Welcome to the /r/keto FAQ
Welcome to the /r/keto FAQ. We've carefully combed the previous FAQ and feedback from /r/keto members [1,2,3] from previous dummy trials of this revised FAQ to provide you with an instructional resource which will also help you tackle common issues experienced by other people doing a low carb, ketogenic nutritional approach. If you are troubled by any existing medical conditions which you think might inhibit your ability to safely eat low carb, please consult a qualified medical professional who is supportive of eating low carb.
Maintenance of this FAQ is strongly encouraged. The best weapon in tackling the Western health crisis is solid, unbiased science and research - so please, keep these FAQ pointers up-to-date and scientifically relevant. Thanks to everyone who has worked on this resource so far, and also a massive thanks to everyone who takes time to improve it in the future.
1. The Standard Approach
1.1) What is the premise of a low carb, keto diet?
Low-carb diets are essentially programs that lower carbohydrate intake below 100 grams; strict ketogenic diets are a subset of low carb diets that typically only allow up to 20 grams per day. The full premise of a keto diet is far more than just weight ratios, it is a lifestyle about overall health. The diet promotes long, intense bouts of energy, an increase in healthy, delicious food and an overall better outlook on your life. It is easily sustainable with a plethora of options and often is an answer to improving health that many people struggle to comprehend at first. A Ketogenic diet is not easy and will test your willpower but transforms the way you think and understand about yourself, food, and health in general.
1.2) How do I start and what can I eat?
The only thing required to technically be in ketosis is a low amount of carbs (<20g). However, maintaining a good amount of fat and protein is important, too. Fat keeps you full while protein helps fat keep you sated and retain muscle mass as well!
As far what you can eat, Ketogenic diets are done differently by different people. Eat dark green leafy vegetables, fatty red meats, chicken with the skin left on, fish, eggs, seeds, offal (organ meat), or anything else you can find rich in nutrition, fat, protein and fiber. Although fiber is a carbohydrate, it is not digested as a simple carbohydrate and is therefore not included in your daily carb count. It's important to stress that fiber doesn't NEGATE carbs - it just isn't counted; so mixing a handful of flax meal into a bowl of ice-cream won't work!
Check out the web resources at the bottom of the page for links to food lists, sample grocery plans and more.
1.3) What foods should I avoid?
All diets have their restrictions and keto is no exception to this concept. Starchy foods and sugars are always unacceptable. Whole grains, sodas, pasta, potatoes, pizza crust, cookies, and anything in between. They all have one thing in common, they’re all sugar to your body; each of them breakdown at a different rate into glucose inside your bloodstream. That’s right, bread is sugar.
1.4) What are macronutrients and ratios?
One of the mantras of low-carb diets is the ratio of macronutrients “60/35/5”. This means that the percentage of your daily caloric intake needs to be sixty percent from fat, thirty-five from protein and five from carbohydrates. This is appropriate due to the nature of how each one plays their role in the diet. Obviously, carbs should be low as you’re avoiding them. The carbs you DO want come from fibrous vegetables and nuts. Fat and protein keep you full, so more of them is often preferred to naturally keep you in a calorie deficit. As always, calories in < calories out is the keystone concept that will carry you to weight loss.
*Note* - It is common to sometimes screw up your ratios, don’t be alarmed; just try to get back on the wagon the next day.
IMPORTANT: Fat has over twice the number of calories as protein! You want to aim for approximately a 50/50 portion split between your fat and protein. This will give you a 65/30/5 fat/protein/carb split, but it's close enough to 60/35/5 that it's a good rule of thumb.
1.5) How can I tell if I’m in ketosis?
There are a good number of “indicators” of ketosis; some of them are simple physical signs and others are physical tools to test for the presence of ketones in the body. Dieters use this to track trends and test to see if they are sensitive to certain substances that may be keto friendly but still have a negative effect on their weight loss.
