Is the Ketogenic Diet Right for Everyone? Why the Keto Diet did not Work for Me, and Why it may not work for you

The Keto Diet has always been somewhat of an ideal diet for me. I could eat as much fatty foods as I want and as much salty foods as I want, and I'll still be able to drop the fat like crazy. Sure I won't be eating any starchy carbs, but things like sugary foods and starchy grains aren't good for you anyway, right? I know I'd rather give up the starch than stay big forever.

Besides, according to the many Ketogenic Diet enthusiasts, we don't need carbohydrates - our body can fully adapt to a fat and protein diet.

Unfortunately, my little Keto venture ended up only lasting about a month. I was experiencing things that I knew wasn't normal, and I was genuinely worried for my well-being. After experiencing several late-night heart arrhythmatic episodes, I decided to do a bit more research. Besides, I don't want to risk my life just because I want to lighter.

Has anyone actually died while on the Ketogenic Diet?

While going through my research, I've discovered a few things that were disturbing to me. Despite the Keto enthusiasts saying that the Ketogenic Diet was healthy, natural, and safe, there were a few people that were dying while on the Ketogenic Diet.

The cause? Deficiencies, which lead to heart problems, among other things. Yikes!

According to the Department of Pediatrics in Canada, there have been two cases of children dying while on the Ketogenic diet, and both died due to impaired myocardial (heart muscle) function caused by deficiencies in Selenium (selenium-deficiency cardiomyopathy). 

According to the Department of Pediatrics in Nova Scotia, a 9 year old girl died of acute pancreatitis while on the Ketogenic diet. She was on the Ketogenic diet to help treat her pharmacologically resistant seizures. Unfortunately, the high-fat content of the diet led to hyperlipidemia, which led to the hemorrhagic pancreatitis.

Of course this is only a couple of studies that I have found. Interesting enough, the majority of the articles that I've "Googled" had positive information about the Ketogenic diet.

In 2004, 83 Obese patients with a body mass index over 35 started the Ketogenic Diet under the examination of several Clinical Cardiologists. After a 24-week period, the body mass index of the patients decreased significantly. The levels of HDL cholesterol (the good kind of cholesterol) increased, and the level of LDL cholesterol (the bad kind of cholesterol) decreased.

"...the present study confirms that it is safe to use a ketogenic diet for a longer period of time than previously demonstrated." - Hussein M Dashti, MD PhD FICS FACS, Thazhumpal C Mathew, MSc PhD FRCPath, [...], and Naji S Al-Zaid, BSc PhD

And, so, thinking that I was just a little bit paranoid, I decided to keep on with the diet for another week. Even my mother, who was complaining of feeling restless while in bed and feeling "weird", decided to stay with the Keto.

Besides, the scale kept going down pound-by-pound every couple of days. This was the fastest we've ever lost weight before. There were also a load of benefits that were awaiting us at the end of the transition - more energy, better cardiac health, better skin, etc etc.

So we thought, hey, two more weeks and we should feel better, right?

But even after two weeks of the Ketogenic Diet, we still felt horrible

And I actually felt worse. Before my irregular heart beats were nothing more than a little annoyance. Now, my heart murmurs were a  lot more worrisome. It felt like a little man was in my chest and was shooting a toy water gun up to the base of my neck.

My mother was starting to get massive headaches. After she went to the doctor for her annual checkup, she had learned her blood pressure was dangerously high.

Acknowledging the way the Ketogenic diet was making us feel (combined with the doctor's orders to GTFO it), we both decided to get off the diet as soon as possible. We wanted to lose weight (me more than her), but we weren't so desperate as to risk our well-being.

After a week of transitioning back to eating carbs, we felt normal again. No more heart murmurs, no more sleepless nights, and no more 5-hour-long day time naps. My mother had normal blood pressure now.

Unfortunately, the pounds came back, and they came back just as fast as they went. Week by week I would gain one pound, two pounds, sometimes even three pounds. After three or four weeks I was back to where I started.

Was I upset? You bet I was. Furious, actually.

So Why Didn't the Ketogenic Diet work for us?

There could have been many reasons why the Ketogenic Diet didn't work for my mother and I. If I had to guess, we were probably deficient in a few minerals and electrolytes. While we were on the Ketogenic Diet, we would urinate a lot (due to the lack of carbs and thus the lack of water retention), so our minerals would go down the toilet.

