Dr. Curtis McElroy

Category: Diet

  • How To Successfully Implement A Ketogenic Diet

    How To Successfully Implement A Ketogenic Diet

    A ketogenic diet is a high-fat, low-carb, and adequate protein diet that can help you to reach your weight-loss goals as effectively as you desire. Apart from weight loss, the keto diet may improve heart rate, lower blood pressure, and protect brain function.

    The most efficient way of reaching the expected results from the keto diet is by learning the best methods of implementing it correctly, understanding the pros as well as cons of a keto diet, and knowing how it works.

    7 common mistakes you need to avoid when starting a keto diet.

    1. Increasing your fat intake and cutting off carbs too quickly.
    2. Not eating enough protein.
    3. Limiting low-carb vegetable intake.
    4. Not drinking enough water.
    5. Depriving yourself of sleep.
    6. Neglecting your fiber intake.
    7. Failing to prepare yourself for the side effects such as the keto flu.

    Examples of foods to avoid on a keto diet.

    Foods high in carbs should be limited or avoided altogether when you are on a keto diet.

    Some of the foods to avoid are:

    • Beans and legumes.
    • Low-fat products.
    • Grains or starches.
    • Unhealthy fats.
    • Sugary foods.
    • Starchy peas.
    • Sweet potatoes.

    5 important things to know before starting a keto diet.

    1. You may lose too much weight in the first few weeks.
    2. Stepping up your physical activity can help you get into ketosis.
    3. You may experience side effects such as bad breath, tummy ache, and skin rash.
    4. Your insulin sensitivity may improve.
    5. Testing ketone levels and adjusting your diet suitably is important for effective results.

    Examples of best foods to eat on a ketogenic diet.

    • Low-carb vegetables such as asparagus, broccoli, kale, and lettuce.
    • Meat and poultry.
    • Fatty fish. For instance, salmon and tuna.
    • Nuts and seeds.
    • Healthy oils such as avocado oil and coconut oil.
    • Omega-3 eggs.
    • Whole avocadoes.
    • Plain Greek yogurt.
    • Unsweetened coffee.
    • Butter and cream.

    Step by step guide to successfully implementing a ketogenic diet.

    1. Identify your primary goal.

    The only way of successfully implementing the keto diet and getting the results you are expecting is by identifying your primary goal and working towards reaching it. So, ask yourself these questions: Why am I on a keto diet? What do I intend to achieve by being on a keto diet? Is it weight loss, improved health, or muscle gain?

    Identifying your primary goal will help you to take the appropriate steps and stick to the diet to reach your aim.

    1. Calculate your daily calorie intake.

    Calculating your daily calorie intake will help keep you on the right path and enable you to make necessary adjustments where needed.

    A keto diet is only successful when you know how many calories a day you need to eat to reach your main goal. Therefore, know how many calories you need per day to lose weight, calculate your calorie intake, and make changes where needed.

    Experts suggest that you aim for 70% fat, 10% carbs, and 20% protein from total daily calories to reach your keto goals.

    Ensure you eat the right amount of keto-friendly foods so that you can see the expected results and avoid eating fewer or more than what is required.

    1. Have a keto menu and stick to it.

    The most efficient way of successfully implementing a keto diet is by having a keto diet meal plan and sticking to it. Planning your keto menu daily or weekly helps you to save time, avoid foods that aren’t keto-friendly, and choose keto-friendly foods that will help you to achieve your keto goals.

     

    Countless websites and apps have different keto menus that are both efficient and easy to follow.

    Carb Manager is an example of one of the best apps that have tons of keto recipes you can try. The app also allows you to track your calorie intake, ketones, and so much more.

    1. Prepare for the keto flu and cure it.

    The keto flu is one of the common side effects to expect and prepare for when going on a keto diet. The keto-flu symptoms may appear a few days after starting the ketogenic diet. Noticing the symptoms before the flu worsens will help you to remedy it.

