Keto: Did It Work For You?

The ketogenic, or keto, diet is a low-carb, high-fat diet that aims to put your body into a state of ketosis. While the keto diet has been shown to be effective for short-term weight loss, it may not be any better than low-fat diets that allow for more carbs in the long run. The diet is also quite restrictive, which can make it difficult to follow and sustain over time.

The keto diet involves eating high-fat, high-protein foods such as avocado, seafood, eggs, and full-fat dairy, while avoiding whole grains and other high-carb foods like sweets, pasta, and bread. This diet can lead to improvements in blood sugar, weight loss, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels. However, it may not work for everyone, and there are some potential health risks associated with it, including nutritional deficiencies, kidney problems, and increased cholesterol.

Additionally, the keto diet can be challenging to maintain due to extreme carbohydrate restriction, and it may cause side effects such as hunger, fatigue, low mood, irritability, and constipation. It is also important to note that the keto diet is not suitable for everyone, and certain individuals with specific medical conditions or athletic performance goals should consult a healthcare professional before starting this diet.

Overall, while the keto diet may be beneficial for some, it is not a one-size-fits-all solution, and making small changes and tracking progress can help individuals find an approach that works best for them.

Weight loss

The keto diet is a low-carbohydrate method of eating. It is often referred to as a ketogenic diet. The body has many ways to store energy, but two of the most common are glycogen and ketones. Glycogen is formed from carbohydrates, while ketones are derived from fat. The body prefers glycogen because it requires less energy to make. When we ingest carbs, they immediately get turned into glucose and the body does one of three things:

• If our blood glucose is low, they will immediately be used to increase the blood glucose level.
• If our blood glucose is normal, but our glycogen reserves are not at capacity, it will convert the glucose into glycogen, which is stored in the liver, and partly the muscle, for later use.
• If our blood glucose is normal, and our glycogen reserves are full, the glucose is converted into a triglyceride which is then stored in fat tissue.
• If our blood glucose is high, you are either insulin resistant or your pancreas is not functioning properly.

This whole process is regulated by our pancreas, which secretes two hormones, insulin and glucagon. Insulin signals the body to reduce the blood glucose level by telling adipose fat tissue to take in the extra blood glucose and store it away as fat. Glucagon signals the body to increase blood glucose level by telling the liver to release glucose into the bloodstream. The problem with eating a carbohydrate-rich diet is that we are constantly adding a bunch of glucose into our system, which is then causing "insulin spikes" to try and tame our rapidly skyrocketing blood glucose level. Unless we have depleted our glycogen reserves, this insulin response causes the glucose to be immediately stored as fat. Even more scary, though, is if we keep doing this long enough, there is a possibility to develop insulin resistance. Now you are pre-diabetic.

This repetitive spiking of insulin any time we eat causes us to almost always have an elevated level of insulin. The elevated level of insulin actually prevents us from converting fat into energy, because the insulin is signaling the body to do the exact opposite. This is why on a carbohydrate-heavy diet, you become lethargic and sleepy if you don't eat. Your body is so reliant on a constant stream of glucose that you become very inefficient at actually converting stored fat back into a usable form of energy.

So how do we break this cycle and get our body back on track? Eat fewer carbs. So now that we understand how the glucose pathway (glycolosis), let's discuss the less-known, and less-used ketone pathway (ketogenesis).

So if you think back to biology, you might remember things called mitochondria, the citric acid cycle, and ATP. Basically, mitochondria use the citric acid cycle and an input, either Pyruvate, which is derived from glucose, or Acetyl-CoA, which is a ketone body. They both can be used to create ATP, the energy of our body, but they come from very different pathways.

Ketone bodies are produced when the body is depleted of carbohydrate stores such as glycogen, and there is a low level of blood glucose. When our body gets to this point, it realizes it needs some way to create energy (ATP), but it has to start using a secondary method of getting ATP. This is where ketogenesis comes into play. The body can use Acetyl-CoA, which is a ketone, to fuel the citric acid cycle. At this point, you might be wondering how the body manages to maintain a safe blood glucose level?

