There are so many diets out there these days that staying on top of the latest craze is tough! Plus, there are so many intricacies and variations to every single one, which makes them really hard to understand at all!
So enter #Keto (aka, Ketogenic). Have you heard of it? And if so, do you really know what it’s all about? Yeah, me neither until earlier this year! [Read more ABOUT KETO, here (coming soon!)].
Honestly, I had heard (and studied) about ketosis, but was always so afraid of dietary fats and that they would actually make me “fat”, that I didn’t really give this style of eating that much thought. That is until I started to hear more about how eating Keto can help balance out your body in so many ways, including energy levels, sleep, hormones, pain, etc. that I couldn’t help but become intrigued!
I also started seeing personal results of close family members – in particular, weight loss – that I decided to start researching more about the Keto Lifestyle and how, as an “almost vegan” I could take on this way of eating.
Now fast forward 6 months and I feel healthier than ever before: including my energy levels, my hormones, and the way my body looks (although I also have to attribute that to teaching Pilates 8+ times a week).
However, I will admit that eating Keto is not always easy – especially if you don’t eat meat! However, you can still meet all of your Macronutrient needs by eating more nuts, seeds and healthy fats such as avocadoes, coconut, and olive oil.
So what exactly is the Keto Diet? Simply stated, the Ketogenic Diet breaks down your daily Macronutrient intake into the following: 5-10% Carbohydrates, 15-30% Protein and then 60-75% Fats, depending on your body type, workout regime, etc. [Learn more about the Ketogenic Diet, here (coming soon)]. You also need to completely avoid sugars – both natural and artificial (sorry, that means most fruits too), and the only carbs you really eat are from low-carb vegetables (so no potatoes or other starchy veggies either).
While this diet may be hard to maintain for an extended period of time – eating no fruit, sweet potatoes etc. FOREVER seems impossible! – it’s definitely doable short-term and really can help to get your body back on a healthy track. For me, this means consuming more healthy fats and really avoiding sugars in all forms. Because even though I didn’t eat much sugar before going Keto, I still would often feel “foggy”, and think that eating NO sugar, fruits or otherwise, has helped to diminish this all together. That, and again, upping my fat intake since our brains are made up of 60% fat (and therefore need fat to function properly)!
For me, I think I will eventually go back to eating a Vegan Paleo diet, meaning that I can up my carbs a bit – by reintroducing some fruits back into my diet (I miss bananas in my smoothies), sweet potatoes and quinoa, for example – but am so glad that I have gotten reacquainted with eating healthy fats and how important they are for a healthy lifestyle, that this Vegan Keto Journey really has been a great one for me!
Have you been curious about trying Keto? Think it’s impossible to not eat ANY sugar?! It’s not!! I promise, you can do it too!!
And if you ever want any advice or want a meal plan to help you get started on a Keto Journey of your own, I am here to help! CONTACT ME TODAY!
Oh, and don’t forget to check out my for Green Chef’s new ! They really have made eating Keto more easy than ever!
