We made it through the holidays and entered into the new year. Like a lot of people, I allowed myself some leniency on the diet. Had a few extra cookies, indulged into that slice of pie, perhaps I had an eggnog (or two….or three). And as to be expected, a few pounds accompanied these indulgences. Lucky for me, a great deal of these extra pounds were from water weight and came back off within a few days.
Although most of the food I ate from Thanksgiving to New Years were both keto friendly and lectin free, I had become a bit acclimated to consuming “more”. I ate and drank more than I normally would, and it started to become the new normal as I caved into the cravings. Again, although I was still eating clean(ish), I was still eating when I wasn’t really hungry. Consuming desserts and adult beverages, which most certainly threw me out of ketosis.
Not to worry, I went into the holidays knowing that I could allow myself to be a little bad, then reset. I’m now going to talk about what I personally do to kick start things in motion again.
#1 FASTING
I began the new year with a fresh made bone broth made overnight in our InstaPot. We save every bone in our house and reuse it. And thanks to our smoked turkey and ham that we had from Christmas dinner, we had plenty for our new batch of broth. I personally like to throw in all remaining parts, including the skin. This gives the broth a great flavor from the seasonings, additional fat, and protein. When the cooking is finished, I strain out the broth, but am sure to keep the fat….I do not skim that off.
*For those with animals, we like to run the bones through a second time in the InstaPot. The bones come out soft and easy to digest. This is great source of high quality nutrients for your pets.
When I fast, I typically will do a 24 hour fast, beginning from the last meal of the previous day. However, I began the new year with a 48 hour fast. Some would consider what I do to not be a “true” fast, as a true fast will only consist of consuming water. I prefer to consume a minimal amount of fat during my fasts. I’ll start out the morning with a cup of coffee with one tablespoon of MCT oil and one tablespoon of grass fed ghee. I may consume a second cup of this later into the late morning or early afternoon. Come late afternoon, I’ll drink a cup of the fresh bone broth. One thing to note, bone broth will contain “some” protein, which can break your fast.
Fasting is a great way to reset your body, get you back into ketosis, and to curb your cravings. Be sure to stay hydrated by drinking lots of water, which will aid in keeping hunger pains away as well. Along with water, salt is also important in helping you retain water and electrolytes as your glycogen stores start to deplete.
#2 HIGH INTENSITY TRAINING
High intensity training is another great way to expedite your body to returning to ketosis. The best part is, this can be achieved in a much shorter period of time. When doing any exercise, I have become acclimated to doing so in a fasted state. Food prior to working out can make me feel too full, sluggish, and tired. You also do not reap the same benefits as you would from working out in a fasted state as your body is working to process the food you just ate, rather than to burn the fat you have stored as its primary energy source.
To achieve optimal High Intensity Training (HIT) or High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) levels, you have to get your heart rate up to peak levels. What HIT or HIIT will do is go through those glycogen stores in your body as High Intensity will burn carbs, rather than fat, first. This is good for times you’ve had carb heavy meals, or are retaining a lot of water weight.
The best advice I have seen when it comes to HIIT, is it is not uniform. Rather than sticking to set time sets, go full boar until you’ve reached failure, and rest until you feel recovered from it to do it again, no matter how long, or short, these take to achieve.
#3 SUPPLEMENTS
Supplements can be a great way to provide our bodies with the nutrients we need, especially when we may not be getting all that we need from our food. Even when fasting, I continue to take supplements. Again, some claim that this will break your fast, so I am sure to do so when drinking my coffee with ghee and MCT oil, or with my broth. I’ll now go over which supplements I take, and when.
Multi Vitamin
At the very least, I will take one of these a day to ensure I am getting some amount of the nutrients I require. I prefer to use Rainbow Light brand as they use all natural, non GMO super-foods in their vitamins. It has probiotics and enzymes to aid gut health. They are made in a variety of ways to cater to your specific needs, click here for Men or Women to see my personal recommendations.
Beta-Hydroxybutyrate
Commonly known at BHB, is the primary ketone made by your liver. BHB supplements provide a boost of these ketones to better manage the shift from carb dependence to ketone production, promote weight loss and improved energy, along with salts to maintain electrolytes. These are not an everyday supplement for me. I will typically take these on an empty stomach after a cheat and I know I am no longer in ketosis. You can find these in flavored powders, or in easy to take veggie capsules. Click here for my recommendation.
