Is Keto for Me?
SO WHAT IS KETO?
The Keto (or Ketogenic) way of eating (often called a WOE) consists of a diet high in healthy fats, low in carbohydrates and the balance is made up in proteins. Typically, on the "American Standard Diet" (ASD), your body is accustomed to burning glucose for energy. The KETO way of eating flips a switch in your body that teaches it to use Ketones (produced naturally in your liver in the absence of sugars) rather than glucose for energy. Glucose is readily available in many processed foods and natural foods containing carbohydrates (like fruits). Since the body likes to conserve energy, it will use what is readily available and store whatever it can’t use. If you remove that fuel source from your body, it turns to those fat stores for energy. Forget everything you ever heard or learned about eating “low fat” because that’s a horrible thing to do to your body. When fat is removed from foods, in order to keep them palatable, those fats are often replaced with sugars. Various sugars go by literally dozens of different names, so nefarious food companies can actually use several different sugars in a product and because they have different names, they get listed further down on the ingredients list as separate items, hiding the fact that there is really a LOT of sugar in the low-fat product.
Also forget everything you ever heard about putting your body in “starvation mode” if you don’t eat enough of this or that. Starvation mode isn’t really even a “thing” until you been without nutrition (not food, but vital nutrients), for many weeks. You will NOT go into starvation mode by skipping a day or two of eating…but that’s another step. I had always heard that if you don’t eat enough X, your body will go into starvation mode and start burning muscle rather than fat. That is bunk! The way true experts explain it, “for your body to start burning muscle that it knows it will need in order to get more food, while there is a whole store of fat available, would be like you having a barn full of firewood but when you get cold, you burn the sofa.” In truth, your body needs fats (for energy) and proteins (for development and repair), but there is no real medical need for carbohydrates. So giving them up is actually good for you as you can have more fats and proteins that your body needs and can use.
Let me pause here and say now that if you follow a diet of veganism or vegetarianism, Keto is still a good way of eating, but this particular blog is probably not going to be the best source for you because I rely heavily on meats and eggs for sustenance.
Second, let me say that I am not offering ANY medical advice or recommendations on how you should manage your health, but I am reporting my own experience with Keto, which has been pretty remarkable.
TIPS FOR "GOING KETO"
Okay, there is a lot to absorb about Keto and if you have any Google skills at all, I highly recommend you do a little reading on your own; however, I know that the information can get overwhelming so I'll do my best to guide you along the way. The next post will have some links to get you started.
The big thing you have to unlearn is the idea that "fat makes you fat". Fat is fuel that burns clean and efficient in your body and you need to provide plenty of it. Never ever ever buy anything "low-fat" again. Buy whole fat cream cheese, sour cream, cottage cheese, mayo, etc. The low-fat revolution was the marked beginning of the obesity epidemic in the US.
Keto is not a diet that allows "cheat days" or "cheat meals" because it's effectiveness draws on your body being in a state of Ketosis. Ketosis is when the liver is producing Ketones for fuel that your body is using to operate on. Ketosis only happens when the body runs out of carbs (the easy fuel). In order for your body to get to and stay in Ketosis, you MUST maintain a low-carb intake (around 20 net grams per day) every day. One cheat meal that throw you out of Ketosis and stall your progress for several days.
Does this mean you never get to eat your favorites again? No, of course not, but you should be prepared to give them up for at least a month to allow your body to become fat adapted (the state where your body automatically chooses to use fat for fuel).
Finally, to be successful, you're going to have to resign yourself to cooking. It doesn't have to be complicated and elaborate as simple foods are often the best. There are some great recipes out there to make enough fabulous foods that, once you get the hang of it, you'll never want to go back to your old way of eating again. As they say, nothing tastes as good as thin feels. And it's true! I'll be sharing some of my favorites, and my go-to's as we progress along this journey.
GETTING STARTED
Macros - To get started with Keto, you are going to want to track your food intake. There are three major "Macros" to track: Fat grams, Protein grams, and Carbohydrate grams. Notice there was nothing there about calories. We'll talk about calories later. For now, forget about them, just like you forgot about "low-fat". As you track your food intake, make note of these three nutrition markers. When all is said and done, your daily consumption should be in the neighborhood of 75% fat, 20% protein, and a mere 5% carbohydrates (less is okay). In the beginning, focus mostly on lowering your carbs by eating more fat and more protein to fill you up.
