In today’s episode I’m sharing the CliffNotes & takeaway of a white paper written by Dr. Philip Maffetone about the three stages of carbohydrate intolerance. To download the free whitepaper for yourself, click here.
Carbohydrate intolerance not only encourages weight gain, it impairs fat loss, damages the metabolism and triggers the development of illness and disease.
Most importantly, after we assess the three stages of carbohydrate intolerance, we’ll talk about what you can do about it.
Carbohydrate intolerance not only impairs fat loss and reduces energy – it also predisposes you to illness and chronic disease.
Dr. Philip Maffetone outlines how carbohydrate intolerance develops in the below model and then goes on to describe three stages of carbohydrate intolerance.
Dr. Philip Maffetone’s Model of Carbohydrate Intolerance
The three stages of carbohydrate intolerance can initiate in utero, in infancy, childhood, adolescence or adulthood and get worse until we choose to make dietary and lifestyle changes to improve carbohydrate tolerance.
Stages 1, 2 and 3 are detailed in the podcast so listen to the full episode to get all the details & the recommendations for making positive changes!
I get a lot of questions about nuts. Everything from, “Are nuts healthy?” to “How can I stop overeating nuts?”
Let’s tackle these questions and everything in between!
There is no black & white answer on the nut issue. In today’s episode, as we explore the question, “Are nuts healthy?”, I want to show you how to find the right answer for you & adjust your strategy based on your needs, not on universal all-or-nothing statements about nuts.
I will show the types of things you need to consider such as:
What is your goal?
How often are you consuming nuts and in what quantity?
What type of nuts are you consuming?
Is inflammation a problem for you?
Is nutrient deficiency a problem for you?
How many omega-3 fatty acids do you consume on a regular basis?
What other regular sources of omega-6 fatty acids do you consume?
Are nuts a trigger for you or are you able to moderate your consumption?
Don’t miss the whole episode for the facts about nuts and their impact on your health & fat loss.
In today’s episode we look at the pros and cons of nut consumption as well as the differences between different types of nuts in nutrient profile, omega 6 fatty acids and anti-nutrients like phytates & lectins.
Calorie & Macro Breakdown of Nuts
Nuts are a significant source of phytic acid which binds to minerals and can reduce or prevent their absorption. The amount of phytic acid varies significant based on the type of nut. One of the strategies to reduce the impact of phytic acid on nutrient absorption is to not consume nuts along with mineral-rich foods like vegetables. You can also soak the nuts to neutralize many of these anti-nutrients.
Mg of Phytic Acid per 100 grams
Cashews: 1866
Hazelnuts: 1620
Almonds: 1280
Walnuts: 760
Chestnuts: 47
Nuts are a rich source of dietary fat & much of that fat is in the form of omega-6 fatty acids. When we consume more omega-6 fatty acids than omega-3 fatty acids, it initiates inflammation in the body. Each type of nut contains a different amount of these omega-6 fatty acids and we also need to consider our consumption of omega-6s from other sources as well as our overall consumption of anti-inflammatory omega 3s and whether or not inflammation is a challenge for us.
Let’s get on the same page: fat loss is about hormones. We dramatically influence our hormones with the foods we eat.
Food is information. Everything you eat communicates a message to your hormones. Your hormones message you back. There is a constant dialogue happening in your body & I want to help you direct the conversation.
See, it is your hormones that signal whether or not FAT LOSS is allowed. Only under certain hormonal conditions will your body allow fat burning.
We can create those hormonal conditions with our food choices. We can prevent those hormonal conditions with our food choices.
If you want a free, detailed overview of the relationship between insulin & fat loss and specific, actionable strategies for naturally controlling insulin, you can download them for free by clicking below. This is a 5 page excerpt from my ebook on how to balance hormones for fat loss and I am certain you’ll find some strategies you can put to work for you!
In today’s post, I want to hit the highlights & talk about 2 of the most important hormones for fat loss, what they do & how we can manage them via our food & lifestyle choices.
INSULIN
Insulin is a critical fuel delivery hormone. Insulin is appropriately referred to as the “master fat loss hormone” and is dramatically influenced by our food choices.
Let’s take a look at what insulin does, how it works & how it impacts fat loss.
Think of insulin as an usher. It responds to fuel (nutrients) in the blood stream & ushers them to the cells to be used as fuel or stored. Without insulin, your cells would starve.
The presence of elevated insulin levels tells the body, “There’s plenty of fuel. I’m finding a place for it to go. Don’t add more fuel into the pipeline.”
Insulin’s message of “there’s plenty of fuel” temporarily prevents fat burning.
Think about it – when there is fuel in the blood & insulin is busy finding a place for it to go, why would the body break down body fat? It won’t!
Body fat is burned in response to a lack of fuel in the blood. Body fat is burned to give the body needed energy. The presence of insulin prevents fat burning because extra fuel is not needed.
Fuel storage and fuel breakdown are opposites. They don’t happen at the same time, just like you can’t throw a ball up and down simultaneously.
