Since I started the ketogenic diet and have continued to share my success with this lifestyle, a lot of you have asked me what keto is, how to start, and how to be successful, too. Way back in August of 2014, I hit a pretty low point in my life that started me out on this path of healing and using food as medicine. You can read what led up to me seeking out this lifestyle here. Is keto right for me? I bet you are seeing a lot of information about keto on social media right now. Why? Because it works and because people are becoming more and more proactive about their health, which is great! Other low carb diets like Atkins went mainstream a long time ago, but I bet you didn't know that the ketogenic diet has been around since 500 BC (the fasting aspect of it), but it hit the mainstream in the 1920s and 1930s. It was originally developed to treat epilepsy in children. Since the ketogenic diet is made up of high-fat foods and very few carbohydrates, it is believed to work by triggering biochemical changes that eliminate seizure-causing short circuits in the brain's signaling system. The diet was designed to mimic the physiologic effects of fasting -- a seizure-control method favored by ancient Greeks. Since then, physicians have believed that the two therapies share a common mechanism. [Source: Science Daily] Ok, but is keto right for me? I just want to lose some weight and maybe kick my sugar cravings. I will say this, if you are looking to keto for a quick fix, yes – it will work to drop weight and curb your sugar addiction, but once you go back to eating above 20g of carbs/sugars daily, I one hundred percent believe you will gain the weight back. It’s meant to be a lifestyle, not just a fad diet. The health benefits are so great though, I am encouraging everyone to try keto to see what it does for you: better sleep, more energy, helps with digestive issues, no more brain fog – crazy focus, alleviates joint pain, hormonal issues, anxiety, etc. You don’t have to have an autoimmune disease or epilepsy to reap the benefits of a ketogenic lifestyle. That said, I really believe if you want to try keto, to be successful you have to fully commit. And that means you will be tracking your foods daily, supplementing with vitamins and minerals, counting carbs, prepping meals, not cheating, and most importantly, listening to how your body responds to this lifestyle. My number one advice for anyone interested in this way of eating is this... KETO IS NOT ONE-SIZE FITS ALL. I had to spend six months on the AIP (autoimmune protocol) diet, eating only low glycemic index foods to realize through trial and error, and a lot of testing, that eating carbs -- even the good ones like sweet potatoes and fruits, causes a reactive hypoglycemic reaction in my body. In layman's terms, that means my body doesn't process carbs like other people's bodies do. After a carb-heavy meal, I would ride a blood sugar rollercoaster for several hours. Eating carb-heavy meals 3x a day or more meant I was riding that rollercoaster all day every day. Symptoms of reactive hypoglycemia include: heart palpitations, fatigue, sweating, insomnia, depression, headaches, dizziness, brain fog, tremors, numbness or tingling in extremities, the list covers all manners of things! For me, my symptoms mimicked anxiety and further, panic attacks. If you read my very first blog post surrounding the circumstances that led me to take better control of my health you will see that I came to keto very much through trial and error and with the help of a thorough naturopath. So this is why I say keto is not one size fits all. I started it because I had very specific symptoms that led my doctor to believe that changing my diet would alleviate some of my Hashimoto's symptoms. Every body is different though. For example, what worked for me does not work for my boyfriend, Paul. His metabolism is through the roof fast -- he can barely keep weight on. He needs those shorter burning fuels (complex carbs) to sustain his incredibly fast metabolism. He doesn't have that stored body fat to burn through once those carbs and sugars are burned for energy. Yes, he could benefit from the intermittent fasting aspect of keto, but I doubt he could sustain not eating for longer periods of time since he needs a higher level of carbs to function optimally. He's not eating high fat foods to keep him satiated for long periods of time. Some people will go into strict keto and wonder why their body is not responding like other successful keto dieters. There are so many factors that go into it and ultimately, it's science at work. Perhaps you are eating too few carbs for your body, maybe your macros need to be adjusted, maybe you are eating too much protein, or maybe ultimately you would do better with a low carb diet instead of a ketogenic diet. Honestly, I think most people would feel better and benefit greatly from a lower carb diet. We eat so many processed, sugary foods. What is even in our foods these days? I can't pronounce half the crap that we pack into foods to preserve them and I have no idea what benefits, if any they possess for the human body. The quality of our food should be way more important than the quantity, always. But I digress... You want to start keto, but you don't know how. In the next section, I will go over the steps that worked for me. Again, the caveat here is that I am NOT a ketogenic diet expert. I'm not a licensed nutritionist. If you want someone like that, please follow Maria Emmerich. She IS a nutritionist and specializes in exercise physiology. Her cookbooks helped me immensely when I started this journey. Here's the thing, I started the same way you are -- by doing research, joining support groups, buying cookbooks, talking to people who found success in it, and following influencers. Having done that, below I will share the steps that worked for me. How I found success on the ketogenic diet....
5. DRINK A LOT OF WATER. This is probably the number one tip I give people just starting out on keto. A good rule of thumb is to drink half your body weight in ounces of water daily. That's going to seem like a lot to some of you. Trust me when I say your body needs it during this time. Your body stores glycogen in water in your muscles. As your body burns through that stored glycogen and you don’t replace it because you aren’t eating carbs, your body’s water stores get depleted as well. This is why people tend to lose up to 10 lbs in the first week/month on keto and also what causes the “keto flu” or the miserable feeling that happens just before you switch over to being fat adapted. That feeling is mostly caused by mild dehydration and can be shortened tremendously just by drinking more water. [Source: My Sugar Free Journey]. Water also suppresses appetite and curbs cravings! Drinking a lot of water also puts less stress on your kidneys that are working overtime to flush all that junk out of your system. Simply put, water is life. Drink it.
