made and released by the pancreas.  You also need to WAY UP YOUR FAT intake, to heal cells ( all cell membranes are made of cholesterol and fatty acids), regulate your hormones, and stop the addictive voices in your brain.

Good fats, from butter, coconut oil, healthy meats, nuts/seeds, whole fat dairy, and good oils like MCT oil or olive oil, are incredibly nourishing, honestly, they’re loaded with nutrients that our body uses to heal, build, and repair.  Fats don’t make us fat; Sugar and Grains make us fat.  Wait, fats along with a ton of sugar and grains DO make us fat.  You can’t mix them, that’s a recipe for disaster.  Same with “bad” fats, like hydrogenated oils and too much inflammatory Omega 6s – disaster.

Wow, there’s more, but that’s enough info for today.  Let me leave you with a recipe that’s “ketogenic”, and DELICIOUS:brussels bacon  Brussels, Bacon, and Onions, cooked in plenty of Butter, sprinkled with Parm.

1) I melted 6 tablespoons of Kerrygold in the baking dish for 5 minutes, til liquid, and then added 1/4c of water

2) I chopped a giant bagful of brussels, then completely stirred/tossed them in the butter/water

3) I chopped 3 smallish red onions and mixed them in there too

4) added lots of Salt and Pepper, roasted at 400 for 30 minutes

5) on stove top, I cooked 6 slices of bacon that I cut with scissors first, til almost crisp

6) added them to the brussels, and continued baking for 5 more minutes, took out, topped with fresh grated parmesan.     Delicious!

Category: Carbs, Cooking, Fats, Hormones, ketosis, No Recipe Paleo Meals, Paleo Recipe, RWF, Sugar, Weight Loss / Tags: , , , , ,

Diets Cause Rebound Binges and Slow Metabolisms, and We’re In The Huff Post!

June 14, 2014 / / Comments Off on Diets Cause Rebound Binges and Slow Metabolisms, and We’re In The Huff Post!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAExciting! Mark and I have been published in the Huff Post! Check out our article and click us a “like” and a “share”:) We’ve been invited to be Regular Bloggers, and asked to write from the perspective of normal working parents who’ve stayed fit and healthy at 49 and 50. We can do that!

Moving on, I’ve got a series of emails, from one reader, who actually answers her own question about Dieting. When I say Dieting, I mean: counting calories, caloric restriction, and using computer programs to determine protein/carb/fat ratios. Even writing that sentence causes me Stress, as it did during all my years of Restricting/Binge Eating.

That’s because Diets Do Cause Stress, in many different ways. One, it’s such an unnatural way to eat, that our body and mind rebels; which is stressful. Two, hunger and deprivation always cause stress. ( Have you heard the saying, “sorry for what I said when I was hungry.”?) Three, plugging numbers into a program to figure out the ratios/percentages/amounts of our protein, carbs, fats, and/or total calories, is a pain in the butt, that’s stressful. Four, caloric restriction slows down our thyroid, which means our cell turnover, cell “house-keeping”, and cell communication is IMPEDED; our metabolism slows down, that’s stressful.  That also guarantees future weight gain.

Diets don’t work long term. Well, maybe for about 1 – 4% of everyone who loses weight. That’s a horrible “success” rate.

Ask yourself, with such an abysmal track record, why is it so easy to be lured back, time after time, for another Diet attempt?

Here’s the email chain I received, I love her reasoning development!  (When she refers to IIFYM, that’s a Diet Program that induces Caloric Deficits by counting your grams and percentages of Fat, Protein, and Carbs and Total Calories.  You can eat ANYTHING YOU WANT, as long as you stay within your numbers.)

Hi Debbie!

I was just wondering what your thoughts are on the IIFYM ( if it fits your macro diet). I was wondering if I could count macros while also eliminating grains/processed food? I just like the structure of IIFYM. Does that make sense?

I only had time for a quick response, here it is:  “Short answer: diets that let you eat crap ( which the IIFYM diet does as long as you stay “in the macro ratios”) keep you craving junk. Period. Always. It’s enough right now to start weaning yourself off grains and processed foods. Just focus on eating Real Whole Foods!!”

