When things are popular, there is the benefit of increased awareness and conversation about how such concepts may challenge traditional wisdom. However, with popularity also comes misinformation. Related to keto, with popularly comes tons and tons and tons of misinformation! As a Nutrition Network Practitioner with hours of training on living a well-formulated ketogenic lifestyle, it is with this blog that I hope to set some things straight and help you get started the right way. Let’s start with the keto mantra:
“CARBS ARE A LIMIT.
PROTEIN IS A GOAL. Fat is a lever.”
“Carbs are a Limit.”
With keto, the goal is to be in a state of “ketosis,” as is measured by a blood ketone reading of .5mmol/L or higher. (Yes, you do need to test them to be truly keto. Otherwise, you won’t know!) Ketones register in the blood as a fuel source only when rapid- and dirty-burning glucose is restricted. And, since all carbohydrates (yes, even your whole grain bread or organic sweet potato!) essentially turn into sugar immediately in the body, this means that carbohydrates need to be restricted.
There is some argument about whether net carbs (the amount of carbs minus the fiber consumed, which helps to slow the absorption of carbs in the bloodstream) or gross carbs (i.e. total carbs, not considering any fiber) should be counted. (With as sensitive as my body is recovering from severe reactive hypoglycemia, I do just fine with net carbs, so it depends on what each person’s body needs.) If one is limiting net carbs, keto experts encourage the limit to be under 20 grams a day. If gross carbs are being counted, keeping one’s carb count under 50 grams a day tends to still keep someone in a state a ketosis (i.e. fat burning).
“Protein is a Goal.”
If we are limiting carbs, one also needs to make sure to find the sweet spot with protein. Since protein is the building block for amino acids, a foundation of our cellular life, we need to make sure to have enough. However, too much protein (even with carbohydrates restricted) turns into sugar (i.e. glucose) in the body through a process called “gluconeogenesis” and, therefore, prevents ketosis from ever being achieved.
I learned this the hard way when I first started on my ketogenic lifestyle journey. I had my carbs limited to what my body needed but I was frustrated by not being able to reach ketosis. When I began to reduce my protein intake and, instead think of protein as a goal amount my body needed in a day (the consensus among keto experts is around 1 gram of protein for every kilogram of lean body mass OR ideal body weight), voila! Ketosis! (And, have been living happily there since.)
“Fat is a Lever.”
Given that there are only three macronutrients – carbohydrates, protein, and fats – if you reduce carbs and limit protein, there is only one macronutrient left. Therefore, those following a ketogenic way of eating recognize that fat is the fulcrum on which health and our body’s fuel is balanced. This means that fat needs to be increased.
A common misconception is that someone following a ketogenic lifestyle has to “get their fats in.” But, people forget that the beauty of a low-carbohydrate/ketogenic way of eating is that it helps to stabilize blood sugar so that, when needed, your body can fuel itself with it’s own fat stores. This is the reason why I am no longer severely hypoglycemic – when my body needs fuel, it makes it; causing me to not have to urgently depend on eating all of the time to keep my blood sugar up.
One note here: keto doesn’t cause people who are at a healthy weight or even underweight to waste away. (More on this later as I will have an entire blog series devoted to the common “myths” of keto.) Your body has an unlimited amount of energy stored as fat (e.g. body fat), versus a limited amount of stored glucose. (You can find more on this from expert and my personal hero, Dr. Jason Fung.) So, you would have to be fasting for a VERY long time in order to create a problem for yourself in this way. But, nonetheless keto is also not about simply loading up on all of the fats you can find. It’s about…
Finding a Balance
The way I keto and the way you keto are going to look differently. I have a different carb tolerance than you, can vary based on age, gender, activity level, genetics, and other factors. And, although it is estimated that only around 12% of Americans are metabolically healthy, we all have different levels of insulin resistance, as well. So, while the above mantra can get you started on your keto journey and help you focus on accurate information about living a ketogenic lifestyle, part of the beauty of keto is that it allows you to get back in touch with what your body is communicating to you that it needs. Keto is not a diet. It is a lifestyle that allows you to experiment with what “going keto” means for you. So, experiment. Listen to your body. Find your balance.
