Is Banting For You? Everything A Beginner Needs To Know.

By . - Wednesday, March 21, 2018

What is Banting?

Banting was named after a man called William Banting in the 1860’s, who lost a ridiculous amount of weight by cutting out carbohydrates and eating a high-fat diet. A guy by the name of Tim Noakes rediscovered this way of eating and noticed that it has helped him control his blood sugar and weight.

Banting is a high fat, low carb and medium protein way of eating.Cutting down on carb causes the brain to start breaking down fat as an alternative energy source. The body then goes into a state of Ketosis. Ketosis is when the body does not have enough glucose for energy and burns stored fats instead; this results in a build-up of acids called ketones within the body.

What are the risks associated with Banting?

Inflammation

Being high in meat, a low-carbohydrate diet is a perfect recipe for systemic inflammation, a term used to describe redness, heat, and swelling experienced in different areas throughout the body due to cell damage.

Insulin resistance


Another problem with low-carbohydrate diets is that they tend to promote insulin resistance, a situation where the ability of insulin to control blood sugar is greatly impaired. This is especially bad news for people with diabetes.

Depression, mood swings


A low-carbohydrate diet increases susceptibility to depression and mood swings. Starch is needed for the production of mood-boosting hormones dopamine and serotonin, also known as happy hormones. As a result, lack of starch leads to very low levels of these happy hormones, significantly increased the likelihood of depression, mood swings, and other mental disorders. With this in mind, people who already suffer from depression may want to steer clear of low-carbohydrate diets.

Poor digestion


Low-carbohydrate diets are simply not compatible with the human digestive system. They cause tremendous harm to digestive health due to excessive meat and insufficient fiber. Constipation, heartburn, and bloating are some of the problems people are likely to experience and over time, more serious problems are likely to emerge.

Getting Started

Know Your Lists

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF BEGINNER BANTING 

source


  1. Eat enough animal fat.This is central to Banting. Saturated fat is NOT bad for you and you can totally eat it. Small amounts at a time help make you feel full and can stop you from overeating. So long as you are sticking to the phase-appropriate guidelines of Banting 2.0, whilst going through Beginner Banting – you will be right on track.
  2. Eat enough vegetables.Vegetables should make up the bulk of your diet, which means you’ve got to eat them with every meal. Green vegetables are the best because they are generally lower in carbs and full of nutrients. Have a look through all of the different vegetables on the Green List, and make sure that you have enough variety in your diet.
  3. Don’t snack. During Observation (the first phase of Banting 2.0), you can eat pretty much whatever you want, while snacking to your heart’s content. In the second phase, Restoration, you may need to snack periodically, if only to keep your sanity. Make sure that you have Banting-friendly snacks at hand; we have loads of recipes for these snacks in our Beginner Banting Online Program. By the time you reach Transformation, the epic weight loss, and fat burning phase, you won’t need to snack. So, snacking becomes a thing of the past, along with your excess weight and poor health.
  4. Don’t lie to yourself. Watch out for carbs disguised as proteins. Eating carbs that are perceived to be proteins, like legumes, baked beans, peanuts (allowed during Restoration) and quinoa (Preservation only), will undermine your attempts to burn fat. Pay attention to which lists you are allowed to eat from and in which phase. For more info on this, download the Banting Lists and have a look at the phase lines on the bottom of the page.
  5. Don’t over- or under-eat.New Revolutionaries get nervous about the idea of not snacking and tend to go overboard at mealtimes to overcompensate. Don’t worry about this. It takes practice and you will soon improve your aim. But remember, never force food down your throat. When you are full, stop eating! If you don’t feel like eating a meal, skip it.
  6. Don’t eat too much protein. We cannot stress this enough. Banting 2.0 is NOT high-protein eating. The different phases of Banting 2.0 call for different levels of protein but in general, Real Meal Revolution endorses a low-carb, healthy fat diet and not a high protein diet. When you take our program, your protein consumption should be unaffected or even reduced.
  7. Be alert! Many ostensibly ‘healthy’ products and ready-made meals are laced with carbs. Before you buy something, check the label. If the carb content is higher than 5g per 100g or the label lists anything on the Very Red list, don’t buy it and be sure only to buy items containing Light Red and Orange B items in the appropriate phases. Try to buy foods that don’t have labels. The best ‘real foods’ don’t have labels. At Real Meal Revolution we live by the mantra – “If you couldn’t have made it at home, probably stay away!”
  8. Avoid too many fruits and nuts. Although all four of the Banting 2.0 phases allow for various quantities of fruit, it is full of natural fructose (the substance that makes it sweet). Fructose is perceived to be ‘good sugar’ but sugar is sugar regardless of its perceived ‘goodness’ and, while natural sugar is far preferable to refined sugar, its consumption needs to be strictly controlled. Of all the fruits, berries are best, but even berries need to be restricted in some cases. For limits, check out the different quantities on the Banting 2.0 Real Lists and how they correlate with the phases. Nuts are lower in carbs and great snack foods, but you must not go overboard. Nuts may cause weight gain in some individuals. That’s why we’ve also limited them to Transformation, the weight loss phase. Macadamias are best as they are loaded with healthy fat and almonds are packed with fiber and goodness. Always choose raw nuts in preference to commercially roasted nuts (which are actually deeply fried – unless they are specified as ‘dry-roasted’).
  9. Control your dairy. Although dairy is good for you, it does contain lactose, which is a sugar, which can be a stumbling block for most people. When you hit Transformation, the rapid weight-loss phase, you will cut down on dairy to a quarter cup per day. Generally, higher fat dairy is lower in lactose, and the grading looks like this: From most to least lactose – low-fat milk, full cream milk, double thick yogurt, fresh cream, butter, clarified butter. Butter for the win.
  10. Be strong! Setting goals correctly and putting structures in place to achieve them is something Real Meal Revolution takes very seriously. Even the best archer in the world can’t hit the target if she can’t see it. The Summons and The Trinity of Member Success are just two of the essential goal setting tools that keep you locked onto your goals and driven to achieve them.


Do you have tips for the Banting Beginner? Leave a comment below to help a sista or a brotha out!

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