Unfortunately we did not take any supplements while on the diet. If we had, perhaps the diet could have turned out for the better.

But one thing's for sure: I did NOT feel right, and I hated the way the diet was making me feel.

I was wrong to ignore my body's warnings. Even though there have been a countless number of people who have benefited from the Ketogenic diet, that doesn't necessarily mean it will work for everyone.

Some Ketogenic Diet Guidelines

If you're interested in the Ketogenic Diet, then I highly recommend that you ask your doctor first.

If not, then at the very least take some supplements because you're going to be deficient in a lot of minerals, especially since you will be urinating a lot, UNLESS you eat the right foods.

Ketogenic Food Sources for Common Mineral Deficiencies

• Selenium: Halibut, Tuna, Cod, Sardines, Shrimp, Turkey
• Potassium: Clams, Halibut, Tuna
• Magnesium: Halibut, Almonds, Spinach

Notice how seafood was a food source for the above minerals. When you're on the Ketogenic diet, you're going to eat a lot of seafood (unless you are taking supplements). When I was on the Ketogenic diet I was not eating large amounts of fish. In fact, all I ate were eggs, bacon, spinach, cheese, almonds, and some meats. 

In addition, make sure to keep your salt intake high. Some people even say up to 5 grams of sodium, which is a lot. 

If you'd like to learn more about the Ketogenic Diet, I discovered a fantastic website the Ketogenic Diet Resource. It has a ton of helpful articles, such as low carb recipes, carb counters, and the science behind how the Ketogenic diet works.

What are your thoughts on the Ketogenic Diet?

Have you ever been on a Ketogenic diet? Did it work for you? Post below in the comments section.

Ketosis for Weight Loss - My First Week of my Ketosis Weight Loss Program

I have never been a fan of any of the popular diet programs. I'm the type that likes to go against the crowd and do stuff the old fashioned way. However, when I discovered the Ketogenic Diet I thought I'd really give it a go. 

To those that do not know what the Ketogenic Diet is, it's a diet where you eat mostly fat, a moderate amount of protein, and absolutely no carbohydrates. The program is very similar to the Atkin's Diet. I'm planning on staying on this diet program for a total of 3 weeks to see if I lose anything.

However, for the first week, I can say that my results are so much better than I had thought it would be.

My First Week Keto Diet Results

I started the Keto Diet on Wednesday, September 18, 2013, at 197 pounds. As of today, Wednesday, September 25, 2013, I am now 192 pounds. That's a 5 pound loss for a whole week! That's amazing, even though most of the weight is probably water weight. 

The Keto Meals are Delicious, Too

I'm not going to deny anything and say that I don't miss carbs. Like I mentioned before in some of my previous posts, I am an Asian, so rice is a staple in my family. Unfortunately, when you're on a Keto Diet, rice is definitely off of the menu. So yes, I had some withdrawal symptoms and I had to exercise an immense amount of willpower to not give in. Heck, just today a friend came to my house and gave my family a whole box of donuts. 

Did I want to give up? Freaking, yes. So yes. But I didn't.

The reason why is because even though I am craving for carbs, the Keto meals I plan for myself feel fulfilling to me. Most of my meals are very oily, like some soups with an extra tablespoon of Canola oil, or a pizza with extra cheese. My vegetables are often glazed with extra servings of Ranch dressing. I know it sounds pretty gross, but after a few days you really get used to this sort of eating.

Best part: I've been eating a lot more than I should have. One day I surpassed the 3000 calorie mark (I'm supposed to be at 1700), but I still ended up losing pounds anyway.

So this is my Plan - Lose weight with the Keto Diet

I know my fat loss will probably slow down, but as long as I'm slowing down it doesn't really matter to me.

OH, I almost forgot to mention...

I am so happy for myself because, as of today, I am NO LONGER OBESE. That's right. I hopped on the Wii Fit scale I have at my home and I am now underneath the Obese range. Now I'm just overweight. I was expecting some sort of congratulations from the Wii Board but I was disappointed. Oh well!

Weight Loss - Healthy Dieting is harder than I thought...

Oh guys, I was bad this week. Very bad.

Earlier this week, my mother's friend had an open house for a cruise ship he worked for. It's called the Golden Princess, and it was the first cruise ship I have EVER stepped in. Of course since the cruise was an open house it never left Seattle. However, it was still enjoyable nevertheless.

