Bret Scher, Author at Dr Bret Scher

Low Carb and Intermittent Fasting Make Traveling a Breeze!

It's challenging enough to stick to your health, fitness, and dieting goals when you're at home. When you're traveling, it can be even harder. Nothing's worse than going on vacation only to be frustrated that you've gained back weight you worked so hard to lose.

Let's be honest. When you travel, it's harder to pay attention to what you're eating, when you're eating and how much you're eating. If you prepre ahead of time, however, you can make this much easier. Focusing on intermittent fasting, limiting your carbs, and keeping up some version of your exercise routine can put you on a path to success.

How Travel Disrupts Your Diet

We seem to be traveling more than ever. The U.S. Travel Association reports that spending on travel in the U.S. alone averages $2.8 billion per day. Per day! That's a lot of opportunity to fall off the wagon.

You're likely to be less physically active. While it may seem you're covering lots of ground rushing to the airport and flying (or driving) hundreds of miles, you're also spending most of that time sitting down. It's also common for travelers to abandon their usual workout routines.
There are snacks and junk food everywhere. It's tempting to grab snacks at the airport or to worry that you may not have a chance to eat for a while, so yo ugrab whatever is available. Most of these choices are high carb, high sugar distractions.
Your internal clock is disrupted. If you're traveling through time zones, your circadian rhythm is a mess and youo will find yourself craving more, with diminished self control.

But it's not hopeless! Here are some recommendations for counteracting these issues and staying healthy when you travel.

Limit Carbs When Traveling

We can debate all we want the merits of low fat vs low carb diets. Especially when the carbs are high quality, real food carbs. However, when you travel, lower quality carbs are often the biggest temptation. Simple carbs like sweets, foods made with white flour, and many packaged and processed foods are everywhere.

Bring healthy snacks with you. Instead of relying on food counters at the airport or filling up on junk food at rest stops on the highway, take the time to prepare some healthy meals. Prepare snacks that include superfoods such as almonds and other mixed nuts, salads with broccoli, kale hemp seeds and chia seeds, and perhaps some dark chocolate for a treat.
Do your own shopping and cooking. Just because you're on vacation doesn't mean you have to eat out every meal! Don't derpive yourself of trying some new restaurants, but remember you can still do some of your own cooking. Look for a hotel or Airbnb that lets you do at least a little cooking and that has a fridge. This gives you more control over your diet.
Research eating options ahead of time. Before you leave on your trip, identify hotels, restaurants, and eateries that offer healthy and low-carb options. Don't forget to find out when and where local farmer's markets are held. I find that is a fantastic way to check out the local scene and partake in healthy local food choices.
Drink water. Staying hydrated can help combat hunger, and it will keep you away from sodas, juices and other sugary distractions.

Incorporate Fasting Into Your Trip

There are many health benefits to intermittent fasting. It can help you to lose weight and lower insulin, and there's even evidence that it contributes to longevity. But when it comes to travelling, the best part of IF is the convenience! If you're fasting, you don't have to worry about finding a healthy meal at the airport or on the plane. Stick with water and you are good to go!

If you are fasting, do it in a responsible and healthy way. If you're on any kind of medication, consult with a health professional before fasting. If you've never fasted, start slowly. Most people can do an 18:6 fast without too much discomfort. This means fasting for 18 hours and then eating for the next 6 hours. When you get comfortable with this, you can increase the duration of your fasts to 24, 48, or even 72 hours. If you want to try fasting on your next trip, it's a good idea to try some short fasts before you begin your journey.

Other Tips to Stay Healthy on the Road

Exercise regularly. Try to stay somewhere with a gym. Or a neighborhood that has a gym you can use. Even without this, you can schedule in a walk, jog or bike ride. If you're visiting tourist attractions, think of a walk or bike tour rather than a bus tour. Look into places where you can explore nature and get fresh air.
Get enough rest. Travel can also disrupt your sleep patterns. Lack of sleep is associated with anxiety, depression, hypertension, and many other health problems. If you're going to be traveling through time zones, start adjusting to the new time before you leave for your trip. When on your trip, be careful not to burn the candle at both ends. If you're getting up early for a long day of sightseeing (or business meetings), go to bed at a reasonable time.
Limit your intake of alcohol. It seems that alcoholic beverages are everywhere when you travel. Whether you're ordering a cocktail to help you relax on a long flight, downing tropical drinks on the beach, or sampling local craft breweries or wineries, the temptations are everywhere. Alcohol is high in calories and sugar. It can also disrupt your sleep patterns. If you do drink, limit it to one or two per day.
Don't stress out. Stress is never healthy and travel, even the kind that's supposed to be relaxing, can contribute to it. Avoid trying to fit in too many activities on your trip. Rushing around tends to make you reach for junk foods for quick comfort or energy. When planning your schedule, leave time for spontaneous exploration or just lounging around.

