Like no matter how much you want to eat healthier or get serious about losing weight, there’s always something that’s holding you back? And maybe that something isn’t even logical or rational, but it’s something that feels so much bigger and stronger than you that it’s literally impossible to resist.

And so you end up in this vicious cycle where you vow to do better and cut back and stay on track, only to find yourself right back at square one, feeling like an utter and complete failure because you just don’t have the willpower to stick with it.

The truth is that emotional eating affects so many of us, whether we want to admit it or not. And honestly, I feel like it’s kind of the elephant in the room with weight loss and healthy eating. It’s the thing that no one wants to talk about, but that honestly has such a huge impact on our ability to actually see results.

What is Emotional Eating?

So let’s start by talking about what exactly emotional eating is. Because the reality is, we all have emotions, and we all eat. In fact, eating is one of the most basic ways that we celebrate or find comfort or enjoyment in our lives.

And that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

The problem is that when our emotions start to control our eating habits in a way that isn’t healthy or beneficial for our bodies, then that’s when it becomes an issue.

So what exactly is that issue?

Well, at it’s most basic level, emotional eating is eating in response to feelings rather than hunger. It’s when you use food to soothe or manage your emotions, or to fill a void that isn’t related to actual hunger. It’s when you turn to food for comfort or as a way to deal with stress, anxiety, sadness, or even happiness.

And honestly, that can take a lot of different forms. For some people, emotional eating looks like eating a whole pint of ice cream when you’re feeling sad. For others, it’s reaching for the chips and salsa, or baking a whole tray of cookies. And for others still, it’s the mindless grazing or snacking that happens when you’re bored or lonely, or just feeling overwhelmed.

But at the root of all of it is that emotional connection that we have to food, and to the act of eating, and the way that it makes us feel.

And honestly, it’s not all bad, right? There are a lot of good reasons to love food, and to enjoy eating. Food is a big part of our culture, and our families, and our social lives. It’s one of the ways that we celebrate, and connect with each other, and find joy in our lives.

But the problem comes when that emotional connection to food starts to take over in a way that isn’t healthy.

Why Do We Turn to Food for Comfort?

So why does that happen? Why do we turn to food for comfort in the first place?

Well, like I said, we all have emotions, and we all have to eat. And so it’s not really surprising that at some point those two things start to intersect. It’s like a perfect storm of necessity and desire.

But I also think that it’s really important to understand that it’s not necessarily a character flaw on your part. It doesn’t mean that you’re weak, or that you have no willpower, or that you’re just not trying hard enough.

In fact, the reason that so many of us struggle with emotional eating is because it actually does serve a purpose. It does actually help us to feel better, at least in the moment.

That’s because when we eat certain foods—particularly those that are high in sugar and carbohydrates—it triggers a release of dopamine in our brains. And dopamine is that feel-good chemical that makes us experience pleasure and happiness.

So when we’re feeling sad or stressed or overwhelmed and we eat a whole pint of ice cream or an entire bag of chips, it literally does make us feel better. It literally does give us a temporary high.

The problem, of course, is that it’s just that—temporary. And so we keep going back for more, and more, and more, in an effort to keep that high going. And then we end up feeling guilty and ashamed, and the cycle just starts over again.

But it’s not just the dopamine that makes us turn to food for comfort. There’s also the fact that for a lot of us, food is a big part of the way we were raised. It’s the way our families celebrate, and connect, and find joy. And so it’s literally hard-wired into us from an early age.

And then there’s the fact that, at least in the moment, it actually does work. It does make us feel better, even if it’s just for a little while.

So it’s not surprising that we turn to food for comfort. It’s not something that’s wrong with us. It’s just that, at some point, we have to recognize that in the long run, it’s actually not helping us.

How Emotional Eating Sabotages Your Weight Loss Efforts

And that’s because emotional eating, while it may bring temporary relief, actually ends up sabotaging your weight loss efforts in a lot of different ways.

For starters, if you’re turning to food for comfort, then chances are pretty good that you’re not making the healthiest choices. And that’s especially true if you’re eating the same high-carb, high-sugar foods over and over again.

But even if you are eating healthier foods, it’s still a problem. Because the reality is that when you’re eating to soothe your emotions, you’re not eating because you’re actually hungry. And that means that you’re probably eating a lot more than you actually need.

And then there’s the fact that when you’re eating to deal with emotions, you’re not paying attention to what you’re eating. You’re not savoring the flavors or enjoying the experience. You’re just shoveling food in your mouth. And that means that you’re not actually giving your brain a chance to register that you’re full.

And if all of that wasn’t enough, emotional eating also tends to happen at the worst possible times—late at night, or when you’re already tired, or when you’re feeling stressed or overwhelmed. And so not only are you eating more, but you’re also eating at the times of day when your body is least able to process all of those extra calories.

And all of that means that, in the long run, you’re going to gain weight. Or at least have a really hard time losing it.

So if that’s the case, then it might be worth asking yourself a few questions. Like, why does this happen? And why do we keep doing it, even when we know it’s hurting us? And what can we actually do to change it, without just relying on willpower alone?

What Causes Emotional Eating?

Well, like I said, I think the first step is in understanding what actually causes this to happen.

And as I see it, there are a few different factors that all play a role.

The first is just that food is such a big part of our lives and our culture. It’s literally everywhere. It’s in every celebration and every holiday. It’s part of every social gathering. And it’s the way we’ve been taught to comfort ourselves and our families for generations.

And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Like I said, there are a lot of really great and positive aspects to our connection to food. But it also means that it’s something that’s always there, and always so readily available.

And then there’s the fact that, for a lot of us, our emotional connection to food starts at a pretty young age. I know for me, a lot of my best memories from childhood revolve around food. And I think that’s true for a lot of people. It’s what you were given when you got a good grade on a test, or when you were feeling sad or lonely, or when you were celebrating a special occasion with your family.

And so that emotional connection to food is something that gets hard-wired into us from a really young age. It’s something that’s so deeply ingrained in our brains and in our hearts that it’s literally become a habit.

And as we all know, breaking a habit is hard, because it means having to actually retrain our brains to think and behave in a different way.

But it’s not just about the emotional connection to food. The fact is, when we eat certain foods—especially those that are high in sugar and carbohydrates—it triggers a release of dopamine in our brains. And dopamine is that feel-good chemical that makes us experience pleasure and happiness.

So when we’re feeling sad or stressed or overwhelmed and we eat a whole pint of ice cream or an entire bag of chips, it literally does make us feel better. It literally does give us a temporary high.

And the problem, of course, is that it’s just that—temporary. And so we keep going back for more, and more, and more, in an effort to keep that high going. And then we end up feeling guilty and ashamed, and the cycle just starts over again.

But it’s not just the dopamine that keeps us coming back for more. Because the reality is that sugar is also highly addictive. In fact, studies have shown that it can be just as addictive as cocaine or heroin. And so when we’re eating a lot of sugar, it triggers those same cravings that addicts experience when they’re trying to quit.

And the problem is that a lot of the foods we tend to turn to for comfort—the foods that are so deeply ingrained in our culture and our memories—are also the foods that are highest in sugar and carbohydrates. Things like ice cream and candy and cookies and soda.

So it’s like the perfect storm of all of these factors coming together—our deep emotional connection to food, the dopamine release that makes us feel good in the moment, and the highly addictive properties of sugar and carbohydrates.

And then, of course, there’s the fact that so many of us are dealing with a lot of other emotions and stressors in our lives that make us more likely to turn to food for comfort. Things like depression and anxiety, or a job that we hate, or a relationship that’s falling apart, or even just the everyday stress of raising a family or trying to keep it all together.

All of those things wear us down and make us more likely to turn to food as a way to cope.

So it’s really not all that surprising that so many of us struggle with this.

How to Overcome Emotional Eating

But the good news is that there is hope! And that’s because there are a lot of different things that we can do to actually change our behavior and overcome emotional eating, once and for all.

And like I said, it’s not just about willpower or trying to “white-knuckle” your way through it. Because the reality is that relying on willpower alone is never going to work, at least not in the long run. You have to actually change the way you think and feel about food, and about yourself, and about your own ability to change your habits.

So with that in mind, here are a few tips for how to actually overcome emotional eating and start taking control of your own health and weight loss journey.

Tip #1: Start by Understanding Your Triggers

The first step in overcoming emotional eating is to start by understanding what your triggers actually are. In other words, what are the things that are causing you to turn to food for comfort? What are the emotions or situations that leave you feeling more vulnerable and more likely to make unhealthy choices.

For a lot of people, these triggers might include things like stress, or loneliness, or boredom. For others, it might be sadness or anger or frustration. And for others still, it might be something like anxiety or even just the need to feel in control.

But the more you can start to understand what your triggers are, the better equipped you’ll be to actually deal with them in a healthy and productive way, instead of just turning to food.

And that’s why I think journaling can be such a powerful tool for overcoming emotional eating. It allows you to keep track of your thoughts and feelings in a way that lets you gain a little bit of distance and perspective, so that you can start to see patterns and understand what’s actually happening.

So if you don’t already have a journaling practice, I would definitely recommend starting one. And it doesn’t have to be anything fancy—just grab a notebook or a blank piece of paper and start writing down whatever comes to mind. Write about how you’re feeling, or what happened that day, or just random thoughts and ideas.

And then use that as a way to start identifying your triggers, so that you can start coming up with strategies for how to deal with them in a healthier way.

Tip #2: Find Healthier Ways to Cope

And that actually brings me to my second tip, which is to find healthier ways to cope with your emotions and stress, instead of just turning to food.

Because the reality is that food is not actually the problem. It’s just a symptom of the problem. It’s the thing that we’ve been trained to use as a way to cope, because it’s so easy and so accessible and it actually does make us feel better—at least in the moment.

But there are also a lot of other things that can make us feel better, in a more sustainable and healthy way. Things like exercise, or taking a walk outside, or listening to music, or dancing, or practicing deep breathing or meditation. Or even just talking to a friend or taking a hot bath.

There are literally so many things you can do to help yourself feel better in a more healthy and productive way. And so the more you can start to identify those things and incorporate them into your life, the better off you’ll be.

And that’s not to say that you have to completely give up your favorite foods forever and always. That’s not the goal. The goal is just to start finding other ways to cope and deal with your emotions that aren’t always centered around food.

So the next time you find yourself feeling stressed or overwhelmed, instead of reaching for the potato chips or the pint of ice cream, try going for a walk or doing a few jumping jacks. Or even just taking a few deep breaths. I think you might be surprised at how much better it makes you feel.

Tip #3: Make Sure You’re Eating Enough

And then my third tip for overcoming emotional eating is to make sure you’re actually eating enough food throughout the day. Because a lot of times, we’ll turn to food as a way to cope because we’re actually just really hungry and our bodies need nourishment.

But when we try to restrict our food intake too much or stick to strict diets that leave us feeling deprived, it’s only natural that we’ll turn to food as a way to cope. Because our bodies are just trying to tell us that they need more fuel.

So if you’re constantly feeling hungry and deprived, try taking a look at your eating habits and make sure you’re actually giving your body the nutrients it needs throughout the day. This might mean adding in some healthy snacks or including more satisfying meals that incorporate a balance of carbohydrates, protein, and healthy fats.

