Keto For Life

“If you don’t take care of your body—you won’t have any place to live.”   — Dr. Wayne Dyer

What on Earth Happened?

I went to school in the late fifties and sixties, and like the typical school kid, our lunch consisted of tuna fish, peanut butter, or bologna sandwiches on white Wonder Bread.

The best part was the Hostess Twinkies, Snowballs, or Hostess Cupcakes. They came in twin packs, and we had to split it with a sibling as we were allowed only one single cupcake each.

Our breakfast was Wheaties, cornflakes, Cheerios, shredded wheat or oatmeal. On weekends, we had bacon and eggs with toast or pancakes. We were not a well to do family by any means, and fortunately, we were not allowed to snack between meals, although it did not seem fortunate at the time.

Once school was out, we rushed home which was a two-mile trek and fixed one of the only two things allowed, popcorn or bread. We nearly wore out the toaster, and of course, we popped our popcorn with Crisco oil, but who knew?

Raiding the refrigerator was out of the question as we had strict rules that we might be eating that night’s dinner. Not to mention there wasn’t much in our refrigerator anyway. Our diet in those days was nutritionally lacking, but it sure followed the original government pyramid!

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Our family moved to a farm when I was ten. It was a healthy move for us kids. I loved the fruit orchard most of all, and right outside my bedroom window was a cherry tree. I could even reach out the window and grab a few cherries. There were so many new flavors. We spent every spring, summer, and fall working on the neighboring farms picking cucumbers, onions, beans, and potatoes. In the fall, it was wheat harvesting time. The wheat was tall and golden, the perfect picture of “amber waves of grain.” Modern wheat is less than half as high as it was thirty to forty years ago. What happened? Enter hybrid wheat. Due to cross-breeding with other stains to create a dwarf plant that produces a high yield of wheat. Due to this tactic, we managed to strip the valuable nutrients right out of the plant.

Our dinner consisted of some form of meat, mostly fried, along with potatoes, and a vegetable. My dad was not big on salad, calling it rabbit food. This was the standard meal for farmers in those days.

There was always bread if you were still hungry, but no dessert until Sunday, other than the one treat in our lunch during the school year.

Occasionally on Friday night when our mother bought groceries, she would get one small box of candy for us to share: Mounds, Stars, or Non-Pareils. We never had soda pop. On rare occasion we got to have ice cream which was a big hit.

Sunday lunch was special with pot roast, roasted chicken, or ham and, of course, the Sunday dessert.

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Dr. William Davis,[3] and his New York Times best seller, Wheat Belly, Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health, exposed the disastrous effects wheat has had on the overall health of our population in the United States as well as many other countries. Dr. Davis is a preventive cardiologist who became increasingly alarmed by men and women who were extremely fat, and some who were considered morbidly obese.

Accommodating 350-pound patients in medical offices, hospitals, and ambulances has become a real problem. We all know about the challenges for airplane passengers and crew when an obese person tries to squeeze into a too-small seat.

On a recent flight, I was amazed as the flight attendants scurried around trying to accommodate an extremely large passenger who was trying to squeeze between two other large passengers.

If you see yourself described here, know that it is not all your fault.

We have been instructed by our own government that in order to be healthy, we must eat more heart healthy whole grains, cereal, pasta, bread, desserts, and to consume fat-free food.

Please believe me when I tell you that this is NOT TRUE! You are not entirely to blame for your weight gain. They are still telling people to eat vegetable oil and wheat. We have all been led down a deadly path, but it does not have to be a dead-end path for you. We can fix this. You deserve to be well and you deserve to be healthy and trim.

“Many of us for a long time have believed the dietary guidelines were pointing in the wrong direction. It is long overdue.”
– Steven Nissen,[6] chairman of the department of cardiovascular medicine at the Cleveland Clinic

“2015 Dietary Guideline for Americans will no longer include warnings about dietary cholesterol, which for decades has been wrongfully blamed for causing heart disease.”
– Dr. Mercola of mercola.com,[4] a health and wellness website.

The guidelines now state: “Cholesterol is not a nutrient of concern for overconsumption.”

Well, it is about time!

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Many doctors still prescribe cholesterol lowering drugs to their patients totally ignoring the new evidence. If this is you, do your own research and challenge your doctor!

I am not a doctor, and I am not suggesting that you stop taking your medicine, but you do have the right to question everything you are putting in your amazing body.

The government “My Pyramid” that we talked about earlier shamefully has allotted the largest slice of pie, pun intended, to the wheat section and a tiny sliver section to protein.

This is wrong, and if you continue to follow this disproportionate difference, eating huge amount of grain, namely wheat, and skimping on fat and protein, you are doomed to an unhealthy existence.

The results of this diet will leave you fat, unhealthy, unmotivated, depressed, and possibly stricken with diabetes, heart disease, cancer, celiac disease, irritable bowel syndrome, ulcerated colitis, or Crohn’s disease.

