Why Keto?
What makes the ketogenic, or low carb high fat, diet so great and why do I eat this way?
I will try to write another food post soon, but I thought that I should explain more about this diet before too long, so here goes.
The simplest way to explain keto is to say that I avoid sugar and starch while eating plenty of healthy fats.
Sugar includes honey, maple syrup, and agave, as well as the white stuff that people typically think of when you say "sugar". It also includes fruit, although the only fruit that is a firm no for me is bananas. I will enjoy any other fruit from time to time, but I definitely like to keep fruit as a dessert or treat and eat it whole, not juiced or in smoothies. I would also include milk in the sugar category because, while the sugars in milk are natural, it is still very high in sugar. Personally, I do not have a problem with dairy, but I keep it low carb by sticking with cheese, butter, heavy whipping cream, sour cream, and sometimes plain whole-milk yogurt.
Starch includes grains, potatoes, and legumes (i.e. beans, lentils, and peanuts). I avoid grains and potatoes, but I will occasionally eat sweet potatoes and beans in limited amounts. I enjoy peanuts and peanut butter, but I only use the natural kind with no added sugar as part of my plan.
The question that often comes next when I tell people about my dietary restrictions is "What do you eat then?" The short list includes meat, eggs, vegetables, some fruits (mostly berries), nuts, cheese, butter, and chocolate (Yes, you can have chocolate on keto. I have come to love 100% dark baking chocolate. It's bitter, but in a good way, kind of like coffee). That short list does not come close to conveying the variety possible within a ketogenic diet. There are so many kinds of vegetables out there, a ton of different spices and herbs that you can use, and different ways to prepare food to change it up. In short, when I say "diet", I do not mean anything close to starvation or deprivation. It's delicious and totally possible to stick with long term. Some of my favorite keto meals and treats that help me stay satisfied include bacon and eggs with avocado (I call it the keto power trio), a bunless cheeseburger topped with mayo and sauteed onions, zucchini lasagna, steamed broccoli with lots of butter, a square of 100% dark chocolate with natural peanut butter, and berries with heavy whipping cream. Did reading that list make you hungry?
Now, there are many, many variations to the ketogenic diet out there and I want to make it clear that I do not subscribe to nor promote the philosophy of tracking macros, carbs, or calories. There is no need to count grams of carbs when your carbs are coming from vegetables, low-sugar fruits, nuts, and the small amount in dairy. It only promotes an unhealthy obsession with food that borders on an eating disorder. Trust me, I know from experience.
Okay, what about the "why" for this eating style?
The main premise of keto is to switch from consuming a lot of carbs to consuming more fats, a moderate amount of protein, and sticking with a smaller amount of high-fiber, low-sugar, low-starch sources of carbohydrates. This results in a metabolic state known as ketosis, in which our bodies burn fat and run on ketones instead of burning glucose. Others have written excellent scientific explanations regarding this, so I will list some books on the subject at the end of this post.
As far as my personal reasons for going keto, the big one was that I discovered I was prediabetic (heading toward Type 2 Diabetes) and insulin resistant a few years ago. I had some skin problems that I did not know at the time were caused by insulin resistance, but since cutting out sugar and starches, my blood sugar levels and skin have both improved. I also find that I have more energy and avoid the post-lunch sleepiness that I used to experience when I was running on sugar. I don't get headaches as often as I used to and when I do, they aren't as bad. Another great benefit is that I don't get hangry when I get hungry. The angry, irritable tendencies that used to come with hunger for me are not normal. They are a symptom of low blood sugar. Since going keto, I can go much longer between meals and when I do get hungry, I'm not in a terrible mood until I get food like I used to be. Once I stick with keto for several weeks, my sugar cravings go away and I have no trouble saying no thank you to cake, cookies, ice cream and all the treats that I used to eat multiple times a week, even though they made me feel sick. An interesting note on this point is that sticking with keto consistently is key. I had a couple of off-plan meals while on vacation recently. While I did not have any full-sugar desserts, I had some starches and sugary salad dressing, as well as a piece of Cheesecake Factory Low Carb Cheesecake. Even though the latter claims 11 net carbs, which is fairly low for a dessert, I'm pretty sure it is a lie. But I digress. The point is, my sugar cravings have returned and it may take a couple weeks to be fully content with keto again. That's just the way it goes, but it gives me motivation to save the "cheat meals" for really, really special occasions, because as a recovered (recovering?) sugar addict, I just have to say no to the stuff and focus on how much better I feel without it.
I hope you consider trying out the keto diet for at least a couple of weeks and see if it makes you feel much better and improves any health issues you may have, as it did for me. Remember, the key is high fat. If you cut the carbs and fat, you will just feel miserable and be hungry all the time.
Here are some more resources. For full disclosure, I have not read all of these in their entirety because I discovered low carb high fat as a busy college student and did not have the time. But from what I have read, there is a lot of great information in these books.
Why We Get Fat and What to Do About It by Gary Taubes
The Big Fat Surprise by Nina Teicholz
Eat Fat, Get Thin by Mark Hyman, M.D.
Grain Brain by David Perlmutter, M.D.
