What Should You Eat in Weight Maintenance? — Diet Doctor

Kristin’s answer

How do I know when I’ve reached maintenance?
The answer is “it depends”. Some people can set a goal weight, keep eating keto until they hit that goal, and then go into maintenance. Sometimes, our bodies seem to find a “set point” which means we may not lose as much weight as we want. Right now, I’d like to lose 5-10 lbs (2-5 kg) more, but my body seems kind of happy where it is!

At this point, there are two options. You can tweak your diet – double checking for carb creep, cutting out treats/baked goods, dairy, sweeteners, caffeine, etc. You can pretty much tweak down so far that you’re eating nothing but bacon and ribeye, or you can accept that your body is content with its “set point” and just keto on.

More about weight, health, and happiness

What should I eat in maintenance?
The most simple answer to this is that you can continue to eat exactly the same way — total carbs less than 20 g per day with moderate protein and enough fat to keep you satiated. You don’t need to change anything unless you need to stop losing weight.

Depending on your personal metabolism, level of insulin resistance, age, weight, activity levels, other medical issues, etc. you may find that you need to stick to the basics, just as when you were in weight loss. Some people find that they can raise their carb limit a little bit, especially if they are getting carbs from extra veggies, but not treats or baked goods.

Carb creep can still happen, and you will likely gain weight if you ditch keto completely. Keto should be a long-term way of life. This is about far more than just weight. A ketogenic diet can be anti-inflammatory and can be good for pretty much every main organ system in the body.

If you want to experiment with raising your carbs sensibly, go gradually. Try a couple of weeks at 25-30 grams of carbs and see how your body responds. For the sake of keto, you may find a blood glucose monitor beneficial. A lot of the benefits of keto come from keeping the blood sugar/insulin roller coaster as level as possible. If you are eating higher carb and your blood sugar is fluctuating higher, then that’s a sign that your body may not tolerate that limit, and it’s likely better to lower your carb count back down. Please know that increasing carbs has caused people to fall off the wagon completely as this can also bring back increased cravings. Going back to highly refined or ultra processed/”low carb” foods is also a potential recipe for disaster. Ingredients still matter!

Weight loss/maintenance is a lifelong journey – “goal weight” may be one milestone along the way, but is definitely not the final destination.

The simplest answer is that maintenance doesn’t have to look very different from how we are eating now, day in/day out!!

What’s your experience with maintaining your goal weight on keto? Leave a comment below.

Got questions? Our Facebook group has answers.

Join now

4 Options Once you Reach your Goal Weight With Keto

Unpleasant fact about weight loss: maintaining your goal weight is actually harder than getting there. It’s hard to lose weight, but lots of people manage that part. Where they stumble is keeping it off: they slowly slide back into their old eating habits after they hit their goal weight and all their hard work gets undone. There’s also the very real problem of metabolic slowdown, which is your body’s way of fighting back against weight loss.

Don’t let this happen to you! Make a plan in advance for weight maintenance as an ongoing commitment: this should be something you think about as you lose weight, not something you suddenly start considering once the scale finally shows you the number you’ve been waiting for. You don’t necessarily have to keep eating keto in exactly the same way during maintenance: your best weight-maintenance diet might be a little different from your best weight-loss diet. On the other hand, if you go back to eating what you used to eat, sooner or later you’ll weigh just as much as you used to weigh!

The good news is that keto is probably a good choice for kicking off a successful weight maintenance period. At least one meta-analysis has found that low-carb or high-protein diets were associated with better weight maintenance in the long run, even after the study diet ended and people were allowed to go back to their normal eating patterns. So to kick off your planning for life after weight loss, take a look at 4 options for long-term goal weight maintenance.

1. Keep on with keto, but eat a little more food.

Keto is perfectly safe for the long term and there’s no real need to come out of ketosis if you don’t want to. If you feel great on keto and never want to quit – don’t!

Weight loss, keto or otherwise, is all about a calorie deficit. If you want to stay keto but don’t want to lose any more weight, the solution is just to eat a little bit more fat and protein than you had been eating, without raising carbs enough to get out of ketosis. There’s no magical property of ketosis that will cause you to lose weight while you’re taking in as many calories as you use; the trick is just to find that perfect amount of food for your height/weight/activity level. It’s different for everyone and not something that a generic online calculator can predict: we all have to learn it for ourselves based on experience.

The big benefit of this approach is that there’s no risk of extra carbs causing new/more cravings. A lot of people find that if they start eating more carbs, all the blood sugar highs and lows come right back and the sugar cravings suddenly reappear – then it’s a constant willpower battle again, just what you were trying to avoid with keto. You can completely prevent this entire problem by just staying on keto to begin with.

2. Switch from fat loss to muscle gain.

This isn’t technically weight maintenance, since you’ll be (slowly and intentionally) gaining weight. It’s more like “fat maintenance:” you’ll be maintaining a low body fat percentage while adding more muscle. Muscle mass improves metabolic flexibility, strengthens your bones, reduces long-term risk of type 2 diabetes, and makes it harder to regain fat. If you want a body-change “project” to keep improving your health after weight loss, muscle gain might be just the ticket!

To do this option, you’ll need to be doing some kind of resistance training (powerlifting, weightlifting, bodypump classes, bodyweight conditioning, whatever you like). That will give your muscles the signal to grow; the next step is giving them the fuel they need. Two popular choices:

• Add more calories and protein; keep carbs low.
• Add more carbs around workouts only.

Protein should be relatively high for building muscle regardless of which approach you take.

1-2 pounds a week is about as much muscle as most people can realistically gain (unless they’re absolute beginners who have never even touched a weight before), so if you’re gaining much more than that, it’s probably partly fat. You can either gain lean mass slowly, gain a lot of mass quickly and then diet to lose the fat while keeping the muscle, or strike a balance between the two. Adjust your calorie surplus to the amount of fat you’re willing to gain in the interest of putting on muscle and getting stronger.

3. Transition to low-carb (but not keto) Paleo.

Your carb limit for active weight loss might be much stricter than the carb limit you need just to maintain. There’s a difference between “low-carb” and “ketogenic:” some people don’t have to be actively in ketosis to stay at a healthy weight, as long as they stick with low-carb eating.

Winter squash is delicious and nutrient-dense. It doesn’t fit into a keto diet, but that doesn’t make it junk food!

Why would you want to increase carbs if keto has been working out for you? The advantage of raising carbs is that you get more flexibility to eat extra vegetables, which can help you get a more micronutrient-dense diet and add more variety to your meals. Parsnips, carrots, and butternut squash are pretty tasty, especially once you’ve cured yourself of butter-phobia! If you’re going to stick with this for the long haul, having as many options as possible is helpful.

One potential approach is to raise your daily carb limit by 10-20 grams, hold that for a week or two, and then reassess: you can keep stepping up slowly until you stop feeling good and/or start re-gaining weight (bear in mind that you will inevitably gain a pound or two of WATER weight with more carbs in your diet, but 5 pounds or more is a sign that you’re regaining real weight, not just water).

If you want to experiment with some extra carbs, but you’re scared of falling down a slippery slope into a typical junk food diet, sticking with Paleo foods is one way to put some more objective, specific limits on your diet so it doesn’t totally go off the rails. Paleo carbs are generally nutrient-dense and fiber-rich (with the exception of pure sweeteners like honey or maple syrup), which makes them less tempting to overeat. It’s not necessarily impossible to gain weight on sweet potatoes and plantains, but it’s a lot harder than gaining weight on animal crackers and bagel chips.

4. Experiment with intermittent fasting

This is a strategy for dealing with that feeling of “I’ve worked so hard! Now I deserve to relax!”

If you want to feel a little more laid-back about eating during weight maintenance, intermittent fasting is a good way to turn up the “cruise control” feeling. Basically, you’re only allowed to eat during a specific window, but you have a lot more freedom with your meals during that window. For most people, the compression of the eating window naturally limits the amount of food that they eat, so instead of weighing or measuring food to restrict portions, they can just follow the clock. This is psychologically easier for some people, since when you do eat, you get to feast.

Options for intermittent fasting include:

• Eating normally 5-6 days a week with 1-2 days of total fasting
• Eating in a 6-10 hour window every day (for example, noon to 8 pm), but not at any other time of day. Your eating window can be early in the day (breakfast and lunch, but no dinner) or late in the day (lunch and dinner, but no breakfast), whatever you prefer.

Combine intermittent fasting with maintenance keto, muscle-gaining keto, or low-carb Paleo, whatever works well for you.

What’s your favorite maintenance tip after losing weight with keto?

Keto veterans, lay down some wisdom for the newbs on Facebook or Twitter!

Have a look at Paleo Restart, our interactive Paleo 30-day program. Learn more and get started here.

+ #PaleoIRL, our new cookbook all about making Paleo work for a busy life is now available! Get it now here.

How to Safely Go Off Keto Without Gaining Back Weight

• If you’re no longer losing weight or following the keto diet, it could be time to go off it.
• Slowly adding carbs back into your diet is key. 
• Learning portion control is also essential to not gaining weight back after going off keto.  

