I have only ever seen Ketogenic Diets brought up a couple of times so I figured I would make a thread for it containing pretty much everything you need to know to get started and make it successful and safe for everyone.
I will try to give some of the basics here and some examples in my own personal findings, but you should all read this book. I put it in pdf form for everyone in the link below.
THE BOOK
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Grab this pdf first, read it! This is the digital form of the book by Lyle McDonald called Ketogenic Diet. He breaks every aspect down of how your body uses the food you consume and why your body goes into ketosis, even why it’s called ketosis. You get sample layouts of calorie intake, food samples, workout samples, carb loading etc...
THIS IS NOT ATKINS!! DON’T BUY ATKINS FOOD! DON’T LISTEN TO ATKINS PEOPLE!!
Atkins people fail because they take the lazy approach of eating whatever they want and as much as they want regardless of the affect it will have on the body. It is not a contained or controlled diet in any way. People consume tons of bacon, butters,oils,etc… all of the crap that creates bad cholesterol in the body anyway and assume it’s ok because there are no carbs. THIS IS BAD!!!! You need to take a few hours and read the book above, get a general idea of how your body works and how it uses the food, use the formulas to figure out your caloric needs, how many grams of fat/protein/carbs you need to reach that, and stay with it. Then move on to using as many clean healthy fats as you can to reach your goals. I’ll list some examples later.
NUTRIENTS AND FOOD LABELS
If you do not understand the basics of nutrients, or even how to read a nutrition label, LEARN TO. How do you know what you are taking in if you have no idea how to count it. Everything you consume by law must adhere to the nutrition label standards and you, as a consumer, must know this info. This extreme diet is a good place to start because you really need to know your nutrients.
1g of fat = 9 calories
1g of carb = 4 calories
1g of protein = 4 calories
You really need to only pay attention to 1 number to reach ketosis, and that is net carbs. Net carbs refers to any carb that is not fiber.
Fiber is not digestible by the stomach and passed through to the intestines and then the colon. Therefore, to get your net carbs for a food, you subtract the fiber number from the total carbohydrates number on your foods label.
You need to pay a bit of attention to your protein intake. As a general rule through most keto diets, you should aim to get .8g of protein per lb of bodyweight in your diet. To get this number, multiply your body weight by 0.8.
Fat will make up the rest of your nutrients. Depending on what your caloric goals are going to be, the rest of the calories will be just fat.
KEEP A FOOD DIARY
You should be doing this anyway if you are at all serious about looking good and keeping the weight off, but most people do not.
Fitday.com
Calorieking.com
Livestrong.com
Many websites have diary’s you can sign up for free and use their huge database of foods to see what you are consuming on a daily basis. I guarantee you if you have never used one before, you are in for quite a shock on how much of everything you really are eating. I pulled up a typical meal from Arby’s that I used to get after a day of work when I was fat, and couldn’t believe that my 2 beef and cheddars with tons of sauce and large curly fries, and of course the xl soda was well over 2000 calories for 1 meal!!!!!!!! Gee I wonder why there are so many fattys waddling around?
FAT AS ENERGY
Fat is going to become your body’s primary source for energy since carbohydrates no longer are being converted for glucose. When the body starts to burn existing fat cells for energy, ketones are a byproduct and are released into the blood stream. Excess ketones not used by the brain are released in urine.
TESTING FOR KETOSIS
A good way to test if you are definitely in ketosis is the use of Ketostix. Place the stick in the stream of urine, it will change color depending on the amount of excess ketons in the urine. Keep in mind that you may very well be in ketosis even though the stick may not indicate. Only excess unused amounts of ketones will be in the urine.
SKD OR CKD & CARB LOADING
More advanced bodybuilders will be able to do the cyclical keto because they will understand the importance of carb loading and refilling the glycogen stores in the muscles for growth. Many believe it is possible to grow muscle while loosing fat while in ketosis, which is why it is so popular in the bodybuilding world. If you choose to go this route, control it. Plan your workouts, use the formulas to calculate how many carbs you need to consume to get full glycogen stores before your workouts and ONLY consume that many carbs, otherwise you will fall out of ketosis. If you do not use carb loading, you will have muscle breakdown for energy when fats can not be used.
CARDIO
Don’t go too crazy on the cardio. The heart rate should be low, in the 120 range depending on your age/weight/gender etc… Slow and long is the approach here. If you take it to the extreme, and then back off like everyone does when they are finished dieting, you will gain back the fat. Don’t let your body get used to hours and hours of intense cardio unless you plan on keeping it up forever. 40 minutes seemed to be a good number for me to shoot for 5 days a week. I like it post workout as well as an off day or 2.