Honestly, I think that’s probably the one thing that makes our TAS program SO effective. There’s no deprivation. There’s no counting calories—like EVER. It’s just eating the RIGHT foods that will balance your hormones in the right way. But you can eat as much as you want or as you need to. Without one bit of guilt.

And that’s pretty huge.

Tip #4: Be Kind to Yourself

And then last but not least, be kind to yourself. Overcoming emotional eating is not an easy journey and there will likely be setbacks along the way. But that’s okay. It’s all about progress, not perfection.

So REMIND yourself of that. All the time. No matter how far you’ve come or how many setbacks you have. You’re doing the best you can and that’s all anyone can ask for.

And when those moments do happen where you find yourself turning to food for comfort, instead of beating yourself up about it, try to show yourself some kindness and understanding. Acknowledge your feelings and then move on. Don’t let one slip-up derail your entire progress.

Remember, you are not defined by your eating habits. You are so much more than that. So keep going, keep trying, and be kind to yourself along the way. Because ultimately, that’s how you’ll find success in overcoming emotional eating—by showing yourself love and compassion, even in the hardest of moments. 

Final Thoughts

Emotional eating is a common struggle for many people, but it’s important to remember that you are not alone. By understanding your triggers, finding healthier ways to cope with emotions, ensuring you’re eating enough, and being kind to yourself, you can start to overcome this challenge and build a healthier relationship with food.

And just know that it takes time and effort. It won’t happen overnight, but with persistence and self-compassion, you can make progress towards a better and happier you. So keep going and never give up on yourself. You are capable of overcoming emotional eating and living a more fulfilling life. Trust in your journey and trust in yourself. And remember to always prioritize your mental and emotional well-being above all else.

Sending love and support on your journey towards a healthier relationship with food. You got this!

The post The Ultimate Guide to Overcoming Emotional Eating (Without Resorting to Willpower Alone) appeared first on Thinlicious.

Isn’t a low-carb diet supposed to make me less hungry?

Why am I constantly daydreaming about potatoes and pasta and pastry?

If you’ve recently started following a low-carb or ketogenic eating plan, you might be able to relate to those thoughts.

Because the truth is that struggling with intense cravings and constantly feeling hungry on keto is actually a big reason lots of people go back to eating carbs.

But before you reach for another snack (or think about giving up), let’s talk about why you’re feeling so famished—because chances are it’s probably not what you think. Your cravings could actually be a sign that you’re doing something right, but they could also be a signal that something’s a little off. (How’s that for a confusing answer?)

Suffice it to say that if you find yourself constantly feeling hungry and thinking about food, there are steps you can take to eliminate those cravings for good and finally lose the weight you’ve been struggling with. After all, Thinlicious is all about getting healthy without deprivation. You really can get more energy than ever and lose weight without feeling hungry all the time.

So, if you’re finally ready to stop obsessing about food, keep reading! Let’s dive into the real reasons why you’re so darn hungry all the time.

You’re Not Eating Enough Food

One of the most common reasons some people feel hungry when starting a low-carb or ketogenic diet is that they just aren’t eating enough. And there are a lot of reasons we do this.

It could be that even though we’re told not to, we’re still focused on calories. After all, hasn’t diet culture hammered it into our heads that losing weight is all a matter of calories in and calories out? When everything we’ve heard our whole lives about losing weight has focused on restriction and calorie counting, it’s hard to actually believe that calories really don’t matter all that much.

Or it could be that we’re trying to do intermittent fasting before we’re actually Thin Adapted. We hear everyone talking about fasting and how great it is, and so, because we want everything to happen as fast as possible, we try to do everything all at once rather than giving our bodies a chance to adjust.

Or it could be that we’re simply miscalculating our macros…or worse yet, not counting them at all. We’re not eating enough fat or getting too much protein or still eating far more carbs than we should be, and it’s throwing everything off.

But here’s the deal, friend: food is not the enemy, and at Thinlicious we don’t count calories at all.

If you’re just starting out and trying to become Thin Adapted for the first time, the only macronutrient you’ll actually control or restrict is carbs. After that, you’ll be focused on making sure that 70-80% of your food is healthy fats and 15-20% is from protein.

That’s just a quick bit, but we have a complete guide to macronutrients if you want to learn more about them.

And don’t try other restrictions like intermittent fasting until after you are Thin Adapted. Your body goes through a bunch of changes as it switches from using carbs as energy to using fat. You need to make sure you are feeding your body the proper fuel so that all those changes can happen as easily as possible.

So, eat that food! Yup, you might be hungry because you’re not eating enough…and you also might not be eating enough healthy fats. Those healthy fats are what make you feel full.

You Need To Eat More Fat

Another reason you might be feeling hungry is that you aren’t eating enough healthy fats.

When you cut carbs, you need to increase your fat intake to make up for the energy loss. Otherwise, your body will start breaking down muscle for fuel.

This is why we suggest that you get 80% of your nutrients from healthy fats while you are in Phase 1.

It’s easy to focus on cutting carbs and calories when trying to lose weight, but healthy fats are essential for our bodies to keep running without breaking down muscle.

Increasing healthy fat consumption helps provide the energy we need when there is a decrease in carbohydrates. But don’t worry—not all fats are created equal, so you don’t have to always add spoonfuls of butter or deep fry your meals. Healthy cooking oils like olive and avocado oil, plus nuts and fatty fish, contain healthy fats that provide essential nutrients our bodies need! So take another look at those healthy fats—your body will thank you for it!

Still curious about healthy fats? Read all about fat, cholesterol, and keto. For now, just make sure you’re eating plenty of fatty fish like pan-seared salmon and mix in some nuts from our low-carb granola to feel completely satiated.

If you think you’re getting enough healthy fats and you’re still hungry, then maybe you need to look at another macronutrient. Maybe you’re not eating enough protein.

Your Body is Still Addicted to Carbs, and You Are Detoxing

Another possible culprit you’ll need to consider is that your body may still be addicted to carbs. You see, when you cut back on carbohydrates, your body has to detox from the sugar addiction it has been carrying around for years.

It’s crazy to think that sugar has been proven to be more addictive (and more deadly in the long run) than cocaine, and yet it’s totally socially acceptable. We even feed it to our kids in large quantities.

Anyway, when you switch from using carbs for energy to using fat, your body has to go through a period of detox. This means you may feel really tired and hungry during the transition. This process can take up to several weeks and can cause intense cravings, so don’t feel too bad if you’re struggling.

The good news is that once you get past this stage, your cravings will disappear (you’ll actually get full faster). You’ll have more energy, better focus, and you’ll start to lose weight.

You’re Not Eating Enough Protein

A common mistake people make on the keto diet is not eating enough protein. This can lead to hunger and cravings as your body tries to get more energy from food.

You probably already know this, but it’s worth emphasizing: eating high-protein keto foods is non-negotiable! Even if you think you’re on the right track with your low-carb diet and high-fat intake, not having enough protein can lead to serious hunger pangs.

You know those times when all of a sudden, your craving for chocolate or an entire bag of chips flares up? Yeah, that could be because your body isn’t getting the high-protein foods it needs. So it’s important that when you plan snacks and meals on the keto diet, you make sure to include high-protein food options like grass-fed beef, wild-caught fish, nuts, seeds, and eggs. Protein will keep hunger at bay and help prevent cravings big time!

We have a bunch of high-protein recipes in our Thinlicious recipe index. Our Orange chicken

is super popular! And our recipe for creamy beef and broccoli casserole is a fantastically filling recipe that contains high amounts of protein.

Don’t forget to eat lots of protein when you go low-carb! Your body will thank you for it.

Ok…so, what if you are eating enough protein, enough healthy fats, and enough food in general…but you’re still getting hungry. Look at how much water you’re drinking next.

You Need To Drink More Water

You’re probably aware that not drinking enough water can lead to dehydration, but did you know it also leads to hunger and cravings? Yes, true story! And if you think electrolyte-filled sports drinks are going to fix the problem—think again. Your body needs H₂O!

That’s why it’s so important to make sure you’re drinking enough water on a daily basis, not just when you’re feeling thirsty. It may sound basic, but when we don’t take our hydration seriously, nothing else matters. Drink up those electrolytes and keep your tank full!

Our favorite drink recipe is this lemon electrolyte drink. It’s both refreshing and nourishing and can even help with symptoms of the keto flu.

See? Drinking enough water is so important! If you’re on the struggle bus with your hydration, then maybe try using one of these cute and helpful water bottles.

Tools you’ll need

Reward yourself and get one (or all of them!). Make drinking enough water easy and fun. Infuse your water with cucumbers or lemon slices. Keep it cold. Carry it with you. Some people even put their water bottle by their bed to remember to drink water first thing in the morning.

Do what you gotta do to drink enough water.

And as important as hydration is, getting enough sleep is just as vital to your health. Did you know that not sleeping enough can also make you feel hungrier than you should?

You Need More Rest

Yup, just like drinking enough water and eating enough food, getting enough sleep can help fight cravings too. Not only can lack of sleep make hunger worse, but it can also really negatively impact your health.

Let’s think about why this may be. When you’re not sleeping enough, it actually causes your body to feel more stress. When your body feels stressed, it produces a hormone called cortisol. And guess what cortisol makes you crave? SWEETS!

This leaves you feeling hungrier than usual and craving things that don’t actually make you feel better or help your body at all. Before long, this can become pretty hard to break away from. So make sure that you’re giving yourself plenty of time for rest every night because it’ll be worth it in the long run!

Final Thoughts

See? If you find yourself feeling hungry or craving carbs, it might be because you’re not eating enough fat or protein, drinking enough water or getting enough sleep. You might also not be eating enough food period! Try these tips to avoid making these mistakes on the keto diet so you can succeed in your weight loss journey.

Make The Switch

Ready to lose weight and get healthy for life without dieting, drugs or making yourself miserable? Our brand new (and totally free!) on demand video training will help you understand why it’s been so hard and what do to about it.

The post The Real Reason You’re Hungry On Keto And How To Control Those Cravings appeared first on Thinlicious.

It’s such a simple thing, but it can cause huge headaches when first switching to a low-carb lifestyle—counting carbs and which number matters more—total or net?

What is the difference between total carbs and net carbs? What the heck does net carbs even mean, and how do you calculate them? 

When exactly do you track total carbs? 

Have you felt so confused about this that you almost didn’t even want to follow our plan (or maybe you are still holding out)?

If so, give us a chance to explain because it’s not that difficult, and it can even be…dare we say it…fun?

And the truth is, you aren’t alone in feeling like it’s confusing and stressful. In fact, “How do you calculate net carbs?” is one of the most frequently asked questions in the Thinlicious Facebook Community.

But if it stumps you, then don’t worry about net carbs at all. As long as you eat 30 grams (or less) of total carbs per day, you’ll stay Thin Adapted and keep losing weight. And it is literally just that simple.

See? It’s one number, one thing to look at.

But if you are looking to learn more about the science of Thinlicious and truly understand how the different aspects of food affect you, or if you’re Thin Adapted and want to learn more about tracking carbs in your food—then keep reading. This guide will get down into the science of it all.

And for you, the formula to figure out net carbs is pretty simple.