1.5.1) All about ketostix
Ketostix are a physical tool that act very similar to a litmus paper from high school Chemistry class. They test for the presence of ketone bodies that are evacuated from the body through the urine. It is important to note that the indication of the “level” of ketosis on the stix’s scale doesn’t really matter. It should be viewed as a binary system, you only need to be IN ketosis. The density of ketones present fluctuates as your body processes more water.
1.5.2) Acetone Breath
Acetone Breath, otherwise affectionately known as “metal breath” or “keto breath”, is the presence of ketones in your body being produced and turned into acetone. It will taste metallic and have faint wafting essence of ammonia.
1.5.3) Changes in urine
Ketosis not only changes your breath but your urine, too; it will start developing a filmy consistency and smell like its been distilled from dinosaur sweat. The potent smell change will be the most obvious.
1.6) What should I be drinking and how much?
Water suppresses the appetite naturally and helps the body metabolize fat. Studies have shown a decrease in water intake will cause fat deposits to increase, while an increase in water intake can actually reduce fat deposits. The more water you ingest, the easier time your muscles have toning as well. Water retention, a notorious issue on Keto, is best combated by fighting fire with fire; drinking more water allows the body to release the water it holds onto in fear of dehydration. Water is a huge factor in weight loss and is often underestimated. You can never keep enough on a low-carb diet, you should always drink it. 2.5 litres of water a day is the minimum you should be drinking.
2. Adapting to a Low Carb Lifestyle
2.1) What is “keto flu” and how long will I have it?
During the induction phase of a Ketogenic Diet, most people experience a horrid “flu” that often makes people believe from the start that it isn’t right for our bodies. Consider it the first test in one of your many trials to come. The flu is a manifestation of your mental and physical dependence on carbohydrates and the body is essentially going through a form of detox. Drinking a salty broth is recommended until it passes; some people have it for six hours, some have it for two months. Only time will tell.
2.2) Is cheating worth it?
Cheating is the infernal evil temptation placed on all mere mortals during ANY diet. In general, it is frowned upon and viewed as a sign of weakness. When you cheat, your body notices the drastic increase in carbohydrates and becomes almost shocked. Often, despite the stalling in weight loss, this leads to feeling like utter crap and even re-inducing the dreaded Keto flu once the carbs have dissolved. Cheating isn’t the end of the world, though; typically you gain a good bit of water weight and throw yourself out of Ketosis. Deciding if its worth it is entirely up to you but many Keto-ers would argue that anything that halts progress should ever stand in your way and that this is all about breaking free of your bindings.
2.3) Low carb on a budget
One of the largest criticisms about a low-carb lifestyle is its impact on the user’s wallet. However, it can be on a tight budget and done so with great success. The key to this concept is strategy. When you see a giant sale on meat at your butcher or grocery store, spend more than you would on average (even more than what you could consume that week). This allows you to play the budgeting long game instead of the present budget. Sure, you may spend an extra twenty percent on meat this week but you have protein for three weeks now for the cost of one and a half weeks. Apply this logic with staple foods in your area. Region plays an important role. Become friends with your local butchers or fish mongers. If you live by the ocean, chances are your fish isn’t as pricy as your chicken or beef; the inverse applies the same as well. Plain cheap foods do exist for Keto, though. There are a couple of small tricks to finding cheap food. You’d be astonished at how much cheaper something like 75/25 ground beef is, with its 80/20 partner being dollars higher with virtually not a single iota of difference between the two. Often you can find offal (organs) from local butchers at little to no cost and if you have the money, you can do extreme things like buying your own entire pig belly and cut your own bacon and fatback to REALLY save on the wallet with some extra effort. Another part of being involved with your local food “mafia” are the lovely assorted farmers markets and food stands that probably exist scattered across town. Often times these small, quaint shops are contain the best, most fresh ingredients you’ll find in two hundred miles. If you’re a repeat customer, sometimes they’re even capable of cutting you special deals. These sort of establishments are usually just as much about community as they are about the promotion of healthy living.
2.4) What if I’m eating at the office or on the move?