     

    The symptoms include irritability, nausea, stomach ache, headache, foggy brain, sleeplessness, vomiting, and constipation.

    Increasing your water intake, eating more fiber, prioritizing sleep, eating adequate fat, as well as increasing your sodium, potassium, and magnesium intake will help you to fight the keto-flu symptoms.

    The best way of fighting the keto flu is by avoiding high-intensity exercise and doing light exercises.

    The keto flu normally lasts for a week or one month in severe cases. However, it is possible to start the keto diet and not get the flu.

     

     

  • How To Prepare Yourself For A Weight Loss Diet

    Preparing Yourself For A Weight-Loss Diet

    Losing weight is not an easy task. Most people think about it and never start. Some take the initial steps but give up a few miles down the road. Some feel already defeated before they even get to entertain the idea of losing weight.

    We all know how we can benefit in the long term but few know how to effectively carry out the process. Like any endeavor in life, losing weight needs careful planning and preparation. If you just jump into it without proper planning, you might find yourself giving up before you get to your weight loss goals.

    By preparing yourself, you will find it much easier to break some habits and maneuver all the obstacles along the way.

    Best ways of preparing yourself for a weight-loss diet:

    • Set your goals.

    One needs to know why they are doing something to stay motivated.

    So, why do you want to lose weight?

    What do you intend to achieve?

    Answering these questions will keep you motivated and ensure you don’t quit.

    Have goals and know the main reason you want to lose weight.

    In other words, be convinced of what you want to do.

    Next, set targets. Make it your aim to have small achievable milestones planned out. It can be hard to stick to an unclear goal. For instance, “I want to lose 10 kilograms in 3 months.” Three months is too long and you might easily get distracted and bored.

    So, set attainable goals. Plan how much weight you are going to lose each week and decide how you want to go about it. In other words, set realistic goals and do not over-reach as this might easily tire you out until you throw in the towel.

    • Have a weekly meal

    To avoid indulging yourself and fooling yourself, you need to write down a weekly meal plan. This will help you to stay on track and avoid going out of control.

    Meal plans also help out when it comes to coming up with a grocery list or shopping for groceries. You will not include those foods that are unhealthy and not on your list. This will keep you disciplined and ensure you avoid the temptation of indulging in unhealthy options or relapsing into unhealthy behavior.

    • Be mindful.

    Any venture that requires some personal discipline needs one to practice mindfulness. It is very much difficult to conquer and overcome our inner urges.

    With mindfulness, we can hone our commitment and fight the impulses of overindulgence. Learn to focus on the long-term goals and shun instant gratification.

    When you do that and get into a mindful mind state, you can easily be ready to jump into the diet plan that you have drawn up.

    • Join/create a weight–loss support group.

    Fighting on your own and sticking to your plan can be daunting. You need constant support from your loved ones or people who share the same goals as you. Having people around you who are fighting the same fight can help you to stay motivated especially in those times when the battle seems unbearable and you feel like quitting.

    Hearing the testament of others who have walked in your shoes or who are on the same road will give you the necessary strength to stay committed to what you are doing. Sometimes just merely confiding in others can help you to stay strong and feel understood.

    • Be patient.

    Losing weight is not something that happens overnight. Some give up because they get frustrated when they see how slow the process is but be patient and stick to your plan. This is where setting weekly milestones and setting realistic goals helps you to stay focused.

    • Consult a dietician.

    Most times, expert help is very much useful and practical. When you have committed yourself, try to seek some advice from a professional. They will help you to come up with a diet plan that is best suited to your lifestyle. Each individual has different needs depending on their physiology, lifestyle, and other health conditions. A dietician will consider everything and help you to make the best adjustments.

    Exercise is one of the best ways to reinforce your willpower and discipline. It keeps you focusing on the positive side of things and helps you to stay in shape, and lose weight rapidly when accompanied by a diet plan. This can also help you attain those weekly milestones a lot faster.

    It takes a lot of accountability and discipline to stay on a weight-loss diet. Planning meals and staying on track requires a lot of mindfulness and internal fortitude.

