THERE’S NO MAGIC PILL!
As human beings we have a propensity to not only want a magic pill that will solve all of our problems but we want it NOW. Who wouldn’t want one answer that fixed every struggle we faced? We do our best to not let this drive us though as we tackle the things that we know we must work on, like managing our health, fitness level and relationship with food.
Regardless this attitude seeps back in ways we might not be fully conscious of at times. Namely, we still chase trends and our ears perk up when we see someone online offering the latest and greatest “hack.” Compounding this is you will often see prominent voices in the keto social media space stressing the urgency of these actions and it may feel confusing to see someone talking about how a certain supplement or choice was the “key” to their continued success. This blog isn’t about wading through paid promotions (because we know they exist!) but instead is about how focusing on quick fixes and hacks misses the forrest for the trees.
When you start out on a journey in your car, what do you focus on first? If you want to get to your destination you make sure the car is tuned up, the tires are inflated and the gas tank is full. You don’t immediately worry about things like the air conditioning or heat, or adjusting your seat. A car without gas can’t move, and a person on a weight loss journey can’t see progress without a consistent eating plan regardless of the other bells and whistles in place.
The items I look at below may indeed be useful in the end but they should not be the immediate focus of your work. You only have so much “gas” in your tank and if you don’t focus on the major building blocks of a healthy lifestyle you might just find yourself spinning your wheels. The major areas I think need to be brought into line first are:
Your Eating Plan
Your Exercise Routine
Your Sleep Habits
Your Hydration
The next items are headline grabbers on our social feeds but really are about fine tuning and boosting your efforts that are already in place. See them as add-on’s not your primary focus.
Supplements - I am not talking about your electrolytes, I am talking any of the myriad of supplements including shakes, herbs, vitamins, etc. that others swear by. More often then not the added benefits are fractions of a percentage point. If you do decide to try something, give it 30 days and do an honest assessment of the impact. Did it support your efforts or just lighten your wallet?
Intermittent Fasting - This one might get me into some hot water with some “experts” but time and time again, no pun intended, research has shown that meal timing does not have a magically impact on weight loss. (Check out this recent study!) Often when people see benefits from Intermittent Fasting it is because they are cutting out a meal unintentionally, aka a caloric deficit. Also, forcing yourself to make it to your eating window while you’re very hungry and low energy can be a bigger stressor on your body negating any possible benefits from fasting. As with all of these “add-ons” the usefulness of a tool like IF will only be evident if you are consistent in the other bigger areas.
Exogenous Ketones - Long story short, most exogenous ketone products do not promote weight loss in and of themselves. They may have benefits for athletic performance, energy and craving management, but if you see someone trying to sell them to you specifically for enhanced weight loss, be wary. To see any potential benefits, a well managed ketogenic diet should be in place!
Carnivore/Elimination Protocols - Now don’t run away yet, I think adopting a carnivore style diet can have many benefits, but I include it and other similar elimination protocols here because I want you to understand that there is a wide space between the standard American diet and carnivore. That space can be a more sustainable place to get started instead of immediately adopting an extreme. If giving up bread, pasta and sodas feel more achievable when you’re starting as opposed to jumping right to red meat and salt, start there. This point speaks to knowing where you are at personally and what level of challenge you can manage.
I am not at all saying that you will not ever find a use for the items above. I just want to implore that you do not put them before the pieces of your health puzzle that are simple more important. When you skip the distractions and flashy headlines you realize that showing yourself care through food choices, exercise, and rest you have found the ACTUAL magic “pill.” If getting started on this journey is feeling a bit confusing, check out our free Getting Started page by clicking here!
