In life, there are times when we strive to improve. This starts early on. But self-improvement isn't the motivating factor for children when they radiate over their colorful stickers, filling the kindergarten charts, indicating good behaviors. They work on those things to make their parents and teachers proud. But as we grow up, we still want to get results for our efforts.
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When commencing on the ketogenic diet and researching what it’s all about, one can quickly read and hear a great deal of ‘rules’:
One must consume fat to burn fat. (Not)
The ratios of fat, protein, and carbohydrate need to be strictly monitored and kept in line. (Not)
It is vital to restrict food intake to certain feeding windows. (Double not. Besides, that phrase always conjures an image of a horse standing in their paddock with their head sticking out of a window, awaiting oats.)
This is just a quick list of the so-called practices that some advise must be followed for success on the protocol. You may have come across many more and some that strain logic, like suggesting that incorporating so-called ‘cheat days’ into the mix will shock the body into losing weight.
Wha…? Stabbing oneself in the thigh with a steak knife would also shock the system but is probably not an effective fat loss strategy.
Through all the mishegas and noise there is one particular question I am asked often; “how much protein should we eat?”
My response is always that I have no idea. The answer to 'how much protein is right for me?' can only be answered by your body. And each body is different. There are formulas out there for recommended protein consumption but, not owning an abacus, I've never tried to calculate for myself. Plus, the recommended ranges are pretty wide. To quote from the one book I’d recommend on the topic of the ketogenic diet if limited to just one, The Art & Science of Low Carbohydrate Living, the formula to calculate protein intake reads:
[...] We recommend protein between 1.5 and 2.0 grams per kilogram reference body weight (.7 to .9 grams per pound reference weight). This translates to between 90 and 150 grams per day for a range of adults, which is about what the average adult in the US is already eating. (Phinney & Volek, 2011, p. 44)
This is all great information, but do you notice that the range of “between 90 and 150 grams” is wide, namely, more than a 50% swing? And as for “reference weight”, that means what our bodies weigh without all that pesky excess fat. So, go figure that one out.
Seriously, take an hour or so and go figure all that out.
Or, keep things simple. Follow ‘page 4’, don’t eat if you’re not hungry and stop when satiated. Eat the fat that comes with your protein (animal product) of choice and let nature do the math. For myself, I’ve never measured nor calculated anything other than grams (not percentage) of carbohydrates. And I didn’t escribe to the idea of ‘net carbs’ whereby one subtracts the grams for fiber per serving from the total carbohydrates. Again with the math? Plus, there’s not really good science behind the idea that fiber isn’t absorbed by the body and therefore minuses out carbs. By that logic, one could scarf down doughnuts with abandon as long as one followed up with a corresponding amount of psyllium husks. Not science and, also, ick.
The tenets of the protocol - keep carbohydrate intake to 20g/day or fewer (total, not net), eat fatty sources of protein, don't eat if not hungry, stop when satiated - covers what we need to be successful. Of course, just because we don’t need to measure protein doesn’t open the door to consuming platters of lovely, keto-friendly steaks and chops and duck and eggs and chicken. The ‘not eating if not hungry and stop eating when satiated’ part of the protocol pretty much precludes pulling a Coneheads move, gorging on vast quantities of food.
This is about fueling and nourishing, not gorging. And it’s not about perseverating over grams and percentages and ratios. We’ve spent enough of our lives tormented about measuring and calculating and micromanaging our food. Let’s try giving all that a rest, shall we?
So, calculate away if it pleases. I prefer to use math for more practical and pressing matters. Like, how many eggs are we likely to get from our 24 chickens in the course of a month once they start laying, and where the heck are we going to store them all? But that’s another story altogether.
For those inclined to videos, here’s one on the topic I made a while ago.
Disclaimer: I’m not a medical doctor, researcher or PhD but rather a I’ve been fortunate to have had the time and resources to research the ketogenic diet, also known as LCHF (low carb/high fat). The information I share is based solely on my understanding of that research. We are all responsible for our own choices, including what we put in our mouths and there’s no substitute for each of us checking things out ourselves. And I’m not a medical professional in any way. Go Keto With Casey is not a medical site. “Duh,” you might say. But best to make it clear to all. I welcome questions, comments and even civil criticism. I’m still learning. So, if you have something to add, go for it. Links in this post and all others may direct you to affiliate links, where I will receive a small amount of the purchase price of any items you buy through those links. Thanks!
When the topic is diet, weight loss, improved health, decreased girth, it makes sense to start with food choices. Which foods and how much? And since there are so many different approaches, voices and vested interests besieging us with one sure-fire answer only to be countered by another voice or vested interest assuring us the solution is antithetical to the first, it’s understandable that some guidance may help.
We’ve been told: Shun fat. Move more, eat less. Eat only raw food. Meat is evil. Fat is good. Everything in moderation. Whole grains are essential. Vegetables are unlimited. Juice your vegetables! Juice your raw vegetables! Juice your raw vegetables and throw some grains in there! And, while you’re at it… move more!
