Author Archives: slimbirdy

sugar diet issues

Sugar Diet Sugar Fasting Issues

Have you heard of the latest fad – the Sugar Diet or Sugar Fasting?

If you have, you may not have heard the Sugar Diet issues that go along with it!

In a Ray Peat inspired Pro Metabolic Diet, we are encouraged to eat fruit for carbs and even sugar for optimal health –  so that lines up with our beliefs so far – sugar is not the problem.

If you have already been following my ZEN Beach Diet version of a pro metabolic diet, you would already have lost weight, improved your health and wouldn’t need to search for other alternatives. You can find the guidebook here.

In these two different versions of a sugar diet though, critical changes and omissions are made. This demonstrates a lack of understanding of how the body works to raise metabolism without harm, and what is required to gain and maintain health, while losing weight for the long term.

Let me explain:

A few people on YouTube are claiming the Sugar Diet, Honey Diet or Sugar Fasting is the best thing ever & helps you drop weight quickly.

There should already be a huge red flag waving with the claim of “drop weight quickly” as this is code for using a stress mechanism, which ultimately undermines your health long term.

So the basic premise of this Sugar Diet is to:

  1. Eat as much fruit, juice, sugar, candies like gummy bears & marshmallows as you like during the day.
  2. Have a 3 hour gap between say 4pm & 7pm for sugars to exit the bloodstream.
  3. Then have a protein heavy meal at night—but it is to be lean protein.
  4. Avoid most fat
  5. Eat carbohydrates only or protein/fats together only—i.e. separating macros

In Sugar Fasting you are doing extended days of step 1 & 4 and not eating any protein or fat at all.

So it’s basically:

Low fat— nothing wrong with that with reason,

High carb—nothing wrong with that either, as long as it’s the right sugar carbs supported with all the nutrients it needs to be correctly processed in the body and give the body all the nutrients it needs to operate at the higher metabolic rate.

Low to no protein—everything wrong with this.

Eating protein/fats alone—everything wrong with this.

The claim is that unlike normal fasting because you are eating carbs, you are increasing your metabolic rate along the way.

Kind of true in the short term but with massive downsides long term &  a lack of understanding how the body works for optimal health. And remember, women’s bodies are more sensitive to stress in a wrong diet, and will show signs of damage quicker than men.

Here are the Sugar Diet issues I can see & questions I have…

From the lack of protein, this diet activates STRESS hormone FGF21 which is Fibroblast Growth Factor 21

  • Any diet that relies on stress to lose weight, leads to negative health outcomes long term. Those who have experienced this through starvation diets, fasting issues, excessive cardio exercise etc and then turned to Ray Peat’s wisdom to find answers, know all too well.
  • Jay Feldman Wellness expands on FGF21—what it does and how it may not be as great as the Sugar Diet proponents believe. See his video here.

A lack of protein also impairs liver health.

  • The healthy liver you will need to process all the fructose you are eating.

Liver health is also critical for correct thyroid function.

  • As the liver is the site where thyroid hormone T4 is converted to T3.

The thyroid controls the metabolic rate of the body.

  • So skimp on protein wreck the liver, stopping thyroid hormone conversion which will ultimately slow down the metabolic rate long term.
  • This is probably why I’ve seen comments from people (mostly women) saying “I’ve been doing this sugar fast for about a week & it’s been great but now weight loss has stalled.”

A lack of protein also eventually leads to a decrease in protein synthesis in the body.

  • Affecting skin, muscles, bone, cell creation, hormones, & more. Protein is also necessary to stop FGF21 stress hormone and return the body to regular functioning.

Instruction to eat carbs away from protein & fat

  • Why? This is supposedly to ensure sugar processing is not impaired by fat or slowed down by protein.
  • However do they understand how long chain triglyceride fat is digested? It takes a long time for fat to be digested. Articles say fats can continue entering the blood stream for 14-30 hours after a meal. So even if you have eaten your fat at night say at 6pm, it is still entering your bloodstream from 8am the next morning right through the whole day and night. Right when you are eating your sugar again! So from the fat digestion point of view, this instruction doesn’t make sense.
  • This is why those who understand more about how the body works, advise to just keep fats low-moderate overall, if weight loss is necessary. This is enough to improve carb processing & insulin sensitivity.
  • MCT oils are a different story though, as these are processed in the liver and only take 1-2 hours to reach the bloodstream. We still don’t need to eat this oil away from carbs, but it is the quicker digestion I am pointing out here.

No good reason to eat Protein & Fat away from carbs

  • Eating Protein & Fat only in a meal trigger stress hormones to release glucose for energy from stores or to create it from protein or fat. The body needs energy for digestion, assimilation, elimination of the foods you are eating, but also to run the body the whole time while it is doing this.
  • No matter when you are eating each macro, the body is doing it’s own thing sourcing what it needs, when it needs it, often all at the same time. So you can’t outsmart your body. It just does it via stress hormones (if you don’t eat the quick digesting carbs at the same time.), We know too, if you activate this system for too long, negative health outcomes are the result.

More Sugar Diet issues that are likely to crop up if you do it for too long:

  • Eating large amounts of protein at night when your digestion is slowest will likely result in digestion issues & sleep issues
  • Certain nutrients are needed for sugar to be processed into energy—which you are likely not getting when you restrict your diet like this
  • Nutrient deficiencies because we are increasing metabolic rate initially & burning through all this fuel which requires higher level of nutrients not only to convert sugar to energy but also to just run the body faster – creating hair, skin, nails, muscles, running the digestion, assimilation & elimination systems, creating hormones etc

Hungry all the time

  • You will be hungry all the time, even if you eat unlimited carbs because the body is looking for protein. Short term it burns it all off, so you will keep eating to find that protein, but long term it can’t keep compensating & you will regain fat
  • There were better health outcomes doing a sugar diet/sugar fast instead of “no food at all” fasting such as insulin sensitivity, good glucose metabolism, increased lifespan, better blood pressure, better lipid profiles, improvement in mitochondrial function but it still increased fat long term & still had the negatives of low protein issues. So not at all optimal but less bad than straight out fasting. (Which you wouldn’t be doing either, if you understood how a proper pro metabolic diet works for health.)
  • If low protein is eaten along with low calories the effects were catabolism – reduction in muscle, bones, organs, hormones & fertility were reduced & metabolism declined, and basically it turned on fatty acid oxidation which is Keto.
  • Burns off extra energy by uncoupling, not by ATP production (energy)

