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Shabnam Das Kar and Michal Ofer
Nutrition Science Meets Medicine

  • Weight Loss
  • Intermittent Fasting
  • Fat Loss Recipes
  • About

Michal Ofer

March 19, 2020 by Michal Ofer

High Carbohydrate Food To Minimize or Avoid

While it is true that on the MDS Program we do not recommend meal plans or measuring food or counting calories, it is true that if you are insulin resistant your chances of losing weight on a low carbohydrate diet are higher.

Listen to your body. “Eat when you are hungry, drink when you are thirsty.”

In the sections below are food and drink that you may consider avoiding or minimizing.

All Sugars

  • White sugar
  • Brown sugar
  • Powdered sugar
  • Any food with added sugar
  • Processed food with added sugar
  • Junk food with added sugar
  • Jams and Preserves
  • Some Sauces (check nutritional label and ingredients)
  • Fructose (sugar in fruit)
  • Some Salad Dressings (check nutritional label and ingredients)
  • Cocoa mix
  • Molasses
  • Honey
  • Jaggery
  • High-fructose corn syrup and foods made with it
  • Syrups

Baked Goods and Sweets

  • Cookies / Biscuits
  • Cake
  • Pie
  • Brownies
  • Donuts
  • Pastries
  • Muffins

Candy

  • Chocolate Bars
  • Hard Candy
  • Milk Chocolate
  • Cotton Candy
  • And all others made with sugar

Packaged/Processed Snacks

  • Flavoured Nuts
  • Pretzels
  • Rice Cakes
  • Breakfast Bars
  • Cheese and Crackers Snacks
  • Raisins
  • Potato Chips
  • Tortilla Chips
  • Popcorn
  • Pop-tarts
  • Granola Bars
  • Twinkies
  • Cupcakes
  • “Heathy” Nut Bars
  • And other boxed snacks and products

Dairy

  • Flavoured Dairy
  • Added Sugar Dairy
  • Fruit At The Bottom or Sugar Added Yogurt
  • Whole and Skim Milk
  • Soy Milk
  • Ice Cream
  • Margarine
  • Pudding

Sugary And Starchy Fruit

High Sugar Fruit
  • Oranges
  • Kiwifruit
  • Pears
  • Pineapple
  • Plums
  • Cherries
  • Grapes
  • Figs (Also Starchy)
  • Bananas (Also Starchy)
  • Mangoes
  • Tangerines
  • Pomegranates
  • Dates
  • Applesauce
  • Dried fruit (worst choice as it has very high concentrations of sugar from the drying process)
Medium Sugar Fruit
  • Blueberries
  • Coconut Meat
  • Cantaloupes
  • Watermelons
  • Nectarines
  • Papaya
  • Peaches
  • Apples
  • Grapefruit
  • Honeydew Melons
  • Guavas
  • Apricots
Starchy Vegetables
  • White Potatoes (French fries and potato chips)
  • Sweet Potatoes or Yams
  • Corn
  • Peas
  • Squash
  • Root vegetables not advised for very low carb diets (beets, carrots, parsnips, rutabaga, turnips, butternut squash, and winter squash)

Grains And Other Starches

  • White Rice
  • Bread, Bagels and English Muffins
  • Croissants
  • Tortillas
  • Pasta
  • Cold Breakfast Cereals
  • Oatmeal
  • Cream of Wheat
  • Porridge
  • Barley
  • Amaranth
  • Millet
  • Quinoa
  • Spelt
  • Couscous
  • Bulgur
  • Rye
  • Muesli
  • Crackers
  • Pizza
  • Corn Starch
  • Pancakes
  • Waffles
  • French Toast
  • White Flour
  • Whole-Wheat Flour
  • Rice Flour
  • Corn Flour
  • All Whole Grains Too

Legumes

  • Pinto Beans
  • Black Beans
  • Kidney Beans
  • Chickpeas
  • Navy Beans
  • Lima Beans
  • Baked Beans
  • Lentils
  • Soy

Drinks

  • Soda
  • Juice
  • All Sweetened Drinks
  • Artificially Sweetened Beverages
  • Sweetened Or Flavored Tea
  • Sweetened Or Flavored Coffee
  • Frappuccino Coffee Drinks
  • Milk Shakes
  • Root Beer Floats
  • Malts
  • Frozen Coffee Drinks
  • Sports Drinks
  • Beer
  • Sweet cocktails – (Pina Colada, Daiquiri, Mai Tai, Bloody Mary, Margaritas, Screwdriver, White Russian, Rum Drinks etc.)
  • Wine coolers and alcopops

Other Articles

  • Food to Embrace
  • Food to Minimise
  • Ketogenic Diet

Filed Under: Insulin Resistance, Ketogenic Diet, Weight Loss Tagged With: Low carb Food, Weight Loss

March 5, 2020 by Michal Ofer

Intermittent Fasting Deciphered Part 1

The problem of obesity.

Why are there more overweight people now than ever before? There are a few reasons for this. Some of the reasons are included in the free eBook Why Can’t I Lose Weight?

  • The first reason is the changing diet. Far too many people are reliant on or addicted to nutrient-poor, energy-dense junk food, processed food, white flour products, etc. All these foods cause blood sugar levels to spike and this, in turn, leads to fat storage and insulin insensitivity.
  • A sedentary lifestyle is another reason. With the advent of technology, many manual tasks have become easier and less demanding.

Need to go to the supermarket that’s a 20-minute walk away? Get the car instead of walking. Need to go up to level 3 in your office building?

Take the elevator instead of the stairs. All these activities that move our bodies, use our muscles and keep things working well are avoided and replaced with easier alternatives. As a result, people are much more prone to gaining weight.