Yikes.
Personally, I tried just about all of the above. I mostly grew more overweight and definitely became progressively more unhappy with myself.
This was me in a futile attempt to follow a low-fat diet, to move more and eat less. A triathlon, no less. Obviously not the right formula for me.
Then, not wanting to take insulin for Type 2 Diabetes, which was imminent, I discovered the ketogenic diet. It wasn’t even called that in the mainstream in 2014 when I first learned of it. It was a very low carb diet, with which I was familiar and had been since 1977 when I was in college. But the time was ripe for me to revisit the simple approach of keeping my carbohydrate intake to 20g/day or fewer and enjoying the rest of the the food world had to offer. The protocol does, of course, start with the food. You can see the list I follow as well as the official list from Dr. Eric Westman here. And it is indeed important to learn what’s what when it comes to non-starchy vegetables, reassurance that eggs and their yokes are fine as is poultry with the skin, etc.,
But in truth, the food is the easy part. It really is. Again, it’s pretty much fatty sources of protein, some veggies, and a bit of full-fat dairy. It’s not a steep learning curve. (It’s the UN-learning of misinformation that’s the trick)
Where the challenge comes is in dealing with all the issues we have been avoiding for years. Some are bruises from our childhood, the careless or sometimes flat out mean comments of our family, friends, and strangers. Maybe ones greatest pain point is never feeling quite attractive, accepted, never good enough. And while we may have told ourselves that we used food to cope with a bad relationship, rotten job, too little money, ungrateful children, aloof spouse, deaths of loved ones or just because it’s Tuesday, the truth is, of course, that we used food to not cope with any of those things but rather to deflect coping. To kick the issue down the road. And once we implement the ketogenic diet as designed and start burning fat for fuel, our hunger diminishes, appetite is suppressed and thoughts of food stop filling every hour of every day. (My “Food is not the Boss of Me” is the best selling item of S.W.A.G. on this site).
So, now what? Does this mean we have to deal with all those multitudes of issues, challenges, demons, and ghosts and we have to do it food sober?
Yup. That’s what it means. Bad day? Food won’t fix it. Fight with your partner? Contrary to what Madison Avenue would have us believe, neither Ben nor Jerry can come to the rescue. And thinking we can eat our way out of grief simply leads to more grief.
The food is the easy part. When I speak with people one on one or during group sessions with my patrons, we almost never talk about food. Conversations about how we used to run away from the world as if we were disqualified from living our own lives because we were overweight or how, after years of trying to medicate away pain and illness, good health is returning and prescriptions are being left in the dust. Stories of victory and hope and returning vigor. And sometimes how to deal with an ornery boss or unsupportive partner.
But not about food.
Perhaps one reason so many people feel confounded by the ketogenic diet is not that it’s complicated, because it isn’t, but rather that it’s easier to believe it’s too difficult to implement than to face the reality of reality and to do so without a bag of chips behind which to hide.
But we all can do it. If I can, you can. Promise.
Disclaimer: I’m not a medical doctor, researcher or PhD but rather a I’ve been fortunate to have had the time and resources to research the ketogenic diet, also known as LCHF (low carb/high fat). The information I share is based solely on my understanding of that research. We are all responsible for our own choices, including what we put in our mouths and there’s no substitute for each of us checking things out ourselves. And I’m not a medical professional in any way. Go Keto With Casey is not a medical site. “Duh,” you might say. But best to make it clear to all. I welcome questions, comments and even civil criticism. I’m still learning. So, if you have something to add, go for it. Links in this post and all others may direct you to affiliate links, where I will receive a small amount of the purchase price of any items you buy through those links. Thanks!
Something weird is going on with me. Or inside me. Or maybe something is going on with the rest of the universe and it's just showing up on my scale. Because that's a thing, right? The universe conspires to consternate us, or at least me, and edge my weight up for no discernible reason. Again.
Don't misunderstand. I'm happy and content with my weight. Let me type that again. .... I'm happy and content with my weight. This is no small thing for a woman who has been unhappily overweight for over 30 years. But having started following the ketogenic diet and successfully losing more weight than I ever allowed myself to believe was possible, I'm in a good place.
My scale? It's in a weird place. Success of any sort is never without turns in the road, challenges and surprises. And even as my weight has come slowly, gradually and steadily down, it has ticked up, then down, then up, then lingered in one place. This is the life cycle of weight loss.
Over the last week or so, though, has been more 'not a straight downward trajectory' than usual. This got me to wondering. I'm in ketosis. My blood sugar is perfect. No foods not on the allowed list (except some ill-advised packets of cashews. Wrong, wrong, wrong.) But in general, I've been doing what I've done all along. So what gives?
