Depending on who you ask, you might find anti-inflammatory recommendations that encourage complete elimination of sugar and carbohydrates to decrease inflammation. This reasoning is often used as support for a keto diet ____. As is frequently the case, though, those recommendations are likely unnecessary extremes and everything is case-by-case. For one thing, you can probably achieve the anti-inflammatory benefits you’re looking for while still including well chosen, nutrient dense complex carbohydrates. Secondly, why over-restrict if we can still enjoy some tasty treats in moderation? That’s how we balance meeting health goals and living a life we love! So what does the research actually say about carbs and inflammation?
Multiple studies have linked consumption of concentrated sugar and simple carbohydrate consumption with increased levels of inflammation.1-2 A long time ago I talked in this post about what happens when we eat carbs and how we break them down into blood sugar to use as fuel. Those fuels are stuck in the blood until insulin comes around to let them in to our cells. Research draws a strong link between chronic inflammation and insulin resistance.3 This is a vicious cycle because insulin resistance means that blood sugars get stuck in the blood without a way out, causing fat storage and inflammation.4 Stored fat then produces inflammatory factors which make insulin resistance worse! Not fair.
Focus on eating more complex carbohydrates than simple carbohydrates like sugar. What does that mean? Well, complex carbohydrates are long chains of sugars that take much longer to digest, break down, and enter our blood, thus making our blood sugar much more stable (and preventing inflammation from blood sugar spikes). Simple carbohydrates are individual sugars or tiny chains of sugars that break down very quickly and enter the blood rapidly, causing a sharp spike in blood sugar that is inflammatory. Complex carbohydrates like whole grains, beans, and vegetables are connected with lower levels of inflammation.5 Same goes for high-fiber carbohydrates like fruit.
Avoid eating too much carbohydrate at once.Just like with diabetes, the key to preventing carbohydrate-induced inflammation is keeping the blood sugar from going too high. Eating controlled amounts of carbohydrate throughout the day can help keep your energy up and your inflammation down.
It’s feature time again, folks, and it’s finally time to talk about the diet everyone is going on about – keto! The keto (aka ketogenic) diet has gained a lot of popularity in the last few years as a weight loss diet, and proponents tout that you can lose weight quickly without cravings.1 Interestingly enough, the ketogenic diet started as a therapeutic diet for children who suffer from epilepsy. The high fat content of the diet is linked with decreased occurrence of seizures in these kiddos.2
Keto curiosity is rampant! Questions about the keto diet top the list of FAQs from my weight loss clients. Even those who don’t directly ask about keto are often asking about how to limit their carbs to encourage weight loss. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be posting info about the keto diet – what it is, how it works, and the pros/cons of the diet. I won’t actually be following this one (we’ll talk about why throughout the feature), but we’ll be diving into the research and practicality as always!
What is the keto diet?
The keto diet is a high fat, moderate protein, low carbohydrate diet.2 The diet is designed to cease your body’s reliance on carbohydrates (broken down into glucose) for energy and instead shift to your body’s alternative fuel source – ketones. In the absence of glucose (aka blood sugar), your body begins to convert fat that you’ve eaten and stored body fat to ketones, which your brain can use for fuel! If you were privy to the Atkins kick, you may be noticing some similarities between the two. You’d be right! The keto diet is something of a reincarnated version of Atkins.
The keto diet includes plenty of vegetables and many high fat and protein foods such as:
beef and pork
poultry
fish
processed meats like bacon, sausage, etc.
cheese
avocado
nuts and seeds
butter and oils
To limit carbohydrates (usually to around 20-60 g per day), the diet restricts consumption of the following foods:
fruit
beans
certain vegetables such as corn, peas, carrots, and potatoes
bread and grains (pasta, rice, cereal)
milk and yogurt
sugar, honey, and syrups
Keeping the carbohydrate intake low keeps the body from coming out of ketosis, therefore promoting fat loss.