A major reason why it was so enjoyable was because of the food. It was all free, and they had open buffet, endless Pizzas, ice cream, burgers, and whatever else they can throw on a cruise ship. My family and I are HUGE foodies, so we got there right before the crowd took over the ship.

And we ate, and ate and ate and ate. We had a blast but so did my calorie intake. I seemed to have gained 2 lbs since Sunday, so I'm slowly trying to work my way down to where I was before. I'm starting to wonder exactly how much calories I ate that day (we celebrated our buffet ventures by eating pizza and ice cream only an hour later, LOL). 

To make it worse, later that night we bought a bucket of KFC chicken and whopper meals from Burger King, and I had both a serving of KFC extra crispy chicken breast with a side of Double Whopper.

Yikes! I'm surprised I didn't get a heart attack.

But now to focus on Weight Loss through Healthy Dieting

I'm sorry I pigged out, but something like a endless food cruise almost NEVER happens, especially since we specially invited on board. One day of going all out won't hurt anyone, right?

So I'm going to continue this week with my usual routine - create 6 small meals the previous night so I know what I'm eating the next day. So far it's working and I can feel the fat slipping off me already.

As for my Workout plan for weight loss...

I'm currently trying to kick my butt out of lazy-drive so I can start sweating those pounds away. It is freaking hard though - some days I'm only the floor about to do some push-ups and my body's telling me "Nope, nope, nope. Stop. Play video games instead."

I do manage to get through it, but sometimes it's almost depressing. I really hope this initial workout mindset is just a phase because I can't handle having to fight against my consciousness every time I want to workout.

Currently, I'm enjoying some simple cardio from my Wii Fit, and I'm also doing some muscle works based on two awesome videos I found on Youtube. Check it out:

Beginner Upper Body Workout

Beginner Lower Body Workout

These workouts, despite it saying BEGINNER, is already too hard for me, haha. I guess this really shows how much work I have to do to make my body better. 

And that's it! Wish me luck everyone :)

My 6 Small Meal Plan - Weight Loss Update

To kick off Day 1 of my weight loss, I decided that I would spend the night before preparing my meals for the day. I created 6 small meal weight loss containers and put enough food in there so I hit 1600 calories (about a 300 or so calorie deficit). I tried to be as balanced as possible and include every single food group, and I think I did a pretty good job! The only thing is it took me a long time.

I divided my day's meals into the following:

1. BREAKFAST: 1 Pork Hotdog, 1 Cup of Rice, 1 Teaspoon Flax Seed
2. BRUNCH: 1 oz Almonds, 1 Package Crackers, a drip of Vegetable Oil, pinch of salt
3. LUNCH: 1 Cup White Rice, 2 Eggs, 2 Tablespoons Stir-fry marinade
4. AFTERNOON SNACK: 2 Cups of Green Welch's Grapes
5. DINNER: 1 Cup Broccoli, 2 oz Macaroni, 1/2 Cup Cheddar Cheese, 1 Tablespoon Flour
6. MIDNIGHT SNACK: 2 Frigo Cheese Sticks

I had forgotten to take a picture of my finished containers, so all I have is the below picture: lunch, afternoon snack, dinner, and midnight snack:

Why Making 6 Small Meals is Helpful

I'm the type of person that gets very hungry when I do not eat, and if I get really hungry I become irrational when it comes to food. Planning out my day not only gives me a pathway to follow (unlike the eat-whatever-I-see-as-I-get-hungry method that NEVER works), but it allows my stomach to continuously churn, maintaining my blood sugar at a moderate level. And as you may or may not know....

A spike in blood sugar means hunger and fat storage

According to caloriesperhour.com, eating a large amount of food (specifically simple carbohydrates) causes a spike in your blood sugar levels. When your body detects an abundance of glucose (the molecule that food gets turned into), it tells the body to store the glucose as fat. Not only that, but the rapidness of the glucose-to-fat process causes your blood sugar to decrease drastically.

A low blood sugar means feeling hungry and tired, making you eat more. I guess that's why when I have a meal at Olive Garden, I feel hungry only a couple of hours later! By having 6 small meals, as opposed to 2-3 large ones, I'm able to keep my blood sugar at even levels. 

