KETO or not to KETO
Guessing it was around 15 months ago we were in Cozumel on a big dive trip with family and friends. We kicked it up big time. As usual hundreds and hundreds of pics were taken and archived off. I went through the mix deleting redundant / duplicate pics and stumbled across one of what appeared to be me. I was in complete shock. Getting out of the pool, my belly was yanked further down by gravity showing me what I really looked like, when not sucking it in. It was ugly.
Buddy of mine, Steve Foster was on that trip smiling and relaxing, leaner than I'd seen him in well... forever. Turns out he was on a KETO diet and down about 40 lbs that trip (more since). In my mind I was thinking I'd heard of this before and it wasn't good. But his quick overview of it sent me to the 'net when I got home. And most if not everything I read was good. My biggest concern was the potential of losing muscle over fat, but it appeared my concerns were null and void.
So it began. Before I say anything, I'm a believer that ALL diets fail, if they are utilized for the sole purpose of losing weight. A diet intake has to be a lifestyle for it to truly succeed long-term. Back in the day when I competed in bodybuilding, was a perfect example. I dieted hard 90 to 120 days out from a competition, doing unsustainable calories and staples, only to return to my pre comp weight soon afterwards ( which wasn't a bad thing, back then). Still, I was reading how this was sustainable. How you never get hungry. How there were huge health benefits. So, I'm in.
In my viewpoint, there is hard core KETO ( by the book ) and 'dirty' KETO. I follow the latter. I don't count Macros. I don't count calories. I simply cut out processed crap. Cut out refined sugar. Cut out breads and pastas. Then, it happens. The simplest explanation I have of the KETOsis diet plan is by minimizing carbs, your body turns to it's own fats to burn as fuel. The crazy hard part to wrap one's head around is taking in 'good fats' in one's KETO diet is a good thing and speeds up the process. Also, eliminating good sugars like those from most fruits and some vegetables is hard to grasp, but all makes sense when we realize all sugars, can keep your body from burning fats, your body utilizes for fuel.
It's that simple. Almost. There are some things out there I just love. A good burger. A really good pizza. Some killer pasta dishes. Most breads I don't care about, but doesn't a good burger need a bun? I've learned to go 'protein style' (basically a lettuce wrapped burger), but yes I miss it (and fries!). And Tacos.... gotta have a corn or flour shell, right!? Most of these things there are work around for, but at the core there are some foods most of us have learned to love. Still, we can have steaks and bacon and chicken and ribs and .. .. well.. PROTEIN! Its crazy how many sides we have though that .... you can't on KETO though. But, it's doable of course.
Well, here I am 15 months later and my weight is down almost 40 lbs from where I was when this KETO journey began. I have to admit, I've wandered off the reservation of KETO often the last month. But, I'm married to my scale for indicators. I've never been a fan of the scale and prefer to believe more in how one's clothes fit, or using the belly itself as an indicator. I mean, If one has a six pack (I don't), I argue who gives a shit what that scale says, right? So today, I'm focused on staying under 290 while I juggle the gym, and 'good eating' with minimal carbs, for results. I'm keeping KETO in my back pocket to use as necessary. It works.. maybe for the wrong reasons.. .but it works. Especially for those that don't want to count calories or hit the gym. It just does.
But deep down, I know the best way to eat. I know the lifestyle I want to live. But, I also know that I need to be at a lower body weight that I currently am now When I retired from the USAF over 20 years ago, I was almost 30 lbs under my current weight. I'm guessing my 'perfect' weight is near that weight so I have a new goal. My big B'day is on the horizon come late summer. Goal? To be at or under 263lbs. Just Because. Real trick is to do it 'correctly' via the gym and lower calories.
Six months to go. That's five lbs a month of fat loss. Simple, right?
Buddy of mine, Steve Foster was on that trip smiling and relaxing, leaner than I'd seen him in well... forever. Turns out he was on a KETO diet and down about 40 lbs that trip (more since). In my mind I was thinking I'd heard of this before and it wasn't good. But his quick overview of it sent me to the 'net when I got home. And most if not everything I read was good. My biggest concern was the potential of losing muscle over fat, but it appeared my concerns were null and void.
So it began. Before I say anything, I'm a believer that ALL diets fail, if they are utilized for the sole purpose of losing weight. A diet intake has to be a lifestyle for it to truly succeed long-term. Back in the day when I competed in bodybuilding, was a perfect example. I dieted hard 90 to 120 days out from a competition, doing unsustainable calories and staples, only to return to my pre comp weight soon afterwards ( which wasn't a bad thing, back then). Still, I was reading how this was sustainable. How you never get hungry. How there were huge health benefits. So, I'm in.
In my viewpoint, there is hard core KETO ( by the book ) and 'dirty' KETO. I follow the latter. I don't count Macros. I don't count calories. I simply cut out processed crap. Cut out refined sugar. Cut out breads and pastas. Then, it happens. The simplest explanation I have of the KETOsis diet plan is by minimizing carbs, your body turns to it's own fats to burn as fuel. The crazy hard part to wrap one's head around is taking in 'good fats' in one's KETO diet is a good thing and speeds up the process. Also, eliminating good sugars like those from most fruits and some vegetables is hard to grasp, but all makes sense when we realize all sugars, can keep your body from burning fats, your body utilizes for fuel.
It's that simple. Almost. There are some things out there I just love. A good burger. A really good pizza. Some killer pasta dishes. Most breads I don't care about, but doesn't a good burger need a bun? I've learned to go 'protein style' (basically a lettuce wrapped burger), but yes I miss it (and fries!). And Tacos.... gotta have a corn or flour shell, right!? Most of these things there are work around for, but at the core there are some foods most of us have learned to love. Still, we can have steaks and bacon and chicken and ribs and .. .. well.. PROTEIN! Its crazy how many sides we have though that .... you can't on KETO though. But, it's doable of course.
Well, here I am 15 months later and my weight is down almost 40 lbs from where I was when this KETO journey began. I have to admit, I've wandered off the reservation of KETO often the last month. But, I'm married to my scale for indicators. I've never been a fan of the scale and prefer to believe more in how one's clothes fit, or using the belly itself as an indicator. I mean, If one has a six pack (I don't), I argue who gives a shit what that scale says, right? So today, I'm focused on staying under 290 while I juggle the gym, and 'good eating' with minimal carbs, for results. I'm keeping KETO in my back pocket to use as necessary. It works.. maybe for the wrong reasons.. .but it works. Especially for those that don't want to count calories or hit the gym. It just does.
But deep down, I know the best way to eat. I know the lifestyle I want to live. But, I also know that I need to be at a lower body weight that I currently am now When I retired from the USAF over 20 years ago, I was almost 30 lbs under my current weight. I'm guessing my 'perfect' weight is near that weight so I have a new goal. My big B'day is on the horizon come late summer. Goal? To be at or under 263lbs. Just Because. Real trick is to do it 'correctly' via the gym and lower calories.
Six months to go. That's five lbs a month of fat loss. Simple, right?
Ketogenic diet
The
ketogenic diet is a high-fat, adequate-protein, low-carbohydrate diet
that in medicine is used primarily to treat difficult-to-control
epilepsy in children. The diet forces the body to burn fats rather than
carbohydrates.
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