Stay tuned – we will talk more about the research behind keto and pros/cons of following the diet in future posts!
Sometimes starting a new exercise plan can be overwhelming. One nice thing about being more active is that you have a lot of options, but that can also be a struggle. Many people are confused about what types of exercises they “should” do and how they should do them. This post will give you some tips on selecting exercises and making a sustainable (and dare I say, enjoyable?) exercise plan.
Keep in mind that any new exercise plan should be approved by your doctor, particularly if you have any chronic diseases or injuries. Use this form to guide you as you plan to safely increase your physical activity.
What are your goals?
Ultimately the exercises that you choose should be guided by your health goals. While being physically active is beneficial for overall health, choosing the most appropriate and specific exercises will help you achieve your goals most efficiently.
Weight Loss – Start out any new weight loss plan by focusing on simply moving more than you move now. Once that becomes a habit, then increase the cardiovascular challenge by spending more time with your heart rate up. Finally, add in strength training to build muscle mass. This extra muscle will use up energy, increasing your metabolism.
Endurance – To increase your endurance, start by gradually increasing the amount of time you spend with your heart rate up. In this case, you’re not looking for very intense exercise, but a moderate challenge that you can sustain for longer and longer bouts of time as you train. Then add in strength training, focusing on more repetitions (10+) and lower weights.
Strength – Begin by focusing on your form – ask a trainer or friend (or watch in the mirror) to ensure you are performing the exercises safely and effectively. Gradually increase the difficulty, focusing on fewer repetitions (6-8) and higher weights. Focus on muscle balance – if you train one side of your body (for example, your chest), you must also train the other (your upper back, in this case). If you train biceps, be sure to also train triceps. This helps to protect your joints from imbalances that can lead to injury. Make sure to incorporate the recommendations for flexibility into any strength training plan as well.
Improved digestion – Yes, physical activity can improve digestion! Moderate cardiovascular exercise can improve circulation to your intestines, helping your body break down and absorb food more efficiently. Another significant factor is stress – stress can wreak havoc on digestion! Consistently performing stress-reducing activities like prayer, yoga, Tai Chi, or meditation can play a huge role in improving digestion.
Improved health markers (blood sugar, blood pressure, cholesterol, etc.) – While it varies based on which lab values you’re targeting, most are improved with combinations of cardio and strength training, even without weight loss; however, reducing excess body weight is linked with improvements in blood sugar, cholesterol, and blood pressure.
Flexibility – This is a great goal if you’re wanting to improve or maintain movement in your joints and prevent injuries. Anyone can benefit from maintaining flexibility. The key here is consistency. Stretch your muscles and joints regularly. Whether you use yoga, standing stretches, or wall stretches doesn’t matter as long as you are gentle and consistent.
Enjoyability
This is so, so important to an exercise program. If you detest doing a certain type of exercise, do not plan on or expect that you will do it consistently. That is a great way to set yourself up to either quit or be miserable. Bear in mind that the first few weeks of any exercise program will be difficult since you are not yet trained for the exercise, but I’m not referring to difficulty here. I’m talking about enjoyability – if you hate to dance, don’t join a Zumba class. If you can’t stand being on a cardio machine, don’t commit to a treadmill. Find methods of exercise that you actually enjoy.
Sometimes that looks like building a little more intensity into the movements you do in everyday life. For example, if you love to garden and be outside, use a push mower, shovel by hand, or cut your own firewood. If you like to watch television, ride a stationary bike while you do or – one of my personal faves – take a drinking game designed for the show you’re binge-watching and exchange the shots for exercises. These tasks will incorporate fitness into aspects of your life that you do enjoy.
Accessibility
Ask yourself a few questions: Do you have the equipment or space to do this activity? Will you need a gym membership? Is there a realistic time in your day to set aside to do this?
