The very idea of losing weight whilst eating fat seems absurd and goes against all the years of low fat, low cal dieting which has been ingrained in us.
Fat is the buzzword for 2015 and it is reported that eating a diet high in fats and low in carbs could see you lose up to a stone in 1 month. Well, this statement alone was all the persuading we needed to give the Ketosis diet a go.
Before starting the Ketosis diet however we needed to get our heads around the fact that fat was no longer bad for us and soon we'd be cooking with butter and taking cream with our coffee. Foods which had previously been off menu for us for years (decades) were now encouraged, full fat yoghurt vs fat free, butter vs olive oil, cream vs skimmed milk, the list goes on.
The basic principle to Ketosis is that you eat no starchy carbs and no sugar in order to keep our insulin levels down so your body can burn fat more efficiently and quickly. Unlike many diets, Ketosis means you never burn muscle which is crucial for maintaining a fast and healthy metabolism, you will only ever be burning fat. Sounds simple enough to us but as we all know, the hardest part of any diet is understanding what's on and off the menu and sticking to it. To take the stress out of our weekly shop we got in touch with Natural Ketosis - a diet delivery company who will prepare all your meals and snacks.
Before getting started on the program we had an initial phone consultation to discuss our goals, our current activity levels and any foods we liked / disliked. 5 days later our box filled with snacks, soups and suppers had arrived.
An average day from Natural Ketosis will include a nut and seed mix for breakfast (great over natural yoghurt with a few blueberries), a high fat soup such as Thai chicken soup or salami and avocado salad and a protein rich dinner such as lamb meatballs. Natural Ketosis will take care of all your snacks (nuts, pork crunches and seed bars) but you will have to buy fresh veggies and dairy to pad out your meals.
The breakfast and lunches were tasty however the evening meals were a little less tasty and we would recommend opting for the bespoke package where you can make your own dinners based on the advice and food lists from Natural Ketosis (the important thing is to keep the fat count high not just the amount of protein).
The results were fast and pretty impressive, within 2 weeks we had lost a stone between us. Yes it was tough and we were crying out for a peanut butter bagel but we were motivated to continue with the plan and what we were and weren't allowed to eat was finally sinking in and choosing the right foods was becoming second nature. Even when we treated ourselves to a gin and slim and some dark chocolate the lbs stayed off.
Natural Ketosis stayed in touch throughout the 4 week plan to offer advice and support and toward the end of the plan tips no how to keep up a ketosis lifestyle. Great for those who lack willpower and feel themselves slipping off the plan. The team are also on hand to get you back on track should you have a moment of weakness and slip up.
We'd recommend trying a diet service such as Natural Ketosis to take the stress and confusion out of starting a new diet. However it is just as easy to create your own meal plan - just make sure you have a full list of what's allowed - you'd be surprised at the sugars lurking in some vegetables.
The Ketosis diet is pretty easy to stick to as the high fat and high protein foods keep you full - treats such as salami and chocolate brazil nuts also helped. As for sticking to it for life? Not sure we have the willpower and discipline for that but we are more conscious of the sugars we it and now we know exactly what to do to shift a few stubborn lbs and get back on track again.