Since I started the ketogenic diet and have continued to share my success with this lifestyle, a lot of you have asked me what keto is, how to start, and how to be successful, too. Way back in August of 2014, I hit a pretty low point in my life that started me out on this path of healing and using food as medicine. You can read what led up to me seeking out this lifestyle here. Is keto right for me? I bet you are seeing a lot of information about keto on social media right now. Why? Because it works and because people are becoming more and more proactive about their health, which is great! Other low carb diets like Atkins went mainstream a long time ago, but I bet you didn't know that the ketogenic diet has been around since 500 BC (the fasting aspect of it), but it hit the mainstream in the 1920s and 1930s. It was originally developed to treat epilepsy in children. Since the ketogenic diet is made up of high-fat foods and very few carbohydrates, it is believed to work by triggering biochemical changes that eliminate seizure-causing short circuits in the brain's signaling system. The diet was designed to mimic the physiologic effects of fasting -- a seizure-control method favored by ancient Greeks. Since then, physicians have believed that the two therapies share a common mechanism. [Source: Science Daily] Ok, but is keto right for me? I just want to lose some weight and maybe kick my sugar cravings. I will say this, if you are looking to keto for a quick fix, yes – it will work to drop weight and curb your sugar addiction, but once you go back to eating above 20g of carbs/sugars daily, I one hundred percent believe you will gain the weight back. It’s meant to be a lifestyle, not just a fad diet. The health benefits are so great though, I am encouraging everyone to try keto to see what it does for you: better sleep, more energy, helps with digestive issues, no more brain fog – crazy focus, alleviates joint pain, hormonal issues, anxiety, etc. You don’t have to have an autoimmune disease or epilepsy to reap the benefits of a ketogenic lifestyle. That said, I really believe if you want to try keto, to be successful you have to fully commit. And that means you will be tracking your foods daily, supplementing with vitamins and minerals, counting carbs, prepping meals, not cheating, and most importantly, listening to how your body responds to this lifestyle. My number one advice for anyone interested in this way of eating is this... KETO IS NOT ONE-SIZE FITS ALL. I had to spend six months on the AIP (autoimmune protocol) diet, eating only low glycemic index foods to realize through trial and error, and a lot of testing, that eating carbs -- even the good ones like sweet potatoes and fruits, causes a reactive hypoglycemic reaction in my body. In layman's terms, that means my body doesn't process carbs like other people's bodies do. After a carb-heavy meal, I would ride a blood sugar rollercoaster for several hours. Eating carb-heavy meals 3x a day or more meant I was riding that rollercoaster all day every day. Symptoms of reactive hypoglycemia include: heart palpitations, fatigue, sweating, insomnia, depression, headaches, dizziness, brain fog, tremors, numbness or tingling in extremities, the list covers all manners of things! For me, my symptoms mimicked anxiety and further, panic attacks. If you read my very first blog post surrounding the circumstances that led me to take better control of my health you will see that I came to keto very much through trial and error and with the help of a thorough naturopath. So this is why I say keto is not one size fits all. I started it because I had very specific symptoms that led my doctor to believe that changing my diet would alleviate some of my Hashimoto's symptoms. Every body is different though. For example, what worked for me does not work for my boyfriend, Paul. His metabolism is through the roof fast -- he can barely keep weight on. He needs those shorter burning fuels (complex carbs) to sustain his incredibly fast metabolism. He doesn't have that stored body fat to burn through once those carbs and sugars are burned for energy. Yes, he could benefit from the intermittent fasting aspect of keto, but I doubt he could sustain not eating for longer periods of time since he needs a higher level of carbs to function optimally. He's not eating high fat foods to keep him satiated for long periods of time. Some people will go into strict keto and wonder why their body is not responding like other successful keto dieters. There are so many factors that go into it and ultimately, it's science at work. Perhaps you are eating too few carbs for your body, maybe your macros need to be adjusted, maybe you are eating too much protein, or maybe ultimately you would do better with a low carb diet instead of a ketogenic diet. Honestly, I think most people would feel better and benefit greatly from a lower carb diet. We eat so many processed, sugary foods. What is even in our foods these days? I can't pronounce half the crap that we pack into foods to preserve them and I have no idea what benefits, if any they possess for the human body. The quality of our food should be way more important than the quantity, always. But I digress... You want to start keto, but you don't know how. In the next section, I will go over the steps that worked for me. Again, the caveat here is that I am NOT a ketogenic diet expert. I'm not a licensed nutritionist. If you want someone like that, please follow Maria Emmerich. She IS a nutritionist and specializes in exercise physiology. Her cookbooks helped me immensely when I started this journey. Here's the thing, I started the same way you are -- by doing research, joining support groups, buying cookbooks, talking to people who found success in it, and following influencers. Having done that, below I will share the steps that worked for me. How I found success on the ketogenic diet....
