End the Carb-Craving Roller Coaster You Call Your Life

Mar 2,2020 / By admin + / No Comment

Not all carbs are the same and not all of them are responsible for sending you on a roller coaster ride of carb cravings.

Take whole, real food carbs for instance. Whole, real foods, like fruits, vegetables, and starchy foods like potatoes, peas, and squash are good carbs that nutrients and fiber your body needs to thrive.

Bad carbs come from foods where vitamins, minerals, and fiber have been removed. These are called refined or simple carbs, and are found in processed foods. Refined and simple carbs are the carbs that send our bodies on a roller coaster ride of cravings.

Refined carbs, primarily sugar and white flour, are digested quickly, leading to a rapid spike in blood sugar. When our blood sugar drops, the cravings return, leaving us feeling like we’re going to “cave in” if we don’t eat.

Sadly, refined carbs are a large part of total carbohydrate intake and can drive overeating and increase the likelihood of becoming obese.

Fortunately, you can put an end to carb cravings. If you’re not actively trying to lose weight, there are plenty of nutritious whole-food carb foods to eat, like quinoa, organic oats, apples, oranges, bananas, and sweet potatoes.

If you’re wanting to shed a few pounds, then a great way to put an end to carb cravings is to adopt a ketogenic-type lifestyle. You’ll teach your body to burn fat for energy instead of carbs, naturally reducing the number of calories you take in during the day, and bringing the carb-craving roller coaster to a complete stop.

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Are you tired of always feeling tired?

Jan 29,2020 / By admin + / No Comment

Do you experience energy highs and lows throughout the day that seem to coincide with when and what you eat?

While there are a number of different reasons why you might feel tired, you may be strapped into a carb-powered energy roller coaster that leaves you feeling hungry and tired all the time.

A ketogenic diet is a great way to improve your energy levels. Instead of fueling your body with carbs, you’re fueling your body with healthy fat. And whenever you’re in need of calories, your body can tap into fat stores. With tens of thousands of calories available in the form of fat, even in those who are the leanest, you can enjoy a constant steady stream of keto energy!

With all the extra energy, you’ll be more alert and productive, excited about being able to exercise, and ultimately improve your overall heath.

Keep in mind that in order to get to a point where you’re not dependent on carbs, you’ll want to stick with a ketogenic diet for a minimum of six weeks with foods that focus on lots of vegetables, a moderate amount of protein, and lots of healthy fats.

Ketogenic diets can transform your life into one where you have the energy to truly live every moment.

Weight Loss

Free Yourself From Carbohydrate Cravings

Jan 4,2020 / By admin + / No Comment

Do you ever get tired of feeling hungry all the time?

Do you feel like you’re always craving carbs?

Are the two related?

Absolutely! Carbs can be addictive like drugs and other habit-forming substance. Simple carbs like bread and chips and foods loaded with sugar trigger a dopamine release stimulating the pleasure regions of the brain involved in cravings and addictions.

We crave salty chips or sweets, but the craving isn’t because the food tastes great, it’s because of the carb’s effect on the brain.

More than eighty percent of all the sugar you consume goes to your brain. This creates a spike in your blood sugar. When your blood sugar crashes after the spike, your brain thinks it can’t function anymore, and you crave more carbs.

The good news is that, like with any addiction, we can take steps to stop the cravings.

The first and most important step is to take away the “drug”, in this case, simple carbs. Identify the triggers that make you turn toward carbs and take proactive steps to do something different when the craving hits. For example, you can eat protein instead. Protein fills you up and provides some glucose (sugar) to your cells that has the same effect as simple carbs without spiking your blood sugar.

If you tend to crave chips, trying eating nuts and/or seeds instead. Nuts contain protein and healthy fat which help fill you up, and just enough carbs to satisfy a carb craving.

If you tend to crave sweets, google “fat bombs” and you’ll find a ton of great recipes! You’ll get the taste of sweet while filling up on healthy fats.

These same foods are all part of a ketogenic diet, one of the most effective ways to stop carb cravings. With ketosis, your body isn’t relying on sugar to function, it’s relying on fat. Your brain will stop telling you to eat more sugar.

Bye bye cravings!

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Why Should I Try A Ketogenic Diet?

