I can’t believe it is already December! I literally just finished the last of my gluten free/dairy free cake that for some reason I thought I needed a piece for breakfast, lunch and dinner! Does anyone else do that? Ugh. I usually give December a bye since it is more sweets, food and often more alcohol with all the parties so, that means in January it is time to get back on track. I always put that in place right now because if I don’t then I never seem to get off the holiday eating path. This is why we usually kick off our January Detox the first week of December but this year we are going to change this up. Instead of a group detox we are going to do a group weight loss program! Join us for our first ever group Keto diet! We are partnering with Trinity Kitchen Real Meals to Go to make this even easier! But don’t worry if you heart was set on a detox you can still do a detox if you want but it will not be guided.
For now, let’s talk about what a keto diet really is….
What is all the hubbub about a keto diet? Our body normally uses glucose for fuel but with a keto diet you burn ketones instead. Ketones are made in the liver by BURNING FAT. This is why people lose weight on a keto diet so easily. To get into ketosis it requires eating a very low carb diet and pushing the good fats and protein up into higher ranges. When you hear about “macros”, short for macronutrients, this is referring to the actual carb, fat and protein counts. Everyone has a slightly different carbohydrate (carbs), fat and protein ratio to achieve ketosis and lose weight depending on a number of factors. The result of a keto diet in studies have demonstrated weight loss, lowering of blood sugar or insulin levels, improvement in triglycerides and HDL, has been used with specific types of cancers to slow progression and more. A keto diet can be exceptionally good for someone who has insulin resistance because when you stop burning sugar for fuel it bypasses that system.
There are many different ways to do a keto diet and unfortunately some common sense has been thrown out the window. I have heard of people doing the keto diet and eating massive quantities of pork rinds and tons of bacon which in my opinion is the wrong way to do any kind of diet regardless if it meets the macros or not! When people increase their fat intake it has to be good fats because not all fats are created equal. Think about it. Let’s take pork rinds for example. When looking at the label it seems to fit the keto diet perfectly. It has low carbs, decent amount of protein and high in fats. But, they are high in cholesterol, high in sodium, high in calories and high in bad saturated fats. The keto diet calls for lots of fats but it means GOOD fats. Good fat examples include: avocadoes, nuts and seeds, olive oil, fish oil, fatty fish, coconut or palm oil.
I also hear of people eating large quantities of the “free” foods that have minimal carbs and if these are green veggies then go for it but many times these foods still have calories and if you get too many calories even on a keto diet you won’t lose as much weight. On the flip side, people are avoiding good veggies because they just don’t want to risk the carbs. There are so many great veggies out there that have important nutrients that you need to include in your diet otherwise this gets really a nutrient depleted diet.
Typical keto diets take 2-3 days to get into ketosis which is why many of them start with a 48 hour fast to push you into that range faster. This results in some nasty symptoms including headaches, diarrhea, & electrolyte imbalances. I have seen people get into serious trouble by not following the recommendations of eating more salt and drinking enough water. For these reasons there are several medical conditions that a keto diet is not recommended. If you take insulin or are on several medications to control your blood sugar you should not do a keto diet without close supervision (meaning weekly lab work) if at all because serious, life threatening blood sugar drops can occur. Type 1 diabetics should never do a keto diet for the same reason. People with high blood pressure need to be monitored closely because sometimes the blood pressure will decrease while on the diet and they will be over medicated causing serious drops in blood pressure. A keto diet during pregnancy or nursing is never a good idea because the baby truly needs all the fuel it can get. People with kidney failure will have trouble with the high amounts of protein in this diet and should avoid a keto diet. Other conditions like liver failure, cancer and other serious medical conditions should have a physician evaluation to see if a keto diet would be ok for you.
The way I look at keto diets is that it is something that can really help you jump start your weight loss plan because when you start losing weight you are much more motivated to start eating better in general and add in exercise (if done correctly).
I am excited that this year we are going to offer a group keto program starting January 9, 2019. We are going to make this the easiest keto diet we can by doing all the leg work for you. We are going to calculate your macros as much as possible AND we are partnering with Trinity Kitchen Real Meals to Go for a keto prep lesson as well as options to just purchase fresh meals that meet the keto requirements! Now, how easy is that??!!
Registration will open up later this week so be watching for our email!
To your health,
Laura
