MiddleAgeSHRED
New member
So I seem to answer a lot of peoples questions on this forum with 'I prefer the low sugar route to fat loss...' but thought it may be helpful for people starting out to understand a bit more of my rationale for this (in simple practical terms). This is just my opinion and I'm happy for other trainers to chip in here, I know some of you will likely favour other diets.
(Sweeping generalisations coming...) As guys we're crap at counting calories, weighing food or following complex recipes, it just doesn't work for most of us, and it's not sustainable in the long term. We don't like feeling hungry at work and we want to be in and out of the weekly food shop in 10 minutes or less! Plus we like to know the logic of why it works.
And these are the first few reasons the low sugar / keto route is great:
1 - keto is simple to get your head around straight away, you're switching your body from burning sugar to burning fat
2 - You don't really need to count calories. When you put together a typical days eating you'll likely find that calories become a non-issue, although its good to have a idea of what you're getting so you don't drop too low, you don't need to spend time counting them because a good days eating (in volume) will likely come in at well under 2000 calories.
3 - You can keep it super simple. You can go complex if you like but lean meat, fish, eggs, salad, veg, nuts and oil will yield great results.
4 - No excuses for falling off the wagon, i.e its convenient, so meat or fish, salad and a bit of olive oil is a great 'go to' meal whether you're at home, work, travelling or restaurant, you can find it anywhere
5 - It forces into good nutrition habits. You can pack in lots of really good nutrition, particularly healthy fats which is something we tend to lack a lot in the modern diet. By having a variety of proteins, fats and carbs you'll get loads of vitamins and minerals and your whole body will work better as a result. I also think it builds the best foundation for long term understanding of good nutrition.
6 - You'll feel great. From personal experience and my own clients, you feel energised, alert, sleep better and feel better in the morning. If you make water your 'go to' drink you'll feel even better.
7 - It works fast. This one is subjective because some people take longer than others to get into keto but for me personally it was the fastest route to fat loss and for clients they have all said the same. I do always combine the nutrition with an exercise plan though, because firstly it helps you get into keto and also because exercise, particularly strength training when dieting is important so that you lose fat and not muscle.
On a practical level its also easy to adapt once you're down to your target weight. You can start to include more foods that you've been omitting from your nutrition (typically things like fruit) but the foundation remains the same. So if you gain a few pounds you can easily drop back into strict keto and shed the fat. I've been doing this for years and its really simple. So I've found it truly a lifestyle change and past clients also find the same thing. Also as a guy I like to look good, i.e athletic so I spend time strength training to build muscle and (being middle aged) its great that a lot of natural testosterone boosting foods are fine on keto.
So in summary not everything I've listed here is unique to keto by any means, but for me the combination of the simplicity and not 'feeling' like you're on a diet are the real winners. There's lots out there about the 'best diet' but the one you can stick to long term and pack in lots of good nutrition is why I favour this type of diet.
I'd like to hear others opinions here and perhaps some of you trainers that favour other diets could do the same and help people on the forum to choose something that will work for them.
Good luck all
(Sweeping generalisations coming...) As guys we're crap at counting calories, weighing food or following complex recipes, it just doesn't work for most of us, and it's not sustainable in the long term. We don't like feeling hungry at work and we want to be in and out of the weekly food shop in 10 minutes or less! Plus we like to know the logic of why it works.
And these are the first few reasons the low sugar / keto route is great:
1 - keto is simple to get your head around straight away, you're switching your body from burning sugar to burning fat
2 - You don't really need to count calories. When you put together a typical days eating you'll likely find that calories become a non-issue, although its good to have a idea of what you're getting so you don't drop too low, you don't need to spend time counting them because a good days eating (in volume) will likely come in at well under 2000 calories.
3 - You can keep it super simple. You can go complex if you like but lean meat, fish, eggs, salad, veg, nuts and oil will yield great results.
4 - No excuses for falling off the wagon, i.e its convenient, so meat or fish, salad and a bit of olive oil is a great 'go to' meal whether you're at home, work, travelling or restaurant, you can find it anywhere
5 - It forces into good nutrition habits. You can pack in lots of really good nutrition, particularly healthy fats which is something we tend to lack a lot in the modern diet. By having a variety of proteins, fats and carbs you'll get loads of vitamins and minerals and your whole body will work better as a result. I also think it builds the best foundation for long term understanding of good nutrition.
6 - You'll feel great. From personal experience and my own clients, you feel energised, alert, sleep better and feel better in the morning. If you make water your 'go to' drink you'll feel even better.
7 - It works fast. This one is subjective because some people take longer than others to get into keto but for me personally it was the fastest route to fat loss and for clients they have all said the same. I do always combine the nutrition with an exercise plan though, because firstly it helps you get into keto and also because exercise, particularly strength training when dieting is important so that you lose fat and not muscle.
On a practical level its also easy to adapt once you're down to your target weight. You can start to include more foods that you've been omitting from your nutrition (typically things like fruit) but the foundation remains the same. So if you gain a few pounds you can easily drop back into strict keto and shed the fat. I've been doing this for years and its really simple. So I've found it truly a lifestyle change and past clients also find the same thing. Also as a guy I like to look good, i.e athletic so I spend time strength training to build muscle and (being middle aged) its great that a lot of natural testosterone boosting foods are fine on keto.
So in summary not everything I've listed here is unique to keto by any means, but for me the combination of the simplicity and not 'feeling' like you're on a diet are the real winners. There's lots out there about the 'best diet' but the one you can stick to long term and pack in lots of good nutrition is why I favour this type of diet.
I'd like to hear others opinions here and perhaps some of you trainers that favour other diets could do the same and help people on the forum to choose something that will work for them.
Good luck all