Nov 19,2019 / By admin + / No Comment

That’s a great question!

The biggest advantage is that a ketogenic diet will put your body into a state of ketosis. Ketosis is a safe and efficient way to lose body fat while preserving your lean muscle mass.

To understand how ketosis does this so well, let’s dig a little deeper into the science.

When you are in ketosis, your body is producing ketones, and using them for energy. Ketones are a normal and efficient source of fuel and energy for the human body. They are produced by the liver from fatty acids, which result from the breakdown of body fat in response to the absence of glucose (from carbohydrates such as sugars and starches).

When eating on a ketogenic diet, the tiny amounts of glucose required for select body functions can be met by consuming a minimal amount of carbohydrates, or it can be manufactured in the liver from protein. Our bodies have all the metabolic machinery in place to produce all the glucose we need to function just fine without our having to get it from food.

When we eat glucose in the form of sugar and/or starch, the body uses what it needs and stores the rest, first as glycogen, and then as fat. When we minimize the starchy carbohydrates in our diet, the body reverses the process and breaks down the stored glycogen, which is released as glucose. When the glycogen is gone, the body turns to protein as the raw material for glucose production.

The conversion of protein to glucose takes place in the liver. The liver requires energy to convert protein to glucose. Fat provides this energy. The liver burns the majority of the fat to make glucose. The remainder of the fat is converted into ketones and released into the blood where they are made available for any tissues that might want or need them for energy.

The muscles, the heart, and, particularly the brain readily use these ketones in preference to glucose and/or fat. They do this for a reason: Ketones provide a lot of energy very efficiently. The heart, for example, operates about 28 percent more efficiently on ketones than it does on glucose. When the brain, muscles, heart, etc., have used all they need, the ketones accumulate in the blood. The body disperses them through the urine and breath.

The body works very efficiently when you’re on a ketogenic diet. And being in ketosis means that your body’s primary source of energy is fat (in the form of ketones). When you consume adequate protein as well, there’s no need for the body to break down its muscle tissue. And best of all, ketosis can accelerate fat loss, because once the liver converts fat to ketones, it can’t be converted back to fat!

As you can see, eating a ketogenic diet allows you to burn body fat, lose weight, and do it all with plenty of energy for everyday life.

Weight Loss

New Year’s Resolution – Should You Tell Others?

Jan 5,2018 / By admin + / No Comment

You hear it every January. What’s your New Year’s Resolution?

We kind of all have something we’d like to achieve. But how bad do we really want it?

Any time you have a goal, you know there’s work to be done to achieve it. And telling others creates the necessary accountability that motivates you to make it happen. Right?

Well, that depends.

Research shows that when you tell someone else about your goal and they acknowledge it, that the mind can trick you into feeling like you’ve already accomplished it. The result is you don’t actually do the work needed to reach your goal. [1]

There is also the possibility that when you tell someone your goal, you may feel this pressure to not only achieve it, but to do it quickly. This may make you feel controlled, stressed, and judged.

How do you get around these potential pitfalls?

The first step is to choose a New Year’s Resolution you actually want to achieve. The stronger your desire to achieve the goal, the more intentional you’ll be about reaching it … whether you tell someone else or not!

The next step is to create a specific action plan for how to achieve the goal. Don’t be vague. If your goal is to lose weight through better eating, don’t just say, “I’ll do my best to eat healthier.” Lay out the plan of what you will eat on a daily basis and have those foods ready for when you get hungry.

“If-then” plans can be particularly helpful, too, by delegating the control of your behavior to situational cues. For example, “If there are treats in the break room, I will get what I need and get out of there right away.”

Finally, establish accountability. You can post your New Year’s Resolution somewhere where you will see it every day, you can physically write it down daily, or you can share it with a close friend or family member who can keep you accountable in a fun and healthy way. “I really want to lose weight this year, so if you see me eating or drinking crap, kick me in the butt, okay?”

Telling others your New Year’s Resolution can create the accountability you need to reach your goal. Just make sure it’s a goal you truly want to achieve and you’ve planned manageable, sustainable, action steps to get you there.

