@lazy.life.hacks Keto A ketogenic diet involves low carb, moderate protein and higher fat. The reduction in carbs results in the body breaking down fat to produce ketones which it uses as a fuel. This state is called ketosis and has many benefits including improved heart health, reduction of acne , lower blood sugar , cholesterol and blood pressure as well as aiding in weight loss. Classically, keto involves carefully monitoring your intake of carbs, fat and protein as well as calo ries using an app such as My Fitness Pal, aiming to stay below 20g of carbs and to get 70 % of your calories daily from fat, 25% from protein and 5% from carbohydrates. L azy keto is much less strict ; you still aim for less than 20g of carbs per day and stil l have high fat, moderate protein, but in a less regimented way (ie. Not calculating all your macronutrients and calories daily – who really has time for that? The fucking Rock, I bet!) So instead of diligently recording every last 0.1 of a carb, it’s easier to educate yourself on what is low or zero carb and then just ma k e informed decisions each day on what you’re going to eat in an effort to remain below 20g. The problem with lazy keto tends to be when people disregard calories and think they can eat as much as they like as long as it’s low carb and this is not true. Calorie deficit is how you lose weight, keto just makes calorie deficit much easier. The first two weeks of keto are the worst, at least they were for me, so I recommend spending these w eeks just focusing on eating the correct foods rather than calorie counting , you’re gonna feel shit enough with the carb cravings (I dreamt about birthday cake more than once) and keto flu! After 2 - 3 weeks however you’ll feel better and generally be less h ungry ( the lack of carbs means your blood sugar will remain pretty stable rather than rising and falling and making you food crazy) so now’s the time to focus on portion size, counting calories or even intermittent fasting! @lazy.life.hacks I ntermittent fasting Intermittent fasting involves eating only during a certain number of hours each day. The easiest way to do this is to skip breakfast, that way, if your last meal was at 8pm and you eat lunch at 12 you have fasted for 16 hours! This is called a 16:8 fast. In terms of benefits, intermittent fasting is awesome. The main one I tend to focus on is that intermittent fasting (and k eto) can trigger the process of autophagy, the process by which the body basically removes damaged cells and replaces them with new ones. This provides a wide range of positive results for the body including improved cardiovascular health, potential improv ements in treatment and prevention of cancer and a general reduction of inflammation , which can help with a huge range of different ailments. Alongside this it can also contribute towards reduced blood pressure, reduced blood sugar and increased cognitive function. Amazing. To cap it off, I heard David Sinclair this morning on Kevin Rose's podcast mention that he believes intermittent fasting is the most important thing he does in terms of his longevity. That guy is the king so that pretty much seals it for me! If you plan on fasting, 16:8 is the way to start, it’s fairly easy and gives you a wide range of benefits. There are many different types of fast and it’s easy to move from 16:8 to something such as OMAD (one meal a day) which is what I do most days ( not every day though, sometimes I’m hungry and it’s always best to eat when you’re hungry, stops you from making stupid decisions later) Personally I prefer OMAD because I’m really not all that hungry during the day and it allows me to have a ridiculous h igh calorie evening meal whilst still staying below my daily calorie count; giant disgusting meals AND weight loss is the dream! During a period of fast you’re allowed to consume beverages only but be careful what you do consume, although diet drinks don’t contribute towards weight gain, the presence of the artificial sweetener can cause a glucose spike which will break your fast. From what I’ve read online, chewing gum with artificial sweetener however tends to be ok because it’s only a very a small amount of sweetener , which is great because extended fasting can cause some real stinky breath! In terms of beverages it’s probably best to stick to: • Black coffee • Black tea • Green tea • Water If these things are too boring then it’s cool to add lemon or lime for a bit of flavour or even cucumber if you’re one of those maniacs that enjoys that shit. Carbonated water is also fine. I wish I like carbonated water, people who like it absolutely LOVE it! It just tastes shite to me. @lazy.life.hacks Easy meal maker Choose one of these Add one or two of these Optional extra (don’t overdo) Optional fat Beef (steak, mince) Broccoli (normal or tenderstem) Peppers (either fresh or from a jar) Full fat mayonnaise Chicken (thighs or legs) Asparagus Tomatoes Almonds Pork (gammon steak, chops) Sprouts Onions Cheese (grated on veg) Lamb (chop, cutlet, mince) Kale Pickles Eggs Halloumi Cabbage Avocado Sausage (check the carb amount on the back) Cauliflower Bacon Spinach Fish Courgette (This is by no means an exhaustive list of keto foods but is definitely a good starting point – come to think of it, I probably eat 9 8 % food from this list) Choose a protein from the first column and 1 or 2 veg from the second column. Always e at veg because the fibre will stop you from being constipated. The chlorophyll in the green veg is also a good antioxidant to balance out the oxidative effects of the hemeiron in red meat. If you’re eating a less fatty protein (eg. Fish) then be sure to ad d more fat to the meal to balance out the ratio, too much protein can push you out of ketosis. Example : Steak and asparagus with roasted peppers Gammon steak with a fried egg and sprouts Chicken thighs (roast for 40 mins at 200°C) with an avocado salad and mayonnaise Cook