When I was pregnant with my first baby, we went to see Daniel Tosh perform live in Cincinnati. I’m a huge fan. He said something interesting that stuck with me even though I was not dieting or watching my weight at the time. Come to find out he was quoting Kate Moss. “Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.”
Kate Moss is a super model and paid for her appearance. I get it. Prioritizing a pay check over bad food choices is a no-brainer. The longer I live gluten free and a ketogenic lifestyle, the more I have to agree with her. Despite the fact I have not reached my goals yet and am still a work in progress, I can attest to the fact of feeling so much better “skinnier”.
If “skinny” is my gut with no inflammation, then I concur! The questions about how I live without bread and pasta become easily answered. The abdominal pain and gas associated from eating gluten is agony. Yes, I occasionally cheat and eat something I know I shouldn’t. Yes, I severely pay for it with a hurt stomach. If you ever decide to try gluten free (even if no sensitivity or allergy), you will be amazed with the limited ability to fart. The intestines are just not as full of gas producing chemical reactions. This is not to say going gluten free will fix all your flatulence issues especially if you have other sensitives (dairy, etc.).
If “skinny” is a thinner me that can hold my children in my lap easier and have more energy to chase them, then agree with Kate again! The amount of energy I have from a high-fat diet is much more abundant than when I ate high-carbohydrate. Unfortunately, this doesn’t make me the energizer bunny. I still get tired and sleep like the dead. The days are just even more productive now. Before I would complain that I don’t understand how people find time to work out. Now I make working out a priority even if it impacts my much cherished sleep.
Being ketogenic works for me and a lot of others. I make no promise it will work for everyone. Depending on your goals and activity levels, know there are a couple of different ways to approach a ketogenic lifestyle . There are different types of keto dieting to try and decide what works best for you. In all cases, the benefits of the keto diet are still present.
Here are some of the types I’ll briefly describe below:
- Standard Ketogenic Diet (SKD)
- Targeted Ketogenic Diet (TKD)
- Cyclic Ketogenic Diet (CKD)
- Restricted Ketogenic Diet (RKD)
- High Protein Ketogenic Diet (HPKD)
The Standard Keto Diet is the most common. This is 5% carbs (20-50 g), 75% fat (high) and 20% protein (moderate) approximately. This is the keto diet in majority of discussions. SKD is most likely the place to start if trying a high fat diet. Learn how your body feels in a prolonged state of ketosis. Some people are more efficient at metabolizing fat same as how some are efficient at metabolizing carbohydrates. I’m not a great carbohydrate metabolizer.
Targeted and Cyclic Ketogenic Diets are mainly meant for athletes and body builders. They are very personalized and more tricky to monitor for determining exact macros, cyclic timings for your exact goals (gain muscle, lose fat, etc.). The wrong combination could give undesirable results. It would take time to perfect the diet for you.
If you’re able to work out, a targeted carb up about 30 mins prior to exercise may be beneficial. All the standard keto diet macros percentages still apply (5/75/20). The intake all your daily carbs is mostly at once (or close to it). It is important to pay extra close attention to any hidden carbs during the rest of the day so you stay in ketosis.
The results of glucose intake from fruit during my half marathon were pretty amazing. I may try glucose again during an extended run. Still staying away from fructose. The desired result is to replenish glycogen stores in the muscles with glucose.
The Cyclic Keto Diet is periods in and out of ketosis. While this too is meant especially for athletes, I’d imagine most veteran ketonians are cyclic with years of prolonged high fat diets. Whether it’s cyclic from adding additional vegetables or fruits to their diet on occasion, a cheat meal or from fasting after a carb up. The CKD is meant to allow continuation of building lean body mass while still maximizing fat loss. Generally this is a day or two of carb-loading (450-600 g carbs) followed by SKD. The macro percentage consumption goes from standard ketogenic (5/75/20) to a high carbohydrate (75/5/20) back to SKD. To put this carb-loading into prospective, a standard American diet is 225-325 g of carbs per day (50/30/20).
My husband has been doing the SKD with much success, but has noticed a reduction of strength at the gym. Fat loss, in general, is easier for him than me with any diet we’ve ever tried. I tend to focus on cardio, but my long term goals will be to start building some muscle mass as well. I believe once Daniel reaches his weight goal, doing CKD will be better for him for longevity and maintaining his body building goals as well as staying lean. I’m more likely to try TKD next and will definitely post about the differences when I do.
The Restricted Keto Diet (RKD) is additionally reducing calories. The macros are the same (5/75/20). This form of eating is used in conjunction with intermittent fasting at hospitals to test against various conditions/diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, autism, depression, migraines, epilepsy, chronic fatigue syndrome, polycystic ovarian syndrome (POS) and cancer. The research with ketogenic diet and cancer is fascinating. Scientist still have a ways to go, but the possibilities seem astonishing especially in conjunction with treatments. Here’s a few articles if you’re interested:
- Keto for Cancer
- The calorically restricted ketogenic diet, an effective alternative therapy for malignant brain cancer.
- Keto and Cancer: What Does the Science Say?
The High Protein Ketogenic Diet is pretty much what the name suggest. Higher fat than carbohydrates, but higher protein then SKD. The macro ratio is approximately 5% carbs, 60% fat and 35% protein (5/60/35). Higher protein may be needed for body builders. This again is very individualized and would require monitoring against goals. Higher protein requirements can been needed for chronically ill (any disease with muscular atrophy) and elderly as well.
Whatever diet/eating lifestyle you chose, just try to eat real/clean whole/organic foods. I truly believe a keto lifestyle could benefit most. I recently ordered a ketone blood monitor so I will be playing with my diet and exercise to test my own personalized limits. I’ll track results and share! Time to ketoize the world!