So you’ve been off carbs for too long and are ready to quit keto. The biggest fear in discontinuing a diet may be weight gain, but changing your eating patterns dramatically can also leave you feeling confused about meal choices when you’re used to having so many restrictions.

INSIDER consulted nutrition experts to help guide you in going off keto.

Don’t add bread and other carbs immediately 

Bread should be incorporated into your diet slowly.

DmyTo/iStock

“One should get off keto when they are no longer losing weight or no longer following the keto diet,” Reyna Franco, New York-based registered dietitian nutritionist told INSIDER. “At those times, the keto diet is no longer the appropriate eating plan. The length of time is individualized and based on the person’s goals.”

Read more: 12 keto diet horror stories that will make you think twice before trying it

But don’t start binging on bread immediately.

“Reintroduce foods slowly to avoid any gastrointestinal upset and be mindful of your body’s hunger cues,” registered dietitian Haley Hughes said. “Don’t go back to what you were previously doing and go straight for the junk food.”

Hughes also suggested having a plan before you quit keto completely. 

“Start with healthy balanced meals and snacks,” she said. “Meet with a dietitian to assess nutrition needs to meet your goals and for support.”

Avoid processed and packaged foods

“When transitioning off keto, one should slowly add carbohydrates,” Franco said, advising that you should only add one serving of carbohydrates per day the first week, then two servings of carbs per day on week two.

“The body needs to slowly adjust,” said Franco. “The first carbs should be fruits and vegetables to provide antioxidants, phytonutrients, and fiber. Continue to avoid highly processed, packaged foods.”

Read more: Here’s what actually happens to your body when you cut carbs

Plant-based carbs like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, and legumes are Franco’s go-tos for healthy carbs because they supply essential phytonutrients, antioxidants, fiber, and protein.

Be mindful of portion size and eat a balanced diet 

A well-balanced meal is important.

Shutterstock

Re-gaining post-Keto weight can be scary once you reintroduce carbs to your diet, but eating healthy fats and lean proteins can continue weight loss.

“It is all about the quality, eat whole foods, not packaged or highly processed foods, and quantity,” Franco said.

Being mindful of the serving size and portions of your meals, in addition to regular exercise, is essential.

“Learn portions sizes. Since you’ve been following a high-fat diet, you may need to review the appropriate serving sizes for protein, carbs, and fats so you don’t overdo it,” Hughes said. “Some people forget on a balanced diet you should avoid excessive amounts of sour cream, cheese, and bacon.”

For more great stories, head to INSIDER’s homepage.

If I Stop Keto, Will I Gain the Weight I Lost?

One concern people have with attempting the ketogenic diet is whether they will regain the lost weight if and when they stop maintaining the ketogenic lifestyle, change their eating habits, and start consuming things like whole grains, legumes, and other high-carb foods.  

It’s a reasonable concern. A very high-fat, moderate-protein, low-carb diet eliminates bloating and the consumption of inflammatory foods and also programs your body to burn fat for energy. Thus, it’s fair to wonder whether your weight loss will go in reverse if you reintroduce carbs (and consequently inflammatory foods) into your eating plan and step out of ketosis for extended amounts of time or permanently.

Fortunately, the answer is no. You will not necessarily regain the weight, provided you are thoughtful during and after the transition. 

There are many reasons people choose to stop maintaining a high-fat diet that keeps you in a state of ketosis. Two examples include traveling or big life transitions that make it difficult to stick to a certain way of eating (such as having a new baby at home and friends dropping off meals). Meanwhile, some people feel best when they cycle in and out of ketosis for periods of time, while others meet their keto goals and simply want to reintroduce more net carbs into their diet.  

While you can simply quit the keto diet at any time without experiencing things like the keto flu (which you usually get when you start keto), below are a few tips to follow should you decide to transition out of a ketogenic lifestyle. They can help ensure you don’t gain back all the weight you lost on the keto diet as well as set you up to continue managing your health. 

Make a Slow Transition Off Keto  

First and foremost, when transitioning to a post-keto lifestyle, think slow and steady. Any major diet change can impact your digestive system and weight, so you want to be sure not to swiftly go from keto to a standard American diet, which is extremely high in carbohydrates and low in nutrients. If you go full force into carbage, side effects may include regaining the weight quickly (including nearly instant water weight) and struggling with digestive distress from the carb overload. You don’t want to go into a diet that will make you feel worse than when you were starting keto, do you?

Your best bet is to slowly reintroduce carbs into the diet for the first week and beyond by continuing to mind your macronutrients and modestly upping your grams of carbs. Start by adding in starchy vegetables or fruit, one serving per day, and slowly work your way up to more veggies (perhaps a nice bit of sweet potato), maintaining a healthy diet and considering calorie restrictions to keep yourself in check. See how adding one serving back into your diet feels for a couple of days, and then slowly increase, if desired, continuing with your usual fat intake and lean proteins, if you like. 

Remember, even off keto, there’s no need for copious amounts of processed carbs or any carbs at all; most of them don’t provide great health benefits. Keep in mind: low and slow. 

Stick to Real, Whole, Unprocessed Foods

When transitioning out of ketosis, continue to stick with a “clean” diet, avoiding processed foods to avoid excessive weight gain. 

 Obesity probably resulted from changes in the caloric quantity and quality of the food supply in concert with an industrialized food system that produced and marketed convenient, highly processed foods from cheap agricultural inputs. Such foods often contain high amounts of salt, sugar, fat, and flavor additives and are engineered to have super-normal appetitive properties that increase desire and consumption.   

— Obesity journal, Did the Food Environment Cause the Obesity Epidemic?

In other words, processed foods are calorie-heavy, make you want to eat more, and they don’t provide optimal nutrition. Plus, highly processed grains and sugar contribute to weight gain and inflammation,  the latter of which is the root of many disease processes in the body, including cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, and autoimmunity. 

Consuming high amounts of carbs can also put you back on the “blood sugar roller coaster.” The human brain runs much more efficiently on ketones than on glucose. Your brain cannot synthesize or store glucose, so when glucose runs low, you may get irritable and feel shaky until you consume more. The more processed and sugary foods you consume (such as bagels, cereal, bread, chips, pasta, and candy), the more you may struggle with blood-sugar regulation. 

You’ve worked hard to lose weight and focus on wellness on keto. Your best option to not gain weight and continue to feel good if you stop following a keto diet is to make clean food choices, such as vegetable sources of carbs, wild-caught fish, and grass-fed pasture-raised meats; continue to nurture yourself with real whole foods. Keep healthy fats in your diet, and consume fat with your carbs, to help slow the absorption of sugar into your bloodstream.  

If you decide to reintroduce grains and grain products, such as bread and pasta, into your diet, stick with organic versions of ancient varieties, such as amaranth, millet, and quinoa, which have not been through selective breeding like modern wheat and corn products. Also, consume these grains in small amounts, as the carbs will still invoke an insulin response in the body.  

Incorporate Movement Into Your Routine 

While transitioning out of ketosis, remember to keep your activity level up throughout the day. Research shows that regular movement throughout the day has a much greater impact on your overall health than one heavy exercise session. Ongoing movement can help with keeping the weight off and increase your overall feelings of well-being. We’re not talking multiple jogging sessions, either. It can be as simple as taking a few breaks from work to go for a walk, standing up and stretching, or doing a few yoga poses throughout the day. 

The Final Word

Whether you’re considering a keto diet and want to know what happens “afterward,” or are dieting and are considering transitioning off keto, remember these simple tips if you want to avoid gaining weight as you evolve your diet. The best way to keep off the weight when transitioning out of ketosis is to go low and slow, eat carbs from vegetable and fruit (real food) sources, continue to nurture your body with healthy eating and real food, avoid highly processed foods, and move your body throughout the day. You may also want to consider integrating intermittent fasting into your lifestyle. 

Additionally, whenever making dramatic changes to your diet, it’s a good idea to consult a registered dietitian or nutritionist to make sure your choices are best for your unique body.

How to Smoothly Transition Off the Keto Diet – Health Essentials from Cleveland Clinic

So you’ve followed the ketogenic diet for a few months now. You’ve achieved ketosis, lost some weight and (hopefully) experienced the intense mental clarity that keto-fanatics rave about.

Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit academic medical center. Advertising on our site helps support our mission. We do not endorse non-Cleveland Clinic products or services. Policy

But after months of eating high fat, high protein and very little carbs, how do you reset your body to eat normally again?

“It probably took you a few days to get into ketosis when starting off on the keto diet,” says registered dietitian Kristin Kirkpatrick. “So a sudden influx of carbs and sugar could wreak havoc on your body if you go wild with your diet.”

If you don’t transition properly off the ketogenic diet, you
could be setting yourself up for some not-so-pretty symptoms:

• Weight gain.
• Bloating and other bathroom issues.
• Blood sugar spikes, which could cause fatigue
  and irritability.
• Increased hunger and sugar addiction.

Instead, follow these three tips on how to effectively come
off the keto diet.

