BEFORE YOU RUSH INTO YOUR DIET

 CONGRATULATIONS, YOU RETIRED, MEET YOUR NEW JOB

After you retire, your only job is to take care of yourself. Sadly, when you look around the majority of people you see are VERY overweight. According to government agencies almost half of the US population is OBESE and a sizable number (no pun intended) are Morbidly Obese (100 or more pounds over ideal suggested healthy body weight).

JUDGE YOURSELF

If you feel good, have all your mobility and are disease-free then you're doing great. 

If you're 50-75 (or more) pounds overweight and sporting a chronic auto-immune related illness then it might be time to consider a different path forward.

Do you have a full length body mirror? If not consider getting one, there are inexpensive models for under $10. Take off your clothes and look at yourself, how's your shape? Attractive or swollen?

BEFORE YOU LAUNCH ON A DIET

Learning what to eat and when to eat are important to your diet. I'm in my 7th year working the Plant Paradox diet. It took a lot of reading and a healthy amount of luck to find this diet. Before 2006 my adult weight was typically between 220 and 250 pounds. In 2008 I read over 200 books about diet and exercise. By experimenting with what I ate and drank I was able to get my weight down under 200 pounds but it was a continuous struggle to keep it down and IT was always trying to go back up. No sooner would I get down around 190 and then in the blink of an eye I'd be back at 211. 

In those days of dieting I was always hungry. It was because I was not eating nutrient dense foods when I did eat.

METABOLIC FLEXIBILITY IS KEY TO DIET WEIGHT LOSS

If you are sporting a girth of blubber around the middle it's probably been slowly swelling for years. Your body has become accustomed to storing triglycerides in your body-fat cells and it's pretty much been a one-way trip, UP in weight.

When we were young they taught that you could just reduce what you eat to loose weight but when you've spent a lifetime training your body to store fat it's going to take some work to change the direction. 

Dr Gundry has a great video about Metabolic Inflexibility. 

TIMED EATING AND INTERMITTENT FASTING 

For me, Intermittent Fasting (also called "Timed Eating") has been a key ingredient to get weight off and keep it off. 

Here's the short version, you do all your eating in an eight hour period and then you don't eat any more. Here in our home we've moved breakfast to 10am which means we have (ideally) until 6pm to eat other food. 

10am - Breakfast, usually three scrambled eggs (fresh from our hens)

2-3pm - Main meal, Plant Paradox foods only

6pm - fresh fruit snack

STOP - Before you jump in you need to develop Metabolic Flexibility, that is, train your body to use calories from fat cells stored on your body. 

If you just drop your daily calorie intake down to 1000 you'll feel awful and you'll literally starving yourself, yet for all the anguish you're going through you won't lose much fat.

Training your body to use fat takes time and a plan. 

THE BEST PART

Once you train your body to a schedule of "Timed Eating" you won't feel hungry and it's easier to say NO to all those snacks that put the weight back on. You don't feel hungry because your body is actually using calories stored in fat.

Getting up and down out of bed, even out of chairs becomes so much easier when you ditch excess weight. Exercising becomes MUCH easier when you're lighter in weight, and that helps you burn a few more calories. 

Watch Dr Gundry videos on YouTube to learn about the Plant Paradox and Timed Eating. 

Internet Search on: 

Timed Eating

Intermittent Fasting

Metabolic Inflexibility

Wishing you good mobility and health!

©2023 by Mark King, thanks for reading My Diet

It's not ok to copy or quote without written permission. Thanks!

THE PLANT PARADOX, MADE EASY

"Your belly fat is not your fault! Foods you've been told are healthy actually drive fat storage in the abdominal area"

At the core of The Plant Paradox is a restrictive form of the Ketogenic diet. Keto has been around since the 1920's and is based on high fat (80%) and low carbohydrate (less than 30 grams/day) consumption. In addition to eating healthy (lectin free) meats this diet includes lots of leafy greens and vegetables. It's not Atkins and it's not just a weight loss plan, it's a way to eat healthy for the rest of your life.

The big difference in Dr Gundry's plan is that you avoid certain types of starch and produce that are high in lectins.

WHAT ARE LECTINS?

Lectins are natural toxins that help deter insects and animals from eating plants.

WHERE ARE LECTINS?

Lectins are highly concentrated in wheat, corn, soy, peanuts, beans, fruits, tomatoes and a number of other foods that dominate the modern diet.

Lectins are also found in typical grocery store meats which result from animals being raised eating foods high in lectins (you're eating what the animal you're eating, ate).

Note: Eating organic foods does not eliminate lectins.

WHY NOW?

