Some people use it as a nickname for nutritional ketosis. Others use it to refer to the ketogenic diet recommended at the Keto subreddit. Still others use it to refer to the low-carb, high-fat diets designed by Stephen Phinney, Dr. Westman, or Jimmy Moore. There are even a few people running around calling the Atkins Diet keto, as well.
This can be very confusing for those who are brand new to low carb.
What do you really need to know?
Each low-carb diet comes with a different set of rules, strategies, and restrictions. Some plans are higher in fat and lower in protein and carbs than others. Trying to combine several of these diets into one single low-carb plan can backfire on you – if you don't know what you're doing, and why.
Instead of piecing together all of the low-carb info you'll find online, you're much better off going with one particular low-carb diet, and then building or reconstructing your personalized plan on top of that single foundation, once you've become fat adapted.
That is what I did this time around.
I didn't want to eat just meat and salad for both lunch and dinner, even for just one week, so Atkins 72 Induction was out. Instead, I did a strict 2-week, 20-net carbs or less, Keto diet – patterned after what is recommended over at the Keto subreddit group.
That's what I used for my foundation diet.
While similar to Atkins Induction, it allowed me to spend my 20 daily carbs on anything I wanted. I didn't have to stick to the Atkins food list, and restrictions, for Induction.
About a month in, I realized that the Reddit maintenance plan was going to be too much fat for me. That Keto diet doesn't raise your carbs above 20 net, even on maintenance. You start and end with 20 carbs per day.
Instead of raising carbs, you use your fat intake to control for calories and the speed of weight loss or maintenance. This means that once you reach your goal weight, you do not increase carbs to up your calories. Instead, you increase your dietary fats to the point where weight loss stops.
After coming to that realization, that I had picked the wrong plan for me, I decided to move closer to what Atkins is doing instead. That way, I could keep my fats lower and return a few more carbs to my diet to make it more tolerable and maintenance-like.
I raised my carbs from 20-net to a maximum of 35 or 40.
Since I'm using Keto to control my blood sugar, rather than just weight loss, this is my maximum carb limit that I'm using right now. I don't go above 40.
Ever.
I raised my carbs from 20-net to a maximum of 35 or 40.
Since I'm using Keto to control my blood sugar, rather than just weight loss, this is my maximum carb limit that I'm using right now. I don't go above 40.
Ever.
In addition, I'm staggering the amount of carbs I eat on a daily basis, so that eating this way feels more normal to me.
Keep in mind:
What you're doing is creating a new set of eating habits that will enable you to weigh what you want to weigh.
Low carb isn't a short-term crash diet, even though lots of people use it that way.
Low carb is a permanent way of life.
Which is why I decided to part ways with the Keto subreddit and do my own thing.
If you're new to the low-carb lifestyle, and do not know how to create your own low-carb diet, here are a few more things that you need to know before you commit to this new way of life.
Ketosis is an Adaption
The state of ketosis is what your body turns to when glucose is scarce. It's not magic. The carbohydrates in your diet, and this includes salads and vegetables, are broken down into glucose during digestion.When you cut back on the carbs, there's a lack of glucose, so the body begins to use it's glycogen stores in the liver. Glycogen is simply how the body stores excess carbohydrates. The glycogen in the liver is used to help keep your blood sugar stable.
The liver can only hold about 80 carbs worth of glycogen, so when that glycogen begins to run low, the body has to use fats and protein for fuel to make up the difference.
As fats are broken down into fuel, ketones are created. Ketones are a by-product of fat digestion. Ketones, themselves, are incompletely burned fragments of fat.
The brain can use ketones for up to 75% of it's needs, so going into the state of ketosis, where your ketone level in the blood rises, is how the body adapts to a lack of glucose.
While a lack of glucose triggers ketosis, ketosis is not necessary to burn body fat. It just gets the process started, and then the body does the rest.
Pick a Plan and Stick with It for a Few Weeks
I've been low carbing off-and-on since the mid '70s, so I have a solid background in what makes low-carb work.
The best way to educate yourself isn't collecting bits and pieces of info that you gather from blogs and websites online. It's best to get your hands on a low-carb diet book and take all of the time you need to digest the science behind why a low-carb diet works.
