Exercise and Weight Loss
Many people mistakenly think that they need to exercise to create a calorie deficit in order to lose weight, but this is not how exercise helps with weight loss. Exercise builds muscle and muscle builds mitochondria. It is in the mitochondria where fat is oxidized so you can keep your cells and liver insulin sensitized. Even personal trainers misguidedly believe that exercise is about the calorie expenditure. It is actually about hormones, specifically insulin.
My love for movement and exercise did not come easily for me. Sure, I liked to play as a kid, but when it came to phys-ed, let’s just say I wasn’t the first kid picked to be on any team. You wouldn’t have guessed that now, based on my activity level. The reason I want you to really soak this in is because even if you are about to skip this chapter because you don’t think you will ever be an active person, think again!
I still remember when I was in middle school, pacing back and forth in my parents’ yard and contemplating how to get out of the dreaded “mile run” that I had to do in phys-ed the next day. My anxiety about this was getting the best of me. I remember thinking how I could break my leg so I didn’t have to run, because if I were just to say that I was sick that day, the teacher would just make me run it the next week. I had to think of something more long term. Not wanting to actually break my leg, how could I fake a broken leg? All of these ridiculous ideas went through my head!
If I told you that now, at age 33, I run every morning because I love it (not because of weight loss), would you believe me? It’s true. I run every morning and it isn’t because I’m training for a race or because I’m trying to lose weight. I do it because I love it. It is my quiet time that I adore.
Myth: You need carbohydrates to fuel exercise
Facts: Our bodies store over 40,000 calories of fat, but we can only store 2,000 calories of carbs. This is why, when “carb-burning,” marathoners “hit-the-wall” and constantly need gel packs and Gatorade. They are still low in performance at the end of races, too, due to the depletion of carbs in their muscles and liver.
Carb-fueling tactics and sugar-based fuel sources create a body that fuels on carbs while simultaneously inhibits fat burning. Dr. Volek and Dr. Phinney state in The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Performance, “This suppression of fat burning lasts for days after carbs are consumed, not just the few hours following their digestion.”[47]
Even athletes who have very little body fat are able to work out twenty times longer at their max level. Vigorous exercise fueled on carbs depletes the athlete in a few hours, but by burning fat for fuel, you can exercise for days.
Any person training for a marathon or endurance race must read Dr. Volek and Dr. Phinney’s book The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Performance. But if the idea of running until your big toe nail falls off (which mine did on my first marathon) doesn’t appeal to you, check out Dr. Volek’s other book, The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living, which is for everyone, not just athletes.
It is especially interesting when Dr. Volek points out that he thought with all the data in the studies they conducted (he and Dr. Phinney have over sixty years of research combined) and with low-carb approaches, he thought they would change the world of performance. Yet, we have been so brain-washed that these studies came out with a thud. (Not to mention our government-driven, high-carb food industry doesn’t want you to know this.) The idea that you can run marathons on ketones (which is what I do) is still considered crazy! It does take a few weeks to become “keto-adapted” with a very low-carbohydrate approach, but if you give it time, I promise you, your energy will be “through the roof”!
To read more on Exercise and Keto-Adapted diets, check out my book Keto-Adapted. I have a whole chapter on how to be a fat-burner while exercising.
Click HERE to get a limited edition of the Hard Cover.
Click HERE to get a soft cover.
Thank you all for your love and support!
"Tapioca" Pudding
Ingredients
- 6 large egg yolks
- 1/2 cup unsweetened macadamia nut milk
- 1/4 cup Natural Sweetener or erythritol and 1/4 tsp stevia glycerite
- 1/4 cup coconut oil melted (or butter if not dairy sensitive)
- 1 tsp vanilla or other extract like cherry!
- 1 package Miracle Rice
- Cinnamon to taste
- OPTIONAL: add 2 TBS cocoa powder for chocolate tapioca!
Instructions
- Whisk egg yolks, almond milk, natural sweetener and extract (and cocoa powder if using) in medium metal bowl to blend.
- Slowly mix in the melted butter so the eggs don't cook unevenly.
- Set bowl over saucepan of simmering water.
- Whisk mixture constantly and vigorously until thickened and instant-read thermometer inserted into mixture registers 140°F for 3 minutes, about 5 minutes total (or coats the back of a spoon).
- Remove mixture from over water. Stir in the Miracle Rice. Add cinnamon to desired taste.
- Serve warm or chilled.
- (If serving chilled, it can be prepared 1-3 days ahead and refrigerated. Re-whisk before serving.)
