Going Keto

I'm obsessed with food; eating it, cooking it, planning when or how I'm going to eat it, thinking about eating every minute of the day. I enrolled in a nutrition course, thinking that would be a healthier outlet in which to obsess over it. The more I learn and and the more papers I read, the more I'm convinced that what the Government recommend we all consume on a daily basis is all very wrong. I'm not going to go on a big campaign or a rant about it, that isn't my style. Obviously the Egg way to go about this, is self-experimentation. Go against everything, do something completely un-recommended, do it wholeheartedly and report on how very wrong or very right it went.

Ketones can be measured by
a simple blood test.

In amongst my research I came across a nutritional approach called the Ketogenic Diet. To sum it up in the tiniest nutshell; this is a very high fat, moderate protein and extremely low carbohydrate way of eating. The large volume of fat eaten should come mostly from monounsaturated fat (think fish oils, olive oil, avocado) and saturated fats, with 'inflammatory' polyunsaturated fats being consumed in much lower quantities.

"What on earth are you talking about Eggy, surely this is going to clog your arteries and give you a heart attack?!" No fear, I've thought about that and had a full, pre-keto cholesterol panel taken, so I'll be checking again after a month and seeing if there's a change. My cholesterol, it turns out, is on the high side of normal, but advocates of a ketogenic lifestyle say that this way of eating actually reduces bad cholesterol, so we will see at the end of the month!

Why would anyone want to eat like this? This approach was originally used to - very effectively -  manage epileptic seizures in children before medication was developed. There are also studies showing that by cutting carbs and adapting your body to use fat as a fuel source rather than sugar, blood sugars are reduced, and leveled out. Ergo, the constant yo-yo of blood sugar causing hunger pangs goes away, meaning less hanger.

FREESTYLE OPTIUM NEO GLUCOSE AND KETONE METER

Science aside, Lizzie basically bought into this and agreed to trying it because a) she would have to cook for herself if she didn't join me and b) cheese is a totally acceptable snack food of choice on a ketogenic diet.

Yep, this breakfast counts!

There are so many questions: Will I survive exercise without carbs? Will I get fat from eating so much fat? Will I ever get over my serious aversion to needles and the amount of blood sampling required for this experiment? Stand by for answers!

We will be monitoring any body changes using the Tanita Body Composition Monitor