1. Focus on hard to digest carbs

When looking to incorporate carbs back into your diet after severe restriction, Kirkpatrick recommends focusing on eating carbs that are high in protein and fiber.

“Bean based pasta, crackers with seeds or sprouted breads are all great options when looking to bring carbs back into your diet,” she says. “Even starting to add in cashews or more avocados are great additions.”

There’s a reason carbs stand for CarboHYDRATES. You’re naturally going to gain a few pounds when you reintroduce them back into your diet because they contain water. The key is to pick healthy, whole carbs that won’t cause gigantic spikes in your blood sugar. The worst thing you can do is go hog wild and start eating donuts and cookies. Instead, focus on the quality of the carbs and pick kinds that take more time to digest.

Transitioning off the keto diet should take a few weeks. About 14 days is pretty reasonable for your body to adjust to the change. Some people find it helpful to increase their carb intake each day by about 10 percent, while others use an app to help keep track. Kirkpatrick suggests that the easiest way is to look at serving size and aim for two extra servings of carbs per day.

2. Be aware of the sugar pitfall

Don’t trade keto fat bombs for sugar bombs! One of the benefits of the ketogenic diet is the low sugar intake and eliminating added sugar in your diet.

“If you followed keto for a couple months, you probably noticed decreased sugar cravings,” says Kirkpatrick. “There’s research proving that sugar is addicting – so why would you want to go back to that?”

A good rule of thumb is to avoid anything with more than 4 grams of added sugar. Also be aware of too much naturally occurring sugar, which can hide in things like honey and certain fruits.

“If you have a bar that has 22 grams of sugar but it’s all from dates, that’s still not good and you’re going to spike your blood sugar,” she says.

3. Good habits help

When you first started keto, it probably took some time to educate yourself and learn about the diet. So coming off keto should be a similar and slow process.

“Weight loss isn’t just about the food – your environment, support system and lifestyle all play a factor in it,” explains Kirkpatrick. “So when keto is over and those things aren’t aligned correctly, it’s going to be easy to fall back into old habits and regain the weight.”

Staying hydrated is another important factor when working on healthy habits post keto. Being dehydrated causes irritability and can make you feel hungry when you’re actually just thirsty.

It all goes back to choosing healthy, balanced meals and snacks. Regaining the weight can be scary, but eating healthy fats, lean protein and quality carbs can still lead to weight loss.

6 Tips for Transitioning Off Keto Without Gaining Weight

Although the keto diet has proven to be incredibly efficient for weight loss and offers real health benefits—like reducing blood sugar, insulin levels, and even reducing risk of Alzheimer’s—the keto diet is extreme. It allows for no more than 10% of calories to come from carbs (which comes with its own set of problems) and requires as much as 60% to come from fat. And lately, experts have been questioning whether the keto diet could actually harm your heart and cardiovascular system.

While the keto diet remains popular, it isn’t necessarily a “forever” option (speaking of which, here are 9 signs you really ought to be eating more carbs). This is why some people look for the right advice when thinking about transitioning off of keto. Because by transitioning off of keto, you are at risk for gaining back the weight you lost.

As personal trainer Jamie Hickey explains, “your body has gotten used to using fat as its primary energy source. It takes time to transition back to using carbs as fuel.”

But weight gain after keto isn’t inevitable, experts point out. Read on for their advice on how to start transitioning off keto without regaining lost weight, or worse, gaining more. And for more healthy eating tips, be sure to check out our list of 21 Best Healthy Cooking Hacks of All Time.

Shutterstock

The first piece of advice I give my clients looking to come off keto is to take it slow,” says Hickey. “Start by adding small servings of fruits and starchy vegetables and working your way up incrementally.”

Once you ramp up to American Dietary Guidelines of Dietary Guidelines (45 to 65 percent of total calories), just make sure to stick to whole foods because processed foods could lead to weight gain, not to mention fatigue, bloating, and all these other side effects. Here are 15 Homemade Swaps for the Worst Ultra-Processed Foods.

Shutterstock

It’s important to remember that keto is nota high protein diet, says Heidi Skolnik, MS, CDN, FACSM. The high levels of fat do keep you satiated, but protein can do that too.

“Maintain or even slightly increase your protein at first,” Skolnik suggests, and don’t be afraid to rely on protein drinks (e.g., protein shakes and protein water) as well. Here’s What Happens To Your Body When You Drink Protein Shakes Every Day.

Shutterstock

“Exercise is critical to helping your body re-adapt to using carbs as fuel,” Skolnik says. “And the good news is, with carbs as fuel, you may find those HITT workouts easier.”

Sure, it’s possible to lose tons of weight without exercising, but here’s what can happen if you don’t.

Shutterstock

“Watch your total calorie intake to avoid eating an excessive amount of calories,” says registered dietitian Marta Ferraz Valles.

There is simply no getting around the fact that calories matter. To lower the number on the scale, you’ve got to take in fewer calories than you’ve been taking in. Conversely, if you increase your calorie consumption, you’ll gain weight. If you need to know how many calories you should be taking in, This Is How Many Calories A Week You Should Eat For Weight Loss.

Shutterstock

Calorie counting will only get you so far if you’re not paying attention to nutrition, Valles points out.

“Start getting in the habit of filling up half your plate with fruit and non-starchy vegetables,” Valles says. Non-starchy vegetables are low in calories but high in nutritional value.

Valles also recommends choosing healthier sources of carbohydrates than basic bread. white rice, and baked goods. Instead, try  “intact whole grains” such as steel-cut oatmeal, and legumes such as beans, lentils, and chickpeas—which are associated with healthier weight and longevity.

Shutterstock

“When transitioning off keto, it can help to move into intermittent fasting,” says registered dietitian Alicia Galvin,  a resident dietitian for Sovereign Laboratories. Intermittent fasting involves limiting eating only during a 12 to eight-hour period over the course of a day.

“Intermittent fasting has been shown to have weight loss and metabolic benefits, which can help you maintain your weight loss after keto,” says Galvin.

Here are 7 Science-Backed Benefits of Intermittent Fasting.

How to maintain weight after a keto diet? What is intuitive eating?

Every diet is different, much like everyone’s body type is different. How long you stay on a ketogenic diet will be a matter of personal preference and results. If you decided to embark on the Keto diet journey, we recommend carefully weaning off ketogenic diet when you’re ready. Carefully reintroducing carbs after a low carb diet is the key in how to maintain weight after a keto diet.

Why do keto?

Whether you tried the Keto diet for medical reasons, or you are coming off of the Keto diet for any other reason; how to transition from keto can be tricky. The increased carbohydrate intake will inevitably create weight gain from water weight and you’re probably now convinced that carbs are bad. We assure you they aren’t as bad as Keto makes them out to be. With some intentional planning and progress monitoring, you will be able to reintroduce carbs without negative reactions.

Things to consider when coming off a keto diet.

While Keto has its time and place, many people decide that it’s not a long-term fit for their lifestyle or weight loss goals. If you are working with a nutrition coach they should be able to help with how to transition from Keto and rebalance your ratio of carbs and fats in your diet.

Your weight may fluctuate! We’ve already identified this factor but it is so important to internalize that information so the scale doesn’t mess with your head. Fluctuation is normal due to the increase in carbohydrates. Your body will naturally begin to retain more water, but don’t worry, this will level out after 3-4 days.

First steps in how to maintain weight after keto diet.

If you haven’t been tracking your food while on Keto, it’s a good idea to do so. Tracking gives you an idea of your caloric intake so you know where to start. Tracking your food for a week or two will give you an idea of how many calories you’ve been eating, so plan to do this before switching from keto to normal diet. Whether you choose to track with a notebook or with flexible dieting, consistency is the key.

Begin digging into nutrition labels and your tracking app to understand quantities and the serving sizes of carbohydrate sources. Consider your food choices and how they will work best for you as you reintroduce foods into your normal diet.

In order to take ease the stress on your digestive system, try introducing vegetables first, then grains before adding in any kind of processed carbohydrates. One simple way to achieve this is by adding vegetables for the first week or two, then increasing your grains (oatmeal, rice, etc), and finally adding any processed foods you would like to reintroduce (cereals, fruit snacks, etc).

Work on training your mind to undo the idea that carbohydrate dense foods are “bad” or will make you gain weight. This is easier said than done, but baby steps. When you’re having these negative food feelings it can help to write down what you’re feeling about a specific food and why you might feel that way. It seems odd but identifying your feelings
towards foods or food groups can help you rationalize them in the long-term.

How to count your macros

Monitor and track your daily protein intake for one week and take the average to determine what protein amounts you should shoot for daily. As with tracking anything, consistency when counting macros is the key to success.

Tailor protein amounts to suit your unique goals. You should aim for 0.8 to 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. This ratio works well for many, but everyone is different and sustainability and consistency based on your lifestyle and goals should come above all.

Every 10-14 days, increase your macros by 10g-20g of carbs and lower your fats by about 5 grams. This will help keep your calories in check while slowly re-proportioning your macro intake. While you do this, make sure to weigh yourself 4-7 times per week to identify where your ‘maintenance’ intake is at.

