Keto What?

The Keto Diet is getting lots of inquiry and praise lately as the next best get healthy scheme. I think it has a lot of potential and science backing up its process. But like with all eating plans or "diets", it needs to be doable, sustainable and healthy. And to accomplish all of these takes effort. Plus you may need to go into it with a mindset of health, not necessarily weight loss if that is your ultimate goal, because the truth is, you can have your cake and eat it too (but definitely not literal cake on Keto 😉). You can get healthier and while so drop stubborn pounds.

Here's what happens with regular "diets", the eat less, exercise more scenario... Chronic dieting leads to a metabolic revolt. Your body thinks you are starving and it then slows down your metabolism, not to mention what it does to your hormones. This starvation mode is a stress to your body and it responds by releasing cortisol, the stress hormone. And from the many commercials over the last few years you know cortisol leads to cravings of sweet, salty and fatty things. This taps into your willpower reserves, which have a finite capacity, and eventually leads to certain diet death. In this "starvation mode", ghrelin, the hunger hormone, increases while leptin, the help you feel full hormone, decreases and you subsequently feel less full and less satisfied with the food you eat.

A keto plan is based on switching your body from a primary sugar burning machine to a fat burning one. And this is accomplished by decreasing the amount of carbohydrates you consume.

So what the heck are carbs and why do I even need them?

Carbohydrates (carbs) are the preferred fuel of your body because they can be utilized as fuel faster than the other macro nutrients, protein and fats. Carbs have gotten a bad wrap over the last several years as people rediscovered the Atkin's plan and Keto. The truth is you don't have to have carbs to live, but carbs are attached to the plants that supply you with the vitamins and minerals you do need to survive. And this is where your source of carbs will come from on a Keto plan, non-starchy veggies and low sugar fruits.

(starchy veggies are like potatoes, beets, corn).

Some of the basic tenants of the Keto Diet...

1- Keto is low carb but not no carb. You will be getting carbs from leafy greens, green beans, cruciferous veggies like broccoli and cauliflower as well as celery, zucchini and mushrooms. Some bell peppers, asparagus, and tomatoes are also cool.

2- Eat a variety of healthy fats. Healthy fats include avocados, coconut oil, avocado oil, real butter, clarified butter (ghee) and MCT oil.

3-Clean sources of protein like grass fed beef, free range chicken, organic eggs, wild caught fish.

The percentages of the calories on your plate should be 5% organic veggies, 20%clean protein and 75% healthy fats. It's that simple. You don't want to fall into the trap of eating just meat and cheese with sugar free jello. This is not the point of Keto and you will not realize the full health benefits of the program. You will be amazed at how much longer you stay full and satisfied without being on a sugar roller coaster. There are many health benefits if you can follow this plan. There are also ways to cycle it to be able to enjoy eating out and have a bit more flexibility to make it a life change and not just a diet to try. The best resource I've found on how to do Keto correctly is by Dr. Josh Axe called The Keto Diet. Check it out! Some of the girls and I at work are giving it a go and have been enjoying the process thus far. Let me know what you think!

Cheers!