Thoughts from the Low Carb Conference 2022

Another low carb conference in the books.  We cruised from Orlando, Florida to St. Thomas and St. Kitts/Nevis and back to Orlando.  The three days we were at sea are the days we are in conference down at the bottom of the ship (floor three).  I know I took lots of notes and left the conference with many ideas or action items.

And you?

How do you know where to start?

Let’s chat If you are interested in learning more about how to optimize your health and longevity with the low carb-keto-carnivore-proper human diet.

Seminars this year were filled with variety but also with common themes.  I heard many times that we need to prioritize protein, lift weights and get stronger as we age well working on improving sleep, stress and digestion.

I coach people how to be fit and healthy with the eight elements of what I call for the past 10 years, The WHOLESTIC Method program.  If you want to be fit and healthy from the inside out we need to start with what you eat, how, when and why.

We also need to improve how we move throughout the day, digest a food, manage our stress, prioritize our sleep and find happiness and gratitude each day in life.

Do you love yourself enough to take care of the WHOLE you each day and prioritize you first? Put that oxygen mask on first to help other loved ones.

If you are struggling trying to figure out what to do and where to start then let me know and we can access and course correct as needed.  You are a unique individual with different external and internal chronic stressors, genetics and lifestyle habits.

I love to see all these people at the conference prioritizing their health with nutrition first. Now let’s work on the other lifestyle habits.

 

You are not restricting yourself from foods- but you are protecting yourself from metabolic diseases to improve the aging process and create a better version of your future self.

How do you want to be living life in 10, 20 or 30 years?

Let’s dive into some of my thoughts post our conference held on a cruise all last week.

Is your Fasting Window Unintentional?

Once you are fat adapted then intermittent fasting will become unintentional!

Let’s break down the eight elements of THE WHOLESTIC METHOD program

Don’t forget that you can read my slides from my presentation in my new eBook here:

My lessons learned this past week and reminders:

Take time out this week (sooner than later) to journal and write out your areas of opportunity -then create an action plan by starting with creating tiny habits that lead you to reaching your big goals.  Break the big goals into smaller goals then into tiny habits.

Take time out to identify your triggers and see where you are in your journey.

1. Nutrition: what, how, when and why do you eat?
   1. We are what we eat but also what we can digest and absorb
   2. Food is medicine!
   3. Test and not guess as with Insulin and A1C
   4. Insulin resistance – inflexible -can’t burn fat (high glucose/high insulin- can’t burn fat)
   5. Genetics + Environment = epigenetics (test and not guess)
   6. Hormone Glucagon for fat loss – breakdown fat for fuel (lower glucose and insulin to burn fat)
   7. Ulta Labs https://www.ultalabtests.com/partners/debbiepottscoaching
   8. Intermittent fasting should be UN-intentional once you are fat adapted
   9. Prioritize animal-based diet- meat, fish, poultry and organ meats (superfoods!)
   10. Choose a nutrient dense diet- avoiding those trigger foods that will set you off into binge and blood sugar roller coaster
   11. Chewing food vs. drinking calories
   12. Stop chasing ketones – eat more protein to be full, satisfied, energized and eating less
   13. Keto Carnivore, Proper Human Diet- find foods that are healing for you but don’t forget minerals and salt!
   14. Intuitive eating – listen to your body and slow down when eating
   15. Mindful eating vs. mindless eating.  Check in with your eating habits
   16. SLOW down – are you eating at the table, focused and doing ONE thing?  Or don’t eat.
   17. WHAT you eat- sustainable, not a diet, but the proper human diet
   18. Carbage and carb addiction is similar to alcoholics – drug addicts.  Avoid it if you can’t control yourself.
   19. What is your WHY?
   20. Emotional eating?  What are you running from?  Who are you hiding the food binge from as you are only hurting yourself?
   21. You are not restricting yourself from carbs, vegetable oils and inflammatory foods but you are PROTECTING yourself as from gut and brain damage.
   22. Self care is self love- give yourself permission to put the oxygen mask on FIRST!
2. Exercise
   1. Get stronger- prioritize strength training 1-3x week (15-30 minutes is enough!).
   2. Start with bodyweight exercises
   3. Find a trainer that is a good match for you – interview them and check education
3. Sleep
   1. Prioritize your sleep -if you are not sleeping then every other element is going to be a struggle
   2. Get offline- disconnect to connect with others
   3. Create sleep hygiene routine – stop eating before bed, off TV, airplane mode for devices
   4. Blue blocker glasses after sunset or turn off bright lights
   5. What is your chronotype?  Lion, Dolphin, Bear or Wolf?
4. Stress Management
   1. Too much of anything can lead to im-balances and dys-function
   2. Strengthen your vagal nerve with Oms, gargling, breathing exercises, cold showers
   3. Measure your heart rate variability (HRV) with Bluetooth heart rate strap and an HRV app as SweetbeatLife
   4. CHRONIC stress impacts all elements of The WHOLESTIC Method- including fat loss and sleep, as elevated stress hormone cortisol increases blood glucose and insulin (remember I was insulin resistance from CHRONIC stress- not the food I was eating).
5. Movement
   1. Mealtimes = move times (not eat)
   2. Move more throughout the days especially sunrise and sunset to help circadian rhythm, as well as move post meals to help with digestion
   3. Walk first thing in the morning, fasted, before your shower -ending on cold water!
   4. Mobility drills
   5. Movement throughout the day is ideal
6. Digestion & Gut Health
   1. Are you pooping each day- a good solid “policeman”?  Check out the “Poopy Policeman” line up or Bristol Stool Chart to track how you are digesting your food (or not) and elimination (Phase III detox pathways -drainage/elimination).
   2. Take three deep inhales and longer exhale before you eat
   3. Chew your food 20-30x to activate digestive enzymes
   4. Drink a shot of Apple Cider Vinegar in sparkling water before you eat – or mix some digestive bitters in filtered or sparkling water!
   5. Support your gut with bone broth (glycine, collagen and more amino acids), glutamine and prebiotic foods.
7. Hydration
   1. Drink water with minerals as sodium, magnesium and potassium in the right balance as with LMNT or Relyte (go for the unsweetened!)
   2. Redmond’s Sea Salt on your food and in your water bottles
   3. Keto Chow minerals in your water
   4. 3-5 grams of sodium (not table salt) per day is suggested for mineral balance – plus include mineral drops as above.
8. Happiness, PLAY and Gratitude:
   1. Self respect, self confidence and self esteem
   2. What makes you happy, laugh and smile?
   3. Journal each night and/or morning – give gratitude to the day
   4. Set intentions for the day ahead