Ladies, try to not lower your carbs past 45 grams of fat per day.
Gentlemen, you’ll want to stay above 35 grams of fat per day.

What is intuitive eating?

Intuitive eating is just that – eating a balanced portion of food daily, going by intuition alone. I think we all intuitively know that chocolate cake is a less healthy option than carrots and hummus. Though we can’t debate the merits of taste between the two. Getting to the point where you know how to eat intuitively is the overall goal of flexible dieting and will help you in maintaining your weight after a keto diet. If you follow intuitive eating principles, here are some tips on how to wean off a ketogenic diet and add carbs back to your diet without tracking everything by the gram:

• Start writing down your meals. The simplest way is to get an old-fashioned notebook with a pen, and just track your meals and the serving sizes of the foods you are eating.
• Do some research to understand which foods are carbohydrate-dense and the serving sizes associated with those foods. The denser they are, the more calories they have per serving.
• Pick one meal a day to have a serving of carbs. Consistently have that one meal with a serving of  carbs for 10-14 days
• Every 10-14 days, add one serving of carbs until you get to 3 meals with carbs per day.

Monitoring Progress and you’re coming off a low carb diet

If your goal is weight loss, evaluate and reevaluate your progress weekly. We recommend journaling or keeping track of daily weight and notes on a spreadsheet so you can get a big picture idea of where you’re at and how to continually progress.

Keep in mind that 1-2 pounds of weight loss weekly is considered a safe and healthy rate for most individuals, but of course check with your doctor before beginning any weight loss program. You want to be sure your health is always a priority in any diet or exercise program.

How to transition from keto, simplified

Let’s simplify switching from keto to a normal diet, here’s a quick breakdown:

Intuitive Eating

• Begin writing down your food choices for a week or two
• Start with vegetables, then grains followed by processed carbs in your reintroduction
• Identify different carbohydrate sources you want to reintroduce
• 1 meal per day w/carbs for 1-2 weeks
• 2 meals per day 2/carbs for another 1-2 weeks
• 3 meals per day w/carbs for another 1-2 weeks

Flexible Dieting

• Track your food for 1-2 weeks if you haven’t been already. Identify your protein intake
• Every 10-14 days, add in 10-20 grams of carbs and lower fats by 5 grams
• Start with vegetables, then grains followed by processed carbs in your reintroduction
• Ladies go no lower than 40-45 grams of fat per day
• Gentlemen eat no less than 35-40 grams of fat per day

90,000 Keto Diet Will Kill You: Myths and Truths of Low Carb Diet. What is the threat of a complete rejection of carbohydrates?

Details

12
oct

The modern so-called healthy lifestyle is a storehouse of myths, and bottomless at that. Bodybuilders still eat eight times a day, believe that cardio kills muscles and are more afraid of the carbohydrate window. More than CrossFit, they fear catabolism, which is why they endlessly eat protein.

Not saints and crossfit athletes: they often become metkone-dependent, stretch a little and cannot live a day without filming their sneeze.

But today we will not measure ourselves with the most interesting organs, and throw mud at each other, we have already gone through this. In this article, we will look at the most prolonged myths associated with a carbohydrate-free diet, which in the common people is called the keto diet.

1. THE BRAIN NEEDS GLUCOSE. POZAREZ

This is perhaps the most terrible fear of opponents of the keto diet, who sincerely believe that if carbohydrates are not supplied to their body for several hours, the brain will die.In grievous torment. Obviously, this happened ahead of time, because they have nothing to think about these things.

In the life of every person – and especially our cave ancestor, who often had a junk refrigerator – there were periods when for several days he did not have the opportunity to replenish his glucose supply. If you follow the logic of the need for glucose, then a person in this case would throw back his hooves in a day or three. On average, this is how long it takes to use up all the glycogen in the liver.

But this does not happen, the human brain in an incomprehensible way continues to live and even carry out actions that resemble a thought process. Why?

The answer is much simpler than the most elementary integral equation for repeaters: There are two ways to supply the body with energy:

1. Traditional, in which carbohydrates are the main source of energy.
2. The body functions at the expense of fats, and the brain feeds on ketones, which are produced from the same fats in the manner prescribed by the laws of Nature itself.

We have described in great detail why the brain will not die without glucose, even if you do not consume carbohydrates for years, in the article “Is a man alive with carbohydrates: alternative mechanisms of energy supply for the body.” By the way, we highly recommend it.

Dear trainers and healthy people, finally read and stop shaming both yourself and us in society. Okay?)

Conclusion: the brain can function fully and for a long time without carbohydrates.

2. A CARE FREE DIET KILLS THE KIDNEYS. NAPOVAL

This is a very common myth that seems to come from nowhere. But if you do a good job with the brains that have miraculously survived without glucose, you can come to the conclusion that it is based on an iron rule: it is better to overdo it than to miss it.

Many people switch to the keto diet selectively and forget about its physiological foundations. As we have already written a hundred times, a correctly formulated non-carbohydrate is based on the use of a large amount of fat, not protein: in this type of nutrition, fats and proteins should be consumed in the proportion of 1/3 protein + 2/3 fats.

But since in the minds of many people fat is still considered a demon, they ignore the proportion, and instead sharpen the protein in tons. So they complain.

Healthy kidneys can handle excess protein without any problems, but complications can arise in the presence of a disease such as nephropathy.

Conclusion # 1: the keto diet does not require a large amount of protein.

Conclusion number 2: people with healthy kidneys do not need to worry about excess protein in their diet.Conversely, a carbohydrate-free diet will help lower high blood sugar and, as a result, protect the kidneys from damage. And for people with type 2 diabetes, such a diet will help save the kidneys by controlling blood sugar levels.

3. SATURATED FATS OCCUPATE THE ARTERIES DEFINITELY AND DEFINITELY. THIS IS A DIRECT WAY TO INFARCTION

One day, in order to suck in more cereals and cookies to the electorate, the giants of the food industry declared fat a demon.By using heavy artillery in the form of doctors, nutritionists and publications in authoritative publications such as TIME, they formed a favorable public opinion and the necessary patterns of eating behavior. To be absolutely precise, the beginning of the war was laid back in 1961, when the doctor Ansel Keys spoke with a cart about the wild dangers of fat and accused him of a direct connection with cardiovascular diseases

We don’t know what happened in their camp: either the cookies ran out, or the conscience woke up, or the public turned on the mindset, but after, no less than fifty years, the myth was finally debunked.

– I gave birth to you, I will kill you – said the same TIME magazine and in 2014 wrote a grandiose article on the topic: “Eat butter. Scientists have declared fat the enemy. Why they were wrong. ”

Of course, there have been some fat advocates criticizing Keys during this time period, but scientists have only come to the conclusion that there has been no link between saturated fat and heart disease in the last decade.

So another fifty years will pass, and we will stop chasing low-fat foods and fainting at the sight of butter.Changes are around the corner!

Conclusion: the myth about the dangers of fat has been debunked, so do not be afraid to eat healthy fatty foods now!

4. URINE CHOLESTEROL, OTHERWISE ON CARBON FREE IT WILL SOON YOU

The keto diet is believed to raise blood cholesterol levels. And this is true, or rather a half-truth.

Any person in our age of total enlightenment knows for sure: cholesterol is divided into “good” and “bad”, but, in order not to clog his head with unnecessary information, they do not go deeper.

We, too, will not fool you in vain, we will limit ourselves to a simple explanation.

Low density lipoproteins (LDL) carry cholesterol in the body, and elevated levels can cause fatty deposits in the arteries. This “bad cholesterol” is correlated with a high risk of atherosclerosis.

There are also high density lipoproteins (HDL). They are synthesized in the liver, “cleaving off” cholesterol from the cholesterol plaques and carrying it to the liver, where it is processed.

The main role of “good” cholesterol is the continuous transfer of excess cholesterol from the blood to the liver for processing and elimination from the body. Therefore, it is high density lipoproteins that protect the inner walls of blood vessels from accumulations of bad cholesterol in the form of plaques.

Thank you for delving into this scientific dregs, and now listen further.

The carbohydrate-free helps to increase the level of high density lipoproteins (HDL), that is, “good” cholesterol, reduces the level of dangerous triglycerides and levels the symptoms of atherosclerosis.

It turns out that everything is just the opposite!

We’ve already compared high and low carb diets: The article “No Carb Keto Diet vs Low Fat Diet: A Comparative Meta-Analysis of Nutrition Strategies” with links to scientific studies is at your service. In short, and on the fingers, research has shown that a carbohydrate-free diet, in general, has a positive effect on the lipid profile and reduces the risk of heart disease by regulating cholesterol levels.

Conclusion: The keto diet improves the lipid profile and reduces the risk of heart disease.

5. ON A KETO DIET YOU ARE LACK OF NUTRIENTS AND DIE FROM CHINGA

Very often you can hear that a carbohydrate-free diet is poor in vitamins, minerals, nutrients, and so on.