MCT Oil
MCT’s, or medium-chain triglyceride, is a medium chain fat that’s easy to digest. MCT oil is credited to many health benefits, but for the sake of this conversation, I’ll keep it simple. MCT’s promote weight loss and provide energy for both body and mind. It helps with making you feel fuller, longer! It’s a staple in my morning coffee, which keeps me full till late morning when I have my first meal. I personally look for an organic, non GMO, variety. Here’s one of my favorites MCT’s (click here) which comes in both liquid and powdered form. The liquid is great for at home to add into any drink, or for cooking. I keep a powdered for when I am on the go or at work.
Collagen
Powdered collagen is great to have around. I mix it into my morning coffee, throw it into my baking, and include it in a post workout drink. Collagen is a great source of protein, aiding in muscle recovery and growth, along with maintaining the health of your joints and skin. I highly recommend making sure the collagen is from grass fed bovine. If you do not see “Grass Fed” on the label, there’s no guarantee that the animal was not given grain, which can turn up in the finished product for those of us who are sensitive to grains.
Fish Oil & Vitamin D
Both of these have many benefits all on their own. What makes these two so important is we can have a serious deficiency of vitamin D and Omege-3. Both aid in repairing our gut wall, as well as supporting the brain and immune system. I take a 5,000 IU Vitamin D supplement every other day, and I take a 1000mg fish oil supplement prior to each meal.
Calcium – Magnesium – Zinc
I take this as an addition to the multi-vitamin as a lot of the foods I have cut out contain these minerals. Taking this supplement is great way to boost electrolytes, regulate blood sugar levels, and maintaining a healthy heart rhythm from the Calcium and Magnesium. Zinc is great for an immune system booster and to maintain proper body functions. This does contain D3, however, it’s a minimal amount compared to how much Vitamin D we should be taking, this is just a good “addition to” the other Vitamin D supplement.
Workout Supplements: After an intense workout, I’ll make myself a nice shake, ready to go, while at the gym. I keep it pre-portioned in my gym bag, so immediately after the workout I can take in my supplements. Let’s take a look at my personal favorites.
Protein
I’ve used just about every kind there is out there. After whey was upsetting to my stomach, I switched over to a plant based protein. I like the plant based protein powders, especially by Orgain. With 21 g of protein and 3 g net carbs, it’s a great tasting, non-chalky protein powder. One downside to this, if you are lectin sensitive (like I am) than it can be upsetting to the stomach as it uses brown rice and rice bran.
If you are lectin sensitive and looking for a completely grain free option, try the Natural Egg Whites Protein by MRM. This protein tastes great with 23 g of protein and 2 g carbs in each serving. This has become my now “go to” for protein powders as it’s easy on the stomach. Comes in both vanilla and chocolate flavors.
Muscle recovery and growth: I have 3 staples when it comes to muscle recovery and growth. All three of these do come in a powder or capsule form. I’ll get into my personal preferences on each.
Creatine
Widely debated, and one of the most studied supplements for working out is creatine. There’s enough supportive data out there on the health benefits of creatine, even for those who aren’t avid gym goers. We can leave that discussion for another time. I take creatine as a booster before a workout for energy and endurance, and aid in my glycogen stores to avoid dehydration. I prefer it in an unflavored powder by Optimum Nutrition so that it’s easy to mix with something else without clashing flavors, and it’s quickly absorbed.
BCAA
Branched Chain Amino Acids aid in stimulating protein growth in muscles and reduce muscle breakdown. I’ll take this after a workout when I’m lifting weights. Definitely not an everyday supplement. Not the best tasting stuff in the world, so this one I prefer in capsule form. I take two gel caps from Optimum Nutrition with my post workout protein shake.
L-Glutamine
I intentionally saved this one for last. There’s so much going on for this one, and I’m only beginning to learn it all. Originally, like the BCAA, I was taking this for the muscular benefits by stimulating muscle growth and reducing recovery time. However, I have learned of the many other benefits to L-Glutamine. Most important for me, is its role in healing a leaky gut. Damage caused by lectins in the gut wall, L-Glutamine helps to repair and reduces inflation. Rather than this being exclusive to post workouts, I’ll include this into my daily supplements. Optimum Nutrition makes it both powder and capsule form, I find it easier in powder to mix with any beverage.
There you have it! My complete list of vitamins and supplements, along with tips to optimize the health of your body, mind, and gut. As always, consult your physician prior to trying anything new in your diet and exercise to make sure it is right for you! Cheers to a great 2019! Make this the year to Champion Your Body!!