THE KETO DIET

Keto Mounds!

So. The Keto diet. It’s worked for me—I started 2017 at 160 lbs. Yesterday I saw 148.8. I'm not one to take shirtless photos in the mirror, so no picture evidence will be offered without payment. But I'm happy with how I feel, and that's not something I say lightly.

The Keto diet is a variant of what most people know as the Adkins diet: the famous low/no carb diet. The Keto diet, however, focuses more on fat and less on protein than the Adkins diet. But the bottom line is pretty simple: no carbs. No bread, no fruit, no sugar. And while that probably sounds like a terrible combination—a high-fat diet with no fruits and limited vegetables—I’ve probably eaten healthier in the last month than I have in years. I’ve had more salads than ever, and I’ve rediscovered the fact that I really like brussel sprouts. 

I’m not sure if it’s the science of the Keto diet that works: when you eat carbohydrates, your body converts the carbs to glucose to use as a relatively immediate energy source. Glucose which is not used for energy is converted to glycogen and stored in the liver; once this store of glycogen is full, the excess is stored as fat.

When eating a Keto diet, though, you’re not eating carbs. After a few days of avoiding carbs, your body runs out of stored glycogen, and your liver begins to produce something called ketones from fatty acids (fat) in your body. Your body begins to run on fat rather than glucose and glycogen. So, rather than burning off mostly glycogen while you go through your day, you’re burning fat.

That’s the glossed-over, surely oversimplified version. I suspect that part of my weight loss has come from a reduction in calories, as the lack of bread, fruits, ground-growing vegetables, and normal desserts has reduced my food choices. But I’ve eaten really heavily when I do eat—I do not feel hungry at all. I have cravings for sweets and things that are non-Keto friendly, but I haven’t been hungry. I’ve been able to deal with my sweet cravings by making “fat bombs,” the latest batch being a Keto-friendly copy of Mounds bars. 

While we’re on the subject of sweets, though, allow me to recommend against ever buying 100% dark chocolate. That is just terrible, terrible stuff. I’ve used it in my Mounds bars, and it works due to the sweetness of the recipe (which uses erythritol sweetener in place of sugar). But if you eat it alone, you will hate even the smell of chocolate for weeks. So go easy on the 100% dark chocoloate.