(This means: Uncoupling primarily refers to the disruption of the normal coupling between the electron transport chain and ATP synthesis in mitochondria. This can lead to a variety of side effects, including increased respiration and temperature, as well as potential damage to cells and tissues. )

Hormone & Digestion Issues

  • Fgf21 hormone issues:
  1. induces a form of hibernation eventually- ie lowers metabolic rate for survival, slows cell growth
    2. Raises cortisol too – hammering the stress system when raising fgf21
    3. When fgf21 is high carb driven, it goes hand in hand with fat production in the liver.
  2. Reduces bile flow (see more on implications of this below.)
  • Too low in fat results in less bile flow, which creates inability to digest fats. Bile also has anti bacterial effects in the small intestine & so stops SIBO developing. Bile also helps clear out toxins in the liver. Saturated fat is anti microbial & anti fungal which helps with digestion, safe endotoxin clearance in the gut. So we need a certain level of fats in the diet for the body to function properly.

(In my ZEN Beach Diet I have found that 40g of fat a day is my optimal amount for insulin sensitivity & all of the above to function properly.)

  • Blood sugar instability
  • Sex hormone issues
  • Using stress system, so it will downgrade metabolic function long term
  • Prone to weight/fat regain long term just like other stress induced diets
  • Your teeth will suffer on this diet from two angles:
  1. A) Having to eat carbs frequently which creates the environment for bad bacteria that form cavities
  2. B) Lack of the wide range of nutrients required by the teeth for remineralisation & repair

Bottom line

While I applaud the open minded approach to sugar & the right carbs no longer considered to be the boogie man to health, the Sugar Diet/Sugar Fast is not the best vehicle to optimal health & long lasting weight loss.

Bottom line this diet is just another stress based method that will negatively impact your health and increase your likelihood of gaining the weight back long term.

Some say it’s only a short term thing until you lose the weight. But then what? Go back to your original poor diet that made you overweight?

If you understood, and were eating a proper Ray Peat inspired Pro Metabolic Diet to start with, then there is zero need to do this.

Learn how to get started on a Ray Peat Inspired Pro Metabolic Diet via my books—The ZEN Beach Diet, 3 Day Summer RESTART & One Ten Toned pro metabolic exercise program are the best 3 to get started.

And if you want to know more scientific detail about Sugar Diet issues and how it interferes with good health, then watch the three videos on this by Jay Feldman Wellness. Jay has a deep scientific understanding of optimal health from a pro metabolic angle and shows clearly how the Sugar Diet doesn’t measure up.  See his videos here.

Always learning,

 

Kristy x

red meat inflammation

Red Meat Inflammation. A Pro Metabolic way around it.

Do you believe the mainstream view that red meat causes inflammation?

Or maybe you have experienced the inflammation from red meat yourself, and now you believe it to be true and stay away from it as much as you can?

On this pro metabolic journey, I’ve found that unless you open your mind a little and as Ray Peat always said – explore the context around what is being said – then you may just very well miss out on highly nutritious food. As with so many other foods like coffee, sugar and dairy which are given a bad wrap, it’s often how you eat it, when and with what other foods that makes all the difference.

Red Meat is Nutritious

Red meat has a great number of nutrients that we need in our diet — protein, Vitamin B12, Vitamin B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, Zinc, Selenium, Iron, Magnesium, Potassium, Phosphorous etc. So eating an adequate amount in the appropriate way, is beneficial for our health.

So what is the appropriate way to avoid the inflammation?

  1. Complete amino acid profile

All muscle meat has certain amino acids which are inflammatory such as cysteine, tryptophan, and methionine which need to be balanced with the anti inflammatory amino acids such as glycine, alanine & proline.

In the old days, people would eat the entire animal and make gelatin rich stews by boiling the meat and bones for hours on end and eat everything. This would balance the amino acids out nicely. If you are in the situation where you can do this, it’s probably the best option.

Now most of us only seem to eat certain cuts of meat like steak and need to supplement the gelatin separately, to balance the amino acids.

Collagen/Gelatin Supplier

In Australia, I recommend the brand Collagen X who are well versed in Ray Peat philosophies. Their products are high quality and formulated often with accompanying nutrients required to improve assimilation in the body.

Find their products here & utilise the code: slimbirdy for a 10% discount and free freight in Australia.

  1. Phosphorous to Calcium Ratio

Ray Peat always admired dairy as the perfectly balanced food.  It has vitamins, minerals, protein, fats & carbohydrates. A complete food and the only one with approximately 1:1 calcium to phosphorous ratio. A diet too high in phosphorous is inflammatory, which is why it needs the calcium to balance it out.

In red meat however, the phosphorous amount is way higher than the calcium content, so unless we balance this with an additional calcium supplement of some kind, then we will most likely get inflammatory effects from this imbalance.

Previously I used to believe that having milk or cheese with meat would assist this balance but it doesn’t, because dairy also has phosphorous. So you would never catch up and get the 1:1 ratio you need.

Until I understood this, I used to get joint pain in my hands after eating meat. Now if I have my calcium supplement and gelatin after/with meat, there is no pain.

Some have suggested the egg shell calcium but I am too busy/lazy to bother with this and I just use the best quality supplements I can find. In Australia this is:

Thompsons Liquid Calcium—which is calcium carbonate the same as the egg shells

Herbs of Gold— Calcium K2 with D3

  1. Carbohydrate to Protein ratio

Red muscle meat is one of the most energy intensive foods to digest and assimilate, so the body needs to have that fuel on hand to assist in the process. If you are having quick converting sugar carbs at the same time as your steak, such as orange juice for example, your body is able to utilise this quickly to assist in the process and still have energy to run the rest of your body.

If you don’t eat any carbs at the same time or if you eat slow digesting carbs that are not available right now to help with this process, then the body needs to raise stress hormones to liberate fuel from glycogen stores. Constantly raising stress hormones in this manner leads to inflammation in the body.