Despite popular belief, it is entirely possible to remain Ketogenic while eating away from your typical environment. Most modern restaurants offer low-carb options and even when there aren’t any on the menu, you can manipulate your environment to work for you. Ordering burgers without the bun and salad instead of fries are great examples of putting this concept into practice.
2.5) My parents/roommates eat high-carb, what do I do?
One of the most difficult problems with living low-carb is living with other people. Often times dieters seek the support of their family members or roommates but lack the desire to alter their lifestyle decisions as well and rightfully so. The easiest way to coexist with people who eat differently than you is to simply compromise. Someone making spaghetti? Try saving some of the meat used in the sauce and making a hamburger steak instead before they add it into the red sauce. More importantly, try to talk about having their support in terms of food placement. Ask them to try not to leave candy jars or doughnuts laying about, as it may trigger a bad thought or action. It’s all about communication at the end of the day.
2.6) What about “faux” foods and artificial sweeteners?
Dieting typically leaves people with voids in their diet that they once took comfort in; sweeteners and faux foods are alternatives people seek to fill those voids. The topic is a hot debate among all dieters, as some believe that faux foods generally feel too...well....fake and lack the “true” comfort that their carby cousins seem to provide. However, they are a great way to relive healthy alternatives to dishes and concepts that otherwise would be completely off-limits. Substances such as cauliflower mash allow people to experience the texture of carb laden foods like rice and potatoes without suffering the complications that cheating causes.
There are tons of sweeteners out there that work for low calorie and low-carb diets as an alternative to sugars. They’re often criticized as causing cravings and are associated with being lab chemicals that humans shouldn’t ingest from Paleo dieters. Sucralose, for example is a variant of sucrose that is much sweeter than raw sugar. However, it is bulked into a powder with substances such as maltodextrin. While they’re Keto friendly and DON’T cause an insulin reaction physically, there MAY be evidence that it causes a mental reaction that makes insulin spike from the taste of sweetness on your tongue. Your mileage may vary with sweeteners, use ketostix if you believe it may be stalling you or cut them out for a month and check the results.
2.7) Can I still drink alcohol/coffee?
In short, yes you can still consume alcohol. However, while the body is metabolizing alcohol you cannot burn fat; it literally impedes your progress until the alcohol is processed. If you still insist on drinking try to stick with spirits that aren’t involved with sugar. Neutral spirits like gin and vodka are great examples. Be cautious, though, alcoholic tolerance is severely lowered in low-carb dieters.
Coffee is also very diet friendly on its own but often becomes nefarious once it starts playing with its friends like sugar and milk. Most Ketopians will drink coffee with heavy cream and/or coconut oil to increase their fat intake while getting in some fluid. It’s important to note that coffee in large amounts will flush your intestines and completely mess with your hunger levels throughout the day. Weaker coffee in larger amounts is far better for you than strong coffee in small amounts. Coffee was revised as an acceptable beverage in the latest Atkins approaches and according to A New Atkins for a New You, it may actually prove beneficial in aiding weight loss gently. A small subset of ketoers complain of headaches in the first few weeks, which may be due to a reduced ability to metabolize caffeine.
2.8) How should I eat after reaching my goal weight?
After many hit their goal weight they seem to get careless and load back on the carbs thinking that they’re capable of handling it. More often than not, they do gain back a ton of their weight and find themselves back on the low-carb wagon to put their weight back down. Despite its lack of popularity among hardcore Ketopians carbohydrates can be incorporated into a normal, healthy lifestyle. As long as you control them with the tools you learned from dieting, carbs can be a lovely indulgence. Just because your weight loss is over it doesn’t mean you should get lazy or apathetic about what you eat. Logging your food should be a lifetime discipline. You should always know what you’re fueling your body with. Some will never go back to living with carbohydrates and that is totally fine. Those that do can live healthy so long as they remained focused on what they’ve learned. Keeping weight off is just as much of a challenge as losing it all.
3. The Science Behind Keto
3.1) What is insulin and how does fat storage work?