Tracking - Knowledge is power! One of the most important tools I use is a food tracker. NOTE: This step is hugely important in the beginning but will be less taxing as you get in the grove of making and eating Keto-friendly foods. Find a way to make it easy enough that you'll do it because your success could depend on it.
There are quite a few macro tracking programs on the internet or you can use plain old paper and pen (but you'll need a good resource for looking up the nutrition content of foods). I have a tracker as an app on my phone. I input everything I eat, selecting from a huge database of foods, or entering my own recipes, and the app keeps track my intake of carbs, fats, and proteins each day. I personally use a website called FatSecret (which also has an iphone/android app for your smartphone). It's free to join and pretty easy to use. If you join FatSecret, let me know so we can hook up on the site! There are also plenty of others so find any one you like, but find one. Do a search for "Macro Counter" and see what you turn up. The key is this: Sometimes I mess up or have a bad day. However, I start each day new. The trick is to never get discouraged by one day’s progress, and start each day with the plan to do it right.
Finally, the Scale - There is a lot of back-and-forth about the scale. On one hand, it is just a device for determining mass at a particular moment in time. It is often inaccurate and misleading. However, it is a fair gauge (over time) for measuring your success. But keep in mind that the scale is not the ONLY measurement of success. The benefits of Keto go beyond the number on the scale. Watch the other tangible results too: Your clothes will start to fit looser, your energy levels will increase, your mental clarity will improve, etc. And if you have health problems for which you take medication (particularly if you have symptoms of metabolic syndrome), be sure to monitor your vital signs closely. Blood sugar and blood pressure levels are among the first things to improve with proper diet. Let your doctor know what you are doing. Mine did not initially appear to support the Keto WOE, but he had to admit my success as my health improved and I eventually ended my relationship with my dozen or so prescription medications.
As for what to do with the scale? I am a daily weigher. I can't help myself. It's not the healthiest
approach but what can I say. You gotta do you. The best recommendation is to weigh yourself once a week, on the same day at the same time, (completely naked) first thing in the morning,before you've consumed anything. Tracking your progress week over week like this will eliminate some of the frustrations of daily ups and downs. And document it. Even though I weigh daily, and I make a note of it, I chart my progress on more of a weekly basis and it looks like this.
WHAT TO EAT
Once you eliminate pasta, bread, cereals and grains, and sugar from your diet, if you're like me you wonder, "Hey! What's left???" What's left is real food that you can buy at any grocery store. There are no shakes, no pills, no prepackaged stuff that costs a fortune, just plain food (I get 90% of my groceries at WalMart ). And there are no clubs, fees, dues, nothing. It’s just a change of lifestyle that you can do for yourself and you reap all the benefits.
So here's some simple foods to get you started:
● Eggs
● Beef, Chicken, Pork
● Salmon or other fatty fishes
● Olive oil, coconut oil, MCT oil, avocado oil, macadamia nut oil
● Seafood
● Butter/Ghee/Sour Cream/Heavy Cream
● Mayo (I use Hellmans - watch salad dressings for sugars)
● Avocados/Tomatoes
● Olives
● Soft cheeses/Hard cheeses
● Tea/coffee - 3-6 cups per day (use heavy cream if you cream your coffee)
● Spices
● Non-starchy vegetables*
*The non-starchy vegetables should be heavy on leafy greens (spinach, kale, collard greens), broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, asparagus, squashes, etc. Stay away from root vegetables (carrots in moderation are the exception).
That should be enough to get you thinking in the right direction. I will continue to add entries to this blog and guide you through the world of eating Low-Carb. Feel free to post questions in the comments and I will address them as best I can.
Once again, thanks for reading and remember, this is JUST MY EXPERIENCE and should not be used as a substitute for getting proper help if you need medical advice.
Be sure to subscribe so you know when I post new stuff, and please use the comment section below to ask any questions.
Have a blessed day!
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