The Keto Diet in two pages


The Keto Diet in two pages.
By Andrew Willis, January 11, 2020, Elizabethtown KY, USA

Introduction
This is a simple “quick start” introduction to the Keto diet that can get you going successfully. I occasionally have the opportunity to explain the Keto diet to someone and so have asked myself what the best way is to explain it. One suggestion I have given is for people to read the first chapter in a Keto cookbook. Every Keto cookbook that I have seen, has used the first chapter to give a basic explanation of the diet. So that is a relatively easy way to learn what to do in only 30 or so pages. My criticism of Keto cookbooks is that I think they make the diet harder than needed to justify all of the recipes in the book that you just bought. While the recipes taste good, many people don't want to special order ingredients, spend a lot of money on food, or spend lots of time in the kitchen working out new recipes. So my suggestion is to get started with some easy quick cheap foods and then add to that later as you get more comfortable. I eat basically the same thing each day and suggest that you do the same to get started.

Calories and percentages
The average woman needs to eat about 2,000 calories per day to maintain her weight, and 1,500 calories per day to lose one pound of weight per week. Meanwhile, the average man needs 2,500 calories to maintain, and 2,000 to lose one pound of weight per week. By eating Keto, you will not be as hungry and so it is easier to lose weight and then maintain it. A Keto diet is the following approximate percentages: 2% carbohydrate (mostly leafy greens), 15% protein (meat, fish, or eggs), and 83% Fat. Note that the ideal ratio can vary for people but for simplicity, I'm using these ratios. (Feel free to do additional research.) Another way to state this is in grams and so it is recommended to eat 20 grams or less of carbohydrate per day. Now the above might get you bogged down in details so let me tell you what to do.

Meals
My suggestion is that you eat two meals a day. They can be either breakfast and lunch or lunch and dinner. If you want three meals then divide up lunch into two meals. Drink water all day.

Man – 2000 calorie target / Woman – 1500 calorie target. If different, woman food amount added in parentheses after the man amount.
Simple cheap meal
Optional upgrades
Breakfast
Eat 3 scrambled eggs cooked in 3 tablespoons of butter. Mix them well together while cooking so they combine. Add salt and the seasonings of your choice.

Several cups of coffee or tea with 4 (2) tablespoons total of Heavy Whipping Cream.
Use Omega 3 eggs and grass-fed butter to reduce inflammation. Available at most larger grocery stores.
Buy cream from grass-fed or organic fed cows.
Lunch
3/4 (1/2) pound of beef cooked as rare as you can stand (Note that grilling a batch of frozen beef patties is an easy cheap way to get your lunches ready for the week.) Fish or other animal meat is also fine.

2-3 cups of Lettuce salad with ¼ cup of olive oil-based Italian dressing. You can include some green onions, spinach, or other greens if wanted but no tomatoes, fruits, or root vegetables.
Buy grass-fed beef which has more Omega 3 to reduce inflammation. Available at most larger grocery stores.
Buy Organic vegetables.
Make your own olive oil-based dressing using the recipe at end of the paper.


Supplements and prescription medication
  • Keep on taking any vitamin supplements that you are currently. If you are not taking a multivitamin then I suggest adding one daily.
  • Consult with a doctor, if there is any question on your part about the effect of this diet on your current medications.
  • Note that if you are taking anything to control your blood sugar then you will need to know how to adjust your medication as this diet will lower your need for medication.
  • Add ¼ teaspoon of salt to a small glass of water and drink it daily. In the weeks to come, your body will start adapting to this diet and you may notice yourself having to get up several times during the night to pee. Your body is starting to dump retained water and extra salt that your body is retaining will go with the water and needs to be replaced. Without enough salt, you will feel tired and not know why. Also, use salt on your foods above the ¼ teaspoon as this will help you get enough.

Tips
  • It can take your digestive system time to get used to eating this amount of fat. If you are not used to eating this much fat, you should ease into it. For example, on the first day cook one tablespoon of butter with 5 eggs. Then 2 tablespoons of butter with 4 eggs. When that seems fine, move to 3 and 3.
  • Once you lose the weight, Maintenance is simply a matter of increasing the portions until you are maintaining a steady weight.
  • A Keto diet tends to promote muscle gain. So many men and women may not see the weight dropping but inches start dropping off their waist, arm, and leg measurements as their muscle mass increases and fat decreases. Measure yourself before you start so you can see progress after some weeks.
  • I use the free app MyFitnessPal to track food and evaluate macros. If you are eating the same thing each day you don't need to track but you will likely want that option to investigate other foods. There are also other apps that you can use like Carb Manager.

Benefits
  • A Keto diet will improve heart health. It reduces plaque in your arteries. After a year or two on a Keto diet, you will have a lowered heart rate and blood pressure as your heart no longer needs to work so hard. At my last physical, I had three different comments from the nurse and doctor about how low my heart rate was. They were asking if I was a runner and I don't run at all.
  • There are many other life-changing benefits but to keep inside my page limit, I won't list them.

Italian Dressing Recipe
1 ½ cup Extra Virgin Olive oil
½ cup red wine vinegar
2 ½ tsp garlic powder
2 tsp onion powder
2 ½ tsp dried oregano
2 ½ tsp dried basil
2 tsp pepper
2 tsp salt
2 tsp dried ground mustard.
Combine ingredients in a jar. Store at room temperature. Shake well before pouring. This is also a good chicken marinade. I only approximately measure out the spices. Precision is not required.

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