If the basic logistics aren’t there, find something more accessible. If all else fails, there are hundreds of workout videos on Youtube for any type of workout you can think of. No fees, no membership, no travel, and no need for fancy exercise clothes (unless you want them).
Taking all three of these factors into account can help make sure that your exercise program gets you where you’re trying to go in the most enjoyable way that is realistic for your life. Fitness isn’t always fun and there aren’t too many people who are super jazzed to do their workout every day always, but a little thought and planning on the front end can make a huge difference in the long run. If you find yourself stuck or confused, find yourself a certified fitness professional to help you out. Finding a way to make it work is worth it!
We are past the halfway point of January – did you make health goals this year? Resolutions? How are they doing? Here are a few of my best tips on making changes that stick!
Key #1: Before you change anything
Decide carefully how you will achieve your goals. For many years, scientists have been studying methods for weight loss to find the “best” way to get pounds off. The surprising result of a lot of this research is that so many methods work. A lot of nutritionists have taken to saying, “diets don’t work.” It might be semantics but in general, if the goal is to lose weight – most fad diets do work. Whether it’s low carb, low fat, low calorie, or portion control – weight typically comes off.1-5 If they didn’t work at all for losing weight, word would get around pretty quickly and they would never become popular.
Here’s the kicker (besides that many fad diets aren’t safe): the statistics for maintaining weight loss after a diet are horrendous. Long-term studies show that five years after short-term diets the result is an average regain to anywhere from a net loss of only 6 lbs to a gain of 10-21% of pre-diet weight.2,6 Yikes!
Many fad diets can be extreme, overly restrictive, or just plain miserable (or option d, all of the above). Most people beginning a diet program are willing to commit to short-term pain for long-term gain. Unfortunately, the reality is that long-term dieting is generally not sustainable, and weight loss from short-term dieting is temporary.
But fear not – all hope is not lost! The National Weight Control Registry is comprised of people who have successfully lost at least 30 lbs and kept it off for at least a year, though most participants have lost an average of 72.6 lbs and kept it off for more than 5 years.7 Their participants report that ongoing, long-term participation in sustainablehabit changes has been key to their success, as opposed to radical, short-term dieting. You can read more about their habit changes at the National Weight Control Registry website.
All these studies show that a pivotal ingredient for long-term success with wellness, weight loss, muscle gain, or any habit change is sustainability. One of my favorite quotes sums up the wisdom behind this:
“Begin as you mean to go on, and go on as you began, and let the Lord be all in all to you.”
-Charles H. Spurgeon
Some may wonder what the last phrase has to do with wellness, and personally I believe it is vitally important (and apparently so did Spurgeon since he tacked it on there), so I included it. Regardless of how you feel about God, however, the sentiment is to not even begin a habit change that you can’t commit to long-term. Find changes that work with your lifestyle, not against it.
Recognize that temporary habit changes create temporary results. You can tweak them, change them, or adjust to the fluidity of life as needed, but if your habit changes disappear completely, so will the fruits of your labors.
Key #2: After you’ve met your goals
You’ve done it, congratulations! You’ve met your goal! You’ve placed a new brick in the healthy foundation upon which you can continue building the life you want. Guess what? You’re not done! If you want to continue to enjoy the benefits of your progress, you must grab hold of the second key to long-term success:
Always have a goal and a sustainable plan to achieve it.
Achieving a goal merits celebration, and also the exciting task of deciding what your next goal will be. It doesn’t have to be intense – your goal could be maintenance and your plan might be walking – but you need to have both or you’ll watch all your hard work and health benefits slip away. Living a healthy life is swimming upstream in our culture – you can not coast into good health.
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Have a goal of your own but need help finding a sustainable plan that fits your lifestyle? Contact me or schedule an appointment to start building a healthy foundation for the life you want!
I’ve already been asked this question by three clients this year, so I figured it’s probably a good topic for a post!
Question: How can I detox from all of my holiday eating?