ARTIFICIAL SWEETNERS ASPARTME & SUGAR ALCOHOL
These should be used in moderation. I found it didn’t need to be cut completely but I didn’t consume anything out of moderation either. The only thing I drink anyway is water and coffee, so coffee was my only source of sweetener other than chewing gum.
Sugar free isn’t always the case. The rules are, if you do not have a complete gram of a carbohydrate, it can be 0. However, Sugar Alcohol needs to be listed under carbohydrates. So while your Sugar count is 0, your carbohydrate count is 2 because most gum or sugar free items contain sugar alcohol. Sugar alcohol contains properties of both a sugar and alcohol, hence the name, but not complete of either one. It is a carb, but a good way to calm a sweet tooth.
It is believed that aspartame and other artificial sweeteners slow down liver metabolism, and thus can cause a gain in weight. While in ketosis, this will slow down the production of ketones and cause a delay in fat loss.
Moderation is key for sweeteners.
ENDING KETOSIS
When you reach your body fat goal, you can still remain on a low carb diet. You will have to experiment with the amount of carbs you can consume without gaining too much fat back. Start introducing them slowly. If you were able to keep in ketosis with 20g a day, start back with 40, then 60, then 80. If you are still able to maintain keep your carbs there. Make them good sources, rice, grains, green, vegetables, nuts, etc.. Also take into account that you will want to find what your maintenance calorie total will need to be, and subtract as many fat grams as it takes to account for the carbs you are now consuming. In case you forgot, 1g of fat = 9 calories. 1g of carb = 4 calories. 1g of protein = 4 calories.
SAFETY
How long can one stay in ketosis? Truth is no one really has a definitive answer. Children with epilepsy remain in ketosis for years as it was discovered to drastically reduce or eliminate seizures.
Cholesterol is another concern, mainly because of the Atkins failures. If you choose good sources of fat instead of greasy bacon all day every day, your bad cholesterol will decrease and your good cholesterol will increase. It is good to get it checked periodically while attempting ketogenic diets. If you donate blood, you get a free check of cholesterol, disease, iron, among other things, and it helps someone else who needs it.
You really should consult your own doctor who knows your history and what your current physical state is to see how long you can remain in ketosis.
SIDE EFFECTS
Some people get bad headaches the first few days of eliminating carbs while entering ketosis. I was one of those people. Fish oils, flax seeds, omegas several times throughout the day helped calm these down.
Cholesterol already covered in the safety section, but again, if you eat crap your body will become crap.
Low energy, sleepy, brain fog. All of these things happened to me and seem to happen to everyone while the body is making its transition to using fats instead of carbs for it’s energy source. The main reason is that the brain is used to consuming a rather high amount of carbohydrates for its energy. When those are no longer in the system, it has to wait for ketones. In the mean time, brain food is essential. Fish oils, flax, omegas, etc.. help fuel the brain and eliminate some of these issues. As soon as you reach ketosis, the energy level will skyrocket back to where it was as there will be plenty of fat in the diet to provide energy for the day.
SHOPPING FOR FOOD
Costco/Sams Club
Whole Foods
Trader Joes
Home Page - Sami's Bakery Tampa Low-Carb and Gluten Free bread
Home - Viva Low Carb Superstore
These stores will be your friends.
Bulk items from wholesale clubs like Costco and Sams will save you money and should be used anyway regardless of diet state.
Whole Foods has Shirataki Tofu Noodles for about $1.50 a pack. I found these essential. I like to make all of my own foods, Italian sausage, chili, etc.. And placing these on top of these 20 calorie 1 net cab noodles made them like eating real pasta again, not to mention keeping me full. There’s even a 3 net carb for ½ cup pasta sauce there by Monte Bene to make some 4 net carb spaghetti.
Whole foods carries a lot of things locally that are low carb, otherwise you will have to order online. Shipping is pretty hefty with most low carb stores because the items are perishable. Perishable means they need to remain refrigerated. Helpful hint, when you get your items regardless of where they are from, breads, sauces, tortillas, etc.. REFRIGERATE THEM or they will mold in a matter of days.
Almost anything you buy can also be frozen and thawed the day of use as well, including bread.
