Tag Archive for keto recipe

Day 7 On Keto Diet Update, interesting Keto Facts, Cream Cheese Ball Recipe

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAI’m LOVING this Keto Diet!  I’ve had a few days this week where I should have been really tired, but I wasn’t, at all!
I had a quick moment of sadness that I couldn’t eat a Paleo Cookie at my mom’s house ( she makes the BEST), but it passed. I wasn’t hungry, just nostalgic for them.  I went home and made the cream cheese balls for dinner, and felt great.

I had stated in my last post that I was going to cut down on my protein portions, but I’ve changed my mind.  I HIT KETOSIS LAST NIGHT!!!   With nice, big protein portions, plenty of vegetables, and cream cheese balls ( dessert!).  My fat grams are in the HUNDREDS and my weight has remained stable after that initial drop.

I’ve NEVER had such a lack of hunger, ever.  Usually, around 4/5 pm, hunger starts to hit me.  This week, ZERO hunger, at all.  I’ve heard of that, but I haven’t experienced it.

Check out my What I Eat page to see my meals.

I’ve had dozens of emails now about the Keto Diet.  If you’re interested, LEARN LEARN LEARN.  Know the science, or any efforts will be wasted.  Honestly.  Have you read my Cancer and Ketosis newsletter, or my Ketosis and The Brain post?  If you don’t arm yourself with all the reasons to try Ketosis – OTHER THAN WEIGHT LOSS –  then it’s just another weight-loss attempt.

(Email me if you want to see the Cancer and Ketosis newsletter; the Brain post is on the blog.)

Weight-loss attempts notoriously FAIL.  Almost 100% of EVERYONE who loses weight on a diet gains it back.  Weight loss is NEVER enough reason to stick to a new food plan.  Ever.  Make it about your health.

Reader question:  Debbie, why would YOU do a keto diet?  You don’t need to lose weight.

Here’s a FEW reasons why:

1)  Ketones have a really negative effect on cancer cells.  From somehow changing the pH around the cells to more alkaline, to eliminating or reducing cancers FAVORITE FOOD ( sugar ), ketones are not good for cancer cells.    Read this by David Servan-Schrell, MD, physician and neuroscience researcher:

…we all carry cancer cells in us. But .. we all have natural defenses that generally prevent these cells from turning into an aggressive disease. These include our immune system, the part of our biology that controls and reduces inflammation, and the foods that reduce the growth of new blood vessels needed by developing tumors.

In the West, one out of three people will develop cancer. But two-thirds will not. For these people, their natural defenses will have kept cancer at bay.

Think of Ketones as another immune defense for the reasons stated above. Here’s more: for our body to produce ketones, there has to be a serious decrease of dietary carbs, and normal blood glucose levels.  I.E: when we’re in Ketosis, our blood sugar levels are NOT high.  High blood sugar IMMEDIATELY suppresses the immune system, for up to 24 hours.  Think of someone who eats sugar and grains excessively every-day-all-day ( the Normal American); what the heck is going on with their immune system?  Nothing good.

2)  Several studies show that Ketones have a positive effect on degenerative brain diseases, from Alzheimer’s to Parkinsons to Dementia to Epilepsy to Bi-Polar to ADHD.   Ancetodal studies show that it eliminates “fuzzy thinking and bad memory”.  I Want That!  Who knows what I’ve done to my brain with YEAAARRSS of chemical diet foods, and excessive sugar and grains.  I used to go though a box of Kashi in 2 days!  What the heck did that constant high blood sugar do to me?

3) Study after study shows that a Ketogenic Diet REDUCES ALL MAKERS OF INFLAMMATION.   Inflammation is the cause of all disease.

If you’re looking for a great book, that’s super sciency, read The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living.  It’s by 2 PhD’s who have 50 years of research and clinical experience between them.  They don’t have any skin in any game.  As a matter of fact, because a Ketogenic Diet is centered around changes in Food and Lifestyle, as opposed to Pharmaceuticals,  money making opportunities are few and far between.

What I’m really looking forward to is Keto Clarity, by Jimmy Moore and Dr. Eric Westman.  This book is coming out soon and I’ve already pre-ordered it.  Check out the “Experts Page”  This book is going to be Fantastic!

IF YOU PRE-ORDER IT, WE CAN DO A BOOK CLUB.  LET ME KNOW!

I’m finishing with a recipe:  Cream Cheese Balls.  Delicious if you love cheesecake!cream cheese balls

1 pkg of cream cheese (  I use this brand because it’s cultured, which means there’s good bacteria in it)
Juice from whole lemon
1 heaping TBSP stevia ( you might need more, depends on your tastes)
2 drops lemon oil ( again, use your own preference for tart )
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 c very soft coconut oil
Mash til thoroughly blended, roll into balls, then roll in fine,flaked coconut
Refrigerate or freeze.
Next time we’re doing this w/coco powder, and I also want to try Orange Extract.

 

I’m Starting a Hard Core Ketogenic Diet, and a Recipe

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAI’m about to start a Full On, Ketogenic Diet, and I’m excited!

I’ve been High Fat – Low Carb for quite a while, and by that I mean, zero grains, very little sugar, and literally adding fat in the form of butter, coconut oil, or lately, MCT oil, to most of my meals.  It definitely works for me.  I get to eat really large breakfasts and dinners, to the point of feeling content and very full, and my weight stays very stable.  ( I usually keep my lunches modest so that a full stomach doesn’t slow me down in the afternoon.)   I don’t count carbs, but because I only eat them in Real Whole Food form, ( check out my What I Eat Page), I’m definitely under the 100 – 150 grams a day that define ” low carb “.