Insulin is one of the most important aspects of your body that a Ketogenic diet focuses on. It is a hormone secreted by the pancreas that regulates the metabolism of fat and carbs, specifically in the blood. Its main job is to regulate the distribution of energy to the cells of the body from fat storage. Its other job is to regulate blood sugar by producing lipoproteins (or fat proteins) that act as a bailiff for your blood stream and imprison the fat cell into your body once the glucose has been converted to fat. As you eat sugar, the body must produce more insulin to keep up with ramped levels of sugar in the body and eventually your body begins to resist insulin. When you eat less carbs, less insulin is required to patrol your bloodstream and regulate your sugar. This means, simply, less fat storage as a result.
3.2) Do carbohydrates make us sick?
One of the strangest ironies in all of dieting is that many of the problems people associate with the consumption of high fat actually is more likely to be caused by a carb-laden diet. Problems such as heart disease, obesity, diabetes, ADHD, and perhaps even cancer have all been potentially linked to originate in the Western Diet of high carb in the presence of high fat. Grains in particular have been shown to have strong links with auto-immune and inflammatory diseases like Multiple Sclerosis and Arthritis.
3.3) What are the different kinds of fats?
There are two types of fat, and, by looking at them closely, we can begin to understand how they affect our bodies. The two types of fat are saturated and unsaturated. You may also be wondering about “Omega” fatty acids; we will cover this as well.
Saturated fats are generally found in animal meat, and animal products. These fats are generally processed in such a way that there are little health risks.
Unsaturated fats are more troublesome, and much more complicated. There are two kinds of unsaturated fat, mono-unsaturated and poly-unsaturated fats. Monounsaturated fats are generally found in meats as well. Polyunsaturated fats are created through a process called “hydrogenation.” Hydrogenation changes liquid vegetable oils into solid manufactured saturated fats, but the process is not completed. So, while the liquid vegetable oil begins to take on some of the attributes of saturated fats, when breaking down these polyunsaturated fats, the insulin response is very similar to other double-bond fats.
Omega acids are named according to where the carbon bond occurs in their compound. The science of essential fatty acids, but the message regarding these is to consume more natural plant fats and fish (omega-3 acids), than vegetable oils and manufactured fats (which contain omega-6 and 9).
Its also important to note that nothing is 100% one kind of fat or another. A good rule of thumb is to avoid manufactured oils (i.e. How do you get oil from corn or soy?!), and eat natural foods, like meat, fish, and nuts to get your fat content, as well as things like olive oil, butter, and coconut oil.
4. Keto Myths and Concerns
4.1) Aren't whole grains good for me?
The concept of health in modern times is often a warped and strange one. Whole grains are no different and often are portrayed as healthy and necessary in a western diet. The fact is that whole grains are no different from sugar and often have a higher glycemic index than sugar itself. This means that eating raw sugar causes less of an insulin response in your body than a slice of bread. Gary Taubes reports in Why We Get Fat: And What To Do About It that a man has to walk up approximately twenty-two flights of stairs to burn off the energy of one slice of bread. The truth about grains is that they are energy dense and lack the nutrients or longevity of fats and proteins, in addition to being strongly associated with auto-immune diseases.
4.2) Is more protein than fat OK?
One of the importance of keeping a proper ratio is ensuring that your protein levels do not exceed that of fat in calories, not weight. The reason for this is that protein in excessive levels act very closely to carbohydrates. They are broken down and converted into glucose, spiking your blood sugar and causing insulin to secrete and patrol.
4.3) Won't fat make me fat (and diabetic)!?
Fat making people fat has got to be one of the most misunderstood concepts in history. This logic doesn’t apply properly to anything else; if it did we’d all be green if we ate a lot of cucumbers. Fat makes us fat when its paired with high levels of carbohydrates, actually. That is when fat makes you fat but putting all the blame on fat isn’t solving the problem, it only points to half of the problem.