5. DRINK A LOT OF WATER. This is probably the number one tip I give people just starting out on keto. A good rule of thumb is to drink half your body weight in ounces of water daily. That's going to seem like a lot to some of you. Trust me when I say your body needs it during this time. Your body stores glycogen in water in your muscles. As your body burns through that stored glycogen and you don’t replace it because you aren’t eating carbs, your body’s water stores get depleted as well. This is why people tend to lose up to 10 lbs in the first week/month on keto and also what causes the “keto flu” or the miserable feeling that happens just before you switch over to being fat adapted. That feeling is mostly caused by mild dehydration and can be shortened tremendously just by drinking more water. [Source: My Sugar Free Journey]. Water also suppresses appetite and curbs cravings! Drinking a lot of water also puts less stress on your kidneys that are working overtime to flush all that junk out of your system. Simply put, water is life. Drink it.
6. Now that you have calculated your macros, TRACK YOUR MACROS. You can use any macro tracker or calorie counter app to do this. I use the MyFitnessPal paid version so that I can see my macro percentages for each meal, as well as set customized macros. Use whatever app you want, but just track what you put in your mouth. You might think a handful of raspberries is a nice, healthy treat at the end of the day. You would know though if you were using an app to track what you eat that, that cup of berries, although healthy, has almost your full serving of carbs for the day and will kick you out of ketosis. A food scale and a good food tracking app are going to be crucial to your success in the early stages of the ketogenic diet. Sign up for MFP and add me as a friend to see what I eat daily: Hellafied12. 7. Supplement. Now that you are eating fewer foods, your body will be lacking in certain vitamins and minerals. Because insulin levels go down during a ketogenic diet, your body starts shedding excess sodium and water when you start restricting carbohydrates. While many Americans suffer from high levels of sodium and potassium, low levels of these two salts in the body is also an issue of concern for people on the ketogenic diet due to lower levels of insulin and insulin resistance. The best way to get more sodium and potassium is to add them into your diet. Generally, people on the ketogenic diet should consider adding 2-4 grams of sodium per day. This can be accomplished in a variety of ways. Many keto friendly foods, such as eggs and lean meats, are naturally high in sodium. Sprinkling on some salt or eating some high-fat, salty foods such as bacon or making a low-carb chicken soup might be a good solution. [Source: Ruled Me] Drink bone broth -- it's delicious and is perfect for getting in that sodium and potassium. Magnesium is also an essential nutrient in the body with many key functions and deficiency is common and more prevalent in people who regularly eat a low-carb diet because it increases excretion of ions and many magnesium-rich foods are high-carb. I recommend taking a magnesium supplement, or upping your intake of mag-rich low carb foods like: avocadoes, high-fat yogurt, and low-carb nuts. I absolutely love this powder that you add to water. It also helps with sleep and constipation! 8. Movement. This one is a no brainer. Once you become fat adapted, your energy levels will soar through the roof. Use that energy to get out and take a walk, practice yoga, run a mile. Just get that hot bod moving.You don't need to train for a marathon in the first months you are keto. You don't need to exercise at all and the weight will come off, but trust me when I say movement, along with the proper nutrition, is medicine. 