An Introduction to the Ketogenic Diet

This article is for those who have interest in the Ketogenic diet (a diet that is high fat, moderate protein, low to zero carbs). I go on and off this diet periodically, it helps to “detox” from carbs, as they have an inflammatory effect on the body. This diet also helps you lose excess fat quickly.

Hopefully this guide will help you avoid the hype, $$$ rip-off scams and other pitfalls of getting started with it.

Disclaimer: This is article is not to be considered professional or medical advice. Consult a professional, if needed.

“Bulletproof” Coffee

First, my experience with this diet is a version based in the “Bulletproof Coffee” concept. This simply means you put butter and MCT coconut oil in your coffee. Some might find this quite disgusting. As a person who generally used sugar in coffee, it took a moment to get used to. After a few days you get used to it, and start to like it.

Don’t buy any overpriced “bulletproof” brand products. These are a rip-off, as you can get comparable products for way less money. The stuff they say about “mold-free coffee” is silly as well. Any coffee that is sugar-free is OK for this, drink the kind that you like.

You must use grass-fed butter in the bulletproof coffee to get the desired effect. This is the butter to use: Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter Unsalted. I bought a case at once to save money. Also good for cooking.

MCT oil is also crucial. This is the MCT oil to use: Left Coast Performance Premium MCT Oil. It is significantly cheaper than other brands, and is really good. Support these guys, because they offer good, fair priced products, and have excellent customer service. Their bone broth is recommended too.

If you like flavored or sweet coffee, get a stevia flavoring such as SweetDrops or Better Stevia, or Stevia without flavor. It is also possible to make use of a bit of quality Ghee in the coffee, there is a tasty Vanilla flavored Ghee out there.

Optimally, you will want to blend the coffee to break up the oils into a frothy mixture (with a Bullet Blender or the like). However, I did not often do this, because it is time consuming, and time-consuming things that take place before morning coffee are very annoying.

Instead, I purchased a large GSI FairShare mug (big, has a good sealing lid), and fill it with coffee, then shake the mixture of coffee, oil and butter vigorously. If you let the coffee sit long enough, the oils will start to solidify, this is another reason that this plastic mug is good, as it can be microwaved (it is not really recommended to microwave the mixture, but its workable in a pinch).

While on the diet, I drink the contents of that mug throughout the morning/midday until it was gone. Sometimes I’d drink more black coffee without any additives, as well (yes, I am a hopeless coffee fiend).

While on the diet, I would not eat any food, other than the coffee, until the evening (6 PM or so). For the first few days you might feel weird, but then your body switches over.

Exogenous Ketones:

There is a way to boost the Keto metabolism with Exogenous Ketones, however this is an expensive breed of supplement. Exogenous ketones can fit into a daily routine when getting started (I find that this salted chocolate Perfect Keto tastes good in the coffee). This supplement is also especially good if you decide to go off the diet for special occasion (party, dinner out, special treat involving a lot of carbs) and want to jumpstart back into it.

The Diet

In this diet, you must mainly control/limit carbohydrates. The idea is to switch the body off of glucose metabolism and onto ketogenic metabolism. My protocol was to keep carbs to 100g daily or less, and I tried to keep it under 50g. Get used to reading the labels of everything. It is surprising what has hidden sugar in it!

Other than this, you do not have to control calories at all. Only carbs. When eating, you don’t have to hold back, as long as you are not eating the wrong foods.

You don’t have to do any specific exercising, but staying active is, of course, recommended.

Food Lists:

These lists are not comprehensive, but a good start. Lots of resources out there on the interwebs.

Foods to Eat:

• Bone Broth (important)
• Apple Cider Vinegar (raw – take a shot every day, important)
• Egg Lecithin
• Beef
• Pork (Bacon!)
• Chicken
• Turkey
• Lamb
• Seafood (if you can afford it, eat a lot of quality seafood, but even canned tuna is ok)
• Bison
• Elk/Deer
• Olives (highly recommended)
• Cabbage (important)
• Kale
• Spinach
• Romaine Lettuce
• Radishes
• Most leafy greens
• Broccoli
• Avocado (important)
• Asparagus
• Brussels Sprouts
• Peppers
• Cucumbers
• Cauliflower
• Lemon
• Lime
• Shirataki Noodles/Rice (Miracle Noodles – these have zero calories, are high in fiber, and are great to mix into a meal to give it body – don’t expect any nutrition from them though!)
• Celery
• Eggs (best to get free range or omega fortified)
• Heavy Cream
• Sour Cream (natural, not flavored)
• Butter
• Sausage (be sure it doesn’t have sugar added)
• Wheatgrass Juice

