Keto
Keto
Recently I did an interview on TV3 for The Project about Keto. You can check out the interview HERE.
As these interviews are short and it can be challenging to get your real point across, here are a few extra things that I didn’t get to share.
Some people feel great following a Keto way of eating and the fact that it gets you to pay attention to what you’re eating and cut the processed foods means from a weight loss perspective, it can get results. BUT (there’s always a but) here are some things to think about if you are doing Keto or considering it:
What are you replacing the carbs with? The research indicates for long-term health that swapping carbs for PLANT based proteins and fats instead of ANIMAL based proteins and fats is the way to go. Opting for lots of bacon, meat, eggs and butter coffees - not so great from a health perspective. Focusing on lots and lots of non-starchy veggies, having plenty of oily fish, using extra virgin olive oil, nuts and avocado is a much healthier approach if you are currently doing Keto and this also applies with low carb.
Do you need to be KETO or is reducing your carbs enough? Whatever choices you make, choose ones that are sustainable and help you live a healthy BALANCED life overall. Anything that requires you to become obsessive and has the potential to mess with your mind and to overly focus on food in your life is not a good thing. There is far more to life and health. If you opt for a lower carb way of eating rather than full Keto, you will be able to include pulses (for fibre) and a wider variety of fruits and vegetables which makes it far easier to get nutritional balance and adequate fibre (see below). Here’s a good read, 'Should you go low carb'.
Your weight and your health are not necessarily one and the same. Just because a way of eating may help you lose weight does NOT mean you will necessarily be healthier or happier.
Linking your happiness and self-worth to your weight can be fraught with issues. Eating well is more than how your look, how you FEEL and function is important too.
Your mental, physical and emotional health all need to be considered. Sleep, activity and stress management need to be added to the mix. If you are following Keto or a low carb diet, check in with the QUALITY of the food that you are eating as well as the balance of your health and happiness overall.Are you getting enough fibre? – This is something many Kiwis struggle with, but to get enough when you are doing Keto or low carb although not impossible, can be challenging and really requires focus and planning to make sure you are getting what you need. The average Kiwi is currently only getting 20g/day.
What’s your daily target? For ladies it’s 28g and gents 38g of fibre daily. And getting a VARIETY of fibres is key. Here is a guide on the fibre content of different foods. Fibre reduces the risk of bowel cancer and heart disease amongst other things and is important to keep your gut bacteria happy.Any 'diet' that encourages you to hyper-focus on food can mess with your mind. I am all about encouraging people to eat mindfully, work to find solutions for emotional eating, stress drinking, picking/nibbling, the habits of feeling like you NEED to finish all the food on your plate etc rather than focusing on ‘diets’ that have rigid rules. Despite good results on the scales and a drop in dress size, many diets are not sustainable and can leave you feeling like you have ‘cheated’, ‘failed’ or that you lack willpower if you haven’t followed them to the letter or if one week you gain weight rather than losing. This is so sad, it is not you who has failed or let yourself down, its DIETS that fail you. Living by a list and rules where you rely on an external judgement to keep in line is not healthy at all in my view. Having a healthy relationship with what you eat, being able to eat without guilt and to love and respect your body is really important.
Eat food, mostly plant, and not too much, sums it up SO well.
