Thanks for having interest in this new take on a millennia-old pie-whole stuffing lifestyle! Before refined grains. Before the Earth was a sphere ;-) Before Nestle and Kellogg. Before The Beatles and Elvis, even!
And now, before we dive in, let's take off our clothes! You start.
I'm not a doctor or biologist or oceanographer or physicist or dog trainer or dolphin therapist, so don't go believing anything I say. Don't even follow my advice, which this isn't.
Now, let's dive in to that fountain of youth!
Start by seeing how long you can fast into the day. The easiest way is to just remove breakfast completely or replace it with coffee that has no calories (creamers or other additives). Stevia and monk fruit don't count, so sweeten it if you need to, but only with those. NEVER with honey, agave, sugar, or processed sugar substitutes. More below on sweeteners.
If you get enough fats, you will find you don't have hunger pangs! Don't confuse habits with hunger! It takes time to change a habit. But if you eat enough healthy fats, you will be surprised how easy this is!
You will also - probably easily and naturally - start to want to experiment with putting off your meals longer and longer and may even find yourself moving into a one meal a day pattern.
This is highly subjective, of course. But with all my blood sugar testing, I found that a minimum of 30 minutes a day of light exercise (walking) - for me - will at least keep me stable. BUT if you want to get more healthy, double or triple that number of minutes and throw in some higher intensity exercise and/or weights. If you are diabetic like I was, the more exercise, the better. More muscle helps in MANY ways!
Some Amazon links below to what I consider to be the "staples" of a keto lifestyle. While it is best to get as much of your nutrient intake from whole foods, that can often be difficult, so I'll start here with the minimum supplements that I'm currently taking.
BERBERINE for lowering blood sugar when you know you are cheating too hard (Don't cheat. Use this as an opportunity to practice being in integrity with your word to yourself) and want to reduce your body's insulin response:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0083V8UB4
As a still barely diabetic, I use berberine as a 1-for-1 replacement of the popular diabetic medication Metformin.
MAGNESIUM, POTASSIUM, D, and B's VERY IMPORTANT
Doctor's Best brand Multi-vitamin.
I did a lot of research before settling on this brand/product:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DDPYWFS
Here's a great site that rates supplement brands:
https://labdoor.com/
OMEGA 3 VERY IMPORTANT: Fish oil capsules or other ways of getting Omega 3:
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/12-omega-3-rich-foods
And of course best getting it through foods like wild salmon (If you can afford to, avoid farm raised because of PCBs).
SALT
Most humans don't get enough sodium, potassium, and magnesium. Note: Taken alone, salt won't give you all the magnesium and potassium you need.
It's a myth that you need to regulate your salt intake. Eat as much as your body asks for!
Get the good stuff! This is even better than Himalayan and sea salt:
https://smile.amazon.com/REDMOND-Real-Sea-Salt-Unrefined/dp/B000R5PKD0
Random related myth: LDL Cholesterol is bad. Nope. Your body and brain desperately need this as an essential building block. Sadly, the cholesterol myth has survived a faulty study from the 1950s.
TURMERIC (best to mix with pepper when cooking). Primary benefit: reduces inflammation.
https://smile.amazon.com/Turmeric-Bioperine-Available-Standardized-Curcuminoids/dp/B01DBTFO98
BEST SUGAR SUBSTITUTES
Monk fruit powder <-- amazing stuff! tastes like sugar, takes about 1/10 the amount, and has zero glycemic index. Also, this product, for $30 lasted me about a year! And trust me, I have a huge sweet tooth!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01DMCMO7O
Here are a couple other zero glycemic index sweeteners I like to carry with me to restaurants as they are a bit more convenient to add to cold tea than the monk fruit powder:
English toffee flavored Stevia drops*
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000ELQNRE
Vanilla flavored Stevia drops*
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000E8WIAS
*dextrose free
Finally, two I just discovered: Erythritol and Allulose. Here's some info on Allulose, which is purported to have a NEGATIVE glycemic index! http://allulose.org/allulose-professionals/latest-science/glycemic-index/
And here are some food products made with Allulose: https://knowfoods.com/products/know-better-syrup
IMPORTANT: Honey, agave, Stevia-with-dextrose, Splenda, and all processed sugar substitutes are BAD! Be sure, also, to study up on fructose, which I talk only a bit about below.
