In a previous post I discussed what metabolic syndrome is and its possible causes. Here I’ll discuss what you may be able to do to reverse or prevent it.
To start you can immediately reduce your consumption of carbohydrates. It’s not to say you need to eliminate them from your diet but if you have a sugar addiction or have difficulty staying away from breads, cereals, and other grains it is in your best interest to find substitutes to remove as much from your diet as you can.
This is where the Keto Diet or a High Fat Low Carb (HFLC) diet comes into play. By removing carbs from your daily consumption you can start to immediately reverse some of the issues that lead to obesity and type-2 diabetes. The higher consumption of protein and fat on an HFLC diet allows you to feel full and satisfied, also known as satiety. When you feel satiated you can go longer without eating. And with the removal of carbs from your diet, you won’t suffer the spikes in insulin which will contribute to greater insulin sensitivity.
You can also try what is now known as Intermittent Fasting. It’s not some crazy thing where you stop eating for days on end. It’s simply cutting out some of your meals and limiting the time you eat to a certain time window of the day.
I started this well over 25 years ago just on a whim. I was getting heavier and approaching 200 lbs. I didn’t ever want to see the scale hit that number so I decided to change my eating habits by eating only when hungry. The first meal I cut out was breakfast. I was rarely hungry in the mornings and breakfast actually got in the way of reading the morning paper. So since the day I decided to go down that route I simply have a cup of coffee while reading the news in the morning. I was able to next skip lunch. It seemed the longer I went without eating the less hungry I became. For a long time now I have been eating only one large meal per day with maybe a snack in the evenings. It can be done and without even thinking about will power.
There are books to get you started on both the low carb approach and intermittent fasting approach. The two combined make powerful tools that you can use without any medication. The best part about going low carb and following intermittent fasting is that it’s free. No diet shakes or powders. No meal plans or pharmaceuticals. All you need to do is not eat as often and stay away, as much as you can, from sugar, breads, cereals, and other carbohydrates.
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