Switching to the Keto Side: Part 2

Now we can focus back on my little series about this Ketogenic Diet that Brandon and I have been on for a few months now. Through time it has become easier and easier to do. Considering the way our bodies have reacted, we are so glad we stumbled upon this type of eating and the science behind it! Before, Brandon would always complain of being tired all the time. I always thought he wasn't getting enough sleep or exercise. I never would have thought that the fine food that I was cooking could make someone tired all the time. We ate lots of fruits, veggies, meats, whole grains,  and all the other stuff that we have been taught that is "healthy". Fast forward to now, Brandon never complains of being tired now, unless he eats something with a lot of carbs in it or just natural lack of sleep. He says he just feels better all around also. We abstain from foods with gluten in it (i.e. wheat, barley, & rye products) as well as whole grains and sugar (cause they're full of carbs!!). As for me, my migraines have reduce by a lot! They haven't disappeared altogether yet, but I'm wondering if maybe over time they will.

So you may ask, what is a Ketogenic Diet (KD)?

I'll give you an official definition of a KD from book I have read The Ketogenic Diet: A complete guide for the dieter and practitioner. In it Lyle McDonald states that a KD is "any diet that causes ketone bodies to be produced by the liver, shifting the body's metabolism away from glucose and towards fat utilization" (McDonald, 1998). However, there are several different "types". There's the Standard Ketogenic Diet (SKD), Targeted KD, and Cyclical KD. They will be explained in further detail later.
 
With that said (or typed ;), let me briefly explain to those of y'all that may not know what it going on in your body when you eat or when you are hungry and haven't eaten. On a "normal" diet, when you ingest food it raises your blood glucose levels. That is the signal to the pancreas to release insulin. That insulin goes and finds the blood glucose particles and puts them into cells to be used for energy. Those cells, full of glucose, then get stored in the liver and in your muscles as glycogen. Any extra glucose that can't fit into your liver or muscles then gets stored as fat (ugh). So it's been a while since you've eaten, you're getting hungry, and your blood glucose levels are declining. That sends another signal to your pancreas to emit glucagon. The glucagon's job is stimulate the liver to break the stored glycogen back into glucose and then release it back into the bloodstream. Thus, your blood glucose proceeds to rise, and you have fuel yet again.

My degree is in Exercise Science so I took a couple nutrition classes with a bunch of other classes about health and exercise. Through that, it got stuck in my head that you need carbohydrates because they are your body's main source of energy. After playing soccer ever since I was five and through college, they always harped on carb loading nights before game day. Turns out, I was wrong - about part of it. In fact, our bodies have no requirement for carbohydrates, if we never ate anymore carbohydrates ever again we would be totally okay. As Dr. Tim Noakes said, "there are no carbohydrate deficiency diseases" (Moore, 2014). Our bodies do readily absorb carbs for energy, it is our body's first choice, but it can also use fat as an energy source. Whether it comes from dietary fat or our body's stores, it doesn't matter. The awesome thing about using fat for energy is that we don't have all these spikes and drastic drops in blood glucose that we normal do when the majority of our diet comes from carbs. So if you withheld carbohydrates, your stores of them (glycogen) would empty out. The body has to run on something so it will turn to alternative fueling: free fatty acids (FFA) and ketones. The lack of carbs will decrease your insulin levels and increase your glucagon levels. Once the glucagon has no more glycogen to break down into glucose it will turn to your fat stores for fuel and begin to break them down. When fat is broken down it turns into the FFA, and the ketones are a byproduct of the FFA breaking down incompletely, which all results in ketosis. In order for your carbohydrate stores to deplete, you must ingest 100 grams or fewer of carbs per day. And let me tell you, that's not much at all. You would be amazed how much carbs are in everything!

Think of this form of nutrition from a weight loss point of view. You've got excess fat that you want to lose, but you eat a diet high in carbs. Your body is only going to use carbs for energy because you feed yourself so many, it has no need to use the fat stores you have accumulated (for energy). So, if you lessen your carb intake (to 100 g or less) then your body will run out of energy from that source and then will have to turn to fat to burn instead! Now, you can't eat an excess of calories and expect to lose weight on this kind of diet (or any diet for that matter). There's the law of thermodynamics you have to remember (energy coming in must be less than the energy being expended if you want to lose weight).

