Ketogenic Dieting
The following are bits and pieces of a few weeks of low carb dieting thoughts for your consideration.
< I am interested in Lyle's or Rob's books, but more interested in what you'll be eating. Will you post some of your menu plans?>
I doubt if I'll be very creative for a while. It's a big change at a busy time of year, so will probably go very basic, especially since that's what Dave likes also. I'll start goofing around with low carb recipes after a couple of weeks probably or whenever any boredom sets in, but meanwhile it's BACK TO BASICS.
I don't plan to count calories at all during the first week, but once I've settled in, I'll target 1500 calories/day, which is a 400 calorie cut. As I wrote earlier, vitamin/minerals, electrolyte powder, MSM, glucosamine, chondroitin, psillium seed husks for fiber, flax seed or flax seed oil for EFAs - that type of thing will be once, some twice a day without fail. Water, water, water.
My guess is on Saturday I'll be eating scrambled eggs for breakfast. Probably have a hamburger patty for an early lunch, maybe a can of tuna and a hard boiled egg for a snack. Probably have a couple pieces of jerky for another snack. Probably have dinner with Dave which will be possibly steaks or broiled chicken with a large cut vegetable salad with oil and vinegar. Dave will have a baked potato, which will be the only difference. If I get hungry again (doubtful) I'll have more jerky.
Very likely this will very boringly last with few variations thru the week just for simplicity's sake, and I'll start scouting around for recipes the week after. Laree
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Well if you're interested I'll share with you a typical days diet for me. Breakfast is either 4 strips of bacon and 3 or 4 eggs or a "scramble" (all cooked in real butter). The scramble consists of 3 or 4 eggs, 2 oz of ham, diced sauteed red onions, bell peppers, red peppers, green chilis and an ounce or two of cheese. This topped with real sour cream and salsa. Usually have a 2 oz glass of milk with 1/4 cup of protein powder. And a cup of coffee.
Mid-morning snack is a 1/3 of a protein bar and saome Macadamia nuts.
Lunch is a 6 oz can of tuna with mayo and slices of cheese.
Afternoon snack is same as mid-morning's and I may have two snacks.
Dinner starts with a large green salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, sunflower seeds and balsamic vinegar or blue cheese dressing. The main course is either steak, a fish fillet, checken breast or hamburger patty and one or two vegetables.
Several evening snacks consist of slices of cheese, almonds, walnuts, macadamia nuts and pork rinds. Also have a glass of milk with protein powder again.
Also do pyslium husks (1 tablespoon) three times a day (the unrefined Colon Cleanse brand) with meals. I make it palatable with a partial teespoon of Crystal Light. I take quite a few vitamins plus shark cartilege, chondroitin, glucosamine and Citracal. And I drink lots and lots of water. I may not be eating enough but I don't feel like eating any more. It may not be perfect but it has been good enough for a 58 pound loss in 4 months. Chuck
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When I was on the ketogenic diet I generally ate bacon with egg omelets for beakfast, a zero carb nutition bar mid morning. For lunch I had tuna and mayonaise with salad and dressing, mid-afternoon I had a protein shake and some cheese strings. Dinner was a burger/fish/chicken/steak accompanied with lots of mayonnaise and salad. Before bed I had a tub of cottage cheese. I cycled this diet on a 2 week on (in ketosis) with a 1 day carb reload (yum).. Seth
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<Is there any way one can achieve weight loss on the Atkins/Ketogenic by eating less fat and a bit more "clean"? The heavy cream Jello dessert sounds delicious but I know many are shaking their heads in distress.>
From what I know, absolutely. First, Lyle's Ketogenic Diet book is more of an overview of the studies done on low carb diets, describing the facts as known. It's not really a diet plan, as are the Atkins, Protein Power, Carb Addicts Diet, Zone and Beyond the Zone.
Second, Lyle firmly believes that fat loss, whether low carb or low fat is dependant upon calorie vs. energy balance. Other authors don't think so, or think that due to appetite suppression, calorie intake will be naturally lowered. Many long term low carbers don't think that high fat intake slows their fat loss, but I think everyone would agree that less calories would increase the pace of the fat loss. Other low carbers find that they have a fat loss for 4-5 weeks before it stalls and they have to go to a more balanced diet for a week or so and dip back down in order to restart it.
It seems that the idea is to increase the fat intake at least for the first couple of weeks while you're training your body to burn fat better. Whether this is true or not, I don't know. But I do know that for many, suddenly having higher fat foods permissible takes away some or all of the longing for high carb foods. For me - WOW, CHEESE! - makes me not notice the 'no bread." I loosely figure that I can take care of excess fatty foods in a week or two. One thing is VERY clear - any crazy food longing appetite I might have had last week is GONE this week. Laree
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<High fat goes against everything I know for putting into my mouth - can anyone help here?>
My feeling on this is that anyone who's not ready to take a step into the fat eating realm should probably steer clear of the ketogenic diet. If you consider that you'll take in around 100 calories of carbs, you have to make up the difference with protein and fat. My protein intake - which is hard to maintain - is between 500-600 calories. The balance is fat - no choice. If you're not willing or able to take in 800-1200 calories of fat (or more in a lot of cases), you'll go into starvation mode, slow your metabolism and/or literally feed off your hard earned muscle tissue.
I may be wrong, but as I've learned it, you can't have both worlds if you're going low carb and strength training. Laree
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My recommendation to anyone following the Atkins diet who is experiencing hunger pangs and low levels of energy is to eat loads of fat and zero carbs. I found that I lost more fat because I was put into a deepend state of ketosis and I had more energy. Seth
Click here to learn about training on a low carb, ketogenic diet
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