Only you can stop this madness and take charge of the only life and the only moments you have. I don’t want you to just be alive, I want you to live!

Take back your life. Get mad as hell, get passionate, and above all, get healthy!

The government took such flack about their new pyramid; they were forced to replace it with “My Plate.”

Take a look at the picture of the government’s “My Plate” above  and see that grains are still holding a big piece of the plate, and the portions are way off for a healthy diet.

The US Surgeon General’s efforts to help Americans get a handle on obesity is still the ‘same ole’ advice. Eat low-fat foods and increase whole grains.

This is the very same advice that got us into this disastrous mess in the first place!

The more your waist begins to expand, the risk of developing Type II diabetes grows exponentially right along with it.

 The cost of treating diabetes has now surpassed cancer cost. This surge is directly correlated with excess wheat and sugar consumption.

We now have a nation of overweight, wheat, and sugar stuffed, insulin resistant diabetics!

As more carbohydrates are consumed, the pancreas releases more insulin. This constant onslaught to the pancreas damages its ability to stabilize insulin, and blood glucose levels rise.

As visceral fat increases, so does the threat of diabetes.

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Dr. Mark Hyman, author of Eat Fat, Get Thin: Why the Fat We Eat Is the Key to Sustained Weight Loss and Vibrant Health, states that in 1960, only 1 in 100 people in the U.S. had type 2 diabetes. However,  now a shocking 1 in 10 have type 2 diabetes!

Dr. Hyman also states that since the 1980s, type 2 diabetes rates have increased to 700 percent, with 1 in 3 Americans now considered obese. Sadly, those numbers are predicted to increase, not only with adults, but children and teenagers as well!

This book will reveal what is going on and how to get a handle on this tragic growing epidemic.

Dr. Mercola, a well-known health advocate, posted an article on October 28, 2013, regarding the 10 sources of calories in the American diet.

Number one is grain based desserts, number two is yeast breads, number three chicken and chicken-mixed dishes, number four soda, energy drinks, and sports drinks, number five is pizza, number six alcoholic beverages, number seven pasta and pasta dishes, number eight Mexican mixed dishes, number nine beef and beef mixed dishes, and number 10, unheated organic nut oils.

This is shocking and reveals the problems we are facing with weight gain and obesity. The first four groups on the recommended list are loaded with sugar, fructose, and grain. If this is the diet you are following, we need to change that ASAP!

Sadly, this was actually the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and continues to this day. Unbelievable!

Have a look above at the government’s New Food Pyramid and see under fats and oils, that they are telling you to limit butter and lard and instructing you to eat vegetable oils.

What you should be eating is olive or coconut oil, avocado oil, butter, and lard. Yes, I actually said lard! The second largest triangle represents dairy. Some dairy is good, but not fat-free dairy. Often fat-free foods are packed with sugar and fillers we cannot even pronounce, and stripped of all nutritional value. Even most shredded cheese in this country is mixed with sawdust! Supposedly this is to keep the cheese from clumping!

We are not going to eat fat-free anything unless the food is naturally fat-free! That tiny yellow sliver being shown on the New Food Pyramid is criminal! The oils from fish and nuts are okay, but then they go and instruct you to eat vegetable oil and limit butter or lard.

This is not good advice, and there is plenty of scientific research to prove it.

You will quickly see that my keto pyramid is considerably different from the government’s New Food Pyramid as it shows absolutely no bread or whole grains. On mine you will get your carbohydrates from vegetables and some fruits.

Protein is next of importance, and is the middle section of my pyramid, providing adequate amounts to keep you satiated and energetic. It is also important for maintaining lean muscle, and a healthy brain.

My pyramid’s foundation is built on fat, and the body needs plenty of it to provide energy and support a healthy brain. Fat is satiating to the body and enhances overall health of skin cells. Fat adds richness and flavor to food.

You may be asking, what does this have to do with me?

Well, everything if you are eating the current government recommendations for a high carb diet like my family used to do. If it had not been for the fact that we were so active working every day, we might have been overweight.

Let’s fast forward forty years and have a look.

Most small family farms are a thing of the past, as they have been gobbled up by massive conglomerates where cattle no longer graze the pastures, and rarely even see the light of day.

Cows’ udders hang to the floor engorged with milk from being injected with excess hormone, and have barely enough room to lie down. They are nothing more than milk-producing machines.

Chicken farms are a disgrace, with chickens existing in such crowded conditions they cannot get off their roost. Many die just a few inches from water because they cannot get through to the watering trough due to the crowded conditions. Many dead chickens are just left to decay on the floor until they look like dried up pancakes.

Other chickens walk over the bodies and even lay eggs in this putrid environment. They have been fattened up with genetically modified corn and soy and pumped up with antibiotics to such a degree that they cannot even walk, and their beaks have been cut off to keep them from pecking each other.

If you were living in this type of unnatural environment, you would peck at other chickens too!

