Florida Winters, dress for it.

I'm a firm believer that if you're going to live in Florida, you embrace the Summer Heat and bitch about the cold Winters. If you see some one in shorts and a t-shirt, say Buur its cold and smile.

If you're going to bitch about it being hot and dress like you're on summer vacation in the winter you need to move. There's some very nice property in Wisconsin. My daughter actually lives there.

The only way you're ever going to be able to enjoy the Florida Summers, is to dress and act like it's winter when it's even only a little cold, and always when your indoors in AC.

Remember 70 is cold, put on some sweatpants and shut up even if your only pretending your cold..

If you are thinking about moving to Florida, the winter is the best time to arrive if you are not yet ready for the heat. Just remember in the summer 110 is normal so dress warm so you can start getting used to the heat.

Same thing if your planning a summer visit to Florida, a few months before you get here start dressing extra warm so that when you get to Florida you can hopefully be comfortable.

Theme parks and beaches are no fun when your not comfortable, and too many cold drinks and ice cream can ruin a vacation quicker than bad weather. If your planing a trip to to a Theme Park think about training for it before you get there. Put on extra warm clothes and get outside and take long walks. Your not going to magically get fit by reading my blog online.

The Ketogenic Diet: A Detailed Beginner's Guide to Keto

Written by Rudy Mawer, MSc, CISSN on July 30, 2018

The ketogenic diet (or keto diet, for short) is a low-carb, high-fat diet that offers many health benefits.

In fact, over 20 studies show that this type of diet can help you lose weight and improve your health

Ketogenic diets may even have benefits against diabetes, cancer, epilepsy and Alzheimer's disease

Here is a detailed beginner's guide to the keto diet.

What Is a Ketogenic Diet?

The ketogenic diet is a very low-carb, high-fat diet that shares many similarities with the Atkins and low-carb diets.

It involves drastically reducing carbohydrate intake and replacing it with fat. This reduction in carbs puts your body into a metabolic state called ketosis.

When this happens, your body becomes incredibly efficient at burning fat for energy. It also turns fat into ketones in the liver, which can supply energy for the brain

Ketogenic diets can cause massive reductions in blood sugar and insulin levels. This, along with the increased ketones, has numerous health benefits

SUMMARYThe keto diet is a low-carb, high-fat diet. It lowers blood sugar and insulin levels, and shifts the body’s metabolism away from carbs and towards fat and ketones.

Different Types of Ketogenic Diets

There are several versions of the ketogenic diet, including:

• Standard ketogenic diet (SKD): This is a very low-carb, moderate-protein and high-fat diet. It typically contains 75% fat, 20% protein and only 5% carbs
• Cyclical ketogenic diet (CKD): This diet involves periods of higher-carb refeeds, such as 5 ketogenic days followed by 2 high-carb days.
• Targeted ketogenic diet (TKD): This diet allows you to add carbs around workouts.
• High-protein ketogenic diet: This is similar to a standard ketogenic diet, but includes more protein. The ratio is often 60% fat, 35% protein and 5% carbs.

However, only the standard and high-protein ketogenic diets have been studied extensively. Cyclical or targeted ketogenic diets are more advanced methods and primarily used by bodybuilders or athletes.

The information in this article mostly applies to the standard ketogenic diet (SKD), although many of the same principles also apply to the other versions.

SUMMARYThere are several versions of the keto diet. The standard (SKD) version is the most researched and most recommended.

Ketogenic Diets Can Help You Lose Weight

A ketogenic diet is an effective way to lose weight and lower risk factors for disease

In fact, research shows that the ketogenic diet is far superior to the often recommended low-fat diet

What's more, the diet is so filling that you can lose weight without counting calories or tracking your food intake

One study found that people on a ketogenic diet lost 2.2 times more weight than those on a calorie-restricted low-fat diet. Triglyceride and HDL cholesterol levels also improved

Another study found that people on the ketogenic diet lost 3 times more weight than those on the diet recommended by Diabetes UK

There are several reasons why a ketogenic diet is superior to a low-fat diet, including the increased protein intake, which provides numerous benefits

The increased ketones, lower blood sugar levels and improved insulin sensitivity may also play a key role

For more details on the weight loss effects of a ketogenic diet, read this article.

SUMMARYA ketogenic diet can help you lose much more weight than a low-fat diet. This often happens without hunger.

Ketogenic Diets for Diabetes and Prediabetes

Diabetes is characterized by changes in metabolism, high blood sugar and impaired insulin function

The ketogenic diet can help you lose excess fat, which is closely linked to type 2 diabetes, prediabetes and metabolic syndrome

One study found that the ketogenic diet improved insulin sensitivity by a whopping 75%

Another study in people with type 2 diabetes found that 7 of the 21 participants were able to stop using all diabetes medications

In yet another study, the ketogenic group lost 24.4 pounds (11.1 kg), compared to 15.2 pounds (6.9 kg) in the higher-carb group. This is an important benefit when considering the link between weight and type 2 diabetes

Additionally, 95.2% of the ketogenic group were also able to stop or reduce diabetes medication, compared to 62% in the higher-carb group (2).

