KETOGENIC DIET: The ketogenic diet is a high-fat, adequate-protein, low-carbohydrate diet that in medicine is used primarily to treat difficult-to-control (refractory) epilepsy in children. The diet forces the body to burn fats rather than carbohydrates. A typical ketogenic macronutrient ratio is 60% fat, 30% protein, and 10% carbohydrate. Common carbohydrate intake is between 20-100g per day.
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This Morning's Breakfast 7-2-2015: Avocado (365), Fried Chicken (240), Whole Ceasar Dressing (170), 4 slices of thick bacon (240), olives (70). and Macadamia/Cashew nut combo (250). We're looking at 1335 calories, high in fats, low in carbs, and moderate in protein. |
This is my first official Keto-blog release so before I go any further, I want to make it clear that I firmly believe in a balanced diet. I decided to experiment with this Ketogenic diet because someone very close to me has medication induced diabetes; her anti-rejection medication promotes ridiculous spikes in her blood sugar. Anyway, I want to go at least 12 weeks with this business and during those twelve weeks, I want to learn as much about the diet possible, so I can recommend or discourage it.
I also want to see if such a diet can help me with my endurance for triathlon and running. There's a growing number of individuals who are turning towards a ketogenic diet because they feel that fat is a more abundant source of fuel and that performance will be enhanced if the body is more adept at metabolizing fat for energy.
HOW DO I FEEL?
Its been 12 days since I started and I feel fricken great. I though this diet was going to kill me because it highly restricts one's carbohydrate intake to anywhere between 20 and 100 grams per day. I haven't had my typical serving of rice, quinoa, oatmeal, or bread for about 2 weeks! One thing that I've noticed is that I NO LONGER FEEL HUNGRY. That's right...it took about 5 days to get to this point but I only eat two meals a day and the second meal almost has to be force fed. My energy levels are ridiculously stable and I don't get the afternoon crash like I used to. I'm sleeping better; I don't wake up in the middle of the night like I used to.
I'M LOSING WEIGHT
Carbohydrates help us to store water so once you eliminate them, your body will flush out water and you'll lose a grip of weight. One can retain water by increasing dietary salt intake. I've made it a point to make sure all my nuts are salted (heheehe...salty nuts), and that I add a little more salt during food preparation. My big meals are usually anywhere between 1300 to 1500 calories and I usually have a big meal for breakfast. My smaller meals are usually between 200-400 calories so my daily total caloric intake is rarely ever greater than 2200 calories. The Polar activity monitor I wear around my wrist suggests that my daily expenditures are over 3000 calories so I've been maintaining a daily deficit since starting this diet. In fact, my weight is the lowest its been in the past year and a half!
HOW DO I KNOW THAT I'M DOING IT RIGHT?
I purchased ketone urine test strips when I started this diet. It took about 3 days before I started to have excess ketones in my urine and show the color pink on the strips. You pee on the strips in the morning and if they're anywhere close to being pink, you are in ketosis. This means your body is relying on fat as its primary source of energy (in the absence of carbs) and what's coming out in your urine are EXCESS ketones. You don't need the strips to show maroon or dark purple because that would imply an abundant excess of ketones and that you're not using the energy that your body is providing for you.
HAVE I CHEATED?
I poop you not, the diet is tough. It goes against 'conventional' wisdom and it takes getting used to. Because it's so different than what I'm accustomed to, I may have cheated. I admit that I ate 3 corn tortillas (each on separate days), 1 slice of a medium pizza, had a total of 8 shots of tequilla, and 4 beers over the past 12 days. BUT, my carb intake for each respective day was so low that consuming these items did NOT take me out of ketosis (so really, that's not cheating!). If I truly cheated, the color of the strips would remain yellow and it would probably take another 2-3 days to get back into ketosis.
THE DOWNSIDES TO THE KETOGENIC DIET AND KETOSIS
The first couple of days on this diet absolutely suck. I suffered a condition that's commonly known as KETO-FOG. I was irritable, it was tough to think straight, AND I was constantly fatigued. Depending on how much your body is a SUGAR BURNER, your transitional symptoms could last a lot longer than the 3-5 days of discomfort that I experienced.