Diabetes is becoming an increasingly worrisome problem that plagues the western world. Type-2 Diabetes is a serious problem that needs to be remedied. However, it seems that most people don’t understand what complicates diabetes. Diabetics aren’t affected by large amounts off fat or protein; while they cause insulin responses it is nowhere near the response you get from carbohydrates. When a diabetic eats a hamburger with fries the sections that alter the blood sugar most drastically are the starchy fries and bun of the burger. It is not the fatty meat or pile of cheese and pickles that cause problems. It makes sense that the things that cause more drastic insulin spike would cause the disorder that surrounds insulin problems. Fat is not to blame at all; it just happens to take the fall.
4.4) What about cholesterol and heart disease?
One of the largest criticisms and sense of worry from those considering low-carb high fat diets is that their cholesterol will spike due to the large increase of saturated fat intake. In fact, low-carb high fat diets do increase cholesterol levels. That’s only half of the statement, however, modern medicine has fooled you when it comes to cholesterol and saturated fat. Saturated fat and its connection with cholesterol are a total fallacy and shouldn’t be a concern when dieting. The fats you should avoid are hydrogenated oils and artificial trans fats (as opposed to the natural trans-fats such as conjugated linoleic acid), as they are unnatural and harmful.
4.4.1) Is it bad?
High cholesterol isn’t necessarily the work of the devil. When you get a cholesterol report back it will give you all these numbers that often seem intimidating. Those who live low-carb will be told they have high LDL levels and freak out. As that is the notorious “bad” cholesterol. And your doctor will tell you to cut the fat to avoid health risks. Sadly, this is also a bit of fallacy. All LDLs aren’t created equal.
4.4.2) LDL Types (Low Density Lipoproteinss)
Specifically to LDL Cholesterol, there are two different types or “Patterns”. Pattern A is a fluffy LDL that is considered to be fairly harmless and is larger than the other type. Pattern B is a small, dense lipoprotein that is linked to coronary heart disease. The sad truth is that detailed LDL analysis is too expensive and not widely available so the standard lipid test is done instead. You usually never get the full details and are arbitrarily told your cholesterol is bad when it indeed is not.
4.5) I don't need to lose that much, is that OK?
Absolutely. You can lose 500lbs or 5lbs on keto by eating the exact same foods. If you're already very lean or athletic, you may need to be more strict about carbs and increase your exercise expenditure but it's certainly possible. Regardless of the weight loss, the other health benefits associated with a low carb diet are reason enough to stick with it long term and see results.
4.6) Won't I go into "starvation mode"?
"Starvation mode" is another of those glossy mag catch-all terms which means nothing in particular. Actual starvation is very very different from using fat as energy. Since you are already keto adapted your body will easily switch to ketones and gluconeogenesis will be minimal. In studies of fasting metabolism did not drop until about 72+ hours of fasting and even then it was a drop of ~8%. Starvation mode is real but it is basically when you are below 4% body fat and your body has used all your muscle and starts using protein from organs. Your metabolism crashes and your body does everything it can to stay alive and keep the brain supplied with water and fuel. Starvation mode is literally only when you are starving to death.
http://www.reddit.com/r/keto/comments/k68m9/the_fear_of_going_into_starvation_mode_with_keto/
http://www.reddit.com/r/keto/comments/olrd0/starvation_mode/
http://www.reddit.com/r/keto/comments/qntmf/if_starvation_mode_isnt_a_real_thing_is_it_not/
http://www.reddit.com/r/keto/comments/gk06h/whats_the_skinny_on_starvation_mode/
http://www.reddit.com/r/keto/comments/l31a4/question/
http://www.reddit.com/r/keto/comments/mxt6q/can_ketosis_kill_help_me_dispel_or_understand/
http://www.reddit.com/r/keto/comments/r5azj/the_symptoms_of_ketosis_the_bodys/
http://www.reddit.com/r/keto/comments/klpp0/not_getting_hungry_as_often_will_i_starve_from/
http://www.reddit.com/r/keto/comments/smjbu/hey_everyone_just_a_little_question/
http://www.reddit.com/r/keto/comments/p7pn4/lower_than_normal_caloric_intake_ok_or_notsook/
5. Specialist Approaches to Keto
5.1) What is the Cyclical Ketogenic Diet Routine (CKD)?
