No matter what your current diet consists of, there is usually room for improvement.

I am still working to improve my diet. At the very beginning of my nutrition program, I became more aware of what I was eating. I had young kids. I would eat things off their plates without even really being aware that I was doing it. I’d finish their cheez-its and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I wasn’t even hungry. And, some of the foods I ate I didn’t even like. Bad habits were uncovered by simply food logging and paying attention.

A good way to improve your diet is step by step. An excellent first step is food journaling (especially in an app or computer-based program like Cronometer. Once you know your macronutrient intake (carbohydrates, protein, fat) averages, you can start targeting better choices and numbers to help you achieve your goals. 

Step two: As you make better choices (usually more protein, adequate healthy fat, lower carbohydrate) you eat less often. Less snacking lets your body burn fat and not sugar/carbohydrates as fuel. This step can take some time as your body adapts to this change. An individual can’t go from a standard American diet high in carbohydrates to being fat-adapted overnight. Sometimes during this phase, you may need to increase your protein and fat to help you feel more full and allow you to decrease carbohydrates.

Being fat adapted means that when your body needs energy it can go into a fat-burning state to function. As you get more fat-adapted you can adjust your protein and fat intake to meet your needs. If you are trying to build muscle or are very active you may need to increase protein and fat. If you are trying to lose weight you may need to decrease fat to allow your body to burn your fat as fuel.

Intermittent fasting is longer periods without food. Increasing the amount of time you go without food encourages cells to renew and repair. This can help with weight loss, inflammation, and healing.

My most current diet experiment was with carnivore eating.

The carnivore diet is eating just animal meat for all your nutritional needs. There are no fruits or vegetables or any processed carbohydrate foods.  Carnivore diet,

My husband and I did this starting in May. I did this elimination type diet so I could see what foods were not good for my body. I did it very strictly for three weeks and then started experimenting with what I could add in and still feel well. Within five days I was shocked by how good I felt and was in deep nutritional ketosis. While eating carnivore I lost approximately 8 pounds (my husband has lost 28 pounds). I noticed that my muscles were stronger and more defined without even adding exercise. We are still eating primarily (85%) carnivore in our house and my husband is having excellent results during marathon training compared to previous years.

My opinion: being fat-adapted and cycling in and out of ketosis periodically is the ideal state of health and healing. Ask your Practitioner if you need help with your diet. We look forward to helping you on your health path.

Yours in health,
Kerry Cradit, B.S. Nutrition and Food Science

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