New study finds metabolism doesn’t change as previously thought

Blog

I’m not sure what to make of this. I need someone more qualified to examine the study to make more sense of what the NYT is reporting. I thought some of this was already known. For example, metabolism changes with different stages of life. I’m not sure what they found is true across all populations though.

Central to their findings was that metabolism differs for all people across four distinct stages of life.
There’s infancy, up until age 1, when calorie burning is at its peak, accelerating until it is 50 percent above the adult rate.
Then, from age 1 to about age 20, metabolism gradually slows by about 3 percent a year.
From age 20 to 60, it holds steady.
And, after age 60, it declines by about 0.7 percent a year.
What We Think We Know About Metabolism May Be Wrong – The New York Times (nytimes.com)

I noticed my metabolism started to slow around age 35. What else would account for no change in diet and exercise but an increase in weight? My metabolism wasn’t measured it was just something I noticed so I changed my eating habits.

I hope this gets some scrutiny from metabolic health doctors and researchers I follow so I can get some trusted opinions.

Are mushrooms low carb and keto friendly?

Blog

The short answer is… yes. I use mushrooms all the time to accent a meal. I put them in my omelets, serve them along side a steak, sauté them with green beans, snap peas, or broccoli among other vegetables. I think they’re great. I don’t think it’s possible to add so many mushrooms to a meal or a recipe that you’ll pop over your carb limit for the day.

There are many varieties of mushrooms, and the most common types are naturally low in carbohydrates in their natural form.
For example, a 1-cup (96-gram) serving of raw, whole white button mushrooms contributes 3 grams of carbs to your day. A cup of raw oyster and shiitake mushrooms contains around 6 and 7 grams of carbs, respectively.
If you like portobello mushrooms, you’ll find around 3 grams of carbs in both a 1-cup (86-gram) serving of them diced, or an average mushroom cap you might use to make a meatless burger
Can You Eat Mushrooms on a Keto Diet? (healthline.com)

Image by cocoparisienne from Pixabay

New study says increased exercise doesn’t always lead to burning more calories throughout the day

Blog

It seems the human body tries to balance itself out all the time. This makes sense if you think about it. Your body is always trying to survive. If you fast your body’s metabolism will slow so you don’t starve to death too quickly. If you eat frequently your metabolism fires up in order to try to get rid of excess calories consumed. And now a new study shows that if you exercise too much your body will compensate by restricting calorie burn during the times you’re more sedentary.

According to new research led by the University of Roehampton and published on 16 August 2021, people who take part in regular exercise burn fewer calories on body maintenance than people who don’t do any strenuous activity, dramatically reducing the calorie-burning gains of exercise.
Using data from the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Doubly-labelled water database of over 1,750 adults, researchers found that the calories the body burns to exist (known as basal energy expenditure, basal metabolic rate or BMR for short) decreases by 28% during periods when daily exercise levels are consistently high.
BMR accounts for approximately 60–75% of total daily energy expenditure in individuals, way more than calories burned during recreational activities such as running or cycling. A significant reduction in BMR can effectively counterbalance the positive calorie-burning effects of frequent exercising.
In short, the more we exercise over the long term, the fewer calories our bodies burn for the most rudimentary activities, therefore reducing the overall calories we burn per day.
Regular exercise may hinder weight loss says new research but I disagree – here’s why | T3

Don’t stop exercising though! My take away from the recent news on this and the energy balance model versus the carbohydrate insulin model is the secret to losing or maintaining your weight is some combination of all this information that is customized to the person. You have to learn what is right for you.

The energy balance model simply says you have to expend more calories than you take in to lose weight. I think this is true to an extent. The carbohydrate insulin model says that reducing carbohydrates aids in weight loss or maintenance because reducing carbs in the diet makes a person more insulin sensitive which in turn prevents energy from being stored as fat. I also think this is true to an extent. Exercise will burn more calories for you throughout the day than if you did nothing at all and that could aid in weight loss and/or maintenance. I think this is true to an extent.

