The Ultimate Ketogenic Guide by sophielaura

EASY KETO LIFEST YLE

THE ULTIMATE KETOGENIC GUIDE H I G H FAT

M O D E R AT E P R O T E I N

LOW CARB

The Ultimate Ketogenic Guide

CONTENTS 4

WHAT IS NUTRITIONAL KETOSIS?

WHAT ARE KETONES?

BENEFITS OF KETOSIS

KETO

WHAT IS THE KETO FLU?

KETOSIS VS. KETOACIDOSIS

KETO MACROS EXPLAINED

COUNTING CALORIES ON KETO

MADE EASY & DELICIOUS

KETO & WEIGHT LOSS

WHAT IS KETO-ADAPTED

8 SIGNS YOUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;RE KETO-ADAPTED

12 SIGNS YOU NEED MORE FAT

IS IT HEALTHY TO EAT LOW-CARB?

IS ALL THAT FAT GOOD FOR YOU?

The Ultimate Ketogenic Guide

which then stabilises your blood sugar and insulin levels (wahoo!). So your body turns to fat as its alternative energy source and begins to burn the excess fat stored on your body.

What Is Nutritional Ketosis? The average person wandering the streets today relies heavily on glucose (carbohydrates) for energy. When we switch to the ketogenic way of eating; low carb, moderate protein and high fat, the body changes its metabolic state into ketosis. With this new metabolism, our primary source of energy now comes from burning fat, either dietary fat and/or stored body fat (ie. weight loss), instead of glucose (carbs).

The fab news is that weight loss is just ONE of the many benefits of ketosis. The keto way of eating can be utilised to help improve an array of illnesses from diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, balance cholesterol levels and blood pressure, metabolic syndrome, epilepsy, hormonal imbalances, the list goes on. The key here is the production of ketones – ketosis doesn’t happen without ketone bodies. These are the main purpose of a ketogenic diet and are only produced in the liver when fat becomes the body’s primary fuel source.

HOW DOES NUTRITIONAL KETOSIS ENCOURAGE FAT LOSS? Ketosis happens when glycogen stores in the body are depleted, due to lowering the daily intake of carbohydrate and sugar, moderating protein consumption and increasing dietary fat intake; the body begins to burn fat for fuel and the liver’s mitochondria start to produce ketone bodies for energy which feed the brain and muscle cells. This launches the body into a four-week fat-adaptation phase (depending on the individual’s metabolism) as the body begins to rev up its internal engine, Keto-style! We live pretty darn well in a state of ketosis because we have plenty of fat energy stored in our body at all times – for the average person, roughly 40,000+ calories of it! As opposed to the 2,000 calories we could only store at one time when we were sugar-burners – hence marathon runners constantly needing to replenish their energy stores before, during and after a race when burning glucose. So, let’s run through this play by play… First, you replace the carbs and sugars on your plate with healthy fats, in the next few days the glycogen stores in your body deplete,

The Ultimate Ketogenic Guide

What Are Ketones? Glucose and ketones are the only fuel used by the brain. When we remove excess glucose, lipase breaks down fat, releasing stored triglycerides that go to the liver where they are converted into ketones, this process is called ketogenesis. The brain then gets a new lease of life, seriously; increased energy and focus, clearer thoughts, improved memory, you name it. Our body prefers to use ketones as a supplementary source of power. Even before the days we began to farm and cultivate crops, dating all the way back to our hunter-gatherer ancestors; we ate less protein and carbs and would regularly be forced to fast due to the scarcity of food. Not to mention hunting for food during days of fasting - and we feel, as glucose-burners, we’re going to pass out sat at our desk if we don’t get an ‘energy bar’ snack in-between lunch and dinner!.

1. Acetoacetate (AcAc) 2. Beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) 3. Acetone Acetoacetate is created first when fatty acids are broken down in the liver. Betahydroxybutyrate and acetone are both created from AcAc. When your ketone blood level reaches 0.5 mmol/L you’ll be in the state of “ketosis.” Being in a state of ketosis is still considered level one of your keto-adaptation. You can be in ketosis and not lose weight as long as your body continues to metabolise glucose.

Lowering your total carbs to 20 grams per day, which should come primarily from fibrous cruciferous vegetables, will begin the process whereby your brain starts to convert your body to utilising ketones rather than sugar as The bottom line: our body runs very naturally your primary fuel source. and efficiently on ketones. It’s innate for our bodies to convert stored fat and burn fat fuel for energy.

TYPES OF KETONES Ketones serve as a clean fuel for certain cells in your body, including brain cells. However, the goal is to not waste the ketones through your urine or breath, but to allow them to enter into your blood-stream so that they can be used as a viable source of fuel. Three types of ketones are created during ketogenesis:

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The Ultimate Ketogenic Guide

Testing For Ketones Testing for nutritional ketosis is such an advantage to the ketogenic diet that it would be wrong not to. You could think you’re doing all of the right things by keeping your carbohydrates very low, but still not be getting the major benefits that a ketogenic state provides. If you’re highly insulin resistant, it’s possible your carbs may still be too high. Too much protein, a great deal of stress, lack of sleep, too much travel, dairy, nuts, berries, a number of artificial sweeteners or even some natural sweeteners could be kicking you out of ketosis. Once you begin to test effectively for ketone bodies present in your blood, along with testing your blood sugar, you can improve the way you’re able to augment your diet, and even shift those last 10 pounds!

