February 9, 2025 • 26 mins
Why do low-carb diets work so well for weight loss? In this episode, we break down ketosis and explain how it helps you burn fat quickly, especially if you’re insulin resistant. Learn the science behind why low-carb and keto diets are so effective, how intermittent fasting can enhance your results, and why replenishing electrolytes is essential. If you’re looking for actionable tips to optimise your diet and reach your weight loss goals faster, this episode is for you!
Stay hydrated, avoid the keto flu and reach your goals faster with the best keto electrolyte on the market: Sodii! (15% off with code: HCK15) https://hckait.com/sodiielectrolytes
Exogenous ketones I recommend (not from an MLM!) https://hckait.com/perfectketo
Health Coach Kait's 7-Day Insulin Resistance Masterclasshttps://healthcoachkait.com/IRmasterclass
Timestamps
00:00 Intro
02:13 What is ketosis?
02:27 Carbs vs fat for energy
05:29 How to get into ketosis
05:49 Who can benefit from ketosis?
06:36 Ketosis and weight loss
06:50 How low carb lowers insulin
08:48 Keto suppresses appetite
08:54 Exogenous ketones scam
12:13 How to start the keto diet
12:55 How many carbs should you eat?
14:39 Dirty vs clean keto
17:26 Keto macros
20:01 How to avoid the keto flu
21:44 Intermittent fasting
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Today's video is sponsored by Soddy's Everyday Hydration
salts. Hello guys and welcome back to
another episode of the Healthy Not Complicated podcast.
I'm your host, health coach Kate, and today we are going to
be talking about ketosis and whybeing in ketosis, why eating a
low carb or ketogenic diet is soeffective for weight loss.
(00:21):
Now, before we get into it, obviously that being in ketosis,
eating a low carb diet can be very effective for weight loss,
for improving insulin sensitivity, for improving
metabolic health, for PCOS. But I don't think it's the only
way. I don't think that people need
to be in ketosis in order to getthese results.
(00:43):
Oh hello, how are you doing? Is it very very effective
though? Yes.
So I'm not anti carb. I've spoken about this in
previous episodes. I've eaten low carb keto diets
for years at a time. In general I do still eat a
mainly low carb diet, but I target carbohydrates around
(01:05):
exercise and because I play hockey competitively I'm doing a
lot of exercise. So this does mean a few more
carbs than what I eaten in the past.
But for most people who have goals of improving their
metabolic health, becoming more metabolically flexible, burning
more fat, if they have any issues with blood sugar, if they
have type 2 diabetes, then yes. Keto diets, ketogenic diets,
(01:29):
being in ketosis, extremely, extremely effective or at the
very least being smart about carbs.
And I really want to dig into why keto is so effective for
these conditions, for these symptoms in today's video.
So if you are someone who is really struggling to lose weight
and you're not sure where to start, maybe you have high blood
(01:52):
sugar, you've been diagnosed as prediabetic, borderline
prediabetic. Maybe you have PCOS and you've
heard of keto. You've heard of ketosis, but
you've also heard some scary things about it.
Trust me, it's not that scary. We're going to break it all down
in this video so you can figure out if it's maybe the right
strategy for you. All right, so let's begin by
(02:14):
talking about what ketosis is and how it works.
So ketosis is a metabolic state where your body is using fat for
energy. And explaining this in the
simplest way possible, we basically have two energy
sources as humans. We can use carbohydrates for
energy, or we can use fat. Now carbohydrates are a quick
(02:36):
energy source. So when we eat something that's
high in carbs, it's broken down into sugar.
The sugar enters our bloodstream, causes our blood
sugar to go up, and then insulinis released and it takes the
sugar from our bloodstream and brings it to the cells in our
body to use for energy. So of course, if you consume
something that is simple sugar in it, this doesn't take a long
(02:57):
time to be processed and to enter your bloodstream and your
blood sugar is going to go quicker and that energy is going
to get to your cells quicker. If you have something starchy
that needs to be broken down. So it's going to take a little
bit longer. And This is why things like
potatoes are sometimes referred to as slow carbs.
Now our body only has limited storage for carbohydrates.
(03:18):
So if it's not so if it's not used immediately for energy,
then it's going to be stored in our muscles and our liver.
And if our muscles and our liverare full, then it's going to be
stored as fat. So our bodies can store about
2000 calories worth of energy from carbohydrates.
So if you haven't eaten carbohydrates recently, if your
blood sugar is kind of stable and your body needs glucose for
(03:41):
energy, then your liver will release it.
Now fat is our other energy source, and it takes longer to
be broken down and longer to digest.
It's a slower and more consistent energy source.
And unlike carbohydrates, fat ismetabolised differently so it
doesn't have any impact on our blood sugar.
Our body will either use it for energy or it will store it as
(04:02):
fat. And all the body fat that you
have is stored energy and you can have even someone who's very
lean has about 200,000 worth of calories stored on their body as
body fat. So this means you can store a
lot more fat as energy than you can carbohydrates.
Now, because carbs are broken down quicker, they are a quicker
(04:25):
energy source. And your body is always going to
prioritise them for energy when they're available.
Because think about it, if you've eaten carbs, if your
blood Sugar's gone up, that energy is right there and it's
ready. Your body can use it quickly.
As opposed to if there's no carbs coming in and your carb
storage is depleted in your body, that's when your body will
(04:46):
switch to burning fat instead. It's going to start pulling from
your stored body fat. Or if you've eaten fat, it'll
use that first, but then it's going to start pulling from your
stored body fat. But this does take a little bit
more time, so it's not as quick.And your body's only going to do
this if carbs aren't available. So This is why if you're eating
a high carb diet, you are going to be spending minimal time
(05:09):
throughout the day in ketosis, if any at all.
Of course, when we're sleeping, we're not eating.
So it is possible for your body to burn through your stored
carbs and when you wake up, you're in low level ketosis,
even eating a high carb diet, but just depends on how close to
bedtime you ate that sort of thing.