Total carbs – dietary fiber – sugar alcohol = net carbs

There is no need to overthink or overcomplicate things. So, let’s take all the confusion away from counting carbs once and for all. In this article, we’ll look at how to calculate net carbs, when to count total carbs, what fake fiber is, how to read food labels and even share a few of our favorite low-carb recipes.

But first, let’s cover the difference between net carbs and total carbs.

What are net carbs and how are they different from total carbs?

In our Guide To Macronutrients, you can read an in-depth explanation of what carbs are. In short, these are the nutrients in food that your body breaks down into glucose and uses for energy.

On a low-carb diet, you want to teach your body to use fat for energy instead of carbohydrates, so you’ll control how many carbs you eat.

As you track them, you’ll track total carbs or net carbs.

Total carbs are the number of carbs in a food. On an ingredient label, this is the number next to the words “total carbohydrates.”

Net carbs are the number of carbohydrates left after subtracting fiber and sugar alcohol from the total carb count.

Why do we subtract fiber and sugar alcohol? Because your body passes dietary fiber and sugar alcohol out of your body without digesting it and using it for energy. Since they pass through your body, they don’t affect glucose levels and shouldn’t be counted as part of the carbs you track.

Wait…sugar alcohol? Aren’t those artificial sweeteners, therefore, bad?

What Are Sugar Alcohols?

Sugar alcohols are a form of alternative sweetener, but they aren’t all bad. As a matter of fact, we have a post on which ones to avoid and which ones are safe here.

Basically, sugar alcohol is a type of carbohydrate that has a chemical structure similar to sugar. It’s an ingredient that stimulates the tongue’s sweet taste buds, without actually containing sugar.

Some sugar alcohols come from plants, others from labs. The most commonly used sugar alcohols in food are:

• Xylitol
• Erythritol
• Sorbitol
• Maltitol

We go into a lot more detail about the differences between them in our Sugar Substitutes Guide.

For now, just remember that the safest and best sugar alcohol is erythritol. Whenever you see erythritol as an ingredient, you can subtract it from the total carbs to get the net carbs amount.

So, you get what total carbs are, what fiber is and what sugar alcohol is. You’re ready to put it all together and calculate the net carbs!

How to calculate the net carbs in your food

Once you figure out how to calculate net carbs, tracking your food will become super easy!

To make it simple, let’s use one of our favorites, Rebel Butter Pecan Ice Cream, as an example.

One serving of Rebel Butter Pecan Ice Cream has:

• 13 grams total carbs
• 8 grams sugar alcohol
• 3 grams dietary fiber

So, we follow the formula:

total carbs – fiber – sugar alcohol = net carbs

That means 13-3-8=2.

There are 2 grams of net carbs in each serving of this ice cream.

If a recipe isn’t sweetened, it probably doesn’t have any sugar alcohol, so you can just subtract the fiber. Honestly, it really is that easy!

It really can be this easy, most of the time time. There is only one tiny thing that seems to trip a lot of people up. It’s what sets our Thinlicious program apart from other keto programs.

There are times when we only track total carbs, even if the nutrition label lists fiber, and always remember the number that you want to keep an eye on most is TOTAL carbs. You should aim to stay under 30g total per day no matter how much fiber or sugar alcohol.

When To Only Calculate Total Carbs

Here at Thinlicious, we don’t subtract fiber or sugar alcohol from pre-packaged foods that are made with processed ingredients.

In other words, if the food has ingredients you can’t buy or grow or aren’t in their raw form, it’s processed. So just track the total carbohydrates amount and nothing else.

Here’s a good example.

Say you find a bag of “keto protein crispy chips.” The ingredients read like a science experiment with a lot of “corn this” and “soluble that” and some “modified something fiber” thrown in. The front of the bag might read “4 grams net carbs,” but we ignore that marketing and only count the total carbs on the back, 8 grams total carbs.

Since the fiber in those chips is processed, we ignore it and don’t count it.

Why do we ignore processed fiber instead of subtracting it? Because these sources of fiber could have an effect on your glucose levels. Since they don’t come from whole foods, they could throw your body off. And nobody wants that.

It’s always better to avoid fake fiber and only eat whole fiber.

This whole idea of fake fiber confuses people a bit, so let’s take a closer look at it.

How To Spot Fake Fiber In Food

Basically, fake fiber is a lab-made ingredient taken from one product and added to another. It doesn’t contain any nutrition and doesn’t do your body a lick of good. It’s used by snack food companies to claim, “Hey, we have low net carbs! Keto people, buy this!”

How can you tell if something has fake fiber in it?

It’s easy! If you could grow it or buy it in the store to cook with, then it is real and really good for you. This includes fiber from things like fruits, vegetables, nuts, nut flours and seeds.

On the flip side, if you need a degree in food science to understand what it is, then it’s probably fake. Seriously, what even is soluble corn fiber? And why is it an ingredient in “keto” food? Just skip it.

The more you keep eating low carb, the better you’ll get at reading those food labels.

How To Read Food Labels Like A Pro

Learning to read food labels like a pro is more than an act of understanding ingredients. It’s also about having the wisdom to make informed decisions.

Focusing on ingredients helps. Try looking for whole foods, items you recognize and ingredients that appear simple and approachable. At the same time, if ingredients are uncommon or difficult to identify, it could be an indication there are hidden substances or additives in them.

And when it comes to ingredient lists, always remember: the fewer ingredients, the better! Don’t be fooled by buzzwords, marketing tactics and product claims. Eat food that nourishes your body with real nutrients.

As you scan food labels, remember to look for these things:

• Whole Foods in the Ingredients
• Total Carbs
• Dietary Fiber
• Sugar Alcohol
• Types of Sweeteners Used

If that last bullet point shocked you, please read our Sugar Substitutes Guide. You’ll learn which ones are good for you, which ones could harm you and which ones to enjoy in moderation.

Once you master reading the food labels, you’ll be able to make the smartest choices at the grocery store. And there’s no shame in eating convenient, pre-made food, especially when it has whole ingredients.

There’s also nothing quite like a homecooked meal, and we have some craving-busting recipes that you should try.

5 Tasty Recipes Low In Net Carbs

These tasty recipes will help you achieve your weight loss goals without sacrificing flavor. From carb-savvy snacks to delicious dinners, all of our popular Thinlicious recipes have one thing in common: net carbs that stay well within your carb budget. Bon appetite, friends!

Here are some of our most popular low-carb recipes, with the amount of net carbs in each serving.

• Grilled Low-Carb Cheeseburgers With Magic Protein Buns: 4.6 grams net carbs
• Low-Carb Clam Chowder: 4.5 grams net carbs
• White Florentine Chicken Crust Pizza: 3.5 grams net carbs
• Cheesy Cauliflower Rice: 1.1 grams net carbs
• Creamy Beef and Broccoli Casserole: 3.2 grams net carbs

Final Thoughts

See? When you break it down, it’s really pretty simple to understand how to calculate carbs (and why we do it). It’s all about nutrition. You want to feed yourself food that will support your health, not detract from it.

We really hope this helps clear away all the confusion surrounding carbs and fiber and sugar alcohols.

Keep Reading

The more you learn about the science of how your body’s metabolism works, the easier it will be to get healthy and stay healthy. Here are some books we recommend if you want to keep learning more.

• FOOD: What The Heck Should I Eat, By Mark Hyman MD
• Unlocking The Keto Code, By Steven R. Gundry MD
• The Obesity Code By Jason Fung MD

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The post Everything You Need To Know About How To Calculate Carbs With Thinlicious appeared first on Thinlicious.

Maybe you’ve just started our 28 Day Metabolism Reset, or you’ve signed up for our latest challenge. Or maybe you’re not quite ready to commit to a plan; you’re just trying to figure out this keto thing all on your own.

You’ve read about how to get started and why you need to make sure you’re getting enough fat. You’re starting to understand the connection between your blood sugar and your weight loss. You’ve even started being able to decipher all that keto and low-carb terminology that at first felt like learning a whole new language.

But there’s one more thing you need to know before you dive in.

And honestly, understanding this piece could literally be the difference between reaching all your weight loss goals or being just another one of those people who throw up their hands and say, “I tried keto, but it just didn’t work for me.”

So what’s the big secret to success?

It’s actually taking the time to track what you eat to make sure your macros are where you want them to be.

And honestly, you would be shocked to know just how many people skip this step and then come back later to admit that they didn’t start actually seeing real results with keto or their low-carb lifestyle until they actually started to get intentional about tracking their macros.

So that’s the bottom line–if you want to succeed on a low-carb or ketogenic plan, whether it’s our own Thin Adapted System or another plan you’ve found, you’ve got to commit to tracking what you eat and especially to counting your macros.

Luckily, with the apps available today, this is actually a whole lot easier than it sounds.

That said, before you head to the App store and get overwhelmed with all the choices, keep reading! We’ve done the work for you and have three food-tracking apps that we recommend, especially if you need to track macros (instead of just calories—which we don’t actually care about here at Thinlicious™).

Of course, if you’re new to the low-carb world, we might be getting a little ahead of ourselves. So before we dive into our picks for the best food tracking apps for keto, let’s start with a quick refresher on what macros are (and why they are so important).

What Are Macros?

The word “Macros” is actually short for macronutrients. If you want to know all the details, we have a helpful guide explaining everything about macronutrients that you need to know.

But the short version is these macros are considered essential nutrients. They contain the components of food that your body needs in order to survive.

For example, proteins provide essential amino acids, while fats contain essential fatty acids. Your body uses each macro for very specific functions.

Macronutrients also contain energy in the form of calories. Carbs are typically the main energy source, but your body can use other macronutrients for energy—like fat in a low-carb lifestyle.

Macro means large, so these are different from micronutrients. Your body only needs micronutrients in small amounts. Micronutrients include vitamins and minerals like B12, iron and zinc.

When you follow our program, the Thin Adapted System, the main macros that you’ll track are protein, fat, carbs and fiber. And there are apps that actually track each of these macros for you, automatically!

What Is The Easiest Way To Keep Track Of Macros?

We get this question a lot! When you’re trying to make sure you’re eating enough fat, protein and controlling your carbs, how do you track all that, easily?

Thankfully, there is an app for that (or three—you choose the one that you like best)!

You could try to track your macros on pen and paper, but why put yourself through all that trouble? These apps also remember everything so you can see what you ate in the past month. This is especially helpful if you’ve hit a weight loss plateau and want to see if your eating might contribute to it.

So check these out and let us know what you think!

Best Food Tracking Apps For Macros

There are a bunch of food tracking apps out there, and they all promise to do basically the same things. But when you’re Thin Adapted and trying to stay within certain macros, you really need an app that can break down what you’re eating into those macros and enable you to set goals for each one.

Remember, we don’t even look at calories on the Thin Adapted System. Instead, we make sure we are eating enough fat and protein and limiting those carbs with the understanding that our guidelines are just that—guidelines—so you need to be able to adjust to what works best for you!

So here they are, in order (our absolute favorite being top choice).

Lose It!

This is by far our favorite food tracking app of all time! It’s incredibly user friendly. You can set up your goals and tell it to track specific macros. Then, as you add food throughout the day, it will keep a running total so you know how much of each macro you have left to eat.