My next challenge to tackle: Exercise

Creating a six small meal plan weight loss diet is easy because all I have to do is stay a bit under my maintenance calories. However, exercise is a completely different story. Granted, I've been exercising sporadically on my Wii Fit, but for the last three or so weeks my habits have been terrible. I'm going to work on exercising on a daily basis with Saturday as my day off.

Wish me luck!

How to Keep from Overeating - 5 Ways I Keep from Stuffing my Face

Ever since I was small, overeating has always been a problem for me. I was taught that if I wanted to leave the dinner table, I had to finish every morsel left on my plate, and unfortunately what was left on my plate wasn't always necessarily good for me.

However, when I was at my peak weight (about 221 pounds...yikes), I knew I needed to lose weight, so I had to use every possible tactic to keep myself from binging on comfort foods. Today I wanted to share with you my techniques on how to keep from overeating.

1. Brush your Teeth after every meal

Not only is brushing your teeth after every meal recommended by dentists, but the toothpaste taste in your mouth acts like a barrier that keeps you from giving in to cravings. Even if you do decide to have that extra slice of pizza, it will taste like you used Colgate as your marinara sauce. Yuck!

Similarly, you could also consume foods that leave a bad (or overwhelming strong) after taste in your mouth. I find that pineapple leaves a bitter, citrusy taste in my mouth that doesn't seem to go away no matter what I eat. You could also consume some garlic or onions, although I highly recommend you don't go out of the house. Or talk to anyone for that matter.

2. Leave sticky notes on the bad foods in your house

Giving yourself a little positive message is a great way to constantly remind yourself of your weight loss goals. This is especially true if you're confronted with a decision: should I or should I not JUST have one Lays potato chip?!

Of course the best decision is to not have junk food in your house in the first place, but for those of us that live in a house with several other people, that's not always an option. Instead, try taking some sticky notes and put them on the door of your fridge, on the door of your pantry, on the door leading to your kitchen, and on the packages of the bad foods. On the sticky notes write messages like:

• "Giving up already, Jay? You can do it!"
• "Turn away right now. It's not worth it!"
• "Are you sure you want to eat this? Why not have some grapes instead."

It may seem a bit weird at first, but it worked amazingly for me. You might even have a psychological impact on your housemates! Don't be surprised if no one touches the ice cream tub for several months because of your Post-it note.

3. Think about what you're craving, and choose a better option

Maybe you really aren't craving donuts, but rather something sweet. Or maybe you're not craving for a hamburger, but for beef. Before you decide to commit to anything unhealthy, really think about what you're craving, and choose a better option.

For example, I am a HUGE spicy food addict, and for years I used to go to my Safeway store every week and buy a bag of Flaming Hot Cheetos. However, once I found out that I was really only craving for something spicy, not necessarily the Cheetos, I was able to pick better options. Now I put Tobasco on everything, and I haven't purchased a Flaming Hot Cheetos bag in over a year.

4. Keep yourself from being bored

Sometimes the reason why we eat is because we have nothing better to do! If I find myself at home during my days off and I don't have any plans, I always end up eating much more than I want. Because of this, I try to make a list of things to do for the day so I can stay both productive and healthy. The list doesn't necessarily have to be chores, either: I always make myself play at least 2 hours of online games just so I don't end up pigging downstairs.

Just make sure to not take this to the extremes; not eating because you're too busy is just as bad, if not worse, than eating too much.

5. Make your food the previous day

Knowing what you're going to eat for the day is an awesome to stay on track. I like to spend at least an hour every night preparing my meals for the next day. I take about six washable plastic containers and fill them up with stuff that I can eat throughout the day.

I have one container for breakfast, one container for brunch, one container for lunch, one container for my afternoon snack, one container for my dinner, and one container for my midnight snack (if I'm still hungry at night). Below is a picture of 4 out of 6 containers that I made the night before (I ate the first two already, haha. Sorry!):

I make sure to put a lot of healthy finger-foods in there as well. as you can see I put some grapes and Frigo cheese sticks in my containers. You don't want to have to keep breaking out the pots and pans every time you're hungry. As humans we're lazy, and if we are really hungry we'll just go for the easy route, and that can mean fast food or takeout!

My Final Bit of Advice

As with anything difficult, the one thing that you must exercise is your willpower. You are a strong, capable individual, and if you want it bad enough you'll get it. Just stay on track and keep visualizing that beach body. Good luck!