TESTING METHODS EXPLAINED One way to test for ketones is to check your urine with urine-testing strips; however, ketones in your urine are what your body is getting rid of, not what it’s using. After a month or two as you become more ketoadapted, your body gets better at using the ketones for fuel and conserves them in your blood, so less is present in urine. Urine strips typically show higher levels in early stages of a keto diet because your body isn’t using the ketones for fuel yet. The urine test strip is also highly susceptible to changes based on your hydration – which can vary a lot. The more hydrated you are

the lower the ketone level on the urine strip (but only when you are keto-adapted). So, how well you are keto-adapted combined with hydration levels are the variables that affect the urine strips. The second method of testing is with a breath ketone meter; these meters don’t directly test Beta-Hydroxybutyrate (BHB) which is present in your blood, they test acetone, which is the ketone expelled through breath. Acetone is blown off through the lungs in small amounts. The challenge with breath testing is that the amount of acetone breathed off is not the same for everyone at uniform levels of blood BHB. That means breath meters can’t give you a number that correlates with the level of BHB in your blood; they just give you an acetone level that lets you know you’re in a certain range of ketosis. If you’re trying to find out how a certain food affects your level of ketosis, it’s more difficult with a breath meter than with the other testing methods. The final method of testing is through the use of a blood ketone monitor. This is the only way to test for the ketone BHB, which shows most accurately how much energy is available to fuel your body. To check your ketones, you basically prick your finger like you would check your blood sugar, drawing up a drop of blood onto the test strip. The monitor gives you a blood ketone reading; the goal is to see blood ketone levels between 0.5 to 5.0 mmol/L, but the ideal range for weight loss and healing really

depends on a lot of factors and the individual metabolic damage and is mostly sedentary, themself. the sweet spot for blood ketone readings is 1.8 to 2.8 mmol/L. More is not better when it comes to ketones. Many studies have shown that above 4.0 to The best time to test your ketones is in the 5.0 mmol/L there is no added benefit. If you morning in a fasted state. This will give you are metabolically damaged (insulin resistant) the best idea of your body’s ongoing state of your body won’t be able to utilise ketones for ketosis. In general, ketones will be the lowest energy as well as others who aren’t insulin of the day in the morning, so if decent ketone resistant - this can result in higher ketone levels are present, this indicates a good state levels. Also, not exercising can result in higher of ketosis is being held throughout the day. levels too. Blood ketone levels are simply the Ketones go up during the day if eating a good difference between ketones produced and keto diet, especially after very ketogenic ketones used. meals (MCT oils, etc). Some athletes and bodybuilders can be in strong ketosis based on their diet and exercise but have ketones of 0.5 because they are using all the fuel their body generates (ketones). Therefore, some people do great at 0.5 or 0.8, while others can be doing well at 3.0 or 3.5. However, for the average person without

EASY KETO LIFESTYLE

Benefits Of Ketosis The benefits of a keto diet extend far beyond weight loss and improve overall health in numerous ways… • Feeling satiated. The abundance of healthy fats and moderated protein you consume on Keto keep you feeling satistied and fuller for longer. • Lowered levels of triglycerides. Triglycerides are fat molecules linked to heart disease. Studies show that a Keto diet can reduce them dramatically. • Lowered blood pressure. Hypertension increases the risk of stroke, heart disease and renal failure. Keto can help reduce high blood pressure to healthier levels. • Improved HDL cholesterol levels. Low-carb diets can increase levels of HDL cholesterol, often called the “good cholesterol”. • Reduced, stable blood sugar & insulin. A ketogenic diet can help type-2 diabetics manage their condition, and may help prevent diabetes in people at high risk. Using a low carbohydrate diet, some diabetics have even managed to stop taking medications. • Improving symptoms of metabolic syndrome. The collection of symptoms known as metabolic syndrome includes high blood pressure, high blood sugar, central obesity, and high triglycerides. Following a Ketogenic diet has shown to effectively treat each of these.

The Ultimate Ketogenic Guide

Side Effects Of Ketosis Despite having many positive effects, there are some negative side effects of being in a ketogenic state that you should be aware of. For most people, these do not represent a significant problem and can be managed. Electrolyte Deficiencies Eating low-carb your body excretes more electrolytes than usual, including salt and potassium. This can lead to deficiencies, due to the lack of minerals in our water these days, and potentially cause symptoms such as constipation, lethargy, fatigue and heart palpitations. To ensure you don’t encounter any problems, you should actively increase your intake of these nutrients when eating Keto. This may mean adding more salt to your food and eating more potassium and magnesium-rich foods, like avocados and spinach (more on this on page 16). Keto Flu Symptoms Many newcomers to Keto experience a range of minor ailments referred to as “Keto Flu”, as some of the unpleasant features are similar to a regular flu. Symptoms include fatigue, irritability, upset stomach, nausea and sugar cravings. The key cause of keto flu is your body adjusting to its new diet and to using ketones for fuel. For most people it does not last more than one week. You can lower the impact of keto flu by maintaining a high electrolyte intake and increasing fat and calories to ensure your body has enough energy.