9. Don't be afraid to try out intermittent fasting (IF). Once you are fat adapted, you will notice you aren't hungry during the day and you can go long periods of time without eating or even thinking about food. I stopped snacking altogether after the third week. The benefits of intermittent fasting are crazy! And the ketogenic diet goes hand in hand with IF because being in ketosis helps to mimic the benefits of fasting. When you practice both, your energy will sky rocket and you will give your body and gut much needed time to heal. After about three weeks on keto, I wasn't hungry for breakfast at all anymore, so IF came naturally. I started small. One night I decided to eat dinner earlier than normal, around 5:30 PM. I made sure to eat a dinner high in lots of healthy fats to keep me full and sustain my body through the night and into the morning. I didn't eat again until noon the next day. I wasn't hungry, but I had fasted for about 16 hours, leaving myself an 8 hour window to get my macros in for the rest of the day. After a while, I worked up to a fasting window of 18:6 daily. I would have my last meal between 6-7pm and then not eat again until 2-3pm the following day. Every so often I have gone as long as 24-26 hours without eating and to be honest, it's been really easy to do. I'm to the point, where I eat a small LCHF snack in the afternoon and then fulfill the rest of my macros with one large meal a day. This is commonly referred to as OMAD (one meal a day). Switching to eating this way has allowed me to have a different relationship with food. I don't eat when I'm not hungry and I don't eat when the societal clock tells me to anymore. If it's lunchtime and my body tells me it's cool without food, then I don't eat. I call this intuitive eating. Not to mention eating this way will also melt the extra weight off, if that is your goal. If you can tolerate it, listen to you body and it will tell you when you're ready to start fasting. Make sure you're eating enough calories though please! There is a difference between fasting and eating the bulk of your calories for the day in one or two meals and going into starvation mode. If your body goes into starvation mode, it will hold onto your stored fat and you will plateau, stall, or even gain weight. 10. DO NOT GIVE UP. You should try your best not to cheat during your first few months of keto. You deserve at least that! Your body is adjusting to now burning fat and ketones for fuel and cheating will just cause your body to become confused. Piling carbs (sugar) on top of fat will just cause your body to store the healthy fat instead of burn it for energy. YOU CANNOT HALF-ASS A KETOGENIC LIFESTYLE. Eating a high carb AND high fat diet will cause you to gain weight and not lose it. Low carb high-fat (LCHF) go hand in hand. It's a delicate balance and a system that your body needs practice to understand what you want it to do, which is ultimately, burn fat over sugar for energy and optimal brain function. Stick with it. If you aren't seeing results in 2-3 weeks, change things up. Add more healthy fats. Up your water intake. Lower your protein intake. But do not give up. Our bodies are amazing and can adapt to pretty much anything given enough time. Some people take longer to achieve ketosis. Most importantly, you should be FEELING so much better. The best barometer for success should always be how you FEEL, not how you look! Those are my top 10 tips and steps for how I maintained a ketogenic lifestyle and went prescription drug-free, am now autoimmune thyroid symptom-free, lowered my bad cholesterol and raised my good cholesterol, and how I lost now 38 lbs and four sizes in just under five months. hope they help you begin a healthier lifestyle!
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After years of being misdiagnosed by my primary care physician and at the prompting of one of my mentors, Mastin Kipp, I decided to find a functional medicine practitioner. What is a functional medicine practitioner?