Notes
Traditional Tapioca = 340 calories, 19g fat, 4.5g protein, 36.9g carbs, 0g fiber
"Healthified" Tapioca = 185 calories, 18.6g fat, 4.3g protein, 1.1g carb, 0g fiber (90% fat, 9.3% protein, 2.4% carbs)
This recipe has a wonderful antioxidant in it, cinnamon. There are more antioxidants in 1 teaspoon of cinnamon that in a HALF CUP of pomegranate juice, without all the added sugar!
Testimony of the Day
“Hi Maria, I had to show you my before and afters. My son had his 1 yr old photo shoot in the middle of August. I went ketogenic in the middle of October. We just had a new photo shoot for Christmas done three months into my new life style. I am down 35lbs, almost 4 pant sizes and I feel amazing. Better yet your information in both your books and your blog, not to mention all the wonderful recipes in your cookbooks have given me so much confidence. I am not guilt ridden every time I eat. On top if everything else, I have introduced six women to the “healthified” way. Now they are seeing success with all the info you provide too. I know I have already thanked you once. But I just have to thank you again. With the end of 2013 coming up quickly you are one of the best things that has happened to me this year. So thanks again and I love you new keto-adapted book. It’s the best be far.
Thank you for all you do for your clients and thank you for everything you have done for me!” – Shauna
To get started on your transformation, click HERE.
I just saw Miracle Rice in our super market – this looks like a great christmas dessert to make for my husbands family!
Hi Maria,
My husband and I are getting ready to try your healthified lifestyle and cannot wait to get started!
Quick note: I think you have the serving sizes switched in your chart.
1.1 grams carbs sounds great to me. Hope I can find it in my supermarket?? @crista – what section of the supermarket – thanks? Can’t beat tapioca pudding – would it work well in chicken “rice” soup?
I use this for fake mac and cheese and all kind of recipes. would love a healthified dirty rice recipe!
I recently went to New Orleans and “tasted” a few of their signature dishes, but they contained rice. How about a gumbo? That would be fun! Then if I win I can make a batch for friends here at home. Thank you again for all your ideas and support.
Can’t wait to try it! We will miss rice once we start our new way of eating. This would help stock up the pantry for our start date. 🙂
I love your blog!! I always am learning something new, so thank you for that! I would love to win the “rice”. I’ve been wanting to try it for over a year, but scared of wasting money on it if I didn’t like it, so winning it would be GREAT!! I love so many rice dishes I don’t know what I would try first!
Voted :)!
I love rice pudding. It’s one of the things I miss the most. I didn’t like potatos but did like rice. I had it just about every night. I haven’t tried the miracle rice yet, but have tried the noodles. I can’t wait to try your tapioca pudding.
Love to try this recipe called Goulash. It is green beans, almond butter, rice, beef, and spices. Be cool if it didn’t have rice.
We like Spanish rice a lot. I would love to win this so I can give that and the tapioca a try. Tapioca is my favorite dessert of all time.
When we were younger and our tummies hurt, my mother would make rice with cooked apples. So simple and yet so good. I also really love cabbage rolls and they usually have rice…but have found that simply not adding rice works too!
cabbage rolls!
The Miracle Rice would give me another texture to work with in the low-carb cooking extravaganza that has become my life:) Thanks for the intro to it, Maria, since I had not heard of it before this post. I also learned about Swerve from you (oversized YAY for sweet yumminess without the carbs!).
I would love a healthier Spanish rice recipe, too.
I have tried cutting carbs before, but plateaus after losing 12 pounds. Also, unlike many, I was always hungry. If I increased my fats to stay full, I’d gain weight back. What’s the secret? I just can’t seem to get it right.
I make rice with cauliflower ground in processor till it looks like rice. It is great that way
Tapioca pudding is what I miss the most…It was a childhood favorite..made with love by my Mom.
I would love to see any thia dish using the miracle noodles
I will have to find Miracle rice in my area and try this recipe on my family. It looks fabulous!
Is there anything else you would think of to be able to substitute in place of miracle rice? I can’t stand the noodles (texture and I can still “taste” them) so I’m reluctant to try this one. 🙁
I make rice with cauliflower ground in processor till it looks like rice. It is great that way
I, too, don’t like the taste/texture of the miracle pastas/rice, so I’ve used finely chopped spaghetti squash strands to get a rice-like texture in rice pudding.
I too have seen these products in the fridge/dairy section at Natural Grocers but haven’t tried them yet. I second Gwen’s vote for a “healthified” dirty rice – love it! Also a fried rice type of dish would be good.
