Ketogenic Diet In Real Life and Simplified

I didn't say much about it. I just did it. In fact when I started I almost hid it from everyone except for my kids and husband.

But then people started to notice. And then people started to ask me about it. And then I started to be so excited by my research that it was hard to keep quiet about it.

In January, when everyone on the planet, and all the ads everywhere are about going on a diet, I felt so hopeless. I was heavier than I had ever been, by 4 pounds, but it was worse than it had ever been. I was sick all the time. I was having headaches, and catching every possible bug going around. My knees hurt so much I literally could barely walk. I was out of breath doing the most simple things. I was even having a hard time showering because lifting my legs with my knees was so painful. I had a very painful shoulder, and my hands were swollen and fingers so stiff it was hard to work and type. I had to have my children help me with things like get anything from the bottom shelf of the fridge, to even taking off my coat because my shoulder was so bad. I had tried every diet. Every diet. Every. Single. Diet. I knew of. I knew that it was physically impossible for me to exercise, even going to church was leaving my knees in pain for days afterward. Every diet I would lose a few pounds, up to 7-10, and then..nothing...weeks and weeks would go by and not a pound lost. Even lapband surgery only worked a little bit for me and for a very short time.

I had heard it all and I knew all the odds were against me. I am a mother of 12, post-menopausal woman. I work at a desk, I had, and still have to some extent 8 weeks later, some pretty severe physical limitations which precluded exercise, My mind was not working right, and I was forgetting more and more as well as just not being able to think right anymore. I was depressed and I was getting sick. I knew it, and I was getting very afraid I was actually going to die.

To say I was hopeless and desperate is an understatement. I am a strong Christian, and I finally began to pray for help and an answer. Why I didn't before is beyond me. I guess I thought that it was a matter of willpower and clearly I was just a sinful, lazy, glutton. But I knew deep down that didn't fit with the rest of my life and personality. I really do have a lot of self control. I own a business, and not one person ever tells me to work. I just do it, and I manage a lot of other things in my life with a lot of self discipline as well. But this weight thing was defeating me

 I like food, (who doesn't??) and I had given up even trying to eat healthy to be bluntly honest. One day, I was talking to a friend, and...it just literally came to me what I needed to do. In the space of about 30 minutes we decided to do it together and support each other. Initially I planned and my goal was to really try hard and lose 10 pounds every 3 months. I didn't even know what it was called or that there was so much research on it!

I had been successful many years ago on Atkins. I loved how I felt and that the pounds just melted away. But then I got pregnant, and had no idea how to manage both, so I gained it all back, and when I went back to it, I just couldn't lose again. I tried numerous times with just no success. I read that for some reason it seems to be a one shot deal and if you go off it is very hard to lose again. So...no dice there for me. I was severely disappointed, but over the years I have gone on and off a low carb diet just because I feel better; my joints hurt less, and I don't feel so sluggish. No weight loss though other than a few pounds, and not actually gaining.

This time I began my brand new plan on January 18th and in 7.5 weeks I have lost 23 pounds, and 3 inches off my waist. My hands don't hurt at all, and my knees are about 1/3 as painful as they were. I can THINK! My thinking is not only not aging like I thought it was, but it is clear and sharp again like when I was younger. My skin is clearer, my eyes look brighter, I have lost the swelling in my hands and feet, and I am sleeping better. I feel better than I have for years!

So...what is different this time? What is it I am so enthusiastic about?

A Ketogenic Diet!

A lot of people think that a Ketogenic diet is the same as low carb/ high protein. While it has some similarities to a low carb diet, it is not *high* protein, but it is high fat and that is an incredible thing! Let me go back though and explain some physiology.

Everyone knows that high blood sugar is bad for you. When you eat any carbohydrate whether it is sugar, honey, Fruit Loops, carrots, french fries, ripe tomato, or a slice of fresh baked whole wheat bread with homemade strawberry jam, your body takes that carbohydrate and breaks it apart into it's components and they enter your bloodstream as glucose. It is true that some carbs have other nutrients along with the glucose, but they all have glucose and it needs to be managed by your body in your bloodstream. Glucose left in your blood will damage your organs as well as your vascular system, nervous system, and eyes. Everyone understands that about diabetes, which is by definition, high blood sugar. So your body deals with it by producing insulin. Insulin's main job is to push glucose out of your blood stream and make certain that it it used for fuel. Whatever glucose is not accepted by the cells for fuel, insulin pushes out of the blood to be turned into fat by the liver. Incidentally, fructose is processed by the liver, and a percentage of it is *always* turned to fat, which is why high fructose corn syrup is worse for us than ordinary table type of sugar which is one molecule of glucose and one of fructose. All carbohydrates are treated as glucose by your body and all carbohydrates must be managed by insulin and all extra carbohydrates not used for energy are turned to fat to be stored for later.

Our bodies have the ability to use two, and only two types of fuel, and only one at at time. It is like a hybrid car. It can't use electricity and gasoline at the same time, but has the ability to switch back and forth between them.

