I often come across reports or articles written against the Keto Lifestyle or Keto Diet, where the author is going on how bad it is not to have carbs etc. Many of these individuals against Keto fall into two categories the First group, try to make money from the so-called Keto rush by bringing attention to anything negative (even if it is not). The second group, basically all of them, plainly, does not understand what the Keto Diet is all about. All the negative publicity comes from people who never tried Keto or never gone through the first couple of months and who thinks that the Keto Diet is all about Bacon and Cheese.
I thought it might be helpful to explain what Keto is not. There is a lot out there explaining Keto, but to avoid confusion, let be clear as to what Keto is NOT. I have been living the Keto lifestyle for close to four three years now, and I clearly understand this lifestyle.
What the Keto Lifestyle is NOT
Firstly, Keto is not just bacon, cheese and loads of greasy fats. No, Keto is about healthy living where we change our fuel source from glucose to healthy fat. Fat as a fuel source burns must cleaner than glucose which makes it overall so much healthier. Keto is a Lifestyle and not just a diet. If you want to live healthily, you need to change your lifestyle and focus on eating whole food that is rich in nutrients. For example, cheese is great to add to your Keto meal or eat it as a snack as there are good fats in cheese. However, cheese does not have a lot of nutrients.
When I started on my Keto journey, I wanted to lose some weight, but that was not the main reason I started Keto. My focus was all about the health benefits of Keto, and the weight loss came as a by-product.
From the start, I focused on nutrition and ensure that my Keto meals consist of whole foods with the highest nutrients possible. As an example, on Keto, we want 75-80% of our calories to come from good fats, so what I do is to have a big salad (4-6 cups at a time) with loads of baby spinach, tomatoes, peppers and cucumber. Baby Spinach has the highest amount of nutrients of all veggies plus meagre calories. I then add a good amount of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (high-quality fat and most of the calories) to my salad together with some any protein (moderate amount). This is an excellent lunch with a good fat ratio of more than 75%, so my macros are spot-on.
Here are the 14 Healthiest Vegetables on Earth (not all are Keto approved)
Here are the 11 Most Nutrient-Dense Foods on the Planet (not all are Keto approved)
Educate yourself on nutrition and know what the best foods to eat are. Even if you are not on Keto, understand what you eat and what are the benefits to your body for eating it. Plan your meals accordingly. You can find many articles and information online.
Other perceptions of the Keto Lifestyle
The other perception is that you have to consume loads of fats on the Keto lifestyle continually. This is not the case and let me explain.
When you start on the Keto lifestyle and eliminate carbs, you need to ensure that you consume 75-80% of your calories from good fats. The fats help you get into ketosis as your body adapted to a fat fuel source (ketones). Once you are in ketosis, you need to consume less fat to use your own body fat. Here is what I mean; let’s say your body needs 2,000 calories per day to operate. When you start on Keto, you will consume 2,000 calories, with 75%-80% of good fats. Then, once you are in ketosis, you decrease your calories intake, and your body will start to use your own fat source to burn as energy. This is what you want and how you burn your body fat and lose weight on the Keto lifestyle. If you continue to consume 2,000 calories per day, your body will use the dietary fat first before using your body fat. So, you might lose weight when you start and then plateau quickly after a couple of weeks with no further weight loss. This is the simple reason people lose weight initially and then stop, as they do not adjust their calories and decrease their fat intake.
You will say, Corné, but they say on Keto we do not have to count calories. Yes, I know, this is what many say but if you are serious about losing weight quickly, then reduce your calories intake once you are in ketosis. One of the easiest ways to do this is through Intermittent Fasting. Intermittent fasting is fantastic, especially when you are in ketosis, and you do not have mood swings like when your energy comes from glucose.
Please note, by reducing your calorie intake to say 1,500kcal, your body will still operate on 2,000kcal as it will use the other 500kcal from your body fat. This is most probably the main difference and most significant advantage of the Keto lifestyle. With traditional diets, you reduce your calorie intake from 2,000kcal to 1,500kcal, and your body will adapt quickly to the lower calorie intake. After some weeks, you go back to consume 2,000kcal, and you put on weight immediately, as your body is now used to operate only on 1,500kcal. With Keto, once you achieve your weight goal and increase your calorie intake back to 2,000kcal, you will then maintain your weight. Your body will continue to operate on 2,000kcal as usual. However, now it gets all the calories from your dietary fats.
Keto Lifestyle In Summary
If you want to lose weight fast and be healthy, focus your Keto meals around high nutrient-based (Keto approved) foods. Allow your body to use your own body fat as energy by decreasing your dietary fat intake and calories overall.