Today we are going to work the steps of the Madcap Route: The 3 R’s on all your PROTEIN & DAIRY. Fasten your seatbelt because this is the real nitty-gritty part of the Madcap Diet for Narcolepsy.
You should have already taken the first step and added MCT oil to your routine (details are here: Step 1, Guide to Step 1, and taking MCT oil to the MAX). Then last week I challenged you to some homework because I’m teaching this to you and not doing it for you. Your homework assignment was as follows:
- Each time you ate a protein or dairy item last week I wanted you to look on the package for the carbohydrate amount. If it was more than 5g of carbohydrates per serving it was a HIGH carb item that you would need to eventually remove from your diet. Another way to look at the carb count was via a tracker like MyFitnessPal but remember that TRACKING is NOT something we do in this diet because it is tedious and consumes energy that I want you to put toward LIVING. This suggestion was just a starter to help you see what and where carbs are in your current diet.
- When you saw that the item needed to eventually be removed, you were to go to Google and search “Keto <insert protein/dairy item item here> to see what popped up as a REPLACEMENT for what you were eating. That was just to get you seeing what your future options are and that you would not have to forgo eating yummy foods. I swear that there is a keto/carb friendly replacement for practically everything you currently eat.
- When you ate your carb-y protein or dairy item, you were to set a timer for 30 mins. When the timer went off, you were to make a note of how you felt. Then you were to rate your sleepiness from 1-10 with 10 being the worst/sleepiest.
- In this step we are learning what the BAD foods are and what are the GOOD foods in this group.
- We are NOT reducing or removing anything, yet.
- Right now you are just finding and testing out some REPLACEments.
- Yes, we are just testing right now but try to eat as many of these items as you can to get a real feel for what you like and don’t like.
- Protein:
- Oh mercy… I almost want to shy away and not lay all this on you but, gulp, we are basically talking about all the meats that are breaded. Sigh… like fried chicken, chicken nuggets/fingers, fried fish… BREADED and FRIED are your key words.
- And unfortunately, we are also talking about a lot of the protein powders, bars, and shakes out there not because protein is bad but because there is usually a pretty high carb count in these items from fillers and added sugars.
- Dairy:
- An obvious answer is all the ice cream products out there and yes, this includes frozen yogurt. But a sneaky one is whole milk and all those coffee creamers we pour into our morning java.
- Yogurt is supposed to be healthy too but most of us eat the fruity varieties and there are mega carbs in those.
- Protein:
- Beef, pork, lamb, chicken, turkey, etc. ANY MEAT, just avoid the breading. Since we are currently not focusing on CLEAN eating (organic, non-gmo, etc), stick to the leaner cuts and avoid the skin.
- Fish and seafood are awesome too! Again, avoid the breading.
- EGGS! They are freakin’ fantastic in a carb controlled diet.
- Protein powders, bars, shakes that are less than 5g carbs per serving.
- Dairy:
- Real cheese, real butter, heavy cream, half and half, real (unsweetened) Greek yogurt, sour cream, and cream cheese.
- Ice cream and frozen yogurt type treats are a bit harder, but I cover that in the next section on how to FIND the replacements.
- I truly feel there is a low-carb and/or ketogenic (keto) adaptation to almost every single food out there.
- Use GOOGLE and find some products and recipes that are good REPLACEments for the foods you love.
- Your Google search will look like this: “Keto fried chicken,” “Low carb chicken nuggets,” and “Low carb protein shake”… see what I’m doing there? Or “Low carb coffee creamer” and “Keto Ice Cream.”
- Your goal is to find some new recipes, and some new products that are less carbohydrates than what you currently eat.
- Remember that you can look at the labels but you can also check out carb counts on a tracker like MyFitnessPal.
- Make a note of the items you find and like… my favorite thing to do is to just keep a running list on my phone or in a notebook. Pinterest is a good option as well.
- But always remember, that this stage is just a discovery stage and you can still have all your current carb-y things till we get to the next step, REDUCE.
- In this step you begin to REDUCE your intake of the bad versions and instead eat the yummy, good versions that you found in the REPLACE step above.
- The good news is that when you have been finding REPLACEments you are naturally nudging the bad versions off your plate and have already begun this step before actually having to enforce it. Haha! So sneaky.
- Make a concerted effort to use the REPLACEment items as much as you can.
- If you still need the carb-y version you can have it but ONLY AFTER you have eaten the replacement version.
- Your stomach will be full of the replacement so you won’t eat as much of the carb-y stuff.
- Maybe you will be too full to even touch the carb-y stuff.
