I don't sell supplements, so I don't push any. Supplements do nothing for obesity, so I suggest that you have proper testing done to see if you are deficient in any vitamins or minerals and then supplement accordingly.
If you are diabetic your insurance will most likely cover testing for vitamin D and B deficiencies. If you are taking certain medications, such as a statin, your insurance might cover testing for CoQ10. The same applies to any other medication, you might be taking, that can interfere in the absorption of certain nutrients. Make sure that the testing is not just serum testing, but intercellular testing. After all, if the vitamins are not getting into the cell itself, then your serum values are meaningless. Intercellular testing may or may not be available at your preferred laboratory and/or covered by your insurance so if you are unable to test this way, keep in mind that you will not know if you have a true deficiency or not.
Things to consider about popular supplements:
- Good quality multi vitamin - You can take one of these a day, since the food supply is lacking in nutrients due to soil depletion associated with agriculture. Make sure that the brand you choose uses co-enzymated vitamins and chelated minerals. That's what will ensure you will actually absorb them into the cells as many people lack the appropriate enzymes to break down vitamins and minerals, especially if they have a metabolic condition.
- Electrolytes - Very important to make sure that you treat your electrolytes as a fourth macro. This is vital for people on low carb diets, especially very low to zero carb diets.
- Protein - If you can't meet your protein requirements for the day, from meat consumption, then you have to supplement with a good quality whey protein. This is especially true if you are trying to lose body fat and are consuming farmed animals. The only truly lean meat is wild game. That's the meat that gives you the most protein with the less fat. Other than that, you might start gaining weight if you try to eat your required protein from farmed animals as you can easily go over your daily fat allotment. Make sure you are taking whey protein, not soy or pea protein or individual proteins like collagen. Collagen alone does not count towards your daily protein requirement. You need complete protein.
- Fish oil - People who do not include organ meats, as a staple in their diet, and also do not consume much grass fed meat or milk, should consider a fish oil supplement for their Omega 3. This is especially true if you have or are at risk for macular degeneration.
- Magnesium - It doesn't hurt to take a 400 IU tablet of magnesium citrate a day if your multi vitamin does not contain it. Magnesium is one of the first minerals that is depleted quickly on low carb.
2. When you crave something sweet, try a "keto" brand treat.
We don't entertain "cravings" on this blog. Feeding a "craving" is feeding a disordered eating habit.
This blog is serious about the treatment of metabolic conditions and/or obesity.
3. I have been hesitant to try "low carb" because I have a crazy sweet tooth.
Luckily you have two choices. Pull out your tooth or remain overweight.
4. You should always calculate how long your eating window should be.
You don't calculate how many hours of eating you should have. You calculate how many hours of fasting you should do.
You should be doing 16 - 18 hour fasts daily. That's the basic, general recommendation. Now there are exceptions to this. Some people do not do well on 16 - 18 hour fasts. They simply cannot fast that long, so it is recommended for them to do a daily fast of no less than 12 hours.
Your fasting routine should be based on results.
During the hours that you aren't fasting, you should have two to three meals. This is why we don't like to describe this as an "eating window", though it is often referred to this way. It is not actually an "eating window". It is a time period when you consume your two to three meals. That time period occurs on the hours you aren't fasting.
5. I need to drop 10 pounds, but I find it's impossible to do.
You don't "need" to drop anything except that bagel, if you are still eating them. What you need is to not be obese and if 10 pounds is all you think you need to drop, then you are certainly not obese. This means that you need to stop focusing on your 10 pounds and instead focus on how to stay lean and not become or return to obesity. That's the real struggle ahead.
6. I am considering low carb and what's winning me over is the fact that I don't have to track calories.
A lot of people say this because they assume that since they don't have to track calories, they don't have to track anything and can eat limitlessly, as long as its "low carb". That's not how low carb works.
There is a subset of people, like myself, who can eyeball their food, eat to satiety and not track anything while still achieving results. This is particularly true for people who never had disordered eating habits. For us, eyeballing the composition of the plate is enough to be at low carb, adequate protein and moderate fat, but this is simply not the case with everyone. There are many factors that play into this like eating habits and satiety signaling.
For this reason, the majority of people will have to track their macros and tracking macros is much more complicated than tracking calories. You have to determine your macros using the right calculator. You might also require supplementation in order to hit your protein goals. Even after all of that, some people still require the tracking of calories in addition to their macros. The correct way of tracking macros can be found here.
A lot of people are really annoyed at having to do all of this and also not be able to eat pie and cake. With calorie tracking you get to at least keep your favorite foods as you track one simple number - calories. So, just because you aren't tracking calories doesn't mean it's going to be easier for you.