- Start keto right and keep it simple
- Have realistic expectations
- Don’t obsess over the scale
- Be prepared for keto flu
- Give your kitchen a makeover
- Know how to order in restaurants
- Get professional guidance on medication
7 Tips For Starting Keto Right
Type 2 Diabetes Myths vs Facts
What myths people THINK is true about Type 2 Diabetes
- Type 2 diabetes myths number one is that it won’t happen to me.
- Type 2 diabetes only affects older adults.
- Only heavier people get type 2 diabetes.
- Type 2 diabetes isn’t that big of a deal. Just take the medicine.
- You can’t reverse or improve type 2 diabetes.
What is ACTUALLY true about Type 2 Diabetes
- It’s estimated that type 2 diabetes in US youth has recently increased by 30%.
- Diabetes is an indication of carbohydrate intolerance. People with low body fat are not necessarily immune.
- Diabetes and it’s complications (including cardiovascular disease and kidney failure) are among the leading causes of death in the US.
- Using an ultra-low carbohydrate diet, it is possible to reverse type 2 diabetes.
- Statistics about type 2 diabetes are grim.
- Fortunately, turning things around is as simple as as adopting a low-carb or keto diet.
Decades of research – and thousands upon thousands of peoples’s lived experiences – are proof that removing sugar and starch from your diet (or cutting way back to just very small amounts) can help you achieve and maintain normal blood sugars whilce reducing your need for diabetes medications…….or possibly eliminating medications altogether.
Do you want to change your health?
We’re three months into the new year. If you were off plan a bit during the holidays, have you gotten back to following your low-carb or keto diet yet?
If you want to change your health, you have to change what you put on your plate. It’s that simple.
If yes, great! Keep going!
If not, start now. Today.
What is one small thing you can do, one small action you can take, that will be the catalyst?
Do you need to do some grocery shopping?
Should you do some protein and vegetable prep so there’s a variety of keto-friendly foods for you to grab in a pinch?
What about doing a pantry purge? Are there some high-carb foods lingering in the cupboards that you’d be better served by putting in the trash insted of eating them? (You’re not “wasting food” or wasting money by doing this. The money is already spent. You eating foods that move you further from your goals won’t put it back in your pocket.)
Don’t wait another day to get back to low-carb keto. And don’t leave things to chance. Stock your kitchen with low-carb keto foods you enjoy. Remind yourself of how much better you feel physically and psychologically – when you feel yourself well.
You’re worth it.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. – The Obesity Myth
As part of the Make America Healthy Again campaign Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks out about the obesity myth.
In this video he talks about the biggest myth of the national obesity epidemic. The biggest myth is that if you are obese or overweight, it’s your fault. Today three quarters of Americans are obese or overweight including 40% of American teenagers.
When Robert was growing up in the 1950’s and 1960’s childhood obesity was almost unheard of. You don’t need statistics to know that something has changed. If you look at photos of state fairs and beaches from the 1950’s you can see that something has changed and it isn’t human nature. We haven’t suddenly become gluttonous or lazy.
Change to food system
What has changed is our food system, our diets and the hormone disrupting chemicals in our food, in our water and our soil. We are being mass poisoned. Today they tell you that you ‘have obesity’ like it was some kind of contagious disease. They treat is as if your body malfunctioned and they give you a shot to control it. Or they make it about your lack of self-control.
Well that’s an insult to anyone who has tried and struggled to lose weight.
So what are they ignoring when they make it all about you and your body and your will power and your character? They say all that is needed is a pill or a shot that someone will cash in on.
What is being ignored in this obesity myth as discussed by Robert Kennedy?
What they are ignoring is a food supply that is loaded with high fructose corn syrup and seed oils and hundreds of artificial flavours and additives. Also processed carbohydrates that don’t exist in nature and are banned in other countries.
Subsidies
They ignore a skewed system of subsidies that make these unnatural, ultra processed foods cheap. They ignore chemical contamination from pesticides that is wreaking havoc on our body.
What will Robert Kennedy Jr. do about this obesity myth?
He will change the subsidies so that everyone can afford safe and wholesome food. He is going to get industry money out of government so that consumers and doctors can actually trust the agencies again.
School lunches will become nutritious again. Harmful chemicals will be banned from the food supply.
Robert Kennedy will not force, coerce or shame anyone. He will lower the cost and get rid of the barriers of pervise incentives. He will clean out the chemicals so that the American people won’t be swimming upstream anymore through a soup of toxic substances just to be healthy.
