Constantly looking for the miracle diet that will finally produce the results you want is just another form of procrastination. Fortunately, the weight loss industry is more than happy to provide you with an endless supply of options.
The current flavor of the month is the Ketogenic Diet.
Is the Ketogenic Diet terrible? No, not in the short term. Would I recommend it? NO. The reasons I wouldn’t recommend it are:
1) Ketogenic and other low carb diets aren’t more effective at promoting fat loss.
2) Low carb diets aren’t sustainable.
3) Low carb diets lower your metabolism and make it easier to overeat.
4) Low carb diets decrease your satiety, which makes it harder to stick with long term.
A basic overview of the diet:
- Its goal is to put your body in a state of ketosis.
- Ketosis is a metabolic state in which some of the body’s energy supply comes from ketone bodies in the blood, in contrast to a state of glycolysis in which blood glucose provides energy.
- Starvation, eating a low carb diet, and fasting are three ways to put your body in Ketosis.
- Your body prefers to use glucose for energy, but it can convert fat into ketones in your liver to meet your energy needs when it is starved for carbohydrates.
- Diet Macronutrient Ratios:
-
- 60-75% of calories from FAT
- 15-30% of calories from PROTEIN, and
- 5-10% of calories from CARBS.
Note: Many proponents recommend keeping your protein intake low, 15 to 20%, because protein can be converted into glycogen.This is a terrible suggestion because protein is crucial for maintaining musclewhile dieting, increasing satiety, is required to repair muscles after training, and has a greater thermogenic effect than any other macronutrient.
1) Ketogenic and other low carb diets aren’t more effective at promoting fat loss.
Low carb proponents will site the studies below, but if you look at the studies closely, you will quickly realize that the high carbohydrate diets are also low in protein, the most important macronutrient when on a weight loss diet, Learn More.
- A low-carbohydrate, ketogenic diet versus a low-fat diet to treat obesity and hyperlipidemia: a randomized, controlled trial.
- Comparison of energy-restricted very low-carbohydrate and low-fat diets on weight loss and body composition in overweight men and women.
When you examine better designed studies, in which the protein levels remained consistent for the low carb and high carb diet subjects, you find no significant difference.
- Ketogenic low-carbohydrate diets have no metabolic advantage over nonketogenic low-carbohydrate diets.
- Benefit of low-fat over low-carbohydrate diet on endothelial health in obesity.
- Comparison of weight-loss diets with different compositions of fat, protein, and carbohydrates.
2) Low carb diets aren’t sustainable.
Low carb diets suck. Even after your body switches over from using glucose to using ketones for energy, you just don’t have the same vigor and vitality.
3) Low carb diets lower your metabolism and make it easier to overeat.
The ketogenic diet advocates a high fat consumption. Your body only burns 5% of the calories consumed from fat during digestion. That is half as many calories burned during digestion as carbohydrates, and six times less than protein. So a high fat diet will result in a slower metabolism.
It is easy to over eat on a high fat diet because fat is very calorically dense. One gram of fat contains more than twice the number of calories as a gram of protein or carbohydrates.
4) Low carb diets decrease your satiety, which makes it harder to stick with long term.
Dietary fat doesn’t promote satiety while a high fiber and high protein diet does. It is much easier to stick to a diet when you feel satiated, i.e. you aren’t starving!
The best way to transform your body is to:
1) Create a caloric deficit
2) Eat a high protein diet
3) Strength train two to three times a week
Low carb diets have been around for over fifty years. The Ketogenic Diet, like Adkins before it, is just another rebranding of a low carb diet.
I recommend you follow a diet that is sustainable and more balanced; 40% protein, 40% carb, and 20% fat. As you get leaner, less than 15% body fat, you might need to increase your protein intake and reduce your carbohydrates intake 5-10%.
Discipline pushes us, motivation pulls us, but good habits keep us moving towards our goals.
Best wishes and Best Health!
Follow us on Facebook
Are you ready to reboot and reset your relationship with food and exercise? Most programs focus on the mechanics of weight loss, but fail to adequately address the psychology of change required. Most people know more than enough about nutrition and exercise to lose weight, but fail to take action. This book takes a new approach to getting leaner, fitter, and stronger.
The book contains:
- 7 Change Strategies for Adopting a Healthy Lifestyle
- A Flexible Diet Program that Doesn’t Put Any Foods Off-limit, including Alcohol
- 20-Week Workout Log with Progress Assessments (Downloadable PDF)
- 3 Strategies for Resetting your Body Weight Set point to Keep the Weight Off
- A Nutrition and Training Program Based on Science, not Bro Science.
The Fat Loss Habit: Creating Routines that Make Willpower and Fat Loss Automatic takes a new approach to getting leaner, fitter, and stronger. The program uses high-impact change strategies that make the process of adopting a healthy lifestyle easier. The nutrition and workout program, like the change techniques have all been proven effective, and are all backed by research and scientific studies.
Our BOOK The Fat Loss Habit is NOW AVAILABLE ON AMAZON!!! We would greatly appreciate a brief REVIEW. Your feedback is our best marketing tool and it will help us to make a better product. Your review will help other people who want to make a positive change by helping them to find our book.
Follow us on Facebook
The Fat Loss Habit: Creating Routines that Make Willpower and Fat Loss Automatic takes a new approach to getting leaner, fitter, and stronger. The program uses high-impact change strategies that make the process of adopting a healthy lifestyle easier. The nutrition and workout program, like the change techniques have all been proven effective, and are all backed by research and scientific studies.