Watching your diet when traveling is important, especially if you frequently find yourself on the road. It's easy to slip into bad habits when traveling which means you have to start all over when you return home. It's better if you can stay consistent even when you're away from home. Limiting your carbs, fasting, and maintaining regular exercise and sleep routines all help you maintain optimum health when you travel.

A Guide to Keto-Friendly Meal Prep

Let's be honest. Changing our eating habits is hard. No matter how inspired and gung-ho we may feel when we first decide to go keto, inevitably, we will face temptations and frustrations. Whether you're brand new to the low carb or ketogenic diet or you've been following it for ages, adopting a meal prep habit can help traslate that initial enthusiasm into success. It can even save time and money along the way!

What is Meal Prep?

Meal prep is the practice of preparing a number of meals in advance, typically all at once on one day per week. I enjoy doing this on Sunday and trying to involve my kids as well! You can be flexible with this to fit your schedule. For instance, you can prepare and freeze an entire week of food, or make only certain meals or plan for only a few days at a time.

Why Meal Prep?

It saves you time.

The more you prepare in advance, the less time you spend running to the grocery store, and my personal favorite, less day to day clean up! While yes, you prepare about the same amount of food, efficient meal prep typically relies on multitasking to significantly speed up the process.

It cuts your food bill, sometimes drastically.

Meal prep can save you a lot of money on food. How? Consider that the average U.S. consumer will dish out $5,400 on impulse purchases each year. Having a grocery list and sticking to it can dramatically decrease the likelihood that you will give into these types of impulse purchases. (anyone can make a list, but can you stick to the list? Seinfield reference anyone???) Also, preparing a week's worth of food at once makes it easier to buy in bulk, which is often more cost-effective. You'll also find it a lot easier to form your shopping list around sales when you're forced to plan in advance.

It helps you avoid impulse decisions about food.

When you're busy, it's very easy to give into carb-laden fast food temptations. When you're drained after a long day of work, you may think, Whi has time of energy to make dinner? That can lead to less healthy take out choices. Meal prepping helps you avoid this kind of impulsive decision because you'll always have a healthy meal ready for you at home. Just walk in the door, heat it up and viola, dinner is served.

It can facilitate your keto diet.

Since staying in ketosis depends on a certain percentage of macros each day, a meal plan can be invaluable. By planning your meals in advance, you can be certain that you won't get to the end of the day and realize you've gone way over your carb allotment. Meal prep makes it even easier to stick to your meal plan because you can reuse the same base components in multiple meals, making the macro calculations much easier. You're also less likely to deviate from a meal plan when the food is already in your fridge, ready to eat.

How to Start Meal Prepping

Getting Started

As with any lifestyle change, when you first start out with meal prep, it's important that you start slowly so that you don't overwhelm yourself. You don't need to prepare an elaborate menu with a different entreé each night. Instead, try the following steps to get acclimated to the habit.

Start by picking two keto-friendly protein options that use different cooking methods. For instance, if one requires the oven, pick something that you can prepare stovetop for the other recipe. You may also pick a side dish or two if you'd like.
Buy enough ingredients to make at least 3 servings of each recipe. You might also consider buying some extra meat and vegetables that you can prepare early and use throughout the week for lunches (think salads and lettuce wraps).
Set aside enough containers to hold your meals for the week. You'll likely want to pre-portion the meals to keep your macros consistent, so you'll need one container per individual meal (Tip: glass is much better than plastic).
On your chosen meal prep day, Sunday in my house, prepare your recipes. Be sure to prep your ingredients all at once and find ways to complete multiple tasks simultaneously. While your chicken is in the oven, for instance, you can be steaming or stir-frying some veggies.
Cook any extra meat and vegetables as well, if you chose to purchase some. A slow cooker can be extremely useful here to free up your other kitchen appliances for your main recipes.
Once you've finished cooking, portion out the meals into their containers. Consider freezing half of the meals to prevent any issues with spoilage. Put the extras into larger containers to portion out as snacks or side dishes.