Let’s think logically. The basis of a keto diet is meat, oil, poultry, fish, seafood, eggs, vegetables.

Now let’s think about what products we refuse on carbohydrate-free?

First of all, these are sugar and fruits. We hope that there is no need to convince you of the dangers of sugar and sweets, it is not surprising and the fact that the benefits of fruits are highly questionable.

Secondly, these are cereals. Admittedly, whole grains contain nutrients, but the benefits are very, very small, and recent studies we’ve written about suggest that the difference between refined simple and complex carbohydrates in whole grain form isn’t as huge as it is painted.

Third, there are sweet vegetables in the form of carrots and bell peppers. We admit that we did not find any evil in them, which means that we need to sacrifice something and replace them with “permitted” products.

Fourthly, there is ice cream, fast food, sweet juices. No comments are needed here.

So let’s compare these lists and honestly tell ourselves which came first – the chicken or the egg. Ugh, let’s think about which foods are more nutritious: eggs, poultry, butter, meat, fish, seafood or cereals, rolls and different types of sugar?

Conclusion: switching from carbohydrate to keto nutrition will only increase the amount of natural nutrients that enter the body.

6. ALL BONES CREATE AND A GREAT OSTEOPOROSIS WILL COME

There is an opinion that a carbohydrate-free diet increases the acidity of the blood, leads to the leaching of minerals from the bones and, as a result, causes osteoporosis. At the heart of this concept is the misconception that a high-protein diet harms bones and increases blood acidity.

This is not the case because, under normal circumstances, the pH of the blood is independent of what foods a person eats.The body itself strictly controls the pH level, otherwise humanity would have gone ahead of schedule after the dinosaurs.

On the fingers of one hand, the flawedness of these statements is proved to us by a reader who wrote to us that for many years she has been suffering from an illness associated with the fact that she cannot absorb calcium. Doctors categorically forbade her to consume carbohydrates in any form, in order to avoid further leaching of calcium from the bones.

Conclusion: Do not be afraid of osteoporosis, let him be afraid of you.

7. KETOSIS IS A DANGEROUS DISEASE

Ketosis, ketoacidosis, kyphosis, coma – what’s the difference? That one sounds suspicious, that the second.

Ketosis is often confused with ketoacidosis, but despite the similarity of words, these are completely different things.

Ketoacidosis is a really dangerous condition of the human body with type 1 diabetes, which occurs when the poor fellow does not take insulin at the right time.

Ketosis is an absolutely normal and natural state of the human body with a low-carbohydrate diet, and we described its physiological mechanisms above.

Conclusion: ketosis is not a disease, it is not dangerous.

We have finished, and now we turn to the discussion.

Add comment

90,000 Keto diet: menu, reviews, keto diet for beginners – recipes that can be done with a keto diet – January 20, 2021

How to enter a state of ketosis and who should not go on a keto diet, says Margarita Budassi, specialist in the field of fitness testing, doctor – nutritionist, therapist of the X-Fit fitness club in Russia.The material is of a recommendatory nature: consult with your doctor or endocrinologist before choosing a specific diet for yourself.

The human body works thanks to energy, or incoming calories, which it takes from food. The main ones are proteins, fats and carbohydrates, which decompose when ingested: proteins – to amino acids, fats – to fatty acids and glycerin, carbohydrates – to glucose.

The ketogenic diet is a diet that consumes foods low in carbohydrates and high in fat.With such a diet, fats account for 70% of the total calorie intake, protein – 20%, carbohydrates – 5%. Simple carbohydrates are completely excluded. The type of diet is considered low-carbohydrate: the consumption of carbohydrates does not exceed 20 g per day.

Not all fats found in foods are suitable for the keto diet. To start ketosis, you need to consume medium-chain fatty acids: coconut oil, avocados, nuts. It is also important to maintain a 50 to 50 balance of vegetable and animal fats.

shutterstock.com

Why the keto diet

The keto diet was first used in the early 20th century to treat epilepsy in children. This type of diet is now used for weight loss.

Ketosis does not occur immediately, but only on the seventh day without the use of carbohydrates.
In the early days, a feeling of the keto flu is possible: drowsiness, weakness, loss of strength. On the sixth or seventh day, dry mouth, thirst, increase the amount of energy and strength, decrease appetite and appear keto breathing: you can smell acetone or nail polish remover.

This occurs against the background of carbohydrate withdrawal. After a few days, the body rebuilds and is ready to receive energy not from carbohydrates, but from healthy fats, the amount of which prevails in the body.

shutterstock.com

For what purposes it is practiced

This type of nutrition is relevant:

• for neurological diseases: Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, autism spectrum disorders, depressive conditions, with the syndrome of hyperexcitability and attention deficit disorder in children;
• for weight loss. When the amount of carbohydrates supplied is limited, the body begins to look for reserve sources of energy. Such reserves are contained in subcutaneous fat: in the body, reactions of splitting fat cells are triggered, fatty acids and ketone bodies are formed, which act as glucose substitutes;
• to reduce appetite. High-carbohydrate food provokes surges in insulin and blood glucose – constantly hungry. Ketones reduce the production of ghrelin, the hormone of hunger, which helps to reduce appetite;
• for health maintenance. During the keto diet, appetite decreases, the digestive tract improves

because of the reduction of simple carbohydrates and sugar,
diabetes is prevented, more strength and energy appears, hormones normalize, cognitive abilities improve: memory, attention;

• to improve digestion. When fatty foods are consumed, bile secretion becomes more active, which becomes the prevention of stool disorders and intestinal dysbiosis.Bloating, constipation, and digestive disorders disappear.

Contraindications to the keto diet:

• type 1 and 2 diabetes;
• pregnancy and lactation;
• pancreatitis;
• problems with the thyroid gland;
• enzyme deficiency;
• disorders in the functioning of the kidneys, liver and gastrointestinal tract.

Diet for the keto diet

The diet should contain the right amount of calories for a specific person.The number of dishes is varied due to the combinations of products. Use bitter herbs and spices to reduce cravings for sweets and carbohydrates: cloves, turmeric, ginger, and sorbents: activated carbon, lignin, filterum.

The optimal number of meals is three times a day. It is advisable to avoid snacks and divide the daily calorie intake into all meals. For physical activity and intense training, a cyclical keto diet with added carbohydrates before exercise is recommended: 0.5 g carbohydrates per kilogram of body weight.

shutterstock.com

Animal fats contains:

• meat – lamb, pork;
• fatty fish – sockeye salmon, trout, mackerel, char, salmon, herring; 90,030 90,029 eggs;
• dairy products – cheese, cottage cheese 18%, sour cream 20-40%, butter 82.5%;
• Ghee and butter GHI.

Vegetable fats:

• Nuts: dried or fermented;
• vegetable oil: coconut, olive, mustard, pumpkin, black cumin and others;
• avocado;
• seeds: chia, flax, sunflower, pumpkin, hemp;

What is not allowed on the keto diet

Must be excluded:

• sugar, honey, syrups and sweeteners;
• flour and baked goods, pasta;
• starchy vegetables – potatoes, beets, carrots, pumpkin;
• sweet fruits – bananas, grapes, mangoes, persimmons, dried fruits.

Getting enough water helps the body adjust to a new diet and avoid the keto flu. Recommended drinks: water at the rate of 30 ml per kilogram of body weight, herbal teas, bronecofe or sugar-free cocoa with vegetable oil.

Do not use fruit juices, jelly, compote, soda with sugar or sweet substitutes.

shutterstock.com

Keto diet menu

Breakfast

Option 1: poached egg, slightly salted salmon, avocado, lettuce.
Option 2: nut keto granola with coconut milk.

Lunch

Option 1: vegetable soup with turkey meatballs and cashews.
Option 2: salad of fresh vegetables and mackerel baked in herbs.

Dinner

Option 1: stewed vegetables with beef and RAW nut sauce.
Option 2: green beans with mushrooms and vegetable oil.

Snack if there is no time for a full meal: fermented nuts, straws of vegetables with RAW nut sauce, bronecofe.

Channel about healthy lifestyle in telegram! Subscribe

The main principles of the keto diet, 4 contraindications and health consequences: says the doctor

If you still can’t lose weight after the May holidays, it’s time to take on yourself. The main thing is that your diet is not like these.

1. Purification with juice

Rules: Eating without solid food. Instagram often offers detox programs that include six or so ready-to-drink fruit and vegetable juices throughout the day.There are many iterations of this diet, for example, Victoria’s Secret angel Adriana Lima says she follows an all-liquid diet before fashion shows. Nine days before an important event, she drinks protein shakes made from egg powder and water.

Promise: Because this ultra-low-calorie diet prohibits the solid foods you are accustomed to eating, you will eat fewer calories without having to follow many complicated rules. This creates a calorie deficit that promotes weight loss.

Reality: “The five pounds in three days you lose after a juice cleanse is usually the weight of water from your muscles, not fat,” explains Charlie Seltzer, MD, weight loss specialist in Philadelphia. , Pennsylvania. “After completing the program, your body will not be much different from what you saw before, and you will gain the same amount just by looking at the croissant,” he adds.

