Food heals

The Keto, Ketovore, and Carnivore diets are not just for weight loss. It will help heal your body. The weight loss is a nice side effect, but should not be your primary reason. How do I know it heals your body? Let’s discuss, shall we?

I started Keto as a desperate action because I woke up and could barely move my legs. I had heard about Keto from a friend, and something told me to give it a try. My poor husband, who was starting to prepare Christmas dinner with all the traditional sides. He had to suddenly make extra dishes for me. He did great and I will always appreciate that he has supported me from the beginning.

As I got further into Keto, I started noticing that I was losing some of my bloat, and some weight. Then I started to notice that I was able to walk more, and faster. I was able to get up from a chair with less pain. I wasn’t feeling sick all the time.

Now, here’s the kicker. I have not lost hardly any weight (maybe 5 lbs) in about 18 months. Do I have weight to lose? Yes, about 20 more lbs. Am I worried? No, I am not, and here is why. My body is still healing. I’m 52 years old tomorrow, so I have 50 years of doing damage to my body to reverse.

I know that my body is healing with the protein and nutrients that I’m giving it. I know this because if I have too many carbs in a day, or if I accidentally have soy, my body hurts. But when I eat clean, it feel good, I have more energy, I can move. These, for me, are a correlation. Consider as well, what is called a Non Scale Victory (NSV). When I started my journey with Keto, I was moving into a 3XL shirt and a Size 20. Today, I’m wearing a L and a size 12. This is the inflammation being healed, as I’ve only lost about 20 lbs.

But it’s not just me. My husband has started to eat more Keto and he is noticing improved health as well. His joints do not hurt as much, and he’s able to recover each day faster than he used to when he has overdone it. This, is also why I know that eating this way heals our body.

So, how will I know that my body has healed and I can change the way I eat? Well, I’ll know my body is healed, or close to healing, when two things happen. The not as important thing is losing that last bit of weight, as my body will finally whoosh that weight away. The other? When I am able to exercise and lift a normal amount of weight. I will get there, slowly but surely.

So, are you ready to heal? I’m ready to help you. Let’s do this together, shall we?

Happy New Year

happy birthday to you wall decor
Photo by Anna Tarazevich on Pexels.com

Are you ready for a change? I can help you with that.

I watch several YouTube channels, and one of them, 2KrazyKetos, released their January challenge today and Rachel was rather adamant that it is not New Year, New You, but New Year, New Do. I understand her thoughts on this. So, I am going to go with it.

the challenge

Now, before I go further, my husband had decided to participate in the BBBE (Beef, Butter, Bacon, Eggs) challenge, a challenge put out there by Dr. Ken Berry, before we knew that the 2KrazyKetos were going to do this challenge again. They did the challenge for 46 days this past fall. So, two days ago, we went and had our labs done, and a DEXA scan. We will have the same done after 3 months of just eating BBBE. This is not a requirement for anyone and I would never tell you that you have to do this, so please don’t think that I am. This is strictly for my husband and I to see what happens. He will go back to Keto and I to Ketovore at the end of the 3 months.

motivational simple inscription against doubts
Photo by Olya Kobruseva on Pexels.com

Why are we doing this?

We are doing this as a reset, to retrain our thinking on food. Beef and butter happen to be excellent ways to heal your body, so why not give it a try. Dr. Berry promises that our body fat will not go up and our blood work should improve. Please note that I didn’t say our overall cholesterol will go down. For some, it will. I do not expect that for us, as for most, it will go up. I will do a blog about why that does not bother me, in the near future. We are hoping that this will remove some of the inflammation that has built up in my body by unknowingly eating soy. As I type this, my arthritis in my fingers is truly flaring, and we believe it to be the pork and chicken I’ve been eating. Hence, the challenge.

What is BBBE?

Dr. Berry and the 2KrazyKetos go over this, so I’ll make it brief.

