'Magical' Fiber

Recently I read about a study which claimed that people who added more fiber to their diets -- without changing anything else -- lost almost as much weight as people who followed a diet recommended by the American Heart Association. Now if you've read Ketones Aren't From Motown you know what I think about the AHA's dietary recommendations…and that I feel that

Fiber is almost 'magical'!  

Fiber allows us to eat more carbs and aides our digestive system to help 'move' things along through our intestines -  a true benefit for anyone who has ever experienced constipation. But fiber does more than just keeps us regular. The rough stuff can also help lower cholesterol, and may even help us live longer. While in reality fiber has no real magical fat-burning properties, it does help us feel full which keeps us from overeating. Fiber makes us full because it swells in our stomach when it absorbs liquid.
I can hear you saying to yourself, "How can I get my hands on some fiber?!" You'll find the most bang for your buck in nuts and beans, and in the skin, seeds, and membranes of your fruits and veggies. Fiber is the part of plant foods — vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts, legumes, and seeds — that your body can't digest. It moves quickly through your system and, as an added benefit it doesn't cause your blood sugar to rise as other carbs do. So, rather than scooping grapefruit out with a spoon, try peeling it like an orange and eating it. Don't peel your apples and peaches or try eating a kiwi whole -skin on- for more fiber! If that sounds a little too fuzzy for your taste buds try eating berries like raspberries, blueberries and strawberries. Whole berries are some of the best sources of fiber.
One more thing to keep in mind is that there are actually two types of fiber: Insoluble and Soluble. Insoluble fiber helps food pass through your digestive system. Soluble fiber helps eliminate fat and lower cholesterol. It attaches to cholesterol particles and takes them out of the body, as well as causing sugar and fat to enter your bloodstream at a slower rate, giving you a steady supply of energy. Sounds pretty magical to me!  If you want to incorporate more fiber into your Ketone Friendly diet try a "Fat Shake" I found on one of my resource blogs written by Peter Attia:

“Fat Shake”
In a blender: 8 oz heavy whipping cream, 8 oz sugar-free almond milk; 25 gm sugar-free hydrolyzed whey protein or other low carb protein powder, 2-3 frozen strawberries)
One last thing: Women should try to eat 25 grams of fiber a day, and men should try for 38 grams.  

Unraveling the Mystery of Ketones

What's been your most recent challenge?  Mine was talking in front of a group of people and trying to explain this chart! 
 

Well…sort of... Just as in my book Ketones Aren't From Motown I did my best to speak to aspects of this scientific chart by using simple to understand, 'everyday' language.   While preparing for my 'speaking engagement' I researched several questions I've pondered about Ketones. Maybe you've had some of the same questions.  Read on to see if I can answer some of the unknowns of Ketones…

Q: The beauty of eating 'Keto'  is that you can splurge for a day or a weekend and not see any negative results on the scale. Why is that? More to the point, if my 'carb tank' is nearly empty, how many carbs can I consume before they start spilling over into my fat cells?

A: The answer is about 2000 calories, or 500 grams of carbs. That's A LOT of carbs! And your brain is going to snatch up and use about 100 to 120 grams of that in a day.  If you remember reading in Ketones Aren't From Motown, your blood stream, liver and muscles (aka your 'carb tank') store glucose from carbohydrates for energy. It's not until these store houses are filled that you begin to store it in your fat cells, and if you're used to eating Keto-Friendly you'd have to be pretty deliberate to eat 500 grams of carbs in a day.

Q: When we lose weight, where does the fat go?

A: Brace yourself!  The average person has between 10 billion and 30 billion fat cells!  And they do not go away when you lose weight!  Depending on how many carbs you're eating your fat cells are either shrinking or swelling.  After your 'carb tank' is full your body begins storing the extra glucose in your fat cells as a future energy source as a lovely survival mechanism (our bodies are WONDERFULLY made!).  As your fat cells swell so does your belly, hips and thighs!  Conversely, when you use Ketones to turn your body into a fat burning factory your fat cells shrink and so does your body!  Isn't that cool?!

Q: When eating Keto-Friendly you want to be sure to eat plenty of protein - actually in ANY weight loss plan you don't want to cheat your body of protein or it will take what it needs from your LBM -your lean body mass (aka your muscles).  But when eating 'plenty of protein' can the excess protein eventually be turned into fat?

A: After reading dozens of studies it seems that the excess protein your body doesn’t use up may actually be added to your LBM (lean body mass).  One study I read, done In 2012 by George A. Bray and colleagues, watched a group of people who ate 1,000 calories above their daily needs for 8 weeks.  Some of the subjects ate low protein, high carbohydrate diets while others ate low carb, high protein diets.  At the end of the study, all subjects gained close to the same amount of weight. However the subjects who ate the highest amounts of protein gained the least amount of weight, gained less body fat than the others and the weight gained was actually attributed to the gain in LBM.  Not a bad reason to gain a few kilograms.  I have read that eating exorbitant amounts of protein will adversely affect the kidneys and that going beyond the recommendations in Ketones Aren't From Motown may cause ketogenesis to decline, but by sticking to the guidelines in my book you should be fine.

I hope this addresses someone's question as it did mine.  In the future I plan to address a few other questions I've wondered about, like:

• I've heard that drastically cutting back on calorie intake causes your metabolism to slow down - how drastic is 'drastic' and where does intermittent fasting fit into this picture? 

• What exactly is so magical about fiber? For that matter what IS fiber anyway?

• What is FAT (the kind we eat, that is), can I eat too much fat and why is fat good for fat loss?

• What does insulin do and what role does it play in fat loss?

Thank you for reading my blog! If you liked reading and/or benefited from my book please recommend it to friends. Thanks!