VEGAN VS PROTEIN

He discovered he had symptoms of metabolic syndrome.

“I had two negative markers out of five and one marginal one, which meant I was very close to having metabolic syndrome or I had it! My waist measurement doubled was more than my height (indicator of visceral fat around my liver and other organs).” He decided to commit to IF on 1 Jan 2022.

“I recorded my weight every day, whether I went to the gym or went for a walk. While my overall goal was to be metabolically heathy, my aim was mainly to reduce weight and my waistline. I could get the added benefits of reduced insulin resistance, reduced inflammation and increased autophagy.

“It simply meant no eating i.e. fasting for 16 hours followed by an 8 hour eating window. (16/8). After a week I switched to an 18 hour fast with a 6 hour eating window (18/6). Occasionally, I’d do 20 hour fast with a 4 hour eating window.”

With no insulin in his body, the molecule that stops fat being utilised for energy, Darrell found he was consistently losing weight.

“I was burning fat for energy, 18 hours a day. By late 2022, at about 74kgs, I wanted to see if I could reach my weight from my university days…. 72kgs. One night one of my good mates and I decided to see what our BMI’s were. We were both overweight and even if I reached 72kg I needed to be 67.5 kg to get on the upper border of normal range!”

After more research… on vegan, Mediterranean, low carb, ketogenic and carnivore diets Darrell felt he couldn’t sustain a vegan diet (“besides many plants produce poisons so animals and insects won’t eat them!”) also, a Mediterranean diet had carbs which would spike insulin. A low carb Ketogenic diet was doable.

He gave Ketogenic diet a try in conjunction with IF, starting 1 Jan 2023.

Along with intermittent fasting (18/6) Darrell stuck to a Ketovore diet. A stricter forms of a low carb diet (< 50-100g per day). A Ketogenic diet utilises ketones converted from fat as a fuel source.

“I ate whole foods (no processed foods) until full and removed all processed vegetable seed oils from my diet. 75-80 per cent of energy came from good mono saturated fats e.g., butter, tallow, lard, suet. I also use olive/avocado oil, both good sources of Omega 3 and Omega 6 essential fatty acids.

“Twenty to twenty-five per cent calorific input is animal protein e.g., eggs, beef, lamb, pork, chicken, fish and shellfish. Meat, the ultimate in an elimination diet (if you suffer from allergies), provides all the essential amino acids in an easily used form for humans, and contains most of the vitamins and trace elements we require.”

At 65-66kg, with a 31 inches waistline, Darrell is in great shape now.

After exploding some myths/beliefs about better need for fibre, vitamins, eating meat causing cancer, mono saturated fats cause high triglycerides, LDL causes heart disease, Darrell decided to change things up.

“It’s quite difficult to undo 40 years of beliefs but my aim was to speed up weight loss and improve blood markers e.g., blood glucose, triglycerides and HDL. I had blood tests in January and late March to get some metrics on what my diet was doing to me!”

“My triglycerides have fallen well below 1.0 mmol/L and HDL is well over 2.0mmol/ L. Blood sugars dropped over 10 per cent from previous reading which was already within normal limits. I’ve experienced plenty of energy, very few aches/pains, mentally sharper, no allergies, illnesses and most importantly I can keep this going. It’s an achievable lifestyle change!”

Darrell’s advice: if you’ve struggled with your weight or are pre diabetic, talk to your doctor and give Ketovore a go!