The ratio recommended to not raise stress hormones is 2g carbs to 1g protein

  1. Meat with high Polyunsaturated fats vs Saturated fats

Followers of Ray Peat are well aware of the dangers of Polyunsaturated Fats—if you are unsure then please read this article.

When there is an excess of Omega 6 in the diet, this is the cause of inflammation.

So when it comes to selecting meat to eat, Ray suggested those higher in saturated fats as these are more protective to the body. For example: Ruminant animals—Beef & lamb. When it comes to chicken, there is only one part of the chicken that is low in any fat at all—read on to find out more about this here.

  1. Excess Meat consumption

While this point wasn’t on my original list, when doing some reading for this article, it popped up as another potential cause of inflammation with meat. This is because eating too much meat causes changes in gut bacteria and allows bad bacteria to flourish, leading to inflammation.

  1. Drinking coffee with red meat to limit iron

This point wasn’t on my original list either, it was raised in our private group and is worth a mention. Excess iron in the body is inflammatory.

Drinking coffee after a steak meal for example, will block the iron absorption by 40%.

This is good to know IF excess iron is an issue for you. However just be aware that coffee can also limit other minerals too, such as manganese, zinc, and copper and by its diuretic effect can lower magnesium and calcium as well. So utilise coffee strategically for its thyroid stimulating benefits—see how to drink coffee properly here – but don’t go too crazy drinking it with meat unless you need it as a remedy for excess iron in particular.

So in summary, we CAN eat red meat without inflammation, so long as we do the following:

  1. Gelatin supplement to balance amino acids (or cook with gelatinous cuts for meat & cook it for 3 hours or more,)
  2. Calcium supplement to balance phosphorous
  3. Carbohydrates at the same meal (2g carbs to 1g protein is recommended)
  4. Select the right meat with protective saturated fat
  5. Eat an appropriate amount in a balanced diet
  6. Drink coffee with the meal only IF excess iron is an issue.

There you go. Enjoy your meat inflammation free.

To our health!

 

Kristy

Zen Beach Diet

Easy Mayonnaise Recipe – No Egg, No Oil, No Blender!

I started looking into how to make an Easy Mayonnaise Recipe, after a few occasions when the store bought stuff made our household sick.

We rarely have it, but it’s the base for a Seafood Sauce that we like with our prawns and other seafood over Christmas and birthdays.

Looking into other Easy Mayonnaise Recipes online, they were trying to use:

Raw eggs – salmonella alert. Not interested in making us sick again.

Boiled eggs – those who tried it said it tasted terrible.

Oil – didn’t suit my lower fat diet.

Blender – whiz it too much & it would curdle, too little & it didn’t work. Then you would have to clean out the whole sticky mess!

Often too it was in a big batch, when you really only need a small amount, so you would waste a lot of it.

Then I found it – a much better Easy Mayonnaise option. Given that we pro metabolic types are not afraid of sugar any more, this version was a total possibility. I can’t remember whether I found it on the side of a can or when searching online, but it is the version made from Sweetened Condensed Milk.

The original recipe used a whole can of Sweetened Condensed Milk which is way too much for my needs, so I have divided it down to make a smaller batch which suits about 2 meals. Also the original recipe had mustard powder in it. Now mustard powder was popular about 50 years ago when they didn’t have many other mustard options, however I always have Dijon Mustard in my my fridge to have with steak! I tried it in this recipe and it works a treat.

This Easy Mayonnaise Recipe has only three ingredients and I always have these ingredients on hand at home anyway! Time to share, here is my variation:

Easy Mayonnaise Recipe
Print Recipe

Easy Mayonnaise Recipe - No Egg, No Oil, No Blender!

Easiest homemade mayonnaise recipe ever.
Prep Time1 minute
Total Time1 minute
Course: Sauces
Keyword: 3 ingredients, no egg mayonnaise, no oil mayonnaise
Servings: 2 people

Equipment

  • 1 small bowl
  • 1 spoon

Ingredients

  • 2 TBS Sweetened Condensed Milk
  • 2 TBS White Vinegar
  • 1 tsp Dijon Mustard

Instructions

  • Mix all ingredients in a small bowl with a spoon until well combined.
  • Refrigerate for a few hours to thicken up.

AND THAT’S IT!

Can you believe it’s so easy? It tastes better than the store bought one – creamy, tangy, flavourful. It may appear a little runny when first mixed, however place it in the fridge for a few hours and it thickens up.

It keeps for up to a week in the fridge in a sealed container. But honestly, it takes about 10 seconds to make, so why wouldn’t you just make a small fresh batch any time you need it?

Then even more good news, it takes only another 10 seconds and 2 more ingredients to make Seafood Sauce!

Easy Seafood Sauce

1 TBS Homemade Mayonnaise

2 TBS Fresh Cream

1 TBS Tomato Sauce

Salt/Pepper

Method

All ingredients in a small bowl and mix together with a spoon & done!

 

Easy Mayonnaise Recipe

 

I’ve made both of these about ten times now. It always works and is delicious. Best of all, no-one gets sick any more. We can enjoy our seafood and feel nothing but great afterwards.

Enjoy!

Kristy

 

Zen Beach Diet

 

teeth sensitivity

Teeth Sensitivity and a Ray Peat Inspired Diet

Are you suffering teeth sensitivity after starting a Ray Peat style diet?

In a Ray Peat Diet, that is a Pro metabolic diet inspired by Ray Peat, we eat a lot of fruit and drink a lot of fruit juice. This is because fruit was the source of carbohydrates preferred by Ray Peat for many reasons.

Sugar Carbs

Briefly, we are specifically sugar carbohydrate focused, to adequately fuel the thyroid as this gland/hormone drives the whole body’s metabolic rate. Fruit in particular is preferred because it is half glucose & half fructose, so only half of it requires insulin to be shuttled into cells, the rest being processed by the liver. And the sugar content of it also comes with fibre, water & a pile of nutrients including B vitamins, which are essential to turn the sugar into energy in the body.

So given that we are eating fruit & fruit juice at every meal, I myself suffered teeth sensitivity at the beginning of my Ray Peat Diet journey which I mention in this article.

It improved a little over time with a nutrient rich diet, but my all-day eating habits to overcome my insulin resistance, as well as tendency to linger over coffee with sugar in it for over an hour added to the acid load my poor teeth had to bear, on top of eating fruit and fruit juice as well.