Now this part is very very important, so understand carefully. Because sugar is bad for us in the blood stream, our bodies are designed so that if glucose is present, it is always used first. This is critical to understand. Glucose is a fuel, but if it is present in our bloodstream, it must be used first so it does not do damage. Insulin has a double job. When glucose is present, it is so important for us to burn it first, that insulin has a secondary job of preventing us from using fat for fuel until all the glucose is gone.

Until pretty recently in human history, there just was not any problem with this system. We had so little sugar in our diet; fruit was seasonal and interestingly at the same time of year that we were most active and then it was gone again, and sugars like honey were just hard to get and not plentiful and so forth. Other carbs were things like whole grain breads and vegetables, so our bodies used them as they were eaten and it stayed in balance. And, in between carbohydrates, our bodies used fat for fuel.

In order for us to use fat for fuel two things have to be in place. First of all the glucose must be used up. Our cells produce a small store of glucose in the form of glycogen, and our liver makes a small amount of glycogen as well, and in general it is about enough to carry us for roughly a day without any additional glucose consumed, before we will turn exclusively to fat for fuel. Every time we go without eating carbohydrates for enough time, our body turns to fat for fuel. This is another important point. We cannot use fat as a fuel unless and until the glucose has been used up first. Insulin has a secondary job of making sure that we cannot use the fat until that happens, and actually blocks the fat cells from releasing their energy.

Let's talk about insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome. I am a near perfect example of metabolic syndrome which is a secondary condition of insulin resistance and nearly all the way to type two diabetes. What it means is that the same cells that need to collect the glucose in the bloodstream are refusing it. The insulin is trying to push the glucose into the cell, but the cell is not responding to the insulin. So, the body responds by producing more insulin. It has to. There is too much glucose and it simply can't stay in the blood or it will do damage. So the glucose is pushed into the cells, or made into fat, and then there is extra insulin and the blood sugar drops too low, and the body craves more glucose to balance out the blood sugars again. This happening a few times is not a huge problem, but over and over and over and over again...pretty soon your pancreas gives out, won't produce enough insulin, and voila! Type 2 Diabetes. In between the normal state and full blown diabetes is metabolic syndrome which is characterized by, fat deposited in the belly because of the urgency due to high blood sugar and subsequent insulin and the way the liver produces the fat cells, widespread inflammation, often symptoms of hypoglycemia, a resistance to weight loss and other symptoms that are currently being studied that may or may not be related to blood sugar such as fibromyalgia, sleep disorders and so forth.

We eat so much sugar and other carbohydrates in our diets that our pancreas is in a constant state of production and we are seeing an epidemic of younger and younger type 2 diabetics in our country.

There are two other hormones besides insulin that are important to understand here: Ghrelin and Leptin. Leptin is produced by our cells to tell us that we are full and to stop eating, and Ghrelin is produced to tell us we are hungry. Many of us have gone years and years without feeling either of those sensations! Real hunger and a real desire to stop eating. It is all a part of insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome that our cells are not producing the hormones that create this normal and healthy sensation in our bodies.

We have all grown up with some incorrect thinking. Some fallacies that need to be corrected to understand what needs to happen in our bodies for them to work properly.

Myths:

1. We must have carbohydrates/glucose to have energy to work and play etc.
2. We must have carbohydrates/glucose for our brains to work at all.
3. Glucose is the only real fuel for our bodies and without it we quickly weaken.
4. Fat causes heart disease.
5. Fat makes us fat because it is high calorie.
6. Complex carbohydrates don't become glucose and don't affect our blood sugar.
6. Carbohydrates should be the majority of our caloric intake because the FDA put it at the base of the food pyramid.

All of those are false statements. Every one of them.

Fat is just a fuel for our bodies, and I can prove it very simply. When we don't have food to eat our body turns to our own fat for fuel. Our own body fat is saturated fat, doesn't make us more fat, doesn't cause heart disease, and our brains work fine on it otherwise we would die every time we go a day without eating. It is true that two things happen before we become fully fat burning or ketogenic instead of glycogenic, which is the glucose burning state. The first thing is that our body craves what it is used to: carbs. If they don't show up, it quite happily turns to using fats instead. The second is that while we are adjusting to burning fats, we feel off, and not great for a short period of time. This is the transition and only lasts a day or two (some people a little longer if they have never done it before) while your body switches over.

We have talked about what happens in our bodies with a glycogenic or glucogenic (remember glycogen is what your cells and liver produce to store small amounts of glucose)  diet. Let's talk about what happens in a ketogenic diet.

The word Ketogenic comes from the word ketone, which is the leftover couple of molecules left over when a long chain of fatty acids is broken apart to use for fuel. Ketones are the by product of fat utilization and can be and are used by the brain as a powerful fuel. They can be detected in your blood or urine and it must be noted here that nutritional ketosis is a very different thing from diabetic- ketoacidosis which is a very dangerous and potentially life threatening condition of diabetics. A state of ketosis simply means that you are utilizing fat for your primary fuel and the ketones are being produced when the fat breaks into smaller chains.