Here are some more reasons we love Lose It!:

• It’s easy to add food. Search the database (all of our Thinlicious recipes are in there) or scan the barcode. You can also type your own custom recipe into the app.
• It suggests carb amounts per meal. And it updates the suggestions based on what you input so far.
• Graphs are easy to understand. People who prefer images over words can see their macros in a pie chart.
• It tracks anything you want. You can use it to track your weight, steps, even how much water you’re drinking.
• Track with friends. Connect with other Lose It! users that you know and cheer each other on with comments.
• It connects with other gadgets. Set up automatic tracking with your phone, wearable fitness trackers (like the FitBit), and even connect it with a smartscale so your weight is automatically tracked in the app too.

Some of our favorite features are premium features. They have a free plan, and you can pay for premium. Check out the differences here. If you’re serious about losing weight with this app, we suggest upgrading to premium.

My Fitness Pal

MyFitnessPal (MFP for short) is another super-popular food tracking app that people love. It works very similarly to Lose It!

It’s a lot more robust than Lose It, offering more than just food and healthy tracking. It also has a huge directory of recipes, workouts and a newsfeed that’s almost like its own social media platform.

Both are very easy to use. In fact, the biggest differences are the prices and the scanners. Lose It has a lower annual premium price than MFP Premium. And Lose It sometimes offers Premium for a lifetime at an affordable price. But MFP has USDA guidelines for serving sizes so when you are making your own recipes this is a super valuable function to have at your fingertips.

Here’s what we love about MFP:

• File Exports: You can download and export everything you ate that day, week or month. This is really helpful, especially if you’re trying to discuss a weight loss plateau in our Thin Adapted System accountability group.
• Intermittent Fasting Tracker: It’s easy to find in MFP and really easy to set up and manage.
• Import Recipes: Within the app or on the desktop, you can paste the URL of any recipe you find online, and it will instantly import the ingredients and amounts and track the macros for you.
• Scan your plate: This is a premium feature we love! Scan your food, and it will guess at what it is. Then, you can edit how much of it you ate. It isn’t always perfect, but it’s so much faster than typing every single thing.
• Huge Database: The differences are narrowing every day, but it seems like MFP has a bigger database with more restaurants and foods in it than Lose It.

Keto Diet App

If simplicity is the name of your game, then The Keto Diet App was made for you. The main screen is clean, easy to navigate and perfect for people who like organization.

Just because the main screen is simple doesn’t mean it’s low powered. The Keto Diet App has everything you need in order to track your food and your weight loss progress (and even plan your meals in advance).

Here is what we love about The Keto Diet App:

• Database of exclusive recipes: If you need more ideas, they have thousands of ideas.
• Informational: They are constantly producing helpful tips on their blog, and it is sent directly to the app.
• Progress Trackers: You can track not just your weight but specific measurements too.
• Extensive Database: There are almost 2 million foods and restaurant meals already in their database, saving you time when you track them.

What sets this apart from other food tracker apps is the blog of authoritative articles. They are written by nutritionists, people with Ph.D.s and physicians too. They don’t copy and paste information from other websites; they share current research and information that is best for you.

Those are our three favorite apps! But wait….here’s a bonus fourth app you can try out too!

MyMacros +

If you’re on a budget and want a macros-tracking app that does all the things, then MyMacros+ is for you! It’s the lowest-priced app of all three (with an option of paying just $1.99 a month).

It’s not just a calorie or food-tracking app. It’s built specifically with the goal of tracking macronutrients. And it might be a small thing, but we love the motivational comments it makes on the welcome screen.

MM+ is focused on tracking macros, and it does it really well. The app is very simple, with a clean, user-friendly design.

Here are some more things we love about MM+:

• Widgets: It syncs up with smartwatches so you can use the easy widgets on them.
• Library is always growing: They have a huge database of food you can choose from, just like MFP and Lose It!
• Mobile and Web: You can update things on a computer, phone or tablet.
• Add Meal Types: You can add brunch or multiple snacks, without being restricted to just breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Final Thoughts

Which of these three apps sounds like the best one for you?

The truth is that all three of our favorite apps are so easy to use. You literally just start typing in the name of the food, then select the match. Tell it how many servings you ate and click “add to the diary.” Bam! Done!

All of these apps can also read barcodes, have a huge database of popular restaurant chain choices and even give you the ability to add your own recipes.

But you will have to choose which one you like best.

Whether you’re brand new to Thinlicious and the low-carb lifestyle or you’re just looking for a better app than the one you’re using now, any of these apps will make life so much easier!

Try it out, and then let us know in the Thinlicious Facebook Community which one you like the most!

Take Control Of Your Health

Planning ahead on a keto diet gives you so much more freedom! Using an app let’s you see what you’ve eaten and makes it a lot easier to know what else to eat throughout the day.

As you eat better, you’ll start to feel better, too! Are you ready to start living a healthier life!?

Start with the 28 Day Metabolism Reset! This easy 4-week program will retrain your body to burn fat for energy instead of carbs and sugar. With meal plans and helpful videos, it’s the one place to start when you’re ready to feel energetic and healthy without depriving yourself of the food you love. Get started today!

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The post Best Food Tracker Apps & How To Use Them appeared first on Thinlicious.

It’s almost like you just can’t help yourself.

You know all those sugary or salty carb-filled snacks are bad for you, but you miss the feeling of snacking. Munching on something crunchy while watching a movie. Or grazing in the kitchen after lunch. Sneaking downstairs for that midnight bowl of ice cream. Potato chips while you’re watching the big game.

Sometimes, it isn’t even the food itself you miss (because you remember how sick it made you feel), but you miss munching in between meals.

So, can you just replace Oreos with keto cookies and chips with pork rinds and still snack whenever you want? Nope! That bored habit of snacking isn’t the answer, friend. You need to learn to snack smart—use them when you need them. That way they will propel your weight loss instead of stalling it.

When you choose food that gives your body lasting energy and helps you burn fat (and eat them in moderation), snacks can actually help you lose weight.

Are you feeling hungry between meals? If so, eat something. Just make sure that the “something” you eat is low carb and either high fat or a good source of protein. If you’re constantly hungry between meals, changing what you’re eating might be a good idea. It’s better to eat really filling meals and fast in between than to constantly graze all day.

Want to learn more? Let’s dig more into snacks and how to find ones that speed up weight loss instead of slowing it down.

How To Snack On Keto

How you snack will either support your weight loss efforts or slow them down—and it all goes back to insulin and blood sugar.

Yes, even low-carb, high-fat foods raise your blood sugar a smidge. That’s why the periods in between meals—or fasting periods—are so important. In the long term, it’s better for your body to eat a few large meals without snacks in between.

Snacks do have a purpose. They give your body the protein or fat it needs if you didn’t get enough of it at the previous meal. So, it’s ok to eat a little snack when you feel that familiar growl.

Snacks are not something you should eat all the time, just because you’re bored and what something to do.

So, when you are feeling hungry between meals and need a little something, what’s the best way to snack so you keep losing weight?

When it comes to Thinlicious™ and low-carb eating, it all goes back to your macros. Our macronutrients guide explains what they are and how many you need for each phase of the Thin Adapted System (TAS).

There are three types of macros that we track on TAS: fat, protein and carbs. The amount of each macro will change depending on the weight loss stage you’re in. For example, in Phase 1, we recommend a macro breakdown of 70%-75% from fat, 20-25% protein and 5-10% carbs.

And we always recommend whole food you make at home over packaged snacks you see on the shelves.

Best Types of Low-Carb Snacks

The best types of low-carb snacks are food that goes through as little processing as possible.

Yes, pre-packaged, low-carb snacks are super easy to grab and eat, but many food manufacturers just use the term “keto” to sell food that’s made with unhealthy sweeteners or packed with manufactured fiber. That’s why on TAS we only track net carbs when we eat whole foods. When we look at pre-packaged food, we only track whole carbs.

If you want some snacks that will fill you up without requiring much prep work, try any of these low-carb snacks.

• Raw low-carb veggies: broccoli, cauliflower, cucumber
• Beef jerky (unsweetened)
• Sliced cheese
• Pork rinds
• Avocado
• Cured meat (salami)
• Hard-boiled eggs

Remember, food that is high in healthy fats will make you feel full for a longer amount of time. Fat is extremely filling and satisfying, so high-fat snacks are your best bet.

5 Easy Thinlicious Snacks That Fill You Up

Making snacks at home is a lot of fun, and we have some amazing Thinlicious snack recipes for you! These are our five favorite and most popular snack recipes from our recipe index.

1.) Pumpkin Bars With Cream Cheese Frosting

These bars are a crumbly, moist cake with a rich and velvety cream cheese frosting. Each slice has 8 grams of fat, so they will satisfy your sweet tooth and keep you feeling full. Low-carb pumpkin bars are perfect when you’re craving something sweet.

2.) Hot Spinach Artichoke Dip

If you’re craving something salty and a little spicy, make some hot spinach artichoke dip!

One serving of this dip will give you a whopping 12 grams of fat and 8 grams of protein. The heat comes from the horseradish, jalapenos and chili powder. It’s a really fun snack to make when you’re feeling extra hungry because all the cheese really fills you up.

3.) Thinlicious Magic Bars

These Thinlicious Magic Bars are one of our most popular recipes. It shows you how to make low-carb condensed milk, which creates really rich bars that taste divinely sweet.

These are another high-fat snack that cuts your cravings as soon as you eat a bar. Each bar has 15 grams of fat and 7 grams of protein (with just 4.65 grams of carbs).

4.) Low-Carb Crackers

Sometimes you want something crunchy that reminds you of potato chips or snack crackers. In those moments we suggest making some homemade low-carb cheese crackers.

They are fun to use in dips or to just eat while you’re out on the go. There are just five simple ingredients, so it’s easy to make a large batch of them for the week.

They are super low in carbs (each serving has just 1.9 grams). But they are high in fat (8.4 grams) so they will fill you up.

5.) Wisconsin Sushi

The fun name isn’t the only thing we love about Wisconsin sushi! The combination of ingredients makes them a super tasty treat.

Savory deli meat, rich cream cheese and zesty pickles add up to an incredibly delicious snack. For something extra, sprinkle a little Everything Bagel seasoning on top! There are 10.9 grams of fat in each serving (and 4.1 grams of protein). They are a wonderful snack when you need a boost of protein in your day.

Final Thoughts

Snacking has a purpose. While we should always try to eat plenty of protein and fat at our meals so we aren’t hungry later, sometimes it’s unavoidable. If you’re feeling hungry, it’s your body telling you it needs something. Give it the protein and healthy fats that it’s craving, and you’ll be able to feel full and happy and still lose weight!

Get Started

Are you ready to give yourself the energy you deserve? Start right now with the Thinlicious™ 28 Day Metabolism Reset. It introduces you to the Thin Adapted System and helps you retrain the way your body burns fuel in just four weeks. It’s the quick win you need! Get it HERE.

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The post Snack Smarter: How To Snack To Lose Weight appeared first on Thinlicious.

For most of us, in our teens and twenties, and even into our early thirties, maintaining our ideal weight wasn’t all that hard. Oh sure, we might have gained a few pounds here or there, especially during the holidays or on vacation, or times of high stress (freshman 15, anyone?).