This approach is used when someone wants to concentrate of building muscle whilst losing fat. During intense muscle development training glycogen stores in the liver are quickly depleted which can impact intense training. Although ketogenic diets are excellent for endurance activities, refeeding or “carb-ups” can quickly boost the glycogen stores to allow for additional high-intensity muscle building for a couple of days at a time. While not re-feeding, you adhere to a SKD, hence “cyclical”. Great care should be taken to control re-feeds as it is very easy to gain fat or disrupt the state of ketosis. Here are some resources to consider:
Lyle McDonald - A brief introduction to CKD [Web article]
The Ketogenic Diet by Lyle McDonald [Book]
The Carb Nite Solution: The Physicist's Guide to Power Dieting (weekly CKD cycle, no exercise required)
Underground Body Opus by Daniel Duchaine [Book]
A step-by-step CKD Plan (Author unknown) [Web article]
Carb Back-Loading - keto diet with carbs timed to heavy resistance training
5.2) What is the Targeted Ketogenic Diet Routine (TKD)?
TKD is very similar to CKD in that it offers a way of restoring glycogen to the muscles before intense workouts. The difference with TKD is that re-feeding periods occur much closer to the intended workout and in lower quantities, as opposed to a re-feeding for a couple of days at a time.
AnabolicMinds forum post explaining the method behind TKD
5.3) Can vegetarians/vegans do ketogenic diets?
Your personal ethics needn’t prevent you from enjoying the benefits of a ketogenic diet. Many people have and do still thrive on ultra low carb foods which are solely plant-based. It’s a little more difficult and you might require supplements to meet some of your nutrient quotas but it can certainly be done. Check out the carb counts/food list in the resources for an acceptable list of seed/vegetable oils which can replace fats found in meat. Olive oil, flax seed oil, coconut oil and (if you eat it) oily fish are all excellent sources of fat with good anti-inflammatory properties. Nuts, fish (again, if you eat it), firm tofu, peanut butter and eggs are also good sources of protein. If you struggle to obtain virgin or cold-pressed oils and aren’t eating oily fish, you should really be supplementing your diet with EPA/DHA capsules. Check out the awesome sister sub-reddit full of recipes and support over at /r/vegetarianketo
5.4) How can I eat a paleo ketogenic diet?
Keto and Paleo share a lot of similarities in the sense of getting rid of man-made processed garbage food. Sometimes people do an overlap of both diets quite successfully. The bulk of the discrepancies appear when it comes to sweeteners and fruit. Paleo-ers argue that we don’t have splenda in the wild and shouldn’t eat it and Keto-ers are screaming that modern fruit is largely altered by genetic enhancement and are more dense with sugar than our Paleolithic predecessors. Obviously, copious amounts of fruit aren’t allowed on Keto so if you wish to combine these two diets you’re going to have to forget about certain fruits and sweeteners and find natural, healthy alternatives.
Paleolithic foods such as green leafy vegetables and unprocessed meat are often naturally very low in carbohydrates and lend themselves perfectly to the ketogenic approach. One thing that Paleo keto will limit you to, though, is the sources of your foods and the manner in which they are prepared and packaged. Certain oils (like seed oils) which are industrially extracted are not really acceptable on a true paleo diet either, but as with any lifestyle, its all about how you can make the approach meet you as an individual. Check out /r/paleo for advise on the paleo lifestyle.
5.5) What is fasting and how does it benefit me?
Fasting is when one abstains from caloric intake for comparatively extended periods of time. The actual fasting period varies depending on personal approach and preferences but typically you'd look to fast for at least 16 hours and then allow yourself 8 hours in which to eat. 20/4 and 19/5 are other popular fasting ratios. Fasting is a great tool for weight loss and a great way to teach a dieter a positive discipline. Fasting is considered natural and a way to exercise constantly without exerting so much effort. A fasted state means any period in which you consume less than ten calories per hour so during a fast only water and ultra-low calorie beverages can be consumed. Black coffee and tea without milk/cream and sweetener are all acceptable. No food is permitted during a fast. It's very important when fasting to observe caloric intake as it's extremely easy to eat beyond satiety when intermittently breaking from a fast.