Refining Your Routine

Throughout the first week, pay attention to the following questions:

Did I prepare the right amount of food? If you don't eat all the meals, consider cutting back. If you run out early or don't feel like you've saved yourself any time, consider preparing extra next time.
Am I bored with these meal options? If so, next time try preparing slightly different variations on the same recipe or add another entreé entirely.
Did meal prepping benefit me this week? Think in any terms you want: time, money, healthy decisions, etc.

It will take some trial and error to determine how often to meal prep and how much to prepare each time. Experiment with different schedules and menus until you are completely satisfied with the answers to these questions.

Keto-Specific Meal Prep Tips

Making meal prep work for any diet is all about planning, and keto is no different. The key is to prepare foods that will help you comply with the diet.

Add variety.

One of the main objections to meal prepping is that people don't want to eat the same meal over and over throughout the week. People who aren't following keto will often use a different carb with each meal to change things up. This isn't possible when following keto, unless you use alternatives such as spiralized or riced vegetables. If variety is important to you, consider one of the following ideas that take less time than adding a whole extra recipe to your prep day.

Prepare the same marinade, sauce, or seasoning, but use it on different proteins.
Stir-fry different combinations of vegetables with the same sauce or spices.
Portion your protein, vegetables, or both into sections and season each differently before baking or frying.

Don't skimp on snacks.

Pre-portioning keto-friendly snacks during your meal prep time can help ensure that you always have healthy options to keep you from dipping into the office candy jar, or in my case, snacking on the muffins and doughnuts in the doctor's lounge (I know that's absurd, but that is what they serve in the hospital!).

Label your food containers.

You should always label your food containers with the dish and date it was prepared. It's also helpful if you're following keto to mark the net carbs and other relevant macros in case you end up mixing and matching your recipes you can still stay on point.

With these tips, you should be well on your way to an efficient and effective meal prep routine. Once you see how much easier it is to follow the ketogenic diet with meal prep, you'll never go back.

How To Eat Low Carb On A Budget

"I'd love to eat low-carb but I don't think I can afford it!" Have you thought this before? I know I have heard it before.

The benefits of a low carb diet are clear, but many people are put off because they think that a low carb diet has to be expensive. The truth is, eating low carb doesn't have to break the bank. You don't need to buy expensive foods or ingredients! In fact, you can eat delicious, healthy, and inexpensive meals every day. Read on to learn more about how to eat low carb without blowing your budget.

Plan For Success

The most important part of eating low carb on a budget is the planning. Having a clear plan every week saves tons of time and effort. Start by browsing the weekly sale ad from your local grocery store to see what's on sale. From there, you can sketch out a meal plan for the week, based around those nutritious and tasty ingredients. You should be able to easily plan how much it will be for daily breakfast, lunch and dinner (or if you practice intermittent fasting, that's even easier!). Always plan to have a few extra snacks on hand, as this can help stop you from splurging on expensive, last minute treats.

If you have more than one local grocery store, compare prices. It may be worth the extra few miles of driving if you can save some serious money on food. If one store has free-range eggs on sale and the other has a sale on chicken, don't hesitate to stop for both.

One of the most helpful things you can do is put a few hours aside each week (maybe on the weekend) to map out your plan. During this time you can:

Plan out your grocery shopping. After looking at your local store's weekly ad, write out a detailed list of everything you need to buy. Armed with a list, you'll be less likely to splurge once you get to the store.
Map out your meals for the week. Know what you'll be having for dinner each night of the week. Plan quick and easy meals for your busiest nights, and be sure that you know what you'll be packing for lunch during the weekdays.
Prep foods you know you'll be using. You can pre-chop veggies, cook meat, and make soups or stews ahead of time. Keep pre-portioned meals in the fridge, so when you're hungry you already have a delicious low-carb meal on hand. Portion out snacks like nuts into containers or bags so you know you won't overindulge, and you'll always have something to grab when hunger strikes. When all your food is ready and on hand, you won't have any excuse to grab expensive takeout.

Strategize Your Shopping

When you head to the grocery store, make sure you optimize your time and money. There are a few tricks to keep in mind to really stretch your grocery budget. First, make sure you head to the store with a list and don't stray from it. If you see something that you use a lot of on sale for a good deal, stock up and freeze it for later use.

