Keto Life Day 15

So today is Day 15 of being on the Ketogenic Diet and we feel AMAZING!! Tons of energy and mental clarity! For those of you unsure what this  is here is a little info on the diet::

 A Keto Diet is well known for being a low carb diet, where the body produces ketones in the liver to be used as energy. It’s referred to as many different names – ketogenic diet, low carb diet, low carb high fat (LCHF), etc. When you eat something high in carbs, your body will produce glucose and insulin. Glucose is the easiest molecule for your body to convert and use as energy, so it will be chosen over any other energy source. Insulin is produced to process the glucose in your bloodsteam, by taking it around the body. Since the glucose is being used as a primary energy, your fats are not needed, and are therefore stored. Typically on a normal, higher carbohydrate diet, the body will use glucose as the main form of energy.

By lowering the intake of carbs, the body is induced into a state known as ketosis. Ketosis is a natural process the body initiates to help us survive when food intake is low. During this state, we produce ketones, which are produced from the breakdown of fats in the liver.
The end goal of a properly maintained keto diet is to force your body into this metabolic state. We don’t do this through starvation of calories, but through starvation of carbohydrates. Our bodies are extremely adaptive to what you put into it – when you overload it with fats and take away carbohydrates, it will begin to burn ketones as the main energy source.

We have no cravings and have seen drastic improvements in our overall health. Our macro breakdown is 75% Fats, 15% Proteins and 5%carbs (most carbs being net carbs from the fats, proteins and veggies). Im sure you are wondering what the heck we are eating if we arent eating carbs right?? There are actually tons of foods we can eat! The important thing with this diet is to make sure you are eating the right kind of fats and carefully tracking your macros and daily calorie intake. Below is a list of some ketogenic friendly foods you can have.

    FATS & OILS
 

You want to have a balance between your Omega-3’s and Omega-6’s, so eating things like wildsalmon, tuna, trout, and shellfish can help provide a balanced diet of Omega-3’s.

If you don’t like fish, or just prefer not to eat it, I suggest taking a small fish oil supplement. You can also take krill oil for Omega-3’s if you are allergic. 

Saturated and monounsaturated fats such as butter, macadamia nuts, avocado, egg yolks, and coconut oil are more chemically stable and less inflammatory to most people, so they are preferred. Fats and oils can be combined in a number of different ways to add to your meals – sauces, dressings, or just simple topping off a piece of meat with butter.

If you tend to fry things up, try to go after non-hydrogenated lards, beef tallow, ghee, or coconut oil, since they have higher smoke points than other oils. This allows less oxidization of the oils, which means you get more Essential Fatty Acids.Try to avoid any hydrogenated fats, such as margarine, to minimize your trans fat intake. There have been studies linking it to higher chances of coronary heart disease. If you’re using vegetable oils (olive, soybean, flax, or safflower) choose the “cold pressed” options if they are available.

Keep an eye on your intake for nut or seed based foods, as they can be quite high in inflammatory Omega-6’s – these include things like almonds, walnuts, pine nuts, sunflower oil and corn oil.

Some ketogenic diet foods that are great for fats and oils (organic and grass-fed sources are preferred):

-Avocado
-Beef tallow
-Butter
-Chicken Fat
-Ghee
-Macadamia Nuts
-Mayonnaise (watch out for added carbs)
-Olive Oil
-Coconut Oil
-Coconut Butter
-Peanut Butter

PROTEINS

-Fish. Preferably eating anything that is caught wild like catfish, cod, flounder, halibut, mackerel, mahi-mahi, salmon, snapper, trout, and tuna.
-Shellfish. Clams, oysters, lobster, crab, scallops, mussels, and squid
-Whole Eggs. Try to get them free-range from the local market if possible. You can prepare them in a number of different ways like fried, deviled, boiled, poached, and scrambled
-Meat. Beef, Veal, Goat, Lamb, and other wild game. Grass fed is preferred as it has a better fatty acid count.
-Pork. Pork loin, pork chops, and ham. Watch out for added sugars in ham.
-Poultry. Chicken, Duck, Quail, Pheasant. Free range or organic is the best choice here if possible.
-Bacon and Sausage. Check labels for anything cured in sugar, or if it contains extra fillers.
-Peanut Butter. Go for natural peanut butter, but be careful as they have high counts of Omega-6’s and carbohydrates. Try to opt for macadamia nut butter if you can.

VEGGIES

On a Ketogenic diet you want to stick to Leafy Greens. Vegetables are an extremely important part of a healthy diet, but sometimes we’re stuck with decisions we might regret later. Some vegetables are high in sugar and don’t cut it nutritionally – so we need to ween them out. The best type of vegetables for a ketogenic diet are high in nutrients and low in carbohydrates. These, as most of you can guess, are dark and leafy. Anything that resembles spinach or kale will fall into this category, and will be the best thing to include into anything you can. As a general rule of thumb, the sweeter the vegetable is – the more sugar it has in it. You want to stay away from things such as carrots, squash, onions and peppers.

DAIRY

Choose full fat everything over low fat or fat free.

-Heavy Whipping Cream
-Hard and soft cheeses – (Cheddar, Mozzarella, Cream Cheese, Marscapone Cheese, etc.)
-Sour Cream
-Cottage Cheese

Nuts and Seeds

Nuts and seeds are best when they are roasted to remove any anti-nutrients. Try to avoid peanutsif possible, as they are actually legumes which are not highly permitted in the ketogenic diet food list.

-Macadamias, walnuts and almondsare the best in terms of your carb count and can be eaten in small amounts.
-Cashews and pistachios are higher in carbs, so make sure you track these carefully.
-Nuts are high in Omega-6 Fatty Acids, so try to be careful with over consumption.
-Nut and seed flours, such as almond flour and milled flax seed are great to substitute for regular flour. This means baking can be done in moderation.

So there it is, some info on the types of foods weve been eating :) Theres also tons of yummy recipes!
Next week I will get into the health benefits of the Keto Diet :) But for now, stay tuned for my Keto Pizza Recipe!! Hope everyone has a great weekend :)

xo Christine