It got to the point where, if I was eating any sugar at all, I would have to brace myself, as my teeth would really hurt until I rinsed it off. I knew I couldn’t continue like this. Not only was it painful but I could see the sides of my teeth where I would brush were wearing out and then small cavities were starting to form in these areas.

What my dentist said…

My dentist would only say “you have very good strong teeth” and when I questioned about the sides wearing out, he would only say, “you’re brushing too hard.” So queue soft toothbrushes and sensitive teeth toothpaste — until I knew better.

But then one day, we were talking all things teeth in my private Ray Peat group, and a very knowledgeable member mentioned the Dr Ellie protocol he had been following, which basically saved him from having to have all his teeth out!

I looked into Dr Ellie— she is a dentist of over 50 years and is a bit of a rebel just like Ray Peat was in the medical community. While her peers were pursuing more and more costly procedures with which they could patch up their patients teeth for a temporary fix but long term issues, Dr Ellie was more into preventative dentistry. Teaching people how to care for their own teeth at home, so they didn’t have to have expensive, painful, invasive procedures and suffer for years.

That’s my kind of doctor.

So I watched many of her videos on Youtube where she generously gives all her information for anyone to follow. I could immediately see where I went wrong, and was so relieved to find out I could reverse my sensitivity, stop cavities forming and continue to eat fruit, drink juice, sugar & coffee, have a fired up metabolism and still have great teeth. For me the decrease in sensitivity happened within a few days.

 

So here are the highlights:-

  • Your teeth are continually being eroded by ANY carbohydrates you eat—not just sugar or sour fruit — which turns into an acid in your mouth.
  • Luckily your teeth are continually being repaired as well, by your mineral-rich saliva.
  • One of the key points though, is to have your meal & any drinks at the one time, in a short window. Then rinse your mouth with water immediately afterwards, to bring the PH level in your mouth back to neutral, so you don’t leave your teeth bathing in acid for too long.
  • Ideally you should also chew xylitol gum for 5-10 mins after rinsing, which definitely brings the PH in your mouth to alkaline and also encourages the saliva flow in your mouth to begin the tooth repair within 5 minutes. (Without gum or a xylitol mint it takes an hour to happen naturally.)
  • Space your meals out allowing at least 3-4 hours between to allow your teeth to repair in the mineral-rich saliva. Even drinking water messes up the repair process. So drink if you are thirsty but understand the implications, and definitely DO NOT sip OJ all day. I’ve heard people say their Peaty health coach told them to sip OJ all day, but it is very BAD advice and you will damage your teeth if you continue to do it.
  • End a meal with a tooth protective food. Now if you are somewhere and you can’t rinse your mouth with water & chew xylitol gum, then the least you can do is reduce the acidity in your mouth by eating something like hard cheese, whole milk or celery or carrot stick. This will at least bring the acidity down closer to neutral than your OJ was, for example.
  • One last important point that Dr Ellie made was that a healthy microbiome in your mouth is the key to repair of teeth as well. Bad mouth bacteria can actually be easily spread to family members & loved ones and isn’t often spoken about. The xylitol protocol assists with a healthy microbiome as it starves bad bacteria of food and they end up dying.

Dr Ellie Protocol

Now Dr Ellie has a whole protocol of mouth washes & specific toothpaste to use, even a special way to brush your teeth. So if you want to go the whole way, then I recommend you watch her videos on YouTube. I have been doing all of it and highly recommend it. My teeth are no longer sensitive. They no longer hurt if I eat sugar, fruit or fruit juice. Any small cavities that were previously forming have stopped. She claims they can be reversed but I haven’t found that to be true yet. I plan to continue on with all of her suggestions though as they are a life changer and my teeth feel so much smoother, whiter and brighter and definitely not at all sensitive any more.

Also I wanted to touch on a few things that were recommended in a Ray Peat group when discussing teeth which may lead people astray:

Brushing after each meal was suggested.

  • this is bad advice because teeth are weak and soft in an acidic environment and you will wear them down & cause damage especially close to the gums. Rinsing & xylitol is far better with brushing only twice a day—after breakfast once PH is neutralised & last thing at night.

Ensuring the diet had enough calcium & other minerals as well as A, D, E, & K.

  • this was fair enough as your body DOES need the minerals to repair the teeth however, it still doesn’t mean you can sip OJ all day or leave the acids on your teeth. The rinsing and neutralising acids protocol is still essential.

Using hydroxyapatite in toothpaste

  • Dr Ellie does NOT recommend this as “minerals from NHA appear to coat the tooth surface and do not enter it to heal or build the internal enamel structure in a normal way. Instead, NHA creates a coating on the surface. “ So potentially you are blocking the normal mineral healing of teeth instead of helping it.

Oil Pulling

  • once again Dr Ellie does not recommend this as it upsets the microbiome in the mouth. Just coating teeth with oil most likely interferes with the saliva/mineral healing process.

Brushing or rinsing with baking soda

  • again Dr Ellie cautions against this both as a rinse or to use for brushing…
  • “Some Mouth Rinses Strip Teeth of Protective Proteins. Avoid rinsing with hydrogen peroxide or baking soda – especially if you have sensitive teeth, gum recession, or a groove at the gum line.”
  • “ …baking soda may damage the protein layer that protects teeth and gums from mechanical, thermal, and chemical assault. This layer is also important for attracting minerals to teeth, so its loss would cause sensitivity. “

Mineral Imbalance

  • getting enough minerals & having them in balance is important (i.e. just like too much meat instead of dairy can cause phosphate to be higher than calcium which causes other issues like joint pain etc not just teeth issues.) However, even if your minerals are perfectly balanced, you will still not achieve optimal teeth health if you’re not having adequate breaks between meals & drinks and if you are not rinsing your teeth and returning the mouth to a neutral PH as soon as possible.

Avoiding certain “sour” fruits or other foods to help your teeth

– ALL carbohydrates turn to acid in your mouth, ALL of them. Not just sour fruits, not just sugar, ALL of them—potatoes, rice, vegetables with carbs in them, bread, milk with lactose. Now we know how important carbs are for thyroid health and our health generally, so avoiding carbs because of your teeth is not the answer. The answer is to eat within a short window of time, enough space between meals, rinsing after meals with water to get the acid off the teeth as quickly as possible, xylitol gum & an appropriate brushing protocol.