Functional medicine is a form of alternative medicine which proponents say focuses on interactions between the environment and the gastrointestinal, endocrine, and immune systems. Practitioners attempt to develop individual treatment plans for people they treat and focus on treating underlying issues before they become illnesses. In August of 2014 I woke up with a lump in my throat. What started as a minor annoyance slowly became a major issue. Along with having issues swallowing, I started experiencing rapid heartbeat, uncontrolled sweating, weight gain despite eating healthily and exercising, brain fog, and terrible, terrible anxiety about the former symptoms. By September I had experienced my first full blown panic attack that sent me to the emergency room. After an EKG, an endoscopy, and multiple other tests my primary care physician told me I was fine, prescribed me the anti-anxiety med Celexa and sent me home. Home to all the same symptoms I had before I came into the ER. Home to fear. Home to always living in the future state of "what if", never being able to be present and enjoy the moment. Nothing changed. My symptoms did not improve. Several more panic attacks (one on a plane to Charleston for a work trip) later I was back at the doctor explaining my symptoms had worsened, and again, he sent me home with a higher dosage of Celexa, a prescription for Xanax and a referral for a psychiatrist. A referral for a psychiatrist. Those words seared hot in my chest. "But I'm not crazy." Shock turned into shame and shame later turned into acceptance. I was so afraid I would have another debilitating panic attack and was so sick of feeling so unlike myself that I would have done anything. I remember my sister (who I respect and trust implicitly, is a very experienced NP, and has her own personal story of beating anxiety) telling me about the "wine test". If you have a glass of wine and your feelings of anxiety go away, it's psychosomatic. Meaning, it's in your head. The problem with that was that drinking made me feel better yes, but the next day I would wake up and my symptoms would be stronger than ever. What's more, I started to take the Xanax as my doctor had prescribed them -- as a prophylactic, to help prevent another panic attack. I would take them 15 minutes before boarding any plane (since I was deathly afraid of having another attack in public), before going into movie theaters, concerts, or any place in public where I couldn't escape quickly in the event my throat started closing up and my vision started narrowing. It got to the point where Xanax did help me, but I was taking it unnecessarily and not dealing with what was causing my symptoms of anxiety. It became an easy fix, and then slowly a crutch. Even still, I trusted the Western medicine process and felt confident that with the right dosages and the right medicine that I would start feeling better. So I ignored my intuition and swallowed the first of three years worth of pills. This brings us to present day where I am in the process of weening off my SSRI and am devoting all my resources and energy to living prescription-free. How did I get here? After I returned from a month in Bali spent writing my book, I took a look at a list of promises I made to myself while I was there: enroll in a restorative or kundalini yoga class, join a writing workshop program to finish my book, take a 20 minute walk every day, and see a functional medicine doctor to have a more comprehensive idea of my health. I Googled naturopaths in my area and found one whose website and mission statement resonated with me and gave her a call. I instantly felt comfortable and made an appointment to see her. What closed it for me at the end of her consultation on the phone is that she said this, "I can help you. We will reach your goals together." Instantly, I felt relief. Knowing that most naturopaths are not covered by insurance, I knew this would be an expensive endeavor, but after a month in Bali spent investing in myself, investing a little bit more into my holistic health care came naturally. $250 dollars later I was at LabCorp getting a comprehensive blood panel done. Four days after that I was sitting in my naturopath's office across from her seeing her point to the bottle of Celexa on the desk in front of me and say, "You won't need this anymore. I know what's wrong with you." "I know what's wrong with you." Scary words for most people, but I welcomed those words with elation. The fact that I had something "wrong" with me was not concerning. I intuitively knew something was off in my body and it wasn't my serotonin levels -- what was concerning is that I spent three years of my life feeling like I had no control over my body and feeling that I was mentally ill. Mental illness is ubiquitous nowadays, but it still carries a stigma, even though nearly 1 in 5 people suffer from mental illness every year in growing numbers (we need to change this stigma!) Because of this stigma I hid my symptoms from my everyone I knew, with the exception of a few close friends, and even hid the fact that I was taking medication for my anxiety from my boyfriend Paul, for most of the first year we were dating. I was diagnosed about six months into dating him and was afraid he would think differently of me. There was a time on our way back to the airport after a visit together, where my hands were shaking so badly that at every stoplight I would kiss him to distract him from the fact that I was nearly coming unhinged. After dropping him off, I had to pull over on the side of the road, tilt my seat back, and force myself to