So, you’ve embarked on the ketogenic diet and instead of the hot keto warrior you were promised, you’re a hot mess; irritable, headaches and brain fog throughout the day, nauseous and not sleeping at night. What happened to all the amazing keto benefits you heard about; fabulous fat burn, a clear mind, sharper focus, increased energy. Well, let me acquaint you with the culprit: The Keto Flu. It’s a natural response that happens to your body as it makes some modifications to how it runs; switching metabolism from burning glucose to burning fat for fuel. Do not fear, it’s really not that scary, as long as you know how to fight it. And fight it, we will. Don’t let it stand in your way of going the full distance and achieving keto victory! There’s a light at the end of the tunnel and I’m here to help you win.

KETO FLU SYMPTOMS Fatigue - Headache - Difficulty focusing (brain fog) Nausea - Muscle soreness, cramps or fatigue - Stomach aches & irritability - Chills - Irritability - Sore throat - Sugar cravings - Dizziness - Difficulty sleeping

WHAT CAUSES THE KETO FLU? Here’s a quick knowledge digest, to understand what’s really going down in keto-town. When restricting carbs, your body switches metabolism, not only learning to burn a new energy source, but also becoming familiar with fats being its new preferred fuel. For this to happen, positive changes take place from the hormonal to cellular level.

The Ultimate Ketogenic Guide

What Is The Keto Flu?

EASY KETO LIFESTYLE

The Ultimate Ketogenic Guide

Here’s what happens when you ditch the carbs:

regulate themselves.

Sodium and water flush: when you restrict carbohydrates, insulin levels drop (yay) – this triggers the release of sodium from your kidneys which the water then shuttles out of your body. This is why in the first week of going keto, some people can have a loss of about 10 pounds of water weight. The loss of glucose or glycogen and low insulin levels can cause nausea, dizziness, headaches, muscle cramping, diarrhea or constipation. It’s very important to be drinking lots of water, whilst also replenishing your electrolytes (page 16).

The carb withdrawal symptoms generally kick in at the 24- to 48-hour mark and typically last from a few days to two weeks, and in more extreme cases, up to a month. Whether you experience these symptoms – and to what extent – can totally depend on your metabolic flexibility (your ability to adapt to different fuel sources).

T3 levels may drop: the thyroid gland produces the hormones T3 and T4 which regulate the body’s metabolism, temperature and heart rate. Dietary carbs and thyroid function are closely connected. As you adjust to a low-carb ketogenic diet, these hormone levels can initially fall, resulting in fatigue and brain fog – getting adequate sleep may assist in alleviating these symptoms.

Cortisol levels could increase: the thyroid has a close relationship with the adrenal glands and may trigger higher cortisol levels. Whilst making the switch, the ketogenic diet puts your body into starvation mode (even though you are far from starving!) and appetite reduces due to the body burning excess body fat for fuel. The body triggers the adrenals to release cortisol, the stress hormone, to help increase energy levels during this period which can lead you to experiencing symptoms like irritability and insomnia. As your body adjusts to utilising fat and ketones as its new (and wonderful) fuel source, your cortisol levels should naturally

HOW LONG DOES THE KETO FLU LAST?

Your metabolic flexibility can be influenced by genetics and/or lifestyle habits. For instance, the more carb and sugar laden your diet was prior to going keto may set you up for more severe flu symptoms (especially from the sugar). If you ate a diet low in refined sugar and starches, it’s more likely you’ll experience only mild symptoms, if any at all. But fear not, we’re going to get to the remedies very soon! Take comfort in knowing that fabulous weight loss and elevated energy are on the other side of these symptoms. You’re going to be a hot keto warrior in no time – you got this!

EASY KETO LIFESTYLE

7 Keto Flu Remedies... 1. Hydrate all day, every day. This is a tip for life, not just for the keto flu; water is king and most of us wander around totally dehydrated! Here’s a calculation to figure out the amount of water you need per day, minimum: your current body weight (in pounds), divided by two = fluid ounces of water you should be consuming. For example, a person weighing 140 pounds should be drinking 70 fl.oz of water daily, if not more. But remember, your body only absorbs water in small amounts, so consume glasses of water throughout the day, ensuring you hydrate after you pee.

2. Electrolytes. Electrolytes. Electrolytes. Need I say it again? Electrolytes. Keeping your electrolytes replenished is non-negotiable when going lowcarb and absolutely key at kicking the keto flu where it hurts. One tongue dip into a palm filled with Pink Himalayan salt can make that headache vanish. • Magnesium: eat spinach, Brazil nuts, beef, chicken, fish, dark chocolate (85%+ cocoa). There are 7 different types of magnesium options to supplement with depending on your individual requirements. Common magnesium deficiency symptoms; muscle cramps, dizziness, and fatigue, it’s great to take before bed for a good night’s rest. • Potassium: eat an avocado a day, eat fish, meat, leafy greens. We need about 1g to 3.5g per day so adding Cream of Tartare powder to your water helps reach this during keto flu, adding fresh lemon juice thereafter is fine. Common symptoms for potassium deficiency; cramps, constipation, muscle weakness. • Sodium: important enough as it is, but even more so if you work out or live in a hot climate. Quality matters; Pink Himalayan salt or Celtic grey sea salt are great, add to all food and have 1 tsp orally daily with or without water. Common symptoms for sodium deficiency; cramping, headaches, muscle fatigue, and drinking lots of water yet still feeling dehydrated.

The Ultimate Ketogenic Guide

...To Kick Butt! 3. Electro-Lemonade: our all-natural, body-loving recipe to get your quick and easy electrolyte fix! Recipe available on website.