But it always came right back off. A fad diet here, cutting back a little there or maybe just working out a little harder at the gym, and it was all good. And even if you weren’t one of those annoying “lucky girls” who could eat whatever they wanted, you still felt like you had some control over the whole thing.

Of course that was then. This is now.

And if you’ve felt like since you’ve reached a certain age it has gotten harder and harder to keep your weight in check, rest assured that you’re not imagining it. It’s no longer just a matter of “calories in and calories out,” or “eat less and exercise more.”

It’s all about your hormones, baby.

And the sad reality for women is that as we get older, our hormones start working against us and essentially begin telling our body to do the opposite of what we’d like it to do.

But that doesn’t mean all hope is lost.

It just means you’ll need to change your approach. Because once you realize that it isn’t you, it’s the hormones that are making it hard to lose weight, it’s like a lightbulb lights up the room, illuminating the dark corners and brightening a path ahead that’s easy to follow (finally!).

Understanding how the food you eat affects your hormones truly is the key to sustainable weight loss. In fact, for many people, it can make losing those once-stubborn pounds feel effortless. And all it takes is adjusting a few easy things; then, your body does all the work for you.

What. A. RELIEF!

All of a sudden, everything makes sense. You don’t have to feel miserable, work out till you drop in a heap of exhaustion or give up your favorite foods to lose weight.

When you get your hormones under control, ALL the other pieces naturally fall into place, like a happy little puzzle that puts itself together.

Since we love digging into the science here at Thinlicious™, let’s look closer at what hormones are and how exactly they affect your weight loss.

What Are Hormones and What Do They Do?

Hormones are special chemicals that control different things in the body. They work together to help the body grow and stay healthy (among other things).

Let’s get more specific.

Hormones are chemical messengers. Each type drives a different process. For example, estrogen regulates a woman’s menstrual cycle, and insulin regulates how your body uses energy.

There are also growth hormones (GH), cortisol and thyroid hormones. All of them affect your body’s shape and overall health in different ways. Here’s a quick glance at what they do:

• GH plays an important role in regulating tissue growth, cell regeneration and metabolism throughout the body.
• Cortisol helps regulate blood pressure and is released when the body needs to respond to stress or fear (it’s known as the “stress hormone”).
• Insulin helps keep blood sugar levels stable after eating carbohydrates—too little insulin can lead to diabetes, and too much can cause weight gain.
• Thyroid hormones control metabolic rate, affecting energy levels—low levels can cause fatigue, while high levels can cause anxiety or restlessness.

See? These hormones do more than make us moody (but that’s what they’re definitely known for). All of them affect your weight, too.

How Hormones Affect Weight

This is the fun part because everything will make more sense once you see how these hormones affect weight.

Three hormones are majorly responsible for weight gain and weight loss: ghrelin, leptin and insulin.

You know that feeling of “I’m so hungry”? Hormones are the messengers that signal the brain and tell it to make you feel that way. They also give your brain the “woah, stop, I’m full” signal, too. Ghrelin is the hungry hormone; leptin is the full one.

When either one is outta whack, you’ll either feel hungry all the time or never really know when you’re full and need to stop eating. Either one leads to eating too much.

Insulin is another big player in weight gain. Insulin is a hormone that basically tells your body what to do with the fuel you give it for energy. If you eat lots of sugar and carbs, it will act like a traffic director, telling your body to funnel some of it to cells to use as energy, and all the extra to be sent to storage in….you guessed it…fat cells.

Yes, insulin is what signals fat cells to grow. But if you eat more protein than sugar/carbs, then it will send the extra protein to your muscles to grow muscle mass and then use that fat storage for energy.

When your insulin levels are low, your brain is more sensitive to ghrelin and leptin, so you know exactly when you’re hungry and feel it immediately when you’re full.

The obvious answer to hormones and weight loss is to eat in such a way that the insulin stops telling your body to store fat, and instead uses your fat for energy…and that, my friend, is called ketosis.

Ketosis and Hormones

When you become Thin Adapted, your body will lower the amount of insulin it has, which helps all your other hormones become more balanced and at the safest levels.

It’s like reverse aging. You’ll feel like your younger self again.

Your body will go into ketosis when it becomes Thin Adapted. And when you’re Thin Adapted, your insulin levels drop, fat decreases and all the other hormones fall in line and become more balanced.

This is because hormones affect hormones. They are all directly related. When you have too much insulin, your other hormones will also be out of whack too.

It lowers cortisol hormones (the ones that tell your body, “I’m stressed out! Save some fat on the belly area just in case!”), uses thyroid hormones more efficiently and even balances estrogen and progesterone, too!

We all know about the struggle to lose weight when we get close to menopause. But do you know why it’s so hard? Let’s look closer.

Menopause/Pre-menopause

Oh, estrogen and progesterone. Two tiny hormones that cause a bunch of health effects in women—especially women over 40. In fact, we have another article explaining why it’s harder for women over 40 to lose weight.

As women age, they naturally begin to produce less progesterone. This leads to what people call “estrogen dominance.” Basically, it means the estrogen levels are allowed to increase too much, and it leads to common mid-life weight issues like less muscle mass, more fat storage (especially around the midsection) and a slower metabolism.

How do we get our healthy levels back if abnormal estrogen and progesterone levels cause that? It all goes back to insulin.

Look at it this way. We overproduce insulin when we eat too many carbs and sugary foods over a long period. Then, our body stops responding to insulin at all (this is called insulin resistance). It disrupts fat metabolism and contributes to estrogen dominance, which causes perimenopausal symptoms.

This is what estrogen dominance looks (and feels) like:

• Dysmenorrhea (no periods)
• Headaches
• PMS
• Decreased Sex Drive
• Bloating
• Mood Swings
• Weight Gain
• Endometriosis
• Depression/Anxiety

The Thin Adapted System reduces insulin levels which reduces belly fat. Then, this creates a synthesis of healthy hormones, including a balance of progesterone and estrogen.

Another wonderful side effect? Regular periods again! (As much as we might not like that time of the month, it’s unfortunately necessary).

Some women who started to experience perimenopause before eating low carb regained regular periods after eating fewer carbs.

As un-fun as periods are, it’s better to have them as long as possible because that indicates that your hormones are correctly balanced.

What about hormone supplements? If you’re already working with a doctor, reach out to them about your new eating habits and discuss the possibility of decreasing (or even eliminating) your medications if you can naturally adjust your hormone levels with what you eat.

So many menopausal symptoms—even night sweats and slow weight loss— will naturally work themselves out when your hormones are at the correct levels. So, start with insulin. Eat plenty of healthy fats, protein and fiber-rich vegetables. That’s the first place to start.

Since hormones affect hormones, insulin also affects thyroid hormones too.

Thyroid Issues/Relationship between Hormones and Fat

Before we get into how minimizing insulin can help your thyroid, let’s make sure we understand what the thyroid is and what it does.

Your thyroid is a gland that produces hormones that regulate metabolism and energy production. These hormones control how quickly your body processes food into energy and regulate essential bodily functions like heart rate, temperature and even mood.

Have you heard the term “hypothyroidism?” It refers to a condition when these thyroid hormones aren’t produced adequately. It’s also called an underactive thyroid.

People with hypothyroidism might experience a slower metabolism, feel tired more often, gain weight and even feel depressed.

On the other hand, when the thyroid gland produces too many of these hormones— a condition called hyperthyroidism—it can cause heart palpitations, weight loss, anxiety and insomnia.

Both of these conditions also affect where people carry their fat.

An underactive thyroid can lead to higher levels of abdominal fat due to decreased fat-burning capacity. But an overactive thyroid can increase fat that sits around or on top of vital organs.

You might think that tracking your thyroid hormones and making sure you have enough of them is what’s important, but that’s not the whole picture.

Here’s the truth. As you lose weight and your metabolism adjusts to the fat loss, you will see some decrease in thyroid hormone levels. That’s ok because your cells will become more sensitive to the present thyroid hormones. You don’t need as many of them as you once did.

It’s all about efficiency. When you decrease insulin, your body will naturally be able to use fewer thyroid hormones more easily and quickly. When your body uses thyroid hormones better, it leads to higher metabolism and even feeling less depressed and anxious. A low-carb lifestyle doesn’t impact thyroid function.

Depression & Anxiety

A lot of things contribute to depression and anxiety—job, family, brain chemicals—but we’re talking about hormones. So, let’s focus on the neurotransmitter serotonin.

Even though it’s not technically a hormone, it acts just like one. And when your body doesn’t produce enough of it, people feel more gloomy and worried.

The funny thing is that most people think of serotonin as being in the brain, but we actually produce it in our gut! That’s why having a healthy gut microbiome is so important (and how it affects depression and moods).

What does this have to do with being Thin Adapted? When you eat low carb, you improve insulin sensitivity and gut health at the same time. This acts like a domino effect that also releases more serotonin.

It makes sense! When your gut isn’t inflamed, it works better, makes more serotonin and it improves your mood.

Side note: If you’re being treated medically for depression and/or anxiety, do NOT try to go off your medications without the oversight of a doctor. Please speak to your doctor about what you’re learning and whether this can work for you. Getting off your medications can be a victoriously freeing experience, but do it the right way, so you minimize any side effects.

Since serotonin is made in the gut, you need to focus on eating whole, nutritious foods. Those quick, processed snacks are handy, but your body needs whole vegetables, meat and healthy fats. You also need to get plenty of sleep and drink lots of water. It all works together.

Hormones Work Together

Is it making a bit more sense? Hormones (specifically insulin) are probably one of the main reasons you struggled to lose weight before. When your body overproduces insulin, all the other hormones are thrown off balance. Start with regulating insulin and everything else will fall into place.

Keep Reading

Want to learn more about hormones and weight loss? Here are some books that we recommend.

• Why We Get Sick By: Dr. Benjamin Bikman
• The Case For Keto By: Gary Taubes
• Why We Get Fat By: Gary Taubes

Feel Better Today!

You can regulate your insulin and feel better today! We recommend introducing your body to low-carb eating through the Thinlicious 28 Day Metabolism Reset. This 4-week program is designed to introduce you to the Thin Adapted System and help you retrain how your body burns fuel. Get it HERE.

PIN FOR LATER

The post Are Your Hormones Making You Fat? Here’s How to Know! appeared first on Thinlicious.

(Snackwells, anyone?)

We were raised to believe that fat was the enemy, and that fat makes you, well, FAT.

It seemed so logical…one of those ideas that just made perfect sense. After all, fat is high in calories, and if we wanted to lose weight and let go of excess fat, it stood to reason that we should avoid fat in our diet.

That’s exactly the conclusion that many “experts” came to as well, even though it was a conclusion drawn from assumptions and so-called common sense (with a healthy dose of funding from food manufacturers), rather than driven by actual research. For years, we were told that fat raises our cholesterol and clogs our arteries and makes us unhealthy.

And so snacking on gummy bears and Jelly Bellies and the ever-expanding selection of fat-free cookies and potato chips and breakfast cereal became the norm.

Little did we know that we were depriving our bodies of an essential nutrient and setting ourselves up for weight loss failure and hormonal imbalances on a scale never seen before!

