5 Easy Keto-Friendly Diet Tweaks to Kickstart Fat Burning and Weight Loss
Groundbreaking insights suggest women can tap into the slimming power of ketones without all the hard work of keto dieting, asserts Steven R. Gundry, MD, author of Unlocking the Keto Code.
Although the prevailing wisdom equates ketones as the body’s ideal fat-burning fuel source, Dr. Gundry contends, “We got ketosis wrong!” He believes dieters benefit from focusing on ketones’ other, lesser-known job: “Ketones act as signaling molecules, sending critical messages to our mitochondria, the energy production factories in our cells, to waste calories rather than store them. If you struggle with your weight, it has everything to do with your mitochondria and how hard they are working to burn the calories you eat.”
Keto-Friendly Diet Tweaks
That’s why Dr. Gundry tells folks to stop strict dieting and instead opt for foods and self-care practices believed to deliver the same amazing slimming signals.
For five weeks, Dr. Gundry recommends women fill their plates with lots of vegetables; nuts and seeds; sheep’s and goat’s milk dairy products; pressure-cooked lentils; some wild fish, pasture-raised poultry, omega-3 rich eggs, grass-fed beef; and occasional low fructose fruit, while avoiding processed foods and refined fructose, as well as foods that contain lectins (substances that can harm gut health), such as white potatoes, grains, brown rice, beans, and peanuts.
On this super-simplified keto plan, no counting calories, tracking macros or limiting portions necessary! As for carbs? “There is good evidence that we’re hard-wired to want carbs, and to fight against that is naive,” asserts Dr. Gundry. “Eat your fill and enjoy!” Be sure to incorporate the following habits into your routine, strategies Dr. Gundry says deliver the same calorie- releasing message to cells as following a strict keto diet, without all the work.
Reach for MCT oil.
Dr. Gundry says supercharges cells “regardless of your carb or protein intake.” In a landmark Columbia University study, people consuming MCT oil lost 118 percent more weight than folks consuming olive oil. Why? Its medium-chain triglycerides are proven to wake up sluggish mitochondria. Dr. Gundry explains, “If you have adequate MCTs in your diet, you can generate the same ketone power as you would by fasting or eating in the traditional keto fashion.”
He recommends getting 3 tablespoons daily (one per meal). Mix the oil form into salad dressing or the powder form into yogurt. One to try: Simply GOODFATS Organic MCT Oil (Buy from NaomiW.com, $39 for 32 servings).
Feast on fiber-rich foods.
Dr. Gundry believes eating fibrous foods like chicory, jicama, and endive are helpful because they fuel gut bugs that encourage positive mitochondrial changes. He says, “Eating the rainbow is really code for ‘eat for your mitochondria.’”
Try this sparkling sip.
Apple cider vinegar (ACV) contains a powerful combo of polyphenols and short-chain fatty acids that tell mitochondria to start dumping calories, says Dr. Gundry. His tip: Add 2 tablespoons to a glass of sparkling water each morning.
Feast for 8 hours a day.
“The more you compress your eating window, the longer your mitochondria can rest and repair,” says Dr. Gundry. So practice intermittent fasting for 16 hours a day, eating all your meals between noon and 8 pm Monday through Friday. Dr. Gundry adds, “Time your meals as you like on weekends.”
Try hot and cold therapy.
Exposing the body to chilly temps (like cold showers or pool plunges) or hot temps (think saunas) is linked to improved mitochondrial function.
A version of this article originally appeared in our print magazine, First for Women.