Nuts are essential in keeping your good fats high. Walnuts were the best one’s I found, 3 carbs per serving but 3 are fiber, so 0 NET Carbs. 19g of fat per serving as well with a little protein. Almonds, peanuts, cashews etc.. are all good sources, just watch the carbs. Have an ounce of nuts with several meals through your day. It will keep you full and keep your fat count where it needs to be. Costco is the best place I found to buy nuts for cheap. Huge bags for $10-$20 depending on the nuts. Keep them in the freezer and they will last a long time. Natural peanut butter is also a good source. Natural just means they don’t force hydrogen into the fat molecules to expand the product by creating trans fats. We all know trans fats are bad so why chance it. You will also find less sugar in some of the naturals. Soynut butter, high in fat, 1 carb for 2 tbsp but taste awful. If you can stomach it, it is a very filling snack between meals or if you are just dreadfully hungry but can’t eat any more calories for the day.
Vegetables are also essential. While most people think vegetables contain carbs and should be avoided, they also contain essential vitamins and minerals as well as fiber. The Net carb amount is so low per serving on most greens that you can have them a few times a day in moderation. As a general rule, most greens are fine in single serving amounts. If the vegetable is yellow white or orange, its loaded with sugar in most cases, avoid them.
Eggs are a great source of fat as well as complete proteins. A lot of people say eggs are bad, a lot of people say eggs are good. I say, if you are worried about eggs, then the rest of your diet is the problem, not the eggs. Eggs do contain a small amount of natural carbohydrates though so I tend not to eat a lot of them. A couple a day are fine. Hard boiled makes them portable.
Ground Turkey is a good alternative to ground beef and easier for me to process than beef. You can find this in bulk many places, lean and extra lean. Lean is fine for ketogenic diets. You can make burgers, sausage,meatballs, chili, etc… out of turkey and keep the carbs low.
Ground beef and steak, I do not really like a lot of red meat myself, I try to stick to some of the principals of the blood type diet. Read that book to see what I mean by that. However, these are also great sources of proteins and fats. If you are out and cannot cook, you know you can always find a McDonalds. Get a big and tasty with no bun or ketchup, just eat the guts and it makes a nice 340 calorie meal for you with plenty of fat and minimal carbs. I save my red meats for these occasions.
Salmon is probably the single best fish you can eat while in ketosis. It’s loaded with omega fats, no carbs and loads of protein. There are other fish like ahi tuna that contain some great omegas. If you fear mercury poisoning, just keep fish in moderation.
Cheese is also a great source of natural saturated fats without the sugars and carbs of milk. You can throw an ounce or 2 of cheese in with a few meals along with some walnuts, you WILL be full. Keep control of it and it is fine to add.
Breads and wraps help with the lack of carb craving. We are all used to having some kind of bread or grain in nearly every meal since we were old enough to know what it was. Good news the web sites above have pizza dough, cinnamon bread, tortillas, lavish wraps, etc… all that contain less than 3 net carbs per serving!!! I found that when I ate these fiber packed items more than one time a day, I was completely constipated and lacked ketones in the urine for a day or 2 after. I believe they are either not correct on their nutritional values, or I just had way too much fiber/cheese that day. Again, I think moderation is key.
Spices are essential to making your food taste great. Don’t forget to count these items in your food totals as a lot of them contain carbs. Don’t plan on dumping taco seasoning on everything and making cheesy taco meat, 3g of carbs for 2tsp of taco seasoning!!!
Condiments can be used, but use the right ones. Real Mayonnaise is generally frowned upon, but while in ketosis, it is helpful. You can buy real mayo with omega oils and virtually no carbs. This helps make tuna a great meal again!! Plain yellow mustard is carb free. Heinz makes 1 carb ketchup if you really need it
Don’t forget to measure everything when you cook. A food scale is a must for anyone trying to maintain a look or weight or size. Again, how can you possibly know what you consume if you don’t know how much it is?
SUMMARY
-Read the book.
-Learn to use nutrition labels.
-Find your calorie and nutrient target.
-Measure your food and keep a food diary.
-Load up on fish oils, nuts, omegas, vitamins several times a day
-Use ketostix to measure excess ketones in the urine to determine level of ketosis
-Eat good key foods, fats, nuts, eggs, cheese, turkey, beef, salmon, natural peanut butter, 0 carb protein shakes, flax seeds, extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, broccoli, lettuce, asparagus, green beans
-limit artificial sweeteners
-Ease back out of ketosis with slow introduction of carbs
-don’t play with carb loads until you know how
-don’t go crazy with excessive cardio, do long session with low heart rate
-check with dr before doing anything
-get cholesterol and overall checkups regularly, donate blood for free labs
The Ketogenic Diet - Ketosis 101