[1] www.psych.nyu.edu/gollwitzer/09_Gollwitzer_Sheeran_Seifert_Michalski_When_Intentions_.pdf

Weight Loss

7 Steps to be a Fat-Burning Machine

Nov 28,2017 / By admin + / No Comment

The following are steps you can take to become a fat burning machine:

The first and most important step is to stick like glue to a low-carb, moderate-protein, high-fat food eating program for a minimum of 2-3 weeks, and optimally up to 6 weeks to ensure a metabolic change takes place. That means don’t cheat at all.
Start your day (whether that’s at a traditional breakfast time or whenever you get hungry) with adequate protein and fat. That might include bacon and eggs, cheese and sausage, or last night’s leftovers. The important thing is “don’t skimp on protein and fat!” This will keep you satiated and satisfied till your next meal.
Do as much “easy” movement/exercise as you can … walking, casual biking, etc. Keep your heart rate under “180 minus your age” to tap into fat stores. (Don’t worry about a minimum heart rate.)
If you are able, occasionally (once-a-week) perform 10-30 second spurts of high-intensity activity to increase fat-burning capabilities.
If you want a few “extra” carbs for whatever reason (preferably from whole foods like fruit or additional veggies like carrots, for example), have them right before or right after an exercise session. If before, you will burn them off during exercise; if after, they will replenish stored glucose in the muscles.
Minimize snacks and stick to meals only.
Once you are able to go 5-6 hours between meals, experiment with intermittent fasting or meal-skipping to increase your body’s ability to burn fat first. This is most easily done by skipping breakfast or skipping dinner and extends the natural fast everyone does when they sleep at night. Continue to drink water (and coffee or unsweetened tea if you’d like) during fasting times. (Keep in mind that fasting doesn’t necessarily mean consuming less overall calories for the day. It means that the calories you do eat will be consumed in a narrower window of time which has been shown to have a positive effect on managing weight. [1])

Follow those steps and you will be on your way to becoming a fat burning machine.

[1] http://www.cell.com/cell-metabolism/abstract/S1550-4131%2814%2900498-7

Weight Loss

Why can’t I lose body fat?

Nov 28,2017 / By admin + / 1 Comment

How many times have you asked: “why can’t I lose body fat?”

At any given time, our body burns a mix of fuel sources … fats, carbs, protein, and for those eating low carb, ketones. Ketones are a byproduct of being an efficient fat burner and can be used by lots of cells in the body … muscle, nerves, cardiac, and even the brain. What the body chooses for fuel depends on how a person eats and how they move.

Body fat is stored energy which is supposed to be accessible when food is unavailable. But for those eating a typical American diet high in sugars and starches, it’s inaccessible for a number of reasons:

One reason is due to constant grazing. The body has a continual food source all day long. People can’t or don’t go long enough between meals for their body to need to tap into fat stores.

A second reason is tied to insulin. When people eat foods containing sugar or starch, the body releases insulin to carry the glucose into muscle cells, and when the muscle cells are full, any excess is carried to the liver to be converted into and stored as fat. Once in the liver, insulin “locks” the fat into the cell. When food is unavailable, the body will burn the small stored supply of muscle and liver glycogen, but it can’t tap into fat stores. They are “locked” tight and the body then has to resort to breaking down muscle for energy.

A third reason involves exercise. When a person exercises too intensely (heart rate is greater than “180 minus your age”), the body quickly burns through stored glucose instead of using fat energy to sustain the exercise. If exercising for an extended period of time, the body again resorts to breaking down muscle for energy due to fat stores being “locked” tight.

Fortunately, there are ways to become a fat-burning machine. Learn them, and you will give yourself a significant advantage to living a healthier life at a healthier weight!

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Is Eating Low Carb Harmful To My Health?

Oct 11,2017 / By admin + / No Comment

That’s a great question! A Google search asking, “Is eating low carb dangerous” results in articles that support both sides of the equation.

So let’s take a look at a few of what are thought to be downsides to a low-carb diet and see if it really pans out:

You are tired and feel awful. Often times when a person starts a low-carb diet, they experience side effects such as tiredness, lethargy, migraines or headaches, dizziness, and even tachycardia. The usual culprit is the loss of sodium within your body when your body no longer needs the extra fluids to store glucose. It’s an easy fix by adding extra salt daily to your diet.