2. Purification with activated carbon

Rules: you are drinking juice containing activated charcoal.

Promise : Your body cannot absorb activated charcoal, so it passes through your digestive system intact. Because it clings to toxins in the body, it removes impurities such as pesticides and any harmful substances found in inorganic or processed foods. Diet aficionados say it improves skin health, digestion and organ function.

Reality: “You think you are flushing out toxins from your body, but charcoal does not pass through your entire body – only through your intestines, where it can bind to nutrients and suck them out,” Zeltser explains.“Our body processes toxins quite well, and your chances of dying from toxins in food are lower than your risk of dying from obesity. If you want to reduce the amount of toxins in your body, avoid unhealthy foods, ”he adds.

3. Shangri-La Diet

Source here and below: Pexels

Rules: You drink very light olive oil or unscented sugar water between meals.

Promise: Eating a variety of flavorful foods stimulates hunger and makes you gain weight. By consuming soft foods, you fight hunger, and you do not have any cravings for food, so you end up eating less and losing weight.

Reality: “Not a bad idea,” says Dr. Seltzer. “For some people, a wide variety of foods stimulates their appetite. But if you eat the same food every day, you get bored and crave more varied foods.Success is likely to depend on the individual. But I would use whey protein instead of olive oil between meals because it will satisfy your appetite with fewer calories. ”

4. Diet based on baby food

Rules: This weight loss diet involves eating up to 16 cans of baby food a day in place of regular meals and snacks.

Promise: According to Tracey Anderson, personal trainer Gwyneth Paltrow, who is credited with creating the program, this creates a calorie deficit that promotes weight loss, detoxifies the body and helps break bad habits.

Reality: Although baby food is cooked to a minimum, Dr. Seltzer disapproves of it: “This is a gimmick. If you look at people with a healthy body, no one will tell you that they adhere to the children’s menu. This is ridiculous”.

5. Vision Diet

Rules: you eat everything with glasses with blue tones.

Promise: This diet, based on the idea that red and yellow foods are tastier (eg, meat, fries, ripe fruits), is designed to make your food less appetizing.In theory, this makes you eat less.

Reality: “It doesn’t seem right to me,” says Dr. Seltzer. “But if it makes people slimmer, there is no downside.” Except for the fact that in a restaurant, you will look a little strange.

6. Diet with nose pinching while eating

Rules: Cover your nose so you don’t smell while eating.

Promise: This will dull your sense of taste and help you focus on your real appetite.That is, you will stop eating when you are full.

Reality: “The smell really stimulates the appetite, but how are you going to eat lunch every time you close your nose? No normal person will do this in the long term, ”says Dr. Seltser.

7. Ice Cream Diet

Rules: You eat two and a half special ice cream a day (diet ice cream is made with coconut cream and honey).

Promise: ice cream creates a calorie deficit that leads to weight loss. And you can eat ice cream all day.

Reality: “Any calorie deficit will lead to weight loss, but it can also cause nutritional deficiencies. However, you cannot eat ice cream for the rest of your life.

8. Diet based on maple syrup and cayenne pepper

Rules: you must drink water with lemon, maple syrup and cayenne pepper throughout the day; laxative tea at night.

Promise: is an extremely low calorie diet with ingredients (such as cayenne pepper) known to boost metabolism.

Reality: “I would rather you eat every day at McDonald’s than do it,” says Dr. Seltzer. “Forcing you to drink an ugly-tasting drink will not work in the long run as it will scare you away and detach you from reality.”

9. Diet on Coca-Cola

Rules: you drink six to nine cans of sugar-free cola a day.

Promise : Sparkling water will give you a feeling of fullness, you won’t be hungry.

Reality: “Anything that restricts calorie intake will lead to weight loss in the short term,” says Dr. Seltzer, “but anyone looking to lose weight by drinking a few cans of cola a day is in trouble.” This is because when you drastically cut your calorie intake, your metabolism slows down.When you return to the normal menu, you will gain weight again.

10. Diet with cotton balls

Rules: You eat up to five cotton balls (or an equivalent amount of tissue paper) dipped in orange juice, lemonade, or smoothies in one sitting.

Promise: you fill your stomach without consuming enough calories to gain weight.

Reality: “This sounds crazy to me,” says Dr. Seltzer.”I’m not a gastroenterologist, but I can’t imagine what will happen to your stomach or intestines after such a diet.”

90,000 Strict keto diet – still not losing weight

Let me share some of the things I’ve learned about good health and effective weight loss / control.

It’s a long journey:

Good health (which includes the composition of healthy fat) is a journey of a lifetime. Don’t be upset and don’t be upset.It’s great that you are looking for ideas and things to try, but remember that you are in this for a long time, and two weeks is a short time. I have not tried the ketogenic diet, but I do follow a healthy vegetarian diet and try to keep my carbs a little low and my fats a little high. It doesn’t sound like you are doing something wrong, but subjectively speaking, your approach sounds complicated and complicated. It will take you months to get where you want to go, and your strategy should be one that you can stick with for months.If keto works for you and is sustainable, go for it. If not, I would suggest mixing intermittent fasting with “eat food, mostly vegetables, not too much”

Post is useful to you

Don’t believe anyone who tells you that fasting is unhealthy or dangerous. There is a large and growing body of evidence that fasting is safe and effective, and has many health benefits. If you’re going to fast for longer (say, more than a week), you can take a multivitamin and mineral supplement, but fasting has been a part of human experience and human culture for millennia.If you are malnourished or have any complications, fasting is not only safe but also good for you.

I recently finished a seven-day fast, which I am going to repeat years later after reviewing some pretty compelling evidence that this dramatically lowers your chances of getting cancer. There is growing evidence that fasting reduces the likelihood of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

For an excellent overview of the health effects of intermittent fasting and its uses for weight loss, I highly recommend The Complete Guide to Fasting by Jason Fung and Jimmy Moore.It is an extremely well-researched and data-driven book, albeit very accessible to the layperson. I found this informative and motivating. Dr. Fang has a fairly large online presence and you may find it helpful to watch some of his videos.

Fasting isn’t just an effective weight loss strategy, it’s really great.

Listen to your body

Checking the scale regularly is a good way to measure progress, but it is not the only way, and it should not be your only indicator.How do you feel? If you’re in the middle of a fast, it’s okay to be hungry, and the first couple of days of fasting are usually tired or irritable, but this shouldn’t be a chronic experience. In my seven-day fast, I found the third day really hard, but from the fifth to the seventh day I felt great. I also notice that my skin brightens and softens and my joint pains disappear, both of which were very pleasant surprises.

There are physiological reasons why you plateau

There seems to be a real tendency for the human body to try to maintain a “target weight”.If your body is accustomed to the 95 kg weight, it will have physiological reactions that try to keep it at that weight.

Okay, so what does that mean about your disappointment?

Well, you lost 4 kg and now you pay for a while … I read that it is typical to spill extra water while fasting. In one 4-day fast, I lost a kilogram a day and gained ~ 3.2 kg when I broke the fast. My seven-day fast was about the same: losing 1 kg per day for 3 days, then 0.2 kg per day, and then gaining a couple of kilograms after breaking the fast.

While fasting, you can expect to burn about 200 grams of fat per day, more or less depending on your metabolism and activity level. It is very likely that you continue to burn fat, but it does not show up in scale because you are saving more water. Feel free to experiment, but don’t be discouraged. If you are losing 1/2 to 1 kg per week, you are doing great. You have to keep up the good work, so adjust your strategy to what you can support.

Based on the target weight effect, I set myself plateau goals. I maintain a fairly steady workout regimen and then change the number of days of fasting I do to lose or maintain weight. So, for example, this October I will spend 5 days of 21-hour fasting (and eat healthy food on weekends), expecting to lose several hundred grams of fat every week. I will then try to maintain my new weight for a week or two with a few quick days, and then try the cycle again.

This is a bit of a personal philosophy, but when doing physical fitness, be it strength or endurance, it is important to vary your workout and it is important to plan for recovery periods – a typical marathon workout involves 3 weeks of training followed by recovery. a week (where you still exercise, but less so you can recharge your batteries). Often, a week of recovery helps you avoid or surpass plateaus. I don’t understand why it should be different for weight loss.

Last week I didn’t lose any weight at all, but by looking in the mirror and squeezing my stomach and watching my progress along my waist slots, I am sure that the composition of fat in my body was moving in the right direction. Therefore, although scale is important, I will not allow it to be my only measure of progress.

If I don’t do my goal of 2 kg per month this way, I’ll try to do a couple of 2-day fasts, or maybe another 4 or 7-day fast – whatever is convenient.

Hope some of this helps you.

90,000 Nutritionist talks about the pros and cons of the keto diet | News | Izvestia

Nutritionist, member of the Association of Dietitians and Nutritionists Marina Makisha told Izvestia about the advantages and disadvantages of the recently popular ketogenic, or so-called keto diet.