Also your metabolic health. So basically when carbs are low
(05:31):
in our diet and our body doesn'thave the option to use them for
energy, that's when we go into ketosis, which is the metabolic
function where we're using fat for energy.
Your fat is broken down into ketones.
And yeah, this is is where ketosis comes from.
Now, for certain individuals, carbs will be the ideal fuel
(05:53):
source. And this is where things like
sports and athletic performance come in because like I said,
when you're exercising and you're in that anaerobic state,
you need that fast energy because that can't be broken
down quick enough. Fuel your body optimally, it can
do it. They're not going to pass out.
You'll be OK, but it's not goingto perform at its peak now.
(06:15):
This isn't most people though. Most people nowadays are
overweight, have insulin resistance, have poor metabolic
health, and they aren't exercising at an intensity that
requires them to need carbs for performance.
And this is the root of why so many people do so well on a low
(06:37):
carb diet. But let's get into that a little
bit more. So why does reducing carbs, why
does being in ketosis benefit weight loss?
Well, the first reason is, is that when you're in ketosis,
your insulin levels are low. So you might remember that when
I was talking about how carbohydrates are broken down
and caused your blood sugar to go up.
Insulin is the hormone that's released and takes the excess
(06:57):
sugar from your bloodstream to your cells.
So your insulin levels being high is a trigger for body that
there is energy from carbohydrates available.
When there's energy from carbs available, your body isn't going
to be breaking down your body fat because like I said, there's
energy available. So when you're eating a low carb
diet in your in ketosis, there isn't excess sugar in your
(07:18):
bloodstream. So your insulin levels are going
to be low. And when insulin is low, your
body goes, OK, there's no energyavailable immediately, let's
turn to fat instead. So basically insulin is the
trigger for whether your body isin fat storage mode or in fat
burning mode. Now, when we're insulin
resistant, our insulin levels are constantly high.
(07:39):
And This is why it is so difficult to lose weight when
you're insulin resistant. Because with insulin resistance,
your cells start rejecting the actions of insulin.
They don't take in glucose as they should.
So your blood sugar remains highwhen your cells should be taking
it in and your body notices it'shigh, so it releases more
(07:59):
insulin and then that extra insulin is able to jam it into
your cells. And This is why in the early
stages of insulin resistance, your blood sugar will look
normal, but your insulin will behigh.
And this is because the excess insulin is able to keep your
blood sugar in check. But after about 10 to 15 years,
the excess insulin isn't able tokeep up anymore.
(08:19):
And this is when your blood sugar is going to start to rise
as well. And that's when you're going to
be diagnosed with pre diabetes, type 2 diabetes.
And This is why people who haven't had success with
traditional dieting find successon keto because they're insulin
resistant and they didn't know it.
And when they eat a keto diet, their insulin drops and they're
(08:40):
actually able to use their stored body fat for energy.
And this really is, I think, themain reason that it is so
effective. The next reason is that eating a
keto diet reduces your appetite.Ketones naturally suppress
hunger. And I'm sure you've heard of
exogenous ketones before. If you've looked into the keto
diet at all, there used to be more people pushing it.
(09:03):
Or maybe I'm just not on that side of the Internet anymore.
There was one big MLM that used to push ketones.
They must still be around. I used to see them a lot more
though because I'd have people sliding into my DMS trying to
get me to join. Which is a shame because
exogenous ketones. They can have value.
Like I just said, they can help to suppress your appetite.
(09:26):
They can also provide energy before your body starts breaking
down fat so they can make it easier to transition to a keto
diet. A lot of athletes have started
using exogenous ketones for things like endurance sports.
So like cycling, running, that sort of thing where it's aerobic
exercise. So they are burning mainly fat.
(09:47):
Ketones can have value, but justdon't buy them from an MLM.
And I did a video, I used to do a bunch of different videos.
I used to actually watch a lot of like anti MLM YouTube videos
and then I kind of wanted to do 1 because of this company that
was selling ketones. Obviously it ties in with
(10:08):
everything I do promoting low carb diets and that sort of
thing. That video is definitely still
on my channel, but there are some people who are absolutely
hating me in the comments. But it's so funny because you
can look at the income disclosure statements for these
companies and see how much people are making.
If you don't know anything aboutMLMS, they're basically pyramid
schemes with a product. So 99.9% of people in the
(10:32):
company are making barely any money, and you can see this
online through income disclosurestatements and then there's like
one or two people at the top whoare just making all of the
money. Anyways.
I'll link my video on the MLM upabove if I can find it.
It's definitely still on my channel somewhere, but man, I
totally forgot about that. Anyways, back to today's topic.
(10:54):
The next reason that keto diets are so effective for weight loss
is that they help you to keep your energy more stable.
Like I said, fat is a slower burning energy source, so it's
more long lasting. When you eat fat, it's not like
when you eat carbs and your blood sugar goes up and then it
comes down. It's digested slower, your body
(11:16):
burns through it slower so it lasts for longer and you don't
have that big crash afterwards. And of course, if you have more
stable energy, if you're not craving snacks and that sort of
thing, then it's going to be easier to stick to your plan and
to reach your goals. And the final reason is that
you're going to be storing less fat because when you're not
having these constant blood sugar and insulin spikes that
(11:39):
you get with carbohydrates, yourbody is less likely to store
excess energy as fat. Now when you compare this to a
standard diet that kind of has balanced macros or is higher in
carbs and low in fat, like a lotof them are your blood sugar,
your insulin is going to be constantly spiking.
And if you have any level of insulin resistance, which the
(12:00):
vast majority of people nowadaysdo, then you're basically just
spending a lot of time in fat storage mode.
And of course this is going to make it difficult to lose
weight. How exactly do you do a low carb
or keto diet? Now there's a lot of different
strategies and ways to do it. Some people count net carbs,
some people count total carbs. Depending on the country you
(12:23):
live in, different nutrition labels will have either net
carbs or total carbs listed I'm pretty sure.
