So before I start I wanna preface this with the admition that it's probably gonna be a mad ramble full of spelling, grammar and continuity errors. Stick with me though. Im trying.
Dan does diets was an idea that came about in 2 parts if I'm honest. The 1st piece of the puzzle came about when speaking with a client about ALL the diets she had been on and attempted with little to no luck and I painfully and almost arrogantly told her I couldn't relate. I've been a massive advocate for evidence based practice and using nutritional science to be the backbone of my methodology. In essence calories, macros weights and measures. The ones and zeros of the nutritional world. It got me really curious as to the mindset of people doing these diets and how there was obviously a barrier between my fixed stance on how to lose weight or eat healthy.
The second precursor was a post id been frequently seeing from other coaches bragging about how good coaches hire themselves coaches.The experience makes them better able to understand what a client feels like. I found it ironic that these people shamelessly arse licking their business guru, (who clearly asked for the shout-out as some form of referral) to look like they had their shit together, would use this example to relate to clients whilst making other content bashing diets, diet culture, slimming clubs and the rest without having walked a mile in their clients shoes. So I thought fuck it. Let's give this a shot....so here goes nothing
Keto basics
The ketogenic diet is a very low carb, high fat diet that shares many similarities with the Atkins and low carb diets.
It involves drastically reducing carbohydrate intake and replacing it with fat. This reduction in carbs puts your body into a metabolic state called ketosis.
When this happens, your body becomes incredibly efficient at burning fat for energy. It also turns fat into ketones in the liver, which can supply energy for the brain
Ketogenic diets can cause significant reductions in blood sugar and insulin levels. This, along with the increased ketones, has some health benefits.
studies have shown that to some extent there is evidence that a keto diet can have beneficial implications in the following health conditions:
diabetes
epilepsy
heart disease
cancer
alzeimers
parkinsons
pcos
brain injury
please note that much more research is still needed to make these claims conclusive.
So after a little bit planning and prep i was ready to set out on my keto adventures. armed with a bag of meat, plenty greek yoghurt, enough butter to choke a horse and a 3 week supply of halloumi i was good to go.
week 1 was a blast. i enjoyed the exciting prospect of eating very rich, energy dense food. meals that id usually consider a "treat" were now a staple. bacon and eggs cooked in grass fed butter was a delight and steak in abundance was something i could only dream about.
Id also been taking regular ketone tests to ensure i was gradually entering into ketosis. these novelty like pee tests would change colour depending on the amount of ketones present in your urine. very fun for the massive child in me!
week 2 or the transition from week 1 to 2 showed its 1st challenge in what's known as the keto flu. as my body changed its fuel source from carbs to fats my body's immune system set up its protest to the new set up. giving flu like symptoms. these quickly passed and i was able to get back to business fairly comfortably afterwards. week 2 was arguably the best for me. mental clarity, focus and energy levels were insane. i genuinely havent felt as focussed and driven to get things done as i was during that time period. complex or nippy tasks id been avoiding were completed after id regularly drag my heels with them. training didn't have any negative side effects and i didnt feel depleted or "flat" like i had expected whilst being so low carb.
I felt really great going into week 3 however some cracks had started to appear by this point. first up was the boredom in relation to food choice. the lack of variability and the effort required to make and clean up after preparing food was beginning to become tedious. constant sinks full of dishes became a ball ache and a house that smelled greasy more often was becoming a problem. another issue i began having was some serious cravings for sweet treats that was particularly difficult whilst being on this diet. greek yoghurt and 90% dark choc wasn't hitting the spot anymore and the desire for cakes and treats became very difficult to ignore. we experimented with keto snacks and some home baking using flour and sugar based alternatives but the creations always kinda fell short of what i was craving....NAMELY BREAD
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by day 18 a real flu bug had hit me. chills , aches, pains the works. this made life very difficult and my relationship with food became a minefield. My body and mind was screaming from the home comforts and grannies soup that i feel everyone wants when ill. having no access to simple remedies like fresh orange to increase vit c or even chug down some cough syrop due to its sugar content was more than i could take. I got to the point where id seriously considered just fasting for 3 whole days to get me to the 3 week mark that id set myself. not healthy but the thought of eating meat an butter simply didnt appeal and the thought of going without seemed like a better option. so i caved. grabbed the extra thik warburtons and jammed 2 slices in the toaster. a toasted white flag was waved....
Although it didn't end how I'd have wanted here are my honest thoughts and opinions on the diet
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First it was a great experience hearing from so many points of view and gaining support from people who have walked the line before me. Really inspired me and can fully understand why keto gets a cult like status. More on this later...
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Without being too dramatic I've arguably been more proactive and productive during the last few weeks than I have in the last few months and I truly believe the shift in nutritional quality was a driving force. When it's essential your food is on point your life kinda follows suit so this reinforced a lot of my beliefs regarding food quality and its impact of left to eat junk food all the time
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The biggest drawback I felt was that in our society we are very VERY carb driven and little to no questions can be asked of it without being ostracized or made to feel silly. This is where I felt the cult status comes from as people feeling the benefits keep there head below the parapet and quietly support each other under the radar. Without the support the diet would have been impossible.
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Another annoyance I had was the binary nature of the biology. Either you are in ketosis or your not. This meant there was no flexibility whatsoever as was seen when I ate the wrong yoghurt one day and took 3 days to test for ketones again. This was extremely frustrating as the punishment didn't fit the crime for me but bodies are gonna do what they are gonna do 🤷
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Keto does go a little far at times but much like religions only becomes problematic when taken to extremes.
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I personally wouldn't recommend attempting unless fully committed to a difficult and long term effort. A decent understanding of nutrition and plenty spare time to prepare meals is massively benefitial.
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Anyway...hope this helps someone. Onto the next one ❤️
Did I see you were gonna give Slimming World a go for the blog?
Great read! I tried keto a few years back (for maybe a month?? and was probably more "dirty" keto) and had decent results but as you said it was really sustainable. Pizza can't be ignored. I didn't test for ketones so no idea if I even was in ketosis, I just wanted an excuse to not eat my vegetables 😂 Looking forward to your next instalment 🤠