For more information, check out this articleon the benefits of low-carb diets for people with diabetes.

SUMMARYThe ketogenic diet can boost insulin sensitivity and cause fat loss, leading to significant health benefits for people with type 2 diabetes or prediabetes.

Other Health Benefits of Keto

The ketogenic diet actually originated as a tool for treating neurological diseases such as epilepsy.

Studies have now shown that the diet can have benefits for a wide variety of different health conditions:

• Heart disease: The ketogenic diet can improve risk factors like body fat, HDL cholesterol levels, blood pressure and blood sugar
• Cancer: The diet is currently being used to treat several types of cancer and slow tumor growth
• Alzheimer's disease: The keto diet may reduce symptoms of Alzheimer's disease and slow its progression
• Epilepsy: Research has shown that the ketogenic diet can cause massive reductions in seizures in epileptic children
• Parkinson's disease: One study found that the diet helped improve symptoms of Parkinson's disease
• Polycystic ovary syndrome: The ketogenic diet can help reduce insulin levels, which may play a key role in polycystic ovary syndrome
• Brain injuries: One animal study found that the diet can reduce concussions and aid recovery after brain injury
• Acne: Lower insulin levels and eating less sugar or processed foods may help improve acne

However, keep in mind that research into many of these areas is far from conclusive.

SUMMARYA ketogenic diet may provide many health benefits, especially with metabolic, neurological or insulin-related diseases.

Balancing Carbs, Protein, and Fat

Three nutrients — carbohydrate, protein, and fat — contain calories that your body uses for energy. Here's how to balance these nutrients in a healthy diet.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrate has 4 calories per gram. About 50 to 60 percent of your total daily calories should come from carbohydrate.

Carbohydrate contains the most glucose and gives the quickest form of energy. Your body changes 100 percent of carbohydrate into glucose.

Besides giving your body energy that it uses right away, your body can store carbohydrate in your liver. Your liver stores extra carbohydrate as glycogen and releases it later, when your body needs it. However, there's a limit to the amount of glycogen your liver can store. Once your liver has reached that limit, your body turns the extra carbohydrate into fat.

There are two types of carbohydrate: healthy and not-so-healthy.

Healthy carbs: Also called complex or slower-acting carbs. Includes multigrain bread, brown rice, lentils, and beans. This type of carbohydrate raises blood sugar slowly and lasts longer. This helps keep you from feeling hungry for a longer time and helps to keep blood sugar levels closer to normal.

Not-so-healthy carbs: Also known as simple or fast-acting carbs. Includes candy, cookies, cake, soda, juice, and sweetened beverages. This type of carbohydrate raises blood sugar levels very quickly, but doesn't last very long. That's why these carbs work well to correct low-blood sugar but don't satisfy hunger as well as healthy carbs.

Proteins

Protein also has 4 calories per gram. In a healthy diet, about 12 to 20 percent of your total daily calories should come from protein.

Your body needs protein for growth, maintenance, and energy. Protein can also be stored and is used mostly by your muscles. Your body changes about 60 percent of protein into glucose.

Protein takes 3 to 4 hours to affect blood sugar levels. When it does have an effect, foods that are mostly protein won't cause much of a rise in blood sugar.

Fats

Fat has the most calories of all the nutrients: 9 calories per gram. In a healthy diet, about 30 percent of total daily calories should come from fat. This means eating about 50 to 80 grams of fat each day. Fat gives the body energy, too, but the body changes only about 10 percent of fat into glucose.

There are various types of fat, and some types are better for you than others. Choose mono-unsaturated or poly-unsaturated fat. These fats are liquid at room temperature. Mono-unsaturated fats are especially healthy because they lower the bad cholesterol (LDL) in your blood. These fats include olive, canola, avocado, and nut oils.

By itself, fat doesn't have much impact on blood sugar. But when you eat fat along with a carbohydrate, it can slow the rise in blood sugar. Since fat also slows down digestion, once your blood sugar does rise, it can keep your blood sugar levels higher for a longer period of time.

Limit saturated and trans-fats. Saturated fats are found in foods that come from animals, such as meat and dairy products. These kinds of fats are solid at room temperature. Hardened fats, such as coconut or palm kernel oils as well as oils that have been hydrogenated, also contain saturated fat. These can damage your heart and arteries.

Trans-fats are found in most processed foods and many fried fast foods, such as French fries. They help food stay fresher longer, but they're just as bad for you as saturated fat.

Clinical review by Mary Hanson, registered dietitian
Kaiser Permanente
Reviewed 03/01/2014

I really like the way this article explain the whole balancing of carbs fats and protein.