I think in Australia where I live, net carbs are already
listed as the carbohydrates. If you're in the US then you
take the carbs and you minus thefibre and that gives you the net
carbs. And the thinking is is that
because fibre isn't digestible it doesn't count as a carb.
(12:45):
And fair enough. But I find personally, if you
are going to track your carbohydrates, it's better to
just stick to total. So in general, it's said to eat
a less than 20 grammes of net carbs per day or 50 grammes of
total carbs per day in order foryour diet to be classified as
(13:06):
ketogenic and in order for you to get into ketosis.
The reason that it's not 0 is because zero carb is pretty
difficult to achieve unless you're eating a carnivore diet.
If you're eating a carnivore diet and you're not having any
plants, you're just having meat,then yes you can't eat 0 carbs.
I do think carnivore can be effective.
(13:28):
I've eaten a carnivore diet in the past.
I had good results. But I think unless you have
autoimmune conditions and you'rereally sensitive to plants, not
everyone has to be that strict. You don't have to eat 0 carbs.
So if you are eating some low sugar fruit and non starchy
vegetables, that's when you wantto stick to less than 50 grammes
(13:49):
of carbs per day. And that is what I generally
recommend for people who want toeat a keto diet.
You can increase this to up to 100 grammes of total carbs per
day if you're finding it really difficult to stay under 50
grammes. If you're having 100 grammes
though, you might not spend as much time in ketosis during the
(14:09):
day, which isn't necessarily a bad thing if it means you're
going to actually stick to the diet because that's going to be
what's most important is consistency.
So if you're finding it extremely difficult to eat less
than 50 carbs per day, then bumpit up to 100.
This is a significant decrease from the standard American diet
(14:30):
where people are having 203 hundred 400 grammes of carbs per
day. This is going to allow you to at
least be in a fat burning state for some portion of the day,
which is going to benefit you. Now there is of course what's
considered to be dirty keto and clean keto.
Dirty keto is basically where the only thing that matters is
carbs and staying under a carb limit.
(14:51):
So they'll have a lot of processed food.
I'm not a big fan of this because there's a lot of like
sweeteners and other ingredientsadded to processed foods that
can impact our gut health. There are certain sweeteners
that are technically 0 calories 0 sugar that still can spike
insulin, so this is counterproductive.
(15:12):
One example of a product that claims to have no sugar claims
to be keto friendly but that absolutely isn't.
And maybe they've changed their formula in the next couple of
years. But Smart Sweets, I can remember
seeing people do blood sugar tests on Smart sweets a few
years ago and I think it was thechicory root.
(15:33):
There was some ingredient in them that was causing a massive,
massive spike. Like as you might as well just
be eating actual candy at that point.
But technically on the label they had 0 sugar or one gramme
of sugar or whatever it was. So there's loopholes like that
where companies can close claim that their products are low in
sugar and healthy, but they're actually not.
(15:54):
Now before we go any further, I want to take a quick break to
talk about one of the biggest mistakes people make when
starting a low carb or ketogenicdiet and that's not replenishing
electrolytes. This can lead to the dreaded
keto flu with symptoms like headaches, muscle cramps and
fatigue. When we reduce carbs in our
diet, our bodies retain less water and when and when less
water is retained, fewer electrolytes are as well.
That's why it's so important to replenish them and replenishing
(16:16):
them with a product that doesn'thave any weird ingredients added
sugar and that's keto friendly like Soda's everyday hydration
salts. Their premium electrolyte
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lifestyles, helping you stay energised and avoid the keto
flume. Just mix it in your water and
you're good to go. Head to healthcoach.com soda
electrolytes to check them out. That will be in the description
(16:37):
box down below and use code HK15at checkout to save 15% off your
order. So I think sticking to a manly
Whole Foods or clean keto diet is going to be the most
effective. It's going to be the most
sustainable. It's going to be good for your
body in ways that go beyond weight loss and improved insulin
sensitivity. Your gut is going to thank you.
(16:57):
And there still are so, so many foods you can eat.
So in general, you want to stickto mainly animal protein.
At every meal you want to be getting at least 30 grammes.
This includes like wild salmon and seafood as well.
Basically any meat or seafood isgoing to be 0 carbs.
So you can really have as much of this as you want.
And being ketosis and protein isalso extremely satiating and
(17:22):
great for controlling hunger, itis very difficult to have too
much protein. Now beyond that, you want to
make sure that you're having adequate fat.
So if you are tracking, I generally recommend to match fat
to protein gramme per gramme. So you should be aiming for one
gramme of protein per pound of your ideal body weight every
single day. So if 140 lbs is what is ideal
(17:45):
meal for your body, then you want to be consuming 140 grammes
of protein per day. It can be slightly lower if you
aren't very active. And then you want to be matching
this gramme per gramme with that.
Now from there you can add in your carbs.
And like I said, you want to getthese mainly from Whole Foods
sources. So non starchy vegetables for
the most part, low sugar fruit, avocado, olives, berries.
(18:08):
And if you're still hungry afterputting your meals together this
way, then number one, you're noteating enough protein.
So check in with that first and #2 add more fat.
This is going to help you stay in ketosis.
Your calories are going to fall into place if you use this
framework. And it really is just so easy
without having to like, weigh ormeasure anything.
(18:28):
Now, if this is your first time reducing carbs in your diet, it
can seem a little bit scary. But I promise you, nothing to be
afraid of. You can stop at any time.
I have people ask me who haven'teven started.
They'll be like, oh, is keto OK long term?
Can you be in ketosis long term?I'm like afraid to start.
And I'm like, well, at the end of the day, you can stop at any
(18:48):
time. So it's not like as soon as you
start, you're never going to be able to stop.
And I know a lot of people kind of get a bit obsessive about it
and worry about getting kicked out of ketosis and being in
ketosis all the time. Again, you're missing the point.
