All posts by Val Peterson

I am a lawyer, CEO, Certified Bulletproof Coach and passionate road cyclist. I have followed a ketogenic diet since February, 2015, and have thrived both on and off the bike as a result. I started this blog to share information and hopefully learn from others as I continue my journey as a keto-adapted cyclist.
Travel and food

Why does it take an act of Congress to get meat from local farmers?

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I did not know until today how difficult it is for local farmers to sell their meat to local restaurants and businesses.  Federal requirements make it nearly impossible for them to do so.

This is extremely frustrating for several reasons.  First of all, their meat is of a much higher quality than slaughterhouse meat coming from feedlots where cows are fed grain and grain byproducts and shot full of antibiotics and hormones.  And don’t get me started on the pigs.

Secondly, I come from a small town in Nebraska and know how hard those small farmers work, often for little profit.  For our government to tie their hands with onerous federal requirements just to get their meat sold is offensive, especially when there is a growing segment of the population who wants organic, grass-fed beef, and pastured pork.

Finally, most people I know truly want to buy local, and they want to know where their meat comes from.  Let’s make it easy for all of us, not more difficult.

The PRIME Act was recently introduced and will make it easier for local farmers to sell their meat.   Please read this article and support the passage of this Act any way you can.

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NPR discusses a ketogenic diet and cancer

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I was pleased to see the ketogenic diet getting national attention in a recent NPR article, “Fighting Cancer by Putting Tumor Cells on a Diet.”  As shown in the article, there are certainly persuasive arguments on both sides – whether cancer is a metabolic disease or the result of genetic cell mutation.  However, if there is even a chance that diet can reduce my chances of getting cancer, I’m in.  Why not give myself every advantage possible, while decreasing my risk of Alzheimer’s at the same time?

 

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More about sugar and why fat is good

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I read an interesting article this morning about 10 foods that many people think are healthy, but aren’t.  I know many people won’t watch the video I posted in an earlier post, but perhaps a short article about 10 foods that are feeding your sugar addiction will help!

And here is another article providing further support about good fats and their health benefits, including weight loss.

Happy reading!

 

 

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I just fixed my sugar craving problem

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If you struggle with sugar cravings, or are curious in general about the negative effects of sugar,  you have to watch this documentary –The Sugar Film  – available on Amazon (free to Prime members).

I’ve been struggling a little bit lately with sugar cravings and allowing sugar to creep into my diet.  Well, spending an hour and forty minutes watching what sugar can do to a person in 60 days solved that.  So just trust me and watch it.  I stayed up late to finish it so I can’t go in to all the reasons why – just watch it.

I have to thank my friend Lori Pulvermacher for recommending it to me.  On a side note, she and her husband have the best grass fed beef around!

Enjoy the film.

Ketosis

A great review of the science and benefits of a low carb diet

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While doing some research on ketogenic diets and rheumatoid arthritis, I came across this article by Dr. Brasco that I wanted to share.  It is written by a medical doctor, and is an easy-to-read summary of the science behind low carb diets, and the resulting benefits.  Not all medical and scientific articles are easy to read, but it’s important for all of us considering a low carb or ketogenic lifestyle to be familiar with the medical and scientific evidence accompanying these diets.  Only then can you make the best decision for your body.

I hope you enjoy the article!

Ketosis

2016: Beginning a second year in ketosis

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I will celebrate my first 12 months of a ketogenic diet in February, 2016, and begin my second year.  I’ve been looking back at how I handled the first 11 months, and decided that should be the subject of a separate pos as there are some pretty funny stories that deserve their own space.

In looking ahead to 2016, I’ve set some aggressive challenges for myself:

1.  Run more.  Complete a 1/2 marathon in January or February, and continue training for an Ironman.

2.  Ride my bike more consistently, and become a better descender.  The mountains we ride aren’t going to get any flatter and I hate to make people wait on me while I descend!

3.  Drop 5-10 more pounds before our next cycling trip to France (late July, 2016) by eating less “questionable” foods and more of what I know to be ketogenic diet appropriate.

4. Manage ketosis through food and fasting alone, rather than relying on supplements.  This is one we’ve adhered to throughout the end of 2015, but it’s easier when you aren’t training for a big event.  I want to stick to this commitment even when I begin training in earnest again.  One thing I learned in 2015 is I don’t need them – the supplements were more of an expensive crutch than anything else.

5.  Eat less sugar.  Even though we try to avoid it, it is still in a lot of the foods we eat, and I plan to be more mindful of it in 2016.  Otherwise, I continue to crave sugar and it’s a tough cycle to break.

What are you committing to this year?  When making commitments or setting goals, it’s so important to make them manageable so you don’t get discouraged.  So as you are enjoying the start of 2016  I hope you’ll take time  think about what you are willing to commit to in 2016 to better improve your health.  And be realistic about it – set small, attainable goals to help you reach the bigger, more aggressive ones. (Notice I keep saying I’m going to train for an Ironman.  I’m not ready to commit to a date as I have several smaller goals to achieve first related to running).

Many of us fall into the trap of saying “I’m going to lose weight.”  What does that mean, really?  We know you have to change the way you eat and /or the physical activity  you engage in, so focus on those things as part of your smaller goals if weight loss is something you want to achieve.

Wishing you a happy and healthy 2016 full of many blessings!

Ketosis, Travel and food

A geneticist experimenting with ketosis

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A friend referred this video to me a few days ago by Jim McCarter, a geneticist who has been self-experimenting with ketosis for about a year now.  He, too, has found it to be very beneficial for his overall health, and with his exercise routine.  Unfortunately the video doesn’t show all of his slides, but it is less than 10 minutes and he speaks in a way that is easy to understand.  I encourage anyone reading this to also watch his video.