Answer:
The term “detox” is actually misleading, since if your kidneys and liver are functioning properly, it’s not likely that your body is accumulating toxins. They do a pretty good job of keeping those at bay! However, after a couple weeks of holiday partying you’re probably not feeling your best. Common complaints include:
Swelling/rapid weight gain – When you eat more sodium than your body is used to, the sodium binds with water in your body and causes you to retain a bit of extra water weight.
Headache – This is likely to due either to hangover, inflammation, or dehydration (or a combo).
Digestive…um…disturbances – These can vary across the spectrum from constipation to diarrhea to gas and bloating. This is usually related to eating foods that your normal collection of gut bacteria are not used to. They aren’t prepared for it and have a hard time helping you digest. Thus, disturbances.
Low energy – Sugar crashes, the effects of alcohol, and lack of vitamins and minerals can leave you feeling sluggish.
Heartburn – This one can be caused by eating more food overall, or specifically more fat, sugar, alcohol, or high-acid foods.
Guilt – I gotta throw this one in here, since many people feel badly about their actions after holiday eating
The good news is, most of this is temporary. If you go back to your usual routine you’ll probably feel normal again after a few days or a week. If you want to speed up the process, here are some tips to feel your best as soon as possible after the holidays.
Hydrate – The number one thing you can do to resolve most of the issues above is to hydrate. Drinking water, tea, and black coffee can help to flush out extra sodium, which in turn can help resolve water retention. Seems backwards, but it’s true. Hydration can also help with digestion, energy, and headaches. Aim for 100 oz of fluid per day for a couple of days. Bonus: Green tea is loaded with anti-inflammatory antioxidants, so it’s a great option.
Get 4-5 fruit and vegetable servings per day – Water content in produce helps with hydration, and the antioxidant vitamins and minerals in these nutritious goodies fight inflammation and should get your energy back on track.
Go easy on sodium – Extra sodium is causing that buildup of fluid and contributing to dehydration at the same time. Steering clear of high-sodium foods like processed meats, canned/boxed foods, or restaurant meals for a couple of days can help kill the bloat.
Be active – Moving your body helps reduce inflammation and promote healthy digestion and circulation (that gets the water weight out quicker)!
Don’t beat yourself up – Easier said than done when our diet-crazed culture is coming at ya swinging, particularly at the start of the year. Do. Not. Feel. Bad. For. Enjoying. Food. You are under absolutely no obligation to dwell on your holiday eating behavior. If you feel physically bad, make a few healthful choices today and head in a direction that makes you feel good. There is absolutely no worth in kicking yourself for enjoying your holidays. In fact, I encourage it! What is a healthy life for if not to be enjoyed?
During my time on the Mediterranean Diet, I actually ended up eating out several times. My husband and I make a point to have date day once a week, and then a couple of other family outings and lunch meetings worked their way in as well. It gave me lots of opportunities to see how eating out at different types of restaurants worked with the general Mediterranean diet guidelines.
General tips for eating out on a Mediterranean Diet
Base your choices around your overall diet – how big a piece of your life is restaurant eating? If you go out once or twice a month, don’t stress too much about your choices. If you eat out a few times a week, you might want to be more intentional about your choices because they make up a much greater percentage of your overall diet.
Choose a vegetarian entree – this is certainly not your only option, but will often put you smack in the middle of Mediterranean Diet recommendations. Vegetarian entrees will usually have a plant-based source of protein, a grain or starch, and plenty of veggies. That checks most of the Mediterranean boxes!
If you’re planning to get alcohol, wine is a great way to go – other alcohols aren’t too prominent on the Mediterranean Diet, and wine in moderation (4 oz. or less per day for a woman, 8 oz.or less for a man) contains some heart protective antioxidant benefits.
At most restaurants, plan to eat half the plate – take the rest home or share with a friend. Eating the entire amount of a meat served at a restaurant is almost always going to be more than one serving. I found that if I ate primarily plant-based or seafood-based proteins at home, then I could choose whichever protein I wanted when eating out and still eat the leftovers the next day.