I don't even think that trackingketones is necessary as long as
you're using the framework that I outlined.
(19:09):
As long as you're getting enoughprotein, eating enough fat, as
long as you're limiting your carbs, then you're going to be
in ketosis. And as long as you're
progressing towards your goals, you're losing weight.
Your insulin sensitivity is improving.
I have a video on signs that your insulin resistance is
reversing that I will link aboveif you're seeing these signs and
you know you're on the right track.
But it doesn't have to be obsessive.
(19:30):
You don't need to be in ketosis all the time if you have a cheat
day, if you eat more carbs, not the end of the world, just start
again the next day. What matters is what you do
majority of the time, not the minority.
If you're striving for perfection, then you're setting
yourself up for failure because no one can be perfect and that
shouldn't be the goal. The goal should be being
consistent over the long term because if you can build this
(19:55):
into a lifestyle, then you're going to get the results and
you're going to be able to maintain them now.
Also, if you're first starting out, electrolytes so so
important. The keto flu, everyone talks
about it, well not everyone, butI feel like it was bigger a few
years ago. People were all afraid of the
keto flu. It's not that scary.
(20:16):
It mainly happens because one, your body retains less water and
less electrolytes when you reduce carbs in your diet.
This is why people will see thatinitial weight loss that's
mainly water weight lose like 510 lbs in the first week with
that water. They're also losing
electrolytes. So that's why it's important to
replenish, but also when you reduce processed food in your
(20:37):
diet, you're also reducing the amount of sodium that you're
getting. And sodium is important.
People eating a standard American diet, they don't have
to worry about it because they're getting a lot in through
their diet. But when you reduce carbs, so
many people aren't getting enough salt and this is when
they can experience headaches, cramps, fatigue, dizziness, all
(21:02):
those sorts of things. So sodium is really important
and that's why I recommend usinga high quality electrolyte
that's rich in sodium. Sodium is my go to brand.
I will mention it at some point in this video because they are
the sponsor. I've been using them for years
and years. They're actually an Australian
company. They do ship worldwide and
they're actually based in Adelaide, which basically no one
(21:23):
is, so that's really nice. They're great people, which is
why I am such a huge advocate for them as well because not
only is their product amazing, but it's also made locally and
they're great people. So win, win, win.
And it's such an easy fix for a lot of symptoms that people
experience when they first startketo.
They just need more electrolytes.
(21:44):
Now. Another way that you can enhance
the benefits and get into, I guess a deeper state of ketosis
is with intermittent fasting. Intermittent fasting and keto
tend to go hand in hand just because while when you're eating
a keto diet, you are basically mimicking the benefits of
fasting. Because if you think about it,
when you're fasting, when you'renot eating, no carbs are coming
(22:05):
in, your insulin drops and your body starts producing ketones
and breaking down fat, which is the same thing that happens when
you eat the keto diet. So that's why a lot of people
will do like 16-8 fasting where they fast for 16 hours a day and
then eat all of their food within an 8 hour window.
I do think that is a good strategy, but I don't think
everyone needs to do that specifically.
(22:30):
I think even having a 12 hour fasting window or a 14 hour
fasting window can be beneficial.
The intermittent fasting schedule that is generally
promoted recommends skipping breakfast and then eating your
first meal out like midday and then stopping eating at 8:00 PM.
But I think that a lot of peopleget better results when they
(22:52):
shift their feeding window a little bit earlier.
So they do eat in the morning and they just stop eating later
in the evening, like 4/5, 6:00 PM.
Because when you stop eating earlier, your body has time to
digest the food that you ate before you fall asleep.
And this allows you to shift into a restful state quicker and
recover better. So I find that eating in the
(23:14):
morning and then stopping earlier, it can be more
beneficial. And it's also a little bit
easier for people to stick to because if you wake up early and
you have to wait until midday toeat, especially if you're just
getting started, that can be difficult.
Now, I will say that your body, based on your circadian rhythm,
it releases hormones for metabolising food based on when
(23:35):
you typically eat. So if you usually eat every
morning at 8:00 AM, then your body is going to have those
hormones released at that time in anticipation location of that
meal. So This is why intermittent
fasting can feel so difficult tostart.
But the good news is, is that ifyou push through that for a week
or two weeks, then your hormonesreset and they will be released
(23:57):
at a different time. But you can also use this to
your advantage. If you start eating consistently
your first meal at 12 or whatever time you want it to be
at, then your body will adapt tothat.
But anyways, I think I'm going to wrap this up here.
I hope you guys found this helpful.
This is just a little crash course on ketosis, on keto
diets, on why they're so effective, why they're so great,
(24:20):
why I'm such a huge fan and why people see such great results.
Now I've been doing this podcastfor me like 6 months now, a
little bit on and off, definitely missed a few episodes
and I want to hear from you guys.
What do you want me to do an episode on?
Because the concept of this podcast is that getting healthy,
being healthy doesn't have to becomplicated.
So I've kind of been dabbling ina few different areas.
(24:42):
Obviously I specialise in insulin resistance and blood
sugar, but I also do quite a bitof stuff regarding sleep and
that sort of thing. But let me know if there's a
specific topic that you would like me to cover.
I find these podcasts kind of flow a little bit better if I, I
don't know if I have something that I have a lot of thoughts on
that I can just kind of like wing it a little bit.
(25:03):
This one, obviously I feel like I have a lot of knowledge on low
carb and ketogenic diets and insulin resistance.
So I could kind of wing it. There's been a few in the past
where I've kind of run other things to talk about.
I mean, I would like these episodes to be longer.
I talked about this in my last one.
I was like, I've just run out ofthings to talk about.
I mean, I don't know. I'm not one of those yappers.
(25:27):
I mean, I do like to talk, but apparently I can't talk
endlessly. Anyways, just trying to get some
more topic ideas and see what you guys would like to hear
about. I could do more sort of like I
guess like hot topics and thingsthat are happening in the news
relating to health and diet and whatnot.