Pinch of bicarb soda in the OJ to reduce acidity

  • now I used to do this too, however it only REDUCES acidity, it doesn’t return it to neutral. So all of the abovementioned protocols to assist your teeth are still necessary for optimal tooth health.
  • Also I’m wondering now if this suggestion may cause more harm than good? As Dr Ellie outlined above, bicarb soda tends to destroy the protein layer of your teeth which seems to be harming rather than helping?
  • Just the tiny pinch may be ok as when Dr Ellie mentioned a bicarb soda rinse, I think people are putting like 1 tsp of bicarb soda in a glass of water. However for me personally, I think I will stop even the pinch as I trust Dr Ellie as my teeth have never felt better.

Now a couple of final points I wanted to make:

Xylitol

This is a sugar substitute that has no caloric value, it’s suggestion for use is ONLY for its PH balancing effects on the teeth and it’s unique abilities to neutralise bad bacteria in the mouth. There have been many studies done demonstrating its beneficial effects for the teeth. No other artificial sugar does this. The best way to have it is in gum that has no other artificial sugar or glycerine in it. Dr Ellie recommends her Zellies range and here in Australia the best one is Epic gum – you can find it online or in health food stores.

Xylitol should NOT be used in cooking or in place of sugar. Consuming it this way has no beneficial effects on the teeth and in fact is likely to cause gut issues.

Fluoride 

In Dr Ellie’s protocol, the products that she recommends have fluoride. Once again there are countless studies demonstrating the benefits of fluoride on teeth directly applied in this way in toothpaste or in a mouthwash that you spit out. Fluoride in drinking water is another matter, and Dr Ellie has been protesting in her state of Texas to have it removed from the water as it  is less beneficial this way and can have negative consequences.

I hope this has helped you find some answers for your teeth. Starting a pro metabolic diet and feeling your teeth deteriorate is scary, and has made people question the whole pro metabolic approach. Since Dr Ellie and this approach was recommended to me, my teeth sensitivity has disappeared. My teeth feel smoother and stronger, and look whiter and brighter. I plan to continue Dr Ellie’s protocol for life.

Always learning,

Kristy

Zen Beach Diet

migrating motor complex

Migrating Motor Complex & a Pro Metabolic Diet

Interesting side effect of meal spacing! Have you heard of the Migrating Motor Complex?

In our private FB group a while ago, I mentioned teeth & the Dr Ellie mouthcare system. I have been implementing a few things from her regime and made a surprise discovery.

One of the actions to help your teeth heal themselves is to NOT eat & drink all day but to limit your intake of food or liquid, including water to only certain blocks of time. End your meal with a tooth protective food like milk, cheese, celery then rinse with water & ideally chew Xylitol gum for 10 minutes. Spit it out & then not eat anything else for at least 1-3 hours.

This then helps your teeth threefold: –

a) Limits the time your mouth is acidic & eroding your teeth

b) Xylitol brings your mouth immediately back to neutral PH within 5 minutes (to do this naturally takes your body about an hour.)

c) Gives time for your mineral rich saliva to heal & repair teeth

 

So, I’ve been doing this timing:

 

7:30am – 1 cup juice, ½ cup lemon coffee, 1 cup milk

10:30am – second Breakfast

1:30pm – Lunch

5:30pm – Dinner

 

During the second breakfast & lunch, I have my juice & coffee, all at the same time. With Dinner is only the juice. Rinse the teeth, xylitol gum. Then stop.

The side effect of all of this – besides teeth being less sensitive already in a short time of doing this – is vastly improved elimination. Like needing to go first thing in the morning – which never used to happen.

Normally my body is slow to start in the mornings. But not now. After the first juice, I have to go –  and sorry about TMI – but the elimination is full and complete, no straining.

Is it the xylitol?

(A few days I forgot to take the xylitol gum with me, but the effects were the same from the meal spacing)

Is it better digestion?

(because energy is not continually being directed to intake of food/drink?)

Or liquids continually washing away digestive juices?

I’m not sure.

Then I came across something called the Migrating Motor Complex. This is a series of muscle contractions which happen when we are not eating. Its function is to move particles & debris through the gut like a cleaning mechanism. The whole process can take 2-4 hours but if we eat again, it stops the process. Which means everything gets backed up. The villi in our gut are clogged up & can’t absorb nutrients properly. And the complete elimination cycle gets stalled as well.

When we sleep overnight, the body has a chance to complete this process at least once in the 24-hour cycle but obviously my body needed to do it more often. When I’ve spaced meals properly at least a second time in the day, the elimination is improved. Ideally, I try to keep the meal timing to the example above, so it happens a few times in the day, but sometimes circumstances don’t allow it.

This is why sometimes people claim that fasting is beneficial. However, most of us know of the stress inducing, thyroid destroying effects of prolonged fasting. Even skipping breakfast & not eating until late in the afternoon will have negative effects. However, we don’t need to be so extreme to attain the benefits. It’s just in the correct spacing of meals.

Transitioning from Keto, Low Carb or Carnivore

Now while I plan to continue to do this for the health of my teeth as well as gut, I just wanted to mention those who are in the early stages of transitioning from a Keto, Low Carb or Carnivore Diet.

When you first start pro metabolic, those who have impaired their carbohydrate processing system will not initially be able to space their meals out like this. Your body will not be able to utilise carbohydrates as fuel initially, and the body will think its starving. At the beginning I always felt like I would nearly pass out if I didn’t have something to eat every 2 hours. I give an example of my eating day when I first started here.

So, your Migrating Motor Complex and meal spacing may have to take a back seat to getting your carbohydrate processing system to work first. The quickest way to do this, is to eat moderate protein, high carbs and low fat and force your body to adapt back again. Once you can drink OJ alone and feel energised instead of dizzy, then you will know you are well on the way to healing.

I’m amazed in all my health reading I’ve never come across this before. Thanks, Dr Ellie, for the accidental discovery via your excellent teeth care system.

