Getting Into Ketosis By Year’s End?

14 Comments October 17, 2016 Dot2Trot

What’s your plan? It’s holiday season. Which means lots of celebrations, food and weight gain.

I mentioned to husband yesterday that I didn’t want to hand out any tasty Halloween candy this year. He laughed and said “Oh, yes we are. Leave it to me I’ll pick out the good stuff.”

How can I even suggest such a thing? I’m not in favor in handing out terrible tasting treats that no kid enjoys — I’m thinking of you candy corn! No, I just don’t want any candy that would tempt me. Snickers does nothing for me. Neither does Twix, Three Musketeers or Butterfingers. But we always get the stuff I like and I don’t want that temptation this year.

It’s part of my effort to navigate the upcoming holidays, where the one sure thing is weight gain. Read More

Review: From Fat To Finish Line

Leave a comment October 13, 2016 Dot2Trot

Finally saw From Fat To Finish Line and I loved it. Whether if you are a runner or not, this moving will inspire you.

Last night the hubby and I settled in the watch a film I’ve been waiting to see for nearly a year – From Fat to Finish Line. The documentary tells the story of 12 people who’ve collectively lost 1,200 pounds and team up to run a 200-mile relay race from Miami to Key West. You learn of their weight loss highs, lows and how running gave them focus.

The film shines the spotlight on each runner telling about struggling with weight loss. All experienced the doubts from family, friends and themselves. I could relate to everyone on the team. Their struggles and successes were exactly like mine.

Many on the team started running as a way to shed pounds. But what clearly shows is the shear joy many on the team feel from doing what humans are physically designed to do – run.

Running also became their compass: a way to keep moving forward to their true north, no matter what life tossed their way. As the Rick, the team captain says, when asked how he felt after running his first mile: “I feel like I can do anything.”

That’s what this film does best. Even if running isn’t your thing, this movie will inspire you to keep moving forward.

It really is a wonderful film and I suggest you bump it to the top of you Netflix queue.

Fat V Carbs: They Still Don’t Get It

Leave a comment October 5, 2016 Dot2Trot

Sometimes you really can’t see the forest for the trees.

The most surprising thing in this video for me isn’t that a low carb, high fat diet works when it comes to improving your health. It’s the number of medical professionals who still don’t have a clue.

I believe most of today’s ills (chronic health problems and skyrocketing health care costs) are caused by the rise of carb-driven fake food over the last 40+ years. The medical community better wake up. Thanks to the Internet, we’re reaching the tipping point where the majority of people will find this information on their own. If that happens, GPs, nutritionist and dieticians just may find themselves obsolete.

Weekly Weigh-In: My Pity Party Is Over!

Leave a comment October 2, 2016 Dot2Trot

My 3 month sabbatical from stepping on the scale is over. Thanks to a lot of self-pity and too many sugary desserts, I’m up 10 pounds. Time to kick my LCHF way of eating into high gear.

Sometime during the last few months I made the decision to cut myself some slack and not worry about stepping on the scale. Since I was dealing with my cancer diagnosis, giving up on the idea of getting pregnant, surgery, radiation treatment and recovery, the last thing I needed to focus on was stepping on the scale every week.

Of course that meant I probably wasn’t as diligent with my diet as I should have been. Oh, sure, I always cooked low carb, high fat foods. But we ate out a lot and I wasn’t my diligent self. And more often than not I’d order desserts — something I never do.

I fell into the old habit of rewarding myself with food.

But I wasn’t really rewarding myself. I was feeling sorry for my lot in life. I justified those tasty sweets with the idea that it was “OK to live a little … I have cancer, after all.”

Ugh!

I really felt the wrath of my bad eating decisions. And I don’t mean the 10 pounds I put on. Read More

Fitness Trackers Don’t Cause Weight Loss (Psst…Neither Does Exercise)

Leave a comment September 22, 2016 Dot2Trot

Do wearable fitness trackers help you lose weight? Of course not. Why? Because exercise doesn’t cause weight loss. Yet, researchers who still believe in the calories in, calories out myth spent 2 years and some serious dollars studying the weight loss results of those who wear fitness trackers.

Since the researchers believe in the weight loss myth of eat less and move more, they’ve earned the Captain Jean Luc Picard Double Face Palm Award!

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If you’re not convinced that eating less and exercising more causes weight loss, then I suggest you check out this article about the show The Biggest Loser. Your body fights you tooth and nail when you cut your calories and exercise more. And as an added bonus, your slower metabolism doesn’t bounce back.

Not enough evidence? How about the famous Women’s Health Study that showed if you exercise 1 hour a day everyday for 3 years, you’ll lose a total of 0.25 pounds. Yep, 1/4 of a pound…over 3 years.

I learned this lesson the hard way. When I started on my health journey, I tried exercising like a demon to “burn” calories. The result was one injury after another and not a whole lot of movement on the scale. My doctor told me to stop exercising until I lost 50 pounds. I thought he was insane. But sure enough, I focused on learning the nuts & bolts of LCHF eating and the pounds fell off. No calorie counting. No exercising.