6. Now that you have calculated your macros, TRACK YOUR MACROS. You can use any macro tracker or calorie counter app to do this. I use the MyFitnessPal paid version so that I can see my macro percentages for each meal, as well as set customized macros. Use whatever app you want, but just track what you put in your mouth. You might think a handful of raspberries is a nice, healthy treat at the end of the day. You would know though if you were using an app to track what you eat that, that cup of berries, although healthy, has almost your full serving of carbs for the day and will kick you out of ketosis. A food scale and a good food tracking app are going to be crucial to your success in the early stages of the ketogenic diet. Sign up for MFP and add me as a friend to see what I eat daily: Hellafied12. 7. Supplement. Now that you are eating fewer foods, your body will be lacking in certain vitamins and minerals. Because insulin levels go down during a ketogenic diet, your body starts shedding excess sodium and water when you start restricting carbohydrates. While many Americans suffer from high levels of sodium and potassium, low levels of these two salts in the body is also an issue of concern for people on the ketogenic diet due to lower levels of insulin and insulin resistance. The best way to get more sodium and potassium is to add them into your diet. Generally, people on the ketogenic diet should consider adding 2-4 grams of sodium per day. This can be accomplished in a variety of ways. Many keto friendly foods, such as eggs and lean meats, are naturally high in sodium. Sprinkling on some salt or eating some high-fat, salty foods such as bacon or making a low-carb chicken soup might be a good solution. [Source: Ruled Me] Drink bone broth -- it's delicious and is perfect for getting in that sodium and potassium. Magnesium is also an essential nutrient in the body with many key functions and deficiency is common and more prevalent in people who regularly eat a low-carb diet because it increases excretion of ions and many magnesium-rich foods are high-carb. I recommend taking a magnesium supplement, or upping your intake of mag-rich low carb foods like: avocadoes, high-fat yogurt, and low-carb nuts. I absolutely love this powder that you add to water. It also helps with sleep and constipation! 8. Movement. This one is a no brainer. Once you become fat adapted, your energy levels will soar through the roof. Use that energy to get out and take a walk, practice yoga, run a mile. Just get that hot bod moving.You don't need to train for a marathon in the first months you are keto. You don't need to exercise at all and the weight will come off, but trust me when I say movement, along with the proper nutrition, is medicine. 9. Don't be afraid to try out intermittent fasting (IF). Once you are fat adapted, you will notice you aren't hungry during the day and you can go long periods of time without eating or even thinking about food. I stopped snacking altogether after the third week. The benefits of intermittent fasting are crazy! And the ketogenic diet goes hand in hand with IF because being in ketosis helps to mimic the benefits of fasting. When you practice both, your energy will sky rocket and you will give your body and gut much needed time to heal. After about three weeks on keto, I wasn't hungry for breakfast at all anymore, so IF came naturally. I started small. One night I decided to eat dinner earlier than normal, around 5:30 PM. I made sure to eat a dinner high in lots of healthy fats to keep me full and sustain my body through the night and into the morning. I didn't eat again until noon the next day. I wasn't hungry, but I had fasted for about 16 hours, leaving myself an 8 hour window to get my macros in for the rest of the day. After a while, I worked up to a fasting window of 18:6 daily. I would have my last meal between 6-7pm and then not eat again until 2-3pm the following day. Every so often I have gone as long as 24-26 hours without eating and to be honest, it's been really easy to do. I'm to the point, where I eat a small LCHF snack in the afternoon and then fulfill the rest of my macros with one large meal a day. This is commonly referred to as OMAD (one meal a day). Switching to eating this way has allowed me to have a different relationship with food. I don't eat when I'm not hungry and I don't eat when the societal clock tells me to anymore. If it's lunchtime and my body tells me it's cool without food, then I don't eat. I call this intuitive eating. Not to mention eating this way will also melt the extra weight off, if that is your goal. If you can tolerate it, listen to you body and it will tell you when you're ready to start fasting. Make sure you're eating enough calories though please! There is a difference between fasting and eating the bulk of your calories for the day in one or two meals and going into starvation mode. If your body goes into starvation mode, it will hold onto your stored fat and you will plateau, stall, or even gain weight. 10. DO NOT GIVE UP. You should try your best not to cheat during your first few months of keto. You deserve at least that! Your body is adjusting to now burning fat and ketones for fuel and cheating will just cause your body to become confused. Piling carbs (sugar) on top of fat will just cause your body to store the healthy fat instead of burn it for energy. YOU CANNOT HALF-ASS A KETOGENIC LIFESTYLE. Eating a high carb AND high fat diet will cause you to gain weight and not lose it. Low carb high-fat (LCHF) go hand in hand. It's a delicate balance and a system that your body needs practice to understand what you want it to do, which is ultimately, burn fat over sugar for energy and optimal brain function. Stick with it. If you aren't seeing results in 2-3 weeks, change things up. Add more healthy fats. Up your water intake. Lower your protein intake. But do not give up. Our bodies are amazing and can adapt to pretty much anything given enough time. Some people take longer to achieve ketosis. Most importantly, you should be FEELING so much better. The best barometer for success should always be how you FEEL, not how you look! Those are my top 10 tips and steps for how I maintained a ketogenic lifestyle and went prescription drug-free, am now autoimmune thyroid symptom-free, lowered my bad cholesterol and raised my good cholesterol, and how I lost now 38 lbs and four sizes in just under five months. hope they help you begin a healthier lifestyle!
10 Comments
Megan Gates
5/6/2019 11:27:49 am
I don't think that 10 lbs a week is healthy or sustainable. I shoot for 1-2 lbs a week. I lost 11 lbs the first month of keto and then an additional 8.5 lbs the second month, but after that it was slow and steady at about 3-5 lbs per month
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