Kristy x

protein powder recipes

Protein Powder Recipes with 40UP Collagen Protein Powder

Since reviewing the new pro metabolic friendly protein powder 40UP – Collagen Protein Powder by Collagen X a few months ago – see review here. I’ve been super keen to test this new product out in all my past protein powder recipes.

I’ve finally had a chance to find them all, test a few out and can confirm – this new protein powder works in all my past protein powder recipes!

I have always found that protein powder worked really well as a flour substitute which is great if we are craving a type of baked good but want to avoid starch. But up until now, the existing protein powders on the market would cause more harm than good in our Ray Peat Inspired Pro Metabolic Diet. 

 40UP – Collagen Protein Powder by Collagen X is different to anything else available because it’s a combination of whey protein and Peptan Collagen along with a number of other nutrients that make it more easily assimilated. There is way more information on why its beneficial on my original article here. 

Protein Powder Recipes

On to my many protein powder recipes for delicious high protein snacks:

Raw Protein Cookies

Coconut Protein Chews

High Protein Snack

Protein Chocolate

Coco Loco Protein Shake

Protein Bar

Peanut Butter Protein Balls

Brownie Recipe

 

Macadamia Slice

White Chocolate Coconut Slice

Chocolate Brownies with Sweet Potato

Chocolate Cheesecake Fudge

Peanut Slab Bar

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cheesecake

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cups

Peanut Butter Chocolate Slice

 

Peanut Butter

Yes, I was a bit obsessed with peanut butter in the past but in these protein powder recipes, I now use Peanut Butter Powder which has nearly all of the PUFA oils removed. Mix the powder with a little coconut oil and ta da – a much better pro metabolic “peanut butter” tasting option. If you want to avoid peanuts altogether, then macadamia nut butter is the best substitute in our pro metabolic diet.

Enjoy!

If you are purchasing the new 40UP – Collagen Protein Powder by Collagen X, remember the 10% discount code – SLIMBIRDY – when ordering.

Happy cooking,

 

Kristy x

Join our private Facebook group for more discussion on all things pro metabolic & specifically weight loss related – Slim Birdy – ZEN Beach Diet – Eating Peaty Group | Facebook

Best Protein Powder

Best Protein Powder – Ray Peat Inspired

Have I found the best protein powder that fits Ray Peat and pro metabolic principles?

I think I have! It’s called 40Up by Collagen X.

The guys at Collagen X are amazing. Their understanding of pro metabolic principles and Ray Peat’s work factors into their product formulations. When I hit them with my concerns, they had already thought of it, countered it in their formulation and had studies to show the benefits. Their level of attention to detail on this was super impressive.

Real food vs processed food

Before we get into why I think it’s the best, I just wanted to say that overall, I favour real foods over more processed foods. However, there are instances where people don’t have access to grassfed or uncontaminated sources of protein. So, sourcing the next best option may be a necessity – to supplement at least part of your diet.

In the case of THIS particular protein powder though, you are getting SO MUCH MORE than just a single ingredient isolated protein.

Ray Peat’s concerns on protein powder

Here are a couple of quotes from Ray that shows his stance on protein powder:

“Whey, which is sold as a protein supplement, and egg whites contain too much tryptophan and can be antithyroid if used excessively.” -Ray Peat, PhD

“For example, whey protein contains much more tryptophan than whole milk or cheese does and would tend to suppress the thyroid and activate the whole serotonin-stress system. Whey might be good for fattening pigs, but its acceptance in the health food industry as a powdered protein supplement is just another example of the harmful effects of serotonin mythology.”-Ray Peat, PhD

Whey protein can be:

  • Insulinogenic – i.e. stimulates production of insulin
  • High in anti – metabolic amino acids
  • Stimulating to the immune system – meaning irritates it
  • Allergenic – Drying amino acids may make them allergenic

Keeping the above issues in mind and Ray teaching us to consider everything in context, the Collagen X crew has formulated this product to overcome these downsides. They’ve made the best protein powder that is truly beneficial for the body.

40Up Protein Powder

When I received it, I couldn’t believe how massive the bag was!

Here is a summary of how 40Up protein powder is different:

Combination of whey protein AND Peptan Hydrolysed Collagen in one product

  • Helps to balance the amino acids

Sourced particular whey that is (naturally) the lowest in Tryptophan, Cystine and Methionine.

  • Important because tryptophan contributes to serotonin production
  • Cysteine & methionine can raise inflammation & mitochondrial disfunction

High Branch Chain Amino Acid content (BCAA)

  • High proportion of leucine, isoleucine & valine
  • These BCAAs can block tryptophan absorption in the gut, reducing serotonin production even further.

Supports lowering Estrogen & Prolactin

  • Fortified with Zinc & Vitamin B3 both shown to lower these hormones

Added Magnesium

  • Enhances estrogen excretion
  • Plus, additional anabolic effects – i.e. growth of muscles, bones etc

Added Glycine – a massive 4.8g per serve

  • Ray Peat – “A generous supply of glycine, against a balanced background of amino acids, has a great variety of anti-stress actions. Glycine is recognized as an “inhibitory” neurotransmitter and promotes natural sleep. Used as a supplement, it has helped to promote recovery from strokes and seizures, and to improve learning and memory. In every type of cell, it apparently has the same kind of quieting, protective anti-stress action. The range of injuries produced by an excess of tryptophan and serotonin seems to be prevented or corrected by a generous supply of glycine. Fibrosis, free radical damage, inflammation, cell death from ATP depletion or calcium overload, mitochondrial damage, diabetes, etc., can be prevented or alleviated by glycine.”

Contains Prebiotic (oligofructose)

  • for gut integrity
  • reduced endotoxin levels

Added Creatine – 3g per serve

  • Participates in cellular energy production
  • Reduces tryptophan
  • Reduces oxidative DNA damage
  • Assists in creation of lean muscle mass

Vitamin C via the Natural Acerola Cherry Extract

  • Vitamin C is essential to assist gelatin to create new collagen in the body

Contains Calcium

  • Calcium to phosphate ratio determines whether tryptophan will be converted to excess serotonin, or Niacin.

No Additives or Unwanted Ingredients

40up is free from harmful additives, artificial sweeteners, and fillers, GMO, phosphates, gums, etc that are often found in other protein powders. Unnecessary additives and ingredients that can disrupt the gut and hormonal balance have been avoided.