In my life I try to evaluate how my body reacts to certain foods. I exercise, not for weight loss, but for fitness. Diet and exercise combined serves my cause to maintain strength, flexibility, and balance as I get older. I’ll hit 55 this year and my fitness and weight goals are to simply stay around 165 lbs. to 175 lbs., be able to lift 90 lbs. to 100 lbs. in various exercises, be able to stand on one foot in various poses, and be able to touch the floor while bending forward. If I can continue this for the next 30 years I think my remaining years I can binge on Resse’s Peanut Butter Cups to my heart’s content.

It’s Never Too Late for Older Adults to Lose Weight

Blog

By Jennifer Scott of spiritfinder.org

You’re not as young as you once were, but that’s no reason to resign yourself to a life stuck on the couch. Sedentary lifestyles have been proven to negatively impact a person’s overall health, and can even bring on obesity and other health complications. Instead of believing you are too old to lose weight, make the choice to change your current situation and get back to feeling good about yourself. Here is some advice from Keto Kooking for losing weight and wellness.

Start Small

Beginning is always the hardest part of losing weight. You want results fast and are just ready to get this “diet thing” over with so you can go back to feeling good about yourself, but results don’t come easy. According to ZenBusiness, when you go too hard and fast, you run the risk of back to your old habits.

As the adage goes, it’s a marathon—not a sprint. Start small with your exercise. Go for 30-minute walks. Do daily stretching and aerobics from home in the evening before you go to bed. You shouldn’t have to go all out on a gym membership or punish yourself with hours-long routines. Start small and build up to where you want to be over time by letting your results motivate your intensity. By committing to making one small change each month, it will become a part of your routine.

Get Into a Routine

The idea of falling into a routine is a little more abstract than telling someone to go to the gym, or to start eating kale, which is why many weight-loss strategies fail to include this vital component. Routines introduce regularity into your life, which is crucial for you to methodically achieve your weight-loss goals. Grab yourself a daily planner and schedule out your weekly routine. Make note of what times you’ll be eating, working out and sleeping. By adopting your lifestyle to revolve around your weight loss, you’ll find it easier to keep progressing along your wellness journey.

Eat for Energy, Eat Light

Another important aspect of your weight loss are the foods that you choose to put into your body. As an older adult, there are a few challenges you have to face when it comes to digestion. Things can sometimes move a little slow, which is why you shouldn’t skip dairy products to ingest necessary probiotics to help move things along. Yogurt is an excellent, healthy snack that can help your body stay regular and efficiently digest foods. Focus on smaller portions and choose foods that give you a boost of energy to stay up and active throughout the day. In terms of which diet to choose, you may want to give keto a try and see if it works for you. Keto Kooking offers great advice and recipes to help you along the way.

Ditch the Scale

After the first few days of diet and exercise, you may feel the need to hop on the scale and see how much weight you’ve lost. The problem with using scales to measure progress is that you often become blind to the other ways that weight loss is meant to affect your life.

When it comes to scales, people get so caught up in the numbers game that they forget to see how much better they feel when eating good food, going to bed on time and exercising regularly. If you only focus on the numbers, you won’t notice all the other ways you’ve been making progress, so instead of living by the scale, toss it out. More importantly, it’s not about what you read on the scale, it’s about how you feel. It’s the choices we make that define who we are and what kind of lives we lead. By choosing to live healthily, you are making your golden years shine a little brighter.

Image by janeb13 from Pixabay

Keto Diet and Intermittent Fasting helps woman lose 105 lbs.

Blog

It’s not all about calories in and calories out. Although on a Keto Diet you may indeed eat fewer calories because your satiety levels are much higher. If you’re not hungry all the time you’re not eating all the time and that’s where the magic of Intermittent Fasting adds to the progress.

