The Ketosist

gainers

gainers keto diet blog

weight measures over six years

Gainers

You are all gainers....

So began the pep-talk every week at the mandatory group session of the medically supervised weight loss programme that I started in February 2016. For several years it became customary to start this dietary regime two months in to a new calendar year.

Food is fuel

This unpalatable catch-phrase became the unspoken justification every time I mixed a 12oz shake comprised of a sachet of powder, ice cubes and water. Eventually this was further enhanced with psyllium to make it thicker and improve gastrointestinal health.

Although this is where the journey of trying to lose weight started for me, it is really not where I would encourage you to start.

Here are a few reasons to avoid supervised diets that are built around shakes:

Shakes are barely fuel

Here is the nutritional profile of the mandatory product in the program:

We were expected to consume 5 shakes a day minimum. We would often double up the quantities and end up with 6, resulting in:

After four months I was delighted to have lost 60lbs in weight and also anemic with a new-found appetite for sweet drinks and snacks.

Why is 84g of sugar bad?

the American Heart Association suggests that women consume no more than 100 calories (about 6 teaspoons or 24 grams) and men no more than 150 calories (about 9 teaspoons or 36 grams) of added sugar per day. That is close to the amount in a 12-ounce can of soda. https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/the-sweet-danger-of-sugar

Aside from the negative health impact of consuming large amounts of sugar, it does not provide adequate fuel for your body or your brain and you will suffer from spikes and crashes as your body reacts to it.

Supervision is not necessary

When you are starting to control your diet for the first time it feels necessary to bring in adult supervision but do you really need someone to shame you about your current lack-of-repair?

The doctors on the programme did oversee blood work every month and check blood pressure and other vital signs. If you are planning to reduce medication then this assistance is beneficial while you are seeking someone to sign-off changes but my doctors failed to intervene when the warning signs about anemia showed up in test results and we found ourselves reacting with greater urgency a few months later.

Group sessions offer camaraderie during the moments when someone is not lecturing you about how to avoid making bad choices.

You do not need that product

There are numerous programmes that are centred around selling you products like the shakes mentioned above. When you break down the other benefits offered it often becomes clear that you can better serve yourself with a decent biometric scale and carefully chosen items to create a diet that you feel comfortable sustaining as the new normal.

I have become nerdy about reading the labels on everything I eat and using apps that can tell you the nutritional value of whole foods, fruits and vegetables.