For the love of BACON
Following on from my ‘Be your own Guinea Pig’ blog, I’ve had lots of messages asking where I get the ideas to try different things and what I hope to achieve from doing them. Usually, I just want to learn how my body responds to different situations with regards to both nutrition and fitness but I also like to challenge and test my self discipline as the more you do this, the stronger in mind you can become. There are many important qualities that can contribute to achieving success and happiness in life but I believe the number one trait needed to accomplish your goals and lead a healthy lifestyle is self discipline.
Self discipline is a learned behaviour that requires repetition day after day. So, when it comes to using willpower, it’s not that I have any more or less than anyone else, just that I rarely have to use mine. My nutritional and fitness choices tend not to rely on emotions or feelings. Instead, they are made using informed, rational decisions with a clear aim and objective. Yes, sometimes the protocol of my experiments requires some extreme measures, but that just seems to strengthen my resolve even more.
Talking of extreme, maybe that’s why I chose my latest experiment.
The Keto Experiment
I am currently on Day 12 of an experiment with Ketosis. This blog is not here to go into any great detail as to what this is or how to do it, just to describe what has happened to me as a result of following such a plan.
However, just so you’re not completely in the dark about what I’m doing, here’s the general concept of my Ketogenic life. There are three different types, all of which are closely related and who knows, as the experiment progresses I may switch between each one. The way they differ is with regards to the limits and timing of carbohydrate intake. The method I have been following so far is the standard ketogenic nutrition plan.
A ketogenic plan is quite simply a way of eating that forces the body into a process called ketosis, whereby fats are burned instead of carbohydrates for energy use. To get into that state of ketosis, I have to consume large amounts of fat, medium proteins and minimal carbohydrates.
The latest scientific studies have shown that this way of eating is not detrimental to human health despite what you might be thinking about eating a high fat diet. It can actually cause a drop in your cholesterol (cholesterol is caused by excess glucose in the diet) but I’m going off the point now. Like I said, if you want to read about the details and advantages of following such a plan then there are plenty of excellent studies you can refer to.
Where it all began
The first thing I did was work out my personal data in order to make a plan of what I would have to eat to get into ketosis. For most people the first few weeks are quite brutal as there is a significant drop in the amount of carbohydrates they are used to. Symptoms can be unpredictable. They can range from nothing at all, to mild discomfort and fuzzy headedness, through to full blown flu like symptoms e.g. nausea, headaches, cramps, diarrhoea (joy) I have been relatively low carb for a few years now so I was hoping the effects would not be too bad.
My personal macronutrient targets
Fats 70% of total calories (minimum 89g to maximum 124g)
Proteins 25% of total calories (minimum 64g to maximum 106g)
Net Carbs 5% of total calories (25g maximum)
I think if this was one of my first experiments, I would have found it too difficult to follow as it does require a lot of planning and preparation (and maths). I’ve been tracking my food for years now so had a fair idea of what my new way of eating would consist of.
The experiment so far…
I always approach all of my experiments with enthusiasm so the first few days are no problem. This one was no different and as I only tend to eat up to 100g of total carbs per day previous to starting, dropping a bit more was not too hard. So, it was goodbye to the oats, quinoa and sweet potatoes for a while. The biggest change was increasing the fat percentage and dropping the protein slightly. My diet has always included lots of healthy fats every day such as avocados, coconut oil, nuts and olive oil but I had to make a concerted effort to eat even more high fat foods but be careful such foods did not include too much protein or carbs. Short of pouring butter all over everything, it’s not so easy.
A sign that my body was losing stored carbs (glycogen) both in my muscles and liver was the fact that I lost 2kg of bodyweight in the first 5 days. The purpose of the experiment was not for me to lose weight but it was useful to know how much glycogen I was losing. My weight would plateau when the stores had run out. This would be a sign I was close to being in ketosis. (Each gram of glycogen holds 3-4g of water so when the body burns its way through its stores, the water flushes away as well hence the huge difference on the scales)
I was drinking up to 3 litres of water a day so you can imagine where I had to take frequent trips.
