Hitting a weight loss plateau is typical for any low-calorie meal plan you may be following. It is a notorious roadblock for anyone wanting to lose weight, and the game plan is to succeed on that weight loss plan, be it keto or other. Here are ten reasons why you may be hitting a plateau while trying to follow a keto diet:
Try adding sauerkraut, kimchi, and kefir to even the strictest keto diet to boost those helpful bacteria. Then, there are always probiotic supplements. With probiotic supplements, make sure you follow refrigeration recommendations as these are live organisms and need food safety precautions to survive in a healthy environment.
What is the best keto diet, you ask? The keto Mediterranean Diet is the healthiest keto diet plan to follow. It has healthy fats that won't clog up your arteries, and it's good for your heart. So, don't give up. Plan for the plateaus!
0 Comments
Focus Objective: Review of Prolon, 5-day fasting-mimicking diet (FMD) that replicates the positive metabolic effects seen in fasting by promoting multisystem regeneration, enhanced cognitive performance, the promotion of fat loss, and improved healthspan with minimization of the side-effects traditionally associated with fasting such as low blood sugar, Fatigue, loss of muscle mass and weight regain.
Introduction: Fasting, the practice of abstinence from any food or drink except for water, has been practiced for both spiritual and health reasons for a millennium. The practice has its roots in spirituality, with the Muslims fasting during Ramadan and Christians, Jews, Buddhists, and the Hindus fasting on designated calendar months or days of the year. We will not deal with the spiritual benefits of fasting here but rather focus on the perceived and evidence-based positive health outcomes associated with fasting and its various forms. While much of our research on fasting comes from animal models, the focus here will be on human clinical trials, and subject areas of interest are: · Changes in weight · Changes in metabolic parameters associated with type 2 diabetes · Effects on risk for and progression of cardiovascular disease · Effects on cancer prevention and progression We know clinically that the process of fasting results in ketosis and significant changes in metabolic pathways, stress resistance, lipolysis, autophagy, and cancer response. Medical applications to date include treating epilepsy, rheumatoid arthritis, weight reduction, longevity, and increased healthspan. (1) Types of fasting models Fasting models can be broken down into intermittent, modified fasting regimens, and time-restricted feeding. Alternate day fasting is what the name implies. Days of no food intake are cycled with days of normal food intake. Data from these regimens are limited but do show positive reductions in blood glucose, improvement in inflammatory markers, and mild weight loss of about 2.5%. Modified fasting regimens typically provide 20-25% of energy needs on scheduled fasting days. This routine showed positive reductions in visceral fat, the appetite hormone leptin, and increases in the weight friendly hormone adiponectin. Significant weight loss was observed along with reductions in fasting insulin but not glucose. There were mixed results with regard to lipid reductions. Time-restricted fasting is based on balancing energy intake with the circadian rhythm. In both animal and human studies, the incorporation of regular fasting intervals and eating in accordance with normal daily circadian rhythms may be important for maintaining optimal metabolic function in a variety of areas. A robust research area in shift workers showing a disruption in the circadian rhythm is associated with an increased risk of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. In addition, data from other studies also support the hypothesis that consuming most of the day's energy needs earlier in the day is associated with lower weight and improved health (1). Intermittent fasting involves fasting so many days and then following a normal healthy diet for a period and then repeating the fasting cycle followed by a normal healthy eating pattern. Most of our animal and human research are based on this model of fasting. Problems with water only fasts When presented with various fasting options, the question is frequently asked, "Why not just do a water fast since it doesn't cost anything and its easy?" The fact is, a water-only fast is not that easy, requires discipline, and comes with some potential side effects such as: · Fatigue · Electrolyte imbalance · Low blood glucose leading to hypoglycemia · loss of lean body mass or muscle · Maintenance of weight loss difficult · Extreme hunger · Dizziness Depending on the length and repetitions of the fast, nutritional malnutrition may come into play, compromising the primary goal of health improvement. What is ProLon? ProLon is a periodic fasting program of 5 days of a scientific and patented, calorie-controlled diet followed by three weeks of normal healthy eating and then repeating the cycle two more times to achieve desired outcomes. The