I’m not saying don’t exercise. I love working out. It’s good for you, especially exercise that builds strength. But it isn’t a great tool for weight loss.

As they say, you can’t outrun your fork.

Nutrition Science: Follow The Money

Leave a comment September 13, 2016 Dot2Trot

For 50 years the sugar industry quietly funded nutrition research to shift the blame of our health ills on saturated fat.

This must read article shows how nutrition science is corrupt. For the last 50 years, the sugar industry funded a lot of nutrition studies that shaped the US dietary guidelines. And what a surprise, those studies shifted the blame for heart disease and obesity on dietary fat and continue to push the myth of eat less, move more.

Thanks to that very flawed research, as well as the stupidity of politicians and bureaucrats, the US government set us on a course in the 1970s where sugar and added sugars became a staple in our diet and healthy fats were drastically reduced.

As Senator George McGovern told doctors, who were warning against implementing the low-fat/high carb (& sugar) guidelines without further research, “Senators don’t have the luxury that the research scientist does of waiting until every last shred of evidence is in.”

So Washington turned us into lab rats. The results? We got fatter and sicker over the last 40 years. Read More

Cookbook Review: Nom Nom Paleo

Leave a comment September 6, 2016 Dot2Trot

I spent the holiday weekend drooling over the recipes in Michelle Tam’s Nom Nom Paleo cookbook.

I picked up a wonderful cookbook – Michelle Tam’s Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans. It’s been out since 2013 but it is still one of the most creative cookbooks I’ve come across. And it is a fun read…how many cookbooks can you say that about?

I’m a big fan of Tan’s blog (same name as the book). If you are looking for healthy recipes and cooking inspiration, you need to check out her site.

Like her blog, the book includes recipes and cooking tips that are easy to follow. The combination of her witty prose, awesome cartoons and wonderful photography (by her husband) depict her love of real food, kitchen gadgets, and cooking.

You can’t read this book and not want to have fun in the kitchen. Regardless of your diet of choice she inspires you to turn away from the processed crap. Read More

Changing Up The Diet

13 Comments August 11, 2016 Dot2Trot

Fat bombs are back on my menu as I look for ways to increase healthy fats into my diet.

Since I now have a target weight and start radiation treatments in the next 30 days, and feel it’s time to do some tweaking to my diet. I’m still eating LCHF, but I’ve decided that once my body is in ketosis, I need to consistently stay there for a while. So basically I’m moving to a ketogenic diet.

Embracing Keto!
We’re still in the early stages of studying the impact of ketogenic diets on cancer, but the results are very encouraging. Eating a diet that’s high in fat, a bit restricted in protein, and very low in carbs switches the body from running on glucose to ketones. Cancer thrives on glucose, but it can’t live on ketones. In fact, some studies have shown it to shrink tumors.

Of course, those studies were done on mice or terminally ill cancer patients using a ketogenic diet that’s around 90% fat, 7% protein and 3% carbs. I’m not doing that. I’m shooting for 75% fat, 22% protein, 3% carbs. Considering my diet is now 65%-70% fat, it seems doable.

Ketones, Insulin and Calories…Oh My!
I’m making a few tweaks in my diet. But changes are also coming to what I track. Read More

30-Day Challenge – Zero Carbs

2 Comments June 29, 2016 Dot2Trot

I’m going full ketogenic for July. No foods or drinks that come from plants. That’s right I’m doing a 30-Day No Carb Challenge. Let’s see if eating just animal foods is possible. Photo courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net and amenic181.

Well this should be interesting. I love my veggies, avocado, plum tomatoes, coconut oil and seasonings. But in the interest of my diet, I decided to give them all up in July. Yep, I’m going from 20g of net carbs a day to 0g total carbs.

That means no vegetables or fruits of any kind. No garlic. No leafy greens. No berries. No coffee or tea. No alcohol!!!!! No spices or seasonings, except for salt. If it comes from a plant, I’m giving it up in July.

Why am I doing this? Why not. Sometimes its good to shake things up. Also many LCHF folks experiment with this and many find it much easier to stick to. For me, the idea of giving up my morning avocado seems impossible, but I’m going to try.

What Can I Eat & Drink?
For 30 days the only foods I’ll eat comes from animals. Drinking is also restricted. Read More

Running Etiquette vs. Selfies

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Low Carb Living!

Low Carb Knowledge

Getting Into Ketosis By Year’s End?

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Review: From Fat To Finish Line

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Fat V Carbs: They Still Don’t Get It

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Weekly Weigh-In: My Pity Party Is Over!

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Fitness Trackers Don’t Cause Weight Loss (Psst…Neither Does Exercise)

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Nutrition Science: Follow The Money

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Cookbook Review: Nom Nom Paleo

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Changing Up The Diet

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30-Day Challenge – Zero Carbs

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Low Carb Knowledge

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