    So, before you start the diet, brace yourself mentally and make sure that you are in the correct mind frame. Don’t hesitate to seek support from those who are on the same road.

     

  • Top 5 Ways To Deal With Stress Eating

    5 Top Ways Of Dealing With Stress Eating

    People have different ways of coping with stress. Nobody wants to be in a stressful situation so they find a different coping mechanism to escape.

    For some, they dig into the fridge, looking for that sweet cake or ice-cream. In time, our bodies get conditioned to this reward system and we always start to look for food when the situation turns a bit unexpected in life.

    This leads usually to obesity and chronic health conditions.

    If you are one of those people who find themselves reaching for those treats to cope with stress, you might feel like you are fighting a losing battle and you just cannot control your impulse.

    Five most effective ways of dealing with stress eating:

    Recognize emotional hunger

    The first thing you have to do is to know how to differentiate emotional hunger from physiological hunger. This will help so that you won’t starve yourself or give in to emotional hunger.

    First, you need to know that emotional hunger or stress hunger usually hits you suddenly, it is not as gradual as our usual physiological hunger. Those with emotional hunger also tend to crave a particular type of food, in most cases, it is junk or unhealthy foods.

    They also usually eat the food mindlessly, without savoring the taste or acknowledging levels of satiety as those with physiological hunger do.

    Stress eating is usually accompanied by that overwhelming feeling of guilt afterward. When you can easily tell between these two forms of hunger, you are ready to face the problem head-on.

    Know the triggers

    Know what gets you going down the path of stress eating.

    Know the things that stress you and try hard to avoid such circumstances.

    It is also useful to try and get rid of those foods that you usually binge-eat while under stress. Some stressful situations are inevitable so sometimes we should try to find alternative ways of dealing with our stress.

    Once you know your stress triggers, you are better equipped at fighting those impulses that come with them since we would know what to look out for.

    Mindfulness

    Stress eating comes usually as an impulse, a craving, something more visceral than mindful. If we practice mindfulness, we will know how to fight those visceral urges.

    Whether it is meditation or other forms of mindful exercises that help you focus your thoughts, try those to remain vigilant.

    When we focus our thoughts, slow down and breathe, we can willfully take our minds off things that stress us and force us to eat. We can also practice mindful eating when we get rid of the rush for instant gratification.

    Plan your meal schedule

    Stress eating usually happens outside our usual meal times. We just crave food even after we have eaten. Stop the habit of eating between meals. Have a meal schedule and try hard to adhere to eat. Eat healthily, do not take the habit of ingesting a lot of junk food.

    Eat fruits, vegetables and stay hydrated while laying off the sweet stuff. This also helps to watch your weight and have a healthy body in the long run. Pay attention when you eat. Do not eat in front of the television or while distracted. Respect the levels of satiety and try to savor the food you eat.

    Take your time with your meal, rushing through or being distracted might be signs of stress eating

    Exercising and other coping methods

    Stress is pretty much inevitable; we cannot change that. What we can do, however, is to change the way we deal with it.

    Exercising has been shown by various studies to reduce stress levels and help with our mental health.

    Try to stay physically fit. Hobbies and other leisure activities can also help take our minds off things and thus reduce our stress levels. When we have all these coping mechanisms in place, we can easily avoid going to the pantry when the stress comes.

    It is essential to be vigilant when it comes to stress eating. Sometimes we can be strong enough to deal with it ourselves. Recognizing stress eating might be very hard and perhaps we feel embarrassed to admit it to ourselves. When you have tried all you can, walking through mindfulness down to exercising, you might want to reach out for help when you feel that you are not beating the problem.

    Reach out for professional help or for others to support you when you find it hard to beat. Trying to fight it yourself and fail might further stress you and lead to more stress eating. No, when it is time to reach out for help. It is never a sign of weakness to reach out.

     

Copyright @ 2017 DrCurtisMcElroy