Chickens were meant to graze and peck for worms, grubs, and bugs, not be tortured in these deplorable conditions. Pig farms are another shocker. Pigs live in such squalor and are creating such noxious gasses do to this same corn and soy diet that no one can even live within a fifty-mile radius for the smell.

The conditions for these animals are deadly, so what do they do about it? Pump them full of antibiotics and hormones to keep them from getting sick and make them grow, that’s what! How do these drugs affect you?

Take a look around at our current population and what do you see? Male breast, wheat bellies, hairy women, overweight children, and children aging faster and younger than ever before. Girls are entering puberty at startlingly young ages, and both young boys and girls have sprouted guts and breasts.

This is tragic, and the culprits are wheat, sugar, GMOs, and hormone infested meat and dairy. Infants are being fed soy formula which creates even more hormone. Is it any wonder we now have obese babies!

The antibiotics that are being pumped into our meat are criminal, as these drugs are then consumed by humans in meat, dairy, and eggs. No wonder we are all at risk of being antibiotic resistant, and superbugs threaten our very existence!

As the illustrious Dr. Phil, host of the Dr. Phil Show would say, “How’s that working for yah?”

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An article written by Anahad O’Connor[7] for The New York Times on September 1, 2014, reviewed results of three separate diets tracked for a year, financed by the National Institutes of Health and published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

150 women and men were divided into three groups, one low carb group, one low fat group, and one high fat group. They were told the amounts of fat or carbs they could eat, but without calorie restriction.

The group losing the most weight were the 50 who were on the high fat, Doctor Atkin’s modified diet. They could eat all the fat and protein they wanted with unsaturated fats, olive oil, fish, and nuts. They also ate cheese and red meat.

History and science do not support eating fake oils and fake foods made up of chemicals to be a healthy human.

I get absolutely furious when I think of all the suffering the government food pyramid has caused for innocent victims like my mother.

If the 1980, food pyramid is so healthy, why are so many people sick and fat? The 1980 food guideline has been a total disaster!

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Looking at rising numbers of overweight and obese people, and the growing epidemic of heart disease and diabetes should answer the question. It’s not working!

If this does not make you angry, it should! We need to fix this disaster and take charge of our amazing bodies and those of our children and grandchildren. The only ones profiting from this travesty are the doctors, hospitals, pharmacies, sugar producers and wheat growers, and the real drug lords of this country, the pharmaceuticals.

I watched a woman burst into tears at a drug store as her prescription cost had doubled. She couldn’t pay the new amount of $375.00.  This is another valid reason to fight back and stay well! You owe it to yourself and your body to read and research what is going on with your food.

Many countries have already banned Monsanto’s weed killer, Round Up, as a potential cancer causing product, but unfortunately, thanks to the powerful lobbyists in Washington, Round Up is not banned in this country!

Nearly all corn, wheat, and soybean have been treated with Round Up. I was furious when I realized that the soymilk put out by Soy Silk, which I had been drinking for years, is genetically modified soy and heavily sprayed with Round Up. You even find this soy in baby food and formula! Now I drink organic almond or coconut milk.

The best way to tackle this enormous problem is to take charge of what you are buying and what is going into your mouth.

Read labels and buy organic whenever possible. I know it is more expensive to buy organic food, but by no longer purchasing the unhealthy sugar-laden high carb food you have been eating, you can now invest the extra cost in embracing your health!

Affecting their bottom line is the best tactic to getting the attention of the food producers and manufacturers. Whole Foods has been adamant in their commitment to carry as many natural organic products as possible. They also have a rule requiring any product genetically modified must carry a GMO label on the product.

Incidentally, I just read on Dr. Mercola’s website, www.mercola.com that Monsanto has been ordered to put a warning on the Roundup packaging that their product may cause cancer. Even traditional grocery store chains are offering more and more certified organic foods.

Our local Publix grocery store now carries grass-fed hormone-free beef. Organic foods have not been treated with chemicals or been genetically modified. Organic beef cattle have been pasture raised and not fattened up with hormones and grain, and then, of course, their milk, crème, cheese, and yogurt are also hormone free.

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Once again I have to say, you must research and question everything you always took for gospel truth.

Take charge of your health and do not ever be intimated about questioning and speaking out when it comes to your health.

A high fat diet is still being demonized by the federal government—remember they are the ones who handed you this disastrous diet in the first place—don’t be fooled!

The more we demand organic food, the more available it will become at cheaper prices. Tell your grocer every time you are there that you want organic food.

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Barbara Miller, author, motivational speaker, and certified master life coach is the founder of Barbara & Company International Inc. Barbara studied Health and Wellness at Ashford University, and also studied at Kendall College of Art & Design.
She earned her master life coaching certification through American University of NLP, and health coach certification through Evercoach: Health Coaching, Cynthia Garcia.
Barbara’s Weight Loss Group Coaching Program is a perfect place to start on the path to wellness. The group will hold you accountable, but more importantly, provide the support and encouragement to keep you on track to your weight loss goal.

You can reach Barbara at: Barbara@BarbaraAndCompany.com

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