A little planning and motivation will help you start a low-carb, keto, or Primal lifestyle, and under normal circumstances, keeping your carbs on the low side is easy. But let’s not create the illusion that it is easy all the time. From time to time, you may get stressed and eat mindlessly. Or, your aunt drops off her blue-ribbon cake that you’ve loved since you were in preschool, and you give in, just this once. Or, you had a jam-packed day and all you can muster to make for dinner is that package of gluten-free noodles in the back of your pantry. The next thing you know, you’ve eaten enough carbs for a week, and you wonder how you’ll get back into ketosis after a carb binge.
The short answer is, yes you will recover from a carb binge. Yes, you will get back into ketosis. As far as how long it will take to get back into ketosis – that depends on numerous factors, that we’ll dive into here. The important thing to remember is, you did not obliterate your goals with one misstep. Especially after you’ve spent some amount of time in ketosis, your body will allow for fluctuations in carb consumption here and there. That’s called metabolic flexibility, which we’ll go into shortly.
Read MoreAs someone interested in the world of keto, you’ve likely heard about its incredible potential for weight loss, mental sharpness, and more. Sure, there are some overblown or downright baseless claims out there, but by and large, keto deserves the hype it gets. A well-designed ketogenic diet is a highly impactful tool for burning fat for energy, managing your weight and many chronic health conditions, supporting cognitive acuity, and promoting healthy aging.
Notice, however, that I said a well-designed ketogenic diet. With the exploding popularity of the keto diet, it’s easy to find approaches focusing only on increasing fat consumption or avoiding carbohydrates at all costs, while completely ignoring food quality and non-food factors that influence metabolism. These strategies, in my experience, miss the bigger picture of what keto should be—and what is possible with the keto diet.
Read MoreAvocados and avocado oil had a slow road to popularity, starting with a rebranding of sorts. There’s a bit of an internet debate around the origin of the word avocado. Some reports say that it came from the word ahuacatl, which is Aztec slang for testicle. As the fruit became more popular, that association wasn’t great for marketing, so farmers changed the name to “avocado” and even petitioned dictionary publishers to update the entry. Good move on their part, because “avocado toast” sounds much more appetizing than … the other thing.
Is Avocado Oil Good For You?
Back in the ‘80s when low-fat diets were lauded as the sure path to losing weight, people shunned avocados because of their fat content. About a decade and a half later when word got out that different fats do different things in the body, avocados were regarded as a welcome addition again because of their monounsaturated fat content. With the growth of the Primal and keto movements, people now embrace these fats, and avocados are regarded as a beneficial food that fits into a healthy lifestyle.
Even after publishing several books and hundreds of articles that draw upon the science of ketosis and low-carb living, I keep researching, thinking, revisiting, and discussing the underpinnings of ketosis. My writing partner, Brad Kearns, and I maintain a running dialogue on all things keto. The latest conversation revolved around two very common questions or “problems” that keep coming up in the ketogenic community: why am I getting low ketone readings?
It’s a fair question. Why do some people on a keto diet register high ketones while others eating the same way register low numbers?
I won’t offer definitive answers fit to etch into stone. I will offer my exploration of the research, some educated speculation, and actionable advice you can ruminate on. And by all means get back to me with your take on the questions and my explorations, please. Dialogue is essential to understanding.
Read MoreGyms all across the world are closed right now. Many of us are stuck at home, unable or unwilling to even get to parks and hiking trails and beaches. We’re all homebodies now, and yet the need for physical activity hasn’t diminished. If anything, it’s more crucial than ever that we stay active and healthy, fit and strong.
Today, we’re going to start with core workouts.
Read MoreIntermittent fasting and time-restricted eating have become popular strategies to lose weight, boost insulin sensitivity, improve blood sugar and blood lipids, and encourage ketosis. But there is still a lot of confusion about how to fasti correctly, avoiding possible pitfalls while maximizing the benefits. One recurring point of confusion is working out while fasting—how much to exercise, whether to stop high-intensity training, and so on.
Before I get into the meat of this post, let’s make one thing clear: You SHOULD continue to work out while fasting. Stay active, don’t just sit around. Yes, even during longer fasts (with some caveats that I’ll discuss below).
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Ⓒ 2023 Mark's Daily Apple