Why do I say it’s enough to just wean off the grains and processed foods for now?  Because for most people in 2014, eating Real Whole Foods is so far removed from their Norm, that it’s almost incomprehensible.  I get asked, ALL THE TIME, what I eat if I don’t eat grains.  Pasta, frozen foods, fast foods, and restaurant foods have become so ingrained into the American Culture as NORMAL, that eating Real Whole Foods, feeding the family Real Whole Foods, and sticking to that belief system when traveling and eating out, seems incredibly hard.

Eating Real Whole Foods isn’t a Diet Program (although you will lose weight when you quit eating Sugar, Grains, and processed chemical foods, and quit the snacking); it’s eating 3 decent sized meals a day full of the nutrients our body needs to build, repair, and run (metabolize) well.  When we run well, we get lean and healthy, when we diet, we don’t – again, statistics. Unfortunately, the Diet Industry is a Billion Dollar industry with an amazing Marketing Machine that successfully convinces us, over and over, to give it another try.

Switching from a Diet Mentality after a lifetime of eating Sugar, Grains, and Processed/Chemical Foods, to eating Real Whole Foods every day, takes effort, and a plan.  There’s 2 addictions that have to be overcome to be successful.

One, the addiction to sugar, grains, and chemicals – it’s powerful.  You know what I’m talking about.  It’s well researched.

Two, the addiction to the ease of eating sugar, grains, and chemicals – there’s no effort involved with stopping at McDonalds; picking up a pizza; or boiling water for pasta.  However, this ease of eating pure crap HAS LED TO 70% OVERWEIGHT AND SICK, WITH NUMBERS EXPECTED TO CLIMB.  There’s a common sense element I’m talking about here, right?

Here’s the next email this reader sent me:  “ I have done IIFYM with good weight loss results while eating junk! What I am wondering is if it would be good to do the same macros but not eat the junk and grains.”

No!  That’s just counting calories and percentages, hoping for the magic weight loss formula.  I’m telling you, ditching grains, sugars, and chemical processed foods will take off your weight without the stress of dieting.  As a matter of fact, you can ADD MORE FAT, feel genuinely full, become healthier, and LOOSE WEIGHT.

Here’s her last email ****** LOVE IT!! ******: “Also, just wanted to mention that the reason I stopped doing iifym despite some weight loss was because it was taking up too much space in my head to count macros. I guess I don’t really want to do it again when I think about why I stopped!” 

Exactly!  Diets Make You Crazy and Obsessed and Compulsive about food, eating, restricting, and compensating; and it’s disturbingly Self Perpetuating.  The Diet Craziness just begets more Diet Craziness. Eating Real Whole Food ELIMINATES THAT.

I’m living proof, my husband is living proof, my kids are living proof, there’s so many examples in the Real Whole Food/Paleo/Primal Community who are living proof that this way of life makes you lean and healthy, without the Diet Craziness.

The best part?  You can start today, because this starts with your Mind.  Honest.  The Food isn’t nearly as big a problem as your Mind is.  Remember that the Brain wants to avoid stress, it wants what’s comfortable and familiar.  The Brain doesn’t guide us according to what’s best for us long term.

Thank Goodness the Brain can be Changed.  Your thought patterns, your habits, your “familiars”, they can be changed.  I thought I was so addicted to pizza, ice cream, and protein bars that I would NEVER be able to live without them.  Now, I don’t even eat the “paleo versions” anymore.  I’m OVER IT.  You Can Be Too.

Focus on becoming a Normal, Healthy, Real Whole Food Eater.  Not a Dieter.  Not someone hoping for a gimmick that takes off 10 pounds in 10 days.  Use your common sense; or use Google!  Google: Diets Don’t Work, or Weight Regain After A Diet.  You’ll get MILLIONS and MILLIONS of studies, articles, and posts substantiating those facts.