The Ozempic Effect: Drugs vs Diet
‘Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food’, a familiar phrase from Hippocrates dating back to around 400 BC. While a few things may have changed in the world since then, this statement has never been more relevant. There is a rising ‘ tsunami’ of chronic condition diagnoses, both physical and mental. Along with these, an increasing reliance on prescription medications like Ozempic to treat and manage them. This is a distinct shift away from lifestyle medicine of old.
While medication can be life-changing and life saving it is not without it’s downsides. This is true in terms of side-effects and costs. Yet the lure of a quick fix very often outweighs these. And speaking of weight, this is where the need for a quick fix is most prevalent. In 2022 the global weight loss and weight managment market size was valued at US$ 224.27 billion. It is predicted to grow to around US$ 405.4 billion by 2030. It’s no surprise then that weight loss or anti-obesity medications, like Ozempic, have taken their place at the top of prescription pads around the world.
How does it work?
Ozempic is prescription medication traditionally used to manage blood glucose control in type 2 diabetics. The medication mimics a natural hormone in the body known as glucagon-peptide 1. (GLP-1) This is secreted in the intestine in response to the intake of food. This sets in motion a hormone-driven process that stimulates the increased production of insulin, a reduction in the amount of glucose produced by the liver and an overall slowing of digestion. Finally GLP-1 travels to the brain and activates the area that regulates fullness and hunger; essentially telling you to stop eating before you have even done so. By doing this, the medication doesn’t just lower your appetite. It affects the signalling between your gut and your brain, ultimately changing how your body responds to food.
The upside
The positive impact on insulin response and glucose control makes Ozempic a critical part of diabetes management. Poorly regulated blood glucose has several complications, including heart disease, kidney disease and stroke. Weight loss in itself supports overall metabolic health and improves numerous health markers including inflammation and blood pressure.
The downside of Ozempic
With the increased off-label use of Ozempic due to it’s newfound fame, supply issues have arisen making availability increasingly difficult for those who really need it. In addition, it’s a costly exercise with monthly dosages ranging in price from R1600 – R3000, and no associated reductions in general healthcare costs.
Coast and availability aside, side effects and sustainability are growing concerns. Early side effects may include nausea and vomiting together with heartburn and bloating. More serious side effects may include pancreatitis, gallstones, kidney issues and thyroid tumours or cancer. Studies investigating the sustainability of these medications have shown that the majority of users (68%) discontinued treatment within the first year. With the discontinuation comes weight regain, similar to the original weight lost.
The alternative to Ozempic
Since the medication works by mimicking natural hormones, it makes sense that there is natural option: real food. Food not only provides your body with energy, but it also provides it with instruction. Your body has multiple hormone pathways that respond differently to different types of food. Making the right food choices goes beyond satiating you – it literally changes how your body responds. So choosing the right foods means giving your body the right instructions.
There have been major changes in the global consumer environments over the past 40 years. The typical diet now widely adopted is low in fruit and vegetables and high in refined grains, isolated sugars and ultra-processed foods. Together, these dietary factors can alter the gut’s composition and function , essentially overriding the body’s natural hormone response to food and almost having the opposite effect to Ozempic: a blunted insulin resonse, and a poorly regulated mechanism of telling you when to stop eating.
A study done by Virta Health in the US found that people with type 2 diabetes who stop using drugs like Ozempic can avoid regaining the lost weight if they adopt a ketogenic diet. These results together with the successful weight loss and management experienced with a low carbohydrate, high fat diet suggests that reverting back to a diet more similar to our ancestors may be the quick fix we have been looking for all along.
Conclusion
Ultimately there is no doubt that the short-term weight loss associated with Ozempic is powerful and significant, but it’s not a lifelong solution for your weight or your health. For this you need to adopt a sustainable approach that trains your body to appreciate the fuel you’re providing it. This is what will set you up for a lifetime of healthy weight.
Credit:
Karen Heath, PhD, health advocate and researcher at The Noakes Foundation.
Sugar Addiction – My Journey
Sugar addiction can hold people back from achieving optimal health. Sugar Addiction – My Journey is Roxana Soetebeer’s keto journey which began in 2019 after her blood sugars skyrocketed.
