New Year New Way - Keto For Beginners
In a few short hours, it’ll be 2021. It might not be the 2021 we all hoped for, but it will still be 2021. Of course with that comes New Years Resolutions. It might be any number of lifestyle changes - giving up the drink, losing a little weight, spending less, not biting your toenails - you know the stuff. The stuff that we do for about three weeks, all in a lump, then lose focus on and give up. But it’s good to have a goal, Right?
I’ve written this blog twice and scrapped it, as I’ve got so much to say but I want to keep it light (the blogger app helped to scrap it the second time, by publishing half my blog and losing the rest, but let’s not ruin a good story). Anyway, I think now is a good time to look forward. There are floods of people joining Keto groups on social media, asking lots of new questions and there is a buzz about eating Keto. It’s exciting. But daunting at first. So I wanted to throw some light science around and then chuck in my opinion on the best way to approach eating a Ketogenic diet.
Have some science...
We all love a bit of science, right? Or maybe not. I personally love science because it helps us to understand the ‘why’, but I can hear the groans from all four of my readers so I shall keep it light.
What the western world considers a balanced diet contains a huge amount of sugar. We wander around, oblivious to this. All the while it’s being poured into our sauces, stuffed into our sausages and added to pretty much everything we eat. This is a huge problem, not only because refined sugars and a high carb diet are a modern thing (my gran didn’t eat pasta sauce jars or microwave lasagne), but because sugar is outrageously addictive. Our bodies can use it so easily for fuel that we come to rely on it.
So here is the science. When we eat anything with sugar in, our blood sugar spikes. This is good news for the modern human being, because it means an instant energy hit. But high blood sugar is long term is bad news. Luckily Insulin comes along and lowers it back to a manageable level. It does this by storing any excess sugar as fats. Great news! But is it? See the main problem is that converting that fat back into sugar for energy is a bit too much like hard work. Our bodies would much rather get another quick sugar hit. It’s just easier, and we all like easy.
Picture the scene. It’s a working lunch, the Costco sandwiches are rolled out, along with a selection of cakes. In true buffet style, you eat too much. After all it’d be rude to leave those last couple of pieces of carrot cake. Besides, nobody saw you eat the first two, did they? By the time Dave in accounts gets his PowerPoint presentation loaded up, insulin has already started it’s job. Ten minutes in, you’re barely awake. Slumped back in your chair, you’re finished. Dave could be telling you the winning lottery numbers, you just don’t care. All you need is a nap. Or a bar of chocolate at the afternoon interval, that would sort you right out...
It might not be an office setting, it might be Sunday lunch at home, but it’s a common theme. Eat sugar, store sugar, crave sugar. The pounds creep on, we develop bad habits. You might not even know you do it.
There’s another problem too. Insulin is pretty good at its job. But like chemical, our bodies build up resistance. Eventually, Insulin struggles to do the job. From nowhere, we have a Type 2 diabetes pandemic. We associate this with people of a heavier stature, but the reality is that it affects everyone of all ages, weights and sizes.
But what if we were to take the carbs away? Stick with me people, it gets interesting here.
Remove carbs and sugars from the diet and amazing things happen. I’m not in a ‘cult’. I’m an ordinary guy, but to see what happens is remarkable. For the first few days, the human body gets a bit confused. The kind of ‘What’s happening here, where’s my sugar?" reaction. Energy level dip, tiredness increases and things are a bit downbeat. But then the clever stuff happens. Our bodies decide that rather than starve to death, maybe all that excess fat we’ve stored could be used as a fuel. We switch over to fat as a primary fuel source, in the form of ketones. The beauty of ketones is we don’t crave them, they don’t spike our blood sugar levels and the body makes them naturally (after a little persuasion). No more slumps after lunch, no more craving sugar, no more overeating. Energy levels go through the roof, we are burning the good stuff now and it burns long and slow, so there’s no need to chase a quick sugar hit.
Alright, cut the science, what do I need to do?
KEEP IT SIMPLE... that’s what. Trawl the internet and there are loads of versions of a Ketogenic diet. Tracking calories. Clean Keto, Dirty Keto, Lazy Keto. I say chuck it all out of the window. At least for now.
ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS EAT LESS THAN 20g OF CARBS A DAY
That’s it......
I personally use My Fitness Pal to track my carbs. In the UK, you simply need the ‘carbohydrates’ part of the label. In the US, this includes fibre, which can be deducted, but in the UK it’s done. We aren’t interested in what those carbs are made up of so ‘of which sugars’ is not a big thing for the moment. Keep it simple.
If you keep that total number under 20g a day, you’ll get yourself in Ketosis.
What about Fats?
Fats are as crucial as cabs in a Ketogenic diet, in my opinion. Fats are the ‘lever’ that keep you full. If I see one mistake from beginners it’s worrying too much about calories and fat intake.
Fat has been demonised in society. Because of our weight issues as a society, we have plugged the idea of a low fat diet to control calorific intake. Yet science shows is that it’s essential for anything from brain function to joint health. I’m not going to get into the politics and research funding in the food industry, but lets just say that ‘Breakfast is the most important meal of the day’ was nothing more than a slogan created by Kelloggs. I mean what would the scientist who work for them say? That breakfast is in fact a terrible way to stop your body burning fats and staying healthy? My grandad had bacon and eggs most days. There wasn’t much else out there during World War 2. He’s 97 and never had a health issue. Is that a fluke? I’m not suggesting it’s a big enough study to prove anything, but our obesity, heart attack and cancer levels have rocketed since we learned how to refine and mass produce convenience foods.
Fat makes you full!!!! You Need to eat plenty of it. At least until you get the sugar thing under control. If you’re not ‘Christmas Day stuffed’ in your first keto week, you’re doing it wrong. Yes a calories is a calorie no matter where it comes from. Eat too many and you’ll put on weight. Keto is no different. But this is a long game. If you’re full to bursting, you wont grab for the Cardbury’s Twirl left in the kids selection box. Your body will reduce your calories naturally. I promise. But give it a chance. When I first took on a Keto diet, I was eating 5000 calories some days. I wasn’t tracking them, I was just tracking carbs, but the data is there to look back on. Now? I’m eating 1500 calories a day average, I’m 4st lighter and I’ve never felt mentally or physically better. Ever. I leave food on my plate (that never used to happen) and I eat out of necessity, not because I crave food, or I’m bored, or ‘peckish’. Food is a part of my life, rather than ruling it.
YOU CAN DO IT!!!
I’ve waffled on enough on here for today. It’s a wordy blog with precious few picures. My advice is simple - Eat the fats and keep carbs below 20g a day. That’s it. You can do this, because if I can, anyone can. I promise you, January will fly by and you feel incredible by then.
I’ll leave you with my motivation. We had snow 2 years ago. I watched my kids through the window trying to figure out how to build a Snowman. I was so tired and so low, it was the best I could do.
This Year? I dragged them out of bed, got a shovel and we made snowmen together. They’d had enough long before I had. That’s what a Ketogenic diet did for me.
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