And why folks are led to believe that counting macros is an essential element of a successful Keto diet when it’s not.
The Keto Diet or Keto Lifestyle, as it’s referred to by insiders, are merely fancy made-up names that have no real meaning. Being in ketosis is one thing, but it’s a small part of what else is going on in your body, once you become “fat and keto-adapted.” There’s the keyword “fat-adapted.”
The fat part is where the magic of the whole “Keto diet story” lies. By ditching carbs and sugars and consuming real, natural, and healthy foods, your body adjusts back to its natural state of burning fat instead of sugar and carbohydrates for energy.
Once this process sets in, which takes a minimum of four weeks, your body will burn fat for fuel, excess fat will start to diminish, internal inflammation and water retention (caused by sugar and grains) will subside, and your body begins to heal.
The Process and Continuity.
Contrary to what you may have heard, you cannot dip in and out of the keto diet and lifestyle. The reason should be apparent already. I mentioned that it takes at least four weeks for your body to be re-trained to accessing both internal fat and ingested fat for fuel.
Folks who burn carbohydrates and sugar for energy require constant feeding, as carbs and sugar turn into glucose in the bloodstream, and glucose burns very fast. Then, after an initial blood sugar high, caused by the sugar rush, soon after a blood sugar low occurs, because insulin pumped into your bloodstream removes the excess sugar as quickly as possible.
The process of glucose burning results in hunger returning quickly as your body craves for another feeding frenzy and sugar rush to counter the fatigue.
Considering most people have followed this type of eating pattern for most of their lives, it’s understandable that it takes time to adjust your system back to its natural fat-burning state by consuming healthy fats, meat, eggs, and vegetables.
Therefore, making an effort to transform into an efficient fat burner for four weeks or more, to then go and consume carbs and sugar again, would ruin the whole process. It must be clear that if you return to carbs and sugar, you won’t only take a day or two to resume the fat-burning state. Your body will be confused, and the result will be you feeling quite unwell.
The Keto Diet or The Fat Diet?
A better term for this diet would be the “fat diet” or “fat-adapted diet,” as this would be a more accurate description. However, those names don’t sound sexy, and who wants to be on a fat diet, right?
At first, it’s hard to understand that fat is good for us, and that this diet is primarily based on consuming healthy fats. In fact, the keto diet should consist of around 70% fat, 20% protein, and 5 – 10% carbs from vegetables. But, and this is key, that’s a made-up guideline. It can equally be 60% fat, 30% protein, and vegetable carbs, and so on.
And now I’m getting to the point of this article; the fact that there is no one way only which is right and will lead to success. There is plenty of flexibility in the keto diet, and only one rule to really follow.
Let’s get to that now.
The Keto Macro Myth.
Do you really want to have to count your food macros, input them into some app and check that every day and all day? Why?
Let me let you in on a secret: The keto diet is nothing other than eating naturally, how we were supposed to and how our primal ancestors had to eat. They lived by hunting and gathering. In general, our primal ancestors were healthy and lean, not overweight and sick.
Now the point here is this; we all know our ancestors some 2000 years ago didn’t calorie and macro count. So why the heck should we do that now? Once again, it’s industry and marketing. People and companies are trying to sell you stuff. Apps, books, supplements, and so on, and hey, you must keep track of what you are consuming, or it might not work!
The truth is you don’t need any of that. What you should do is very simple:
Learn about the keto diet and what foods are right and what ones not. I’ve included my Food Guide to help you with that.
Next, once you become fat and keto-adapted, make sure you do this:
- Eat wisely, consuming meals that contain the right foods
- Only eat when you are hungry
- Eat only twice a day
- Practice daily intermittent fasting
- Move your body every day
That’s it. I promise.
Throw away your keto macro counting books, apps and methods. Focus on enjoying your life, food, fitness, cooking, and good health. Quality time and no effort needed.
Thanks for reading.
Rob
Writer, Former Olympic Athlete & Certified Health Coach
“It is my mission to help people regain control of their health, by building a healthy, strong heart, body, and mind, supporting a longer life.”
rob@robhourmont.com
IG: robhourmontcrunch
IG: robshealthcrunch