Week one passed without incident and I was finding it easier to structure my meals to fit my macronutrient requirements. I was feeling good and although I wasn’t training due to some muscular imbalances, I still had lots of energy. I was expecting to be hit with the ‘Keto flu’ round about now as my weight had remained stable for 2 days…but nothing. Although I didn't want to feel as bad as was predicted when the body starts the switch over, I kind of wanted a sign that I was doing everything right but after reading up on possibilities of why I had escaped the suffering, it seemed because I was pretty low carb anyway and I was supplementing with magnesium, extra sodium and other micronutrients you tend to be deficient in when following this plan, I wouldn't be affected as much if not at all.
Calories were a few hundred less than usual but like I said, I've dropped my training so nothing really dramatic and most days I wasn’t that hungry. All that fat and medium amounts of protein really does fill you up.
The volume of food I was eating didn’t seem that much because fat is such a calorie dense nutrient so I was eating less often. The first few days took a bit of adjusting to and I went from eating 5 times a day to 3-4. Some days there would be up to 6 hours between meals. I was hungry during these times but not ravenous and it was easy to control and passed quickly. When my body got used to the new frequency of eating, it was easier and I actually forgot about eating and had to remind myself sometimes to eat. I've done a lot of intermittent fasting in the past so this wasn't new to me.
One thing I was very particular about was hitting my macros every day. I made up a few new recipes to help me out here, combining lots of fat and calories without a substantial number of carbs or proteins.
What did I eat?
Here’s a sample day from the first week
Breakfast
Coconut Milk 200ml
Perfect Greens scoop
Chia Seeds 25g
Raw Cacao Powder
Cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon
4 Brazil Nuts (eaten whole)
Coconut oil in coffee
400 calories Fat 38g Protein 12g Net Carbs 2g
Lunch
3 egg omelette made in coconut oil
25g Spinach
3 cherry tomatoes
25g Gruyere grated cheese
1/2 Avocado
Himalayan Salt
500 calories Fat 40g Protein 31g Net Carbs 12g
Snack
Shredded Coconut 25g
150 calories Fat 16g Protein 1.6g Net Carbs 1.6g
Dinner
Roasted Pork shoulder 125g
Green Beans 100g
Garlic cloves x3
Green Pesto
Himalayan Salt
450 Calories Fat 27g Protein 28g Net carbs 6g
Daily Total
1500 Calories Fat 121g Protein 73g Net carbs 22g
Here are my Macronutrients stats for Week 1
1. 1473 cals, 101g Fat, 96g Protein, 24g Net carbs
2. 1603 cals, 125g Fat, 81g Protein, 9g Net carbs
3. 1500cals, 121g Fat, 73g Protein, 22g Net carbs
4. 1490cals, 125g Fat, 77g Protein, 14g Net carbs
5. 1534cals, 112g Fat, 87g Protein, 18g Net carbs
6. 1503cals, 108g Fat, 89 g Protein, 27g Net carbs
7. 1579cals, 118g Fat, 88g Protein, 17g Net carbs
Averages
1526 calories
Fat 116g
Protein 84g
Net carbs 19g
Weight change -2kg
So far so good….
People often ask me how I cope with social situation when I place nutritional restrictions on myself during a challenge. Actually, I don’t see them as restrictions, just specific guidelines.
I would never avoid a social occasion because of the experiment I might be doing at the time but I do have to have a strategy to cope with the situation.
Day eight presented itself with such a situation. I had planned out my macros exactly on MyFitnessPal (the app I use for food tracking) and as it wasn’t a formal sit down dinner, ate exactly the way I had planned to before I went. I was gutted I couldn't eat any of the amazing meat (chicken legs, pork ribs, beef burgers) from the BBQ but it would have sent me way over my protein limits for the day. I drank coffee and lots of water so I wasn’t too anti social (I hope).
My next challenge was a weekend away. Usually I don’t find travel an issue. My restaurant meals tend to consist of meat/fish and vegetables. The trouble with this experiment is the specific amounts of each macronutrient you have to eat. It’s quite a mathematical challenge to get things just right everyday and that’s when you can plan and prepare your own meals so going away and not knowing what you might find on a restaurant menu was going to be even harder. Not going over on protein and making sure I get enough fats is going to be the trickiest as staying super low carb is easy.