When in ketosis, the blood glucose level is maintained through a process called gluconeogenesis. Gluconeogenesis is a process by which the body can generate glucose from fatty acids. The fatty acids are provided by our diet and fat stores. So by not eating carbs, we are forcing our body to derive glucose and ATP from forms of fat. All the while, because we are not bombarding our metabolism with glucose from carbs, we have a very small and very stable amount of insulin in our systems. If you remember back to what insulin does, it effectively tells our body to pull glucose out of the bloodstream and store it; so with low-stable insulin levels, this means we have a very small opportunity to store fat while in ketosis.

Another benefit of being in ketosis is that now our ketone pathway is firing on all cylinders, and there is no insulin to hinder the retrieval of fatty acids from fat stores. We are able to very efficiently create energy from the fat stores that we have. This is why intermittent fasting is such a great complement to keto. This is also where the "clean-energy" feeling comes from. Even if we go for 12+ hours without eating, it is possible to not feel sleepy or lethargic while in ketosis because the body has a readily available supply of fat that it can pump into the ketone pathway. There are also many other benefits of intermittent fasting, such as autophagy, which is a process the body uses to do "house cleaning", basically, the body recycles dysfunctional cells.

To summarise the main benefits of keto are:

• It manipulates your metabolism to a state where converting fat into energy is extremely easy.
• It regulates insulin production and prevents or even corrects insulin resistance.
• It provides very consistent and clean energy levels by stabilising insulin production and promoting the use of fat stores as energy in periods of fasting.

So even though it is possible to lose weight using a normal calorie-restricted approach, the keto approach is much more conducive to weight loss because it promotes the burning of fat as energy. It also allows you to eat more calories because the ketone pathway is overall less efficient than the glucose pathway, in terms of ATP/calorie. This goes back to the path of least resistance thing.

Energy levels

The keto diet has been hailed by some as a solution to constant tiredness and low energy levels. The high-fat, low-carb approach is said to provide a constant, steady stream of energy without the peaks and troughs of a high-carb diet.

The keto diet puts your body into a metabolic state called ketosis, where it uses fat instead of carbohydrates as its main source of energy. This means your body will be tapping into its fat stores for energy, rather than relying on a constant intake of carbs.

Transitioning to Keto

Transitioning to a keto diet can be challenging, and it may take a few days or even weeks for your body to adjust. During this time, you may experience the \"keto flu", with symptoms such as stomach aches, nausea, irritability, confusion, and brain fog. It is recommended to take it easy during this period and not exert yourself too much mentally or physically.

Once you have made the switch to ketosis, you will likely notice a difference in your energy levels. You may feel more energised and experience increased focus and mental clarity. The stable energy levels provided by the keto diet can also help combat the afternoon energy slumps that are common with a high-carb diet.

Working Out on Keto

If you are working out regularly, you may find that ketones alone are not enough to meet your energy needs. In this case, consuming a small amount of honey or other carbohydrates about 20-30 minutes before your workout can provide the boost you need. However, this should not be done regularly, as your body should be able to produce the glucose it needs for extreme power output.

Other Tips for Maintaining Energy on Keto

• Balance your electrolytes: Keto is a natural diuretic, so it is important to stay hydrated and consume proper electrolytes.
• Consume ample fat for energy: Fat is what your body needs to produce energy, so make sure you are getting enough in your diet.
• Exogenous ketones: Introducing exogenous ketones at the start of your keto journey can help give you an energy boost.
• Caffeine: Caffeine can stimulate thermogenesis and provide an energy boost, but use it sparingly as it may negatively impact your sleep.
• Prioritise sleep: Getting enough sleep is crucial for maintaining energy levels on any diet.

Cravings

Psychological factors

Our environment—what we see, smell, hear, taste, and touch—can stimulate cravings, even if our nutritional needs are 100% satisfied. Hunger is also habitual. If you eat a bowl of ice cream every night at 9 PM, your body will start anticipating that ritual.

Physical factors

Carb cravings result from a reduction in carbohydrate intake, which leads to a decrease in blood glucose. To compensate, the body activates glucose backup systems, but this doesn't happen immediately, leading to a low blood sugar state called hypoglycemia, which triggers hunger. Sugar withdrawal can also trigger cravings, as eating sugar activates similar areas of the brain as addictive drugs.