Through years of patient-research Dr Gundry found that humans tolerate lectins better than some species but some of his most ill patients showed dramatic improvement and healing as a result of eliminating lectins from their diet.

WEIGHT LOSS

The Ketogenic diet emphasizes eating fat instead of carbohydrates. When you get your carb intake down low enough your body starts burning the stored fat on your body.

Your liver converts high quality protein (from select plants, grass-fed / grass-finished meat and eggs) into whatever nutrients you need. The liver also converts stored fat into energy to power your body and fuel your brain.

A natural side effect of converting stored body fat to energy is weight loss, it's not uncommon to find big success stories about stunning weight loss from people eating a ketogenic diet. Combining Keto with lectin-free eating is a fast path to feeling better and finding your natural body weight without counting calories.

Kelly Clarkson, a pop music star reported she lost 40+ pounds by purchasing Dr. Gundry's book and simply following his recommendations. She also cured her autoimmune disease.

DISEASE CURE

Weight loss is the big thing that gets talked about but there are other amazing benefits from following the Plant Paradox Keto program. Many disease characteristics are reduced or eliminated by following this diet.

Dr Gundry says "100% of diabetes is curable" by following this diet. Would you rather spend $500 on insulin every month or be cured? It comes down to how much sugar you need to eat. Your body is fine without eating sugar but some people are so addicted to it they'd rather be sick than cured.

Before becoming a diet guru Dr Gundry was a famous heart surgeon with numerous patents to his many credits. From doing heart bypass operations Dr Gundry saw first hand, the insides of peoples circulatory systems and how they reacted to eating lectin-free.

DR GUNDRY ON LECTINS

Lectins block receptors that allow our muscles to burn blood sugar for fuel (University of California research). That lack of "fuel" triggers cravings (for sweets and carbs) while loads of unused blood sugar wind up as belly fat. Eliminating lectins unblocks these receptors so our muscles get their fuel and cravings disappear.  Metabolism goes up and blood-sugar levels come down which signals our bodies to burn belly fat! As blood sugar stabilizes, it slashes the risk for and severity of Type 2 diabetes.

Lectins not only inflame our insides, they sometimes break through the gut wall. This lets bacteria escape and can trigger an autoimmune response that causes the body to attack itself. Eliminating lectins allows a "leaky" gut to heal, almost always improving or curing autoimmune conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, MS, Hashimoto's thyroiditis and more.

NEW BOOK

Dr. Gundry has a new book called "The Plant Paradox, Quick and Easy".

The Plant Paradox is full of science to explain all facets of how the health benefits manifest. His new book is for those who just want the diet to follow, explained in a quick and concise manner.

HOW TO CHOOSE KETO DIET FOODS

KETO DIET FOODS

Following the Keto diet and reaping all the rewards it has to offer is accompanied by one huge problem, what to eat!

People follow this diet for a number of health reasons like defeating obesity and diabetes. There are other reasons to use this diet plan, it will ultimately lead you to your ideal size and weight.

Don't expect a miracle over-night, I remind myself daily that I spent 65-years getting myself into this condition, I can devote a few months to trying to improve it.

DIABETES OR SOME OTHER MAJOR ILLNESS

If you have a major illness then you should consult your doctor before embarking on a diet change as comprehensive as Keto.

I personally do not believe Keto is a health hazard but I'm not a doctor and I don't know your condition. With all that said, check with your doctor but don't be surprised if he/she does not even know what the Keto diet is.

KETO FOR LIFE

Many people use some variant of the Keto diet to lose weight but then they return to eating low-cost carbohydrates that cause all their fat cells to swell and get large again.

Please note, the Keto diet is NOT the Atkins diet. Dr Atkins certainly understood the principles involved in low carb eating and made a name for himself but his recommendations were not the same as the Keto diet.

Don't eat Keto just to lose weight, follow this diet for the rest of your life and enjoy a healthy new you that will stay that way.

CARBOHYDRATE INTOLERANCE

Carbohydrate intolerance is a fascinating term. It means your body does not like being fueled by carbohydrates and all the sugar variants. If you have a lot of extra fat on your body then you're probably carbohydrate intolerant.

Back in grade school we were taught that your body stored energy in fat for you to use later. But what if all you do is keep adding more fat? When does my body burn that fat to get that stored energy?

If your weight keeps going UP, UP, UP then it should be obvious you're not burning fat, you're storing it for some day in the future when it will make you insane.

EAT DIFFERENT

If you do what you always do then you get what you always get. Keep eating low cost, low fat carbohydrates and your weight is certain to continue rising.

When you're ready to make a change the Keto diet plan is there to help you eliminate cheap carbohydrates from your menu. Get that total carb intake down to 30 grams or less per day and watch the weight go away.

