Nutrition Advice

It’s (still) pouring rain today. I will try to keep this as short as possible because I have to swim (lol) over to feed the horses still but being succinct will be difficult because I want to talk about a complicated subject, nutrition.

If you've been following this page or my blog for a while, you know how radically I've changed our (my husband's and mine) diet in the last four months. We started the Keto diet at the end of October. Since then, Steve has lost about twenty pounds and I've lost around thirty-seven. It has truly changed our lives. We both have more energy and drive and I joined a gym and committed to working with a personal trainer three days a week for the next year. But, despite the obvious benefits, the macro make up of the Keto diet concerns me. On it, you consume: 70% fat - 20% protein - 10% carbohydrates. My doctor wanted me to stay on it no longer than six months. That would be April but I'm concerned how it might be affecting my "numbers" like cholesterol and sugar levels as well as blood pressure. So, I'm going next week to have those all checked and see where I'm at. Another concern has been how restrictive the Keto diet is with healthy carbs. I have no problem eliminating the starchy carbs and grains but I worry about the nutrients lost by cutting out fruit and limiting even healthy vegetables. So, I started shopping around for a new diet, a healthy one that I could live with for the rest of my life.

The first few weeks of my diet quest, I was terribly confused. There are so many options out there and so many of them push for lifetime and lifestyle changes that eliminate foods that I've always thought of as healthy. It also seemed that they all contradicted each other on exactly what foods were good and what were bad. I guess my confusion is understandable but it was still frustrating.

A week ago, I came across a company called Gainful that makes custom protein powders. I've been using a protein shake and nuts as either my breakfast or lunch for the last few months. This is especially helpful on the Keto diet because I can easily add psyllium to the shakes to counteract the constipation that is a side effect of the low fiber Keto diet. I'd also been adding extra collagen since I started doing strength training with my PT at the gym, Josh. I was hoping that would keep me building muscle and burning fat. Not only was the Gainful powder appealing because it was custom made to specifications but it was also a better price for a month's supply than what I was paying for three weeks supply of the brand I order from Amazon. I filled out the questionnaire and signed up for monthly deliveries with the option of canceling if it didn't live up to the hype. I was pleasantly surprised when I received an email from their licensed nutritionist asking for additional info on me and my diet and my goals. I wrote him an extensive letter that not only told what I've been doing for the past four months and how far I've come in that time but also the changes I want to make and my concerns about how to proceed as far as my diet is concerned. He wrote me back and his letter was just as extensive as he addressed each question and concern. I was extremely impressed and also, now have a much clearer road map to follow on my journey to good health through good nutrition.

One thing he told me was to eliminate the added collagen because it wasn't a whole protein and I could make better choices to get the right amount of protein to build that muscle. He also gave me tips on balancing out my macros and determining just how many calories I should have in a day. He said that this was not a one diet fits everyone world but it didn't have to be undecipherable either. He said I should avoid some of the high fat sources that were okay in the initial stages of the Keto diet, such as bacon and still continue to avoid high sugar and processed foods. He said, yes! add back in those healthy vegetables and fruit. He said that was what he didn't like about diets such as Keto that restricted whole food groups because you lost so much in nutrients. He also told me not to be concerned about my slow weight loss, I could make adjustments that might speed it up a bit but half a pound a week is still a loss and still good.

He has continued to give me advice and I'm thinking that switching to Gainful might be one of the best decisions I've made. I also made another discovery via email this morning...or maybe that should be rediscovery. I get newsletters from My Fitness Pal and other health info websites. I received one this morning that was talking about Dr. Gundry's diet. I checked my Kindle because that name was certainly familiar and I discovered that yes, I had bought his book sometime last year. Dr. Gundry is a heart surgeon who couldn't understand how he was doing everything right with his diet and exercise and still he was 70 pounds overweight and had high blood pressure and high cholesterol....on a vegetarian diet! He did research and developed a diet that solved all of that. It is similar to the Keto diet in that it restricts all "white" foods such as breads and starchy vegetables but the allowed vegetables and lower fat make it much more palatable for me. As I was reading the book this morning, I recalled that I dismissed this diet last year because, at least initially, it eliminated many foods we really liked and that, at the time, I didn't think we could live without. After, being on the very restrictive Keto diet for four months, this diet sounds like a holiday. lol It still restricts fruit to two servings a day because of the sugar content but it is only denied during the first two week's reset phase. You get lots of healthy vegetables, healthy fats, lean protein and even some fruit and the beans Steve loves after the reset phase. Heck, we're already doing this only stricter so this will be a breeze. I think I've found our healthy diet for life. I'm a happy camper now.