fasting-mimicking diet controls many of the downfalls of a water only fast by providing a limited number of calories in an optimal nutrient base to support the metabolic functions that occur during a water fast but avoid the pitfalls associated with a zero-calorie intake. (2) What is in Prolon? ProLon contains 66 totally unique ingredients studied at the University of Southern California under the sponsorship of a National Institute of Health grant. It is a prestigious and successful attempt to realistically mitigate the fasting process while providing an optimal diet. The diet contains a variety of soups, bars, supplements, drinks, teas, and crackers. Day 1 is 1100 calories, while each of the other four days is about 770 calories. It is gluten and dairy-free. How does ProLon work? The food kit, studied for 25 years at the University of Southern California, is designed to trigger the body's identification of the presence of food through the following nutrient-sensing pathways: · IGF-1, mTOR (Mechanistic Target of Rapamycin) and PKA (Protein Kinase A) are two critical nutrient-sensing pathways that recognize the presence of protein, carbohydrates (sugars) · These nutrient-sensing pathways are pro-growth and pro-aging and lead to many common health problems including heart disease and cancer · ProLon downregulates these pathways enhancing a fasting mode and activating cellular regeneration and rejuvenation (3) ProLon allows you to eat while tricking your body into acting like its on a fast What is ProLon for? ProLon affects many regenerative and rejuvenating changes, including effects on a wide range of markers that contribute to aging and ill health. In clinical trials, ProLon has been found to (3) Maintain Healthy Levels of: · Fasting blood glucose · Cholesterol · Blood pressure · Triglycerides · C-reactive protein · Stem cells · insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) Improve the following: · Regenerative Weight Loss driven by visceral fat loss · Maintenance of lean body mass · Energy levels · Skin appearance Future Directions With the success of ProLon, the company plans on implementing fasting regimens tailored for a variety of medical conditions, including cancer support, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's support, and diabetes control therapy. ProLon is prescribed by 5,000 clinics nationwide. #fastingmimickingdiet, #fastingmicmicking, #intermittentfasting, #antiaging, #stemcells References 1. Patterson RE, Laughlin GA, Sears DD, et al. Intermittent fasting and human metabolic health. 2015. J Acad Nutr Dietetics; 115(8):1203-1212. 2. Brandhorst S, et.al. A periodic diet that mimics fasting promotes multisystem regeneration, enhanced cognitive performance, and healthspan. 2015. Cell Metabolism; 72(1):86-99. 3. Brandhorst S., Wei M, et al. FMDs and risk factors for aging, diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular disease. 2017. J. of Sci Translational Med;24(9):377. � Ketogenic diets are all the rage today, many of them followed incorrectly or at risk to their heart’s health. If you have a coach helping you with this diet, look to see if they are certified in the diet instruction. Certification programs exist that guide the provider in helping the patient or client choose heart-healthy fats when keeping that fat goal high and not turn to a diet of bacon and eggs. The five types of keto diets people are following these days are: The Standard Keto Diet This diet is the most typical ketogenic diet and consists of a 75% fat intake, 20% protein intake, and 5% carbohydrate intake. It is necessary to control the protein intake because protein readily turns into glucose. It is no joke that this diet is strict and difficult to follow. Some good examples of healthier fat choices include: 1. Cacao Butter 2. Coconut Butter 3. Organic Coconut Oil 4. MCT Oil 5. Almond 6. Butter 7. Coconut Milk 8. Coconut Cream 9. Ghee 10. Avocado 11. Nuts 12. Sugar Free Chocolate 13. Olives 14. Butter 15. Avocado Oil 16. Cheeses 17. Olive Oil Targeted Keto Diet Targeted Ketogenic Diets (TKD) are geared toward bodybuilders. With a targeted keto, allowable carbohydrates are scheduled into the meal plan a half hour before a workout. The key to making this diet a success is high- intensity workouts to get that glucose burned out of the system before it is taken out of ketosis. A good tip for burning your allowable carbs fast is to eat easily digestible carbohydrates. After the workout, it is essential to take in more protein to rebuild muscle fast. Cyclical Keto Diet This variation of the standard diet allows you to have healthy carbs like berries and other lower glycemic foods on the carb list. You will need to put yourself back on the classic keto diet after 24-48 hours to get back into ketosis easily without all the adverse effects such as “keto flu.” High Protein Ketogenic Diet This variation is targeted more towards people struggling with obesity. In a high protein ketogenic diet, practitioners will consume 35% protein, 60% fat, and 5% carbs. The carbs are still kept low, but in this case, the fat is decreased by 15%, and