5.5.1) Benefits of fasting
Fasting and Exercise are metabolically the same. In detail, fasting leads to low insulin levels and high growth hormone. When those two are inverse, (one low, one high) more free fatty acids are released in your blood. This leads to increased fat burning. ("increased metabolism") This, in turn leads to increased amino acid movement through your muscles and means more energy and more efficient use of nutrients for the muscular tissue. In addition, your body increases in epinephrine and nor-epinephrine production which results increased alertness and mental clarity. This means that exercising in a fasted state is preferable and powerful.
5.5.2) Variants of fasting
There are a good number of different forms of fasting. The main two sub sets of fasts used by low-carb diets are Intermittent Fasting and the Atkin’s Fat Fast. Intermittent Fasting, or IF colloquially, is a division of time between eating and fasting that typically are presented in a ratio of twenty-four hours. For example, a 20/4 IF is a 20 hour period of fasting (less than 10 cals per hour, remember) followed by a four hour window to consume your daily calories. Your IF schedule may vary based on your availability to eat. You can pretty much do anything with at least a fourteen hour fast period or more. The hardcore IFers encourage a 23/1 fast system and claim it is how you get the most energy out of fasting for exercise.
The Atkins Fat Fast is a system in which you consume no more than 1,000 calories per day with a ninety percent fat consistency.
6. All about Plateaus
6.1) What causes a plateau?
If we truly knew the answer to what causes everyone’s plateaus every time it happened, no one would ever plateau! There are several things that have been theorised though. The first and most common one in the beginnings a low carb diet is “carb creep” which is a relaxed attitude towards food intake resulting in an inadvertent increase in carbohydrates which, in turn, threatens weight-loss progress.
It’s also widely experienced that as someone loses weight, it actually becomes more difficult to lose weight. This has been put down to the body using the calories you feed it more efficiently, causing it to require the use of fat reserves less and less.
6.2) Why should I keep a food log?
Many new comers to the ketogenic approach assume certain foods are OK or will eye-ball their macro-nutrient ratios which can often lead to slow progress or spikes in carbohydrate intake. Even people who live low carb for a long time can be caught out by seemingly innocuous foods, so tracking in detail what one eats can reveal why a plateau occurs or even why someone is struggling to lose weight in the first place.
In addition to the dietary review aspect of logging food, tracking what you have eaten while you lose body fat or train harder can help you slowly adapt and personally plan for new levels of exertion.
It’s very unlikely that someone will get sick from eating keto, but being able to present an accurate food log to a nutritionist or doctor could help them to help you by giving them a picture of how what you’re eating affects your body. This could be especially useful during pregnancy or high intensity training/fitness coaching.
Even if you think you’ve got it all figured out, we strongly recommend keeping a detailed food log because other members will only be able to help you if they can see what you’ve been eating. Support would be purely guess-work otherwise.
6.3) How do I break a plateau?
In order to destroy a plateau, one must either up their carb intake, increase their water intake or fast. While water is the easiest method, it is not always a viable solution. Plateaus are complex and one of the most dismissing and challenging adversities during weight loss.
6.3.1) Fasting
Fasting is quite effective at breaking plateaus but also depends on your typical use of fasting if it is suggested to break a plateau. For example, someone who normally IFs may want to try fat fasting to break a plateau as it is foreign to their body and more likely to put a new spin on their metabolism. The common criticism surrounding this method for 3-5 days is that it is entirely nutritionally void but is the most effective at breaking plateaus and shedding weight. Most would say the conventional wisdom is to only resort to this if you plateau for more than a month. The alternative is to use Intermittent Fasting and remain receiving nutrition until the plateau breaks by being patient.
