There’s no doubt about it…

The Keto Diet is a great tool to use for improving overall health and losing weight. 

I’ve used this diet on many occasions and will continue to do so in the future. Some of my best results with myself and LEP Fitness clients have come thanks to following a Keto Diet plan. 

The best weight loss I’ve personally had to date is losing 16lbs in 28 days – that was following the 28 Day Keto Challenge e-book which I created for people to follow.

That said like all diets the ketogenic diet does have it’s limitations, and in my opinion there are 4 Things to Consider Before Going On A Keto Diet…

#1 Fat Loss

Yes, Keto works for fat loss, but so do lots of other diets. One misconception that lots of people still believe… is that each diet has it’s own magical formula and that’s why you lose weight on it. 

The real reason you lose weight on a diet is because of a ‘calorie deficit’ – that’s where you consume less calories than you burn, so your body uses stored energy for fuel and you therefore end up losing weight. All diets work, as long as you are in a calorie deficit… you will lose weight!

That said what I like about the Keto Diet is that as well as losing weight (if done correctly) you also improve health, by lowering inflammation in the body (due to eating a low carb diet) and also due to the fact that you are eating some very nutritious foods like: meat, fish, vegetables, nuts, eggs and a small amount of fruit. It’s a very healthy diet that serves many purposes. You can read more about the benefits of the keto diet here.

#2 Expensive 

Eating Keto is expensive, buying lots of meat and fish isn’t cheap! In the past when I’ve followed a Keto Diet I’ve ended up spending around £8-10 per day (roughly £70 per week), although you can do it cheaper by buying in bulk, buying less expensive meats, etc it still adds up! 

The best way to do Keto on a budget is to…

• Buy less expensive meats and fish – canned fish (tuna, mackerel), frozen meat, etc 
• Buy in bulk – you’ll get some good deals from the local butchers 
• Supplement your Keto Diet with protein powder – Whey protein can be used as a meal replacement 

#3 Unsustainable

Most people can’t sustain a Keto lifestyle (although some people do!). It’s a tough diet mainly because it cuts out lots of foods (carb based). Not many people in society follow a diet that is like the Keto, in fact for most people it’s the total opposite: high carb, medium fat, and low protein. 

You will also encounter challenges like social pressure, for example on Friday afternoons when your colleagues bring in donuts and cake! Also meals out which may require preparation in advance such as taking your own meal to the restaurant, although lots of places have low carb options.

That said if you can devote 4-8 weeks of following the diet it can be a great way to lose weight and improve health over a very short period of time. When I do the 28 Day Keto Challenge it’s usually 4 weeks before a holiday, or in January (after the Christmas food fest!). It’s a short term fix, but if you can do it and then move to a more sustainable diet then it’s a great diet for lots of people to try. 

#4 Muscle Building 

If your primary aim is to build muscle then I wouldn’t recommend a ketogenic nutritional plan. You need carbs to fuel intense workouts and although your body can get used to it I really wouldn’t recommend it, especially if your primary aim is to look muscular like a bodybuilder or Mens Health Model. 

I’ve tried bulking on a Keto Diet and although it’s easy to consume the calories through foods like steak, eggs, nuts, olive oil, and butter, it’s hard to get a good muscle pump due to a lack of carbohydrates. 

In order to build muscle we need strength training (which can be done on a Keto diet) because of the low reps and longer rest, but we also need hypertrophy training, where the aim is to pump up the muscles with blood and this is done via higher rep work. From my experience of doing a Keto Bulk it’s hard to push yourself for long periods of time and your muscle pumps are no way near as good as when consuming carbs.

An option which I find works well is to follow a Keto Diet 80% of the time but then increase carbs around workouts. For example have 25g of carbs 1 hour before your workout, 25g during your workout, and then 25g post workout. But then the rest of the time you have very low carbs. 

For example…

• Breakfast – eggs 
• Snack – nuts
• Lunch – chicken salad 
• Pre Workout – 100g of fruit 
• Intra Workout – Lucozade sport  
• Postworkout – 50g cereal 
• Dinner – Steak and veg 

Or something along those lines.

Trying the Keto Diet…

I’m a BIG fan of the Keto Diet overall, especially for those of you wanting to lose weight and improve health over a very short period of time. 

I recommend giving the keto diet a try for 4 weeks, commit 100% and see how you get on. Yes, it’s not for everybody but it really does work if you follow a proper plan of action. 

If you’d like to try a keto diet then…

Why not pick up my 28 Day Keto Challenge? 

It’s an e-book that tells you everything you need to know. 

There’s a diet plan to follow, where I give you a meal plan and 100 different foods to choose from so that you have plenty of variety, and flexibility but within a framework that gets results. 

There’s also an exercise plan in the e-book to help speed up your results, you can follow this plan either at home or at the gym (it’s up to you!). 

DON’T WORRY…

There’s picture demonstrations and everything is laid out to you on a plate (pardon the pun). This is to make your life easier, and to save you hours and hours on the internet reading lots of misguided advice!

All you have to do is follow my instructions and watch the weight fall off! 

For the keto meal plan it’s just £10.99! That’s less than a takeout! 

To pick up your 28 Day Keto Challenge click the red button below…

Thanks for reading,

Nick 🙂