I'll let y'all chew on that information for a while and end this post with an absolutely delicious recipe!! It's one of Brandon's all-time favs!

Zucchini Lasagna

Serves: 8

1.5 lb beef
3 cloves garlic
1/2 onion
1 tsp olive oil
salt and pepper
28 oz can crushed tomatoes
2 t dried basil
3 medium zucchini, sliced 1/8" thick
15 oz part-skim or regular ricotta
16 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese, shredded
1 large egg

 

In a medium sauce pan, brown meat and season with salt. When cooked, drain fat. Put the meat in a bowl off to the side. 

 

Add olive oil to the pan and sauté garlic and onions about 2 minutes. Return the meat to the pan, add tomatoes, basil, salt and pepper.

  Simmer on low for at least 30-40 minutes, covered. Do not add extra water, the sauce should be thick.

 

Meanwhile, slice zucchini into 1/8" thick slices, add lightly salt and set aside or 10 minutes. Zucchini has a lot of water when cooked, salting it takes out a lot of moisture. After 10 minutes, blot excess moisture with a paper towel. 

On a gas grill or grill pan or a regular skillet, grill zucchini on each side, until cooked, about 1-2 minutes per side. Place on paper towels to soak any excess moisture.
Preheat oven to 375° F.

  

In a medium bowl, mix ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese and egg. Stir well.

 In a 9x12 casserole spread some sauce on the bottom and layer the zucchini to cover.

  Then place some of the ricotta cheese mixture,

 

Then top with the mozzarella cheese and repeat the process until all your ingredients are used up. I generally just make two thick layers.

  Top with sauce and mozzarella and cover with foil.
Bake 45 minutes covered at 375° F, then uncovered 15 minutes.

  Let stand about 5 - 10 minutes before serving.

Zucchini Lasagna -serves 8
1.5 lb beef
3 cloves garlic
1/2 onion
1 tsp olive oil
salt and pepper
28 oz can crushed tomatoes
2 t dried basil
3 medium zucchini, sliced 1/8" thick
15 oz part-skim or regular ricotta
16 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese, shredded
1 large egg

In a medium sauce pan, brown meat and season with salt. When cooked, drain fat. Put the meat in a bowl off to the side. Add olive oil to the pan and sauté garlic and onions about 2 minutes. Return the meat to the pan, add tomatoes, basil, salt and pepper. Simmer on low for at least 30-40 minutes, covered. Do not add extra water, the sauce should be thick.
Meanwhile, slice zucchini into 1/8" thick slices, add lightly salt and set aside or 10 minutes. Zucchini has a lot of water when cooked, salting it takes out a lot of moisture. After 10 minutes, blot excess moisture with a paper towel. On a gas grill or grill pan, grill zucchini on each side, until cooked, about 1-2 minutes per side. Place on paper towels to soak any excess moisture.
Preheat oven to 375°.
In a medium bowl mix ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese and egg. Stir well.
In a 9x12 casserole spread some sauce on the bottom and layer the zucchini to cover. Then place some of the ricotta cheese mixture, then top with the mozzarella cheese and repeat the process until all your ingredients are used up. Top with sauce and mozzarella and cover with foil.
Bake 45 minutes covered at 375°, then uncovered 15 minutes. Let stand about 5 - 10 minutes before serving.

Nutrition: (part-skim) 573.9 calories, 41.6 g fat, 15.7 g carbohydrates, 36.93 g protein
           (regular) 600 calories, 45.4 g fat, 13.93 g carbohydrates, 36.93 g protein

p.s. While I didn't create this recipe, I can't remember where I found it so I can't give credit where credit is due. Sorry!

Sources:
McDonald, Lyle. (1998). The ketogenic diet: A complete guide for the dieter and practictioner. Austin: Morris.
Moore, J. (Producer). (2014, November 12). Professor Tim Noakes: August 2014 Low-Carb Down Under Seminar Series [Episode 894]. The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show.