The Keto diet is not new, it's been around since the 20's.

FINDING THE RIGHT KETO FOODS

By far the hardest part of following a healthy Keto diet plan is finding the right foods to eat.

Sometimes it seems all you can find are foods you should NOT eat, why is that?

It is because the big food packaging companies know you love the taste of sugar so they put it into almost EVERYTHING!

Sugar additives make foods taste like candy. The truth is, you should not be eating candy either, it's full of the worlds cheapest carbohydrates, it will spike your insulin response causing you to become more diabetic and it will expand the layer of fat residing on your person.

GET YOUR MIND RIGHT

Sugar, bread, ice cream, candy, soda pop, beer and many more items must leave your diet to enjoy the benefits of the Keto plan.

Delicious things you may not have been eating return to your diet through the magic of Keto. Sour cream, cream cheese and heavy cream are just a few of the delicious high-fat foods on the Keto plan. Heavy cream whipped up with a little Stevia sweetener is the best whipped cream on the planet.

REPLACE SUGAR WITH STEVIA SWEETENER

Stevia is an all natural, zero calorie and zero carbohydrate sweetener. It's available in powder and liquid forms (we love the liquid Sweet Drops).

We make our own sodas using seltzer water, Stevia sweetener and natural flavors like lemon and lime. These drinks are zero calories and zero carbohydrates.

MORE DIET SUGGESTIONS COMING

We're currently working on a full list of foods to eat when working the Keto diet plan. We'll post it right here when it's complete.

Happy eating!

EXERCISE FOR OLDER PEOPLE, EXERCISE 02 WALKING

WILL WALKING IMPROVE MY HEALTH?

The short answer is YES!

A recent study (2018) concluded that one of the worst things you can do is NOT EXERCISE. Before you adopt an exercise routine consider discussing your plans with your doctor during your regular yearly wellness visit. Your doctor can check your blood pressure and order blood tests to ascertain a good starting point for your diet and exercise routine.

Exercise is not about losing weight but it DOES improve your health and you should consider doing some regularly (like four to six times a week). Your exercise routine should raise your heart rate up above your resting heart rate and you should maintain that level for 15-30 minutes at least three times per week (more would obviously be better).

Leisurely walking does not burn very many calories so consider stepping up the pace if you want to burn any calories at all.

If your goal is losing weight then you should focus very precisely on what you're putting in that large hole mounted directly under you nose.

THE TRACK
In our gym we have a 150-foot long track (around the perimeter of our porch), four laps around that is 600-feet, 10 of those four-lap sets is over a mile. We've avoided getting a running machine due to cost, maintenance and noise.

As an alternative to our indoor track we have an outdoor version that is just over 1/3 of a mile around the whole thing, three-laps is 5400-feet or just over a mile.

I sandwich laps around our track in between sets of weight lifting, this helps me keep my heart rate UP and in the right spot for conditioning and improvement. After working on this for four months I can do 16 sets of weight lifting exercises and 20 laps (12,000 feet) around the track in around one-hour and ten-minutes.

WALKING AND BLOOD PRESSURE
Daily exercise and eating the right foods has helped reduce my own blood pressure. Eating right has helped me reach and maintain my ideal weight while exercising has improved my energy and helped me feel more limber and healthy.

Happy eating and wishing you all the best with exercise!

WILL EATING YOGURT FIX UNHEALTHY GUT BACTERIA?

WILL EATING YOGURT FIX UNHEALTHY GUT?

You've seen the ads, now, know the truth.

Eating yogurt will help you build happy gut bacteria. 
True if you did not decimate the place with a gastronomic-nuclear weapon like antibiotics or maybe a baby aspirin per day. If you blow the place to bits with these drugs then Yogurt is not going to fix that anytime soon.

Eating yogurt is good for you and your digestive tract, just stick to eating yogurt and you'll be happier and healthier. Avoid the drugs previously listed.

If you need a pain killer to reduce bug bite itching or muscle pain or maybe recovering from dental work use Tylenol but try to use as few as you can because they're hard on your liver.

Avoid antibiotics as much as possible. We already know you don't want to become insensitive to the healing powers of antibiotics but you ALSO don't want your gut bacteria wiped out by a round of them. New research also indicates antibiotics may be instrumental in raising blood pressure and hypertension.

The world of little critters in your digestive tract is a good thing. Take care of them. It's odd thinking they're there but if you try to take care of them instead of fearing or ignoring or killing them, you'll be much more healthy and happy.

Happy eating to all!