Tips to control cravings

• Control your environment: Keep carbs out of the house if possible. If that’s not possible, keep them out of sight.
• Eat low-carb vegetables: Include nutrient-dense, low-carb veggies like kale, spinach, broccoli, and asparagus in your meals.
• Get enough sleep: Sleep deprivation increases the hunger hormone, ghrelin. Aim for seven to nine hours of sleep per night.
• Hydrate with water and electrolytes: On a keto diet, fluid and electrolyte needs increase. Thirst can sometimes be mistaken for hunger, and sodium cravings can be mistaken for carb cravings.
• Don't restrict calories: The initial phase of keto isn't well-suited to calorie restriction. With your body adapting to a new fuel source, cravings will be inevitable.
• Allow time to keto-adapt: Adapting to using fat for energy can take time, and cravings may occur during this transition.
• Balance blood sugar: A well-managed keto diet can help support blood sugar levels. Consume balanced meals of high-quality protein, healthy fats, and low-carb veggies to maintain healthy blood sugar and keep cravings at bay.
• Consume healthy fats: Dietary fat is crucial for satiety and can help prevent overeating.
• Focus on protein: Like healthy fats, high-quality protein is satiating and leaves you feeling fuller for longer.
• Manage stress: Stress can lead to cravings for sugary foods. Cultivating healthy habits like spending time in nature, meditating, and nurturing relationships can help minimise stress.
• Adjust your macros: If you're struggling with symptoms or weight loss plateaus, consider reassessing your macros. Play around with your daily carb intake—there's no shame in adding back some carbs to reduce cravings.

Health risks

The keto diet is a low-carb, high-fat diet that has been around since the 1920s as a treatment for epilepsy. It is also touted as a remedy for everything from infertility to type 2 diabetes and promoted as a way to lose weight. While the keto diet can be effective for quick weight loss, it also has several health risks and side effects that people should be aware of before starting this diet. Here are some of the health risks associated with the keto diet:

• Kidney problems: The keto diet may increase the risk of kidney stones and can be dangerous for people with kidney disease. High-fat animal foods, such as eggs, meat, and cheese, are staples of the keto diet, and consuming a lot of these foods can make your blood and urine more acidic, leading to increased excretion of calcium in your urine and a higher risk of kidney stones.
• Nutrient deficiencies: The keto diet restricts several nutrient-dense foods, including fruits, whole grains, and legumes. This may lead to deficiencies in vitamins and minerals such as calcium, vitamin D, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and vitamin C.
• Gastrointestinal issues: Common side effects of the keto diet include gastrointestinal problems like constipation, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting. Diarrhea is more frequent, potentially due to the body's difficulty in absorbing the high-fat content of the diet.
• Dehydration: As the keto diet can cause water loss before fat loss, dehydration is a possible early side effect. Dehydration can lead to symptoms such as dark-colored urine, dizziness, fatigue, and decreased energy.
• Heart disease risk: The keto diet is associated with an increase in "bad" LDL cholesterol, which is linked to heart disease. The diet's high saturated fat content can also increase the risk of heart disease if people consume excessive amounts of unhealthy fats.
• Bone health: The keto diet has been linked to impaired bone health and decreased bone mineral density in some studies. This could lead to a higher risk of fractures and other bone-related issues.
• Serious muscle loss: Some studies suggest that people on the keto diet may experience muscle loss, even when they continue resistance training. This could decrease functional strength and increase the risk of falls, especially in older adults.
• Blood sugar issues: The keto diet may cause dangerously low blood sugar levels, especially in people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Carbohydrates help control blood sugar levels, so a low-carb keto diet may increase the risk of hypoglycemia, which can lead to coma and death if not treated.
• Social isolation and disordered eating: Strict diets like keto could lead to social isolation and disordered eating patterns due to the restrictive nature of the diet and the challenges of adhering to it.
• Other health risks: The keto diet has also been linked to constipation, fuzzy thinking, mood swings, high cholesterol, and an increased risk of chronic diseases and early death.

Longevity

The ketogenic diet is a low-carbohydrate method of eating. It is a lifestyle change that can be difficult to maintain, but it has been proven to be effective for weight loss. The diet works by manipulating your metabolism to a state where converting fat into energy is extremely easy. It also regulates insulin production and prevents or even corrects insulin resistance.

