The ketogenic trial – a JOPO story

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It’s safe to say that being a very large dude when I was younger has always made me self-conscious about my weight. Ever since 2011 when I began exercising on a regular basis I’ve strived to obtain a certain look. I’ve tried various meal plans, diets, tracking my macronutrients to the gram and even starving myself over a four week period that year (don’t do that).

The fact of the matter is that you can’t change how you look overnight and each day is a minor baby step in the right direction. Through the application of knowledge I’ve gained from being at university, I’ve been able to push my body in the right direction based on the foods I consume.

For the last nine months, I have maintained a 72kg body weight through intermittent fasting and beginning my day of eating around 1pm every day. It’s not for everyone and if you’re someone who gets hungry in the morning then I wouldn’t recommend it. With consumption of large amounts of water and a few cups of coffee I am able to stay fasted until around 1pm when I will begin eating just because I often fancy some food around that time.

If you go look at any fitness YouTube channel today the repetitive theme that occurs is “it’s all about your macros” or “track your macros”. Though I believe this is correct to a point, I have learnt in the past week that some people may be differently affected by certain macronutrients.

Just to clear it up macronutrients consist of carbohydrates (4kcal/gram), protein (4kcal/gram) and fat (9kcal/gram).

Last week I attended a lecture at university revolving around a high-fat diet, also known as the ketogenic diet. It consists of consuming high amounts of fat, moderate protein, and low carbohydrates. For the past seven days I decided to trial this high fat diet.

By consuming large amounts of dietary fat (200g+ of red meat, butter, cheese, coconut oil, eggs, bacon), moderate protein (120g-130g) and low carbohydrates (<30g), I was able to drop 7lbs. Granted some of this is likely to be water weight, but never the less. I personally feel great and I’m able to consume a lot more calories than I normally would when I was consuming large amounts of carbs and very low amounts of fat.

I would not recommend this kind of diet to an extreme athlete who trains competitively though, as glycogen stores are an important factor in performance. A low carb diet, then, may affect this.

I have one carbohydrate fueled day a week as I have football on a Tuesday evening and I want to perform at the best to my ability. Other than that day I will consume high fat, moderate protein, and low carbohydrates and still maintain greater strength and energy levels during my training sessions at the gym.

Through the ketogenic diet, I’ve been eating a lot more calories a day compared to what I would normally eat. If you’re someone who sits down all day at a desk, and occasionally exercises then I personally think the ketogenic diet may be something you should try. At first its best to track what food you are eating through the use of MyFitnessPal (other apps available) but once you get the hang of it then just eat and enjoy.

I feel different people respond differently to different foods so this sort of eating style may not be for you. But if you enjoy burgers (without the bun, obviously), bacon, avocados etc. then I definitely think why not give it a go.

I’d recommend taking some kind of vitamin and mineral supplement on days you are consuming low carbohydrates as you will only be able to consume small amounts of fruit and vegetables (vitamin and mineral based carbohydrates).

This is by no means the right way or the wrong way of dieting or losing weight but it’s a way that has helped me achieve a body I am now very content with whilst still enjoying foods I love.

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