WOW! – the Best Protein Powder I’ve ever seen

As you can see this is not your ordinary cheap single source protein powder. It is a carefully sourced and crafted balance of the anti-inflammatory amino acids with supporting nutrients to make it a pro-metabolic, muscle building, supplemental powerhouse.

The Company

Collagen X is an Australian company, and they do ship internationally as well.

40Up can be found here:

40UP Collagen & Whey Protein Powder – Vanilla Flavoured | CollagenX

Discount Code

Remember to use code: SLIMBIRDY for a 10% discount.

How exciting!

I’m off to dust off my past protein powder recipes like Chocolate Brownies and see if this works in it too. I’ll report back soon!

Cheers

 

Kristy x

 

For more in-depth information see:

https://collagenx.com.au/pages/why-40up

https://collagenx.com.au/blogs/pure-collagen/why-its-hard-to-gain-muscle-and-lose-fat-after-40

Eggbaconpie

Bacon and Egg Pie Recipe

This Bacon and Egg Pie recipe was just another variation on a similar breakfast type casserole I featured in my 3 Day Summer Diet RESTART book.

Every time I make one, it seems to be slightly different. However, this Bacon and Egg Pie is super yum, so it’s worth a recipe post of its own.

Eggbaconpie
Print Recipe

Egg and Bacon Pie

High Protein Breakfast Casserole
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time45 minutes
Total Time1 hour
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: Pro Metabolic
Keyword: breakfast, Easy to make, high protein
Servings: 6

Equipment

  • 1 square baking dish
  • 1 non stick baking paper
  • 1 bowl
  • 1 fork
  • 1 sharp knife
  • 1 chopping board

Ingredients

  • 10 large eggs
  • 5 rashers short cut bacon (no fat)
  • 1/2 red capsicum
  • 5 medium mushrooms
  • 4 slices cheddar cheese
  • salt/pepper
  • 2 TBS potato starch
  • 1 sheet frozen puff pastry optional

Instructions

  • Peel & finely slice mushrooms.
  • Wash capsicum & dice into small cubes
  • Dice bacon into fine cubes
  • Slice up cheese into smaller pieces.
  • Crack 3 of the eggs into a bowl & whisk with a fork
  • Sprinkle the potato starch over these eggs & whisk with a fork to blend & remove lumps.
  • Add the rest of the eggs & whisk with a fork to combine.
  • Lay the non-stick paper over the square baking dish
  • If using puff pastry, pull it out of the freezer & lay on top of the non-stick paper
  • Preheat oven to 180 degrees C (360F)
  • As the puff pastry defrosts, slowly push it into the baking tray, so that it is even on all sides. Slice off any edges that are sticking up as these will just burn in cooking. I usually just put these on top of the dish & it bakes nicely.
  • Put the puff pastry in the oven for 10 minutes to cook by itself. It puffs up a bit, but will be held down by the ingredients eventually.
  • After 10 minutes, pull it out of the oven, pour the egg mixture inside the puff base, then add the mushrooms, capsicum and cheese. Just push these down into the egg mixture with a fork and distribute evenly.
  • Last of all, sprinkle the bacon over the top & do not push these into the egg mixture. This ensures the bacon cooks and gets a little crispy. Add the little cut triangles of puff pastry on top.
  • Bake for 45 minutes.
  • Once done, it should be slightly risen and browned on top. Allow about 10 minutes to cool a little before slicing.
  • I store in a large glass airtight container in the fridge & eat it for the week as my work lunch, heating it up in the microwave.

Egg and Bacon Pie Notes…

I can already hear people shouting – “but puff pastry isn’t Peaty or pro metabolic!”

All true due to the wheat flour content, so leave it out. The recipe is still super yum without it. It just becomes a crustless slice.

I choose to eat it occasionally as I have been on this pro metabolic journey for over 5 years now, I’m at my desired weight, my Lemon Coffee protocol has improved my digestion, so I can now eat a few things I wouldn’t have in the past and still feel great.

This is an important concept to understand about different types of food. There are certain things we should be eating more often to ensure our body gets the nutrients and fuel it needs, to operate at optimal levels for great health and thyroid function. However, it’s important to know the upside and downside of all food, so you can make informed decisions about what and how much of it, you are choosing.

So, choose wisely to suit your body and enjoy your food. Stressing over anything, especially food is not the lifestyle for optimal health.

Happy cooking,

Kristy x

losingweightprometabolic

Losing Weight with a Pro Metabolic Diet

Recently in our private FB group, I asked the question:

“What are people struggling with most when it comes to a pro metabolic diet? “

The largest item at 42% was Losing Weight. 

I asked the same question on my IG stories and 85% was Losing Weight.

So, it’s time to create this:

Summary on Losing Weight with a Pro metabolic Diet

First of all, here is a summary of all articles I have written on Losing Weight with a Pro metabolic Diet before. Read through them slowly, as you may pick up new things that you didn’t notice previously. Sometimes people are just not ready to take in or act upon information at certain times:

At first I was losing weight, now it’s coming back!

Best diet for weight loss

Best way to lose weight long term

Body temperature affects weight loss

Dieting Weight Loss Health

Best exercise for weight loss

Discussion on exercise for weight loss

Discussion on fasting

Five weight loss mistakes

Free 7 Day email course – How to eat for Weight Loss

High cortisol causes belly fat

Why losing weight fast is bad advice

Metabolic rate and burning calories

Polyunsaturated fats and weight gain

Beginners Guide to a fast metabolism

Eleven factors for weight loss

What I eat in a day from 2019

What I eat in a day updated in 2021

Meal plan to get you started

 

Main points to understand about Losing Weight with a Pro Metabolic Diet

  • Losing weight the healthy way takes time

Sometimes 2-5 years may be required until you get to your goal. It takes patience, and to understand what you are doing. But the good part is, you won’t have to lose weight ever again!

  • Unless you are severely underweight though, you DON’T need to gain weight when starting a pro metabolic diet

If anything, you should just be able to stabilise where you are while you are learning about your calories, macros and food types to improve your metabolic rate.

