The ketogenic diet is a remarkable way of eating with numerous health benefits.
With the ketogenic diet, you switch your body’s preferred source of fuel from carbohydrate to stored fat, which is a cleaner fuel, more healthful fuel, that the body and the brain loves.
For some people, this takes more time than others. But at most 6 weeks (if you’ve really been hitting the carbs). By then, if you stick to the diet, you can know, with all absolute certainty, that you are running on fat solely.
It is a state in which we switch our body’s prefered source of energy from sugar to fat. Of course, this is what we want to do. We want to burn excess fat off the body and get lean, right?
Most people eat a carbohydrate rich diet, consistently spiking insulin and running on glucose. Glucose, in fact, is the preferred source of energy for the body. It’s easy. The body will use whatever is within easy reach—which is why when it’s starving it turns to nutrient rich muscle. It wants that immediate energy glucose gives it.
Ketosis happens when we effectively switch our body’s source of energy to our fat stores instead of an instream of glucose by eating a low carbohydrate diet.
We can, however, push our body to run on fat and the body thrives on fat.
Let me give you the more textbook definition of the ketogenic diet before we move on:
The ketogenic diet is a very low carb, high fat, moderate protein diet. Eating a diet this low in carbohydrate pushes your body into a new metabolic framework called “ketosis” – when your body finally makes that switch (which takes about 4 to 6 weeks) to burning fat for energy, it becomes very efficient at burning fat for energy and urns fat into ketones within the liver, which fuels energy to the brain (instead of glucose).
. . . In other words, we want to run on high powered diesel fuel – not just regular old gas.
The ketogenic diet gained popularity back with the Atkins diet of the 80s and early 90s, which many people thought of as an “all meat diet” or all protein diet then. That’s back before our big epiphany about the importance of eating fat and learned that the fat-high cholesterol connection was really non-existent and that we need fats to remain healthy and youthful.
How does the ketogenic diet differ from the Atkins diet?
Well, the keto diet places more of an emphasis on fat, protein, and vegetables and lean protein is not stressed so much that we spike insulin, as excessive lean protein will.
Plus, fat is the one food that does not spike insulin at all.
So I think of the ketogenic diet as a product of all we’ve learned about dieting over the past four decades. Take low GI, low II (insulin index), gluten free, paleo, low carb –plus what we’ve learned from diet disasters . . .
We’ve progressed from eating
Now, we’ve learned what works and what doesn’t.
That’s the beauty of the ketogenic diet—it’s a product of experience, evolution, and inevitability.
The ketogenic diet takes which takes everything we’ve learned combining us into an educated eating plan that FINALLY allows you to tap into your fat stores and run on those instead of glucose.
It even helps turn useless, unhealthy white fat stores into what we want—more brown fat. Feel the back of your neck—feel how hard that tissue is? That’s brown fat. We want more of this stuff wherever we have to have fat on our body because this burns calories through generating heat.
Brown FAT is GOOD.
So even if you don’t want to make this a lifetime way of eating, it certainly isn’t a bad idea to cycle on and off this diet to keep the body lean and fat free.
Is it for everyone?
I believe there is no one size fits all approach for millions of people. Some people with super high metabolisms will find that the ketogenic diet makes them feel sluggish. And this diet can, so I’m going to tell you about my favorite nutritional supplements to help you overcome any keto slumps.
So let’s take a definitive look at the Keto Diet.
Ketogenic diets stress high fat, moderate protein, very low carbs, to put the body into a ketogenic state of running on fat instead of glucose.
Because you run on your stored fat, ketogenic diets are revolutionizing weight loss—offering a lifestyle, not just a diet, that can be maintained after the weight loss period without you going hungry. Not only does eating keto suppress the appetite, but eating more fat at meals helps satisfy you and keep you less hungry for carbs or snacks period.
Not snacking and going longer between meals allows you to further boost fat burning, because the longer you go without spiking insulin, the more you burn up your own fat (just as with intermittent fasting!)
It’s not a hard diet to stick to – once you get past the carb cravings– and it works.
Eat fat to get thin. It sounds crazy, right? Goodbye Lean Cuisine and hello nut butter.
But good-bye bread. And for some people, this is too great a sacrifice. They love their grab and go carbohydrate proceed based foods.
What I want this blog to be is more honest about the sacrifice part.
You have to let go of things to do this diet if you want to get into full ketosis.
But for people wanting to lose a lot of fat off the body—this diet is the ideal one for you, and you may want to make this sacrifice and do this diet to a T—because for those who are extremely overweight, pushing diabetes, and showing many of the symptoms of metabolic syndrome, this could not be a better diet. The ketogenic diet is wonderful for enhancing insulin sensitivity, whittling the fat off the body, trimming belly fat, and for heart health as well—many of the factors obese individuals will want to address right off the bat.