Each Keto diet comes with a different set of rules, and you'll need to know what those rules are before you commit to doing Keto long-term.
I'm doing much better on a slightly higher carb intake and lower fats.
If you choose Atkins, take the time to visit and read their latest website. It's rich with information on how to do the different phases of the diet. This can be particularly helpful if you can't afford to buy the book right now.
Atkins Diet Website
At the Atkins website, you'll find rules, guidelines, and even food lists for both Atkins 20 and Atkins 40.
At the Atkins website, you'll find rules, guidelines, and even food lists for both Atkins 20 and Atkins 40.
You can also use the search bar at the top of this blog to find our Atkins and Keto articles to help you fine-tune your plan.
By weight-loss goal, I mean how fast you believe your excess pounds should come off each week.
Clinging to timeline goals can do you in.
Especially, once you get a taste of what dropping lots of water weight feels like. Weight loss won't be consistent on low carb. Low carb tends to be fairly dehydrating, so water fluctuations are quite common, especially in the first few weeks.
That means your weight is likely to bounce up and down.
In addition, weighing yourself several times a day won't help the scale move faster. Even once a day can be setting you up to fail, if you allow that number to control your mood or attitude. The best time to weigh yourself depends on your mindset.
I weigh myself every day, since I'm not sticking to the Atkins lists of acceptable foods, but I don't allow the number I see to control my mood. I use the number to determine how many carbs I'm going to eat that day.
If I'm not losing weight, I simply eat fewer carbs and cut back on my portion sizes.
What you need to know?
The average low-carb dieter only loses about ½ to 1 pound per week, and sometimes, even less than that.
The benefit of going low carb isn't fast weight loss.
The benefit of using Keto is the way it deadens your hunger and food cravings, making eating at a calorie deficit much easier.
Since I'm never hungry in the mornings, I was able to easily cut my low-carb breakfast in half, giving me the option of including a few more calories for dinner. This enables me to eat a dinner that feels more normal.
The other thing you really need to understand is that if you're losing inches, you are not stalled, regardless of what your bathroom scale says. For a lot of dieters, the scale takes a bit of time to catch up with what the body is doing.
Mistakes are common, so just expect them.
There is a lot of misinformation on the web, and that includes self-published books over at Amazon.
In addition, you won't remember everything you read. There's a lot to unlearn and change. Be patient with yourself. If you're feeling overwhelmed, then step back and take a breath.
Focus on the basics:
I know that Atkins recommends you eat every 6 hours, but most of the Keto diets do not.
The purpose behind that recommendation is to help you keep your blood sugar level steady.
Since I'm not hungry when my blood sugar is high, I use my hunger as a gauge to eat by. I get hungry when my blood sugar drops to normal, or slightly above; so that's when I eat.
I don't eat by the clock.
What Keto can do for you is help you develop self-compassion. And you do that by first chucking the word “cheat” and replacing it with a maintenance mind-set.
You're not cheating when you cave in to a special treat.
Set a Realistic Weight-Loss Goal
By weight-loss goal, I mean how fast you believe your excess pounds should come off each week.
Clinging to timeline goals can do you in.
Especially, once you get a taste of what dropping lots of water weight feels like. Weight loss won't be consistent on low carb. Low carb tends to be fairly dehydrating, so water fluctuations are quite common, especially in the first few weeks.
That means your weight is likely to bounce up and down.
In addition, weighing yourself several times a day won't help the scale move faster. Even once a day can be setting you up to fail, if you allow that number to control your mood or attitude. The best time to weigh yourself depends on your mindset.
I weigh myself every day, since I'm not sticking to the Atkins lists of acceptable foods, but I don't allow the number I see to control my mood. I use the number to determine how many carbs I'm going to eat that day.
If I'm not losing weight, I simply eat fewer carbs and cut back on my portion sizes.
What you need to know?
The average low-carb dieter only loses about ½ to 1 pound per week, and sometimes, even less than that.
The benefit of going low carb isn't fast weight loss.
The benefit of using Keto is the way it deadens your hunger and food cravings, making eating at a calorie deficit much easier.