Your brain can’t function. That is certainly true when one is relying on carbohydrates as their primary fuel source. In that case, the brain relies on carbs for fuel 100% of the time. But when carbs are restricted, your brain readily adapts to using ketones as its primary fuel source. This is a survival mechanism, allowing you to survive even if in a starvation situation.

You lose lean muscle mass, slowing metabolism. In reality, low-carb diets are known to be muscle-sparing. Once your body converts from a carb-based metabolism to a fat-based metabolism, up to 90% of your body’s energy needs will come from the breakdown of fat. This is especially beneficial for exercisers, as your body can store 20,000-100,000 calories in the form of fat versus only about 2000 calories in the form of glucose.

You increase the risk for cardiovascular disease. It is often thought that eating more foods like red meat, bacon, and eggs with higher levels of saturated fat and cholesterol increases the risk for heart disease. Actually, on a low-carb diet your body burns the saturated fat. It doesn’t accumulate in your body. And saturated fats are protected against oxidative damage – one of the primary causes of heart disease.

You miss out on the fiber and nutrition of grains. When looking at nutrient density of whole grains compared to vegetables, vegetables are almost twice as nutrient dense as grains. Besides grains being high in calories and low in nutrients, they actually contain anti-nutrients, which interfere with nutrient absorption. It’s the nutrients in food that send the message to your brain that you are satisfied. This is why eating grains leaves you hungry sooner than eating whole real foods.

At Medithin Weight Loss Clinics, we’ll teach you all the ins and outs of how to balance your foods between fats, carbs, and proteins to optimize your health and weight loss. We’ll show you the best sources of fats, carbs, and proteins and how much to eat of each. You’ll improve your health, have more energy, and lose weight.

To learn more, go to:

http://www.medithinweightlossclinics.com/our_program.php

Weight Loss

Can You Lose Weight Quickly AND Safely?

May 4,2017 / By admin + / No Comment

Everyone “knows” that slow, gradual weight loss produces the best long-term results and that fast weight loss is unsafe and unhealthy.

We’ve been fed that line for years. But is it actually true?

There seems to be more support that the opposite is true — that rapid initial weight loss is associated with better long-term weight maintenance. [1]

One study showed that those who hit their short-term weight loss goals (12.5% reduction in body weight) were more likely to stick with the program that was helping them get there. [2]

Which just goes to show you that slow and steady does not always win the race.

It makes sense if you think about it. If you can lose weight right away (in your first few weeks), you not only get the satisfaction of your weight-loss plan working, you also feel better and regain energy more quickly. Who wouldn’t want to keep doing that?

But is rapid weight loss safe?

It is as long as you’re choosing a plan that results in losing (mostly) fat and not lean muscle mass.

A basic lower-carb, higher-fat food plan is one of the simplest and most effective methods for losing weight quickly. Diets that compare eating until you’re satiated on low-carb versus eating until you’re satiated on calorie-restricted show that the low-carb option results in faster weight loss.

Plus fat is an excellent fuel source that burns cleanly and is consistently associated with improved health markers including an increase in insulin sensitivity (which also decreases fat storage), normalization of blood lipids (which influences metabolism), and restoration of oxidative stress biomarkers (which decreases your chances of developing a number of diseases.

So you get the best of both worlds — quick weight loss and better health!

Want to keep that weight off for the long-term? Then look for a program that combines weight loss with education. It isn’t about a short-term change in what you put in your mouth. It’s about knowing and understanding how food affects you and how to eat in the real world that’s going to keep the weight from flying back on.

If you’re tired of past weight loss efforts not getting you to where you want to be, then maybe it’s time to check out Medithin Weight Loss Clinics. Since early 2011, we’ve been helping people in Southern Wisconsin lose weight and learn how to keep it off. Medithin offers a physician-supervised weight loss program that is safe, proven effective, and affordable. Patients are assessed, and their progress is monitored, by a physician and medical staff to ensure optimum care and support in reaching their weight loss goals.

To learn more, go to:

http://www.medithinweightlossclinics.com/our_program.php

And be sure you take a look at our testimonials here:

http://www.medithinweightlossclinics.com/testimonials.php

[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12119640
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11707557
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20443094
[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25459211

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