If you struggle with how to begin, how to change, how to have a life that involves cooking and packing w/o stress, get in touch with me.  It’s all about planning, and sticking to the plan.  Pretty soon, there’s no effort, instead, it’s a habit.  When our life is about habits, stress is gone.  Eating Real Whole Foods means hunger is gone too.

No Stress, No Hunger, a body you’ve always wanted, being a Normal Eater, doesn’t this sound good?

Category: Carbs, Cooking, Eat on Vacation, Fats, Mind/Body, Paleo Diet, Psychology of Eating, Reader Question, RWF, Sugar, Weight Loss / Tags: , , , , , ,

My Exercise Week, and Food Pics

June 5, 2014 / / One comment

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAI get a lot of questions about what I eat, and what my favorite workouts are, so here’s my 2 cents.

I really, truly do stick to a Real Whole Food plan that completely eliminates breads, pastas, crackers, cookies, chips and anything else that’s made with grains, sugar, and chemicals.  That means all grains, including “healthy whole grains”, which I think is a contradiction in terms.  I don’t believe any “whole grains” are healthy for most Americans at this point.  We’re all too metabolically damaged.

I’ve been on this path/journey for years now, and have pretty successfully converted my kids and husband over from the Dark Side.  My youngest (17) is still slightly resistant, but…. she’s been drinking Green Smoothies with basil and lemon balm from my garden most mornings for the past couple weeks, she eats more vegetables than ever, and she’s made some great comments about the SAD (standard american diet) diets that she’s seen some little kids eating lately- and it causes her concern! Yes!  I do eventually get in their heads.

Moms, quiet persistence and consistent role modeling wins every time.  Stay strong.

I’ve been a Packer for all my life, and I’ve trained my kids to be Packers, of both our food and drinks.  Have you ever noticed that stopping at a a gas station/convenience store for a drink can lead to impulsively bad food choices?  Set yourself up to succeed, bring your drinks with you when you’re on the road.

Here’s a couple of recent meals:

eggsThis is eggs, avocados, spinach, and leeks cooked in probably 4 tablespoons of good butter.  I’ve been using a LOT more fat since I got back from the Low Carb Cruise, a lot more.  The more I learn about fat, the more I realize how critical it is to our optimal functioning and health.  FAT DOESN’T MAKE US FAT – GRAINS, SUGARS, AND CHEMICALS DO.  I haven’t gained a pound with all the extra butter, coconut oil/butter, and olive oil I’ve been adding either.

This next picture is my new OBSESSION:  slowchickenskin cooked Chicken Fat.  OMG.  This is honestly one of the most delicious foods I’ve ever eaten.  In. My. Life.  Here’s what I do:  I only buy chicken with bone-in, skin-on ( the minerals and nutrients from the bones and joints leach into the meat, and the skin, which has serious anti-microbial properties, keeps the chicken super moist).  After it’s baked, I remove the fat, eat the chicken, and then put the fat back in the oven at 170 for 24 hours.  If you try this, prepare to cry.  Honestly, I’ve never tasted anything so delicious.  And it’s HEALTHY because fat is healthy; make sure you salt and pepper it before the slow cook.

lunchmondayLast, here’s a packed lunch:  chicken ( always cook extra!)  avocado, and Annie’s seaweed snacks ( it’s just dried seaweed – salty and delicious and full of Iodine).  I always pack my lunches when I’m cleaning up after dinner.

Next, the exercise question.  In addition to being a Nutritional Therapist, I’m a Group Ex Instructor and Personal Trainer.   I work out – a lot.  I always have.  I’m fit, I’m very used to a high level of performance and exertion, and it’s very normal and stress relieving for me.  I taught and trained through 4 pregnancies, 4 babies, 4 teenagers ( that was the hardest), and all the ups and downs of life.  I rarely ever take more than one day off a week.   That said, if EXERCISE IS STRESSFUL FOR YOU, FOR WHATEVER REASON,  you’ll need to approach it differently than I do. Walking and yoga are more than enough exercise to stay healthy.  What’s my normal week look like?  I teach a couple Boot Camp classes, and a couple yoga classes; I take Bikram once a week; I lift 4 times a week, heavy and/or hard; I walk and do yoga with a couple PT clients and friends and I do at least one plain old cardio session each week on a machine (reading time).  I’ve really cut back in the past few years the hours that I exercise per week.  One, I’m doing more nutrition counseling and less personal training, and two, I’ve become convinced that overtraining leads to inflammation, no matter how fit you are.

