What will we find out in 20 years that we should have been doing now”? That question has been following me around for quite some time. I have been attached to the fitness world for over 40 years. And in that time, I have seen firm beliefs come and go. How I would have guided you nutritionally 20 years ago is far different from what I would recommend today. As we learn, we evolve.
In the last couple of years, the Keto diet has been getting a lot of attention. Many people have jumped in. Some have stayed and some have not. The ones that stayed showed remarkable results. This included some with whom I respect quite a lot in how they do their research. So, when these people started talking to me about this, my attention was drawn in.
Will you lose weight with a Keto diet?
Yes, you will lose weight doing this. But along with the weight loss is the possibility of great health benefits. The problem is that there aren’t enough long-term studies on humans to make this an absolute statement. So even though I’m about to lay out my experience with you. If you’re going to adopt this way of eating, I highly encourage you to do your own research and speak to your doctor about this.
On August 10th last year, Marcia and I headed out for a week-long vacation in Colorado. Seemed like the perfect time for us to start eating very differently from what we were used to. Doesn’t it to you? We had done our homework. We were going to be staying at a ski resort that had its own kitchen, so we were able to prepare our own meals. A week later when we returned to Phoenix, I was down 7 pounds. Another week after that and I had lost a total of 11 pounds. And then I finally bottomed out at about the 8-week mark from the beginning with a 16-pound loss (149lbs). I was too light. I couldn’t tell you the last time I weighed this much. Probably over 30 years ago during heavy heavy partying days.
My story and how workouts contribute to weight loss and weight gain
It should be noted that my workouts more than likely contributed to this. Just as my weight gain later was probably due to a shift in my physical activities as well. In the 1st 8 weeks of eating this way until the first weekend in November, I was training for a 24-hour Trail Relay Race, running 3-4 days a week. When I adjusted my weekly workouts from running to lifting 3-4 days a week the weight began to go back on. Note: I basically eat the same thing every day. And have since last August (NO Cheat Days). So, the difference in my body weight during this period is due to my physical activity, not my eating. On October 24th of last year, just a week before the relay race, I had my body fat (bf) checked. I weighed 152 pounds that day and my body fat was 8.6%. Fourteen weeks later and after changing my exercise regime to more lifting, I had my bf checked again using the same source (Thanks, Eric!!!). I weighed 162.8 pounds that day and had 10.1% body fat. A gain of 10.8 pounds and 1.5% body fat. I was very pleased. I do not eat more than 25 carbs a day. I am convinced that if I wasn’t controlling my carb intake during that period that my bf would have gone up considerably.
My story is not unusual in the Keto world. Just check out the Keto groups on Facebook or your favorite social media outlet and you will see these stories being told daily.
What about what’s going on inside of you?
Now that’s fine for weight loss and gain, but what about what is going on inside of you. What are the true health benefits or pitfalls? The possible health benefits are what drew me to Keto, certainly not the weight loss. I really didn’t have any weight to lose at least at that time, in my opinion.
When I sat down with one of my well-respected sources, I told him I didn’t understand why he was doing Keto. Like me, he certainly did not have to lose weight. He said one word. Inflammation. And then discussed with me his efforts of preventing the major diseases which can lead to premature deaths. The one thing we all want is to live as full a life as we can. If we can exclude certain diseases along the way, then our potential for living a long-fulfilled life is increased.
In the first part of this blog series (Inflammation is a KILLER!) I outlined what inflammation can do to you. This is how Keto can change that.
The weight loss benefit to the Keto diet is what assists in the decline of many diseases. Excess weight is a killer and once we get to a healthier weight then effects from high blood pressure, diabetes and many more diseases fall away along with the dangers. Healthy body weight goes hand in hand with decreased inflammation.
The ketogenic diet can help you lose excess fat [1] according to Healthline.com, which is closely linked to type 2 diabetes, prediabetes, and metabolic syndrome. One study found that the ketogenic diet improved insulin sensitivity by a whopping 75%. Another study in people with type 2 diabetes found that 7 of the 21 participants were able to stop using all diabetes medications.
Target Inflammation
“Just like we’re targeting blood pressure, cholesterol and blood glucose, we also need to target inflammation,” says Erin Michos, M.D., M.H.S., associate director of preventive cardiology for the Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Heart Disease [2]. “We all should be making an effort to reduce chronic inflammation in our bodies.”
“For short-term conditions, inflammation is helpful,” explains Michos. “But sustained low levels of inflammation irritate your blood vessels. Inflammation may promote the growth of plaques, loosen plaque in your arteries and trigger blood clots — the primary cause of heart attacks and strokes.”
What about your joints?
Do your knees ache? According to new findings from the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, your diet could be a culprit.
In a study led by OMRF scientist Tim Griffin, Ph.D., researchers found that the carbohydrate composition of diets increased the risk of osteoarthritis in laboratory mice—even when the animals didn’t differ in weight. [3]
“We know increased body fat elevates risk, but we haven’t appreciated as much how diet itself affects the disease risk,” said Griffin. “These findings give us new clues that there can be significant dietary effects linked to increased OA risk even in the absence of obesity.”
Several factors can increase risk, including high-impact physical jobs, previous joint injuries, age, and genetics, but carrying extra body weight is among the most proven contributors.
“Obesity is one of the most significant factors for developing the disease in the knee joint,” said Griffin. “However, therapeutic strategies to prevent or treat obesity-associated OA are limited because of the uncertainly about the root cause of the disease.”
In particular, Griffin’s team found that changing the amount of sucrose—table sugar—and fiber in the diet altered OA pathology in the rodents. The high-sucrose diet increased signs of joint inflammation, while the high-fiber diet caused changes in cartilage genes and cellular stress-response pathways.
While the study involved mice, Griffin said the findings could ultimately have human implications.
“It’s important to understand how our diet affects the health of our joints,” he said. “We were surprised to see so many OA-related differences between the two high-carb diets even though body weight and body fat were the same.” [3]
So. Again. Yes, no long-term human studies have been recorded yet. And even though inflammation can be listed as a “silent killer”. If you think you need to lose weight because anytime your sitting down and you look down into your lap and the first thing you see is your belly. Then what are you waiting for!!! When have you ever read that there was research that supported that extra fat was a health benefit? Time to flatten your stomach before you end up flat on your back!