I was going to write a blog today on my thoughts on the Ketogenic diet (high fat, low carbs, moderate protein), and then this article came across my email yesterday, written by a registered dietitian (certified and degreed expert in the field of nutrition). Even though I am a personal trainer with an undergrad and master's degree in exercise physiology and health with an emphasis in nutrition, she is still more qualified in anything nutrition.But that's not the only reason I am referring to her article... I really like what she has to say about the Keto diet.
I worked with Baylor Hospital in weight management in the late 80's when all of the "fasting" programs became popular (Optifast, Baylorfast, Medifast, etc). These programs were designed to put people in true ketosis, which is a metabolic state that occurs when the body is metabolizing fat at a high rate and converting fatty acids into ketones. In these fasting programs, the calories were very low and the participants all had to be followed by a physician and team of experts. We saw great results with weight loss, but the maintenance results wee not as favorable, even though we had a maintenance programs with weekly check ins, counseling, and exercise help.
Fast forward to today, when the Keto diet is extremely popular and also extremely controversial. When one of my clients suggested I write on it, I said I may as well write on religion or politics because I will receive a lot of social media shaming for my opinions from either camp. 😃 I believe the best "diet" is the one that is as balanced as possible (taking into account your food allergies) and as sustainable as possible.
But I also know that we all need a jumpstart every now and then to get ahead on our fat loss or to kick our motivation into gear. So sometimes a more restrictive plan that we know will be temporary is super helpful! There are a lot of health issues like high blood pressure and cholesterol that can be significantly improved no matter how you lose weight. And Keto does have some advantages and tends to bring about quick results (read about it here).
If you have any questions or want to try Keto for yourself, reach out to myself or another professional and let us help you. The important thing is that you know how to transition out of a temporary plan into a lifelong sustainable plan that will keep you healthy and feeling great for life!
*P.S. - There is a typo in this post that I referred to above. It should say unsaturated fats when describing olive oil, avocado, nuts and seeds. #ketodiet