4. Enter the holy grail that is, bone broth! Adding not only a serving of water but ALSO a dose of electrolytes – boom! Bone broth provides a good dose of sodium and potassium, which will offset some of the discomfort you feel at a cellular level, as well as its gelatin content being super gut friendly. It’s also rich in minerals that support the immune system and contains healing compounds like collagen (for youthful skin), glutamine, glycine and proline.

5. Consume more fat: this can speed up your keto-adaptation phase and get your fat-burning bod into motion quicker. Most important, adding animal fats to cooking and eating the fatty cuts of meat e.g. pork belly, bacon. Then to add fat without protein, MCT oil is great, it bypasses the lympathic system and heads straight to the liver, rapidly metabolising into ketone bodies to be used for energy. MCT oil can be blended into your morning coffee, tea or herbal tea, drizzled over salads, used in fat bombs and cooking.

6. Get good rest: getting adequate sleep is very important to help your body rest and adjust in order to overcome the keto flu (and with most things to be honest). Getting 7-9 hours of restful sleep per night will help to reduce cortisol levels and alleviate flu symptoms.

7. Exercise and meditate: the goal here again is to balance cortisol levels and relieve stress, therefore mild exercise will serve you best; yoga, pilates, light weight training, jogging or brisk walking. If exercise ain’t your jam, try meditating and para-sympathetic breathing.

EASY KETO LIFESTYLE

The Ultimate Ketogenic Guide

Ketosis vs. Ketoacidosis Ketosis is not to be confused with ketoacidosis which is very different. For the vast majority of people, there is no need to ever worry about ketoacidosis. According to Erika Brutsaert, M.D., Assistant Professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, “Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is most common among patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus and develops when insulin levels are insufficient to meet the body’s basic metabolic requirements.” Ketosis is a natural state that is regulated by your body. Ketoacidosis occurs when your body cannot produce enough insulin and both ketones and blood sugar rise very high. As noted by Dr. Brutsaert, this is primarily an issue for those suffering from type-1 diabetes, or very rarely with type-2 diabetes. Without enough insulin, ketones can increase to dangerous levels, resulting in a condition called ketoacidosis. This is a medical emergency and can even be life-threatening if not remedied. If you are diabetic it’s a good idea to check with your doctor (who is well acquainted with a low-carb lifestyle) before starting a ketogenic diet, to ensure it’s a good fit for you.

EASY KETO LIFESTYLE

The Ultimate Ketogenic Guide

Now, the part you have been waiting for. We will now look at how you can achieve this state using a ketogenic diet.

set ratios of nutritional macros. Once you’ve got that down you can focus your attention on micronutrients – the vitamins and minerals provided by leafy and fibrous vegetables.

The basics of this diet are easy to get your head around, however, you will need to fine tune the intake of each type of food to find the right balance for you. This is why testing ketones are so important in the beginning, so you can see how your body is reacting to this diet change.

Now we will take a look at some of the It’s important to note that the ketogenic diet is standard macros and ratios for a Keto diet. not a high-protein diet and does not promote excess meat consumption. Eating too much CARBOHYDRATES protein will prevent the metabolic changes that result in ketosis. The central feature of a Keto diet is lowering your intake of total carbs to no more than 20g FATS a day. This will ensure you get into a ketogenic state and stay there. Fats make up the largest portion of a Keto diet – up to 80%. Because carbohydrates are converted into glucose by your body, going overboard on the After limiting carbohydrates and eating a carbs can do more than blow your macros, it moderate amount of protein, the rest of your can halt ketone production completely. diet should be made up of healthy fats coming predominantly from quality fatty meats and Removing carbohydrates may be more cooking with animal fats like beef tallow, duck difficult than you think. They are hidden in fat, pork drippings, goose fat, butter, ghee, a lot of foods you wouldn’t expect so keep then also coconut oil, MCT oil and olive oil. your eyes peeled and always read labels and ingredients. Nervous about eating fat after hearing for years that it’s bad for you? Don’t be afraid Use your daily carb allowance as a budget to eat natural fats. Contrary to what we’ve and use it wisely, you can fill up on nutrient all been told, saturated fat is not the enemy. dense food such as broccoli, cauliflower, The real culprit? Added sugars, refined and courgette and leafy greens. Spinach has 1.6g processed carbohydrates. of carbs per 100g portion. You would have to eat 1.25kg of spinach to get to your maximum I go into more detail later on the health carb level. I challenge anyone to try to eat benefits of fats and 9 reasons why you want that much spinach! in on the “fat-party”, but for now...

KETO MACROS There are 3 dietary macronutrients, commonly abbreviated to macros: Proteins - Carbohydrates - Fats Keto works on the basis of maintaining

USING THE KETOGENIC DIET TO BECOME A KETONE-MAKING MACHINE E A SY K E TO LIF E ST YLE

produce sugar through a process called gluconeogenesis. This elevates blood glucose levels, and ultimately blocks ketones from being used.

Fats have 9 calories per gram, compared to the 4 calories per gram you’ll find in proteins On a ketogenic diet, you should eat roughly or carbs. Healthy, natural fats are energy and 1g of protein per kilogram of your ideal body nutrient dense, healing, satiating, and they weight. make everything taste great. If you’re hungry, eat more fat. Protein should make up approximately 15% of your daily caloric intake. Although you may be tempted to squeeze in more protein, there is a very good reason to keep it at this level.