And thanks to the disastrous state of the diet industry, there’s still a lot of confusion surrounding fat even though we now know it is a vital part of the function of our bodies. A lot of people wonder “Should I eat it? How much is okay and what kinds?” But wait, doesn’t fat make you…well…fat?

But here’s the thing: fat is NOT bad for you. In fact, it’s an essential nutrient that plays a vital role in your health. It’s necessary to absorb vitamins A, D, E and K. It helps keep your skin and hair healthy. It insulates our organs, protects us from disease, and it helps increase our GOOD cholesterol while lowering the bad cholesterol. It keeps your body functioning properly.

Even more importantly, fat is what helps your hormones function properly. Fat is the building block of every single hormone in your body, including the hormones that control your metabolism, regulate your appetite and store energy.

While it SOUNDS counterintuitive, fat is actually what helps you burn fat.

Fat is NOT the enemy.

So let’s silence allll of the loud, misinformed voices once and for all and get down to the nitty-gritty science of it all. While fat used to be the villain, you’re about to learn it can actually be the hero. Yep, that’s right….

Fat Is Essential

If there’s one thing we hope you walk away knowing, it’s that our bodies need fat in order to function properly.

Our bodies need fat to absorb fat-soluble vitamins, like vitamins A and D. On top of that, healthy fats are necessary for brain health and hormone regulation, and they even help reduce inflammation in our bodies.

So, when you decide to take your health seriously, your goal shouldn’t be to cut out all fat. In fact, you need to eat more fat and less sugar (including foods that convert to sugars in your body).

But with all the misinformation out there, how do you know which fats are good? And how much should you be eating? Let’s dive in!

What is fat, and why is it important?

Well, for starters, it’s one of the major macronutrients our bodies need for survival, along with proteins and carbohydrates. In simple terms, fat is a type of molecule (triglyceride) that helps store energy in our bodies. It’s also an important part of cell membranes, hormones and many other important functions in the body.

The types of fats we eat are made up of molecules called fatty acids. These fatty acids can be either saturated or unsaturated—this is the “healthy vs. unhealthy” distinction we often hear about. Saturated fats are solid at room temperature and often come from animals (butter, lard), while unsaturated fats tend to be liquid at room temperature and come from plants (olive oil, avocado).

Healthy Fats

So, what are healthy fats? Unsaturated fats are the most beneficial for our health, and they can be found in foods like avocados, nuts and fish. They provide essential fatty acids that our bodies need to maintain cell membrane structure and other important functions. Unsaturated fats also help reduce inflammation in the body, which can lower the risk of several diseases.

Unsaturated Fat sources

• Plant-based oils like olive oil and sesame oil
• Nuts
• Avocados
• Seeds, such as pumpkin, sesame, and flax
• Fish oil
• Sunflower oil

Unhealthy Fats

Trans fats are the only type of fat that you should absolutely avoid. These are artificial fats created by adding hydrogen to vegetable oil and can be found in processed foods like cookies, chips and margarine. Trans fats have been linked to heart disease and other health problems, so it’s best to steer clear!

Are Saturated Fats Safe?

What about saturated fats? What are saturated fats?

Saturated fats are fatty acids that tend to be solid at room temperature and can come from animal sources like cheese, butter and lard.

Saturated fats have gotten a bad rap for years now, but research has shown that they may not be as bad for you as previously thought. In moderation, saturated fats can help provide energy and aid in weight loss. However, it’s still important to keep an eye on your saturated fat intake since too much can lead to adverse health effects.

It’s always best to get your fats from avocados, fish and meat protein. Dairy products, including cheese, butter and cream, are ok too, but they shouldn’t be your only source of fats.

Health Benefits Of Eating Fat

Our bodies need fat. This macronutrient regulates hormones, helps reduce inflammation, and of course, it helps you lose weight.

How could something once thought about so negatively, be responsible for all that? Good question—it’s time to get science-y!

Fat Regulates Hormones

Eating fat helps our bodies produce HDL cholesterol, and this cholesterol is the building block of the sex hormones testosterone, estrogen and progesterone.

When we eat enough fat, our bodies are able to produce the optimal amount of hormones and prevent estrogen deficiency. This prevents things like insomnia, night sweats and irregular heart rates. This is one of the reasons that many women in their 40s and beyond who transition to a low-carb diet high in healthy fats have actually noticed changes in their cycles, etc. (some women have even claimed all their peri-menopausal symptoms have disappeared!).

Fat Increases Weight Loss

Just eating more fat isn’t some secret pill that will magically make you lose weight. But, when you eat plenty of fat with a high-protein diet, your body will begin burning your body fat for energy.

Here’s how eating fat helps you burn fat.

Our bodies are used to getting energy from sugar and carbs. When we cut out that source of energy, it has to get its energy from somewhere, so the next place it looks is the stored fat in our body. In our program, this is the process we call becoming Thin Adapted.

In order to become Thin Adapted and burn fat for energy, we need to feed our body healthy fats. It’s like telling your body, “See, this gives you energy. Now go find it in my body and burn through that fat for energy too.”

Fat Makes Us Feel Full

Because fat takes longer to digest than carbohydrates or proteins, it keeps us feeling fuller for longer periods of time. As a result, including healthy fats in your diet can help you feel satisfied between meals.

Feeling full between meals is another benefit of eating fats that helps us lose weight.

Fat Supports Brain Health

Eating enough fat is good for your brain, too. Healthy fats, like the ones found in avocados and fatty fish, are essential for nerve signaling in the brain.

Here’s a fun fact: about 70% of our brain is made of fat. It’s true! The brain also holds about 25% of the body’s cholesterol. This cholesterol is essential for the neurons to form connections with other neurons. This is why when we eat a low-fat diet, we feel brain foggy more often.

Fat Reduces Inflammation

Dietary fat also reduces inflammation in the body. Inflammation doesn’t just refer to swollen ankles or fingers. It’s actually linked to serious diseases like heart disease, Alzheimer’s and even diabetes.

Inflammation is a word that describes the way our bodies defend themselves against harmful things like tissue damage or infections. When our bodies experience inflammation, our immune system releases white blood cells to the sites, which shows up as redness, swelling or fever.

Chronic inflammation refers to the body’s inability to repair itself. This is dangerous and what leads to serious illnesses like heart disease. It’s important to keep inflammation levels low in order to decrease our risk for these diseases.

So how does eating fat help decrease inflammation? Turns out, dietary fats like saturated fatty acids (SFA) and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) have anti-inflammatory properties. This regulates our body’s inflammatory response, basically helping us bounce back quicker.

Fat Helps Regulate Blood Sugar

There is also a connection between polyunsaturated fat and blood sugar levels. Some studies show that this healthy fat is essential in promoting glycemic control, helping maintain healthy blood sugar levels in people with insulin resistance.

Cholesterol

When we talk about fats, we need to also mention cholesterol because cholesterol is a type of lipid, just like fats are. Cholesterols are found in animal products. So when you see things like steak, bacon or cheese on Thinlicious, you might be afraid to eat it because of the cholesterol, but don’t be!

In fact, the opposite is true. This cholesterol is good for you.

Studies show that healthy fats like the omega-3 fatty acids found in fatty fish (like salmon) actually help maintain healthy cholesterol levels.

Learn more about cholesterol and other heart-related common questions in this guide to keto and fiber.

High-Fat Foods and Recipes

Is it all starting to make sense now? Our bodies need this healthy fat in order to stay full, feel better and lose weight. And lucky for YOU—we have a bunch of healthy, high-fat recipes in our Thinlicious recipe index. Check out a few of our favorite ones below.

Fish

Fish is the best source of healthy fats that you’ll find—especially salmon. There are a bunch of different ways to make salmon, but our two favorites are to pan sear it and make it into a dip.

Pan-seared salmon has a crispy coating and is wonderfully soft and flaky. It’s the perfect dinner and tastes just as good reheated.

For something that’s more of a lunch or snack, make low-carb salmon spread. It’s thick and creamy and has that salmon flavor you love. Add some low-carb crackers to your plate for dipping.

Avocado

Avocado is also really high in healthy fatty acids. Top some Magic low-carb bread with your favorite combination of avocado and bacon. Bam! Low-carb avocado toast! It’s a perfect breakfast or lunch.

Chia Seeds

Chia seeds are both high in fat and high in protein. When you’re craving something that will fill you up and satisfy your sweet tooth, some easy chia seed pudding is the answer. One serving of pudding has 15 grams of fat and 4 grams of protein. It’s incredible!

How Much Fat You Need To Eat

Now that you know why it’s so important and the best foods to get it from, how much fat do you need to eat?

That’s the best question of all. And the answer is….it depends.

It depends on where you are in your weight loss journey.

The Thin Adapted System approach that we teach here at Thinlicious in our 28 Day Metabolism Reset and our full TAS Program has three phases, each of which has a different macro requirement, including fat intake.

This is important because your macro needs will differ depending on whether you are adapting to the low-carb lifestyle for the first time in Phase 1, or whether you are in weight loss and fat-burning mode in Phase 2. (Your macros also change when you reach your goal and go into maintenance mode in Phase 3).

That said, for Phase 1, we recommend a macro breakdown of 70%-75% from fat, 20-25% protein, and 5-10% carbs.

Final Thoughts

So now you know why our bodies need fat to function properly and how to get enough of the right kinds of fat. Basically, if you eat plenty of animal protein (especially fish), you’ll be good!

Retrain Your Body To Burn fat

The best way to learn how much fat to eat and how to turn your body into fat-burning mode is to do the Thinlicious™ 28 Day Metabolism Reset. It introduces you to the Thin Adapted System and helps you retrain the way your body burns fuel in just four weeks. It’s the quick win you need! Get it HERE.

PIN FOR LATER

The post Yes, you really do need more (healthy) fat in your diet. Here’s why. appeared first on Thinlicious.

This isn’t a lame dad joke; it’s science.

And the answer is blood sugar.

Blood sugar is the missing link that connects all the dots, answering that big question of why just restricting calories isn’t helping you lose weight.

It also answers other questions too. Why do you feel hungry? Why are you tired by noon? Why is your body gaining weight no matter what you do?

Blood sugar!

Believe it or not, blood sugar is a major player when it comes to shedding pounds. In this guide, we will discuss what blood sugar is, how it affects your weight and how you can regulate it using a low-carb diet. So read on to learn everything you need to know about blood sugar and weight loss!

What is Blood Sugar?

Blood sugar, more properly known as blood glucose, is a type of sugar that circulates in your bloodstream. When you consume foods and drinks with carbohydrates (starches and sugars), they are broken down into different types of simple sugars like glucose, fructose and galactose. These simple sugars then enter the bloodstream, raising your blood glucose levels.

Is Blood Sugar The Same As Insulin?

Before we go any further, let’s clear something up. Blood sugar and insulin are related, but they are not the same thing. Some people accidentally use the two words interchangeably, but they are different.

Blood sugar refers to the sugars that circulate in your bloodstream.

Insulin is a hormone that regulates how your body responds to blood sugar. Insulin is secreted by the pancreas after you eat. As you eat more sugar, your body releases more insulin. The insulin signals the cells to burn that glucose for energy. The sugar your cells don’t use for energy then gets stored as glycogen.