But let me know in the comments section.
(25:47):
I'd love to hear some suggestions from you guys and if
you have any other feedback on the podcast, I'd love to hear it
too. But thank you so much for
listening or watching. If you're on Spotify, please
give me a five star review. I could use a few more of those.
I'm really trying to grow a little bit on that platform.
Obviously on YouTube, I have my like solid core audience and
(26:09):
YouTube is always growing. Spotify, I've just started
there. So it's like a little bit slower
and it's a little bit, I don't know, I haven't really cracked
the code on how to reach more people there.
So maybe some ratings would help.
But thank you guys for watching and I will see you next time.
Bye.
Today's video is sponsored by Soddy's Everyday Hydration
salts. Hello guys and welcome back to
another episode of the Healthy Not Complicated podcast.
I'm your host, health coach Kate, and today we are going to
be talking about ketosis and whybeing in ketosis, why eating a
low carb or ketogenic diet is soeffective for weight loss.
(00:21):
Now, before we get into it, obviously that being in ketosis,
eating a low carb diet can be very effective for weight loss,
for improving insulin sensitivity, for improving
metabolic health, for PCOS. But I don't think it's the only
way. I don't think that people need
to be in ketosis in order to getthese results.
(00:43):
Oh hello, how are you doing? Is it very very effective
though? Yes.
So I'm not anti carb. I've spoken about this in
previous episodes. I've eaten low carb keto diets
for years at a time. In general I do still eat a
mainly low carb diet, but I target carbohydrates around
(01:05):
exercise and because I play hockey competitively I'm doing a
lot of exercise. So this does mean a few more
carbs than what I eaten in the past.
But for most people who have goals of improving their
metabolic health, becoming more metabolically flexible, burning
more fat, if they have any issues with blood sugar, if they
have type 2 diabetes, then yes. Keto diets, ketogenic diets,
(01:29):
being in ketosis, extremely, extremely effective or at the
very least being smart about carbs.
And I really want to dig into why keto is so effective for
these conditions, for these symptoms in today's video.
So if you are someone who is really struggling to lose weight
and you're not sure where to start, maybe you have high blood
(01:52):
sugar, you've been diagnosed as prediabetic, borderline
prediabetic. Maybe you have PCOS and you've
heard of keto. You've heard of ketosis, but
you've also heard some scary things about it.
Trust me, it's not that scary. We're going to break it all down
in this video so you can figure out if it's maybe the right
strategy for you. All right, so let's begin by
(02:14):
talking about what ketosis is and how it works.
So ketosis is a metabolic state where your body is using fat for
energy. And explaining this in the
simplest way possible, we basically have two energy
sources as humans. We can use carbohydrates for
energy, or we can use fat. Now carbohydrates are a quick
(02:36):
energy source. So when we eat something that's
high in carbs, it's broken down into sugar.
The sugar enters our bloodstream, causes our blood
sugar to go up, and then insulinis released and it takes the
sugar from our bloodstream and brings it to the cells in our
body to use for energy. So of course, if you consume
something that is simple sugar in it, this doesn't take a long
(02:57):
time to be processed and to enter your bloodstream and your
blood sugar is going to go quicker and that energy is going
to get to your cells quicker. If you have something starchy
that needs to be broken down. So it's going to take a little
bit longer. And This is why things like
potatoes are sometimes referred to as slow carbs.
Now our body only has limited storage for carbohydrates.
(03:18):
So if it's not so if it's not used immediately for energy,
then it's going to be stored in our muscles and our liver.
And if our muscles and our liverare full, then it's going to be
stored as fat. So our bodies can store about
2000 calories worth of energy from carbohydrates.
So if you haven't eaten carbohydrates recently, if your
blood sugar is kind of stable and your body needs glucose for
(03:41):
energy, then your liver will release it.
Now fat is our other energy source, and it takes longer to
be broken down and longer to digest.
It's a slower and more consistent energy source.
And unlike carbohydrates, fat ismetabolised differently so it
doesn't have any impact on our blood sugar.
Our body will either use it for energy or it will store it as
(04:02):
fat. And all the body fat that you
have is stored energy and you can have even someone who's very
lean has about 200,000 worth of calories stored on their body as
body fat. So this means you can store a
lot more fat as energy than you can carbohydrates.
Now, because carbs are broken down quicker, they are a quicker
(04:25):
energy source. And your body is always going to
prioritise them for energy when they're available.
Because think about it, if you've eaten carbs, if your
blood Sugar's gone up, that energy is right there and it's
ready. Your body can use it quickly.
As opposed to if there's no carbs coming in and your carb
storage is depleted in your body, that's when your body will
(04:46):
switch to burning fat instead. It's going to start pulling from
your stored body fat. Or if you've eaten fat, it'll
use that first, but then it's going to start pulling from your
stored body fat. But this does take a little bit
more time, so it's not as quick.And your body's only going to do
this if carbs aren't available. So This is why if you're eating
a high carb diet, you are going to be spending minimal time
(05:09):
throughout the day in ketosis, if any at all.
Of course, when we're sleeping, we're not eating.
So it is possible for your body to burn through your stored
carbs and when you wake up, you're in low level ketosis,
even eating a high carb diet, but just depends on how close to
bedtime you ate that sort of thing.
Also your metabolic health. So basically when carbs are low
(05:31):
in our diet and our body doesn'thave the option to use them for
energy, that's when we go into ketosis, which is the metabolic
function where we're using fat for energy.
Your fat is broken down into ketones.
And yeah, this is is where ketosis comes from.
Now, for certain individuals, carbs will be the ideal fuel
(05:53):
source. And this is where things like
sports and athletic performance come in because like I said,
when you're exercising and you're in that anaerobic state,
you need that fast energy because that can't be broken
down quick enough. Fuel your body optimally, it can
do it. They're not going to pass out.
You'll be OK, but it's not goingto perform at its peak now.