PROTEINS

Eating excess amounts of protein will

EASY KETO LIFESTYLE

The Ultimate Ketogenic Guide

Do I Need To Count Calories On Keto? Eating at a high caloric deficit for weight loss slows your metabolism, results in imbalanced hormones, weight loss plateau and increased chances of weight regain. Those who eat a ketogenic diet to satiety, lose more weight and more body fat than those who are eating a lowfat, calorie restricted diet. A diet that consists of around 5% carbs, 15% protein and 80% fats, satiates you, meaning you don’t over-eat and indulge on good fats.

Here’s what is actually important... the type of calories consumed and the macronutrient ratio (carb, protein, fat). Proteins and fats promote satiety and they help control blood sugar to reduce cravings. Resting metabolic rate increases somewhat, and does not continue to spiral downward as the body sheds excess body fat (found to be common in weight loss). An increased ability to burn fat, ie. keto-adaptation (becoming fatadapted) more than doubles the rate of fat burning compared to a high-carb diet. In addition, lower levels of insulin trigger fat burning, reduce fat storage, and increase lean mass. Body fat is self-regulated on the keto diet by emphasizing the types of food consumed over quantity (or lack thereof) of food consumed; this is the best approach to losing weight and reversing disease.

For decades, so much of weight loss and dieting has been focused around counting daily calories, and the truth is, calorie restriction dieting works, but it comes with a price. Perhaps it’s working for you right now, but it’s slowing down your metabolism, damaging your natural levels of hormones and soon enough you’re losing more hair than weight. This can take longer for some people over others, but it happens to everyone. When you eat at your maintenance calories for your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) and you put on weight, this directly shows that your metabolism has slowed. Your maintenance calorie intake means you should be able to maintain your weight here. Do not fear, it can be repaired, however multiple studies have shown that metabolism drops much faster in restriction than it raises when eating normally; in other words it gets damaged easy yet is hard to repair, but it is repairable. Long-term underlying metabolic issues, such as insulin resistance, have not been resolved with calorie-counting diets. This failed, traditional approach of calorie deprivation has been used for decades while obesity rates continue to soar and the vast majority of overweight people are unable to lose weight and keep it off. This is just another reason why the ketogenic diet rises above those unsustainable, ‘quick-fix’, restrictive weight loss diets we’ve all tried and failed, and really holds its place as a ‘healthy lifestyle way of eating’.

EASY KETO LIFESTYLE

The Ultimate Ketogenic Guide

little in the way of functional satiety.

intake.

Your body doesn’t want to be fat, it doesn’t want to be resistant to insulin, it doesn’t want to be riddled with inflammation and disease. Given the chance to, your body will heal itself, by itself. All you have to do is nourish it with lots of the right, natural foods, clean water, good sleep and keep stress to a minimum.

The first law of thermodynamics states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed; energy can only be transferred or changed from one form to another. This has in effect controlled the concepts for the basis of weight loss for over a century with “Calories In/ Calories Out” (CICO) mentality — resulting in the difficulty of accepting other ways of thinking.

HOW TO EAT YOUR CALORIES & LOSE WEIGHT

Keto & Weight Loss Eat fat, burn fat. But wait.. Fat has more than double the amount of calories to protein and carbs?! Not all calories are created equal. So at its core, weight loss results from burning more calories than you consume, but the macronutrient composition of those calories is vital and makes all the difference. Different foods have substantially different metabolic and hormonal effects on the body. What’s eaten, and how energy is expended, can change how much you eat and whether those calories are burned or stored (or wasted... keep reading, it gets very interesting later!) A review of 13 randomised controlled trials (1,415 patients) found that people on the ketogenic diet lost significantly more weight than people on low-fat diets. They also kept the weight off for 12 months or more. The diets in these studies contained no more than 50 grams of carbohydrate, further to this, low-carb diets with more generous amounts of carbohydrate (≥ 120 gm/day) showed similar results (increased weight loss with low-carb than low-fat) in a review of 17 randomised controlled trials. More recently, type 2 diabetics lost 12% of their body weight after one year in diet-induced ketosis. Study after study shows us that over the first 3-6 months, people randomised to a low-carb diet, lose more weight and more body fat than those who are eating a low-fat, calorie restricted diet. Carbohydrates in our diet may offer a short-term send of increased energy, but they offer

As mentioned previously, when your body is making the switch to becoming a fatburner, it’s initially put into ‘starvation mode’ although you are far from starving! You have low-insulin which makes Leptin easy to hear (Leptin is a hormone, made by fat cells, that decreases your appetite), lack of hunger is a survival response to starvation. In huntergatherer times there were many scenarios where food was simply unavailable. If we were to get more and more hungry as time goes by it would make us crazy and not very effective at hunting.

Now I’m going to try and put this next bit as simple as possible. If you constantly consume more carbs than you can store/use then eventually the body will reach a limit where it will not be able to waste as much so there are 3 options: 1. Store it as fat. 2. Store it as glycogen. 3. Store as blood sugar.

