During phase one of the keto
cycling diet, you’ll follow a strict
ketogenic diet for 30 days. That
means you’ll replace most of the
carbs you’d usually eat with natu-
ral, healthy fats, says Dr. Mercola.
“When you replace carbs with fat,
you activate the body’s ability to
burn body fat for fuel.”
To do: At each mea l, f i l l at least(^1) ⁄ 3 of your plate w it h non-starchy
vegetables like leafy greens and
asparagus as well as cruciferous
veggies like broccoli. For best
results, Dr. Mercola suggests choos-
ing organic produce when pos-
sible to sidestep toxins that may
stall weight loss. You’ll also add
4 oz. of lean protein (a serving
about the size of a deck of cards)
from grass-fed meat, pasture-
raised poultry or wild-caught fish;
1 cage-free egg; or 8 oz. of bone broth.
To ensure you’re getting enough
fat, Dr. Mercola recommends includ-
ing a generous portion of olive oil,
coconut oil, coconut milk, grass-fed
butter, avocados, palm oil, nuts or
seeds at each meal. There’s no need
to keep track of how much you’re eat-
ing at this stage, assures keto expert
Robert Santos-Prowse, R.D., because
fat is naturally satisfying, so you’ll
eat less without even trying.
Staving off mineral deficiencies is
key to fending off keto-f lu symptoms
(like headaches and low energy) dur-
ing t his phase, says Santos-Prowse.
To that end, he suggests enjoying
at least one serving of magnesium-
and potassium-rich leafy greens
and drinking at least 8 oz. of water
weight-loss discovery
spiked with electrolytes each day.
You can supplement with a sugar-
free electrolyte powder, like Ultima
Replenisher (Amazon.com) or make
your own by mixing^1 ⁄ 2 tsp. of lemon
juice, 2 tsp. of salt, 1 tsp. of potassium
salt (like Nu-Salt, supermarkets)
and 4 tsp. of vitamin C powder (like
Life Extension Buffered
Vitamin C Powder, $21,
LEF.com/ffw) into 32 oz.
of water. If t hese tactics
don’t help prevent keto-f lu
symptoms, Eric Berg, D.C.,
suggests sprinkling 1 tsp.
of unfortified nutritional yeast on at
least two meals every day: The com-
bination of B vitamins and minerals
in nutritional yeast work synergisti-
cally to regulate electrolyte balance
throughout the body.
By following this simple blueprint,
Santos-Prowse says you can expect
to lose up to 10 pounds in t he f irst
week and about 3 pounds a week after
t hat before mov ing to phase t wo.
28 First for women 8/26/19
Keto cycling—following a keto diet but taking regular “carb breaks”—
optimizes the body’s fat-burning systems. “Keto cycling teaches your body to
efficiently burn fat for fuel,” says Joseph Mercola, D.O., author of KetoFast. And,
he promises, you won’t ever feel deprived: “It’s a more balanced approach.” Indeed,
after the initial 30 days, you’ll enjoy metabolism-revving, mood-boosting carbs,
making the plan easy to stick to. To get started, follow these simple guidelines:
Power off pounds with keto meals
Sample meal
Fritatta Sauté sliced zucchini and
tomatoes in olive oil until soft.
Add 3 eggs, beaten with 3 Tbs. of
milk. Cook on low until eggs set.
During phase two, you’ll cycle
between f ive days of keto eating
and two “carb break” days. Santos-
Prowse recommends enjoying
your carb breaks consecutively to
maximize the amount of time you
spend in ketosis. But when you take
your carb brea ks is entirely up to
you. “The pattern doesn’t need to be
static,” he says. “Since you trained
your body to burn fat efficiently
during the first phase, you should
be able to switch between burning
fat and burning carbs easily and
quickly, so you can get the life-
changing benefits of ketosis while
still being able to enjoy all aspects
of special occasions with your
friends and family. Have yourself
a treat and live your life.”
To do:When it comes to carbs,
you want to eat about 70 grams
spread throughout the day.
Choose healthy sources,
like fruit (1 cup of ber-
ries contains about
10 grams while
sweeter fruit like
mango or pineapple
are closer to 20 grams per
cup), sweet potatoes (about
30 grams per cup), rice (45 grams
per cup), quinoa (40 grams per cup)
and oatmeal (30 grams per cup).
In addition, you’ll continue
to f i l l at least^1 ⁄ 3 of your plate w it h
non-starchy veggies, and to bal-
ance out the extra calories from
carbs, add no more t han 1 T bs. of
healthy fats to each meal. Finally,
you’ll enjoy up to 8 oz. of lean
protein (a serving the size of two
decks of cards, 2 eggs or 2 cups of
bone broth) at each meal. Why so
much protein? The extra amino
acids help dia l dow n hunger so you
don’t struggle to stick with the plan.
Dr. Wood explains, “When you’re
bringing back some carbs, you have
to dial back the fat and increase
your protein a bit.”
Eat carbs, lose weight! Supercharge metabo