Let the oil go – one of the components of the Mediterranean Diet is incorporating primarily olive oil as your fat source. When you’re eating out, you rarely know what cooking oil is being used. You can ask, but most likely the answer is not olive. Either try to avoid dishes made with lots of oil (go for grilled, baked, or roasted) or just accept that you’re unlikely to be getting olive oil in this particular meal.
Mexican
Mexican food can actually be a really great cuisine to choose foods within Mediterranean guidelines. Plant-based proteins like beans are used widely in Mexican cuisine. Pair those with some brown rice or a corn tortilla, lettuce, fajita vegetables,and salsa and you’re good to go! Add fish if desired. Of course, feel free to go for white meat or red meat if you are eating those sparingly overall.
One day after church hubby had a hankering for the taco truck. The taco truck serves monstrous portions and their typical burritos are very heavy on rice, beans, and meat and very light on veggies. I opted for the bowl-rito (all the stuffins’ without the tortilla) which contained chicken, rice, beans, fajita vegetables, salsa, and avocado. I ate half and saved the rest for another day.
A week or so later I met a friend for lunch at Chipotle – she needed gluten-free, I needed veggies! I opted for basically the same meal as I got at the taco truck: chicken, brown rice, black beans, fajita veggies, corn salsa, pico de gallo, and lettuce. I ate half and brought the rest home.
Mediterranean
This seemed like a bit of a no-brainer…one of my favorite restaurants is The Bocatta in Centralia, WA which boasts delicious Mediterranean cuisine. Hubby and I were in the area at lunchtime and it was an obvious choice! Interestingly enough, most of the sandwich meats offered were processed, so I opted for the vegetarian eggplant marinara sandwich with a side of balsamic marinated mushrooms. It was DEE-LICIOUS. No leftovers this time.
Breakfast
I chose one of my favorite breakfasts at the local McMenamin’s Spar Cafe – huevos rancheros! The dish includes corn tortillas, eggs, black beans, pico de gallo, cheese, avocado, and hash browns. I ate half and took the other home!
Burger
On a date lunch my husband and I decided to go to Red Robin. I figured I would choose the veggie version of the burger I normally get – the Bleu Ribbon. Delicious blue cheese and fried onion straws (not exactly sure how those factor in to the Mediterranean Diet…probably not particularly included. Didn’t stop me.) However, Red Robin is now carrying the Impossible Burger. I had not tried this item yet but it is a plant-based burger patty that supposedly famous chefs are raving about as the most meat-like non-meat burger they’ve ever cooked or eaten. I definitely wanted to try it, more to review it than anything. Paired the burger with sweet potato fries – again, I ate half and took the rest home for later. Stay tuned for the Impossible Burger review coming up! The non-Mediterrean downside of this meal was the low vegetable content – a handful of shredded iceberg on the burger does not a vegetable serving make.
Indian
When we went to Indian food, I had already eaten a bit of chicken for the week (which is what I usually get when we go there), so I chose the vegetarian lunch option which contained chana masala (spiced chickpeas and vegetables), palaak paneer (spinach and goat cheese), salad, lentil dahl soup, naan bread, and a sweet rice pudding called kheer. This meal is HUGE and I always take leftovers home and usually get one or two more meals out of them.
Overall, it wasn’t too hard to eat out and meet the Mediterranean Diet recommendations. I will say, as is always the case with strict portion “limits” as found on the Mediterranean Diet pyramid, it did at times leave me feeling a bit disappointed when ordering, because I didn’t always order the food I really wanted. That being said, everything I ate was delicious and I thoroughly enjoyed it so I didn’t end up feeling restricted overall. If you are someone who really gets your kicks out of meat-based entrees or you aren’t a big fan of plant-based proteins, this could be tougher for you. A better approach might be to limit eating out overall or to really make a point to keep your animal protein portion reasonable and take the rest home for later.