  • Beef – Any beef or ruminant animal. This includes Bison, Elk, Sheep, etc. If you can incorporate liver and heart in some way, even better, as they have a ton of nutrients
  • Butter – Butter, or Ghee. The 2KrazyKetos are incorporating tallow, which I would classify under Beef.
  • Bacon – Bacon, or pork belly. There is debate over whether Dr. Berry means all pork or just bacon or pork belly. We are looking at it as, what is the fat content and is it high enough.
  • Eggs – Eggs are one of the more perfect foods. 1-to-1 ratio of protein to fat. This part is actually going to be a challenge for me, as I do not like eggs. So, my egg intake will be lower than most during this time.

New ‘Do’

Therefore, taking the phrase from Rachel at 2KrazyKetos, a new ‘Do’ is in order. Are you ready to start a new ‘Do’ for your life? Let me help you with that. As a certified Keto and Carnivore Health Coach, I can and will help you with that. Coach Bronson (affiliate link) would say: Get after it. 2022, here we come. We can do this, together.

The importance of movement

Why is movement important? Well, we can speak to the obvious, movement keeps your muscles and joints strong. This is logical, right? By keeping your body moving through daily exercise (even just walking), you keep your muscles from weakening, and helps your joints stay strong.

So, what else does it do. Well, according to the CDC, improving your brain health, weight management, reducing disease, and strengthening your bones. Let’s look at why, shall we?

Brain health: Studies show:

Some of the benefits of physical activity on brain health occur immediately after a session of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (acute effect), such as reduced feelings of state anxiety (short-term anxiety), improved sleep, and improved aspects of cognitive function. With regular physical activity (habitual effect), improvements are seen in trait anxiety (long-term anxiety), deep sleep, and components of executive function (including the ability to plan and organize; monitor, inhibit, or facilitate behaviors; initiate tasks; and control emotions).

https://health.gov/sites/default/files/2019-09/Physical_Activity_Guidelines_2nd_edition.pdf#page=32

So, this leads to improved cognition, quality of life, anxiety and depression, and sleep. When you exercise, even a little, you help improve these things. When you exercise a little more, the improvement is greater.

Weight Management: This is another obvious result, but does bear worth stating. Obviously, when you exercise, you have a better chance of maintaining your weight, and even losing some weight. More importantly, you are able to change your body shape. Remember that muscle does weigh more than fat, so you will gain muscle and lose fat, which allows for a change to your body definition.

Reducing disease: Studies show that exercising helps reduce the risks of certain cancers, including Bladder, Breast, Colon, Endometrium, Esophagus (adenocarcinoma), Kidney, Lung, and Stomach. Please note that exercise will not prevent or cure cancer, the studies show that they help reduce the risks of certain cancers.

Strengthening bone: According to NIH,

bone is living tissue that responds to exercise by becoming stronger. Young women and men who exercise regularly generally achieve greater peak bone mass (maximum bone density and strength) than those who do not. For most people, bone mass peaks during the third decade of life. After that time, we can begin to lose bone. Women and men older than age 20 can help prevent bone loss with regular exercise. Exercising can also help us maintain muscle strength, coordination, and balance, which in turn helps to prevent falls and related fractures. This is especially important for older adults and people who have been diagnosed with osteoporosis.

https://www.bones.nih.gov/health-info/bone/bone-health/exercise/exercise-your-bone-health

All these are excellent reasons to keep your body moving and to exercise. Not sure where to begin? If you have not exercised in awhile, start by walking. Just a walk around the block can do so much good. Then, when you are ready, join a gym or a fitness program.

I’ve mentioned before that my favorite is APEX Health & Fitness. I am an affiliate with APEX because I have seen what wonderful things Bronson has done for myself and others. And if you want some inspiration, you should see his mom, Claire. She is my inspiration when I do my workouts. If you are interested, here are the links to his beginner and Functional Fitness programs (affiliate links):

At Home Beginner Program

At Home Functional Fitness Program

You will not be disappointed if you keep moving, even just a little bit. Because the more consistent you are, the stronger you’ll become.