Amazing Wellness January/February 2019

Make it Better: To avoid nutritional
deficiencies, make sure
you’re not eating the same
rotation of foods. Include a daily
variety of the allowed meats,
fish, non-starchy vegetables,
dairy, nuts, and seeds. A fiber
supplement might be needed
to keep your bowels and
microbiome in working order.
It’s possible to modify the
diet to emphasize fatty foods
low in saturated fat or from
plant sources such as olive oil,
avocado, nuts, seeds, and fatty
fish. For a more sustainable
long-term approach to eating,
when weight loss or other
health goals are achieved on
the keto diet, one may follow
the diet for a few days a week
or a couple weeks each month,
interchanged with other days,
allowing a higher carbohydrate
and protein intake.
INTERMITTENT FASTING
Nuts and Bolts: Not a diet in
the classic sense, intermittent
fasting (IF) is defined as
cycling your diet between
periods of restricted eating
and periods of eating as
much as you normally
do. There are several
different patterns of
intermittent fasting,
but a few of the more
popular include the 16/8
method, where you fast for 16
hours and eat only during an
eight-hour period; the 5:2 diet,
where you eat no more than
25 percent of your normal
calorie intake two days out of
the week; and the eat-stopeat
method, which involves a
full-blown 24-hour fast once
or twice per week. The theory
is that when your body is in a
fasted state, it’s more likely to
alter metabolism to improve
blood sugar numbers and pull
more energy from your fat
stores, leading to a trim-down
effect. And since in theory
you’re likely to nosh on fewer
calories during the course of a
week, this itself could help in
the battle of the bulge.
Pros: IF has become a go-to
method for getting lean fairly
quickly. Indeed, there is some
good research that this flexible
style of eating can be just as
effective in spurring weight
loss as more drastic everyday
calorie restriction. A 2018
study published in the Journal
of Nutritional Science found that
simply moving breakfast and
dinner three hours closer together
led to drops in body fat
in subjects despite no change
in overall caloric intake.
People also gravitate toward
IF because, unlike other
diets, there are no off-limit
foods—just limits on how
much you can eat at certain
points. And it can help people
get in better touch with their
true feelings of hunger and
fullness as well as put the
brakes on nighttime snacking.
Cons: Studies with large sample
sizes or dealing with the
long-term weight-loss benefits
of IF are still lacking. One
investigation was hindered by
a large number of participants
who failed to follow the diet until
the studies ended. So IF may
suffer from what befalls many
diets—high dropout rates. Sideeffects
such as raging hunger,
brain fog, and irritability during
fasting can be too much for
some people to work through.
Because there isn’t much focus
placed on what you eat, some
people might be tempted to reward
a fast-well-done by eating
junk food.
Make it Better: Consider easing
into IF by starting with a
beginner’s 12:12 method,
where you’re fasting for 12
hours per day and eating
within a 12-hour window.
From here, you can work your
way into more challenging
fasts. Make your calories count
during fast and feast periods
by focusing your eating efforts
on nutrient-dense, whole
foods. Items rich in fiber or
protein like legumes and
Greek yogurt can help tame
the hunger monster during
tionship with food. With
this elimination-style diet,
you’re told to cut out items
that are known to upset some
tummies or are generally
unhealthy—all processed or
packaged food, natural and
artificial sugars, alcohol,
grains, beans, legumes, soy,
and dairy are off the menu for
30 days straight. Even packaged
foods like Paleo pancake
mix with Whole30-approved
ingredients are discouraged.
Meat, seafood, eggs, vegetables,
nuts, oils, and fruits are
allowed. The goal is to rewire
your brain to crave whole
foods and to weed out items
that aren’t settling well with
you. After 30 days, you can
slowly add food groups such as
beans and whole grains back
into your diet as a method of
testing for food sensitivities.
Pros: If you’re looking for a
fairly drastic dietary kickstart,
especially post-holiday season,
this could be for you. Keep in
mind that it was designed for
only 30 days, so after this time
People gravitate toward intermittent
fasting because there are no off-limit
foods—just limits on how much you can
eat at certain points.
times of calorie restriction.
A food journal can help make
sure you’re not overeating
on fasting days. And consider
exercising during your eating
window so you have more
pep in your step.
WHOLE30
Nuts and Bolts: Much-buzzed
Whole30 markets itself as a
method to reset your diet, give
your digestive system a break,
and help you forge a new rela-
you can ease your restrictions
and modify the diet to be
sustainable long-term. Many
people will notice their pants
fit a bit looser, which should
be expected when eating less
overall. The diet can also be
helpful for identifying any food
intolerances such as lactose
that could be behind symptoms
like bloating. And some people
praise the diet for helping
them kick their sugar lust and
practice mindful eating.
36 WINTER 2019 | AMAZING WELLNESS