WEIGHT LIFTING AT HOME

Our Gym

THE WEIGHT BENCH MACHINE AND BIG 50" FAN (19,200 CFM)

FORWARD AND BACKWARD LEG LIFTS, EASY TO CHANGE WEIGHTS

Our weight bench machine is olympic size and handles the full size two-inch bars. This means we must be careful in choosing one-inch bars for use on this machine, the low priced one-inch bars are too short for this bench.

THE BODY CHAMP, SQUAT AND KNEE-UP MACHINE

THE RACK, INVERTED SIT-UP BENCH

COLOR CODED WEIGHTS, NOTE QUICK-CHANGE COLLAR ON LEFT SIDE

MORE COLOR CODED WEIGHTS, NOTE QUICK CHANGE COLLAR ON RIGHT

The Quick Change collars make changing weights fast and easy. They have an easy to open and close latch that causes them to grip the barbell bar firmly.

WEIGHT COLOR CODE CHART

DIFFERENT BARBELLS FOR DIFFERENT EXERCISES

OVERHEAD PRESS BARBELL

MARY'S PERSONAL BARBELL

STANDING ROW BARBELL

Our exercise sessions are divided into four-sets of 10-12 repetitions each. A set starts with the initial basic bar weight setup, then I add 2.5 pounds to the bar for each additional set so the weight gets progressively heavier by the set.


DIFFERENT DUMBELLS FOR DIFFERENT EXERCISES

We use dumbbells for curling exercises and others. Currently we're using four different basic weight setups. These are also held together with Quick Change collars.

VARIOUS DUMBBELLS

The dumbbells with black handles are hollow pipes, these weigh virtually nothing and add nothing to the weight setup.

The dumbbells with chrome handles are solid steel and weigh three-pounds each.

We have our dumbbell workout station positioned directly in front of the Big 50" Fan. This blasts the person exercising with air to keep them cool.

COLOR CODED WEIGHTS HELP IDENTIFY WEIGHT SETUP QUICKLY

We've acquired weights from a variety of sources over the years which means a variety of shapes and sizes. By painting them with color coded markers it makes setting up various bars with the desired weight much easier. Color coding also makes it much easier to identify what weight a bar is setup with. 

BUYING GYM EQUIPMENT

Weight lifting is affordable, you can start with a single dumbbell and add on from there. 

Standard 1" bars are great for beginner to intermediate training, that will get you a couple of years down the road before you'll need to be thinking about olympic size 2" bars and platters.

Our bench will handle standard or olympic size bars and cost around $130 (delivered).

The Body Champ was on sale for $89+Tax at Academy Sporting. 

The inclined situp bench was around $40 from Amazon. It's a very light duty model but it works fine for me.

The small plastic weight retainers came from Amazon for around $4 each, they are worth it because they make it so fast to add or subtract weights from a bar. 

WALKING AND POWER WALKING

Power Walking is just walking longer strides more quickly and more forcefully. Some data suggests power walking doubles the calorie burn over walking leisurely. 

I walk in-between my weight lifting sets and use a small monitor to help me keep my heart rate in the best zone for me. 

4-LAP SETS = 600 FEET OF DISTANCE COVERED
I looked at running machines but these require maintenance and electric power plus they make noise. Instead I laid out a 150-foot long track around our screened-in porch. A walking set consists of four laps around the track and yields up 600-feet of distance. 

I regularly do 10 to 20, 4-lap sets during an exercise routine.

20x 4-lap (600') sets = 12,000 feet of distance or 2.27 miles total covered in-between my weight lifting sets. 

Good luck, happy eating exercise to all!

EXERCISE FOR OLDER PEOPLE, PULSE MONITOR, EXERCISE 01

by Mark King for mydiet.tech

RULE #1

GO SLOW, DON'T GET HURT!

This sounds simple but it's not. It is easy to hurt yourself, especially if you're out of shape and older.

Nobody will be impressed by feats of impressive straining so don't do it.

If you're really in bad physical condition consult with your doctor during your yearly wellness checkup about exercising.

MONITOR YOUR HEART RATE

The harder you work or exercise the harder your heart must work and this will push your pulse higher.

How high should YOUR pulse be?

I'm not a doctor and I can't tell you what's right for you but I can tell you how to monitor your pulse cheaply and easily.

Pulse monitor clips to finger and displays pulse in about 10 seconds

This little monitor, available from Amazon for under $14, measures your pulse (the upper number) and the level of oxygen in your blood (the lower number). The pulse is the number I watch closely when exercising.

My normal resting pulse is between 55 and 72, normal movement and activity takes it up to the range of 75-88.

When I first began exercising I could easily get my pulse up to 110, spirited walking could get it up to 95-100. After three months of training for half an hour per day, six days a week, and following the Plant Paradox diet I have a difficult time getting my pulse up to 95.

BE CAREFUL, GO SLOW

Happy exercising!