Almond flour is a common staple on a keto diet list. You will find it in various recipes where you’re trying to recreate the food you’re not having anymore, such as almond flour bread or almond flour pancakes. In some instances, this also includes other nut flours. Some people mix regular flour with nut flours to lower the carb content, and many keto programs allow for this. However, my approach, which I call “prescription strength keto,” is a bit different from the over-the-counter or internet-based keto programs (“internet keto,” for short). When I started learning about a low-carb diet, I sought advice from doctors who used this approach in their own practices, like Dr. Atkins, Dr. Eades, Dr. Bernstein, and Dr. Rosedale. What I learned from them was that they kept the total carbohydrate grams really low and didn’t allow people to have almond flour, coconut flour, nuts, or nut butters. If you want to follow the prescription strength keto approach, don’t have nuts, nut flours, or nut butters at first. Let me explain why.
Nuts as trigger foods
Nuts and nut flours contain carbs, and they can be trigger foods for many people. A trigger food is something that you can’t control; it triggers your hunger, and you end up eating more than you intended. For me, chunky peanut butter is a trigger food. I sometimes can’t stop and end up finishing the whole jar. Other types of nut butter like cashew butter, almond butter, or macadamia nut butter also exist. If you want the prescription-strength keto diet to work the first time every time, it’s best to avoid nuts and nut products.
Your carb limit is easily reached with nuts
If you are not carefully counting the carbs in nuts and nut products, you might unknowingly exceed your daily carb limit. For instance, a recipe might claim to contain 6 net carbs, but in reality, there could be more total carbs than stated, especially if you’re using non-absorbable fiber (like some fiber from almond flour) that can still impact ketones and blood sugar levels. To ensure better results, always use total carbs instead of net carbs when following the prescription strength keto diet. If you make almond flour pancakes and you’re not keeping track of the amount you consume, you might be consuming more carbs than you realize – possibly 5 to 10 grams of total carbs in those pancakes or waffles. By avoiding almond flour, coconut flour, and nut butters, and focusing on foods with no carbs, you can maximize fat burning and keep hunger at bay. After a day or two, you’ll find that hunger diminishes, and most people can lose one to two pounds per week effortlessly.
Prescription-strength keto works
I have been following this approach for over 20 years, and I primarily eat foods with no carbs. This keeps me comfortably full and free from cravings. By strictly adhering to 20 grams or less of total carbs per day, without nuts or nut butters, you can achieve excellent results with the prescription strength keto diet. About 50% of people seem to struggle with controlling nuts and nut products, based on surveys I’ve conducted during our Adapt Keto events. If you find that you can control nuts and nut flour without issues, then simply disregard my advice here. However, since it affects around 50% of people, I can’t risk recommending these products to my patients, as I want the approach to work for everyone.
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