There is a lot of conflicting information on the Internet. You’ll be hearing some bad advice from self-proclaimed Keto experts. They lose 10 pounds and automatically they know everything. You’ll also hear some good advice, but you might not know how to filter it out against all the bad.

From someone who has logged over 2,000 hours of Keto or food-related research and reading, let me tell you what Keto really is…

Keto is simple. It’s:

  • No sugar. This includes lactose (so no milk or yogurt), as well as “natural” sugar (fructose), i.e. no fruit (except a few occasional berries)
  • No wheat or grains/rice/corn/beans/legumes/lentils/pasta
  • No starchy veggies/potatoes
  • Nothing processed or invented in a lab by man (like vegetable oils or artificial sweeteners)
  • Eat nothing that can spike your insulin, your blood sugar, or cause inflammation in your body (which is basically everything above)
  • Get your meat/eggs from naturally raised environments (grass-fed beef, wild caught fish, free-range eggs, etc), ideally organic
  • Stay under 20g net carbs (carbs minus fiber) per day and keep your protein moderate (.6g to 1g x lean body weight [Your total weight minus the weight of just your fat]).

If you follow these simple instructions, then congratulations, you’re eating keto.

There are people who can stay in Ketosis, but they don’t necessarily eat “Keto.” Will they lose weight? Yeah probably. Will they heal their bodies? Probably not, or at least not to the anywhere near the level they are capable of if they ate real keto. The stricter you follow a ketogenic lifestyle, the healthier you’ll be. Eating from the middle orange category shown below should be rare to never especially if you are 1) trying to lose weight, or 2) trying to heal a sickness or disease. Reserve these for occasional (like twice a year) treats if you must. Obviously never eat from the Red.

Some people will argue that the term Keto is anything that keeps you in ketosis, but they fail to understand the origin of the diet before making such comments. You can eat “low-carb” and be in ketosis, but it’s not necessarily the actual Keto diet, which is a diet of healing and training your body to be the best it can be.

To heal your body or lose weight, stay in the Green below. It’s that simple.

Strict Keto vs Low-Carb Pie-Chart. Keto Foods, vs. Borderline, Vs. Not Keto

Strict Keto vs Low-Carb Pie-Chart. Keto Foods, Low-Carb non-Keto Foods, and non-Keto foods

 

Keep in mind that SUGAR has MANY alias names. Companies purposely put several different types of sugar in their products in order to trick you. A common one is maltodextrin, which actually is WORSE for you than sugar, yet companies put it in sugar-free products claiming to be sugar-free when they are not (and our lovely government allows it, because newsflash: they don’t care about you; They care about money). Dextrose is another common one.

I recommend reading the book “Sugar has 56 names“.