On a low-carb diet, you most likely don't even need to venture into the aisles of the store – you can just stick to the perimeter. That's where the most healthy, least processed foods are waiting. Fruits, veggies, meat, cheese, eggs and other staples are easily accessible, and you won't be tempting yourself with expensive, processed foods.

Protein is Key

On a low-carb diet, your protein sources can be one of the more expensive items at the grocery store, but if you strategize your meat buying, you'll find that buying meat won't necessarily force you to go over budget.

Often, it's cheaper to buy a whole chicken and portion it out yourself, instead of buying just chicken breasts, thighs, or legs. If you portion out a chicken by hand, you can also save the bones to make nourishing bone broth later.

Also, try cuts of meat that you haven't necessarily considered before. For example, organ meat is much cheaper (and denser in nutrients) than muscle meat, but so many people are afraid to try it. Liver, onions, and bacon is a fantastic, healthy, and surprisingly tasty meal, and buying cow liver is much cheaper than buying steak.

Produce Power

Fresh produce is an important staple in any healthy diet, and while some vegetables and fruits are high in carbs, sticking to lower carb avove the ground veggies will deliver nutrients that can help your body thrive. Look for seasonal veggies instead of buying expensive ones when they're out of season, and don't be afraid to go for frozen vegetables as well. They're just as healthy as their fresh counterpart, and you can be sure that you'll always have healthy veggies on hand in the freezer.

Also, keep in mind that convenience comes at a cost. Many stores have pre-cut veggies available, which makes dishes like stir-fry quick and easy, however, you pay for the prep work. If you set aside prep time every week, you won't need to spend the extra money on pre-shredded cabbage or pre-chopped broccoli.

Buying Smart

Sticking to a budget can be hard, but always buy the best quality that you can afford. Sure, free range chicken, grass fed beef, wild fish and organic produce is higher quality, but it can also be much more expensive, depending on where you shop. But you can always be sure that eating healthy, fresh food, even if it isn't organic, is much better for your body than pizza, soda, fast food, or other processed junk. So don't feel bad about buying the store brand canned salmon instead of the fresh fillets. Splurge on the good stuff when you can, and make the best possible choices when your budget is tight.

Another important thing to remember is to keep it as simple as you can. You don't need fancy cheese or expensive nuts to satisfy you. Grocery stores will upcharge trendy foods like kale because they know it will sell. Turnip greens, spinach, swiss chard, or collard greens are just as healthy, but can usually be found for much cheaper. A simple salad packed with superfoods makes a great meal and can be put together with affordable ingredients. Get familiar with all the different produce options, and how to cook them to make healthy and delicious side dishes. Be adventurous!

Cooking healthy, delicious low carb meals for yourself and your family can be rewarding, and you'll add an impressive set of recipes to your repertoire. Herbs and spices don't add carbs to your meals and they can bring simple dishes to a whole new level. Buy herbs and spices in bulk, and they'll last you for months.

Final Thoughts

Maybe you've tried a low carb diet in the past without much success, or you got discouraged about how much you were spending. But the truth is, low carb is a healthy choice, and healthy choices are for everyone, not just the wealthy. If you spend some time planning out your meals weekly and get to know all the secrets of your grocery store, you'll find that eating low carb is easier and cheaper than you ever expected. It just takes a bit of strategy, and some creativity to kickstart your low carb lifestyle.

Alcohol and Low Carb Diets: Can they Coexist?

Enjoying an alcoholic beverage or two is a normal part of daily life for many people. For some, any meal – other than breakfast – is not complete without some sort of alcoholic beverage, whether that's hard liquor, wine, or something more exotic. But did you know that what you drink can affect not only your health, but also your weight loss goals?

Is Alcohol Healthy?

Overall, it depends on the amount imbibed. Health centers, such as the Mayo Clinic, suggest that it's safe for women to drink one standard bottle of beer, one glass of wine, or 1.5 ounces of liquor every day. Men, on the other hand, can have twice that amount. Of course, these are just general guidelines. Large women may be able to drink more, while men with a slight build are generally better off having a bit less.

At this rate, alcohol can actually be healthy. Experts say that it can protect the heart, possibly reduce stroke risk, and surprisingly enough, it may reduce the risk of diabetes. That said, you shouldn't start drinking (if you don't already) just to get these benefits. And it isn't clear that the benfits are alcohol specific, they could be more lifestyle related or due to other factors. So tread carefully with the "benefits of alcohol."