I packed lots of healthy fats as snacks to keep my intake high. Almonds, brazil nuts, dried coconut, even a jar of coconut oil to put in my numerous coffees. Not having as many vegetables as usual could put me in a position where I would be deficient in certain micronutrients so I also packed a ‘greens’ powder and for extra Omega 3 and fibre, some chia seeds. Now I just had to find something suitable to mix them with. Salt shouldn’t have been a problem but just in case, I carried a grinder of Himalayan salt in my handbag. I also had a few bars of Lindt 85% Dark Chocolate for extra fat without the carbs or protein. I love it that I have to eat this to reach my macros!
So, although I was going to the gastronomical centre of Europe (Lyon), I felt as though I was prepared. Bring on week 2!
Weekend away
So how did the weekend in Lyon go? My high fat snacks I took were essential for me to hit my macros.
Saturday morning breakfast at home.
Lunch was boiled eggs, dried coconut and nuts on the train.
My only option in the restaurant for dinner that night was sardines in oil, and then steak minus the potatoes. I think I went over on protein but I'm not going to stress over it. The steak was amazing.
Breakfast on day two nearly turned out to be coffee with coconut oil, nuts and dried coconut but a last minute find saved the day with a restaurant that served me an omelette, cheese and ham ensemble.
During the day we walked an impressive 28,000 steps which certainly worked up an appetite so next stop for a refuel was Les Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse around lunchtime.
Frogs legs or Snails?? The garlic butter they were swimming in would have been great for my fat requirements but I passed on both. I actually found it difficult to find anything suitable but settled on a full fat Greek yoghurt to mix my perfect greens, chia and flax mix.
The next day we decided to try breakfast in the hotel and I was pleasantly surprised how easy it was. I had my dried coconut and almonds at the ready but managed to have an almost perfect breakfast without.
Boiled eggs, ham, Camembert, walnuts, full fat yoghurt (for my greens, chia and flax) and of course coffee with a few spoons of coconut oil and cinnamon.
Lunch was easy after finding a gourmet burger place and dissecting a bacon burger. We realised we should have ordered a few double burgers as my bread roll was left but we can remember that for next time.
The train journey home. I had some almonds left over, another bar of 85% dark chocolate and an extra boiled egg I made at breakfast. Takeaway coffee from Paul's bakery with some more coconut oil and I'm done for the day.
End of day 11. Have got through a social event and a long weekend away and survived with a little bit of preparation and forward planning.
So today is day 12 of the experiment and I have made a conscious decision to end it. Why?
Although I enjoyed the food I was eating and the way it made me feel, it was very time consuming to keep control over the macros and foods I had to eat at the same time as making sure all my micronutrients were covered too (I don’t think I could have done it without supplementation). That in itself took the enjoyment out of eating.
Sometimes I was force feeding myself supplementary sources of fat which I didn’t really want.
Because fat is so calorie dense, the volume of food I could eat was quite small and I missed my larger meals.
I found it difficult to keep my protein low enough some days.
I missed my sweet potatoes and bananas.
Going very low carb (10% or lower of total calories) can induce peripheral insulin resistance which means the muscles are prevented from taking up any precious glucose the brain will need. This is totally normal but I felt that because this wasn't a permanent lifestyle change for me, 12 days was long enough. I didn't want my body to forget how to process carbs. Logic would suggest to me that the longer you do something, the longer it would take the body to return to its previous state.
What has this experiment taught me?
Eating a ketogenic diet has introduced me to new food combinations and recipes that I will continue to make from now on. (oh the things you can do with bacon!)
My body and mind can function well on a low carb, high fat diet. Maybe this would be a different story if I had been training hard during the experiment, but as it was I had lots of energy and mental clarity.
Something I knew already but interesting to note how easy it is to manipulate your weight and change the way you look physically by dropping carbs for a few weeks.
I should eat more BACON
As with all my experiments, I do a lot of research and reading about the ‘how to’ before I start. This research has led me to analyse case studies and through that my knowledge of nutrition and how it interacts with the human body has increased. That’s always a positive that comes out of each and every experiment I do.
What’s next?
A 6 week Nutrition project combining all the different experiments I have tried over the last 5 years. A new one each week….watch this space to find out what happens.