The Keto Diet by Leanne Vogel
I will try to write another food post soon, but I thought that I should explain more about this diet before too long, so here goes.
The simplest way to explain keto is to say that I avoid sugar and starch while eating plenty of healthy fats.
Sugar includes honey, maple syrup, and agave, as well as the white stuff that people typically think of when you say "sugar". It also includes fruit, although the only fruit that is a firm no for me is bananas. I will enjoy any other fruit from time to time, but I definitely like to keep fruit as a dessert or treat and eat it whole, not juiced or in smoothies. I would also include milk in the sugar category because, while the sugars in milk are natural, it is still very high in sugar. Personally, I do not have a problem with dairy, but I keep it low carb by sticking with cheese, butter, heavy whipping cream, sour cream, and sometimes plain whole-milk yogurt.
Starch includes grains, potatoes, and legumes (i.e. beans, lentils, and peanuts). I avoid grains and potatoes, but I will occasionally eat sweet potatoes and beans in limited amounts. I enjoy peanuts and peanut butter, but I only use the natural kind with no added sugar as part of my plan.
The question that often comes next when I tell people about my dietary restrictions is "What do you eat then?" The short list includes meat, eggs, vegetables, some fruits (mostly berries), nuts, cheese, butter, and chocolate (Yes, you can have chocolate on keto. I have come to love 100% dark baking chocolate. It's bitter, but in a good way, kind of like coffee). That short list does not come close to conveying the variety possible within a ketogenic diet. There are so many kinds of vegetables out there, a ton of different spices and herbs that you can use, and different ways to prepare food to change it up. In short, when I say "diet", I do not mean anything close to starvation or deprivation. It's delicious and totally possible to stick with long term. Some of my favorite keto meals and treats that help me stay satisfied include bacon and eggs with avocado (I call it the keto power trio), a bunless cheeseburger topped with mayo and sauteed onions, zucchini lasagna, steamed broccoli with lots of butter, a square of 100% dark chocolate with natural peanut butter, and berries with heavy whipping cream. Did reading that list make you hungry?
Now, there are many, many variations to the ketogenic diet out there and I want to make it clear that I do not subscribe to nor promote the philosophy of tracking macros, carbs, or calories. There is no need to count grams of carbs when your carbs are coming from vegetables, low-sugar fruits, nuts, and the small amount in dairy. It only promotes an unhealthy obsession with food that borders on an eating disorder. Trust me, I know from experience.
Okay, what about the "why" for this eating style?
The main premise of keto is to switch from consuming a lot of carbs to consuming more fats, a moderate amount of protein, and sticking with a smaller amount of high-fiber, low-sugar, low-starch sources of carbohydrates. This results in a metabolic state known as ketosis, in which our bodies burn fat and run on ketones instead of burning glucose. Others have written excellent scientific explanations regarding this, so I will list some books on the subject at the end of this post.
As far as my personal reasons for going keto, the big one was that I discovered I was prediabetic (heading toward Type 2 Diabetes) and insulin resistant a few years ago. I had some skin problems that I did not know at the time were caused by insulin resistance, but since cutting out sugar and starches, my blood sugar levels and skin have both improved. I also find that I have more energy and avoid the post-lunch sleepiness that I used to experience when I was running on sugar. I don't get headaches as often as I used to and when I do, they aren't as bad. Another great benefit is that I don't get hangry when I get hungry. The angry, irritable tendencies that used to come with hunger for me are not normal. They are a symptom of low blood sugar. Since going keto, I can go much longer between meals and when I do get hungry, I'm not in a terrible mood until I get food like I used to be. Once I stick with keto for several weeks, my sugar cravings go away and I have no trouble saying no thank you to cake, cookies, ice cream and all the treats that I used to eat multiple times a week, even though they made me feel sick. An interesting note on this point is that sticking with keto consistently is key. I had a couple of off-plan meals while on vacation recently. While I did not have any full-sugar desserts, I had some starches and sugary salad dressing, as well as a piece of Cheesecake Factory Low Carb Cheesecake. Even though the latter claims 11 net carbs, which is fairly low for a dessert, I'm pretty sure it is a lie. But I digress. The point is, my sugar cravings have returned and it may take a couple weeks to be fully content with keto again. That's just the way it goes, but it gives me motivation to save the "cheat meals" for really, really special occasions, because as a recovered (recovering?) sugar addict, I just have to say no to the stuff and focus on how much better I feel without it.
I hope you consider trying out the keto diet for at least a couple of weeks and see if it makes you feel much better and improves any health issues you may have, as it did for me. Remember, the key is high fat. If you cut the carbs and fat, you will just feel miserable and be hungry all the time.
Here are some more resources. For full disclosure, I have not read all of these in their entirety because I discovered low carb high fat as a busy college student and did not have the time. But from what I have read, there is a lot of great information in these books.
Why We Get Fat and What to Do About It by Gary Taubes
The Big Fat Surprise by Nina Teicholz
Eat Fat, Get Thin by Mark Hyman, M.D.
Grain Brain by David Perlmutter, M.D.
The Keto Diet by Leanne Vogel
Comments
Post a Comment