breathe. I told myself, "You are not passing out on the side of the the road, Megan." After that I feared every time I had to get into the car. The fear was automatic and it would send me further into fight or flight mode. It got so bad that a simple loud noise would jar me to the point of physically recoiling. Having a conversation with another person while the TV was on was almost impossible. I couldn't focus on a single thing -- my brain felt like it was covered in honey. I could feel Paul's growing annoyance with me every single time he would ask me a question and I would be so intensely inward trying to not to physically crack that I hadn't heard a single word he said. Meditation and breathing exercises did help me, along with the few things I knew about cognitive behavioral therapy. And finally, it became clear to me that I just needed to be honest with everyone about what was going on with me. I came clean to Paul and of course he understood completely and became one of my biggest supporters. My best friends obligingly took the wheel on road trips when I felt dizzy and shaky. My sister Kate would sit with me or talk to me on the phone during a panic attack, even when I was radio silent on the line, frozen with fear over if my next breath would come. She was my biggest comfort, knowing she had traveled her own depression and anxiety journey and come out medication-free and happy on the other side meant that I also had a chance at happiness again. I had support, but nearly everyone I told said the same thing, "But you seem so put together" or that it "seemed uncharacteristic". Now I know that even my friends' inklings were true. "You have Hashimoto's Disease." My doctor's words sunk in. And she said it with such certainty and authority that hearing it didn't scare me. It was motivating. I had clarity. I have Hashimoto's Disease. What does that even mean? Hashimoto's is an autoimmune condition where the body's immune system cells attack the thyroid gland as a foreign body and resulting inflammation and destruction of thyroid tissue reduces the thyroid's ability to make hormones. It is the leading cause of hypothroidism. Not only did I have Hashimoto's, but I was also reactive hypoglycemic. This is a rare for someone who does not have diabetes like me. It means that I start to have symptoms of hypoglycemia four hours after eating carbohydrates (fatigue, shakiness, heart palpitations, dizziness, headache, excess sweating, etc.) all of which mimic, you guessed it....ANXIETY. Turns out my stomach also lacks acid to help digest my food. That, along with the autoimmune component (food sensitivities) meant that my body was not getting the nutrients it needed from the food I was eating. My body was deficient in Vitamin C, D, B6 & B12 (both needed to help with metabolism and to produce essential substances like neurotransmitters and red blood cells), all of which you should be able to get if you have a good diet from food, but because my body was having trouble breaking down this food, I wasn't getting the benefits. My symptoms presented toward a thyroid condition for years, but because my TSH levels were within the normal range, my PCP did not provide me with that diagnosis. The blood work that my naturopath ordered was much more comprehensive showing me a complete view of my health so that my new doctor could properly diagnosis me. Since then I have happily incorporated a strict autoimmune protocol (AIP) and low glycemic diet into my life, along with taking supplements to nourish my body in the areas it was deficient. I immediately started to feel better, even two weeks into the diet change. I had more energy, woke up more easily, did not have the characteristic brain fog every afternoon, and my shakiness all but went away. In six weeks I will revisit my blood work and will narrow the scope of my autoimmune condition further with the most comprehensive IgG & IgE allergy test out there -- testing over 600 allergies and food sensitivities so I can heal my body's inflammation by naturally eliminating the foods or substances that cause that inflammation. It has become clearer to me than ever that food is fuel. When you put the wrong foods for YOUR body into your body, you simply cannot sustain optimal health. And the process of knowing what is good for YOUR body can be a complex and convoluted puzzle because everyone is so different. My doctor sat with me for 3.5 hours and explained why I had symptoms, why I wasn't diagnosed properly in the first place, and how we were going to get my body on the path of healing itself naturally. With food. With supplements. With a healthy lifestyle that incorporates daily movement and relaxation. And all of this will help me achieve optimal health -- optimal brain function, better digestion, weight loss, less aches and pains, more stamina and the energy to get shit done! (I have a bucket-list a mile long that is just waiting for me to start crossing things off) If you take one thing away from reading this post I hope it is this -- I trusted my intuition and started listening to my body. As soon as I tuned into that piece of me that KNEW something wasn't right, that doubted my original diagnosis -- I couldn't turn it off. It made me more aware that we are the masters of our own destiny and that we must be int he driver's seat when it comes to our own well-being. So that's my story. That's why instead of just Write. Paint. Blog. this website became Write. Paint. Cook. I discovered that eating can truly be as mindful of an experience for me as writing or creating art. And that is as important to me as anything. A Sante! |