I lived a keto diet lifestyle for three years and lost 100 pounds. Keto was amazing for my weight loss progress. It kept me on track because it was very clear what I could eat. I tracked my calories and carbs and would very rarely eat off plan.
When I hit my goal weight I transitioned from the keto diet to macro counting and incorporated healthy carbs back into my diet.
‘The Keto Diet And Intermittent Fasting Helped Me Lose 105 Lbs.’ (womenshealthmag.com)

Are we counting carbs wrong?

Blog

Personally, I don’t count carbs at all. I don’t know how many I consume in a day. I don’t track macros either. What I do, and it’s a practice I’ve had for decades now, is eat mostly meat and vegetables that are cooked at home. If I do look at a label to see the carb count I don’t look at “net carbs” where you subtract the fiber from the carbohydrates to make you feel like you’re eating fewer carbs. I look at the total carbs and if a single serving is in the double digit range I might skip it depending on what else I’m eating that day.

I generally don’t eat breads, pastas, rice, or other grains. I stay away from potatoes and other starchy root vegetables. I do have them on occasion but they are not a mainstay of my diet. I might consume them once per month or so.

Shulz and her co-author, Joanne Slavin, a professor of nutrition and food science at the University of Minnesota, suggest looking at carb quality rather than quantity. When it comes to the quality of carbohydrates, they recommend looking at factors such as the percentage of whole grains, whether there’s any added sugar, the total amount of fiber, and the ratio of total carbohydrates to the amount of fiber and added sugar.
If these factors can be summed in one sentence, it would be: “Eat more unprocessed food.” This is something that we all know is good for us in theory, but when it comes to the many, many food choices we make every day, it can be all too easy to just focus on the quantity of carbs, rather than the quality, letting the fruits and vegetables fall to the wayside.
We’re Counting Carbs All Wrong (lifehacker.com)

A Guide to Building Confidence and Living Your Best Life

Blog

By Jennifer Scott of spiritfinder.org

We all want more out of our lives, but it’s not always easy to figure out the steps we need to take in order to make that happen. Keto Kooking will give you a few tips on how you can start living your best life right now and get closer to achieving your goals.

Top 5 Tips You Can Use to Build Confidence and Live Your Best Life

Know you are valued – The first thing you should do to build confidence is to know you are valued in the world. What does this mean? This means that your life matters and that your existence has a purpose here on Earth. One of the best ways to increase confidence is to let go of all those negative things others say about you and focus instead on the positive aspects of your life. Doing this opens up your mind to achieve more of what you want and will help you to build confidence in yourself.
Go back to school – Enhance your career prospects with an online degree. You work hard and you deserve a career that will help you achieve your goals. Even if you have a job already, going back to school can only benefit your life. Take the time out of your busy schedule to further your education today!
Stop comparing yourself to others – Compare yourself to who you were yesterday, not who someone else is today. If you compare your life to someone else’s, that is not helping you. It only makes you feel as though you aren’t reaching your full potential because someone else is doing better than you. The truth of the matter is this: No two people are alike. We all have different gifts and talents which makes each one of us unique. In order to build confidence in yourself, you have to accept this and stop comparing your life to someone else’s. Focus on the positive aspects of your own life and you will soon notice how much better things are!
Learn a new skill – There are plenty of online courses and opportunities to learn a new skill that you enjoy. Check out Youtube or Udemy for free or low-cost options to learn something new. Think about what you like to do and learn more on the subject. Knowledge is power!
Consume better food – Eating a nutritious diet that is full of vitamins, minerals, protein, and other nutrients is vital for our health. Consider the keto diet. It can help you to lose weight, boost energy, and improve stomach issues.

Focus on what’s important. You should be more concerned with your health, career, and things that matter in life, rather than worrying about petty things. Worrying about small things like this can put a strain on our mental health. Focus on being happy and you will feel much better for it.

In Summary

The article provides a number of tips and ideas to help you live your best life. Hopefully, these will inspire you to take the necessary steps in order to do so. The most important thing is for you not to worry about small things like this because it can put a strain on your mental health and hold you back. Focus on being happy and achieving your goals. You got this!

For more healthy tips and recipes to help you live your best life, visit Keto Kooking today!

