The Ketogenic Diet for Weight Loss and Health

The Ketogenic Diet is Now an Option for My  Weight Loss Clients

 

 

 

Sylvia Runkle, through Sylvia Runkle Hypnosis and previously through Positive Changes Hypnosis has helped thousands of people to successfully lose weight.  While I have not put people on a specific diet I have recommended certain types of diet and taught traditional nutrition programs.

After having a stent put in about 5 years ago my cardiologist had me taking a statin drug.  When I finally figured out the statin was what was making me so tired all the time and I began learning of all the other bad side effects, I chose to quit taking it.  While researching ways to lower my cholesterol numbers naturally I discovered the Ketogenic diet (also known as Keto).  I had heard some about it but had not looked into it.  After all, all the high fat can’t really be good for you, right.  Well, WRONG, just wrong.

After studying it a bit as well as hearing about someone I knew losing weight on Keto I decided it was time to test this unusual way of eating.  I was testing it for four reasons:

• To lower my cholesterol numbers
• To lose some weight myself
• To determine if Keto would be a good option to offer to my hypnosis clients.
• To counter the effects of aging on the brain.

Here is how each of these has worked out for me over the past three months:

 

To lower my cholesterol numbers

I had my cholesterol tested a couple of months after I stopped taking the statin drug.  My number had gone up and my cardiologist was not happy.  She proscribed 2 other drugs and when I got them home I found they had the same side effects as the one I had quit plus others.  I again chose not to take them.  I began searching for another solution.

When I heard that the ketogenic diet could lower cholesterol and talked to people who were losing weight as well as improving cholesterol numbers I decided to try it out.  After about 5 weeks I had my lipid panel done again.  The HDL (good Cholesterol) had gone up.  Triglycerides had been fine at 77 but went down even more to 55.  the LDL (so-called bad cholesterol) had remained the same,  My cardiologist was not please with that.

I will being tested again in August.  Since then I have learned some new things about LDL.  In the case of LDL there are small dense particles or large fluffier particles.  The small, dense particles can get caught in nooks and on ridges and inflamation.  The larger particles do not get caught and cause build-up.  Studies show https://www.ruled.me/the-ketogenic-diet-and-cholesterol/ that when eating a Ketogenic type diet the small particles are reduced while there is an increase in large particles which reduces the risk of heart problems.

See also:  https://www.ketovangelist.com/keto-and-cholesterol/

The way to check this is to request an LDL-P test which is not done routinely.

It is now known that it is not so much the cholesterol that is the problem but the inflamation that causes the LDL small particles to catch and build up.  When eating Keto,  carbohydrates are reduced to abut 20 grams per day.  This means very little to no sugar.  Carbs are best eaten from vegetables or low carb fruits like berries.  Since sugar is a major cause of inflamation this is another reason to choose the Ketogenic way of eating.

 

To lose some weight myself

“You are a hypnotist who works with weight loss.  Why do you need to lose weight?” you may be asking.  I lost weight on my hypnosis program in 1997.  I kept the weight off for most of 17 years.  But, as sometimes happens with hypnotists who work with weight loss,  it stopped working for me after about 17 years.  I still had many of the good habits I got with hypnosis but my sugar intake crept up to where I gained the weight back and fought sugar cravings constantly.

Hypnosis still worked for me for other reasons but just not for weight loss.  So I am looking at Keto for my cholesterol numbers and see a chance to lose the 30 pounds as well.  I started March second and have lost 17 pounds in 14 weeks.  Losing weight has never been easier.  The food is good.  It is fun to eat the things I had been told were bad for me. There are many great Keto recipes available.

Here are just a few of the things I have experienced so far:

• Sugar cravings stopped right away
• A faster weight drop the first 2 weeks then slower
• My arthritis in my fingers has improved
• My thinning hair has become thicker and people have  commented on how shiny it is.
• I am sleeping more deeply.
• After an initial period of “brain fog” as I became “fat adapted” I now am experiencing a new level of brain clarity.  (With our old beliefs about fat we have starved our brains of the fat it needs.)
• More energy
• 17 pounds down so far – 13 to go

It is important to note that this is not just a “diet”.  It need to be a way of life you commit to.  If you go back to eating carbs you will (like any diet) put the weight back on and lose the benefits.

 

To determine if Keto would be a good option to offer to my hypnosis clients.

My conclusion:  Absolutely!

 

To counter the effects of aging on the brain.

At my age (75) I see people slipping into dementia on a regular basis, including some close to me.  I have been blessed with a good brain.  I still have a good brain but it had not been what it was 20 years ago.  Since Keto I am now experiencing a clarity I have not felt in several years.  The brain needs fat!  I am glad I am finally feeding it what it needs.

Anyone concerned about dementia or brain clarity should consider this way of eating.

 

What is Keto

Just a brief overview:

Keto is high fat, medium protein and very low carb.

As a general rule:  70% fat, 25% protein and 5% carbs

The hardest part is getting enough fat compared to the other two. Even bacon is either equal in fats and protein or a little more fat to protein.  Fortunately there are many recipes for delicious “fat bombs” and you can eat a lot of avocado, butter and healthy oils. (Doesn’t sound much like “dieting” does it?)  And I often start my day with “Keto pancakes”.  Made with eggs and cream cheese they cook just like regular pancakes and taste very similar.  Some use sugar free syrup.  I prefer butter and a few raspberries.

When you eat carbs it tells your body to produce insulin to store fat.  When you eat very low carbs your liver produces Ketones (called “going into Ketosis”) which causes your body to burn fat.  When you burn fat your reduce your body’s fat percentage. You will be surprised just how quickly you like the way your body looks again.

Yes, you have been told fat is bad for you.  It’s not!  This was based on flawed research.  There is plenty of literature out there today to support this statement but I don’t have room to go into it here.  I can recommend a book, The Obesity Code by Jason Fung

For more information join my Facebook group:  Keto-Eato

The group is dedicated to information, resources, sharing and support.

I call it “Getting America Slim Again”  but it is also “Getting America Healthy Again.”

Thousands of type 2 diabetics are getting off of insulin.   When you are not burning carbs you do not need insulin.  Many have been eating this way for 25 years.

I asked a question in a group I am in:  “What are you getting besides weight loss?”

Here are only some of the answers:

Improved:

Anxiety, mood, PTSD, sleep apnea, acid reflux. IBS, energy, memory, joint pain, autoimmune disease, PCOS, skin issues, hormone balance, inflamation, cancer, seizures, Hashimoto’s, migrains,  reversed stage 4 kidney disease, chrons disease, ADHD, hyperthyroidism.

Again for more information please join my Facebook group :  Keto-Eato: Getting America slim Again