There’s been a lot of hype around the keto diet for several years, and with good reason. It has proven it works for fat loss, it increases insulin sensitivity, it’s been linked to decreasing inflammation in the body, and simply put.. a lot of people can adhere to it with ease. But it is quite restrictive and in my opinion that is the biggest drawback because I am a major supporter of a diet you can follow long term, which is usually more moderate.
Since moderation is about never fully excluding a particular food group or macronutrient (unless you suffer from intolerance or allergy) I would recommend continuing to eat carbohydrates as you try to lose fat. Here’s how you can do that..
1. Your means to an end, when it comes to weight loss, is through a caloric deficit. You don’t have to cut carbs to decrease your caloric intake. You simply need to determine how many calories you burn in a day, including your activity level which you can do here and then track your calories you consume each day and make sure you are in a small deficit.
The reason I say small deficit is because if you are in a major deficit, your will power can only last so long and this usually ends in a binge, which doesn’t yield a deficit in the long run. It can also screw up your hormones and cause your body a lot of stress. The deficit I recommend from one person to the next varies greatly, but I feel like a good starting point may be around 300-500 calories a day. (I offer clean eating meal plan assistance via online training. Learn more here.)
2. Don’t eat processed fast digesting carbs, but rather, consume clean eating, healthy carbs that come from the earth. Examples include oats, jasmine rice, millet, quinoa, barley, sprouted grain bread, fresh sourdough bread, sweet potatoes, red skin potatoes, black beans, chickpeas, lentils, pineapple, berries, apples, etc. Real grains, tubers, lentils, beans, fruit.. the stuff from the earth that doesn’t have additives or chemicals added for freshness or flavor.
Your body typically can process these things well which ultimately yields a healthier gut and digestive system as well as decreased inflammation. These things are good for us if we keep them in moderation! However…
3. Make sure you pair your carbs with protein. You don’t want to sit down to a bowl of potatoes or oatmeal and bananas on their own. This will still increase your blood sugar, which elevates insulin which is a “storage hormone.” Elevated insulin doesn’t do anything for fat loss, but the good news is that protein kind of rescues us, and will balance out the elevation of blood sugar. So if you want some jasmine rice, make sure you have it with your chicken. Or if you want a fruit cup, have it with your Greek yogurt. (Learn more about insulin here.)
4. Round out your meals with fiber and fat. Each of these increase digestion time, which slows down the blood sugar response. So when you know you want that bowl of rice, have your chicken, but cook that chicken in olive oil and add some broccoli for fiber. Or if you want fruit, have your greek yogurt too, then throw in some ground flax seeds to boost fiber and fat. And if you must have some cake (which let’s be real.. sometimes we want cake and it shouldn’t be vilified) don’t have cake alone. Eat your dinner salad with shrimp cooked in butter then have a little piece of cake and enjoy!
5. Walk after a high carb meal. Walking after you eat can assist with digestion, but can also assist with NOT having a blood sugar spike! So if you go out and have a huge bowl of pasta, take a little walk before you get in the car.
6. Time that high carb must-have meal around your daily workouts. After you strength train, elevating your insulin can help build muscle. But this would also require you have protein here too, to get that protein into your blood stream and into the muscles faster. So if you want a giant bagel to the face, save it for a Saturday.. go lift some weights then grab an egg and bagel sandwich and chow down.
7. When you do have a meal like that, enjoy it mindfully. What’s the point if you only remember the first bite? Slow down and savor it. Eating mindfully allows you to enjoy what you are eating, it aids in digestion and can help you instill a healthy relationship with food.
8. Make sure lifting weights is part of your regular workout routine. Unless you are lifting heavy, increasing weights and challenging your muscles, you aren’t going to build muscle. And the more muscle you have, the better your sensitivity to insulin, and the more you can utilize these carbs to help you build muscle and lose fat. But don’t worry.. if you aren’t lifting I can help you! You can start my online personal training program and start lifting at least three days a week, FROM HOME even! Head to KyraWilliamsFitness.com/signup for details.
Do you still eat carbs? Leave a comment below and share your favorites!
Your Coach,
Kyra
If you need assistance with setting up a clean eating meal plan that helps you lose fat and keep it off, let’s work together. Go to KyraWilliamsFitness.com/signup to join