When Alcohol Isn't Healthy

As almost everyone knows, alcohol is a toxin. The dose determines the poison. It certainly isn't healthy to have so much alcohol that you get drunk. It also isn't healthy to drink so much, or so often, that you develop an addiction to it. Alcoholism is well-known for causing problems with the liver, and it can be a contributing factor for cancer and other problems with the throat and stomach, as well. Not to mention how the addiction can ruin someone's life.

There are several other situations, some of which are surprising, that you should be aware of. Beer, for example, is the highest-carb form of alcohol – and therefore, the type that will wreck your low-carb eating plan the fastest. Clear hard liquor is better, but wine is the best in moderate amounts.

According to a recent WSJ article, consumers are learning of these differences and adjusting their buying habits to suit. Beer sales are on the decline, while spirits and wine are becoming more popular.

Alcohol and Your Diet

Alcohol has one other big negative: It can torpedo your low-carb diet. This is because typical drinks are high in calories and carbs. The body also metabolizes alcohol before anything else, so its punch can knock you out of ketosis for several hours or longer. While some people won't notice any ill effects from this, many do notice that their weight loss slows or stalls when they indulge.

Too much alcohol can also lower your inhibitions, and this means that you'll find it harder to stick to your diet. All of the high-calorie, high-carb foods that you'll have available at a party or in a restaurant will suddenly seem far more tempting than usual. For this reason, it is normally advised to either avoid alcohol altogether in such situations or keep intake to a very moderate level.

Drinking too late in the day can also keep you from getting a deep sleep. This interferes with your body's ability to repair itself, and therefore, can also interfere with an exercise program. Since both diet and exercise are generally recommended for weight loss, it's wise to stop drinking several hours before you intend to go to bed.

A Healthy Wine Alternative for Low-Carb Lovers

Dry Farm Wines has recognized that a glass of a typical wine isn't always healthy for everyone. Therefore, they have developed a line of wine that addresses the most common health concerns. Their wines are actually great for low-carb eating plans because they are sugar-free, contain less than 12.5 percent alcohol, and are explicitly made to be friendly to low-carb, keto, and paleo diets. This makes them an excellent alternative to the typical high-sugar, additive-filled wines found on the supermarket shelf.

These benefits aren't all that set Dry Farm Wines apart from others. They also lab-test every wine to make sure that it meets the company's strict purity and content standards. Dry Farm also makes sure not to add or remove anything from their product. Instead, the wines are produced so that they contain all of the good aspects right from the start, and so no unwanted ingredients need to be put in. As you might expect, the wines are also organic. They are sourced from small family farms, as well.

How Wine Can Affect Ketones

In a self-experiment of the type that makes the internet the great medium it is, Mark Moschel of Better Humans decided to fast for several days and measure his ketones vs. how he felt. He found that he was more energetic when he had more ketones in his system.

On the second run of the experiment, he added something new: He would have no food, but would have wine. He found that after one glass, his ketones and blood glucose still remained stable. However, after the second, his ketones dropped a bit and his glucose also rose moderately. Finally, after the third glass of a day, both stats continued their prior trends. It took until the middle of the next day for his levels to return to his usual norm.

As this shows, a single glass of wine can be enjoyed without interfering with ketosis or blood glucose, but more than that can lead to trouble on these fronts. But remember, this experiment was done with Dry Farm Wines. Other brands that aren't as meticulous to quality and low sugar may not have the same results.

Make Your Celebrations and Meals Healthier

Now, you don't have to worry about wrecking your diet, getting headaches, or any of the other negative side-effects of drinking moderate amounts of wine. With Dry Farm Wines, these pesky attributes are gone. You can host a party and raise your glass with no worries – and without looking unsociable. There'll be no more awkward moments caused by the need to turn down a beverage as long as the wine on the menu is from Dry Farm.

Despite all of the benefits of Dry Farm Wines, you will still need to partake in moderation as suggested by health experts. There is alcohol present, so stick to one or two glasses, and be sure to have them early enough in the day to allow for a good sleep that night.

To experience the flavor and healthiness of Dry Farm Wines for yourself, just click here. For a limited time, you can even add a bottle to your order for just one cent!

Leave us a comment if you have tried Dry Farm Wines, or if you know of similar products that are healthy, low-carb alcohol alternatives!

Author: Bret Scher