I know this is crazy talk but — sushi?
Puerto Rican beans (Rice w/pigeon peas)! 🙂
Thanks for all you do, Maria!
Maria,
thanks so much for giving us a recipe that uses the miracle rice noodles, cannot wait to try it.
My favorite is the Mexican rice pudding! It brings warm memories from my childhood.
I would love to see Chinese fried rice “healthifed”!
Would love to try your Tapioca recipe
One of my favorite meals is just a simple stir fry. That might be my first choice.
Maria – Would you please make give aways possible for nonfacebookers? There are many of us out there who choose not to use facebook for a variety of reasons….won’t list them unless you ask…I am a very loyal follower of your blog. I own all your books and send many people to your website and get them to buy your books…
Your cookbooks are in my kitchen as keepers. Many others are in another room…My favorite repeat recipe these days is pumpkin bread. Everyone loves it and I take it to share after Church. People hunt me down to find out what I brought for that day….
I second that from above. A Chinese stir fry sounds awesome and something I have missed!!
A healthified Orange Chicken. Tapioca is one of my favorite desserts!
There are times when I make stir fry or a beanless chili that I would love to have a bed of rice to complement. I really enjoy buttered rice or rice pudding, but I am fairly certain Miracle Rice isn’t that miraculous! Love to try it though!
A yummy fried rice sounds great!
Maria, your statistics on Pomegranate vs Cinnamon are switched….
Merry Christmas
PS Hope the voting ends soon as I find the constant appeals very wearing……
With all the free great stuff we get from this blog, I think a request for a vote isn’t too much to ask! I paid a health coach about $400 a month and got less interesting recipes and tips than I have here ….just saying 🙂
Thanks!
Definitely want to see healhified risotto or fried rice!
How about fried rice, or (stretching the definition) horchata!
I have not tried the noodles yet and now there is rice! SO excited. My favorite dish I would like to see made over is a broccoli cheese risotto.
I love rice pudding … 🙂
I love miracle rice and noodles! I’m personally not much of a pasta person but when I come across a recipe that requires either rice or pasta, miracle noodles and rice continue to enhance the dish. I do love sushi (probably my favorite food) so if making it with miracle rice is possible sign me up! (Haven’t tried this experiment yet)
Another favorite of mine and one that I would LOVE to see health infield and dairy free (casein allergy) is jambalaya!
would this hold up in a risotto?
I think a good rice pudding would be awesome!
Maria, are you aware when someone votes for you on Healthline that that site will receive your profile and all your friends contact list??? I would love to vote for you because you relay wonderful information and recipes, but I do not wish to provide all my Facebook information. Sorry
Sushi!
Mardi Gras will start up soon and I would love to eat a healthified red beans and rice.
Would love to try and make Norimaki with this!!
Do you think this would work to make fried rice? My family are stir-fry junkies!
Chinese Fried Rice!!
Paella! karlatrx at gmail dot com
I have several recipes that use rice that I haven’t been able to use. This time of year, soups with rice are really nice!
Lost weight and feel great.
wheat-free, grain-free sushi.
Chinnese fried rice would be nice
I would like to see Fried Rice healthified more.
Risotto if at all possible would be very nice. I just tried this rice for the first time 2 nights ago. I made a chicken curry to go over it. For me it wasn’t rice, but it did provide something to pour the curry over. I made sure that I held my breath while pouring out the liquid it came with and rinsing it – I knew if I smelled a fishy scent, I would taste it. Anyway, it worked. I will use them again. Thanks for the opportunity to win some more.
I’d love some yummy fried rice.
never had the rice, but would love to try it! The pudding sounds good along with fried rice..yum
Miracle Rice & Miracle Noodle are my go-to fast foods when my hubby wants a high carb dinner & I need something for me. I live in the sticks so I get mine from Amazon
I would like rice with chicken, chicken soups, chicken fried rice, chicken casserole dishes with rice….. this pudding recipe sounds really good too!!
Korean boek gim baep. Thanks for the giveaway!
Just bought some last week, am going to try this tomorrow!
I LOVE ‘tapioca pudding’! Miracle rice is awesome. What a great seasonal treat…. from pudding to the rice with BONE BROTH! Healthy treats
Fried rice yum
I love eating curry with rice and unfortunately the miracle rice does not do the trick for me in this case. But I am okay with it: there are plenty of other things to eat out there! Thank you.
Spanish/Mexican rice for me!
