Frequently Asked Questions
What is the ketogenic diet?
Typically, it’s referred to a high fat, moderate protein and very low carbohydrate diet. Nowadays, it’s quite far from the original version, which was extremely high in fats, and calorie restricted. What we call keto now is any dietary approach that will turn the body into burning fats as its primary fuel source.
But I thought fat was bad for you?
There’s a common misconception that fat is bad for you; however, this misconception fails to adequately represent healthy fats which are actually good for you.
Aside from other scientifically-proven benefits, saturated fats like medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) go directly to your liver to be used for energy. The ketogenic diet, with its high percentage of good fats, leads to a fat-adaptive metabolic state. Fat-adaptation occurs when your body becomes more efficient at burning fat for fuel. The longer you maintain a fat-adaptive state, the more ketones you produce.
The goal of a ketogenic diet is to maintain high amounts of ketones so you can reap all of the benefits that occur from being in ketosis. A high fat, ketogenic diet is also protein-sparing: your body keeps burning fat and doesn’t turn to protein as an energy source.
Can this diet be harmful?
Any dietary changes must be dealt with caution. Children with epilepsy are generally put on the diet for 3 years, and so far, no adverse effects on health have been shown. Temporary side effects may occur during the initial adaptation period, mainly due to the loss of sodium, but increasing salt intake and other electrolytes usually does the trick. A well formulated keto
diet is very nutrient dense and shouldn’t lead to any deficiency.
Fruit and vegetables aren’t fatty, does that mean they are not part of the diet?
Vegetables are essential as they are packed with vitamins, minerals and fibers, but starchy ones should be avoided because of their high carb content. Most fruits are high in fructose, a sugar that triggers fat storage, and should be avoided. However low carb fruits such as blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, lemons can be consumed with moderation.
Can anyone be on this diet?
Most people do very well on this diet, but people with the following conditions should avoid a low carb diet: porphyria, pyruvate carboxylase deficiency, genetic disorder of fat metabolism. If you are under any medications, you should consult with your primary care physician first.
Is the diet difficult to implement?
Not really, but there’s a learning curve. It should be a lifestyle rather than a diet. It can take up to 6 months to really wrap your head around it, enabling you to eat outside easily.
How will it help me lose weight?
Fats are very satiating, making you less hungry throughout the day. By stabilizing insulin levels, consuming fats and training your body to use that as a primary fuel source, actually prevents lipogenesis (fat storage) and promotes lipolysis (fat burning) (Dashti and al, 2004, JAMA, 2018).
Should I avoid saturated fats?
Until recently, saturated fats have been vilified , but the amount of evidence showing their safety and their importance is now overwhelming (Annals of Internal Medicine 2014, The Lancet 2017). Just like monounsaturated fats (e.g. olive oil) and Omega-3 oils (from oily fish), saturated fats (e.g. butter, coconut oil) should be opted for! On the other hand, polyunsaturated oils such as canola (Domenico Praticò and al, 2017), corn, grape seed oils should be kept to a minimum as they are highly inflammatory (Calder, 2006).
Is this diet suitable for athletes?
Studies of low carb diets and its positive effects on sports performance have also been revisited. While the body is able to store about 2000 Kcal in the form of sugar and glycogen, it can store more than 40,000 Kcal in the form of fat! This spikes interest among many sportspeople, especially endurance athletes (Volek and al, 2015, McSwiney and al, 2017)
If I stop this diet, will I regain all the weight I have lost?
Everybody has heard about the yoyo effect. You go on a diet, lose weight, stop, and regain everything back and usually more. This is common with every diet, if you go back to your old habits. Therefore, a successful diet requires a change of lifestyle, which is a lifetime commitment. After the weight loss phase, it can be relaxed to a maintenance phase where only monitoring and fine tuning is required to sustain your weight.
What type of exercise will be most complementary?
Exercising is crucial to ensure muscle mass is maintained or increased during weight loss. Lots of the recent research in sports science show High Intensity Interval Training to be the most effective for weight loss and overall health (Boutcher et Al, 2010).
How does kinesiology and hypnotherapy fit into this intervention?
Stress is an incredible obstacle for weight loss and achieving good health in general. Emotional blockages, negative beliefs, poor self-esteem are very powerful forces that can sabotage one's weight loss journey. Kinesiology and hypnosis complete each other very well on dealing with these mental issues while also addressing gastrointestinal stress, poor thyroid function, nutritional deficiencies, hormonal imbalances, food addictions, that generally prevent weight loss.