(06:15):
This isn't most people though. Most people nowadays are
overweight, have insulin resistance, have poor metabolic
health, and they aren't exercising at an intensity that
requires them to need carbs for performance.
And this is the root of why so many people do so well on a low
(06:37):
carb diet. But let's get into that a little
bit more. So why does reducing carbs, why
does being in ketosis benefit weight loss?
Well, the first reason is, is that when you're in ketosis,
your insulin levels are low. So you might remember that when
I was talking about how carbohydrates are broken down
and caused your blood sugar to go up.
Insulin is the hormone that's released and takes the excess
(06:57):
sugar from your bloodstream to your cells.
So your insulin levels being high is a trigger for body that
there is energy from carbohydrates available.
When there's energy from carbs available, your body isn't going
to be breaking down your body fat because like I said, there's
energy available. So when you're eating a low carb
diet in your in ketosis, there isn't excess sugar in your
(07:18):
bloodstream. So your insulin levels are going
to be low. And when insulin is low, your
body goes, OK, there's no energyavailable immediately, let's
turn to fat instead. So basically insulin is the
trigger for whether your body isin fat storage mode or in fat
burning mode. Now, when we're insulin
resistant, our insulin levels are constantly high.
(07:39):
And This is why it is so difficult to lose weight when
you're insulin resistant. Because with insulin resistance,
your cells start rejecting the actions of insulin.
They don't take in glucose as they should.
So your blood sugar remains highwhen your cells should be taking
it in and your body notices it'shigh, so it releases more
(07:59):
insulin and then that extra insulin is able to jam it into
your cells. And This is why in the early
stages of insulin resistance, your blood sugar will look
normal, but your insulin will behigh.
And this is because the excess insulin is able to keep your
blood sugar in check. But after about 10 to 15 years,
the excess insulin isn't able tokeep up anymore.
(08:19):
And this is when your blood sugar is going to start to rise
as well. And that's when you're going to
be diagnosed with pre diabetes, type 2 diabetes.
And This is why people who haven't had success with
traditional dieting find successon keto because they're insulin
resistant and they didn't know it.
And when they eat a keto diet, their insulin drops and they're
(08:40):
actually able to use their stored body fat for energy.
And this really is, I think, themain reason that it is so
effective. The next reason is that eating a
keto diet reduces your appetite.Ketones naturally suppress
hunger. And I'm sure you've heard of
exogenous ketones before. If you've looked into the keto
diet at all, there used to be more people pushing it.
(09:03):
Or maybe I'm just not on that side of the Internet anymore.
There was one big MLM that used to push ketones.
They must still be around. I used to see them a lot more
though because I'd have people sliding into my DMS trying to
get me to join. Which is a shame because
exogenous ketones. They can have value.
Like I just said, they can help to suppress your appetite.
(09:26):
They can also provide energy before your body starts breaking
down fat so they can make it easier to transition to a keto
diet. A lot of athletes have started
using exogenous ketones for things like endurance sports.
So like cycling, running, that sort of thing where it's aerobic
exercise. So they are burning mainly fat.
(09:47):
Ketones can have value, but justdon't buy them from an MLM.
And I did a video, I used to do a bunch of different videos.
I used to actually watch a lot of like anti MLM YouTube videos
and then I kind of wanted to do 1 because of this company that
was selling ketones. Obviously it ties in with
(10:08):
everything I do promoting low carb diets and that sort of
thing. That video is definitely still
on my channel, but there are some people who are absolutely
hating me in the comments. But it's so funny because you
can look at the income disclosure statements for these
companies and see how much people are making.
If you don't know anything aboutMLMS, they're basically pyramid
schemes with a product. So 99.9% of people in the
(10:32):
company are making barely any money, and you can see this
online through income disclosurestatements and then there's like
one or two people at the top whoare just making all of the
money. Anyways.
I'll link my video on the MLM upabove if I can find it.
It's definitely still on my channel somewhere, but man, I
totally forgot about that. Anyways, back to today's topic.
(10:54):
The next reason that keto diets are so effective for weight loss
is that they help you to keep your energy more stable.
Like I said, fat is a slower burning energy source, so it's
more long lasting. When you eat fat, it's not like
when you eat carbs and your blood sugar goes up and then it
comes down. It's digested slower, your body
(11:16):
burns through it slower so it lasts for longer and you don't
have that big crash afterwards. And of course, if you have more
stable energy, if you're not craving snacks and that sort of
thing, then it's going to be easier to stick to your plan and
to reach your goals. And the final reason is that
you're going to be storing less fat because when you're not
having these constant blood sugar and insulin spikes that
(11:39):
you get with carbohydrates, yourbody is less likely to store
excess energy as fat. Now when you compare this to a
standard diet that kind of has balanced macros or is higher in
carbs and low in fat, like a lotof them are your blood sugar,
your insulin is going to be constantly spiking.
And if you have any level of insulin resistance, which the
(12:00):
vast majority of people nowadaysdo, then you're basically just
spending a lot of time in fat storage mode.
And of course this is going to make it difficult to lose
weight. How exactly do you do a low carb
or keto diet? Now there's a lot of different
strategies and ways to do it. Some people count net carbs,
some people count total carbs. Depending on the country you
(12:23):
live in, different nutrition labels will have either net
carbs or total carbs listed I'm pretty sure.
I think in Australia where I live, net carbs are already
listed as the carbohydrates. If you're in the US then you
take the carbs and you minus thefibre and that gives you the net
carbs. And the thinking is is that
because fibre isn't digestible it doesn't count as a carb.
(12:45):
And fair enough. But I find personally, if you
are going to track your carbohydrates, it's better to
just stick to total. So in general, it's said to eat
a less than 20 grammes of net carbs per day or 50 grammes of
total carbs per day in order foryour diet to be classified as
(13:06):
ketogenic and in order for you to get into ketosis.
The reason that it's not 0 is because zero carb is pretty
difficult to achieve unless you're eating a carnivore diet.