Diet

The peculiarity of the classic keto program is that the caloric content of the diet is provided due to the high content of fats and proteins. At the same time, carbohydrates are almost completely excluded.No more than 20 g of carbohydrates per day is allowed, which is equivalent to 100 g of apples, said Marina Makisha.

At the same time, the diet consists mainly of meat products, fish, eggs, various types of dairy products that contain fat, such as cheese, sour cream, yoghurts are acceptable. Also included are nuts and avocados.

As for fruits, they are almost completely excluded. Some leafy greens are allowed. All other vegetables, such as tomatoes or eggplants, are very limited, the expert noted.Also, almost all whole grains, legumes, whole grain breads go away.

Do dietitians recommend?

The keto diet is more of a short-term program than a nutritional system, the specialist noted.

“The keto diet can be recommended only for a short period of time, to people who are absolutely healthy and preferably for a period not longer than two to three weeks. It is prescribed if you need to quickly lose weight or, as they say, dry out. On a keto diet, glycogen stores in muscles and liver are reduced, which leads to the loss of excess fluid, ”said the doctor.

In general, Makisha recommends refraining from harsh experiments with keto diets. “It’s better not to do such experiments on yourself, but simply to lose weight on a balanced diet with limited calories and restriction of fast carbohydrates in the diet. And nevertheless preserving a certain amount of fruits, vegetables and whole grains, ”said the nutritionist.

Contraindications

Any diseases of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) are a direct contraindication to the keto diet.This is especially true for people with colitis and intestinal microflora disorders.

“In the diet of keto programs, a person receives less dietary fiber. Because of this, in just two to three weeks, significant problems with the intestines begin. Prolonged exposure to the keto diet tends to disrupt the normal functioning of the digestive system. To prevent these complications, it is recommended to drink fiber, psyllium, that is, to receive these dietary fibers, at least in the form of small powders or oat bran.But in fact, this does not solve the problem, ”added the specialist.

This trendy diet is also contraindicated for people with various kidney diseases or gout. The fact is that it includes quite a lot of animal products that contain purine bases, Makisha said.

Pitfalls

In reality, a very limited number of people manage to follow the classic keto diet. The fact is that a sharp restriction of carbohydrates is a great stress for the human body.“Usually we get 50-60% of our energy from foods that contain carbohydrates. When they are removed from the diet, many people break down, ”said a member of the Association of Dietitians and Nutritionists.

In addition, the keto diet does not give a lasting result, the nutritionist refers to his own medical practice. “People who have lost weight on a keto diet then experience the so-called ‘yo-yo’ effect, and a rollback occurs. Moreover, it is quite significant, and it can be difficult to keep the weight, ”the expert noted.

Despite the fact that on the Internet, supporters of the keto diet describe effective cases of losing weight, in fact, not everyone succeeds in losing weight, Marina Makisha noted.

“In my practice, there are many cases when people were on a keto diet for six months and did not get any special results. Because in order to lose weight, you need to reduce the calorie content of the diet. And if calories are gained from the same fats that are present in the diet, then there will be no weight loss, ”the nutritionist concluded.

On January 17, nutritionist-gastroenterologist Galina Bartashevich announced the danger of eating red meat for human health due to the possible development of oncology.

On January 12, nutritionist Irina Toropygina listed foods that help to lose weight. According to the specialist, in order to lose weight, you need to introduce fruits, such as pineapple, which contains bromelain, a useful enzyme that improves digestion and reduces the formation of adipose tissue.

READ ALSO

Dr. Ducan’s Diet – “The Post-Keto Ducan Diet.My story of self-motivation, ups and downs “

Hello!

I am 29, at the beginning of last year I got on the scales and saw a terrible figure of 80kg – and this with an increase of 160cm! I can’t even say for sure when I had time to type so much, I looked at myself in the mirror all this time and did not believe that I had been out of shape for a long time, to put it mildly. Then a pandemic began and I decided to play a game with myself – since everyone was closed at home, then I urgently need to take care of myself and then, when the quarantine is lifted, appear before the whole world in a new, improved form in order to catch admiring glances and like myself more.By the way, I was not always big, but in the last four years I have developed a stupid and seductive habit of eating at night, eating out of boredom, seizing stress – I think this is familiar to many. And as a result, a sad face framed by cheeks winks from the mirror, shortness of breath and problems with pressure appeared. So, first my journey started with a keto diet.

The diet is based on foods high in fat and low in carbohydrates – pork, butter, mushrooms, avocados, eggs, bacon, green vegetables, cheeses and very heavy cream.In addition to everything, I followed a drinking regimen (at least 2 liters of water per day) and sometimes allowed myself alcohol, but with a low carbohydrate content – dry white wine and whiskey.

From March to August, the weight dropped to 69 kg – I strictly followed all the instructions and did not experience any feeling of hunger. I confess that the abundance of fatty food was a little embarrassing (the pancreas hurt a couple of times), and the food was hitting the wallet, but what can you not do for the sake of a holy goal.

In September, she left for another city for a month and a half and deliberately did not forbid herself anything – there were croissants, pizza, pasta, beer and other earthly sins.Returning home, I got on the scales – 72.5 kilos, not so much gained! I returned to the keto diet, but drank wine once a week, so from October to January the weight did not move up or down (alcohol retains water and greatly slows down all weight loss processes).

Then the New Year holidays began, I received guests and planned the menu in such a way that it did not go beyond what was allowed – there was duck, and cheesecake with mulled wine jelly, and cinnamon buns, and a variety of salads, snacks – all without sugar and extremely low carb.The guests ate it with a bang, no one even suspected that the whole feast was dietary. Pleasantly!

Immediately after the holidays, a lot of work was piled up in a very stressful mode and I fell out. Wow, how it fell! In one evening I could eat a huge bowl of Olivier with breaks to lie down, “rest”, in the evening – half of the cake, I already had no strength, and I ate and ate everything. I used to eat a couple of pizzas a day at work, drinking all this splendor with juice or beer. In this mode, in a very short period, my weight rose to 76.5 kg.
In the mirror I saw the swollen face of a forty-year-old aunt, familiar since spring, with her stomach sticking out so that they could open the doors. In horror, I began to google, how to urgently get rid of the consequences of a deep jam.

As you know, a good diet is a long diet, but this knowledge did not prevent me from sitting on very tough fasting days, where one day is offered to drink only a bottle of kefir, on the second – to eat one apple, on the third – two boiled eggs. I was terribly hungry, dizzy, six days later I saw a plumb line at minus three kilos.Of course, after a week with a little usual food, these three kilos came back. I had to look for another way, the correct one, not hungry, with a full-fledged diet, and I stumbled upon the Ducan Diet.

For those who don’t know – The Ducan Diet is based on a diet high in protein and low in fat and carbohydrates. It consists of four stages – Attack, Alternation, Reinforcement and Stabilization. The number of days you need to sit at each stage is the sum of your BMI and your desired weight.
And even though the Dukan Diet differs in diet from the keto diet, they have the same mechanism. Since the days of keto, I still have test strips for the determination of ketones in urine and I was surprised to find that on Dukan I remain in ketosis, as if I ate the way I had six months ago.

At all stages, it is very important to drink 1.5-2 liters of liquid per day and eat 1.5-2 tablespoons of oat bran (this will at least save you from constipation)

The attack is a completely protein stage, in my case it lasted 6 days …During this time, she ate baked chicken without skin, eggs, low-fat cottage cheese, fish and shrimps. It was a little strange not to crunch a cucumber, but six days is not long, believe me. Many people write that it is difficult for them to give up buns, cakes, sweets and other things. Be patient, everything is much more interesting further!

I lost a couple of kilos, but it was water, not fat. To begin to melt fat, you first need to get rid of the swelling. It turns out that if you drink two liters of liquid a day, then you do not need to resort to any diuretics, all processes take place naturally.

The alternation consists of alternating days – one protein, the second protein-vegetable. Some people prefer a 2/2, 3/3 and so on alternation schedule, but 1/1 seems to me the most painless and convenient. I remember what I ate yesterday – if there were vegetables, then today is the day of pure protein and vice versa. On protein days I eat skinless chicken, fish, seafood, eggs, cottage cheese; I add broccoli, zucchini, tomatoes, cucumbers, asparagus, Brussels sprouts and cauliflower, sometimes eggplant to protein and vegetable days. I found many cool recipes, learned that bran can not only be chewed sadly with curd, but also used as a basis for baking bread, pancakes, cakes.

This is where real life began! Bran bread croutons for breakfast? You are welcome! Pancakes with meat, with caviar – to your health! Custard cake, soufflé, pies – as many as you like! Everything is tasty, varied, healthy! And the most interesting thing is that protein saturates so cunningly that you don’t eat much, you don’t feel hungry, you don’t want to eat at night from the word at all. At first, however, the stomach whined a little, they say, something we haven’t eaten for a long time, let’s have a snack for the night, but I read a wonderful phrase of a losing weight madam in time on some thematic forum.She wrote that if she feels a little hungry in the evening, then this is good, it means that in the morning there will be a plumb line and with a light heart she is distracted by other things besides food.

