The Keto diet is not magic but it does feel like it!
When I hit 275 lbs my doctor tried to prescribe a handful of medications. I had high blood pressure, high cholesterol, pre-diabetes, hypothyroidism, and acid reflux. My doctor was very blunt and told me “I am prescribing you these medicines but they will not save you if you do not make a change you will die an early death.” Instead of filling the prescriptions I went on a diet and lost over 100 lbs in under a year eliminating the need for any of them.
The Keto diet is not magic but it does feel like it. If you have tried calorie counting and are still not able to maintain a healthy weight try the keto diet. I used this form of keto to lose over 100 lbs and restore myself to health. For many people this eating pattern controls hunger and satiety and allows for effortless calorie restriction. I am currently very low carb but will indulge for purposes of living life. When implementing this diet you have to maintain 100% for a minimum of 3-4 weeks. It is best to do it for a full month before even considering a cheat meal. So if you need to eat cake on the holidays this is not the diet for you. If you mix a high fat diet with high carbs you get the Standard American Diet or SAD!! The acronym is fitting because it is sad we all eat this way. There are many forms of Keto but this one is the healthy version.
Most diets for weight loss count total calories and aim to limit them. A Keto diet for weight loss will also aim for an overall calorie reduction but specifies a specific macro nutrient ratio that promotes the burning of fats for energy rather than glucose or sugar. When the body breaks down fat dietary or body it produces ketones this process is called lipolysis. Ketones are an alternative source of energy for the body and brain. When the body is using ketones as its fuel source it is called being in a state of ketosis giving the name to the diet Keto.
Ketosis is a natural state of the body that is built into our DNA. If it was dangerous for the body to be in ketosis we would not be alive as a species in our current form. The abundance of food that we have in recent times is not the environment that we evolved in. Our evolution took place over hundreds of thousands to millions of years where food was scarce. Our bodies have a specific mechanism for The storing energy for use when there is no energy source. This storage bin is body fat. When food is available we eat, our bodies use glucose provided by the food, and store the excess as fat. when food is not available for long durations we run out of glucose and the body begins to break down fat for energy. It is necessary for the body to take in water regularly but as it turns out we can go long durations of time without food. When people do not eat it is known as fasting. People fast for days to weeks to months, one man fasted for over a year with no adverse effect on his health. The Keto diet is known as a fasting mimicking diet because the same process of lipolysis is used to power the body weather you are eating a high fat low carb diet or not eating at all.
The macronutrient break down In order to induce ketosis in the body is 75% of your calories from fat, 15% from protein, and 10% from carbohydrates. The 10% of carbohydrates are counted as net carbs. A net carb is total carbohydrates minus fiber because fiber is not broken down into glucose. By counting net carbs on a keto diet you are able to incorporate more fruits and vegetables. Older versions of the low carb high fat diets like the original Atkins diet took a more strict approach limiting total carbs which limited fruit and vegetables. The Keto diet in its current form encourages eating green leafy vegetables and fruits like avocado and berries. The keto diet promotes eating food in its most unprocessed form without additives.
A keto diet will include eating meats of all types without restrictions. It is encouraged to eat the fatty cuts of meats, eating dark meat over chicken breast, and not being afraid of bacon or other pork. It is also necessary to add fats to all your meals by cooking in coconut oil, using butter and sour cream, and drizzling extra virgin olive oil on anything. The best option for snacks on keto are nuts and dark cacao. Full fat dairy is also a staple in a Keto diet low fat options should be avoided as the removal of fat is usually accompanied by the addition of sugar and or chemicals. All grains and refined sugars are strictly avoided on a keto diet carbohydrates ingested should only come from fruits vegetables nuts and cheese not grains of any type. Traditional Fruits like apples, oranges, bananas and starch vegetables like potatoes and corn are also strictly avoided. They may taste good but there nutritional value is far over stated and the essential nutrients can be obtained from many other sources in higher ratios from lower carbs foods.
When diet advice shifted to reduce fat and increase consumption of carbohydrates people’s health began to decline. It is noted that the body requires essential nutrients. Essential nutrients can not be synthesized by the body and must be obtained through diet. There are essential fats and essential proteins but there is no such thing as an essential carbohydrate. When we cut out fat and increase carbs we deprive the body of essential nutrients. Eating a vegan diet is not sustainable without supplements because fruits and vegetables do not contain all of the essential nutrients needed by they body.
The Full Plan
Meat: Eat any meat that you like. If this was WW meat would be 0 points. Season meats with dry spice; salt, pepper, steak rubs, dried onion, garlic powder. Cook in butter, or olive oil. Stubb’s sugar free sauce is ok as a treat. Do not be afraid of red meat, bacon, or the dark meat of the chicken the extra fats are good to keep you full. Do not think you have to eat low fat meats like turkey or chicken breast. Try to eat grass fed pasture raised and finished beef and chicken or wild game. Liver, heart and other organ meats are filled with nutrients if you like these meats eat them, personally I cant do it maybe one day i'll eat liver and fish and like it. Drink organic bone broth before meals.
