The Keto Diet is a Life Changer… but not for Everyone
by Travis Hlavinka
Known for its significant fat loss in surprisingly short amounts of time, the ketogenic, or keto diet is 2019’s go-to diet for those looking to lose weight and embark on a healthier lifestyle. But as restricting and unorthodox as the diet is, does it actually do more harm than good?
In contrast to what is thought of as a proper diet, the keto diet flips the food pyramid on its head. In fact, the food pyramid, which many grew up planning meals around, promotes grains and carbohydrates as what should be the second largest portion in any meal, and natural fats and oils as the second smallest. The keto diet not only holds natural fats and oils in high esteem, but virtually eliminates grains and carbohydrates.
Lexie Stowe, a registered nurse who was on the diet for two months because of recommendations she got from others in the medical field, said the radical change caused her to feel sick far more often than usual.
“I just wasn’t used to eating such a heavy amount of meat and fats,” Stowe said. “It did make me sick because it didn’t really seem like a diet. I didn’t feel like what I was eating was particularly healthy. Sometimes you’re eating steak or something drenched in butter. In the end it just wasn’t for me.”
Stowe is not alone in her belief her body felt worse while in ketosis, the ultimate goal of the keto diet. Ketosis is when the body changes from feasting on carbs to burning natural fats. Eventually as one stays on the keto diet for longer and longer, the body eventually begins to burn fat, rather than carbs that are burned first.
The process to get the body into ketosis is to take in as few carbs as possible. The standard for most widely recognized keto diets is no more than 20 carbs per day. Usually more than 20 carbs and the body will not enter ketosis and revert to burning carbs rather than fats[1].
To get the body into ketosis, one will need to ingest 20 carbs or less for anywhere from two days to one week depending on metabolism. After the body is in ketosis, one will need to maintain the same low-carb diet in order to keep the body burning fats.
A small misstep risks throwing body out of ketosis. Getting the body back into ketosis means starting over. Meal preparation beforehand and always having keto-friendly snacks are two ways that make sticking to the diet much more manageable.
While the diet may sound like a pain, it also has many health benefits. The most obvious choice to go keto is to lose weight. Once the body starts burning fats, the weight will begin to fall off rapidly . Coupled with exercise, and the keto diet is one of the most widely recognized ways to lose weight[2].
Caleb Murrile struggled with his weight for most of his life, and has seen the great benefits the diet has to offer. In less than 10 months, Murrile lost over 70 lbs. He continues to adhere to the strict diet to this day and has no plans of giving it up.
“It literally changed my life,” Murrile said. “I remember looking in the mirror and not liking the person I saw. I decided to give keto a shot because I heard good things. Here I am now almost 75 pounds down and I don’t see myself going back any time soon.”
There are risks of such a drastic change in diet and extreme reduction of carbs, however. Some risks and complications include kidney stone formation, acidosis, muscle degeneration, constipation, sluggishness and low blood sugar. The keto diet also uses requires a lot of water, so the risk of dehydration is high. One of keto’s main problems, however, is that everyone’s body reacts differently once they go back to eating a normal diet[3].
Thirty-three year-old sportswriter and dad Dustin McComas is one of the people that said keto worked for him, but once he got off of it, dealt with some discomfort from eating normal food. McComas, who is back on the diet currently, was once on it for six months straight.
“Whenever I get off of it, I do feel different,” McComas said. “I feel much heavier and bloated. It’s not a huge change, but it does make me feel worse than I did before.”
If comfortable with these risks and ready to embark on what could be a life-changing experience, be ready for a complete pantry overhaul.
There are many tasty foods and recipes that follow right along with the keto diet plan. Though some foods like cauliflower and zucchini may not be used in normal diets very often, they are keto staples and provide excellent substitutes for many starchy vegetables and grains.
The following recipe is one that includes plenty of protein, fats and vegetables. Because the keto diet relies on meal planning, the recipe is set up for four, refrigerator-safe servings that can be enjoyed up to five days after initial preparation.
Creamy Spinach-stuffed Pan Seared Chicken Breasts:
· 4 medium-to-large boneless chicken breasts
· 4 ounces cream cheese
· 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
· 2 cups of fresh spinach
· Olive oil
· Cajun seasoning
· Salt and pepper
· 1 teaspoon of minced garlic
Step 1: Turn on stove to medium heat. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil onto an oven-safe pan. Place the pan onto the stove. Empty all the spinach into the pan and let spinach wilt. The moisture in the spinach is usually enough to wilt the spinach but keto is about eating as much natural fat as possible. Let the spinach shrink to as small as possible and then place in a bowl.
Step 2: Add the cream cheese, mayonnaise and garlic to bowl of spinach. Salt and pepper to taste. Mix ingredients with fork or spoon until thoroughly combined.
Step 3: Add another tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and turn the stove to medium-to-high heat, enough to get the oil nice and hot. Toss the chicken breasts in olive oil until evenly coated and season liberally with Cajun seasoning. Cut a pocket into the side of each chicken breast and fill with the creamed spinach mixture.
Step 4: Preheat oven to 425 Degrees.
Step 5: Gently place each chicken breast into the pan of oil. Cook each breast for 4–5 minutes on each side until some nice brown color on the breasts is seen.
Step 6: Once satisfied with the coloring, place into oven for 15–20 minutes or until the breasts are cooked all the way through, usually 165 degrees.
Oven Roasted Brussel Sprouts and Tomatoes:
· 16 ounces Brussel sprouts
· 6 ounces grape tomatoes
· 1 red bell pepper
· Olive oil
· Cajun seasoning
Step 1: Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with tin foil and cover with olive oil, make sure all surface area of foil is covered.
Step 2: On cutting board, half all Brussel sprouts and grape tomatoes. Core and deseed bell pepper cutting it up into strips no longer than an inch and wider than a half-inch.
Step 3: Spread out all vegetables evenly on baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and heavily season with Cajun seasoning, then place into over for 30–45 minutes.
Step 4: Check on the vegetables periodically to see if they’re darkening. The preferred result is partly-blackened vegetables. They may look burnt, but the darker they are, the more flavor they will have. Just make not to burn them to a crisp.
Citations
A Ketogenic Diet for Beginners — The Ultimate Keto Guide. (2019, April 29). Retrieved from https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/keto
Gorin, A. (2018, November 02). The 11 Biggest Keto Diet Dangers You Need to Know About. Retrieved from https://www.everydayhealth.com/ketogenic-diet/diet/keto-diet-dangers-you-need-know/
The Ketogenic Diet: A Detailed Beginner’s Guide to Keto. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/ketogenic-diet-101
[1]“A Ketogenic Diet for Beginners”
[2]“The Ketogenic Diet”
[3]“The 11 Biggest Keto Diet Dangers”