In general, Ducan does not recommend fasting, but let’s face the facts – the only condition under which you will lose weight is a calorie deficit. If you eat more than you spend, then weight loss will not come. That is, there are two ways – either eat less, or engage in physical activity in large volumes (I do not have enough time for this and natural laziness takes over).I don’t bring myself to hungry faints, if I really want to have a snack at two in the morning – I eat low-fat cottage cheese, nothing bad will happen from this. But over time, the feeling of hunger really becomes less and less, the main thing is to be patient.

Alcohol is strictly prohibited here, but I will say this – a month later I drank several glasses of dry wine. I got drunk faster than before the diet, however, as well as on keto. And I got the exact same effect – an extra kilogram of water was added on the scales, the weight did not fall for a week.Accordingly, if you really want to lose weight, it’s better to be patient, with alcohol this business will move much longer.

Now my weight is 68.5 kilos, I am striving for 59 kg and, judging by the dynamics, by the summer I will finally reach my goal. The legs became noticeably thinner, the stomach decreased, the best of all was the face. I was surprised how much excess weight adds age. Stretch marks have appeared, but this is not critical, I will proudly wear them as a medal for courage and patience, as a reminder of my past life with 80kg.

After the alternation stage, the third stage awaits me, Consolidation – it includes protein-vegetable days, one day a week is purely protein, you can gradually introduce fruits and whole grains, once a week you are allowed to eat whatever your heart desires (but not overeat !) – this period is no less important than the previous two, it will allow you to switch to a normal diet, but maintain a normal weight.According to calculations, it will have to sit on it for about 160 days (at the rate of 10 days for each lost kilogram). I know that many ignore the Consolidation and quickly regain the gained pounds, or even more. Stabilization is the last stage of the diet, in fact – a recommendation for life – once a week to arrange a protein day for yourself and do not forget about the bran and water.

Dukan’s diet turned out to be very comfortable for me, not hungry, extremely understandable and inexpensive. You can afford to buy salmon or caviar, because I eat a little and I can stretch the pleasure for a long time.During weight loss, healthy habits are formed, love for healthy and tasty products awakens. Honestly, I would now choose beef steak or grilled fish instead of pizza.

And also, secretly, I’m very curious – how does it feel to be thin again? How is it to wear short skirts and shorts again, without rubbing your thighs together to bloody blisters? Stop being ashamed of yourself, not being afraid to meet a guy, worrying about his appearance and complexes? Half of the thrown off weight behind the shoulders is very inspiring and motivating, now it seems a little funny why it used to be scary to start losing weight.

My advice to you is to come up with a good goal, strong, motivating and not abstract. Having a beautiful and healthy body is good, but too blurry, it is difficult to move towards such a goal. Lose weight by summer, lose weight in this particular dress, plan yourself a trip to the sea in a beautiful swimsuit, mark in red the date for the graduation meeting in six months. Be calm and stubborn, get yourself a diary, find support from a friend or on a thematic forum, and everything will definitely work out!

food without hunger and restrictions

Eat as much as you want and lose weight without effort – dexterity of metabolism and no fraud.How fat melts fat – in the Cilantro review.

“How much weight can you lose on a keto diet?” – such a question often comes from those who are still far from the LCHF principles. The keto diet for weight loss can and should be viewed in the context of wellness. Overweight is an indicator of health problems (of course, this is not about a couple of extra pounds that prevent you from getting into your favorite jeans). On keto, we eat food rich in fat, it returns the internal settings to the correct settings, and the body starts to work like a clock.Leaving extra pounds takes place in the background, but it certainly becomes one of the most enjoyable and visual special effects of keto.

Weight loss bonus

Historically, the keto diet has been a healthful diet and has proven effective for epilepsy, diabetes and a host of other chronic diseases. In the heyday of the carbohydrate era, keto has become the key to fighting the obesity epidemic (which explains its popularity in the United States). This is how the query “keto diet for weight loss” appeared.

Traditional notions of “eat less, move more” weight loss require a lot of willpower. Counting calories, cutting portions, eating fractional meals, torturing yourself for hours in the gym at the same time, ignoring hunger and loss of energy – this is not a story for the faint of heart and definitely not about health. This unnecessary suffering will only provide endless frustration, loss of time and energy. This approach is for masochists, and ordinary people eventually give up, and the weight comes back.

Fortunately, calories are not the only ones who decide to lose weight or not.Weight is also regulated by hormones. If you lower your levels of insulin, a hormone that stores fat, it will be easier to lose weight. On a keto diet, we change our main “fuel” from carbohydrates (glucose) to fats (ketones) and no longer suffer from spikes in blood sugar, overeating and remorse.

Pros of keto nutrition for weight loss

1. Having survived the keto flu (a feeling of weakness, chills and fog in the head in the first days of switching to a diet), the body receives a lot of bonuses.The general state of health, emotional mood improves, there is a surge of energy, and the brain begins to work at the speed of light. The main thing: comes to naught dependence on sweet food . Fat keeps you satiated for a long time, so it is unlikely that anyone would think of a cinnamon roll for a meal while waiting for dinner.
2. Another benefit of low-carb diets is you always feel full . Hunger is the main cause of breakdowns and lack of results in most diets. Therefore, it is easier to lose weight on keto.
3. Even without counting KBZHU, you start eating less . The keto diet is eaten until satiety, and it is achieved with a smaller amount of food – fats saturate better and for longer.
4. The centimeters that have left the waist and hips will not return in the long run . After all, there is no longer an “insulin swing”, and hence a painful hunger that requires you to constantly recharge with something. Not to mention how the macronutrients themselves are metabolized in the body: for the fat that has settled on the sides, oddly enough, we say “thanks” to carbohydrates – not fats.In addition, it is carbohydrates that retain fluid, so in the first couple of weeks all excess water, puffiness, and the silhouette becomes noticeably slimmer on keto.

Is the keto diet effective for weight loss?

Keto diet for weight loss does not promise exact figures that in X days you will lose N kilograms. But all keto adherents know by themselves that weight goes away – at first rapidly, then a little more slowly, and the result remains stable for a long time.

In 90% of cases on a keto diet, people lose excess weight and get into their ideal shape.Just look at Gwyneth Paltrow , Halle Berry , Kardashian sisters , who keep fit due to a lack of carbohydrates.

Once again: we eat as much as we want, but we get satiated better – fats are broken down longer than . Many people on keto eat 1-2 times a day, morning and evening, not because it is necessary, but because they do not feel hungry.

The important thing is that keto is not a story about counting calories and “foods that you can”, but about a conscious attitude to food.Formally, on a high-fat diet, you can eat lamb on a fat tail with greens for days and at the same time lose weight. But for the keto adherent, nutrition becomes a biohacking tool , with which you can take your body and quality of life to a new, higher level. Imagine that you changed the type of fuel in the car: the old one was “dirty” and, when burned, damaged all the internal mechanisms, which made the car breathe. But the new, cleaner, does not injure parts, is consumed economically, which means the car will run and last longer.

5 Reasons Why You Still Don’t Lose Weight On Keto

1. Frequent snacking. There is no hunger, but old habits take their toll, and now you are already reaching for a chocolate bar (even a bitter one). Snacks are allowed on keto, there are many healthy alternatives to sweets and pastries, but you should not get carried away with them. Moderation is important in everything. In addition, we often confuse hunger with thirst – have a thermos of tea or a bottle of mineral water at hand.
2. Excess carbohydrates. We are supposed to have 20-50 g of carbohydrates per day, but it is very easy to go beyond these limits, forgetting, for example, that there are a lot of them in berries and dairy products.
3. Alcohol , even if it is dry and in small doses, slows down weight loss when consumed regularly. While the liver is busy with its disposal, it has no time for you and your kilograms.
4. Dirty keto. If there is still “forbidden” in the diet (for example, fruits, dough or foods with hidden sugars and gluten), the body will constantly receive a reminder of carbohydrates.Just as you can’t sit on two chairs, you can’t get very far on two types of “fuel” (metabolic flexibility deteriorates over the years). And the liver will be loaded, and the weight will stand.
5. Chronic stress. If you often suffer from “evil” hunger, coma after dinner, or, conversely, a surge of energy at night, and even craving for salty foods, then you should deal with the sources of stress (they give rise to tired adrenal glands syndrome). Cortisol (the stress hormone) suppresses ketosis: stress raises blood sugar, while keto lowers it.This imbalance can inhibit all the positive effects of a low-carb diet, including weight loss.

Materials used for the article:

1) https://annals.org/aim/article-abstract/1

4/effects-low-carbohydrate-low-fat-diets-randomized-trial
2) http://www.sbu.se/sv/Publicerat / Gul / Mat-vid-fetma- /
3) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26485706
4) https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/british-journal -of-nutrition / article / verylowcarbohydrate-ketogenic-diet-v-lowfat-diet-for-longterm-weight-loss-a-metaanalysis-of-randomized-controlled-trials / 6FD9F975BAFF1D46F84C8BA9CE860783
5) https: // www.