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In one point of your life, most of you collegiattes have probably tried to lose weight–whether it was for medical reasons; to live a healthier life style; for a sport; or to be healthier. I hate dieting as much as the next person, but I’m extremely grateful to have tried the ketogenic diet because it not only made me lose weight, but also improved my sleep cycle and ability to focus. Sure, this sounds like all the other infomercials full of false promise, but the diet I’m advocating isn’t commercialized. It’s actually quite the opposite–the benefits of a ketogenic diet, or Keto, still haven’t hit the mainstream despite the indisputable benefits it has for your body–which is why I want to take the time to spread the word about such an incredible and life-changing lifestyle that everyone should know about, whether you need to lose weight or not.
The Keto diet is very simple: you count your daily carbohydrate intake just like a low-calorie diet.
• Why count carbohydrates instead of calories?
1. Avoiding carbs causes your metabolism to burn stored fat for energy instead of using glucose. This state of energy consumption is called ketosis
2. Normally when you eat carbs, your body releases insulin to get rid of the sugar in your blood. By reducing the amount of carbs you eat you will regulate your blood sugar levels and your metabolism will prefer to burn fat for energy.
How to Keto:
1. For two solid weeks, keep your carb limit to 30g. Be careful of fruit because of its sugar content* but you don’t need to count carbs for vegetables because of their high fiber content. After two weeks, your metabolism will be functioning in a whole new way. Your body will be tapping fat cells for energy because there is no glucose present for it to use up.
2. Now you can begin introducing a cheat meal for one day of the week. Choose one night of the week to eat 300-400 grams of carbs for dinner. I like to make Friday nights my cheat day so that I can eat out with my friends without drawing attention to my dietary restrictions.
3. Drink lots and lots of water. Seriously. You know how people say that fasting puts your metabolism into “starvation mode”? The same goes for liquids. If you aren’t keeping yourself hydrated then your body goes into “dehydration mode” and you start retaining water that you otherwise should be excreting.
4. That’s all there is to it! Keep your carb intake to 30g every day, and continue having one cheat meal per week. I guarantee you will see a significant weight loss after one week!
What to eat?
– Eat as much meat, vegetables, nuts, and dairy products as you want. They are all very low in carbohydrates
– When looking at a nutrition label, subtract the amount of fiber from carbohydrates (your body doesn’t absorb fiber). This is called net carbs. If a bag of almonds has 6g of carbs and 2g of fiber, 6-2 = 4g of net carbs, which is what you count towards your daily total.
* Although fruit is healthy and has many vitamins, the sugar content will still raise your insulin levels and therefore must count the carbs it has. Fruit can be reintroduced into your diet after about a month or so
· If you’d like to learn more about Keto, you can refer to this document: https://docs.google.com/docume…
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