The grain cravings will pass—so if you are overweight, please suffer through them and get to the “reward part” – when you begin burning that fat off the body because once you start experiencing major rewards for your efforts with major weight loss, the carbs will seem a small sacrifice indeed for that new body you’re getting.
The ketogenic diet focuses on HIGH fat, very moderate protein (think low protein, actually, I will discuss this in a moment, and very low carbohydrate.
The exact breakdown of the diet varies between individuals, but a general profile may reflect 70-75 percent fat, 15-20 percent protein, and only 5-10 percent carbohydrate.
So, you’re probably thinking, all I need to do is just eat lots of turkey and chicken on salads with just oil and ACV and I’m fine right—maybe an avocado or some bacon?
Well, that’s NOT enough fat.
If you eat that much lean protein at all your meals, you won’t get into ketosis. You need fattier proteins, like beef. That’s the ONE thing my clients often have a hard time getting into their heads—you need to embrace the fat more than the protein.
I read a blog recently on Bodybuilding.com where a lovely writer explained why so well I want I want to let her explain it:
As this researcher notes,
Ketogenic diets are not the same as high-protein, carbohydrate-restricted diets. . . Even when you’ve reduced carbs and bumped up your fat, too much protein can actually be a problem. [emphasis mine]
When it comes to energy, the body prefers to break down fats or carbohydrates for fuel and save protein for other processes, like building muscle.
The body can only metabolize a certain amount of at one time, so when consumed in large quantities, excess protein has the possibility of being converted to energy, a process called gluconeogenesis. For example, protein can be converted to energy during periods of prolonged exercise, or while exercising in a fasted state.
In a ketogenic diet, too much protein could blunt any fat-adaptive responses.
In other words, when you’re on the ketogenic diet, your body is trying to adapt to burning fat instead of glucose. It does this by manufacturing more enzymes to metabolize fats, so this takes time. You don’t want to “undo” those process with gluconeogenesis, right?
Just as eating carbs will spike insulin, so will lots of protein—especially lots of lean protein. And this can throw you out of ketosis AND make it take longer for your body to begin running on fat for fuel. If you’re not running on fat, you’re running on sugar (glucose) and your body won’t reach down into your fat stores to burn THAT for energy. And you want to burn the fat, right?
Protein spikes insulin when you eat too much of it because it contains these proteins called “insulinogenic amino acids, or amino acids that spur insulin production, so these amino acids induce a higher insulin release . . . when insulin is too high, fat metabolism drastically slows down.”
However, fat does not spike insulin. This means no insulin secretion and the body will become more sensitive to insulin in the body. This is important for those suffering with metabolic syndrome or insulin resistance, which can make it impossible to lose weight.
In short, to lose weight on the ketogenic diet, the majority of your calories should come from fat—not protein, not carbohydrates
This is why I advise following other successful keto devotees on boards like Reddit and keto discussion communities and talking to them about what they eat.
Also, fill your house with lots of low carb vegetables and fats like nuts, avocados, cheeses, fatty cuts of beef, and pure nut butters with no sugar.
If it’s not in the house and you have lots of keto-permissible foods on hand instead, you’ll reach for those. It’s a win-win.
There are many, many researched physical and mental benefits to going keto, and one of the most obvious ones is that it helps individuals to lose weight, burn fat, conquer obesity, and improve many of the metabolic risk factors for diabetes and heart disease, including elevated triglycerides, low HDL, and chronically elevated blood sugar.
Other important benefits are that the ketogenic diet
**In fact, as one researcher in this last study put it, what ketogenic diets are doing to treat diabetes is “remarkable.”
“A wide variety of evidence suggests that the ketogenic diet could have beneficial disease-modifying effects in epilepsy and also in a broad range of neurological disorders characterized by death of neurons.”
And if the diet can protect us against the death of neurons . . . this is a good thing for preventing Alzheimer’s and keeping us bright and shiny, yes? Yes!
study, study study. And there are countless others.
For a great Pub Med review on the many health benefits of the ketogenic diet, I highly recommend this article, “Beyond Weight Loss: A Review Of The Therapeutic Uses Of Very-Low-Carbohydrate (Ketogenic) Diets.”
So, um, yeah—it’s a pretty good way to eat! And once you adjust to full ketosis, studies show that the appetite-reducing effects of eating the ketogenic way, help to keep weight loss happening.
I know this from my clients that this diet is utterly transformative, for men and women alike. You get those cuts, your V, and your waist whittled while you build that lean muscle mass that just yields the optimal body, supple, carved—beautiful.
I’ve seen it take a 260-pound woman and transform her into a 145-pound woman in 9 months. And she didn’t starve. Clients who are most successful pack their fridge with keto snacks and read keto blogs, books—learn to think and live that way.
On the Adjustment Period
It does take time for your energy level to even out. I recommend reading Reddit blogs and Mark’s Daily Apple. These have whole Keto communities of people talking about tricks and tips they’re using to maintain energy through the sluggish spell that hallmarks a move from glucose to fat burning. It’s like the boot camp of ketosis—you make it through that and you’re home free—your mental and physical energy go crazy, but you have to work for it.
