Keto is a type of diet that certainly requires a lot of willpower and commitment, but done
right, it can be one of the most successful diets for weight (fat) loss and is therefore amongst
the most favoured diet types for personal trainers worldwide.
First thing’s first, what does keto stand for?
Ketogenic diets restrict the amount of carbohydrates consumed whilst raising the amount of
fat. Keto is the generic label for these types of diets but you may have heard of the Atkins
diet for example, which also comes under this label.
THE SCIENCE
What does your body use for energy? Energy usually comes from the glucose in carbohydrates that you consume.This is traditionally why long distance runners carry glucose tablets – to make sure they have enough energy to make it to the finish!
If you take out the glucose (i.e. by minimising your intake of carbs), the body has to find an alternative fuel source.
A process of ‘ketosis’ then happens where the body turns to break down the fat as an alternative to using glucose, which is obviously very helpful if you’re storing more fat than you’d like!
Hallelujah I hear you say – tell me more!
When the fat cells are broken down, they turn into molecules called ‘ketones’. Not only can you therefore monitor your weight loss on this diet, but you can also check your ketone levels, to see if your body has gone into ketosis. These test strips can be bought anywhere, but a link is here in case you want to play along.
HOW DO I GET STARTED?
Well it goes without saying that your first port of call should be with your doctor. Whilst you may shrug this off as being unnecessary, keto is no joke and if you’re starting out on a weight loss journey, it’s always good to check that your body can handle it.
Diabetics and those of you with blood sugar management issues can actually be harmed by this type of diet, so it is important to check if going on a keto diet is appropriate for you.
Once you’ve decided you’re going to give it a go, it’s a good idea to plan your week’s food ahead, to make sure you don’t stray off plan and ruin your progress.
Foods recommended on keto:-
- High fat meats (particularly grass fed meats). Meat is also high in protein and other essential vitamins and minerals;
- Fish (for example salmon, sardines and mackerel which also high in Omega-3, B vitamins and selenium);
- Eggs (also high in protein and antioxidants);
- High fat dairy products (for example, cheese, natural greek yoghurt and cottage cheese);
- Oils (olive oil is best)
- Nuts (only some, such as almonds, macadamia nuts, pecans);
- Low carb vegetables (for example, spinach, kale, swiss chard and cabbage).
Courgette and butternut squash noodles are also fairly low in carbs and can be used as an alternative to pasta noodles. Cauliflower rice can also be a nice alternative to serve with curry. As a warning, avocados and olives are high in fat but can be quite high in carbs, in comparison to those mentioned above; so, whilst they can be a nice addition, I wouldn’t make these a daily staple;
- Most berries are keto-friendly, being low in carb and strawberries and blueberries are perfect examples of this. These will also increase your levels of antioxidants.
- Chocolate. If you’re going to include chocolate in your diet, just make sure it’s dark chocolate with a high quality and high levels of cocoa (70% or above).
It might also be beneficial to take a regular multi-vitamin, when you’re on keto, to make sure that your body is getting everything it needs.
Items to avoid
Ok, it’s a diet after all so I’m afraid you’ll need to say goodbye the usual suspects. The standard no pasta, bread, cakes, sweets, chocolate rule applies here. Potatoes (in any form) are also out on this diet, as they contain high levels of carbs.
Try to avoid high carb nuts such as cashews and pistachios (yes, I’m sorry, I know they’re the best ones!).
The trick and general rule of thumb is to avoid processed and sweet food where possible.
Of course there are a number of “keto friendly” sweeteners and biscuits, etc out there (be careful to read the labels!), but try to prepare meals yourself, using as high quality natural ingredients as possible as this will likely speed up your progress and your body will be happier!
How much carbs can I eat?
I won’t give you the obvious answer here relating to string, but there is no set macro ratio as this will very much depend on your size, activity levels and your end goal.
However, a Harvard review of this diet suggests that normal ratios are 5-10% of your intake from carbohydrates, 70-80% from fat sources and 10-20% from protein. There are popular fitness apps that can make tracking your macos much easier. Personally, my body works best on a 10% carb, 45% fat and 45% protein split; however, this is more trial and error and will be different for everyone.
Enjoy the process of discovering new meals! In case you need a hand, you can find a template meal planner here.
What to expect?
From experience, keto is quite the rollercoaster!
The first few days, you’ll likely just be excited to be starting out on the journey so don’t expect miracles yet….
The next week will inevitably be the hardest. Your body is starting to change fuel sources and that in itself is likely to make you extremely tired, perhaps a little cranky as you start to go through sugar withdrawal and this is likely to be the time you want to give up.
Don’t!
After a few days of this, you’ll start to have more energy, you will hopefully be seeing some changes on the scales and you should start to feel more yourself again.
Just remember that if you come off keto, even for a meal, you may take your body back out of the ketogenic state and will then have to repeat the process. My advice to you whilst you’re doing keto, is to stay strong and not to have cheat meals. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather not have to go through the side effect stage again and again for the purposes of the odd burger/ bowl of pasta!
I wouldn’t say that you can stay on keto for a lengthy period of time (although this will best be determined by you, depending on how adaptable you become to this way of eating), but once you decide that you’ve had enough, I recommend staying as low carb as possible, so that you don’t gain all of the weight you just lost. A slow build up of carbs is the way to go here.
Things they don’t tell you
Keto can come with some rather unpleasant and certainly unwanted side effects. For example, the main tell-tale sign that someone is on a keto diet, is that their breath stinks. Honestly, the smell could poison those nearest and dearest, so I strongly suggest that if you’re on keto and have a job interview, find some sugar free mints!
Of course it goes without saying that whilst the body is adjusting, you may get headaches, nausea, fatigue and other ‘flu-like’ symptoms. You will need to grin and bear these for a few days in the knowledge that it will get better.
There is also an issue with constipation. You may not get as much fibre on this diet, as would be useful for regular and pain-free bowel-movements, so unfortunately you may need to expect a bit of clogging up – this is totally normal.
Just remember that the secret to any diet is consistency, so if this diet works for you, just keep going and know that you’re doing a terrific job!