One can increase the load on the kidneys if they aren't properly hydrated. Kidney stones are a definite possibility if those on this diet don't drink enough water.
You can't eat what your family/friends are eating. I couldn't eat my family's pastrami pizza because of the carb-loaded crust (but I was able to pick the pastrami off the pizza!). Common starchy desserts are a big no-no.
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I'm not able to run as fast as I used to. I tried to run a couple of fartleks the other morning and each time I tried to pick up the pace, my legs would hit a certain speed and not be able to turn over any faster. It's not like I was hurting, they just weren't moving faster. This is what I'm trying to get my body to adapt to so I'm thinking that in the next couple of weeks, my body will be more efficient at metabolizing fats and I'll be able to pick up the pace.
The diet is NOT for everyone. Though study subjects demonstrated a decrease in overall bodyfat, decreased LDL, and increased HDL lipid profiles, there are some that experience the opposite. Individuals with bad livers or kidneys should definitely consult their physicians before attempting such a diet as their conditions may be worsened.
WHERE AM I GETTING MY DIET INFO?
I downloaded the audiobook called Keto Clarity by Jimmy Moore. It's very informative and he brings it down to a level where anyone can understand the tenets of the diet.
Click on the book to go to the book's Amazon.com site.
Another informative source is THE EATING ACADEMY (click to access site). It's a site that belongs to an MD who recently adopted the diet for health and human performance. His name is Dr. Peter Attia MD and he presents a TON of info.
The following are segments from research publications on the benefits of a ketogenic diet:
Effects of a high-protein ketogenic diet on hunger, appetite, and weight loss in obese men feeding ad libitum
Alexandra M Johnstone et al., Am J Clin Nutr January 2008 vol. 87 no. 1 44-55
In the short term, high-protein, low-carbohydrate ketogenic diets reduce hunger and lower food intake significantly more than do high-protein, medium-carbohydrate nonketogenic diets.
Ketogenic diets: additional benefits to the weight loss and unfounded secondary effects
Departamento de Medicina, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Córdoba, Córdoba, España.
Archivos Latinoamericanos de Nutricion [2008, 58(4):323-329]
It is also necessary to emphasize that as well as the weight loss, ketogenic diets are healthier because they promote a non-atherogenic lipid profile, lower blood pressure and diminish resistance to insulin with an improvement in blood levels of glucose and insulin. Such diets also have antineoplastic benefits, do not alter renal or liver functions, do not produce metabolic acidosis by Ketosis, have many neurological benefits in central nervous system, do not produce osteoporosis and could increase the performance in aerobic sports.
The therapeutic implications of ketone bodies: the effects of ketone bodies in pathological conditions: ketosis, ketogenic diet, redox states, insulin resistance, and mitochondrial metabolism
Veech, RL, Journal of Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes, and Essential Fatty acids. March 2004 Volume 70, Issue 3, Pages 309–319
The large categories of disease for which ketones may have therapeutic effects are:(1)diseases of substrate insufficiency or insulin resistance,(2)diseases resulting from free radical damage,(3)disease resulting from hypoxia.
Beyond weight loss: a review of the therapeutic uses of very-low-carbohydrate (ketogenic) diets
A Paoli1 A Rubini1 JS Volek2 and KA Grimaldi3
European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2013) 67, 789–796; doi:10.1038/ejcn.2013.116; published online 26 June 2013
Very-low-carbohydrate diets or ketogenic diets have been in use since the 1920s as a therapy for epilepsy and can, in some cases, completely remove the need for medication. From the 1960s onwards they have become widely known as one of the most common methods for obesity treatment. Recent work over the last decade or so has provided evidence of the therapeutic potential of ketogenic diets in many pathological conditions, such as diabetes, polycystic ovary syndrome, acne, neurological diseases, cancer and the amelioration of respiratory and cardiovascular disease risk factors. The possibility that modifying food intake can be useful for reducing or eliminating pharmaceutical methods of treatment, which are often lifelong with significant side effects, calls forserious investigation.
...enough quotes.
If you're considering such a diet, I suggest you take it upon yourself to do your own research; download the book, check out Attia's blog, and heck, follow my blog!
Hope you found this interesting and stay tuned for more.
DAVE
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