Ok, so I’ve mentioned a few times now that I am moving away from a keto diet.

The reason is that it stopped working for me. The weight started to pile back on and I developed serious health issues. (Read more about these here.)

Oh no!

Well not pile on – I exaggerate – it’s more like sneaking back when you don’t notice. Then bam(!) when you do notice, you weigh 6kgs (12lbs) more than before.

So for the last 6 months or so, I have been reading the why, how and what you can do about it – and you know me, I want it fuss free, and easy to implement or forget it.

The problem with the keto diet over the long-term apparently, is that using protein and fats for fuel is a survival mechanism. Your body can do it when it needs to survive, but it’s really stressful. And continuing to do it for years well… your body may slowly start to pack up – hormones stop working, your metabolism slows down, your body temperature plummets, your hair falls out and your body starts putting on weight no matter how low in carbohydrates you go.

So the keto diet works at the beginning – and you think all your prayers have been answered – but why has no-one in the keto world ever mentioned that it may not be the best for your health long term? Perhaps they don’t know?

I certainly didn’t.

Anyway, I could go on and on, as you know, but here is a bullet point summary of food to eat for a long-term healthy body, that’s actually nourishing and easy to digest. It supports hormone health and bodily functions at optimal levels.

IN

White fish/seafood

WHY? Easy to digest protein, full of minerals. (Excludes oily fish like salmon because while it does have Omega 3, this is still a PUFA – see post on why poly unsaturated fats may not be your best friend here.)

Gelatin

WHY? Anti inflammatory, balances out the amino acids from muscle meats. Benefits a mile long, soothing for the stomach and gut, aids digestion and all round super food. (Here is the gelatin I use.)

Bone broth

Why? All benefits as in gelatin above and an even a better source of all these benefits if organic, grass fed and freshly made.

Natural Sugars – fresh fruit, raw honey

Why? In the right balance for the body and taken the right way with other food and adequate minerals, sugars are healing, restorative and easy to digest. They are fuel for the brain, assist in T4 to T3 conversion for correct thyroid function, they increase metabolic rate and easily replenish glycogen stores in the liver and muscles.

Saturated Fats – Coconut Oil, Butter, Ghee

Why? Anti inflammatory, assist with cellular respiration instead of blocking it like PUFAs do,

Pastured Eggs

WHY? Nutritional powerhouse however chickens fed grain translate to high PUFA eggs, this is why pastured eggs are so important.

Grass fed dairy

WHY? Easy to digest source of protein, fats, carbs and minerals. (Now while I eat a bit of cheese, I still haven’t gone full-blown back to dairy. It’s true a person’s intolerance to dairy is probably more about their body not functioning correctly, but having a lot of it doesn’t work for me and I prefer coconut milk, which is also fine.) 2022 Update: I don’t have coconut milk any more as it’s too high in fat and do have dairy but here is an explanation of the amount I have and why.

Fruit vegetables – squash, zucchini, tomato, cucumbers etc

Why? Low in starch, cellulose and low PUFA content. Less anti nutrients present.

Root vegetables – carrots, beets, potatoes

WHY? Raw carrot is especially good for cleansing the intestines and removing excess estrogen from the body. The others are preferred because they have the least anti-nutrients present but must be well cooked and eaten with a fat. (Further explanation about anti nutrients in veges in next post about what’s OUT.)

Coffee/Caffeine/Macha

WHY? Turns out if you are having coffee correctly – with meals or with sufficient real honey/sugar, it has loads of benefits – it protects the liver and thyroid and helps increase metabolic rate.

So the emphasis is on easy to digest, nourishing foods that avoid the anti nutrients and provide the body with all the awesome nutrients it needs to function optimally.

It reduces stress and inflammation, balances blood sugar and provides a constant source of ready to assimilate fuel for optimal metabolic function.

Sounds good to me.

Now obviously there is way more to this but I wanted to keep it short, and just give you an overview on what I am eating now instead of the keto diet and why. It is totally working for me with temperatures up from low 35C (95F) to low to mid 36C (97F) and heart rate up from 60 bpm to 70bpm. The weight is down a couple of kilograms too.

In another post here, I talk about what’s on the OUT list and why. Some of it may shock you like it did me! We’re looking at you green smoothie.

But it totally makes sense when you know why. It doesn’t mean you totally exclude anything necessarily but you may have it less often, when you know it’s not as healthy as it is supposed to be.

Happy, healthy.

Kristy x

Note: Here is a list of What I eat in a day from when I was first coming off a Keto Diet. I had to eat frequently or else I would get dizzy and painfully hungry. It took a while for my carb processing system to work properly again – like 2 years!

2021 Update:

I’ve now been on a Ray Peat Inspired diet for 5 years now and can say without doubt it is the best one for health. Many who start on this fast metabolism diet put on weight mainly due to bad advice. This inspired me to write the ZEN Beach Diet to help everyone start out in the best way to heal, without unnecessary weight gain. Join hundreds of women who are now feeling fantastic

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