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Jillian Michaels: The Truth About Diets and Food

Updated: Jan 16, 2023

Podcast release date: 7/31/2022

Podcast duration: 36:55


3 Key Takeaways

  1. Fasting is a safe and effective way to maintain health and lose weight

  2. Eat "real" whole foods that have not been altered or processed in any way

  3. Strict diets are often not holistic or sustainable, they are too limiting and do not offer all of the nutrients necessary to promote health


Fasting

  1. It is not considered a diet plan or diet trend it is simply increasing the times between eating food

  2. Does not involve limiting the types of food you eat, only the time window in which its eaten

  3. Helps improve insulin sensitivity

  4. Stimulates autophagy (process in which the body removes bad cells to detox)

  5. 16 hour fasting windows seem to be most effective for most people

Sirtfood Diet

  1. This diet is filled with foods that contain Sirtuins (proteins that help the aging of cells and make them more resistant to stressors)

    1. Sirtfoods include red wine, apples, blueberries, citrus fruits, red onion, green tea, turmeric and kale

    2. The idea behind the Sirtfood plan is that high polyphenols (sirtuins) are beneficial for health and are considered "superfoods"

  2. This diet plan includes two phases,

    1. One week of having a Sirtfood meal and three green juices a day

    2. Two weeks having three Sirtfood meals and one green juice

  3. Many health experts believe this is a very unsustainable diet because it involves a massive caloric deficit and it lacks crucial macro nutrients such as fat and protein

Keto Diet

  1. Involves eating high fat and very low carbohydrate (less than 40grams per day)

    1. This forces the body to use ketones for fuel instead of sugar

  2. Great for people with epilespy and type II diabetes

    1. Increases insulin sensitivity and decreases blood sugar

  3. Very effective for weight loss

  4. Best to cycle on and off this diet

  5. Some women cannot tolerate this diet

    1. negativity alters their hormone levels

Dash diet

  1. This is a dietary approach to stop or reduce hypertension (high blood pressure)

    1. It is considered to be effective for patients who have heart disease and high blood pressure

    2. It involves consuming low sodium and high potassium foods

    3. It is important to stay hydrated on this diet

  2. Dash diet includes poultry, fish, vegetables, low-fat dairy products, grains, nuts, seeds, processed food, fast food and spreads

Paleo diet

  1. The idea behind this diet is simple:

    1. Only eat foods that were accessible to cavemen or hunter gathering tribes

      1. This includes whole foods that have not been altered or processed in any way

      2. This diet does not restrict calorie intake

  2. Jillian argues that most of the foods included in the paleo diet were not readily available during the paleo era

  3. Generally this diet is considered very healthy

    1. It includes eggs, fish, fruits and vegetables

Carnivore diet

  1. This diet involves eating only meat and dairy

    1. Very effective for weight loss

    2. Similar to keto diet

    3. Must consume enough fat to promote ketone body production

  2. With this diet, you can miss a lot of proteins and fibers that come from plants

  3. Important to supplement with fiber because it is not found in meat

  4. Best to cycle on and off this diet

Rules to Stay Healthy

  1. Eat real food and try to avoid chemicals like artificial color, artificial sweetness, and preservatives

  2. Every healthy diet must include macronutrients (fat, protein, carbs) micronutrients (vitamins, minerals and polythenols)

  3. Don’t overeat, calories eaten should match calories burned each day

  4. The paleo diet, sirtfood diet, and carnivore diet break these golden rules so Jillian recommends not to follow them

  5. White carbs (from flower and processed grains) are not good for health, don’t eat them especially when you want to lose weight

    1. White carbs are known as "simple carbs"

      1. These cause massive spikes in blood sugar

  6. Alcohol can be beneficial only if you drink less than 4 per week

  7. Your workout time should be no more than 4 hours per week for the average person

    1. Take a break in your workout if your performance is down and if you feel exhausted

    2. Try adding more protein and liquids to your diet



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