Celebs and other social media influencers are all talking about the Keto diet. But a diet that asks you to eat more fat to lose weight?? That doesn’t sound right…
So what is Keto?
Keto is simply a high fat, low carb diet. The goal of a keto diet is to put your body in a state of ketosis, a metabolic state where your body burns fat for energy instead of carbs or its breakdown product, glucose. So there is no denying that, yes, a keto diet will lead to fat being burned and eventual weight loss.
So why isn’t everyone following Keto?
Truth is, even though keto sounds all right in terms of weight loss and burning fat, you’ll get your results, and quick, the diet neglects to mention that when we drop carbs from our diet we are dropping fiber and replacing it with fat. Most likely saturated fat. It may sound easy to remove carbs from your diet but this really low ratio is more difficult to achieve than the perpetrators of the diet want you to believe, to truly enter a state of ketosis.
So what exactly does high fat, low carb mean?
Carb content in a Keto diet is lower than your typical low carb or Atkins diet. Keto diet simply means a very high protein and high-fat diet with little to no carbs. ‘Little’ means 5% of calories from carbs or a ratio of 4 to 1 (fat to carbs). For every 4 servings of fat, you can have 1 serving of carbs. The keto diet asks its participants to avoid foods like alcohol and unhealthy fats but it also asks you to avoid all grains (including whole), fruit, beans and legumes, and potatoes.
That doesn’t sound realistic. Do I want to try Keto dieting?
Maybe not. Swapping more fat for carbs can lead to long-term health consequences. Low fiber diets can damage the microbiome in your gut, the bacteria that line your colon, a major determinant of health status. Without fiber for the bacteria to feed on, the gut is weakened. Also, a diet high in saturated fat is detrimental to our hormones, our heart health, and will inevitably lead to regaining weight.
But I still want to lose weight, what can I do instead?
Losing weight, burning fat, and keeping it off, means balancing all of the macronutrients our body needs to serve our metabolism best and create a healthy lifestyle. Cutting one macronutrient out will throw off the balance your body wants. Our body needs carbs, fat, and protein, and when all 3 are eaten together our metabolism is put to use best. All processes are turned on and work together harmoniously to give us the nutrients we need. Carbs like whole grains, beans and legumes, fruits, and root vegetables are high fiber foods that are important for burning fat and building a healthy gut, we are better off keeping them in our diets.
Is there any guidance you can offer?
Definitely! Check out the ReBody28 program to learn more about the importance of carbs and fiber in our diet, and how we can lose weight without eliminating any macronutrients for a sustainable, long-term healthy lifestyle.