the corresponding increase in protein is 15%. Protein is vital on the keto diet, but too much of it will cause you to fall out of ketosis, as mentioned earlier. This variation is also suitable for elite athletes. Restricted Ketogenic Diet This is a restricted caloric version of the standard diet, and only 12 grams of carbohydrate per day are allowed. This diet is most often used in medical settings and most often in the cancer ward when someone is following a keto diet with their cancer treatments. It is a variation used with a three day fast. A 2010 study showed that a patient with a form of brain cancer had no signs of mutated brain tissue after two months on this diet. Medical professionals will not only monitor caloric intake, carbs, and ketosis, but specific ketone levels will need to be achieved. I am not advocating ketogenic diets, just trying to create an informed environment. Please post questions in the forum area, and I will address each one. Sign up for our newsletter before you leave! And, be sure to submit any questions or comments. #ketogenic, #ketogenicdiets, #lowcarbohydrates "Targeted Ketogenic Diet" by Stephen Pearson is licensed under CC BY 2.0 Alzheimer's Disease (AD), a brain disorder that ravages your memory, robbed 5.5 million Americans of their quality of life in 2019. Two-thirds of those affected were women, the traditional caretakers of our society. African Americans are twice as likely as Caucasians to be diagnosed with this illness, and there is no cure. But there is hope.
Research is showing that diet may delay the signs and symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease, and we all know that every moment we can spend with our loved one where we don't have to wrestle with the side-effects of this disease are precious and to be treasured. Studies from Rush University in Chicago have found that the MIND diet, a combination of the DASH diet and the Mediterranean diet, may decrease the risk of Alzheimer's by as much as 50% and can still protect the brain even when not followed rigorously. What is the MIND Diet? The MIND diet was born out of blending the DASH diet for hypertension, which focused on limiting sodium in the diet while increasing vegetables and low-fat dairy with the Mediterranean diet. The Mediterranean Diet, a diet focused on increasing consumption of vegetables, monounsaturated fats from olive oil, fish, whole grains, and omega-3 fatty acids- the building blocks of this meal plan. Researchers believe that those who follow the diet for years will receive the most significant protective benefits. The time to start a MIND diet is when you find out you have Alzheimer's Disease in the family as it will lower your risk of developing it. For those who already have it, it's not too late to start the diet to delay the progression of AD. What Does the MIND Diet Do? The MIND diet emphasizes those foods that protect the brain and restricts those foods that affect the brain adversely. It works because it reduces inflammation of the brain and nerves; it acts as an antioxidant for the tissues it makes nerve transmission more fluid and decreases neuron loss while improving memory overall. How Do I Follow a MIND Diet? As with any major change, start slow. Make a few changes at a time until the MIND diet feels like your everyday routine. Soon even grocery shopping will become automatic, and you won't have to pour over lists of foods that you aren't used to eating or learning new recipes or ways of cooking because it has become a habit. It just takes a little time, one step at a time. When introducing starchy beans into the diet, do so slowly if it is a new food to the individual. Starchy beans like chickpeas, lentils, kidney beans, fava beans, etc., are not only high in fiber, they may be gas forming and cause bloating if introduced into the diet too quickly. Always introduce increased fiber slowly with 8 glasses of water per day to avoid bloating. Another trick to lessen gas and bloating from beans is to either soak them overnight, drain and rinse or bring to a boil and drain, rinse and then bring the beans to heat again. Draining the water gets rid of the gassy component present in beans. Also, some healthy foods can be expensive, a real consideration for most of us. One way to save money is to buy fruits and vegetables in season and freeze them. Don't use sugar or salt, just freeze them after they've been cleaned, label and date them and freeze for later. MIND Diet Guidelines The Rules of the Diet Are:
Application The MIND diet supports vascular health and is protective against vascular dementia. Certain foods used in the MIND diet have been directly linked to improved neurological function or reduced Alzheimer's Disease biomarkers in the brain. MIND diet foods reflect nutrients that have been shown in studies to slow cognitive decline, decrease the risk of AD, scour the brain of amyloid plaque, and decrease neuron loss. So, while a cure may not be here, hope is on the horizon for a better quality of life by following the MIND diet. #Alzheimer's Disease #MIND diet #cognitive #dementia |
Author
|