Since blood sugar has to be regulated tightly the storage in blood glucose is not possible above a stable limit so I guess it is fat or glycogen. This is when CICO works exactly So not being hungry while on Keto is not a right; if you exceed what you can store as magic way to make sure you are eating at glycogen or use then you gain weight. a large caloric deficit without trying, it is a malfunction of a basic survival instinct. What The process of fat metabolism is essentially losing your hunger while eating Keto actually the same as it is for glucose but instead of does is cause people to unintentionally enter the first step being Glycolysis and converting into a severe calorically restricted state for glucose to pyruvate, fat goes through a prolonged amount of time. This can cause beta-oxidation and is converted directly to adrenal issues, hair loss, Amenorrhea (loss of AcetylCoA which can be fed directly to the menstrual cycle), thyroid issues and a severely citric acid (kreb’s) cycle. Fat also creates damaged metabolism making it much harder much more ATP (energy) from each of the steps than glucose does (more on page 32). to lose weight.

“A calorie is a calorie” is the traditional view which argues that the type of food we eat isn’t important. To lose weight, you create a caloric deficit by either eating less or burning more. To gain weight, you increase calorie

The difference between fat and carbs for cellular respiration is this: Carbohydrates only make 2 AcetylCoA molecules to feed the citric acid cycle. This

EASY KETO LIFESTYLE

The Ultimate Ketogenic Guide

cycle has a limit of how much AcetylCoA it TO SUMMARISE can process. If by chance there is too much glucose in the system that the cycle gets CICO for carbohydrates meets the laws overloaded then there are only a couple fates because the first law says energy must be balanced. It cannot be destroyed or created. for carbs. 1. Storage as glycogen.

Energy Balance = Energy in – Energy out + Energy Stored (as fat or glycogen)

2. If you are already stocked up on glycogen CICO for fats also meets the law. then it must be stored as fat Fat makes many more AcetylCoA than carbs. Even a short chain fatty acid makes 5 acetylCoA. This can quickly jam up the citric acid cycle.

Energy Balance = Energy in – Energy out + Energy stored (as fat or ketones) + energy wasted (as ketones) The reason why you can eat more on keto and still lose weight is because our diet is predominantly made up of fat and we have additional means of dealing with that energy. It can be wasted and stored in an alternate location compared to carbs. There is no defiance of the law.

When the cycle gets backed up from fat, something magic happens. Ketones are created from the excess AcetylCoA! It gets better though... There are three types of ketones that get created (as mentioned previously): Acetone, Acetoacetate, and Beta-Hydroxybutyrate. Why is this magical? Two of these are wasted. Acetone in the WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU breath (keto breath) and Acetoacetate in the DON’T FEEL HUNGRY urine. Beyond that, we now have a whole new storage option available that is not available It’s important that you’re still eating calories that meet your TDEE (total daily energy for carbohydrates. expenditure) with a caloric deficit of 10% So this is what happens when fat backs up being the most it might reduce to. the citric acid cycle: Not feeling hungry can be solved with 1. Excess gets converted to ketones adequately replenishing electrolytes: sodium, potassium and magnesium. 2. Some gets wasted in breath and urine 3. You can store a bunch in your blood.

Keto & Weight Loss Continued... 26

The big difference comes in when you are consuming carbs and fats together. The carbs have to get used primarily which means the fat will wait in storage, while if you limit carbs, fat can be the primary fuel source and it doesn’t have to stay in fat. It can completely fulfill the energy cycles needs and any extra can be converted to ketones for wasting and stored ketone energy.

If your reduction in appetite continues in the beginning, it’s important to push through it as it won’t last for long just while your body adjusts to becoming a fat-burner. Starving yourself and restricting calories can cause metabolic and hormonal damage. Something we can look at, if reduction in appetite continues, is intermittent fasting. However this all depends on the individuals current health, as well as lifestyle.

EASY KETO LIFESTYLE

The Ultimate Ketogenic Guide

or your fat-burning body to gain full reigns, it needs to make the official switch into a fat-adapted (or keto-adapted) state. Meaning your body has learnt to use fat as its primary source of fuel instead of depending on glucose (carbs).

Being fat-adapted means that your body knows 100% that fat is its preferred fuel source. It has built up the enzymatic and metabolic processes to effectively burn fat for energy; you can burn the fat on your body, you can burn the fat in your food and you can switch over to sugar-burning quickly but then get straight back to burning fat.

KETOSIS vs. KETO-ADAPTED vs. FAT-ADAPTED Once you’re eating keto, your ketones can start registering pretty soon; 3 or 4 days in you’ll likely start to register ketones if you’re testing your blood. Although your ketones are registering, your body doesn’t yet know that fat can be its primary fuel, it’s figuring out its new metabolism. Whereas once you’re keto-adapted, you have both high ketones, and your body knows fat is its main source of energy. You can achieve ketosis without being keto- or fat-adapted; this happens in the early stages, when you first start out eating keto and you’re removing the carbs, depleting the glycogen stores and replacing them with an abundance of healthy fats which metabolises into ketone bodies within about 3 days (for some people). You can achieve fat-adaptation without being in ketosis; just following a lowcarb / high-fat diet can steer you into becoming fat-adapted. Some people can be fat-adapted consuming a reduced amount of carbs, that’s not quite as low as the keto way of eating so does not produce ketones bodies, but fat is still the main source of energy being used. However, the key benefit of the ketogenic diet is to produce ketones as a supplementary power source.

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO BE KETO-ADAPTED? So, you’ve started keto, you’re in ketosis and you want to be keto-adapted like yesterday, AMMI right? I get it, you’re in the zone and ready to kick butt, but it’s going to take a little longer than that.

Phase #1: carb withdrawal. Not the prettiest phase as this rears it’s ugly head in the form of ‘The Keto Flu’, and can last anything from 3 to 14 days (in extreme cases, one month at most).