OILS
Unrefined Coconut Oil or Extra Virgin Olive Oil
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01HFEMQ5A
This will help you get the "good fats" you need to train your body to be able to process fat as well as glucose for energy. I put coconut oil in coffee and cook with it. Anything that would normally require butter or oil. Vegetable oils are BAD. If you are good with dairy, then real butter works as well for many. NO MARGARINE OR FAKE/PROCESSED BUTTERS! Poison!
NUTS
Pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts, and brazil nuts are best.
I was eating almonds and cashews before I did this latest bunch of research and found those two are not good for various reasons.
Here's a good deal on a big bag of pecans that I keep re-ordering:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N49HPHK
Note: Be sure to note the amount of carbs in the nuts you consume. Even with all the benefits of many nuts, they often have too many carbs and/or other issues. For example, research the issues with almond skins and digestion. That said, zero sugar almond milk without carrageenan is good stuff for a keto diet!
MORE FAT, ETC: Avocado
More "good fat" as well as many other diabetic and keto benefits. I get those little $5-6 tubs of guacamole at my local grocer about every three days. Of course, you are probably better off making your own.
CINNAMON (GET "CEYLON")
Reduces insulin response. I add this to my coffee and anything else that might be sweet.
https://smile.amazon.com/Premium-Cinnamon-Naturevibe-Botanicals-Gluten-Free/dp/B071HSW2MY
CHOCOLATE (BAKING TYPE/NO SUGAR)
For baking (with almond flour or coconut flour, NOT wheat flour!) or adding to your coffee for flavor.
EGGS
VERY powerful in many ways to get the nutrients and "good fat" you need. Hopefully, you like eggs. I like em all ways, including fried (in coconut oil or olive oil) and hard boiled. Which brings me to...
MAYO
Good fats! Avocado oil mayo and olive oil mayo are best. Even your typical mayo has few or zero carbs.
KALE
Probably the best green leafy thing a diabetic can eat. To me, by itself, kale is too bitter. But hey fry it up in coconut oil, make kale chips in the oven, or put some fatty low carb dressing on it, add turkey or hard boiled egg, etc., and yum yum! There are enough other veggies that fall into low carb category. Don't eat the others. You don't need them. For example: stay away from carrots!
https://www.google.com/search?q=keto+friendly+veggies
FRUIT
Fruit mostly bad. Mostly. As you probably know, most berries (including blueberries and strawberries) are better but still should be kept below 1/4 cup per day if you are eating ANY other carbs. And really, for a diabetic or someone trying to do keto: I'd stay away from bananas (SUPERBAD), apples, peaches, plums, etc. Grapefruits are unique and have some pro-keto properties. Investigate for yourself.
FRUIT JUICES
Poison! NEVER drink fruit juices! Concentrated sugar with no fiber. Superbad!
COFFEE & GREEN TEA
Good. Aid ketosis. Reduce free radicals. Etc.
BEANS
Short answer: avoid beans. I'm not talking about green beans! I'm talking about pinto, kidney, lentils, etc. tend to be pretty carb heavy. But hey if you have had zero carbs that day and want a half cup of beans with your kale and salmon, go for it!
BREAD, PASTA, RICE
Easy answer: NO, NADA, NONE!
These items used to have far fewer carbs. Modern processed grains mess up our bodies.
If you have a source of high quality old-school grains, then - watching your carb intake carefully - go ahead and have it as a treat from time to time. I recommend waiting until you have at least done keto to the point of having a consistently healthy diet and exercise routine.
Finally, in regard to breads, there are a number of great keto-friendly low-carb bread recipes out there that tend to use ingredients like almond and coconut flours, eggs, butter, and cheese.
Many scientists, health nuts, doctors, and wizards are claiming that the keto lifestyle has the following additional benefits:
The Keto lifestyle, while super old, is newly popular and has become the subject of intense study, so a lot is being learned fast!
This guy knows his stuff and puts out a lot of content:
https://www.youtube.com/user/TheTdelauer
Here's another keto expert I recommend:
https://www.youtube.com/user/KenDBerry
Please remember to search the InterWebs for "keto" and read/watch everything! Don't skip the "debunking" [lies] about keto. Jillian Michaels recently put out an anti-keto rant that - at the least - is funny to see if you know much of anything about keto.
That's all I have for now! I'm a month in and - at 50 years old - I feel like I'm 30 again with energy, attitude, clarity of thought, lack of pain, etc. I truly feel as if I found the fountain of youth and I want this for everyone!