Fats: Another 0 point food. Add fat to all meals to help to fill you up. Fat is our main source of energy. As your body becomes “fat adapted” you will easily switch from burning fat from food to burning stored body fat. Fats are what we will begin to manipulate in the second month of the diet to control weight loss or maintenance. Think of fat as a lever if you are not losing weight then begin to pull back on fat. It is important to wait at month before attempting to lower fats as you want to be used to burning fats and easily switching from glucose, and dietary fat to stored body fat. This allows for consistent energy with little to no hunger. By eating pasture raised, grass fed, and free range meat and poultry and eliminating processed seed oils you will have a head start balancing omega 3 and 6. Without fish it is hard to get a proper 3/6 ratio. Adding hemp, flax, walnuts, and omega 3 eggs will also help but to be safe take an omega 3 supplement. Krill oil is the most pure, chemical free, bio available fish oil supplement. Hemp, Flax, or Chi seeds are also good fats grind and sprinkle on anything.
Oils: Eat only extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, or avocado oil always cook on medium to low heat. Avoid processed seed oils like; corn, soybean, vegetable, canola, sunflower, safflower, cotton seed, rapeseed, peanut. These oils much like wheat is hidden in most boxed foods. Always read labels and avoid any products containing them.
Nuts: Eat nuts as a snack or as a meal with some cheese. Read the labels make sure that it is not roasted in seed oil. The only ingredients should be the name of the nut and maybe sea salt. Stick to the nuts on the list with limited almonds. Always have a bin filled with keto trail mix, equal parts pecans, walnuts, macadamia, coca nibs, and some almonds, sprinkle with lots of salt.
Cheese: Eat cheese freely if it agrees with you. Aged cheese has the least carbs but all cheese is low carb. Cheese is another 0 point food. I give a generous 4-6 oz’s but feel free to eat more at first. Eat less cheese as your hunger goes down as it is high in fat. Avoid processed American cheese, look for natural or grass fed cheese. Avoid low-fat cheese always choose full fat options.
Vegetables: Eat no more than 3 cups of assorted vegetables from the list. This is not a target, eating less vegetables and more meat is encouraged. Feel free to sauté vegetables in butter or EVOO at low heat, or top with cheese. Organic is always best for vegetables as non organic have more chemicals.
Fruit: Eat fruit as a snack. Fruit is like nature’s candy the vitamins and minerals can be obtained from meat and vegetables without all the sugar. Eat with heavy whipping cream.
Salt: Add salt freely. Do not used regular table salt it is highly processed, stripped of minerals, enriched with iodine and bleached. Choose Himalayan pink or sea salt, Redmonds Real Salt is my favorite brand. Salt is needed on a low carb diet to keep a fluid balance.
Drinks: water, natural flavored seltzer, black coffee, green tea, or any other tea. Flavor with lemon or lime juice, fresh squeezed is nice but they sell big bottles of lemon juice thats what i use but i like a lot of lemon flavor. Use Stevia, Erythritol, Monk Fruit, Truvia these are the best natural sweeteners. Other artificial sweeteners are ok if you have a favorite and use it limited.
Calories: This is not a count your calories diet you eat until your full. Eat as much meat, cheese, and fats as you need to be full keep other categories to the limits provided. If you are not hungry do not force yourself to eat. It is not important to eat many times through the day to “get our metabolism moving” I prefer eating 1 large meal and a bunch snacks like nuts and chocolate in a 4-5 hr window. Im sure there are more tasty and nutritious ways to fill up but I like the simplicity of not planning to eat all day and just eating when I am in my house. It is freeing to walk out of the house in the morning without a bag of food and drinks, to not think about it the night before or wake up to pack it, remember to bring the tuba-ware home. When eating this way long periods without food are not particularly hard. You will find that you will not be craving food all day. Sugar and carbohydrates have a addictive quality and when insulin is elevated your body is not free to burn fat. This cycle of your body running out of ready to rock sugar and not being able to access stored body fat leads to strong cravings, light headlines, and other feelings of hypoglycemia
Intermittent Fasting: While you will not count calories you will watch the clock. Aim for a minimum 12 hr fast where you consume water, tea, or black coffee only. After a few weeks eating low carb on a 12 hr schedule you will find it easy to go much longer durations without hunger. A nice medium is 16hr fast with an 8 hour eating window. Many people find this very easy to incorporate.
Extended Fasts: In the second month try to do a weekly 24 hour fast. Eat dinner Friday at 6pm fast till 6pm Saturday and have a nice 3 course dinner. When following the plan closely I like doing a 24 hr fast once a week, and a 3 day fast once a month. When in deep Ketosis these fasts are not hard to do and make you feel real good, especially a 3 day. I have personally never gone more than 3 days but many people go 5-7 days easily and report amazing benefits in pain reduction.
Alcohol:
Try to avoid as much as possible but Whiskey, Brandy, vodka are all low carb.
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