If you were on the low carb conference cruise this year (2022), what did you learn? 

How about taking a cold shower or ending your morning shower on cold?

A daily cold shower is another type of HORMETIC STRESS as I shared in my seminar.  A Hormetic stressor is an acute short burst or dose of stress that we can adapt towards, get stronger and promote RESILIENCY!

Cold exposure offers many benefits – and it is free!  Check out my friend SHAWN WELLS on social media and his new book The ENERGY Formula to learn more.

1. Cold exposure activates brown fat tissue (BAT = brown adipose tissue) to improve metabolism
2. Cold exposure improves our metabolic rate -improves fat oxidation and utilization
3. Cold exposure helps us regular our blood sugar
4. Cold exposure reduces pain and inflammation

Get started with your dose of cold by taking a hot/cold interval shower as 20-30 seconds of cold (58-62’ is effective!) then hot water for five minutes.

You may start feeling the differences right away- even if you splash cold water on your face or walk outside with minimal clothing on a cold morning since cold exposure improves MOOD, optimizes your SLEEP, improves cognitive function (BDNF), thinking, mindset and improves CONFIDENCE!

How easy “hack” is a cold shower or burst of cold?  Simple.  Try it and see how YOU feel all day long!

 Are you striving to improve the aging process as myself?  That includes optimizing our BRAIN function – cognition, memory and focus.

Get started with tips as my friend Shawn Wells recently posted…its sounds pretty similar to my “The WHOLESTIC Method” coaching program!

1. Avoid Sugar
2. Prioritize sleep
3. Exercise!
4. Low Carb Diet
5. Reduce and manage stress
6. Keep your brain stimulated
7. Prioritize heart health
8. Get your functional labs down at least once a year – test and not guess!

 

Before I close up my thoughts for today…

Please reach out to me to share your personal transformational story as I talked to many conference participants with amazing and inspirational success stories – even if you are still on your journey.

Life is not a race.  It is a journey.

Enjoy the ride!

If you want to learn more how to live your best life by working on the eight elements of The WHOLESTIC Method Coaching program, then get started with my new client special here:  https://debbiepotts.net/new-client-special/

Debbie Potts

Health & Fitness Coach, Author, & Speaker

The WHOLESTIC Method’ Coaching Program

Host of ‘The Low Carb Athlete’ Podcast

PNOE Metabolic Efficiency Testing

FNTP, FDNP, NASM CPT, CHEK HLC, Ben Greenfield Coach

BURN FAT. OPTIMIZE HEALTH. IMPROVE PERFORMANCE.

Learn more on https://linktr.ee/Debbiepotts