I love Spanish rice because I am Spanish haha but can’t eat it when they serve it at parties. I also like tamales and mole, but can’t eat those either and it would be awesome if you could healthily them. That and maybe different Mexican pastries like elephant ears, campechanas, any ones with fillings too 🙂
My husband love tapioca pudding, we love chicken and rice and Spanish rice is another fave! Would LOVE to make them all healthier!
Not sure but I would definitely make the keto tapioca pudding with this!!
Hi Maria
Would love healthified ‘Biryani’
Hi Maria,
Day 1 of your plan! I LOVE the Vietnamese version of fried rice, so I am hoping that this Miracle rice can do the trick. Thanks for all you do!
Some Vegetable fried rice!
I can’t find Miracle Rice in my tiny little town. I guess I’ll have to wait to try this recipe.
Maria’s Amazon store has it and so does iherb.com
I would love to try this tapioca pudding recipe with Miracle Rice!
I love these noodles and can not wait to make our healthier alternative to rice pooling. I would love a healthier option for jumbilia .
Please healthify sushi! Specifically, SPICY TUNA sushi.
I never have been one to eat a lot of rice, but stuffed cabbage would be yummy the Maria way!
I miss chicken & rice soup, this would be yummy!
Thank you for your delicious recipes, Maria!
I have a 3 year old daughter who i’ve had to change to a GF lifestyle and I’ve been trying myself, but have heard of Keto and stumbled onto your blog through Pinterest and I’m excited to read and learn more! I know I would be able to cook Keto but my daughter is so picky its hard for me to get a lot of healthy food into her. I would love to see a fried rice recipe using this product!
Spam musubi
Oh kmow what would be super tasty healthified dish? How about a retake on mango sticky rice? Yum!
Definitely glorified rice salad with maraschino cherries!
I love tapioca pudding so I guess I’m good!
I use this all the time! I use it in soup cabbage rolls and stuffed peppers. Never tried it in tapioca pudding though! I’d love to see a healthy version of gumbo or jambalaya 🙂
Love Shiratake Miracle noodles – can’t wait to try the rice!
A Spanish rice recipe. Or even better…used to always eat a chicken bake with rice and gasp…..cream of chicken soup! If you could re-create that ….healthified….it would be awesome!
I miss rice! I would love to try a spanish rice casserole with beef, onions and bell peppers!
I’ve tried the ‘miracle’ noodles – they’re reattached for absorbing the flavors of the sauce.
I’d like to see more use of powdered (garlic, etc) instead of the salts for flavoring
I love, love, love old fashioned rice pudding. Is it possibly to healthify and still get that creamy taste?
Yes!
Just voted….and Maria is winning! 😉
Thanks! Remember to vote every day! 🙂
You already made it, my husband like tapioca & rice pudding.
We used to love taco night with mexi rice. I bet you could add tomatoes, chili peppers and other stuff to these to make some
Rice pudding!!
Broccoli & Rice Casserole
Fried rice and rice pudding.
I have a recipe for Almond Rice Pudding, that I LOVE, and it would be nice to make more healthy.
I made this tonight, but can’t get it to thicken up. My temp was right, but maybe I didn’t stir vigorously enough? Is there anything I can add to make it gel more now that I’ve put the rice in it and chilled it for a few hours? Hate to waste all those ingredients. Thanks!
You could add a tough of geletin. 😉
Hi Maria! Would TVP or chia work instead of miracle rice?
Look good
Are you suppose to drain the rice when using it in this recipe? It doesn’t specify.
Yes, I always drain it first. 🙂
Chinese stir fry over rice!!
Hi Maria: what do you think about tapioca flour? Is it OK to cook with it? I haven’t found any post asking about it. Thanks!
Nope, too many carbs for me. Regular flour has 22g carbs per 1/4 cup, tapioca has 24g carbs. 🙂
Could you substitute coconut milk for the almond milk?
Yes. 🙂
Could I sub raw (whole) milk for the almond milk? I know carb + sugar counts would be a little higher. Thx!
That should work. 🙂
I made this today and I really liked the flavor but I’m not sure if I cooked it long enough. It’s really runny. I was somewhat unclear on the directions – am I to bring it to 140 degrees and continue to stir for 3 minutes? It did coat the back of a spoon but still pretty runny. Also would there be any reason no to double it?
Hmm not sure what happened. Did it setup once cooled?
This was amazing!!!! Serving size is small, so self control is a must. I used vitacost shiritaki rice…. Thinking it would be same as miracle noodles… Nope. 2 carbs per serving. Yikes. Anyway, loved it and will make again. Thanks, Maria!!!! 🙂
Thank you! 🙂