The No-Carb Diet. Could You Do It?
If you've been reading up on the latest trends and research in the fitness world, you'd know that the current buzz on everybody's lips is 'The Keto Diet'. So I was curious, and decided to read up about it a bit!
The main premise of the Keto (short for Ketogenic) diet, is that you eat little-to-no carbs, while upping your fat intake. Logic being, that you train your body to burn fat for energy instead of carbs, hence turning your body into a fat-furnace.
Sounds great, doesn't it? I mean, a diet of LOTS of bacon and cheese and butter? SIGN ME UP!
BUT... and there is a 'but'... it isn't quite as simple as that. So here's my two cents.
Before I continue, allow me to insert a big fat DISCLAIMER here: I am not a trained nutritionist, nor do I claim to have any sort of expertise in the field. This post is simply a summary of my personal thoughts and opinions regarding this particular nutritional trend, and not in any way intended to be diagnostic in nature, or to disrespect those who practise or preach the Keto lifestyle.
One of the reasons the idea of the Keto diet worries me, is the high amount of fat it prescribes. Lots of bacon, lots of cheese -- as much as I would love for that to be healthy, I guess I have years of "don't eat so much fat!" screaming in my head.
Another reason (and honestly, this is the more powerful one), is that I would have to give up carbs. CARBS! That would mean no more bread, no cake, no vada pav... AAUUUGGHH! I could never do that. I have no willpower. (It's true!)
Also, from what I understand, "cheat meals" are not an option. Which for me, is another downer. I've never been one for very strict diets, so I doubt I'd ever be able to stick to this one.
The million-dollar question, though -- does it work? It certainly seems that way! I have seen several people overcome serious slumps in their weightloss journeys with the Keto diet, and who swear they have more energy, and all that good stuff. Some say they've been doing it for years, others say that it's best to only do it for a couple of weeks at a time. I couldn't personally find any research or studies about the long-term effects of a ketogenic lifestyle, so I'm not sure about that. (If you have links to any, I'd love to read them, so leave me a comment? :) )
But what do you think of adopting a ketogenic lifestyle? Could you give up carbs? If you've tried it, I'd love to hear about your experiences.
In the meantime, I'm going to be munching on some bread. Because that's what I do. Later, fitfam! <3