A point I think he makes particularly well is the need to moderate protein input when trying to stay in ketosis.  Too much protein results in our liver converting the extra protein into glucose through a process called gluconeogenesis.  Of the struggles I’ve had with staying in ketosis, I think consuming too much protein is one of the more common ones.

We have been conditioned to eat meat that is low in fat, yet most of that meat is high in protein.  Think chicken, turkey, lean cuts of beef, etc.  When eating in a restaurant or even trying to buy meat in a grocery store, the focus is always on low fat.  My husband and I try to counteract all of the protein by cooking the meat in grass fed butter or olive oil, but on an average day we still take in more protein than we need to.  Even the Quest bars we enjoy are really high in protein, and not very high in fat.

We have come to rely more on the snack bars made with SuperStarch from the folks at Generation UCAN and less on low carb bars that are high in protein.  UCAN just released a cinnamon swirl snack bar with SuperStarch that will be arriving on my doorstep in a few days.  It reportedly has no chocolate coating that would melt, a challenge we had with taking the chocolate peanut butter snacks on a long ride – they turn into a gooey mess.

I hope you enjoy the video, and if you are trying ketosis, hang in there!  Like anything new, there can be some rough patches but if you are willing to push through those, you, too, may have your eyes opened to a whole new way of living – with sustained energy and less reliance on food.

 

Training Rides

Shut up knees

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Jens Voigt, a much-loved professional cyclist who is now retired, made famous the phrase, “Shut up legs.”  He would say this when he was pushing the pace and fighting the pain in his legs.

Today, while running 6.5 miles, I soon realized “Shut up knees” may become my new mantra.  The last 1.5 miles involved some pretty intense knee pain, so I channeled my inner-Jens and told them to shut up.  I’m sure I’ll pay for it tomorrow, and the next day, and the next.   But it’s all part of the “fun” journey to running a half marathon, and later, competing in an Ironman.

So I will embrace the pain, complain a little (ok, maybe a lot), and keep pushing my body beyond what my mind wants it to do.   Assuming I can get out of bed tomorrow…

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Do you miss bread and other commonly asked questions about ketosis

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When people learn what type of diet I follow, I often get very similar questions.  I decided this might be a good blog post subject as I’m sure others thinking about a ketogenic diet probably have similar questions!

The most common question, is, of course, do you miss carbs/sugar/pasta (insert favorite food loaded with carbs).  I truly don’t.  There are times in a restaurant when a basket of piping hot french bread or sourdough bread is placed on the table and I definitely have a craving for it.  But if I want to, I’ll have a few bites of it and I’m fine with that.  The same is true for other foods, except homemade chocolate chip cookies.  I can’t take just one bite of those so I just stay away from them!!

Do you see a lot of benefits from a ketogenic diet?  Absolutely.  I have more energy.  I have lost weight.  I don’t feel tired after a meal.  My mental focus is far sharper than it used to be.  I love being able to ride my bike for hours and not have to refuel much at all.  I am no longer a “mood eater.”  I truly view food as a fuel source now.

Aren’t you worried about your cholesterol?  Absolutely not.  I’m worried more about all of the misinformation out there about cholesterol that other people are receiving.  I wrote a blog post about this a few months ago.

How can you eat fat and lose weight? First of all, you have to eat good fat – grass fed beef, free range organic eggs, grass fed butter, etc.  All fat is not equal, just like all calories are not equal.  The last thing you want to do is pollute your body with unhealthy fat like vegetable oil.   Obviously there’s a great deal of science around the ability to eat good fat and lose weight, so unless you want to do the research, you’ll just have to trust me that you can!

Don’t you get bored eating the same foods all the time? Yes, it can be challenging (and boring) at times, especially if I haven’t planned ahead and defrosted meat for dinner.  Going out to eat can be expensive or a waste of time unless it’s a restaurant where you know you’ll get good meat, and pay a premium for it.   Fast food is really not an option so if you fail to plan ahead you either don’t eat (which is totally fine when you’re in ketosis) or you learn to make ketogenic foods quickly, like pizza – something I can make in less than 20 minutes.  When I have time I love to research new recipes to give us some variety.  My latest discovery over Thanksgiving was a low carb pumpkin pie that was actually very good!

How long will you stay on this diet?  For the rest of my life.  To me, it’s not a diet.  It’s a way of life, and one that provides great benefits to me!

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Exhaustion = carb cravings

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I have been on the road on the east coast for 5 days for work.  I rarely sleep well when traveling, especially when I’m not exercising (which I didn’t on this trip) and stressed about work (which I currently am).  An already exhausting trip ended up with me awake at 3:00 am ET today, unable to go back to sleep.

I have not been able to take in a lot of fat during meals due to work meetings that included lunch and dinner, and as a result I have been really hungry – the type of hungry that was waking me up in the middle of the night!  The unfortunate result of that was a pretty big craving for carbs.  I did allow myself some today, as no matter what I ate I felt like I just couldn’t get full.  The fat available to me just wasn’t good fat, either, so the problem was compounded. (Yes, I did have my blender with me and had my coffee, butter and coconut oil each morning).

I’m not going to beat myself up about eating some carbs today.  My plan is to go to bed as soon as I get home, and fast throughout tomorrow morning in the hope that I will get back on track with ketosis tomorrow after about 18 hours of fasting.  Oh, and I will get back into exercising this week!  But my first goal is to get a good nights’ sleep in my own bed and start fresh tomorrow.