If you're eating a carnivore diet and you're not having any
plants, you're just having meat,then yes you can't eat 0 carbs.
I do think carnivore can be effective.
(13:28):
I've eaten a carnivore diet in the past.
I had good results. But I think unless you have
autoimmune conditions and you'rereally sensitive to plants, not
everyone has to be that strict. You don't have to eat 0 carbs.
So if you are eating some low sugar fruit and non starchy
vegetables, that's when you wantto stick to less than 50 grammes
(13:49):
of carbs per day. And that is what I generally
recommend for people who want toeat a keto diet.
You can increase this to up to 100 grammes of total carbs per
day if you're finding it really difficult to stay under 50
grammes. If you're having 100 grammes
though, you might not spend as much time in ketosis during the
(14:09):
day, which isn't necessarily a bad thing if it means you're
going to actually stick to the diet because that's going to be
what's most important is consistency.
So if you're finding it extremely difficult to eat less
than 50 carbs per day, then bumpit up to 100.
This is a significant decrease from the standard American diet
(14:30):
where people are having 203 hundred 400 grammes of carbs per
day. This is going to allow you to at
least be in a fat burning state for some portion of the day,
which is going to benefit you. Now there is of course what's
considered to be dirty keto and clean keto.
Dirty keto is basically where the only thing that matters is
carbs and staying under a carb limit.
(14:51):
So they'll have a lot of processed food.
I'm not a big fan of this because there's a lot of like
sweeteners and other ingredientsadded to processed foods that
can impact our gut health. There are certain sweeteners
that are technically 0 calories 0 sugar that still can spike
insulin, so this is counterproductive.
(15:12):
One example of a product that claims to have no sugar claims
to be keto friendly but that absolutely isn't.
And maybe they've changed their formula in the next couple of
years. But Smart Sweets, I can remember
seeing people do blood sugar tests on Smart sweets a few
years ago and I think it was thechicory root.
(15:33):
There was some ingredient in them that was causing a massive,
massive spike. Like as you might as well just
be eating actual candy at that point.
But technically on the label they had 0 sugar or one gramme
of sugar or whatever it was. So there's loopholes like that
where companies can close claim that their products are low in
sugar and healthy, but they're actually not.
(15:54):
Now before we go any further, I want to take a quick break to
talk about one of the biggest mistakes people make when
starting a low carb or ketogenicdiet and that's not replenishing
electrolytes. This can lead to the dreaded
keto flu with symptoms like headaches, muscle cramps and
fatigue. When we reduce carbs in our
diet, our bodies retain less water and when and when less
water is retained, fewer electrolytes are as well.
That's why it's so important to replenish them and replenishing
(16:16):
them with a product that doesn'thave any weird ingredients added
sugar and that's keto friendly like Soda's everyday hydration
salts. Their premium electrolyte
formula is designed specificallyfor low carb and fasting
lifestyles, helping you stay energised and avoid the keto
flume. Just mix it in your water and
you're good to go. Head to healthcoach.com soda
electrolytes to check them out. That will be in the description
(16:37):
box down below and use code HK15at checkout to save 15% off your
order. So I think sticking to a manly
Whole Foods or clean keto diet is going to be the most
effective. It's going to be the most
sustainable. It's going to be good for your
body in ways that go beyond weight loss and improved insulin
sensitivity. Your gut is going to thank you.
(16:57):
And there still are so, so many foods you can eat.
So in general, you want to stickto mainly animal protein.
At every meal you want to be getting at least 30 grammes.
This includes like wild salmon and seafood as well.
Basically any meat or seafood isgoing to be 0 carbs.
So you can really have as much of this as you want.
And being ketosis and protein isalso extremely satiating and
(17:22):
great for controlling hunger, itis very difficult to have too
much protein. Now beyond that, you want to
make sure that you're having adequate fat.
So if you are tracking, I generally recommend to match fat
to protein gramme per gramme. So you should be aiming for one
gramme of protein per pound of your ideal body weight every
single day. So if 140 lbs is what is ideal
(17:45):
meal for your body, then you want to be consuming 140 grammes
of protein per day. It can be slightly lower if you
aren't very active. And then you want to be matching
this gramme per gramme with that.
Now from there you can add in your carbs.
And like I said, you want to getthese mainly from Whole Foods
sources. So non starchy vegetables for
the most part, low sugar fruit, avocado, olives, berries.
(18:08):
And if you're still hungry afterputting your meals together this
way, then number one, you're noteating enough protein.
So check in with that first and #2 add more fat.
This is going to help you stay in ketosis.
Your calories are going to fall into place if you use this
framework. And it really is just so easy
without having to like, weigh ormeasure anything.
(18:28):
Now, if this is your first time reducing carbs in your diet, it
can seem a little bit scary. But I promise you, nothing to be
afraid of. You can stop at any time.
I have people ask me who haven'teven started.
They'll be like, oh, is keto OK long term?
Can you be in ketosis long term?I'm like afraid to start.
And I'm like, well, at the end of the day, you can stop at any
(18:48):
time. So it's not like as soon as you
start, you're never going to be able to stop.
And I know a lot of people kind of get a bit obsessive about it
and worry about getting kicked out of ketosis and being in
ketosis all the time. Again, you're missing the point.
I don't even think that trackingketones is necessary as long as
you're using the framework that I outlined.
(19:09):
As long as you're getting enoughprotein, eating enough fat, as
long as you're limiting your carbs, then you're going to be
in ketosis. And as long as you're
progressing towards your goals, you're losing weight.
Your insulin sensitivity is improving.
I have a video on signs that your insulin resistance is
reversing that I will link aboveif you're seeing these signs and
you know you're on the right track.
But it doesn't have to be obsessive.
(19:30):
You don't need to be in ketosis all the time if you have a cheat
day, if you eat more carbs, not the end of the world, just start
again the next day. What matters is what you do
majority of the time, not the minority.
