First things first! Time to eliminate Standard Australian Dietary (SAD) foods that may be lurking in your house. There is no halfway allowed here: a purge is a purge, and even those precious old favorites must go if you want to transform from a sugar-burner into a fat-burning beast quickly.
If you’d like to get straight into it, download the list of approved foods below, otherwise continue on to learn the four elements of the keto diet.
Did you know that there is no daily requirement for dietary carbohydrates? In fact we are able to survive long periods with no carbohydrate intake as our bodies are able to meet their energy needs by metabolising fats and to a lesser extent by breaking down protein.
This doesn’t mean all carbs are bad. It just means that we can get by consuming far less carbohydrates than we currently do. The average australian eats about 225 grams of carbohydrates per day the majority of which is of very low quality as they add an excessive amount of sugar to the diet but offer little in the way of nutritional value.
So what happens when you eat an excessive amount of carbohydrates? Here is a simplified outline.
To break out of this cycle, we will be limiting your carbohydrate intake to under 50 grams.
Fat has long been an important part of the human diet, our brains are literally made up of the stuff. However you would be hard pressed to find any part of the human diet that is more hotly debated than that of fat, so it is no surprise that people are just down right confused.
The two key concepts to keep in mind during your 21-day reset.
Saturated fats are commonly found in animal foods (meat, eggs, dairy). They contribute to critical metabolic functions in the body, including nutrient absorption, immune function, hormone production and protection against oxidative damage.
They are commonly maligned as being unhealthy. However as Gary Taubes asserts in “Why we get fat”, there has never been a single scientific study showing that saturated fats, by themselves, are unhealthy.
It is only when combined with other factors such as chronically high insulin, high triglycerides in the bloodstream, excessive stress hormones and poor diet that they become problematic.
Saturated fats are very temperature stable, meaning that they are not destroyed by the process of cooking, which makes them a good choice for cooking.
Monounsaturated fats are universally regarded as healthy. They can be found in macadamia nuts, avocado, olives and extra-virgin olive oil.
They are not as temperate stable as saturated fats and so should not be used for high temperature cooking.
Olive oil can tolerate mild warming.
Polyunsaturated fats are commonly found in vegetable seed oils, such as canola, corn, soy and sunflower. They can also be found in butter-like spreads and salad dressings.
Polyunsaturated fats are highly susceptible to oxidizing when exposed to heat and can be very disruptive to our healthy hormone and immune function and so it is recommended that you remove all vegetable seed based oils from your diet.
Partially Hydrogenated Trans Fats are created through the process of hydrogenation, by which an unsaturated fat (such as a vegetable oil) is made solid at room temperature.
The chemically altered nature of trans fats cause them to wreck havoc in our bodies when ingested, damaging cell membranes, promoting inflammation, obesity, immune system dysfunction, and contribute to the development of heart disease.
For this reason it is recommended that you remove all sources Partially Hydrogenated Trans Fats from your diet.
You need to eliminate undesirable fats and increase your consumption of healthy fats whilst being mindful to ensure adequate Omega-3 consumption.
Beef and Lamb: Organic 100% pastured raised is best. Enjoy all cuts – fatty and lean alike. Experiment with bone marrow and broths. If you’re feeling particularly adventurous, consider trying organ meats such as liver.
Pork: Organic and fully pastured pork is best. This means that the animal is free to roam and enjoy a nearly natural diet of roots, grubs, plants and small animals. Enjoy all cuts.
Goats: Goats are browsers rather than grazers. They’ll eat everything: weeds, leaves, shrubs and lastly grass. Again organic pastured is best.
Chicken: Whenever possible, eat true pastured poultry and their eggs. Reserve the bones for broth or soup later.
Fish: Many people are concerned about the presence of heavy metals in fish. However there are a number of simple ways to minimise your exposure.
Eat quality meat from animals raised on their natural diet.
For your first foray into ketogenic eating I recommend that you remove all fruit (fresh and dried) and all carb heavy vegetables (sweet and regular potatoes) from your diet for the initial 21 days. Once you’ve achieved a state of metabolic efficiency and have gained an insight into how different foods make you feel, you can add them back in if you feel the need.
During this time you should feel free to consume all the leafy greens and above ground vegetables that you like. You don’t need to worry about the amount of carbohydrates that may be contributing, as the amount is generally small and they come packaged with a great deal of additional nutritional benefits.
You have a free pass to eat all the above ground vegetables and leafy greens that you want.