To get into Ketosis, I’m going to have to drop that to around 50 grams of carbs a day.  Or at least that’s where I’ll start.  Ugh.  It means weighing or measuring, which in the old days made me “diet crazy”, but I’m pretty sure that I’ve conquered that ugly beast now and it won’t rear it’s head again.

I’m not doing this to lose weight  (although, like any woman, I’d be thrilled to lose a couple pounds), but I am interested to see the effect of dropping my carbs to below 50 grams a day.  Will I have more energy or will I be fatigued initially?   Will I think more clearly?  Will my stomach get ripped?   That’s so spoiled sounding, but I’m wondering the effect it’ll have on my body fat – which I will have tested by Monday, so that I can compare at the end of my experiment.

Probably the biggest changes I’ll have to make is eliminating my morning banana in my smoothie, measuring and choosing either hemp, flax seed, or chia seed for my smoothie mornings.  Measuring any nuts or seeds I eat.  Eliminating the potatoes I eat 3 or 4 times a week; and I’ll have to see what else comes up.  Oh, no more dark chocolate.  Any treat will have to be a Keto Treat.

Since the Low Carb Cruise, I’ve been slowly weaning off the higher glycemic fruits and vegetables.  It’ll be goodbye to the starchier vegetables for a little while.   I really enjoy my roasted potatoes, and now it’s sweet corn season, and I LOVE carrots and beets, but those are what I’m cutting back on.  I’ve been adding more and more cooked greens to my meals ( Oh My Gosh I’m LOVING them), and like I said above, more fats.  I’m focusing on really looking forward to what I’ve planned ( planning’s everything, right?), and that way, I’m not missing some of the old staples.

That said, going this low carb is just an Experiment that I’m doing for either 2 weeks, or through the end of the month.  Since I don’t have Insulin Resistance, a weight issue, or diabetes, I’m pretty much of the opinion that All Vegetables, and All Fruits are good for me.  Real Whole Food is and always will be my guide.  So this will be a Real Whole Food Ketogenic Diet.  Oh, that means no Whey Protein, and no bars.  I’ll sub eggs and veggies, or dinner leftover for the smoothies, and I don’t have any more travel weekends until my fitness conference in the beginning of August.  I should be good:)

How will I measure my levels of Ketosis?  With my new breath meter,  Ketonix – I’m so excited about this!  Until now, there’s been 2 main ways to test ketones.  One is looking at ketones in the urine, which is fairly cheap, but reportedly inaccurate.  The other is looking at ketones in the blood, which is much more accurate, but VERY expensive. ( I did my first reading this morning, and I’m either zero or very low.  I’ll probably have to do a couple days of pure fat and protein to get into ketosis.  I’m interested to see how long it takes.)

Measuring ketones in the breath has shown to be as accurate as the blood, and the new Ketonix is a reusable device that I’ll blow into as many times a day as I want.  I’ll keep you all up to date as to my meals, energy levels, weight, body fat, and ketosis readings.  I’m excited!

If you need a refresher on what a Ketogenic Diet is, read this.
If you’re wondering about benefits, here’s a few:

1.  It’s a great weight loss tool:  the more fat you eat, and the less carbs, the more your body uses STORED FAT as an energy source instead of sugar/glucose.  Also, healthy fats in the diet have a very positive effect on our hormones; weight loss is all about the hormones!

2.  Ketones are great for brain health.  They provide substrates to help repair damaged neurons and membranes.  There’s several Ketosis studies going on which are showing really positive benefits for Alzheimer’s, dementia, epilepsy, and Parkinson’s disease.  Oh, and MS and cancer!!

3. Ketones are “non-glycating”, this means they don’t destroy and ruin any of the cells they come into contact with like glucose/sugar does.  Which cells does high blood sugar glycate?  Read this. (Hint – it has to do with erectile dysfunction and wrinkles ..)

4. The mitochondria (furnaces)  of most of our cells literally run better on ketones than on glucose.

5. Many cells function better on ketones than glucose, because ketones take less effort to get into the mitochondria ( which are our furnaces ) than glucose does.  That’s why ketosis can have an energy producing effect for people with chronic fatigue, RA, fibromyalgia, cancer, and other chronic conditions.

6. Cancer cells CAN’T use ketones, and they don’t like to eat fatty acids either.  CANCER CELLS LOVE SUGAR.  They’re COVERED with Insulin Receptors, and somehow draw sugar to themselves.  Ketogenic diets always lead to much lower levels of Insulin, always.  This has a really detrimental effect on cancers that are predominantly “sugar driven”.  If you’re interested in a great podcast on that, here’s one by Dr. Colin Champ.

Let me know if you’re interested in Cancer and Ketosis, as I did a Client Newsletter on it last week which I’d be happy to forward.  If you’d like to be added to my newsletter list, which is more detailed and sciency than my blog, let me know by emailing me.

Will I lose weight on the Ketogenic Diet?  Maybe.  Some doctors say it’s not as effective ( for ketodinnerweight loss )  when body fat is normal-low.   Will I lose body fat?  We’ll see;  same reason!  I’m really interested to see how it effects my memory and hormones, and how easy it is to do.

I’m ending with a Keto Recipe I made the other night:   Sausage and Vegetables:  I cooked collards, green beans, zucchini and tomato in 6 tbsp of butter and 1/4 c water, then added crumbled sausage.  Topped with shredded parm.  Delicious!