If you're striving for perfection, then you're setting
yourself up for failure because no one can be perfect and that
shouldn't be the goal. The goal should be being
consistent over the long term because if you can build this
(19:55):
into a lifestyle, then you're going to get the results and
you're going to be able to maintain them now.
Also, if you're first starting out, electrolytes so so
important. The keto flu, everyone talks
about it, well not everyone, butI feel like it was bigger a few
years ago. People were all afraid of the
keto flu. It's not that scary.
(20:16):
It mainly happens because one, your body retains less water and
less electrolytes when you reduce carbs in your diet.
This is why people will see thatinitial weight loss that's
mainly water weight lose like 510 lbs in the first week with
that water. They're also losing
electrolytes. So that's why it's important to
replenish, but also when you reduce processed food in your
(20:37):
diet, you're also reducing the amount of sodium that you're
getting. And sodium is important.
People eating a standard American diet, they don't have
to worry about it because they're getting a lot in through
their diet. But when you reduce carbs, so
many people aren't getting enough salt and this is when
they can experience headaches, cramps, fatigue, dizziness, all
(21:02):
those sorts of things. So sodium is really important
and that's why I recommend usinga high quality electrolyte
that's rich in sodium. Sodium is my go to brand.
I will mention it at some point in this video because they are
the sponsor. I've been using them for years
and years. They're actually an Australian
company. They do ship worldwide and
they're actually based in Adelaide, which basically no one
(21:23):
is, so that's really nice. They're great people, which is
why I am such a huge advocate for them as well because not
only is their product amazing, but it's also made locally and
they're great people. So win, win, win.
And it's such an easy fix for a lot of symptoms that people
experience when they first startketo.
They just need more electrolytes.
(21:44):
Now. Another way that you can enhance
the benefits and get into, I guess a deeper state of ketosis
is with intermittent fasting. Intermittent fasting and keto
tend to go hand in hand just because while when you're eating
a keto diet, you are basically mimicking the benefits of
fasting. Because if you think about it,
when you're fasting, when you'renot eating, no carbs are coming
(22:05):
in, your insulin drops and your body starts producing ketones
and breaking down fat, which is the same thing that happens when
you eat the keto diet. So that's why a lot of people
will do like 16-8 fasting where they fast for 16 hours a day and
then eat all of their food within an 8 hour window.
I do think that is a good strategy, but I don't think
everyone needs to do that specifically.
(22:30):
I think even having a 12 hour fasting window or a 14 hour
fasting window can be beneficial.
The intermittent fasting schedule that is generally
promoted recommends skipping breakfast and then eating your
first meal out like midday and then stopping eating at 8:00 PM.
But I think that a lot of peopleget better results when they
(22:52):
shift their feeding window a little bit earlier.
So they do eat in the morning and they just stop eating later
in the evening, like 4/5, 6:00 PM.
Because when you stop eating earlier, your body has time to
digest the food that you ate before you fall asleep.
And this allows you to shift into a restful state quicker and
recover better. So I find that eating in the
(23:14):
morning and then stopping earlier, it can be more
beneficial. And it's also a little bit
easier for people to stick to because if you wake up early and
you have to wait until midday toeat, especially if you're just
getting started, that can be difficult.
Now, I will say that your body, based on your circadian rhythm,
it releases hormones for metabolising food based on when
(23:35):
you typically eat. So if you usually eat every
morning at 8:00 AM, then your body is going to have those
hormones released at that time in anticipation location of that
meal. So This is why intermittent
fasting can feel so difficult tostart.
But the good news is, is that ifyou push through that for a week
or two weeks, then your hormonesreset and they will be released
(23:57):
at a different time. But you can also use this to
your advantage. If you start eating consistently
your first meal at 12 or whatever time you want it to be
at, then your body will adapt tothat.
But anyways, I think I'm going to wrap this up here.
I hope you guys found this helpful.
This is just a little crash course on ketosis, on keto
diets, on why they're so effective, why they're so great,
(24:20):
why I'm such a huge fan and why people see such great results.
Now I've been doing this podcastfor me like 6 months now, a
little bit on and off, definitely missed a few episodes
and I want to hear from you guys.
What do you want me to do an episode on?
Because the concept of this podcast is that getting healthy,
being healthy doesn't have to becomplicated.
So I've kind of been dabbling ina few different areas.
(24:42):
Obviously I specialise in insulin resistance and blood
sugar, but I also do quite a bitof stuff regarding sleep and
that sort of thing. But let me know if there's a
specific topic that you would like me to cover.
I find these podcasts kind of flow a little bit better if I, I
don't know if I have something that I have a lot of thoughts on
that I can just kind of like wing it a little bit.
(25:03):
This one, obviously I feel like I have a lot of knowledge on low
carb and ketogenic diets and insulin resistance.
So I could kind of wing it. There's been a few in the past
where I've kind of run other things to talk about.
I mean, I would like these episodes to be longer.
I talked about this in my last one.
I was like, I've just run out ofthings to talk about.
I mean, I don't know. I'm not one of those yappers.
(25:27):
I mean, I do like to talk, but apparently I can't talk
endlessly. Anyways, just trying to get some
more topic ideas and see what you guys would like to hear
about. I could do more sort of like I
guess like hot topics and thingsthat are happening in the news
relating to health and diet and whatnot.
But let me know in the comments section.
(25:47):
I'd love to hear some suggestions from you guys and if
you have any other feedback on the podcast, I'd love to hear it
too. But thank you so much for
listening or watching. If you're on Spotify, please
give me a five star review. I could use a few more of those.
I'm really trying to grow a little bit on that platform.
Obviously on YouTube, I have my like solid core audience and
(26:09):
YouTube is always growing. Spotify, I've just started
there. So it's like a little bit slower
and it's a little bit, I don't know, I haven't really cracked
the code on how to reach more people there.
So maybe some ratings would help.
But thank you guys for watching and I will see you next time.
Bye.
Host
Kait Malthaner
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