Some people can tell they’re in ketosis when their breath takes on a bad or fruity smell.
Another way you can tell is the weight loss. When you are in ketosis, you will feel lighter every day and notice that you are losing inches as well, especially if you are engaging in cardio and resistance training. But to make absolute certain you are in ketosis, I recommend the blood meters and/ or breath meters.
The most reliable and accurate method of measuring ketosis is to measure your blood ketone levels using a specialized meter. It measures your ketone levels by calculating the amount of beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) in your blood.
This is one of the primary ketones present in the bloodstream.
According to some experts on the ketogenic diet, nutritional ketosis is defined as blood ketones ranging from 0.5–3.0 mmol/L.
Measuring ketones in the blood is the most accurate way of testing, and is used in most research studies. However, the main downside is that it requires a small pinprick to draw blood from the finger. A test kit also costs around $30–$40, and then an additional $5 per test.
Breath analyzers are also somewhat accurate but blood is absolutely the most accurate and when you’re first trying to get into ketosis, I highly recommend the blood tests.
Another good technique is to measure the presence of ketones in your urine on a daily basis with special indicator strips you can get at just about any drugstore now.
These are cheap and easy to obtain. However, they are not considered very reliable by most keto enthusiasts.
What I would advise is to use the blood test method and to play close attention, for one to two months, what your body feels like in full ketosis. You’ll be able to “feel it” and “taste” it after a time. Then you’ll be able to literally feel when you are in full ketosis and you can save your money, feeling confident you are running on fat.
Full keto adaption, as it is called in the fitness and keto community does take some time, especially if you’ve been thriving and running on carbs your entire life. Your body will fight you to give up that preferred fuel source just as it will to stay at your set point weight. I’d say six weeks tops and more like 2 weeks if you’ve already been eating paleo or grain free predominantly, as many individuals are today.
The keto diet is great for eating clean, if you choose whole, clean foods. So go grass fed, organic, local, non GMO and non-hormones in all you eat. That being said, let me address permissible foods on the ketogenic diet. If you keep in mind you want a ratio that falls between these limits and, again, you have to find what works with you by fiddling with these ratios and testing your blood.
15-30% of calories from protein, and
5-10% of calories from carbs.
Here are permissible foods from each category. If you’re really trying to get into ketosis.
***I will say, this happens much more easily when you do vegetable carbohydrate only, with limited tubers, beans, tomatoes, and corn.
Aim for around 30 to 40 carbs a day, with as much as 50 grams a day allowed. But everyone has to find their ketosis “sweet spot.” For example, women in menopause might have to adjust this down, as might people with thyroid issues that give them a sluggish metabolism. Ditto for people with adrenal fatigue.
Meats: Beef, lamb, chicken, pork.
You can do poultry but I recommend limited lean proteins to get into ketosis. In general, for at least one meal a day, pick fattier cuts of beef and pork.
Fish and Seafood: Salmon, trout, haddock, shrimp, shellfish, etc. Choose wild-caught if you can. Fatty fish is great for ketosis as are all of these foods.
Eggs: Choose free-range, pastured and or free range omega-3 enriched eggs.
Vegetables: Broccoli, kale, peppers, onions, carrots, tomatoes.
Basically all vegetables. Ones to limit are all the squashes, beets, corn, tomatoes, potatoes, parsnips (especially—27 grams of carbohydrate a cup!) and peas (21 grams of carb a cup). Of course, you can work these in and take away carbs somewhere else. It’s all about that daily total and what works for you!
Fruits: When you’re getting into ketosis, most keto specialists recommend berries only—black, raspberries, and blueberries. Most fruits, like bananas, are loaded with sugar and can send you over your daily carb limit if you’re not careful.
Tubers: Potatoes, sweet potatoes, yams, turnips, etc. (Again, limited amounts of these—maybe two times a week and limit your carb intake the rest of the day.
Nuts and Seeds: Almonds, macadamia nuts, walnuts, hazelnuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and more. **Also, pure nut butters that contain only nuts and salt.
Healthy Fats and Oils: Lard, tallow, coconut oil, olive oil, avocado oil and others. Myself, I prefer coconut and EVOO.
Salt and Spices: ALL—but I like Himalayan Sea Salt because it’s LOADED with minerals.
Unlimited black coffee, purified water, purified lemon water (limited sweeteners, try to avoid diet sodas). Stick to Stevia extract if you must use sweetener.
Breakfast: 3 eggs omelet with cheese, plain yogurt with ½ cup blueberries, black coffee
Lunch: Steak salad with avocado, bacon, chopped kale and romaine, onion. Dressing made of ACV and Dijon (optional)
Dinner: Wild caught salmon, salad with avocado, one tomato chopped, onion, bacon, nuts. ACV dressing with mustard and herbs.
Be well and think nutrient dense,
Jackson Litchfield