Dr. Stephen Phinney
Looking for help, a friend recommended she look into Dr. Stephen Phinney. Once she watched his videos, the decision was made, and she took her first step on her new path to break the sugar addiction and experience improved health. In the past 28 months, Roxana has learned a lot about the science behind keto and why it’s the best option for her to improve all her metabolic markers (A1c, weight, blood pressure, liver enzymes, kidney levels). She is now off most meds, including insulin and immune suppressants for RA, feeling the best she has felt in decades, and enjoying life again. Roxana will never look back.
What Roxana Says
I am a health coach and use keto with my clients. I do this because keto helped me lose over 100 pounds. With keto, I am never hungry, dropped all that weight and even reversed T2 diabetes. I found that most people stop a diet because they are always hungry. On keto, they don’t have to starve. They eat delicious foods and get healthier at the same time.
Oh, keto has been around for over 200 years as a diet, but actually, since the dawn of mankind.
Bitten Jonsson, RN, is a US-trained expert on food addiction, who specializes in helping people to break free of unhealthy attachments to foods, such as sugar and processed carbohydrates.
She recommends the following action steps to support sugar addiction remission:
100 % Abstinence from all drug foods and trigger foods.
Conscious breathing techniques for overall wellbeing.
Focus on sleep improvement with tools like going to bed earlier and creating a conducive sleep environment.
Ensure exposure to sunlight, especially in the morning, for overall health benefits.
Consider supplements like amino acids, vitamins (B3 and C), fish oil, fermented foods or probiotics to boost energy and support the body.
Adopt a real food ketogenic diet for a comprehensive treatment plan. A knowledgeable dietician can help you with this.
Foster internal motivation for long-term success. Work with a coach or psychologist on this.
Create a new daily structure/routine to break old habits.
Commit to one small improvement/action each day.
Take one day at a time.
Join support groups of like-minded individuals.
Get professional support from a mulit-disciplinary team.
Become educated about your condition and its treatment methods. Aim to truly understand. Your healthcare team can help you with this.
Remember you know more about your disease than anyone!
Weight Loss Drugs
Ozempic works by mimicking a naturally occurring hormone. As those hormone levels rise, the molecules go to your brain, telling it you’re full. It also slows digestion by increasing the time it takes for food to leave the body. This is similar to the effect of bariatric surgery.
When using Ozempic to treat diabetes, weight loss is a common side effect. It is designed to be taken long-term.
Ozempic and other GLP-1s weight loss drugs are said by some health professionals to be effective as a tool to help patients with carb addiction. They also help people who are having significant cravings and hunger due to hyperinsulinemia.. However, these must be combined with a low carbohydrate diet or it could worsen hyperinsulinemia. It could also lead to loss of muscle mass and bone density.
Why You Need More Muscle – Coach Bronson Dant
Coach Bronson Dant goes in to discuss muscle being the driver for metabolic function. Listen in as he presents on gaining muscle and how this impacts on the different ares of your metabolism.
On his website, he offers strength training programs such as Muscle Mommies which is dedicated to women over 40. This program is a game-changer for those aiming to increase lean mass, gain strength, boost physical independence, and shed body fat.
Also on offer is an 8-Week Complimentary Strength Training program. This is designed to provide strength maintenance and development for people with busy schedules or an existing sports or physical activity routine.
Then there is the 12-Week Lean Gains Program. Bronson uses this himself to to build lean mass!
If you’re ready to launch your metabolism to the next level, this program is what you need. Bronson spent years perfecting this program to optimize muscle growth, functional movement, and increase metabolic capacity.
Why you need more muscle
Your journey is hard enough without getting confused every time someone says the new best way to eat or work out. I believe that understanding nutrition and fitness principles without being locked into any specific approach allows freedom and flexibility in making things work best for you.
I’ve lost over 70 pounds and healed from severe urgent bowels and chronic injuries. I’m in my 50s, living my best life. I put everything I’ve learned about health and fitness into my books and the services I provide to help people improve their lives.However, it wasn’t until I realized the importance of proper nutrition and combined it with my fitness routine that I truly saw changes in my quality of life and personal freedom. This experience taught me that achieving a healthy lifestyle is about more than just physical effort; it’s about finding the right combination of fitness and nutrition that fits your context.