There are tremendous benefits to being in a ketotic state, not the least of which is that your brain can and does use the ketones much more efficiently than glucose for fuel. In fact it has been proven that ketones can actually help heal a damaged brain along with fish oils and extra oxygen. People who eat a ketogenic diet universally report thinking more clearly and better by far. They also universally report more overall energy and feeling more vital and less depressed. For someone with metabolic syndrome or maybe just simply overweight, another benefit is that there is little to no insulin being produced to get in the way of fat utilization. Whenever little moments or big chunks of time happen where there is not enough fuel being consumed, your body turns instantly and very efficiently to stored body fat to make up the difference with no insulin to block that from happening. This begins the process of healing the resistance to insulin and also begins, sometimes for the first time in years, to allow the production and reception of ghrelin and leptin to regulate hunger and satiety.

In broad terms a Ketogenic diet divides the daily calories into three parts: Fat, Protein and Carbs. It is roughly 65-70% fat, 20-25% protein and the rest carbs, depending on your personal physical needs. For me, with a very slow metabolism, post-menopausal woman, mine is less than 5% carbs, and about 70% fat with 25% protein. This translates to a total of less than 15 g per day of carbs for me. My body cannot process more carbohydrate than that and stay in ketosis, and a full fat burning state with weight loss. I am very careful about which carbs I eat as well. I want to make sure that I am eating a very nutritious diet, and eat the vast majority of my carbs in the form of dark leafy greens, and other veggies such as asparagus, cucumber, celery, broccoli and such. I also eat small amounts of tomatoes, peppers, onion, artichokes etc. I eat as highly colored of these veggies as possible. I eat all types of meats, pork, chicken, seafood, fish, and healthy fats, and I always try to choose fatty cuts of meat when possible, and when not possible or practical, I add healthy fats to the dishes. I eat full fat dairy sour cream, heavy cream, hard cheeses etc, that have very little lactose in them. I eat lots of eggs, butter, nuts, seeds, coconut oil, and olive oil.  I do not eat starchy vegetables such as potatoes, corn, beans, beets, and carrots. No grains, no rice or cereals, no breads and absolutely no sugars in any forms including lactose found in milk, yogurt, half and half, most cottage cheese, and other similar dairy items. All of those things I do not eat are foods that will cause a rise in blood sugar and subsequent insulin reaction.

People get scared of the transition. They are afraid of giving up their favorite carbs. I admit...there are moments for sure!  But guess what? As a former full-fledged-card-carrying-sugar-and-carb-addict, I can tell you that I almost never miss it at all. My body is now craving fats, not glucose. I had a birthday last week, and had decided ahead of time that I was allowed a cheat day that day, but when it came, I didn't' even want it. I was sure I would be dying for a plate of clam linguine and crusty bread followed by a yummy chocolate dessert of some sort. I didn't want it! For meals I had bacon, eggs, sausages, mussels, clams, shrimp, and roasted meats with mushrooms, salads, and full fat dressings. My son made me a chocolate cake with eggs, almond flour, some nutritional sweetener, and topped it with sugar free caramel sauce mixed with chopped toasted pecans and no sugar added coconut. YUM.

I track everything that goes in my mouth and have an app that counts out the carbs, calories, fat, and protein for me. I have discovered that I am eating far less than I was before in terms of daily calories. This last week I averaged less than 1200 per day. On two different days I ate less than 1000. What is interesting to me is that I am literally eating all I want in terms of quantity, but my body is finally able to tell me when to quit, because it is in fat burning mode and has plenty of fuel available to it in the form of all the fat I stored eating glucose. It is able to produce the hormones that help regulate all that. When I do want to eat more, I just do...but if I am starting to desire more carbs, instead I add more fats, and that craving just goes right away.

I personally started and do recommend because it helped so much, with a 36 hour fast form everything except non caloric clear liquids. It helps to remove the glycogen out faster, and clear up some of the nasty glucose cravings faster. On a daily basis, I don't normally eat anything until noon or so each day and instead of feeling vaguely guilty about that as I used to, I recognize that because I am burning my own fat, my body isn't shutting down and conserving, it is just using up the fuels available to it. One day when I am not fat anymore, I may start to eat breakfast again, because I suspect my body will request it due to lack of fuel.

I also take several supplements. I think it is hard for us to get all the nutrients we need from our foods the way they are produced. I take a good B complex to help support my liver metabolism, a good multi vitamin for insurance, electrolytes, and some other vitamins, probiotics, and herbs for supporting my body where it is now and to help my immune system and gut health. I have no fear of becoming diabetic, and after a lot of research no fear of heart disease either, and in fact I know my numbers will improve, not the other way around.

And that is basically it. I have found great recipes and tons of great information out there. The science is there, and of course being married to an actual rocket scientist I have to have good sources for him to accept it! I strongly recommend the book Grain Brain, by Dr David Perlmutter, MD, and anything by Dr Eric Westman or Dr Jeff Volek. They have videos on YouTube, and books out to help you find the studies and science I did.

I am convinced that our bodies were designed to work better this way with carbs and sugars as a seasonal fuel, and fat as a primary fuel. My body is broken and cannot tolerate many carbs, but yours might not be yet! It is not too late for many of you, but the best news of all is it is even not too late for me either!