Obesity and Keto.....

     During my weight loss journey, I've made so many important discoveries. I've learned that being overweight does not mean one suffers from the disease of obesity.  Indeed, obesity is a complex, chronic disease with multiple causes.  Ultimately, it leads to retaining excessive body fat despite attempts to lose it through diet and exercise.  Of course, the result is poor health.  Too much extra fat, can change how the body functions. These progressive changes usually get worse over time.  The major factor is the change in how the body uses GLP-1 which can lead to obesity in some.  GLP-1 is a hormone that causes multiple metabolic effects.  It acts on the brain to stimulate insulin secretion, decrease gastric emptying, and signal satiation.  Ultimately, then, the GLP-1 hormone tells the brain to control body fat, food intake, and metabolism.  Obesity disease is a dysfunction of the GLP-1 regulatory system.  When the GLP-1 hormone is not working, the brain fails to signal satiation and forces the body to return to a set weight.  Obesity is not a character flaw. While many assume obesity demonstrates a lack of willpower, this is simply not the case as my personal weight loss journey demonstrates. Discovering I lacked the GLP-1 function explained so much! I am happy I learned about the benefits of keto and began to live a healthy lifestyle filled with wholesome eating and exercise. I lost weight and maintained that loss.  However, the weight loss was so slow that after two years I sought help and discovered that I had the GLP-1 issue.  I decided to use semaglutide for weight loss support as recommended by my specialist.  It has helped speed up my weight loss.   However, the diet and exercise changes I initiated two years ago continue to make all the difference.  I've explained the collateral benefits of keto in previous blogs.  Also, while developing menus for the keto diet, I've become a clean eater. That means I know what I'm ingesting at every turn, and I avoid processed foods altogether. Everything I ingest is healthy. I use healthy meats, vegetables, and fats and avoid sugar. This means I do a lot of cooking. However, I usually cook on the weekend, creating all the sides and snacks we will eat during the week. Then I cook the meats, such as chicken or salmon, as needed. My recipes are linked to the menus on this site and are easy to follow. The ingredients are simple and available everywhere. The following list is essential when following the keto diet because it provides the ingredients you should always have to make foods that satisfy carb cravings to avoid impulse eating.  These items include almond flour, eggs, almond milk, fresh spinach, chia seeds, hemp hearts, Parmesan, cheddar and mozzarella cheeses, cabbage, broccoli, asparagus, and Brussels sprouts.  I always make meal plans on the weekend and prepare in advance.  This streamlines my time in the kitchen, and items like spicy bread are available in case I have a snack attack.  I'll continue offering suggestions as I navigate through my weight loss journey.