We’ve all heard the dieting buzz word of the Keto diet. It seems the term are heard in just about any place out there. What can you eat? What can you not eat? It feels like confusion. There are lots of opinions. But why? It’s just a diet, right? The surprising answer is both yes and no. It depends on what is meant by the word, diet.
Let’s spend a few moments discussing the word diet. When we hear that word, what does it mean to us? Does it dredge up images bland foods, sunless days, and near death like stabbing pains of hunger? Actually according to many forums on the internet, that is exactly what it means. People liken diets to forced malnutrition and a joyless life. Perhaps this is why diets often fail.
It’s fight or flight
Using the above paragraph as a view into the diet perception, it’s no wonder that there are so many diets out there. People want to lose weight but not suffer. When the hunger pains start and the need for discipline kicks in, the fight or flight modality chooses flight. It’s not necessarily that the diet fails, but rather people failed. When the going got tough, the diet is dumped.
So what’s the answer? Just ask the people, what do they want? The resounding response was good tasting food that would satisfy their cravings and make them loose weight as well. Kind of like having their cake and eating it too, wouldn’t you say? But wait, hold on, it looks like there is a diet out there that will do just that.
Enter Keto
As we have heard, Ketogenic diet works by shifting the body into ketosis whereby the body burns actual body fat instead of burning energy from carbohydrates. The way this is done is to design meals that have calories made of 75% fats, 15%-20% protein, 5%-10% carbohydrates. What does this look like on the dinner table? Check out the list to see what’s for dinner:
| Bacon | Chicken thighs | Blueberries |
| Fatty Fish (like Salmon) | Full fat butter | Strawberries |
| Lamb | Avocado | Tomatoes |
| Cheese (all kinds) | Heavy cream | Walnuts |
| Poultry | Peanut butter | Olive oil |
| Beef | Dark chocolate | Pork |
As can be seen on the above list, this diet is sounding really good. Also, it really is good for you as well. Ok, so weight needs to be lost and the silver bullet is in sight. Let’s all jump on this band wagon. Uh wait a sec. Let’s flip this coin over.
The Flip Side of Keto Diet
This can’t all be great news, right? That depends. While Keto can make us lose weight it can also make us lower cholesterol and triglycerides. Still good news. The problem that is encountered is that the Keto Diet is not meant to be a long term way of life.
Sustainability
Carbohydrates aren’t bad, we need them for energy. Plus, there is the simple craving we have for them. We love bread, cakes, cereal, salad dressings, desserts…the list continues. This article is not going to give medical advice on the long term effects of being on the Keto diet. Contact a doctor for that information. Rather in this application the term diet, a short term adjustment to food intake for the goal of weight loss. It does, however, have an end in sight.
Saying this doesn’t mean that Keto can only be done once. Many people use this as a go-to plan when they need it. They go on, achieve their goals, go back to normal eating (whatever normal is to them), and when the weigh returns they are back on it. So it becomes a weight management way of life.
Staying on the diet can be tough. Often people use “cheat days” to manage their feelings of depravation. Face it, sometimes we just have to have a hot fudge sundae, am I right? Cheat days do help, the problem there is that these days become more frequent and of longer durations. In time, keto is tossed out the window and labeled a failure.
Maintenance
The diet is better approached as maintenance. Set a weight goal. Get prepared. Execute the diet until the goals are met. Keep in mind that the goals must be safe and reasonable. Talk to a doctor or nutritionist beforehand. Apply some discipline and when the goal is met, stop the diet.
Then set an upper weight limit. If that is hit, then diet again. Between diets, just don’t go hog wild and gain everything back in a couple of days. Eat in moderation. Eat to live and not live to eat.
Keto Diet Summary
Taking everything into account, the Keto Diet is a fantastic weight loss vehicle. It’s loaded with great foods, and can provide excellent health benefits for the body. It is not, however, a way of life diet. It should have a beginning and an end and used as needed. Apply, rinse, repeat…