Thank goodness I have what must be the longest running daily weight log in the surrounding seven counties. I looked back at the last time I had an unexplained weight gain after having reached a new low. Turns out it was this exact time last year. January. Could be a coinkeedink. Could be seasonal. Or could be the universe messing with me. 'Cause the universe has nothing better to do these days...
Moral of the story? If your weight loss or whatever goals you have are challenged, step back and analyze why. You owe it to yourself to not give up. Keep on keeping on, to cite a worn out phrase. Keep the faith, to repeat a more spiritual ad soulful one.
Now, roll tape...
A couple of observations about my own situation and suggestions for others. Success is never in a straight line. For more information on the ketogenic diet and links to products used in this video, see below.
Disclaimer: I’ve been fortunate to have had the time and resources to research the ketogenic diet, also known as LCHF (low carb/high fat). The information I share is based solely on my understanding of that research. We are all responsible for our own choices, including what we put in our mouths and there’s no substitute for each of us checking things out ourselves. And I’m not a medical professional in any way. Go Keto With Casey is not a medical site. “Duh,” you might say. But best to make it clear to all. I welcome questions, comments and even civil criticism. I’m still learning. So, if you have something to add, go for it. Links in this post and all others may direct you to amazon.com, where I will receive a small amount of the purchase price of any items you buy through my affiliate links. Thanks!
Ah, the holidays. That time of year when our better angels aspire to treat others with just that much more patience, cheer and kindness. Decorations, celebrations and traditions. Office parties and family gatherings. And food. Dear heaven the food. Obligatory, omnipresent and sometimes overwhelming food. Those of us who are trying to lose weight or get fit or improve our health face challenges all the year round, but the month of December is the mother lode of challenges. There's no way around it, only a way through it. And I indeed ate my way right on through the weekend of Christmas.
For me, avoiding foods that are not on the approved food list is not the hard part. As I've discussed here, eating only when hungry is. I've been getting better with that, asking myself, as I stand in front of the fridge, "What are you doing, dummy?" And my weight has continued to come down, incrementally. I even set up my plan-to-be last weight loss goal. And a wouldn't-it-be-cool date for that goal of January 8, 2017. That day in 2014 was when I started following the ketogenic (low carb/high fat) diet. I had just watched the video of Dr. Eric Westman and something clicked for me.
Well, looks like a new goal date is in order because starting with Christmas Eve brunch at a the home of friends and straight into Christmas dinner with our sons and daughters-in-law, I ate like a condemned person. I kept everything very low carb. I remained in ketosis. But up went my weight. With extreme prejudice. 5.2 pounds. Considering my 'new lows' are measured in 1/10 of a pound, 5.2 is a lot. Like, a real lot.
Never fear. It will reverse. But I don't expect it will be quick. And a difference with this weight gain compared to those in my prior dieting life is that I know the reason, I know the solution and there's no questioning whether the program works. Those niggling doubts about being the only person for whom a nutrition program doesn't work, about one's body being so far gone as to be irredeemable or that there's some secret being overlooked are not there. This works. I just need to get back to the very straight forward rules: keep carbs under about 20g/day, moderate protein and .... wait for it ... eat only when hungry.
Now, let's all spend the next 51 weeks enjoying freedom from the holidays!
[See information on watching the Periscope broadcast of the support group meeting mentioned in the video below]
Yup. Biggest weight gain I've had in a while. No mystery as to why, though. For more information on the ketogenic diet see below. ☞ SEE MY WEIGHT CHANGE CHART: http://caseydurango.com/my-next-goal ☞ READ MORE AT MY BLOG: http://caseydurango.com ☞ FOLLOW MY FACEBOOK PAGE: https://www.facebook.com/ketocasey/ PERISCOPE BROADCAST Join us for a live stream Durham North Carolina Low Carb Support Group meeting tonight: Tuesday night, January 3, 6:30 pm Eastern Time (GMT-5).
PERISCOPE BROADCAST
Join us for a live stream Durham North Carolina Low Carb Support Group meeting tonight: Tuesday night, January 3, 6:30 pm Eastern Time (GMT-5). For those who attend, there is a possibility that your image/comments will make it into the live streaming. Please let us know if that is a problem. If you would like to watch, the following iphone apps are required: Twitter,Periscope. Be sure to go to Twitter and follow @drericwestman. Then at the meeting time, the livestream will appear in the Periscope app. Thank you!
Disclaimer: I’ve been fortunate to have had the time and resources to research the ketogenic diet, also known as LCHF (low carb/high fat). The information I share is based solely on my understanding of that research. We are all responsible for our own choices, including what we put in our mouths and there’s no substitute for each of us checking things out ourselves. And I’m not a medical professional in any way. Go Keto With Casey is not a medical site. “Duh,” you might say. But best to make it clear to all. I welcome questions, comments and even civil criticism. I’m still learning. So, if you have something to add, go for it. Links in this post and all others may direct you to amazon.com, where I will receive a small amount of the purchase price of any items you buy through my affiliate links. Thanks!
@ Casey Durango 2024
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