  • At the beginning, large amounts of calories are NOT required to heal

This false information of needing lots of calories (like 2,400 to 2,800 calories for women) has created a lot of issues for many people and is downright dangerous to promote. There have been stories of people having dangerously high blood sugar, high cholesterol and triglycerides to heart attack levels, onset of diabetes/ prediabetes and large amounts of weight gain like 60 pounds (30kg) when trying to follow this advice. This would be accumulating fat around your organs too, making it more difficult for them to work properly. So DON’T do this.

  • Starting calories

In my books the ZEN Beach Diet, the 3 Day Summer RESTART & the Lemon Coffee + Pro Metabolic Diet Weight Loss Dynamite books, we start at the minimum level of calories recommended for a healthy adult woman. This is 1,800 calories. For those who have been trying to ‘diet’ on 1,000 to 1,200 calories, it is advised to increase to this amount slowly, to get your body used to it to avoid weight gain. Like over a few months.

  • Calories after 12 months or so

Depending how your body responds, there may be opportunity to increase calories beyond this and continue to lose weight, depending on how your metabolic rate is progressing. There are so many other factors involved in this too like your age, your lifestyle, your health, the stress in your life, exactly what you are eating etc. For some, their optimal long term calorie level may be the same, or it may be less, or it may be more. It is so individual, and NO-ONE can tell you what that is. It’s up to you to test and measure and experiment as you go. 

  • Your health

The state of your health plays a big part in your ability to lose weight. Ray Peat often said that most issues will resolve themselves once a person increases their metabolism. So, all diseases he believed stemmed from this one problem. The way to increase your metabolism is all detailed in my ZEN Beach Diet book. So it’s highly recommended that you grab a copy. If you already have it, read it again to ensure you are doing everything outlined.

The additional liver function benefits and other benefits in the Lemon Coffee program actually assisted me to obtain the healthy liver I didn’t even know I needed and the result was a loss of another 5kg (10lbs.)

Bottom line is we approach losing weight with our health in mind first. We don’t go hungry, but we don’t over stuff ourselves either. It is really a balancing act of knowledge and consistency, that will get you there in the end.

High Calorie Bullies

I had a person recently in our private group argue adamantly that my approach to a pro metabolic diet was too low in calories and stressful for the body. She claimed that no-one could possibly increase their metabolism on 1,800 calories and they shouldn’t stay at that level long term. Fortunately, she removed herself from the group as the last thing we need is high calorie bullies!

Funnily enough most of what she was saying was in line with my philosophies however she hadn’t read my books and had no idea what my philosophies actually were. However, she was wrong on two counts. Some people CAN increase their metabolic rate on 1,800 calories – I did! And I’m 5ft 10 inches tall. Others in our private group have as well. And at NO POINT did I say that everyone MUST stay at 1,800 calories for the long term. So it seems she was just making up her own stories and arguing against herself! Can’t please everyone.

Anyway, the point is, don’t let any high calorie bullies get into your head, as it is not the best way forward for most people.

We take a slow and steady approach and make tweaks in our own lives to suit our own bodies best.

See you in the groups!

Cheers

 

Kristy

Lemon Coffee

 

chocolate mousse high protein

Chocolate Mousse – High Protein Low Fat

This recipe for Chocolate Mousse High Protein is so easy to make and eat for breakfast!

One of the issues I commonly see is people drinking coffee first thing in the morning without food. Coffee is great and thyroid healthy ONLY when we drink it properly and that is WITH food. Or at least before or after food. The food part must happen close to the coffee drinking to supply the necessary carbohydrates to support the increase in metabolic rate caused by the coffee. Otherwise, we cause stress to the body, raising cortisol. This is why some people get the jitters and feel terrible. Read more about Coffee Drinking here.

Often, we don’t have time to stop and make something to eat, so this is why pre-prepared, easy-to-grab little bits of nourishing food is so important.

This Chocolate Mousse High Protein recipe is high in the RIGHT protein, low in fat, features enough carbohydrates to support the coffee drinking AND has fruit as well. And to make it even more perfect, it tastes AMAZING too!

Let’s get cooking!

chocolate mousse high protein
Print Recipe

Chocolate Mousse High Protein

Chocolate High Protein Snack
Prep Time10 minutes
Course: Snack
Cuisine: Healthy
Keyword: 5 ingredients
Servings: 8

Equipment

  • 1 Large Bowl
  • 1 Mixing Spoon

Ingredients

  • 1 500g Cottage Cheese 17.64oz
  • 1 410g Sweetened Condensed Milk - 1 can 14.46oz
  • 1/4 cup Cocoa Powder
  • 1/2 cup Peanut Butter Powder
  • 1 670g Jar of sour cherries 23.63oz

Instructions

  • Drain the liquid from the cherries and set the liquid & cherries aside separately.
  • Add all ingredients into a bowl except the cherries & mix with a spoon until well combined.
  • Add the cherries & stir through.
  • From here I portion out the mix into 4 x 1 cup sized plastic containers and store in the freezer until needed.
  • Place one container in the fridge to thaw out, if you are planning to eat it the next day.

Notes:

  • You may eat this recipe as ice cream too!
  • If you are planning to eat it every day, you can store it in the fridge for about 7 days. I just prefer the freezer as it keeps longer, and I’m not forced to have it before it goes off. 
  • My cottage cheese is the smooth type that doesn’t have curds – it’s more like a Skyr or European cottage cheese. I can just mix it with a spoon and it’s smooth and fluffy. If your cottage cheese is different, you may need to use a food processor or stick blender to get it smooth.
  • The sour cherries go perfectly with all the sweet, however it still tastes amazing without them too. Add any fruit you have that you think would work with chocolate!
  • The peanut butter powder is optional but makes it taste awesome. As nearly all the PUFA fats are removed, it’s an ok food to have once in a while.

Calories/Macros

Whole recipe

1989 Calories

114 g Protein

322g Carbs

28g Fat

Per half cup serve

249 Calories

14.25g Protein

40g Carbs

3.5g Fat

I find myself making this recipe at least once every 2 weeks to stock up the freezer. It just takes a few minutes and is the perfect quick breakfast option, with all the necessary macros to go with coffee. I love pro metabolic food!

Happy cooking!

 

PS: If you love this recipe, there are more of them in my Sweet Treats Pro Metabolic Desserts recipe book. Click the image below to find out more…

sweet treats book