Insulin is also responsible for storing fat. When your insulin levels are high, your body is in fat-storing mode. (Weight gain, anyone?)

So, when we talk about how blood sugar affects weight loss, we are looking at how blood sugar affects insulin levels in your body. Because that hormone is what signals to your body how to respond to fat (burning or storing it).

How Blood Sugar Affects Weight Loss

Remember, when your insulin levels are high, your body becomes a fat-storing machine. It holds onto sugar, turning and storing it as fat.

So, the opposite is true too! When your insulin levels are low, it tells your body to burn the fat as energy, not store it.

How do you keep insulin levels low? You do this by regulating your blood sugar. When glucose comes into your body (from eating carbs and sugar), it tells your pancreas, “Oh! Glucose is here! Time to make more insulin so we can burn that glucose for energy!” It does this over and over again. The more sugar and carbs you eat, the more insulin your body will produce.

So to keep that insulin level low and stop storing fat, you have to eat fewer carbs and less sugar. When you do that, your body will actually start burning fat for energy (hello, weight loss!).

A Quick Note About Insulin Resistance

Insulin resistance is a dangerous thing that happens when someone’s body doesn’t react to insulin properly because the insulin receptors are so desensitized from its overproduction.

Insulin resistance is always accompanied by hyperinsulinemia—a state of there being more insulin in the body than is considered normal or healthy.

It can lead to obesity, Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and various other diseases. It’s so important to understand insulin resistance that we wrote an entire guide about it. Read more about how insulin resistance makes you sick. It’s shocking!

Healthy Blood Sugar Levels

One of the best things you can do for your health and weight loss efforts is to maintain healthy blood sugar levels. The definition of healthy blood sugar levels isn’t cut and dried. It depends on your age and how you tested it. It also depends on whether you already have diabetes or pre-diabetes. Discuss your safe blood sugar levels with your doctor.

If you measure your blood glucose at home with Keto Mojo, we recommend reading their guide, so you understand what it’s testing and how to tell when your blood glucose levels are too high or too low.

To start, here’s how the American Diabetes Association (ADA) classifies diabetes risk for “fasting blood glucose (FBG) and HbA1c”:

• Normal: FBG under 100 mg/dl (5.6 mmol/L), HbA1c under 5.7%
• Prediabetes: FBG from 100 to 125 mg/dl (5.6 to 6.9 mmol/L), HbA1c from 5.7%-6.5 %
• Diabetes: FBG over 125 mg/dl (6.9 mmol/L), HbA1c 6.5 % or above

Symptoms of High and Low Blood Sugar

When you flood your body with glucose from eating a bunch of carbs or sugar at once, you could experience both a blood sugar spike and crash, and both have very different physical symptoms.

Hyperglycemia (high blood sugar) mainly affects people with diabetes (Types 1 and 2). When someone with diabetes has high blood sugar, they will often feel thirsty with a dry mouth, tiredness, blurred vision and need to urinate frequently.

It usually happens when someone with diabetes eats too much sugar, doesn’t exercise enough, becomes dehydrated or misses an insulin dose.

Hypoglycemia is the opposite. It happens when your body’s blood sugar levels are too low. This can happen from fasting or if someone with diabetes takes too much insulin. Symptoms of low blood sugar include:

• Tiredness
• Shakiness
• Weakness
• Confusion

In really extreme cases, hypoglycemia can lead to seizures.

These are both medical things that you should discuss with your physician.

How Eating Low-Carb Affects Blood Sugar

High blood sugar levels mean higher insulin levels, which turns your body into a fat-storing machine. So, it also means that if you want to do the opposite and burn fat, you need to eat less sugar and fewer carbs.

What you eat creates a chain reaction that tells your body whether to burn or store fat. If you want to keep your blood sugar levels regulated, you need to follow a low-carb eating plan.

This means eating fewer grains (even whole grains), less sugar and more protein, fat and fiber. These are called macronutrients, and we have an entire guide that explains what macronutrients are and how much you should eat if you want to lose weight. Read the macronutrients guide to learn more.

Eat Better and Lose Weight

It all comes back to what you eat.

So if you’re looking to lose weight, then understanding how your blood sugar works is key. By regulating your blood sugar levels with a low-carb diet, you can reduce your risk of storing fat and achieve long-term weight loss success.

The best way to do that is to start with our 28 Day Metabolism Reset.

It’s a four-week plan designed to introduce you to this new way of eating and help you change how your body burns fuel forever. In just four short weeks, you’ll be shocked at how radically different you feel – try it today!

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The post Blood Sugar and Weight Loss: The Truth About How They’re Connected appeared first on Thinlicious.

Intermittent fasting combined with a low-carb diet can help you lose weight safely and effectively. And it’s super easy too!

But what is intermittent fasting? What are the benefits of intermittent fasting? And how can you use intermittent fasting with a low-carb, ketogenic diet to lose weight effectively and safely? This article will answer all those questions and more.

What Is Intermittent Fasting?

Intermittent fasting is simply periods of time where you don’t eat, followed by periods of time where you do eat. That’s it!

Ok, there is a bit more to it because there are different lengths of time you can fast. Check out the different types of intermittent fasting and pick the one that matches your lifestyle the best.

16/8 Protocol

There are many different types of intermittent fasting protocols, but the most popular one is the 16/8 protocol. This means that you don’t eat for 16 hours out of the day, and then you have an 8-hour window in which to eat all your meals.

For example, you could stop eating at 8 in the evening and then not eat again until noon the next day. That would be a 16-hour fast. Then you would have an 8-hour window to eat from noon until 8 p.m.

This is the most popular intermittent fasting protocol because it’s the easiest one to stick to. It’s basically just cutting out breakfast and late-night snacks.

5:2 Diet

Another popular intermittent fasting protocol is the 5:2 diet. This means that you eat normally for 5 days out of the week, and then for 2 days out of the week, you eat very little.

For example, on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, you would eat normally. Then on Tuesday and Thursday, you would eat very little or nothing at all.

This type of intermittent fasting can be a bit more difficult to stick to because you have to be very disciplined on the 2 days that you’re fasting. But many people find that it’s worth it because of the benefits they experience.

If you are doing the Thin Adapted System ™(TAS), you could do protein fasts on the 2 days you fast, but we don’t count calories. This protocol doesn’t fit in very easily with TAS because we focus more on macros and not so much on calories.

The Warrior Diet

The Warrior Diet is a type of intermittent fasting that’s a bit different from the other two mentioned above. With the Warrior Diet, you eat one large meal at night and then fast during the day.

Basically, it’s like a 20/4 fast. You fast for 20 hours and then eat all your macros for that day within a four-hour window.

This type of intermittent fasting can be difficult to stick to because you’re going for such a long period of time without food. But some people find that the benefits are worth it.

Alternate-Day Fasting

Alternate-day fasting is exactly what it sounds like. You fast every other day. So, for example, you would fast on Monday and then eat normally on Tuesday. Then you would fast on Wednesday and eat normally on Thursday, and so on.

This type of intermittent fasting is also tough to stick to because you’re going an entire day without food. But, like the other types of intermittent fasting, many people find that the benefits are worth it.

You basically have to try them out and pick the ones that you can stick to. If you find that you don’t have energy and you feel extremely hungry while you fast, don’t do it. TAS is all about fueling your body and not going without. You shouldn’t feel worn down and starving.

What Are The Benefits Of Intermittent Fasting?

There are many benefits of intermittent fasting, both physical and mental, which is why so many people choose to do it. Let’s look a bit closer at all the benefits of intermittent fasting.

Weight Loss

One of the most common reasons people start intermittent fasting is for weight loss. And there’s a good reason for that! Intermittent fasting has been shown to boost weight-loss efforts by increasing metabolism and reducing calorie intake.

A review of studies in 2020 showed that participants who followed an intermittent fasting protocol lost more weight, more fat, and more inches around their waist than those who didn’t intermittent fast.

If your biggest goal is to lose weight, intermittent fasting could be a great option!

Increased Energy Levels

Intermittent fasting can also help to increase your energy levels. When you’re not eating for long periods of time, your body has to find other ways to fuel itself. And one way it does that is by breaking down stored sugar and fat for energy.

This process of breaking down stored sugar and fat for energy is called becoming Thin Adapted. And many people find that they have more energy when their bodies are Thin Adapted.

Studies prove that this is true. In fact, a 2018 study showed that participants who followed an intermittent fasting protocol had increased energy levels and felt less tired than those who didn’t intermittent fast.

Improved Brain Function

Intermittent fasting has also been shown to improve brain function.

Your memory, recall and ability to solve or handle stressful situations could improve by adding some intermittent fasting to your daily habits.

In fact, a 2016 study showed that participants who followed an intermittent fasting protocol had improved memory and cognitive function than those who didn’t intermittent fast.

Who knew that this could help your memory too?!

Reduced Inflammation

Intermittent fasting has also been shown to reduce inflammation.

Inflammation in the body is linked to a whole host of diseases and health conditions, like arthritis, gastrointestinal issues and even depression. So reducing inflammation is always a good thing!

Science proved this is true in a 2015 study when participants who followed an intermittent fasting protocol had reduced levels of inflammation than those who didn’t intermittent fast.

As you can see, there are many benefits of intermittent fasting. And this is just a small sampling of all the benefits that have been studied so far.

Intermittent fasting does so much more for your body than just help it become Thin Adapted and lose weight (even though that’s one of the biggest benefits of all).

Annie’s experience with intermittent fasting:

I started intermittent fasting about 2 months ago and I’m loving it! I’ve been doing the 16/8 protocol, which means that I fast for 16 hours and eat for 8 hours.

I typically start my fast at 8 p.m., which means that I don’t eat again until noon the next day. This was a bit of an adjustment at first, but I quickly got used to it.

I find that I have more energy and focus during my fast, and I’m also losing weight! I’ve already lost 7 pounds in 3 weeks after combining intermittent fasting with the 28 Day Metabolism Reset, and I’m feeling great!

Risks Of Intermittent Fasting With A Low-Carb Diet

There are a few things to be aware of when using intermittent fasting with a low-carb diet.

Type 2 Diabetes or Insulin Resistance

First of all, if you are insulin resistant or have Type 2 diabetes, it’s important to check with your doctor before starting any kind of dietary change or new exercise regimen. This is because fasting can cause your blood sugar levels to drop too low, which can be dangerous.

That being said, if you are insulin resistant or have Type 2 diabetes and you want to try intermittent fasting, there are a few things you can do to help make it safer.

Eat Low-Carb, High-Fat

First of all, make sure to eat a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet. This will help to keep your blood sugar levels stable.

Monitor Blood Sugar

It’s important to monitor your blood sugar levels closely. Make sure to have a snack or meal containing carbohydrates (like fruit, honey, or maple syrup) if your blood sugar levels start to drop too low.

If you are insulin resistant or have Type 2 diabetes and you want to try intermittent fasting, make sure to check with your doctor first and then follow the tips above to help make it safer.

Go Slowly

Secondly, when you are first starting out with intermittent fasting, it’s important to go slowly and listen to your body. We recommend starting with a 12-hour fast once or twice per week (for example, not eating from 7 p.m. until 7 a.m. the next day).