It’s so much simpler to watch TV with a bag of potato chips than to go for a run. It’s so much easier to drink a bottle of processed apple juice than eating a raw apple.

Each of these actions, no matter how small, do matter.

  • Poor quality of food. To exacerbate the situation, in much of the world, low-quality junk food is often cheaper than healthy, nutritious food. Low-income families are able to easily purchase these nutrient-depleted products but struggle to pay for “real food”. This is one of the many confounding reasons why obesity affects low-income families at a higher percentage.

One of the solutions to the problem of obesity.

There is one cure to reversing weight gain and obesity. In fact, it is so powerful that people are able to lose weight even on a junk food diet just by adopting this method. It should be noted that I never recommend consuming potentially toxic food-like substances, but this method is so powerful that it has been shown to work even in the presence of a poor diet.

Intermittent Fasting (IF)

[Read more…] about Intermittent Fasting Deciphered Part 1

Filed Under: Insulin Resistance, Intermittent Fasting, Weight Loss

March 4, 2020 by Michal Ofer

What Is The Ketogenic Diet?

The Ketogenic diet (keto) is an eating plan that features a very low intake of carbohydrates.

Why Is It Called A Ketogenic Diet?

This is called a Ketogenic Diet because this low carbohydrate diet causes your body to release ketones into the bloodstream. It pushes your body into a state called nutritional ketosis.

When you eat carbohydrates your cells utilize it for providing energy. But when you stop eating carbohydrates and get into ketosis, your body has the ability to use your body fat stores to provide ketones for fuel.

Nutritional ketosis is not to be confused with diabetic ketoacidosis, which is a serious life-threatening condition. The two are not the same.

[Read more…] about What Is The Ketogenic Diet?

Filed Under: Insulin Resistance, Weight Loss

January 27, 2020 by Michal Ofer

Intermittent Fasting Deciphered Part 2

(In Part 1 I have discussed the benefits of TRE-IF. In Part 2 I will discuss the practical part of TRE-IF)

TRE/IF Practical Aspects

It would be extremely difficult to give a TRE/IF plan for you to follow because individuals have different needs and schedules. However, here are a few tips that you should adhere to when planning out your program.  

Know your goals  

If you are adopting the intermittent fasting plan to lose weight, you should know your best food choices and be mindful of your carbohydrate intake. You can assess and set your carbohydrate goals depending on your personal needs. 

[Read more…] about Intermittent Fasting Deciphered Part 2

Filed Under: Insulin Resistance, Intermittent Fasting, Weight Loss

January 23, 2020 by Michal Ofer

Mini Dark Chocolate Tahini Cups

Mini Dark Chocolate Tahini Cups
Print

Mini Dark Chocolate Tahini Cups

Servings

24

servings
Cooking time

30

minutes
Calories

93

kcal

Ingredients

  • 10 1/2 ozs Dark Organic Chocolate (at least 70%
    cacao, chopped)

  • 1 1/4 tbsps Coconut Oil

  • 2 tbsps Tahini

  • 2 tbsps Xylitol/Erythritol/Stevia. (Watch video on sweeteners)

  • 1/4 cup Protein Powder (unflavoured)

Directions

  • Microwave the dark chocolate and the coconut oil in a large glass bowl at 50% power for 30 seconds at a time until melted.
  • Use a spoon to carefully pour a thin layer of chocolate into each mold of a silicone or lined mini muffin tray. Freeze for at least 5 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, combine the tahini, maple syrup and protein powder. Mix until a dough forms. Roll the dough into small even balls using your hands. You will want to create the same number of balls as the number of servings you are making.
  • Remove the muffin tray from the freezer and gently press a dough ball into the middle of each mold. Drizzle melted dark chocolate around and overtop the dough. Gently shake the muffin tray to even out the chocolate. Sprinkle with sea salt if desired.
  • Refrigerate until set, about 10-15 minutes. Enjoy!

Nutrition Facts

24 servings per container


  • Amount Per ServingCalories93
  • % Daily Value *
  • Total Fat 6g 10%
    • Sodium 9mg 1%
    • Total Carbohydrate 7g 3%
      • Dietary Fiber 1g 4%
      • Sugars 4g
    • Protein 2g 4%

      * The % Daily Value tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

      Filed Under: Fat Loss Recipes

      January 23, 2020 by Michal Ofer

      Elimination Diet Pumpkin Tahini Energy Balls

      Elimination Diet Pumpkin Tahini Energy Balls
      Print

      Elimination Diet Pumpkin Tahini Energy Balls

      Servings

      15

      servings
      Cooking time

      15

      minutes
      Calories

      115

      kcal

      Ingredients

      • 1/2 cup Coconut Flour (Bob’s Red Mill)

      • 2 tbsps Coconut Oil (melted)

      • 1/2 cup Pureed Pumpkin

      • 4 servings Collagen Peptides

      • 1/3 cup Tahini

      • 3 tbsps of suitable sweetener (Watch video)

      • 2 tsps Cinnamon

      • 1/4 cup Sesame Seeds

      Directions

      • In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine the coconut flour, coconut oil and pureed pumpkin. Mix thoroughly.
      • Add tahini, sweetener and cinnamon. Continue to mix until well combined. The mixture should be very doughy and stiff.
      • Roll dough into small balls. Pour sesame seeds onto a small plate and roll each ball in the seeds to coat.
      • Cover and store in the fridge up to 5 days, or the freezer for a month.

      Nutrition Facts

      15 servings per container


      • Amount Per ServingCalories115
      • % Daily Value *
      • Total Fat 7g 11%
        • Sodium 45mg 2%
        • Total Carbohydrate 8g 3%
          • Dietary Fiber 3g 12%
          • Sugars 3g
        • Protein 7g 15%

          * The % Daily Value tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

          Filed Under: Fat Loss Recipes

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