- Warning: the next step of REMOVE will be crazy hard if you don’t try your best in this step.
- Here is where you suck it up and get rid of the bad versions altogether.
- Buck up Buttercup!
- But see, there’s a secret here… you have already REDUCED your consumption of these so it is WAY WAY WAY easier to take this final step where you REMOVE them.
- AND you should be seeing a shift in how you feel by now. No more heavy feeling after eating that fried chicken, no more sleepiness after eating that bowl of ice cream. WIN!!! Use this newfound wakefulness to keep you motivated and moving forward.
- IF you find you are still having a hard time removing some of these foods, make a list of the easiest one to the hardest one. Then spend a week without the easiest one. And then work on the item that is next on the list, and so on. You will eventually succeed at removing them ALL.
- Intro to this series: Introducing the Madcap Diet for Narcolepsy
- MCT instructions: MCT Oil: The PWN’s High Octane Fuel Source (Step 1), Guide to Getting Started with MCT Oil, and MCT Oil to the MAX.
- Intro to the Madcap Route: The Heart of the Madcap Diet for Narcolepsy: The 3 R’s
Fantastic to see this. I’m 45 and gaining weight. I am a lifetime narco. I m also a gastric patient. Has anyone else been through surgery and dealing with narcolepsy? This food thing is great I d like to follow it.
Hey T! Thanks for commenting.
I run a group on Facebook called Keto PWN, you should come join us. There are several members there that have had gastric surgery of some sort, have narcolepsy, and are doing the diet.
The primary thing I advise gastric surgery patients is to incorporate bone broth to your daily routine. Absorbing vitamins and minerals, and getting enough protein, is a common issue for gastric patients. Bone broth has good protein in it but is a bioavailable source of minerals and nutrtients. As it is liquid, it will be gentle on your system.
So happy to have you on this journey with me!
Thanks so much! This is so helpful! 💜
Baby steps qualifies as forward motion, right!?!?
FYI: Enlightened Ice Cream is a great and DELICIOUS low-carb/Keto REPLACEment for ice cream! So yummy!!! 😋
Below is a list of Enlightened Ice Cream Flavors with net carbs under 5 g – I’ve tried the 3 flavors with an X on the left – ABSOLUTELY LOVE the Chocolate Peanut Butter because not only is it delicious, but I can have about 2 servings of it!!! Unfortunately I haven’t been able to find the Marshmallow Peanut Butter flavor yet.
Serving size 1/2 cup (69 – 70 g)
3 Net Carbs:
– [ ] MARSHMALLOW PEANUT BUTTER ICE CREAM
– Calories = 90
– Fat = 4.5 g
– Net carbs = 3 g
– Protein = 7 g
– [x] CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER ICE CREAM – 2 pints
– Calories = 90
– Fat = 4.5 g
– Net carbs = 3 g
– Protein = 7 g
4 Net Carbs:
– [ ] COLD BREW COFFEE ICE CREAM
– Calories = 60
– Fat = 1.5 g
– Net carbs = 4 g
– Protein = 6 g
– [ ] VANILLA ICE CREAM
– Calories = 60
– Fat = 1.5 g
– Net carbs = 4 g
– Protein = 6 g
– [ ] TOASTED ALMOND ICE CREAM
– Calories = 60
– Fat = 1.5 g
– Net carbs = 4 g
– Protein = 6 g
– [ ] SNICKERDOODLE ICE CREAM
– Calories = 60
– Fat = 1.5 g
– Net carbs = 4 g
– Protein = 6 g
– [ ] CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM
– Calories = 60
– Fat = 2 g
– Net carbs = 4 g
– Protein = 6 g
– [ ] BUTTER PECAN ICE CREAM
– Calories = 90
– Fat = 5 g
– Net carbs = 4 g
– Protein = 6 g
5 Net Carbs:
– [ ] STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE ICE CREAM
– Calories = 70
– Fat = 1.5 g
– Net carbs = 5 g
– Protein = 6 g
– [ ] BIRTHDAY CAKE ICE CREAM
– Calories = 70
– Fat = 2 g
– Net carbs = 5 g
– Protein = 6 g
– [x] RED VELVET ICE CREAM
– Calories = 70
– Fat = 2 g
– Net carbs = 5 g
– Protein = 6 g
– [x] MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP ICE CREAM
– Calories = 80
– Fat = 2.5 g
– Net carbs = 5 g
– Protein = 6 g
LOVE IT!!!!!!
Thank you. Xxxx
You are so welcome! Always!