I use a lot of supplements too, but that’s a whole different Post:)

So that’s me!  I’m always on the look out for information and motivation to stick to the Path and improve the Path.  If I were to describe my diet for the past 27 years of adulthood, I’d be describing pretty different eating patterns every year as I’ve morphed from “Healthy Means Skinny”,  to “Healthy Means Great Cell Repair and Turnover, and Low Levels of Inflammation”.    The more I learn, the more I learn I have a lot to learn!  Who knows what I’ll be eating 5 years from now.  I never thought I’d be loving liver, chicken fat,  and green smoothies, but I do.

Our health, our energy, it’s really truly in Our Hands.  Everything we eat has either a negative or positive consequence.  Make the time to invest in your health, and the health of your family.  What’s that old saying?  You can either invest in your Health NOW, or you’ll be investing in your Illness LATER.

 

Category: Carbs, Cooking, Fats, Mind/Body, Paleo Diet, RWF, Sugar / Tags: , , ,

Reader Question, and What Causes Food Addiction

June 2, 2014 / / Comments Off on Reader Question, and What Causes Food Addiction

 

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA Mark and I had some pictures done, and we got Air-Brushed!  I LOVE being airbrushed!  Can it follow me around everywhere?

I’ve got a great Reader Question here that I think many people will relate too.  She wants a plan to “get her back on track”  ( I’ve cut and pasted so we can just get to the meat of the matter).

Hi Debbie,

I’ve been reading your blog and have learned so much from you.  I’m trying to cut out the sugar, and cut back on what you call “the grains” too.  It’s hard.  I run, and on my running days I do better when I have some healthy cereal, like Kashi.  But I’ve realized my running days are also my hungriest days, and I eat things I shouldn’t.  My husband thinks I need to eat more carbs like whole wheat spaghetti, and that I’m starving myself.  After reading what you say, I’m not sure if he’s right or not.  

More than anything, I want to lose 20 pounds.  I’m a good runner, I usually place in my age group, but I don’t look like a runner at all.  Now it’s summer, and I’m still in the same place I was when I started reading your blog and following your advice.  I think I need a food plan to get me on track. Can you help me?

I really appreciate this lady’s honesty, because I know she speaks for many.  Yes, I can help, but when there’s an addiction, and there often is with processed carbohydrates, it really comes down to us HAVING A REASON TO STOP, THEN MAKING A PLAN, AND STICKING TO THE PLAN BECAUSE YOU BELIEVE IN THE REASONS.

Our actions stem from our beliefs.

I know I’ve written about this before, but do you all remember me telling you that several years ago, in the midst of my Carb Addiction and Binges, I joined an on-line Binge Eating group?  I was only on it ONCE.  When I read comments from women in their 60s and 70s who have been in full blown binge/purge modes for decades…… that had a HUGE effect on me.  I decided right then and there, that wasn’t going to be me. I wasn’t going to waste any more years of my life eating crap and then regretting it.  What a waste of mental space and precious time; and the physical damage that happens from those binges is dangerous.  What happens when you try to restrict your sugars and grains to just once or twice a day?   Just like with drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes, you can’t “limit” your processed carbs; it won’t work.  You have to “eliminate” them to break the addiction.  And going “gluten free” and eating “gluten free carb products” doesn’t work either.  Those addictions centers are still being triggered.  It’s sad, I know.

