Ketogenic diet

The keto diet seems to be going through another resurgence - an I have had some people ask if I recommend it.

The short answer is No - not at all! nothing about the keto diet is fun or appealing apart from the amount of bacon I would be able to eat. 

Let's start with what the keto diet claims - It claims you will burn loads more fat, and you will because your diet is 70-80% fat you will burn A LOT of fat BUT that does not mean you will burn your body fat, the only thing that determines your body fat levels is a calorie deficit.

They claim the Keto diet allows you to eat loads of bacon, steak, cheese, which isn't strictly true - because the state of ketosis is a very fine line, if you eat too much protein your liver will cover that protein into glucose, this conversion is called gluconeogenesis. once you eat so much protein this process will occur and either stop you getting into ketosis or will stop you being in ketosis, which means you start all over again. 

They also claim the switch is easy or some won't mention the process at all! The process can be very long! up to 12 weeks for some people thats 3 months of eating potentially less than 30g of carbs.
If you have a chocolate bar then well that process is longer, you can make it quicker by eating more fats but then get ready for some serious explosive poo, you WILL have to supplement fiber and ketones to hurry the process on. 
Some people get Keto flu, where you feel like you have symptoms very similar or the same as a flu or cold. 

The results of the keto diet are the same as in an average diet when protein and calories are matched, so you can go to that italian with your friends eat your pasta dish and enjoy it, you can have popcorn at the cinema, you don't have to find low carb ice cream and keto friendly brownies and all the rest of it, why do something so extreme for no benefit.

Most people go on a keto diet for '2 months' lost 7-10kgs of weight, then you dig a bit deeper and they were on a very low carb didn't actually go into ketosis but restricted carbs so much they created a huge calorie deficit and that's where the huge weight loss happened. 

Another caveat to this huge restriction is depleted muscle glycogen stores, which when you come off the diet and start eating carbs again means you could quite easily pack on another 2-3kgs, which yeah might not be visible fat but you then get disheartened that you have fallen off and put that weight back on, so the physiological effects of seeing that is the problem not the weight gain.

Where as if you keep carbs in your diet do the same level of calorie restriction you'll get the same end result but you won't have the same 'rebound' of weight. 

Just eat a bit less than you normally do, have a varied diet and enjoy the process. 

Dieting should NOT be a punishment.

Let me know in the comments whether you have tried it, or if you have any questions about ketosis or any other diet.