Once you’re comfortable with that, you can start increasing the length of your fasts until you’re up to 16 hours or more. This is because it can take a while for your body to adjust to not eating for long periods of time, and you don’t want to overwhelm it.

Drink Water And Electrolytes

Finally, make sure you’re drinking plenty of water and electrolytes (salt) when doing intermittent fasting and low carb. This will help prevent any headaches or dizziness that can sometimes occur when first starting out.

Electrolytes are important to your health because they help to keep your body hydrated, and they help nutrients move into your cells.

Yup, you’ll actually get more nutrients from the food you eat if you stay hydrated with plenty of electrolytes.

Combining Intermittent Fasting With A Low-Carb Diet – Questions Answered

Combining intermittent fasting with a low-carb diet can help you break a weight-loss plateau or jump-start your efforts and help you become Thin Adapted quicker.

Here are some questions people have about combining intermittent fasting with a low-carb lifestyle.

How do you do intermittent fasting with a low-carb diet? Is it safe?

Yes, it is safe to do intermittent fasting while eating low carb. In fact, this can be a really easy way to control yourself from indulging in late-night snacks that might make you overeat carbs.

How many days in a row can you do intermittent fasting while eating low carb?

There is no set number of days, but most people find it easiest to do 2-3 days per week. This way, you can still have some days where you’re not fasting, which can help your body adjust.

What are the best times to eat while intermittent fasting on a low-carb diet?

The best times to eat while intermittent fasting on a low-carb diet are:

• First thing in the morning, as soon as you wake up
• Before your workout
• Post-workout
• In the evening, before bed

What should you eat while intermittent fasting on a low-carb diet?

The best things to eat while intermittent fasting on a low-carb diet are:

• High-protein foods like meat, fish, and eggs
• Healthy fats like avocados, olive oil, and coconut oil
• Low-carb vegetables like broccoli, spinach, and kale
• Water and electrolytes

We have all sorts of recipes that fit in perfectly with intermittent fasting and a low-carb lifestyle. Check out the Thinlicious™ recipe index for some yummy ideas!

If you are doing intermittent fasting with a low-carb diet, make sure to listen to your body and go slowly at first. Drink plenty of water and eat high-protein foods to help keep you feeling full.

You’ve Got This!

When combined with a low-carb, ketogenic diet, the benefits of intermittent fasting are even greater. In fact, combining these two together is an incredibly effective way to lose weight quickly and safely. So what are you waiting for? Give it a try!

But don’t do it alone! We recommend starting with our Thinlicious™ 28 Day Metabolism Reset, which is designed to introduce you to the Thin Adapted System and help you retrain the way your body burns fuel in just four weeks. Get it HERE.

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The post The Truth About Intermittent Fasting and Low-Carb Diets appeared first on Thinlicious.

Nothing.

Why, after all this time and effort, do you still weigh the same?

If you’re following a low-carb diet and aren’t losing weight, you’re not alone. Many people find that they don’t lose weight on low-carb diets, even if they are strictly following the rules.

There are several reasons why this might be the case for you, and in this article we will explore them all. We’ll also provide some tips to help you lose weight on a low-carb diet, even if it’s been difficult for you in the past!

Most Common Reasons You Aren’t Losing Weight

Staring at a scale that hasn’t moved, even after you changed your diet, it’s incredibly frustrating.

What gives?

You’re following the rules, stopped eating your favorite desserts and carbs, and you still haven’t lost weight.

This is enough to cause many people to throw in the towel. Why keep trying if it isn’t going to work?

We’ve all been there. It’s seriously de-motivating to feel like all your efforts aren’t paying off. Before you quit, let’s look closely at why you aren’t losing weight. This is a common experience for lots of people – especially women. There are often a few common reasons that those pounds just won’t leave – and a few things you can do to banish them for good!

You Aren’t Completely Thin Adapted

The most common reason people don’t lose weight when they eat low-carb is that their body isn’t completely Thin Adapted yet.

What’s this mean?

When your body is Thin Adapted, it switches from burning carbs for energy to burning fat. This is the phase you’re in during our 28-Day Metabolism Reset. During this phase, some people lose between 7-15 pounds.

Most people lose the majority of their weight after they become fully Thin Adapted. After your body is used to burning its stored fat as energy, you’ll notice your clothes fitting loser and the scale finally moving.

But you have to give it time and eat the correct foods in order to get to this point. That’s what the 28-Day Metabolism Reset takes you through, step by step.

You’re Eating Hidden Carbs

Another reason many people fail to lose weight while eating low-carb is that they are actually eating more carbs than they think.

This is because some foods contain hidden carbs, or the labels are seriously misleading. This isn’t your fault, and it’s really easy to fix.

You see, a lot of foods that are marketed as “low-carb” on the labels actually have a lot more carbs than people assume.

Check the nutrition labels on all the food you’re eating, and ensure that the carb content is truly low. Otherwise, you might find yourself inadvertently sabotaging your weight loss efforts!

The safest way to avoid hidden carbs is to cook the food yourself. There are tons of super-easy Thinlicious™ recipes that are ready in 30 minutes or less. Plus, they taste better than anything you can buy in the store. Try one of these tasty recipes:

• Easy Cauliflower Fried Rice
• Quick & Easy Garlic Butter Shrimp and Zoodles
• Thinlicious Green Low-Carb Smoothie

Not Eating Enough Protein

Friend, protein is the most important thing you can eat when you are trying to shed those stubborn pounds. If you aren’t eating enough of it (or enough of the right kind) that scale might not budge.

Protein is essential for weight loss, and many people find that they need to eat more protein when they are trying to lose weight.

It’s important to eat enough protein while you are becoming Thin Adapted because your body will turn the protein into lean muscle mass and keep using your stored fat for energy. This one small habit can make all the difference in your weight loss journey.

Make sure that you are eating the right kinds of protein too. Animal protein delivers all of your essential amino acids and includes the fat we need in order to digest and use this protein efficiently. Eat plenty of protein at each meal to keep your body Thin Adapted.

Try these tasty high-protein recipes:

• Easy Low-Carb Beer Can Chicken
• Best Low-Carb Halibut Recipe
• Roasted Honey Garlic Glazed Pork Loin

Not Getting Enough Sleep

How’s your sleep? Are you getting enough zzz’s? If not, your restfulness might be contributing to your body keeping those pounds.

How can sleep be related to weight loss? It all goes back to hormones. When you don’t get enough sleep, your body produces more of the hormone cortisol. Then, cortisol makes you crave sweet foods even more and then stores sugar as fat.

Cortisol isn’t the only reason sleep affects our weight. When we are sleepy, we are more prone to feeling hangry, which leads to bad food choices. We might sneak a sugary snack really quick, hoping it helps us feel more awake.

Sleep is also that beautiful time when our bodies repair and recover from the day’s activities. Your metabolism works while you are resting. This is essential to helping your metabolism work more efficiently. Your body needs to build muscle so that you burn more fat, even while you are sitting still.

If you’re not getting enough sleep, try to make it a priority and see if that helps with your weight loss efforts!

You’re Not Eating Enough Fat

It might seem crazy, but our bodies need to eat fat in order to burn fat and lose weight. It’s confusing, right?

That weird logic is why many people on a low-carb diet struggle to lose weight. We villainize fats so much that we aren’t eating enough of them to become fully Thin Adapted.

We’re not talking about greasy fat that you’ll find on a pizza. We’re talking about healthy fats that are in salmon, nuts, and avocados.

When your body is becoming Thin Adapted, it is learning how to burn stored fat for energy. In order to keep it in this mode, you need to feed your body healthy sources of these fats.

Healthy fats will also help you feel satisfied and full. You won’t have those annoying hunger pangs after you finish eating your low-carb meal.

Make sure you include healthy fats in your diet, and if possible, try to get most of your calories from fat rather than carbs or protein.

Not Exercising The Right Way

All that cardio we do, trying to melt away the fat, might not be doing as much good as we hope.

As much fun as dancing and Zumba is, only focusing on cardio and excluding weight training might be stunting your weight loss efforts instead of helping it.

In fact, building muscle is the best thing you could ever do for your metabolism.

As you go through strength training, your body uses more energy to repair and rebuild your muscles. This is an outstanding way to increase your metabolism and burn more fat, even while you are resting.

If you’re focused on losing serious weight, make strength training a part of your workout routine.

You’re Stressed Out

Here’s your excuse to go get a massage—it could help you lose weight.

Stress is such an unhealthy thing. It contributes to migraines, skin problems, and even weight gain (or lack of weight loss).

Remember that hormone cortisol we talked about earlier? When we are stressed, our body produces more of it. If your body has high levels of cortisol, you’ll be fighting a hard game to lose weight.

Unfortunately, sometimes stress is caused by things out of our control. Family members, financial issues, or the world around us. Focus on improving what you can control. Take yoga classes, seek therapy, and find some coping mechanisms to slow your heart rate and decrease your anxiety.

Basically, put yourself at the top of your priority list. You’ll see major benefits!

You Have an Underlying Health Condition

Let’s not rule out the possibility of a health condition that could be causing your body to hold onto that weight.

There are a few health conditions that can cause weight gain and make it difficult to lose weight. If you have any of these conditions, it’s important to get treatment from a doctor. Some common health conditions that can cause weight gain include:

-Hashimoto’s disease

-Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)

-Cushing’s syndrome

-Depression

-Sleep apnea

If you think you might have one of these conditions, talk to your doctor. They can help you get the treatment you need to lose weight and feel your best!

You’re Not Drinking Enough Water

Go grab your water bottle, fill it up, and start drinking. Being even slightly dehydrated could be putting the brakes on your weight loss.

You’re at a greater risk for dehydration when you eat fewer carbs. This is because your body gets rid of more water while it pees out the ketones.

Think about all that water you used to drink before you ate low-carb and increase it. You need to be drinking more water if you want to stay Thin Adapted.

Make sure you’re drinking eight glasses of water a day, and if possible, try to drink even more. Make drinking fun – add a few slices of lemon or cucumbers to your water. Do whatever you need to do to encourage yourself to flush out those ketones and kick-start your weight loss.

Your Hormones Have Changed

Ladies, we know all about hormones – we have dealt with them since puberty. Well, these hormone levels could be working against you, especially if you are over the age of 40.

Hormones affect so much—especially as we age. When they are out of balance, it can cause us to gain weight, feel lethargic, and even feel depressed.

How do we change our hormones so they work with us instead of against us?

Sometimes, eating low-carb, high-protein meals and getting enough sleep and exercise is enough to balance out your hormones. If you are doing all the right things and the scale still isn’t moving, you might be able to try hormone supplements.

There are a bunch of different options available, so talk to your doctor about which one might be right for you.

Jump Start Your Weight Loss

As you can see, there are several potential reasons why you might not be losing weight on a low-carb diet. But don’t despair! When you become fully Thin Adapted and learn more about the science behind weight loss, you will be more successful. That scale will start moving, and you’ll feel that rush of joy you deserve.

We recommend starting with our Thinlicious™ 28-Day Metabolism Reset, which is designed to introduce you to the Thin-Adapted System and help you retrain the way your body burns fuel in just four weeks. Get it HERE.

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