Let me tackle a few more issues in this email.  One, “I’m a runner, so I need cereal.” No. You. Don’t.  You don’t.  I’m living proof that anyone who works out – a lot – doesn’t need sugar and grains to fuel their workouts, or build and maintain muscle, for that matter.  Do you need carbs in the form of vegetables and some fruits, for energy?  Yes, but if you need to lose weight, you’re going to need to watch the fruits, and make sure that heavy, starchy vegetables, like potatoes, are used WISELY.  That would be individual, and she and I will talk about that.  There’s a method…

Besides, processed carbs – and yes, Kashi is a processed carb, 100%, – break down so quickly, compared to protein and fat, that you’re hungry again very quickly!!  Why? Processed carbs from grains and sugar SPIKE HUNGER;  they don’t quench hunger, it’s a hormone thing.  Sugar and wheat trigger opioid, or pleasure centers, in the brain.  The Gliadin Proteins in wheat specifically stimulate appetite, always.  Insulin resistance, Leptin resistance, the natural controls put in place to regulate our appetite?  Ruined by processed carbs. That’s why it’s so easy to over eat them.  When was the last time you overate beef or chicken?

Next, of course her running days are her hungry days; long endurance workouts always make you hungry. That’s one of the reasons why short “burst” workouts are better for you.

Let’s talk about running.

Many people run because they absolutely Love Love Love to run, they get a high from it, they use it to clear their head, it makes them feel great.   Many other people run to lose weight, or to try and keep weight off.  That’s very different from the first reason, there’s a lot of cortisol and stress associated with running as a weight loss tool.  Let me be real clear:  neither running, nor ANY exercise, helps you lose weight or keep weight off.  I’ve worked in a gym for 27 years, there’s plenty of overweight members who exercise regularly.  I’ve done at least 100 races in my life.  Seven of those races were half-marathons; have you ever been to one?  In the front holding pens, you’ll see all the sleek, skinny, super fast runners; in the hind pens, you’ll see the un-sleek, un-skinny runners, and there’s plenty.  A lot of them are fast too!  ( I was always in a way way back rear pen – I’m not super sleek or fast! I’m just consistent.)

My point: you don’t have to be skinny to be a good runner, and conversely, running doesn’t make you skinny.  Our body is meant to move and exert energy.  If people from my classes are reading this, what’s one of my favorite lines at the end of a class?

YOU DON’T DESERVE A TREAT AFTER THIS.  IT’S JUST EXERCISE.  WE’RE SUPPOSED TO DO IT.  Somehow, completing an exercise session has become another reason to celebrate ourselves.

Last, I want to address the “get back on track” thinking.  If I had a dime for every time I heard this, I’d be rich.

If you fell off track in the first place, that’s proof that you eat according to calories, not health.  As long as you believe Calories In/Calories Out, you’re doomed to “falling off track”.  One, those carbs stimulate and trigger appetites and hormones so strongly, that as long as you’re putting them in your mouth, the addiction continues.  Two, if you fall off track, and eat the grains and sugars with the thought that you’ll redeem yourself starting tomorrow/Sunday/the 1st, you’re just perpetuating the cycle in the deepest neural habit centers of your brain.

Remember a while ago I went to that Behavior lecture, and learned that the Brain Doesn’t Want To Do What’s Best For Us, THE BRAIN WANTS US TO DO WHAT’S EASIEST FOR US.   

If we want to be successful, we have to Set Ourselves Up For Success.  This means we have to have a REASON for sticking to our plans!  My reasons?  I think sugars and grains are killers!  Honestly!  I think Fats and Proteins and tons of Vegetables make my cells healthy, make my skin good, give me great energy, and keep my immune system strong.  I believe this stuff, because I’ve invested time and effort learning it and drilling it into my brain.

If you’re struggling, you need that brain drilling too.  Build a little time into every day to either read a book or listen to a podcast that helps solidify healthy thinking and healthy behaviors.  It’s always about our day to day actions, right?  Our actions stem from our beliefs.  Create a belief system that allows you to feel and look at great as possible, and never stop working on it!

Here’s a few suggestions:  my blog:);  the podcasts at www.livinlavidalowcarb, and the podcasts at www.undergroundwellness.  Want a great book suggestion?  Read Wheat Belly.  He lays out the science against grains that’s impossible to argue with.    And as always, eat Real Whole Food.

 

Category: Carbs, Fats, Hormones, Mind/Body, Psychology of Eating, Sugar / Tags: , , , , ,
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