6.3.2) Cheating and Plateaus
There are some anecdotal reports of people overcoming long-term plateaus by splurging on carbohydrates for a couple of days. The theory being that this cheat serves as “metabolic reset” for the fat-burning mechanism. This should be only attempted as a last-resort because such an introduction of carbohydrates to the system will most likely cause you to feel terrible and require another 2-4 weeks of re-adaptation.
6.3.3) Sweeteners
Sweeteners are often bulked with sugar alcohols which contains calories and can illicit an insulin response. Check out this article at Mark Sissons website which explains the composition and effects of different sweetener types.
6.3.4) Calorie counting
Some people who do Keto fail to count calories and trust their hunger when it comes to what and when they should eat food. The fact is that your body cannot tell the difference in being hungry and thirsty; people can need water and simply eat to solve the physical disruption of “hunger”. This, in turn, can lead to overeating. Ketogenic diets are not magic, the core concept of eating more calories than your body needs to sustain its weight still very much applies. This can lead to plateauing easily. It is remedied by logging your food and watching for trends in your caloric consumption. You can trust your hunger on keto but you still can’t trust your body to know if it needs water or food. Drink water first and make food if you’re still hungry later. If you cut your calories for a couple weeks, you are likely to see an improvement in weight loss.
7. Resources
7.1) Videos
- Gary Taubes Lecture - Why We Get Fat and historical references to the truth
- Doctor's Discussion of Keto - Andreas Eenfeldt, M.D. discusses the parameters of Ketogenic Diets
- Sugar: The Bitter Truth - Robert H. Lustig, M.D. discusses the issues and dangers with sugar
- Robb Wolf on Paleo - Robb Wolf answers community questions on the benefits of low-carb/paleo
- The Paleo Solution - Robb Wolf discusses ancestral nutrition and “Western” diseases
- Your Leaky Gut and Grain - Loren Cordain discusses auto-immunity and Western diet
- How Bad Science and Big Business Created the Obesity Epidemic - David Diamond explains how industrial influences have shaped our diet and health care infrastructure
- King Corn - A documentary following the effects of the corn industry on rural America and her inhabitants
- Why You Got Fat - From the documentary "Fat Head", Tom Naughton explains why you are actually eating more because you get fat, and not the other way round
- Dr. Mary Vernon Lecture - A video playlist of great information and resources.
7.2) Web Resources
- Myfitnesspal.com (MFP) - Meal and health tracker
- Keto MFP Setup - Set up MFP for use with a ketogenic approach
- LCHF Outline - Eenfeldt’s personal website and the outline about LCHF
- Acceptable Foods and Carb Counts - Acceptable food list with carb counts
- My Fitness Pal Script - Surye’s script that tracks net carbs along with macro-nutrients
- Keto Lifestyle FAQ - Bodybuilding.com’s Megathread on the Keto Lifestyle
- AreYouReadyToReddit's Meal Plans - A Guide to plan your meals up to a week in advance.
- thelowcarbrecipes.com - Redditor Anuulius’ excellent collection of meal recipes
- Recipe Index - Bodybuilding’s Index of Low Carb Recipes
- Importance of Water - Why drink so much? Why is it hard to keep on Keto?
- Wolfram Alpha - Simple database to look at food and convert measurements.
- Examine.com - in-depth information on supplements
7.3) Recommended Reading
| Title | Author | ISBN |
| The New Atkins for a New You | Westman, Phinney, Volek | 978-0091935573 |
| Wheat Belly | William David | 978-1609611545 |
| Why We Get Fat | Gary Taubes | 978-0307272706 |
| Good Calories, Bad Calories | Gary Taubes | 978-1400033461 |
| The Paleo Diet | Loren Cordain | 978-0470913024 |
| The Paleo Solution | Robb Wolf | 978-0982565841 |
| The Primal Blueprint | Mark Sisson | 978-0982207703 |
| The Ketogenic Diet | Lyle McDonald | 978-0967145600 |
7.4) Common /r/keto Searches