BACK STORY
I tend to talk to people about this often, so I have decided to document what I have learned. This is the lifestyle I have chosen to follow. I do not push this on anyone, but I am more than happy to explain to anyone that has questions. I was introduced to Keto, when my good friend, Kelly Greene, was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, Glioblastoma (GBM), in August of 2012. This led to the discovery of her 9 brain tumors. She passed away on May 18th, 2013.
Conventional treatments were not going to help, so her husband, Derek, searched for alternative solutions. When Derek discovered Keto, friends joined in to prepare meals for Kelly and the family, and many adopted this lifestyle as well. Derek and several friends have continued to follow this lifestyle. I wish I could say that I have been disciplined to follow this lifestyle consistently. However, I can say that I feel better, and look better when I do. I have experienced great results, but also fall back into bad habits.
Over the last 7 months, I have taken a serious look at my health with regular doctor's visits and lab work. I am fortunate to say my numbers have been relatively good, but now I am on a journey to try to live my best life. One issue that drove me this direction was gout. My uric acid levels were very high, and I had regular gout attacks that were extremely painful and limited my activity. Other issues I had included being overweight, low energy, joint pain, and brain fog. I am 52 as I write this, so I am not getting any younger. I started tracking my weight on January 22nd, 2024 at which time I was 267.6 lbs. As of today, June 23rd, 2024, I am 225.8 lbs. So, I have lost 41.8 lbs, and feel great. I am 6'5" so I do not plan on losing much more weight. I potentially see myself getting down to 210-215 lbs; however, my main focus now is building muscle and reducing body fat.
Interesting fact about Keto is that it was first introduced in the 1920s to treat epilepsy. It was used for about 2 decades, but saw a dramatic decline when antiepilectic drugs were developed. I believe this is because people look for easy fixes, and address the symptoms, not the root cause.
KETO BENEFITS:
1) Reach your ideal weight. If you overweight, it can help you lose weight and maintain a healthy weight.
2) Reduce Inflammation. Refined carbohydrates and added sugars cause inflammation in the body. This not only affects your joints, but also your brain, which leads brain disorders, such as epilepsy, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. A great book to read for this is "Grain Brain," which talks about the devastating effects of gluten, sugar, and carbs on the brain and body.
3) More consistent and readily available energy. The amount of energy (calories) you can store in your body through carbohydrates (2480 calories) compared to what you can store through 3% body fat (110,700 calories) is significant. However, you can not access the calories in your body fat under a traditional carb based diet. In a typical carb based diet, the carbs you consume are immediately available for energy and the unused carbs are stored in your body. A small portion is stored in glycogen stores (your muscles and liver), and the rest turns into fat. Click here for some video clips from Jeff Volek, who is a low carb expert.
4) Reduction in appetite. Initially, you may feel hungry. However, over time you will naturally not have the desire to eat as much. Many people on a carb diet tend to overeat. You consume more calories from a gram of fat than you do from a gram of carbs. Therefore, you can eat less, and get more calories.
NUTS AND BOLTS:
1) Start with a fast, I recommend 3 days. Bernarr Macfadden claimed that fasting for 3 days to 3 weeks could alleviate and cure just about any disease, including epilepsy.
2) Daily calorie intake numbers:
70%-80% calories from fat.
10%-20% calories from protein.
5%-10% calories from carbohydrates.
Total carbohydrate count should be below 50 grams a day, or 20 if you are counting net carbohydrates (Total Carbohydrates, minus Dietary Fiber, minus Sugar Alcohols). However, I think it is best to just keep your total carbohydrates between 20-50 grams per day. My experience and observations are that people that count net carbs try to outsmart the system by eating things they should not and they do not experience the same type of results.
An example to illustrate the above calorie intake would be about a 2000 calorie meal plan made up of 165 grams of fat (1,485 calories), 40 grams of carbohydrates (160 calories), and 75 grams of protein (300 calories). Note: 1 gram of fat equals 9 calories, and 1 gram of carbohydrates or protein equals 4 calories.
3) In my opinion, the hard thing to do is get enough fat. Fat will be your new energy source, so you need to consume it. It is easy to eat good clean food, but harder to get the necessary percentage of calories from fat. I personally choose healthier options like salmon and avocados. Cook with olive oil and avocado oil. Use keto hacks, like fat bombs (recipes included soon) and/or drink bullet proof coffee. Unhealthier choices include bacon and cheese. I personally avoid cheese because I suffer from gout, but that is a topic for another day. I also take daily supplements with one being Mega Red Omega-3 Krill Oil.
4) Drink lots of water. Carbs are stored with water, so when these stores are depleted, the water is lost along with them. Also, the body flushes out the buildup of ketones in urine, which also depletes water and sodium from the body. This leads to my next point.
5) Eat foods rich in potassium, magnesium, and SODIUM. There is a lot of sodium in processed food, which is something you will start avoiding on a keto. However, on keto you should consume between 3000 - 5000 mg of Sodium, 3000 – 4000 mg of Potassium, and 300 – 500 mg of Magnesium. You can acquire these through salting food to taste, adding 2 grams of sodium as broth or bouillon, and eating 5 servings of non-starchy vegetables daily. In addition, I use an electrolyte drink mix called LMNT. LMNT has 1000 mg of Sodium, 200 mg of Potassium, and 60 mg of Magnesium per serving. Lastly, in my opinion, this will help to avoid the "Keto Flu." The keto flu is where you get like flu-like symptoms, such as headaches, fatigue, nausea, dizziness, brain fog, GI distress, decreased energy, faintness, and changes in heartbeat. This often starts several days after beginning keto and can last up to 4 weeks. From what I understand, the cause of the keto flu is unknown, but I believe consuming electrolytes significantly helps.
6) Listen to your body. I am sharing information on things that have worked for me based on a lot of research and conversations. However, I feel like I have had to dig through a lot a resources to determine the information I am sharing. There are a lots of critics and people who do not understand this diet. I have gained a lot of confidence, by going to see my doctor regularly and doing periodic blood work. This has lead to many positive changes, and great results for me.