– Coach Bronson
About Coach Bronson
Hello! I’m Coach Bronson, a health coach, author, and public speaker dedicated to helping people transform their lives through fitness, nutrition, and mindset. My journey to a better quality of life began in my mid-thirties when I was 70 pounds heavier than I should have been, struggling with gut issues and urgent bowels. For years, I believed that fitness was the key to good health. I even owned a CrossFit gym, thinking I could “fitness” my way to a better quality of life.
However, it wasn’t until I realized the importance of proper nutrition and combined it with my fitness routine that I truly saw changes in my quality of life and personal freedom. This experience taught me that achieving a healthy lifestyle is about more than just physical effort; it’s about finding the right combination of fitness and nutrition that fits your context.
With over ten years of coaching experience, I’ve learned that mindset is crucial to success. The more I focus on mindset with my clients, the more they succeed in fitness and nutrition. This realization led me to develop the F2 Method. The F2 Method is a set of concepts and principles common to everyone who has success on their journey. It’s a guide to help navigate the journey, encompassing the processes, challenges, and answers shared by successful individuals.
Maria Emmerich – The Ideal Diet For Women
Maria Emmerich presents the ideal diet for women in this video. Maria Emmerich is a health and wellness coach, and the founder of Maria Mind Body Health. She lost 80 pounds and reversed her PCOS, IBS regaining her health. 20 years ago Maria started writing books about the Keto lifestyle .
Published Books on The Ideal Diet For Women
With over 20 published books and more coming soon Maria has helped millions of people around the world lose weight and gain health.
Maria Emmerich is a wellness expert and best selling author. She has authored several books. The latest edition of her book “Secrets to a Healthy Metabolism” has the foreword written by New York Times #1 Best Selling author of “Wheat Belly” Dr William Davis. She has a passion for helping people start a healthier lifestyle. Weight loss is often a side effect of helping treat any number of problems including diabetes, cholesterol issues, alopecia, hashimoto’s, autoimmune diseases and much more.
Halle Berry
She is Halle Berry’s favorite author and has done cooking videos with Halle on her Instagram. Other readers of her books include Valerie Bertinelli and Al Roker who has made her recipes on the Today Show! She is an International Best Selling Author and her new book “Sugar Free Kids” with a forward written by Halle Berry!
Blood Pressure Readings, Risks and Tips
The Nutrition Network details blood pressure readings for four general categories, and highlights the importance of understanding hypertension.
Persistently elevated blood pressure characterises hypertension or high blood pressure. This article is writen by the Nutrition Network, an online accredited education, connection, and learning platform founded by The Noakes Foundation. This article details the blood pressure readings for four general categories. It highlights the importance of understanding hypertension. Readers are encouraged to get their blood pressure checked because this “silent killer” does not usually cause noticeable symptoms.
The Importance of understanding Hypertension
On 17 May every year, we honour World Hypertension Day at Nutrition Network.
On 17th May the destructive effects of hypertension/high blood pressure are highlighted.
Hypertension affects the body’s arteries. As a result, if your blood pressure is high, it means that your heart has to work harder to pump blood. Blood pressure is usually measured in millimetres of mercury (mm Hg). Therefore, hypertension is diagnosed by a blood pressure reading of a rate of 130/80 mm Hg or higher.
The American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association divides blood pressure into four general categories.
Blood Pressure Readings:
Normal blood pressure. Blood pressure is 120/80 mm Hg or lower.
Elevated blood pressure. The top number ranges from 120 to 129 mmHg, or the bottom numbe is below, not above, 80 mm Hg.
Stage 1 hypertension. The top number ranges from 130 to 139 mm Hg, or the bottom nuber is between 80 and 89 mm Hg.
Stage 2 hypertension. The top nuber is 140 mm Hg or higher, or the bottom number is 90 mm Hg or higher,
According to the World Health Organisation, an estimated 1.28 billion adults aged 30 to 79 worldwide have high blood pressure and most of them live in low- and middle-income countries .
A blood pressure test by your healthcare provider will determine if you have a higher-than-normal blood pressure reading. More often than not, you won’t experience any major symptoms and would need to have it checked. Your healthcare provider or doctor will examine you and ask questions about your medical history and any symptoms that you may be experiencing.
Here is a 101 list of carbohydrate-restricted eating tips that have been shown to reduce insulin, blood pressure, and overall body weight:
Avoid added sugar
Avoid grains and starches
Choose real, whole and unprocessed foods – the less packaging and processing, the better
Eat a variety of animal-based foods and brightly coloured vegetables.
Credits
Image – Jesse Orrico