OK foods:

• Kefir
• Acidophilus Drink
• Salsa (check the carbs)
• Squash
• Tomato
• Duck/Game Birds
• Low Carb Cottage Cheese
• Artichoke
• Onion
• Garlic
• Cream Cheese
• Cocoa Powder (unsweetened, can be added to the bulletproof coffee)

Occasional:

• Raw Milk (if available)
• Organic Milk
• Mushrooms
• Rice (has a lot of carbs, but Japanese sushi rice is ok every once in a while)
• Kombucha Drink
• Peanut/Almond/Cashew/Sunflower Butter
• Sesame Oil
• Flaxseed Oil
• Sunflower Seeds
• Pumpkin Seeds
• Sesame Seeds
• Nuts
• Greek or Natural Yogurt
• Cheese (only if you really love it)
• Carrots
• Beets
• Coconut
• Cilantro
• Iceberg Lettuce

Foods to completely avoid:

• Sugar
• Pasta
• Fruit Juice
• Soy
• Potatoes
• Corn
• Beans
• Peas
• Anything with Gluten
• Vegetable/Canola Oil
• Hydrogenated Oil
• Margarine
• Fruit (too many carbs)
• Most Processed Foods
• Artificial Cheese
• Soda (any sugared or with aspartame, soda flavored by stevia or xylitol is ok on occasion).

Occasional Supplements:

• Ormus M-State Minerals (this is the best: Liquid Chi – might seem like snake oil..but, really, this stuff is amazing!) This can be taken every day.
• Collagen (a few times a week)
• Grass-Fed Whey Protein (a few times a week)
• Maca (periodically)
• Reishi Mushroom
• Shiitake / Maitake Mushroom
• (Note: I could do a whole article on supplements, maybe at a later time)

Drinks:

• Sparkling and mineral waters are your friend, such as La Croix, San Pelligrino et al.
• Sugar-free sodas with stevia (if you are a soda drinker)
• “Dandy Blend” – this is a coffee-like drink made from Dandelion root, good for an occasional evening drink, it does have some carbs
• Tea (if unsweetened)
• Drink a lot of filtered water – this diet doesn’t restrict sodium, so always drink enough water to offset sodium intake. Don’t drink tap water. . . Ever. . .(Flouride).

Candy:

Nearly all candy or sweets are out of the question. However, I am fond of the natural black licorice. If you like this sort of thing, get Ice Chips candy of the flavor you like (Licorice, Clove and Ginger are good, there are many other flavors), it is like rock candy, but is sweetened with xylitol and won’t screw up the diet.

Salad Dressings:

There are some salad dressings that are very low or zero carb that are quite good, check the label. There are also a few brands of high-end Mayonnaise without any carbs.

Seasonings/Additives:

Black Pepper, Oregano, Basil, Sage, Red Pepper, Garlic, Horseradish, Mustard, Olive Oil, Peanut Oil, Coconut Oil, Zero-Carb, bouillon, Ginger, Sauerkraut, Paprika, Turmeric, Fish Sauce, Some Hot Sauces, Cinnamon, Nutmeg

Keto Diet & Alcohol

As a person who drinks alcohol, I researched how to fit moderate consumption into this diet protocol. Even though it is conventional wisdom that alcohol is converted into sugars by the liver, this process is different and actually bypasses glucose metabolism.

Therefore, spirits without added sugar may be consumed (this does interrupt keto to a small extent, because the liver prioritizes alcohol metabolism, so including this into your routine will slow weight loss, if that is a goal of your diet). Obviously beer, wine, wine-like drinks (Madeira, Port etc.) are out of the question, as they are loaded with carbs.

Acceptable Spirits:

• Scotch
• Bourbon
• Brandy/Cognac (my personal choice for this purpose, specifically Hennessy/ HennessyBlack)
• Vodka (not flavored)
• Tequila
• Rum (tricky because only certain types are ok, not flavored or blended)
• Gin

If you are attending a party (or something — meaning that you are going off the diet briefly, and would like to drink beer with the boys), the beer to get is Michelob Ultra (2.6 carbs) or Bud Select 55 (1.9 carbs, hard to find, but good, if available). Michelob Ultra actually isn’t too terrible. There are some low-carb wines out there too, but I dislike wine, so I don’t know much about them.

Summary:

Hopefully this article will be of use to you in your keto adventure. There is much more to learn on the subject, and I may possibly add more to this post in the future.