Since I'm never hungry in the mornings, I was able to easily cut my low-carb breakfast in half, giving me the option of including a few more calories for dinner. This enables me to eat a dinner that feels more normal.
The other thing you really need to understand is that if you're losing inches, you are not stalled, regardless of what your bathroom scale says. For a lot of dieters, the scale takes a bit of time to catch up with what the body is doing.
Don't Beat Yourself Up When you Make Mistakes
Mistakes are common, so just expect them.
There is a lot of misinformation on the web, and that includes self-published books over at Amazon.
In addition, you won't remember everything you read. There's a lot to unlearn and change. Be patient with yourself. If you're feeling overwhelmed, then step back and take a breath.
Focus on the basics:
- meat, poultry, fish
- eggs
- cheese
- salad
- vegetables
- heavy cream
- healthy fats
I know that Atkins recommends you eat every 6 hours, but most of the Keto diets do not.
The purpose behind that recommendation is to help you keep your blood sugar level steady.
Since I'm not hungry when my blood sugar is high, I use my hunger as a gauge to eat by. I get hungry when my blood sugar drops to normal, or slightly above; so that's when I eat.
I don't eat by the clock.
What Keto can do for you is help you develop self-compassion. And you do that by first chucking the word “cheat” and replacing it with a maintenance mind-set.
You're not cheating when you cave in to a special treat.
You'll simply having a higher carb day, which I like to call a maintenance day. If you're eating at your maintenance level of calories, a higher-carb day won't derail you. Go over your maintenance level of calories, and yeah, you're going to gain some body fat.
Do yourself a favor and accept the consequences for your food choices. Changing your food habits is going to take some time. It won't happen overnight. And the faster you accept that and give yourself a dose of self-compassion, the easier the Keto process will be.
Like I said above, for me, I want to bring my blood sugar back into the normal range, to avoid diabetic complications. I have a bone-on-bone right knee that screams when I weigh more. It's less bothersome now that I've lost 37 pounds in the past 6 months.
For you, it might be something else.
Losing body fat is a priority for most people who enter the low-carb playing-field, but you still need to know why that is important to you. And why you're choosing low carb as your weight-loss tool of choice.
To help you figure that out, check out our blog post on why do you want to lose weight using Keto?
That's the key question here.
And why I've decided to take a maintenance-focused mind-set this time around. Every change you make should be with “forever” in mind. Slipping back into your old eating habits will just return you to what you used to weigh, or even more.
Your current weight is an expression of your lifestyle choices.
Do yourself a favor and accept the consequences for your food choices. Changing your food habits is going to take some time. It won't happen overnight. And the faster you accept that and give yourself a dose of self-compassion, the easier the Keto process will be.
Have a Clear Picture of Why you Want to go Keto
Like I said above, for me, I want to bring my blood sugar back into the normal range, to avoid diabetic complications. I have a bone-on-bone right knee that screams when I weigh more. It's less bothersome now that I've lost 37 pounds in the past 6 months.
For you, it might be something else.
Losing body fat is a priority for most people who enter the low-carb playing-field, but you still need to know why that is important to you. And why you're choosing low carb as your weight-loss tool of choice.
To help you figure that out, check out our blog post on why do you want to lose weight using Keto?
Can You See Yourself Doing This for the Rest of your Life?
That's the key question here.
And why I've decided to take a maintenance-focused mind-set this time around. Every change you make should be with “forever” in mind. Slipping back into your old eating habits will just return you to what you used to weigh, or even more.
Your current weight is an expression of your lifestyle choices.
Your future weight is an expression of what you choose to do right now. Going Atkins or Keto is a choice.
After reading the book and looking over your food choices, can you see yourself eating this way for the rest of your life?
If so, leave a comment below and let us know which low-carb diet you've decided to use. There are several to choose from. That way, I can fine-tune my future posts to fit within the context of your low-carb plan of choice.
Welcome aboard.
Glad to have you!
After reading the book and looking over your food choices, can you see yourself eating this way for the rest of your life?
If so, leave a comment below and let us know which low-carb diet you've decided to use. There are several to choose from. That way, I can fine-tune my future posts to fit within the context of your low-carb plan of choice.
Welcome aboard.
Glad to have you!
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