The body has many ways to store energy, but two of the most common are glycogen and ketones. Glycogen is formed from carbohydrates, while ketones are derived from fat. The body prefers glycogen because it requires less energy to make, but when we ingest carbs, they immediately get turned into glucose and the body does one of three things:

• If our blood glucose is low, they will immediately be used to increase the blood glucose level.
• If our blood glucose is normal, but our glycogen reserves are not at capacity, it will convert the glucose into glycogen, which is stored in the liver, and partly the muscle, for later use.
• If our blood glucose is normal, and our glycogen reserves are full, the glucose is converted into a triglyceride which is then stored in fat tissue.
• If our blood glucose is high, you are either insulin resistant or your pancreas is not functioning properly. You have bigger problems.

This whole process is regulated by our pancreas, which secretes two hormones, insulin and glucagon. Insulin signals the body to reduce the blood glucose level by telling adipose fat tissue to take in the extra blood glucose and store it away as fat. Glucagon signals the body to increase blood glucose level by telling the liver to release glucose into the bloodstream (glycogen is what it uses to make the glucose). The problem with eating a carbohydrate-rich diet is that we are constantly adding a bunch of glucose into our system, which is then causing "insulin spikes" to try and tame our rapidly skyrocketing blood glucose level. Unless we have depleted our glycogen reserves, this insulin response causes the glucose to be immediately stored as fat. Even more scary, though, is if we keep doing this long enough, there is a possibility to develop an insulin resistance. Now you are pre-diabetic.

This repetitive spiking of insulin any time we eat causes us to almost always have an elevated level of insulin. The elevated level of insulin actually prevents us from converting fat into energy, because the insulin is signaling the body to do the exact opposite. This is why on a carbohydrate-heavy diet, you become lethargic and sleepy if you don't eat. Your body is so reliant on a constant stream of glucose that you become very inefficient at actually converting stored fat back into a usable form of energy.

So how do we break this cycle and get our body back on track? Eat fewer carbs. So now that we understand how the glucose pathway (glycolosis), let's discuss the less-known, and less-used ketone pathway (ketogenesis).

So if you think back to biology, you might remember things called mitochondria, the citric acid cycle, and ATP. Basically, mitochondria use the citric acid cycle and an input, either Pyruvate, which is derived from glucose, or Acetyl-CoA, which is a ketone body. They both can be used to create ATP, the energy of our body, but they come from very different pathways.

Ketone bodies are produced when the body is depleted of carbohydrate stores such as glycogen, and there is a low level of blood glucose. When our body gets to this point, it realizes it needs some way to create energy (ATP), but it has to start using a secondary method of getting ATP. This is where ketogenesis comes into play. The body can use Acetyl-CoA, which is a ketone, to fuel the citric acid cycle. At this point, you might be wondering how the body manages to maintain a safe blood glucose level?

When in ketosis, the blood glucose level is maintained through a process called gluconeogenesis. Gluconeogenesis is a process by which the body can generate glucose from fatty acids. The fatty acids are provided by our diet and fat stores (love handles). So by not eating carbs, we are forcing our body to derive glucose and ATP from forms of fat. All the while, because we are not bombarding our metabolism with glucose from carbs, we have a very small and very stable amount of insulin in our systems. If you remember back to what insulin does, it effectively tells our body to pull glucose out of the bloodstream and store it, so with low-stable insulin levels, this means we have very little opportunity to store fat while in ketosis.

Another benefit of being in ketosis is that now our ketone pathway is firing on all cylinders, and there is no insulin to hinder the retrieval of fatty acids from fat stores. We are able to very efficiently create energy from the fat stores that we have. This is why intermittent fasting is such a great complement to keto. This is also where the "clean-energy" feeling comes from. Even if we go for 12+ hours without eating, it is possible to not feel sleepy or lethargic while in ketosis because the body has a readily available supply of fat that it can pump into the ketone pathway. There are also many other benefits of intermittent fasting, such as autophagy, which is a process the body uses to do "house cleaning", basically, the body recycles dysfunctional cells.

To summarize, the main benefits of keto are:

• It manipulates your metabolism to a state where converting fat into energy is extremely easy.
• It regulates insulin production and prevents or even corrects insulin resistance.
• It provides very consistent and clean energy levels by stabilizing insulin production and promoting the use of fat stores as energy in periods of fasting.

So even though it is possible to lose weight using a normal calorie-restricted approach, the keto approach is much more conducive to weight loss because it promotes the burning of fat as energy. It also allows you to eat more calories because the ketone pathway is overall less efficient than the glucose pathway, in terms of ATP/calorie. This goes back to the path of least resistance thing.

Frequently asked questions