Insulin puts the body in fuel storage mode. Fat burning is a fuel breakdown mode. They cannot and will not happen at the same time.
That does not make insulin the enemy. Again, without insulin, your cells starve.
However, many people spike their insulin levels every time they eat. They will keep you out of fat burning mode.
We need to manage insulin via our food choices. The macronutrient that drives insulin most is carbohydrate. This is why the right carbohydrate strategy is essential for fat loss. That’s not suggesting we need to eliminate carbohydrates – I do not believe that at all. We do, however, need to focus on:
Eating fat, protein & fiber from non starchy vegetables with meals and snacks.
For more detailed information on how insulin works & how you can avoid having it impair your fat burning, download the free insulin overview & guide. Implementing these strategies will help you increase your energy, accelerate your fat loss & decrease cravings.
CORTISOL
Cortisol is another critical hormone when it comes to how we can balance hormones for fat loss. Cortisol is one of many stress hormones & works very closely with insulin.
One of the primary reasons that cortisol impacts insulin is due to the type of hormone it is – it belongs to a class of hormone known as glucocorticoids.
What word do you see in there? “Gluco” refers to cortisol’s ability to increase blood sugar independent of what you eat!
Yup, when cortisol is elevated, it can break down proteins in your body to form glucose, elevating blood sugar (even if you aren’t eating carbs!)
This is actually part of your body’s natural survival mechanisms but our diet & lifestyle may cause it to work against us.
See, in times of physical stress or danger, your body wants to make sure extra glucose gets to your muscles so you can escape danger.
Unfortunately, many of us live in perpetual states of physical and/or emotional stress and therefore our cortisol levels are on overdrive, increasing our blood sugar & elevating insulin (keeping us out of fat burning mode.)
To help control cortisol & prevent it from impairing your fat burning potential, consider the following:
Practice relaxation and/or meditation
Limit “chronic cardio” styles of exercise like distance running
Do not eat within a couple hours of bedtime
Get plenty of sleep
Avoid sugar & processed foods
There are many hormones involved in the fat burning process but you don’t need to know & do everything. You only need to know & do the highest impact things. This free insulin overview & guide will tell you everything you need to know & do without overwhelming you will all you don’t!
Today we’re talking about some of the best vegetables for weight loss & how they make fat loss easier!
We start off by exploring how you can determine which vegetables are the most (or least) fat loss friendly and then we take a closer look at cruciferous & allium vegetables and the ways they support fat loss.
Allium vegetables & cruciferous vegetables support insulin, metabolism, detoxification & much more. They are certainly some of the very best vegetables for weight loss.
Allium & cruciferous vegetables contain sulfur. In this episode we talk about the incredible benefits of sulfur including:
Insulin production
Detoxification
Cell health
Metabolism
Allium vegetables are also great sources of chromium which supports blood sugar balance & insulin sensitivity.
We also talk about the importance of including some raw cruciferous vegetables in your diet & explain why there are additional benefits to raw consumption.
The other day on Instagram I shared a picture of my first attempt at paleo cauliflower soup. I had skimmed a few recipes online but they had too many steps. I’m a simple girl. I want to eat delicious food but I don’t want to spend an hour in the kitchen and be left with a sink full of dishes.
Fast, delicious, simple and fat loss friendly, please. Is that too much to ask? Nah. I don’t think so.
Anyways, I recently stocked up on cauliflower rice from Trader Joe’s and I wanted to make some soup. I’m not much of a soup person (I guess I always thought it wouldn’t fill me up – this totally does!) but I was feeling a touch of the blues and decided on creamy, warm, fat loss friendly soup.
(Now, if you’re about to pout about not having Trader Joe’s cauliflower rice, there’s no need. The two ingredients are cauliflower and salt, so if you’ve got those, you’re in luck. You can chop up your raw cauliflower and put it in the blender, you can roast it and then blend it or you can buy frozen cauliflower, let it thaw a little & toss that in the blender. Any will do!)
I’ve made 2 super fast paleo cauliflower soups so far and if I whip up new ones, I’ll add them here.
Curried Cauliflower Soup
1 bag Trader Joe’s cauliflower rice (see note above if you don’t have this)
1 clove garlic (you can cook this first if you don’t like the sharpness of raw garlic)
1 slice cooked bacon (don’t put this in the blender)
1 sprig rosemary (don’t put this in the blender)
Add the cauliflower, butter, oil, bone broth and garlic to the blender and blend until smooth then transfer to a pot. Add the crumbled bacon slice & sprig of rosemary. Let simmer on low for approximately 30 minutes.
Another idea that I’ve done in puree form but not soup form would be to add either carrots, parsnips or sweet potato. All 3 of those are wonderful when paired with cauliflower.
If you haven’t already, definitely download my totally free 100 fat loss meal ideas! I’ve put together a list of delicious, simple fat loss friendly meals and recipes. No strings! I hope you’ll check them out!
