Changing to Keto/Paleo for Beginners

The biggest challenge that most people may have while learning and adapting to Keto or Paleo, is that carbohydrates aren't necessarily the enemy. It is very important to watch your intake, but even if you change your diet, you still won't lose weight if you eat an excessively high calorie count. Highly processed carbohydrates (sugars, grains, etc) can be very addicting and have a hard time breaking the habit, not only chemically but also because everywhere we go, it is considered normal to consume them. Nearly every restaurant I visit insist on placing rolls, bread, or some other product on my table before I even get my meal.

Just like quitting cigarettes, when quitting processed carbohydrates, often times we compensate by eating large quantities of food. Our bodies go through cravings, and it seems like we can satiate those cravings with more food, more meat, more cheese, more butter, more fat. This often times has us crossing a threshold of what our body uses, and then we don't lose weight, (or possibly gain weight). This is a hard part on most beginners, because they also don't realize how small serving sizes are (on the package information), and often consume far more than they believe they do. I know I had this problem, as my first two weeks looking back on what I ate, I probably ate 4000 or more calories a day, and was fairly sedentary.

Eat your vegetables (especially the green ones, those are usually best for you), as they are much more filling, and make sure to eat healthy portions of fat and protein to keep you satiated for longer time. Drink your water, as that helps your body transition and keeps your body well hydrated. Avoiding grains (rye, wheat, oats), corn, rice, and sugars will take you 90-95% of the way to your goal, but remember there is no magic to this lifestyle, it is how the human body works, eating too much will always be a problem, with or without bread.

Lifestyle Information on Eating

Normally on Tuesdays and Thursdays I would post a recipe, (and still will today) but I wanted to go over more of the specifics of my diet (and by diet, I mean lifestyle change, and not a temporary idea).

There are two specifics types of diets that I have incorporated into my life. The first is named Keto (short for Ketosis), and Paleo (Short for Paleolithic). Both have their advantages and disadvantages, but I try to strive for a middle ground what I consider to be Keleo (Yes, a made up word, but it is mine!).

Keto - Eat a diet consisting of 60-65% fat, 30% protein and 5% carbohydrates. For most people this is a hard limit of under 20g of carbohydrates a day, regardless if your calorie intake is much higher or not. Restriction of foods, generally includes starchy vegetables, most fruits, higher carbohydrate nuts, all wheat, sugar, rice, and corn. Dairy, meat, and mostly green vegetables are huge staples of this diet. (Green vegetables: Broccoli, Zucchini, Asparagus, Spinach, Lettuce, etc)

Paleo - Very similar to Keto, it has a higher carbohydrate limit, and incorporates more fruit, and starchy vegetables. With Paleo you strive to keep your carbohydrates under 100g a day, and generally is for more active people who aren't trying to lose as much weight, but just have more energy and feel healthier. The goal here is to eat as a "Paleolithic" man might have ate, avoiding processed foods, including sources of legumes as well (peanuts, peas, etc), as dairy products. Fruits, and vegetables, especially higher starch sources (sweet potatoes, carrots) are acceptable and even encouraged.

Keleo - A combination of both. Still we avoid legumes, and still limit some sources of dairy, focusing on creams (Heavy, Light), and dryer cheeses. In this we try to keep our carbohydrates under 50g a day, to try and focus on remaining well into ketosis, but allowing some freedoms in our diet.

Whichever form you are most comfortable with, the most important aspect is to avoid wheat, corn and rice. Those sources are very rich in dense processed carbohydrates which are typically not healthy for your system, or for your digestion.