What Is Keto-Adapted?

To reach this metabolic state you need to switch the majority of carbohydrates on your plate with lots of healthy fats, a moderate amount of quality protein and then the small number of carbs you’re left with (20g a day) will be leafy green vegetables grown above ground.

Let’s break it down into each phase.

Phase #2: metabolic switch. This can last 6 to 8 weeks depending on an individual’s metabolism, but here the body really begins to make the switch to burning fat instead of burning glucose. Phase #3: keto-adapted. This happens when you’ve maintained a fat-burning state for several weeks, your body has gained the ability to put fat-burning on autopilot, providing healthy fats carry on fuelling your body instead of carbs, and you’re producing adequate ketones.

EASY KETO LIFESTYLE

The Ultimate Ketogenic Guide

8 Signs You’re... ...Keto-Adapted

12 Signs You... ...Need More Fat

These signs are a little different for everyone, but here goes:

• You’ve tried every eating style, but none of them help you feel good and look great.

• You’re able to skip meals without getting angry, hungry, hangry, punchy – whatever you want to call it .

• You experience headaches, weight gain, sluggishness, constipation and random symptoms that make your day-to-day challenging.

• You can go three, four, five or even six hours without a snack and also not get hangry.

• You need afternoon pick-me-ups to get your brain working again.

• You don’t get ravenous, a feeling of intense hunger e.g. if you don’t eat in the next hour the world will end.

• You could eat and eat, and then eat some more, but still feel hungry 30-60 minutes later.

• You prefer high-fat foods over carb foods. • After exercising, especially long distance aerobic exercise, you don’t feel the need to replenish yourself as much as you used to & you won’t be dealing with plateaus anymore. • You feel copious amounts of energy. You feel a lot clearer about your energy, it will feel pure and good. • The energy you experience should be pretty even all day, no afternoon lulls and you’ll go through the evening without feeling totally exhausted and then have a rested sleep. • Your thoughts will become lighter, feeling less bogged down by emotional stress. Your brain feels able to cope with stress a lot better being fat-fueled.

• Post-meal bloat is a real thing! • About 30 minutes after eating, you experience intense sleepiness & need to nap or drink coffee. • No matter how hard you try to quit it, sugar keeps coming back into your life. • You have Candida and need to address it. • You know that your hormones are wonky - cystic acne, gaining weight, sleepiness, irritability, breast tenderness, irregular menstrual cycles. • You feel like you could gain weight just looking at cake - no matter how little you eat, the weight doesn’t budge. • You feel overwhelmed easily, lack of focus, trouble recalling names, crowded places are too much. • You think about food constantly.

EASY KETO LIFESTYLE

The Ultimate Ketogenic Guide

That is a very misinformed statement.

Is It Really Healthy To Have Too Few Carbs? Any one of the macronutrient fuels (carbohydrates, protein and fat) will make a molecule called adenosine triphosphate (ATP). ATP is essential for the body’s muscle fibrils to contract, without it your muscles, including your heart and the diaphragm that moves your lungs, won’t move. A lack of ATP leads quickly to a state called rigor mortis, which can really slow you down, so we want to avoid that! A diet high in carbohydrates has been shown to drive weight gain and many diseases such as, diabetes, autoimmune diseases, NAFLD, thyroiditis, neurodegenerative diseases and many more. This is caused by the presence of, and in most cases, the overproduction of insulin in response to carbohydrates. When the body is not using glucose as a fuel source (from dietary carbs or from excess protein), then your body is left with fat as a fuel source. In order for your body to use fat as its primary fuel source, it has to have much lower glucose in the bloodstream. This allows your liver to convert fat into ketone bodies in order to make those fancy ATP molecules we just spoke about in the beginning. Ketones don’t require insulin to form ATP and energy. This is super important, so hang onto this statement:

“Ketones don’t require insulin to create energy”. Insulin is often referred to as ‘the master hormone’. One of it’s jobs is to open the cells so that they can receive glucose when it’s present in the bloodstream. Glucose is spiked mostly from eating carbs and also protein. The overproduction of and high insulin levels, drives weight gain and all the dietary diseases of civilisation I mentioned above. You may have heard some people say, “you have to have carbohydrates, or you’ll die”…