Photo by Ella Olsson from Pexels

American Diabetes Association sees strong genetic links with Type-2 diabetes

Blog

Personally I believe almost everything is genetically linked. With something like Type-2 diabetes there may be people that are more susceptible than others but it seems relatively curable through diet.

The American Diabetes Association (ADA) states that type 2 diabetes has a stronger link to family history and lineage than type 1. It goes on to say that studies of twins have shown that genetics play a key role in the development of type 2 diabetes.
The ADA also advises that race can also play a role, and research Trusted Source indicates a higher prevalence among Asian, Black, and Latino people. But this may not be entirely due to genetics.
Environmental factors such as diet and lifestyle also influence the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The ADA notes that it is possible to help prevent type 2 diabetes by exercising and reaching or maintaining a moderate weight.
There can also be a genetic role in obesity, and families often develop similar eating habits. This can put someone with a genetic predisposition at more risk for developing type 2 diabetes.
Is type 2 diabetes genetic? Causes, genes, and prevention (medicalnewstoday.com)

Is beef jerky healthy?

Blog

Beef jerky is healthy without the sugar. That’s the problem with most beef jerky on the market today. You have to be careful and really read the label. A lot of jerky uses a lot of sugar. That’s part of the reason why it tastes so good. It’s not that low sugar jerky is bad. It’s different and not as addicting as the ones with sugar.

The health.com article is mostly concerned with salt. I believe it’s been proven that salt is not a big deal and is largely not responsible for high blood pressure. To me it’s the jerky with high carbs you have to watch out for.

The nutrition facts for beef jerky can vary by brand, but according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) database, a 1-ounce portion provides 116 calories, 9 grams of protein, 7 grams of fat, and 3 grams of carbohydrate. It also has 15% of the daily value for immune-supporting zinc; 11% for phosphorus, a mineral needed to produce energy and repair cells; and 8% for iron, which helps transport oxygen in the body. These key minerals, as well as the fact that it’s a handy, non-perishable source of protein, are some of the benefits of beef jerky.
Beef jerky is generally quite high in sodium. A 1-ounce portion can pack nearly 20% of the daily advised sodium limit for adults. According to the American Heart Association, nine out of 10 Americans consume too much sodium, which may increase water retention, potentially leading to puffiness, bloating, and weight gain. The organization also states that, over time, excess sodium may up the risk of various health conditions, including enlarged heart, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, and kidney stones.
Is Beef Jerky Healthy? Here’s What a Nutritionist Wants You to Know | Health.com

Pecans may help reduce cholesterol

Blog

I love pecans. I regularly make nacho cheese pecans. I created my own nacho cheese seasoning based off of a recipe I saw from Bon Appetit’s former YouTube channel. I fry raw pecans with salted butter in a pot. When they are a deep brown I remove them to a bowl and toss them with about 3 tbsp of this nacho cheese seasoning. Most people like their pecans sweet but I like mine salty and tangy like Doritos.

“We examined the impact of daily pecan consumption on blood lipids and glycemia in adults at-risk for cardiovascular disease.”
The researchers assigned 52 adults between the ages of 30 and 75 who were at higher risk for cardiovascular disease to one of three groups.
One group consumed 68 grams (about 470 calories) of pecans a day as part of their regular diet; a second group substituted pecans for a similar amount of calories from their habitual diet, and a control group did not consume pecans.
At eight weeks, participants consumed a high-fat meal to determine changes in blood lipids and the amount of glucose in the blood.
There was a significant reduction in fasting total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, total cholesterol/high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol ratio, non-HDL cholesterol, and apolipoprotein B in the two pecan groups, with no changes in control.
Daily Pecan Consumption May Help Reduce Cholesterol Levels | Medicine, Nutrition | Sci-News.com

Pecan-Enriched Diets Alter Cholesterol Profiles and Triglycerides in Adults at Risk for Cardiovascular Disease in a Randomized, Controlled Trial | The Journal of Nutrition | Oxford Academic (oup.com)