Monday was my last day following the Mediterranean Diet recommendations. My goals throughout this week were to work on increasing the variety of my plant-based proteins to deal with the boredom I was experiencing after the first two weeks. I also wanted to really try to make sure that I met my vegetable recommendations.
What Went Well
I met my goals! Instead of just beans and nuts this week, I incorporated tofu stir fry for lunch as well as hummus, tuna, and salmon throughout the week. It definitely helped with the boredom factor. I also managed to meet my veggie goals and actually met the recommendations each day individually, though I did end up eating one more serving of white meat in the whole week than I should have (gasp!).
Overall, following the eating pattern got easier as time went on. I was pleased to see that over the course of the 3 week experiment my grocery budget averaged the same as normal ($100 per week). The Mediterranean Diet, using a meal plan, was easily doable on a budget of $100 per week for four people. Eating a lot of plant-based proteins was actually a great way to save on groceries (and helped to balance out the cost of seafood).
Without specifically trying, I lost 2 lbs over the course of the 3 weeks on my normal level of activity (possibly a tiny bit less even in the third week). That is a normal, healthy rate of weight loss, so the evidence that the Mediterranean Diet can promote healthy weight loss was backed up in my case.
What Could Have Gone Better
While the variety of plant-based proteins helped, I still just came to the conclusion that I don’t enjoy most plant-based proteins as much as I enjoy chicken. I really didn’t miss beef and pork that much – I don’t think I really eat more than 1-2 servings of those per week normally, they aren’t really my thing. Chicken though, is a staple in my diet. While I do enjoy plant-based eating and I aim for it often, my biggest struggle over the three weeks was limiting my white meat intake to two servings per week.
That leads into one of my least favorite things about the Mediterranean Diet pyramid: the restrictions. For example, no more than 2 servings of sweets or 1 serving of processed meat per week.I’m a little torn because I am a type-A person who appreciates tracking and having concrete details and recommendations, but the psychology of restrictions still causes me to feel deprived and want more. That’s no way to live your food life! Skim the recommendations and use them as a guideline, but don’t stress if you eat a little outside them here and there. Eating more plant-based meals and fewer sweets than you do now is a great step, even if you don’t hit the exact limits on the Mediterranean Diet pyramid.
How I Did
Mediterranean Diet Goal*
Week #1
Week #2
Week #3
# of days nutrition recommendations met
7
5
4
7
Grains (daily average)
3-6 servings
4 servings
4.5 servings
4.5 servings
Potatoes (weekly)
≤3 servings
3 servings
2 servings
2 servings
Legumes (weekly)
>2 servings
3 servings
9 servings
10 servings
Dairy (daily average)
2 servings
2 servings
2 servings
2 servings
Fruits (daily average)
2-6 servings
2.5 servings
5 servings
3.5 servings
Vegetables (daily average)
4-6 servings
3 servings
3 servings
4 servings
Olives/nuts/seeds (daily average)
1 serving
1 serving
1 serving
1 serving
Eggs (weekly)
2-4 servings
3 servings
3 servings
4 servings
Seafood (weekly)
>2 servings
7 servings
4 servings
3 servings
Red meat (weekly)
<2 servings
1 serving
1 serving
2 servings
White meat (weekly)
2 servings
2 servings
1 serving
3 servings
Processed meat (weekly)
≤1 serving
1 serving
1 serving
1 serving
Sweets (weekly)
≤2 servings
2 servings
2 servings
2 servings
Weight change
-1 lb
0 lb
-1 lb
Grocery Budget Change
$0
-$33
+$35
Stay tuned for more posts about the Mediterranean Diet – we’ll talk about eating out, tips for making the Mediterranean Diet easier, and more!
Diet culture is determined to tell you that you have to be miserable to be healthy.
That couldn’t be more wrong.
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