The Keto Factor

These days the Ketogenic Diet is in everybody’s vocabulary.  People are planning to get on it, some brave souls are on it and some are just curious about how it works but not really interested in giving up their carbs just yet to get on the keto bandwagon.?

I brought a friend to salsa dance class eight months ago and saw him shrink in size literally before my eyes.  We were dancing the same number of hours, doing the same kind of dance, but why was he losing weight and I was not?

Finally, I commented on his weight loss and asked him straight up, “What extra thing are you doing aside from dancing that is making you lose all that weight?”

He explained that he was on a high-fat, moderate-protein, very-low-carb diet.  I did not notice he was on a diet at all as every time we ate out, he ordered the most fatty foods on the menu, like lechon kawali or grilled liempo, pork adobo, Wagyu steak, bacon and scrambled eggs with a slab of butter on top, a cheese omelet with whipped cream on the side.  I noticed, though, that he did not touch bread or rice.?

After a stretch of five months, he lost 25 lbs. and significantly lost his beer belly — his main reason in joining the salsa class! The weight loss with the help of dance exercise gave him his new, lean silhouette.  It seems that diet and exercise are the perfect combo for any weight-loss program.?

He finally told me that his diet was called the Ketogenic Diet, which is a high-fat, adequate-protein, low-carb diet. The diet forces the body to burn fat rather than carbohydrates.?A doctor explained the mechanics of the Ketogenic Diet in these simple terms: our central nervous system, aka the brain, needs glucose for energy.  When the body is deprived of glucose because it has no carbs, the body looks for another source of energy.  So the liver converts fat into fatty acids and produces ketones that pass into the brain and replace glucose as an energy source.?

People doing the Ketogenic Diet are limited to 20 grams (or lower) of carbs daily, which is mostly derived from green, leafy vegetables and select fruits, not from bread, pasta or rice.?More people and athletes are embracing this low-carb, high-fat diet and sticking to it for months — or even years — on end. They claim that the switch from using fat and ketones instead of carbohydrates for fuel make them leaner, healthier and mentally more alert and focused than ever.?

For those planning to go on this diet, here is a list of foods that one should  be eating:?fatty nuts and seeds like cashews, macadamia and pumpkin seeds;?avocados; whole eggs; full-fat cheese; beef: ground chuck, filet mignon, rib eye, porterhouse; chicken thighs and legs; vegetables: kale, spinach and other greens, broccoli, asparagus, cabbage, mushrooms, bell peppers; pork rinds; olive oil and coconut oil;?salted butter, heavy cream, sour cream, cream cheese;?fatty fish: salmon, mackerel, sardines, anchovies;?bacon; chicken broth or bouillon with at least one gram sodium?(take note that the chicken broth or bouillon with sodium will help prevent dehydration). Drinking lots of water is a must if you are on Keto and you need sodium, t??

The good news for bread lovers is there is now Keto bread at Bettina Osmeña’s Gourmet Corner, San Antonio Arcade, Forbes Park, their stand in Rustan’s Supermarket, and Shangri-La Plaza Mall.  It is made of 100-percent almond flour, is gluten-free and sugar-free, sweetened with Stevia, and contains less than one gram of carbs per slice.  It is delicious with butter, cream cheese, paté, avocado spread, etc., and can be used as croutons in your salad. 

The bread baker (who prefers to stay anonymous)  was forced to create this bread for health reasons.   She was overweight, borderline diabetic with high cholesterol, but loves bread so much that her efforts at weight loss always failed.  She heard about the Ketogenic diet and how it helped people lose weight. A devout Christian, she prayed about finding a recipe to make Keto bread and “with God as my partner, how could I not succeed in finding the right recipe? I pray before I bake and ask God to bless, heal and nourish every person who eats the bread,” she revealed.   

With her Keto bread to satisfy her cravings, she successfully lost 10 lbs. in a month and is still going for more.  She mixes her Keto diet with gym training to ensure the success of her weight-loss program.??A sample of her daily menu goes like this:?breakfast of scrambled eggs (two eggs sautéed in butter)?two strips of bacon, one slice Keto bread;?lunch is tuna salad (23 gms. tuna fish, 30 gms. mayo, 10 gms. celery);?snack is sugar-free, high-fat yogurt or berries (allowed in the Keto diet) with whipped cream;?dinneris a cheeseburger without the bread (22 gms. minced ground meat, 10 gms. American cheese, 26 gms. butter )?with 11 gms. green beans and 10 gms. lettuce.??

There are Ketogenic Diet recipes online so it is not difficult to vary one’s Keto meals.??