reduces insulin spikes which also then stops storing fat. Fats and protein switch on satiety Of the 3 macronutrients, only two are essential hormone Leptin which allow you to go longer to live; protein and fat. Eating carbohydrates between meals. are not essential… and here’s why; 2. Better digestion - removing carbs and Glycogen is a form of glucose that any part grains reduce common irritant properties of the body can use and a small area of your within the digestive system. Bacterial brain is dependant on it but it only needs 100 overgrowth and IBS symptoms improve due grams per day. Your liver makes about 200to reduction in sugar. 280 grams of glycogen from processing fat alone, which is twice the amount you require! 3. Hormones are regulated - eating low-carb has been shown to balance neurotransmitter It’s important to note that deficiencies in function. It helps to improve serotonin levels protein or fat cause disease in humans and and therefore mood and balances the thyroid, other mammals, but there are no diseases adrenals and cholesterol levels naturally. that result from carbohydrate deficiency. You can live your whole life and not eat a single 4. Improved cognitive function - when carbohydrate and there is no disease that will glycogen stores are depleted the liver arise. produces ketone bodies into the blood which are used by our brain cells and muscle cells. So, it’s kind of interesting when you see that Healthy fats are essential for regulating our protein and fat tend to come together in hormones and mood and for brain function. the same package, e.g. steak, pork, bacon, sausages, fish, eggs, etc. 5. Reduced Risk of Heart Disease - current studies and many doctor/patient examples The first step in addressing many diseases is show that a low-carb diet is more effective and to get insulin back to its baseline and this is sustainable than a low-fat diet in reducing the done most effectively by restricting dietary risk of heart disease and metabolic syndrome. carbohydrate intake. The goal is to reduce carbohydrate intake to less than 20g per 6. The Risk for Developing Type 2 Diabetes day. When this is done correctly, blood sugar Decreases. Low-carb diets are comparable, drops into the normal range (60 to 100 mg/ if not better, than low-fat/high-carb diets dl) and fasting insulin returns to less than 5 for weight reduction, improvement in the mU/mL. dyslipidemia of diabetes and metabolic syndrome. Reducing carb intake and 7 BENEFITS OF LOW-CARB increasing healthy fat intake helps to control blood sugar, insulin secretion and Based on decades of research, low-carb diets postprandial glycemia. have been linked to benefits including: 7. Helps Fight Against Cancer - grains and 1. Speedy and healthy weight loss - without processed food is removed from the diet, counting calories, feeling hungry or battling reducing sugar dramatically if not entirely with severe cravings. Glycogen stores are eliminating, which feeds cancer cells. This kept very low/empty and body begins to use also causes oxidative stress in the body to go fat stores for energy. Carbs spike insulin, this down which improves immunity. leads to food cravings. The reduction in carbs

The Ultimate Ketogenic Guide

thinned, and I had Candida overgrowth and adrenal dysfunction. By restricting fat and calories so much I would end up bingeing on refined carbs and sugar, cravings were the worst! I’d previously struggled with my weight being too high, but now it had gotten too low, my face was puffy and the dreaded tummy fat would never budge.

IS ALL THAT FAT REALLY GOOD FOR YOU?

Fat makes up the outside layer of every cell in your body; our muscles need it, our hormones need it and without enough dietary fat we can end up with raging cravings for sugar, and boy do I know about that! When I started to look at eating keto, I was a tad scared. Not only at the fat-content but I was facing a serious moral dilemma about eating meat again.

E A SY K E TO LIF E ST YLE

I’m thinking, if you’re considering it, you’re probably a little scared too. But it’s now time to make fat your new best friend and here are 6 reasons why consuming high amounts of healthy dietary fats shouldn’t scare you anymore. You’ve shied away from eating it and spent countless hours burning it off at the gym. Fat makes you fat…right? Oh, quite the contrary! Healthy dietary fat is the bees knees, but my mindset on this didn’t just change overnight either. I was Head Cheerleader of the low-fat squad; skimmed milk, 0% fat yoghurt, using water to sauté vegetables or 1 calorie oil sprays. So, why the switch? I finally had to have a very honest conversation with myself, where I admitted that (up until the point I switched over to eating high-fat, low-carb) what I was doing was not working for me. I was vegetarian and although I considered my eating style “healthy”; I was obsessive, restrictive, I lacked energy and focus, my skin was a mess with acne breakouts, my nails were brittle, my hair

6 REASONS TO EAT GOOD FAT 1. Stable insulin and blood sugar - increasing fat and decreasing carb intake reduces the requirement for insulin in our body and this reduces our blood sugar levels. Our sugar/ carb cravings are then reduced and we don’t feel the need to eat every couple of hours, replenishing glucose, in order to keep energy levels up. Life no longer revolves around snacking and eating, as energy levels remain stable all day. 2. Balanced cholesterol levels – highdensity lipoproteins (HDL) and low-density lipoproteins (LDL) are molecules composed of fat and protein and are two major cholesterol transporters. HDL is known as the “good” cholesterol whereas LDL particles exist in different sizes; there are the large, fluffy, cotton-ball like molecules, and then there

are the small dense, pointy molecules. Think of the small pointy ones as tearing through your arteries – they’re the bad guys. By eating more healthy fats, we’re making lots of the big fluffy LDL and HDL molecules which have many important jobs including; making hormones such as oestrogen, progesterone, testosterone and DHEA; transfering nutrients to the brain, repairing damaged cells and maintaining the integrity of the cell to extend cell life; maintaining the integrity of the intestinal tract; helping with serotonin receptor firing, which is essential for feeling happy; assisting with vitamin D uptake, which is essential for healthy bones, nerves, muscle tone, insulin production, fertility and a strong immune system. 3. Lowered triglycerides - decreasing chances of heart disease. High triglycerides trigger the production of small LDL particles . 4. Balanced hormones - maintaining a healthy weight is a whole lot of a heck easier when hormones are balanced. Cholesterol assists in creating hormones, healthy fats balance the right kind of lipoproteins. 5. Caproic, caprylic, and capric fatty acids (MCTs) - contain antiviral and antibacterial properties which support the immune system, they also metabolise into ketone bodies rapidly (which comes with a whole list of its own benefits), they are the brain’s preferred fuel source. 6. Omega 3 fatty acids - are a crucial component of cell membranes regulating the function of receptors in these membranes, they serve as the basis of many hormones, they also regulate inflammation, blood clotting, and stimulate relaxation and contraction of artery walls. Finally, EPA and DHA are precursors to molecules that help and prevent several metabolic diseases.