your food in one of these oils: Olive oil Avocado oil Butter Sesame oil Walnut oil @lazy.life.hacks Other meal ideas: Sausage and cheese omelette – cook the sausage as usual, let it cool and then slice it up. Put it in the pan and let it warm through before adding the whisked eggs. Finish the omelette under the grill if the top is still a bit wet. Lettuce burger – I think it’s easiest to use littl e gem lettuce. Cut the bottom off and then it’s easy to take off single leaves of lettuce to use instead of a bun. Add cheese, a bit of red onion, loads of mayo and some low sugar ketchup (just a little bit) Stuffed peppers – cut the peppers in half vertic ally, stuff them with loads of grated cheese and whatever else you fancy ; onions, bacon , tomatoes , chicken etc. Stir fry – meat and low carb veg cooked in sesame oil. Add barenaked rice or noodles if you fancy. Shepherd’s/cottage pie – make it the same as usual but top with cauliflower mash instead of potato; add grated cheese on top of you’re feeling crazy. Soup – chicken and low carb veg soup is great, thicken it with an egg if you like. Chilli – make it like usual but without the beans, serve with lo w carb veg or barenaked rice. Snacks : Cheese (we get babybels cause they’re cheap, Sainsbury and Tesco also do little bags of cheddar and red Leicester and stuff) Cured meats (pepperoni, chorizo etc.) Pork scratchings Almonds (50g or less, very high calorie) Pre cooked chicken thighs Boiled eggs Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries (these have sugar in but are low on the glycemic index so you can have a small amount) Olives Beef jerky/biltong (check the back of the packet, some are high carb and some are low) @lazy.life.hacks Drinks The b est thing to is drink a lot of water, it prevents you from getting unnecessary hunger cravings (when you’re thirsty rather than hungry) and keeping hydrated can help prevent constipation (amongst other things). Black coffee and tea are both alright too, if using milk then it must be counted in your daily carb allowance. Unsweetened almond milk is lower carb then cow’s milk. Sugar free drinks are also ok alongside this but shouldn’t be used as your main source of hydration. Eating out Eating out is fine a s long as it’s managed properly. Takeaway is ok in a push but shouldn’t be done all the time because it’s hard to tell exactly what’s in the food but now again should be fine. British – most pub style restaurants (hungry horse, beefeater etc) are easy, bu rgers without buns, steak, chicken, mixed grill. Substitute potatoes for veg. Indian – don’t order rice, naan, potatoes or dhaal ( lentils) . A lot of curries are ok; tikka, tandoori, butter chicken etc as long as there are no sweeteners or thickeners in th e sauce. Thai – red or green curry is fine with vegetables on the side instead of rice. Nandos – most of the chicken as fine as long as it’s not breaded . Broccoli , halloumi, salad and chargrilled veg are all good sides. McDonald’s – double cheese burger without the bun or ketchup or grilled chicken and bacon salad. Subway – any salad with grated cheese and mayonnaise Five guys – bunless burger, no ketchup. Takeaway – d on er meat with salad and mayonnaise. Shopping advice Check the back of every packet for the carb amount . If it’s double figures per 100g then that’s usually a bad sign. Use your judgement on what to buy and how much, you’re aiming to be able to fit the carb amount into your daily 20g or less. Stay away from processed foods and anything with added sugar Stay away from anything labelled as low fat, the fat is usually replaced with sugar. @ lazy.life.hacks Tips • This is not a diet, it’s a lifestyle; you’re allowed cheat days now and then but you can’t stop and start, if you do stop then you have to work to get back into ketosis. • Try to stick to less than 20g of carbohydrate per day. Be sur e to check this on the product packaging or using an app like My fitness Pal. • Aim to get around 70% of your days calories from a source of fat. • Spend the first two weeks focusing on low carb, moderate protein, high fat and getting into ketosis. For t hese weeks you’ll lose water weight • After tw o weeks are up, begin focusing on lowering calories; only eat when you’re hungry rather than when you feel like you should eat. You’ll start to feel less hungry and more satiated when you do eat. • Intermitte nt fasting is a good idea but if you feel shit or hungry then eat; fasting should feel good. • If you plan on fasting, take a snack with you during the day just in case I unusually have a bag of almonds. That way you’ll be less likely to make bad decision s if you are hungry. • Y ou’ll lo s e a lot of weight quickly and then plateau, don’t be discouraged, it’ll pick back up again as long as you stick to it • Be sure to eat a good amount of green vegetables, not only do they help keep you regular, but the ch lorophyll has antioxidant properties which can help to negate the oxidative properties of hemeiron if you are a red meat eater. • More vegetables than you realise are high in carb so be sure to check before you buy. Green vegetables tend to be fine, root vegetables tend to not be. • Stay away from products marketed as low fat, not only is this counterintuitive to the keto diet but usually these things are pumped full of sugar and therefore carbs. • Less alcohol is always best for staying in ketosis. If you are going to drink try to stick to spirits (zero carb) or dry wine/champagne (can be as low as 7g per bottle). • Instead of having a “cheat day” every so often where you go crazy, try just expanding your daily carb limit once in a while. • Remove an y easy carb meals/snacks from your fridge and cupboards. No matter how strong you think your will power is, it probably isn’t. • Condiments can help but be careful, even reduced salt and sugar ketchup is fairly high in carb so use it sparingly. Mayonnaise however? Go fucking crazy. @lazy.life.hacks