Have you ever wondered how a Keto diet works? Even though I will never participate in one because I love carbs so very, very much...
...my brain was curious, and I thought I’d look into what’s going on.
Most cells in our body will choose to use glucose in the blood, which comes from carbohydrates, as the body’s main source of energy. A ketogenic diet wants to starve the body of carbohydrates so that it will choose to get its energy instead by starting to break down stored fat into molecules called ketone bodies. Once the body does this, it is in a metabolic state called ketosis, defined as registering 0.5 to 5 millimoles of ketones per liter of blood.
The transitionary period of shifting from using circulating glucose from carbs to breaking down stored fat usually takes place over 2 to 4 days when eating less than 20-50 grams of carbs each of those days. This seems simple enough. People have more fat in their bodies than they’d like, so why not trick our bodies into breaking it down for us? This simple logic is why a large number of people find great success in quick weight loss through this technique.
The keto diet is consistently ranked one of the best diets in short-term weight loss. Unfortunately, this is where most of the positive comments about this diet end. The truth is we have almost no data on long-term effects of the diet. It has only been clinically studied for weight loss for the last decade or so. What we do know is that although it seems to be very good in the short term, it is unsustainable.
The idea of ketosis is that you have to maintain that metabolic state. This is extremely hard. Most other diets allow for a cheat day or a cheat meal every once in a while, but when you do this on a keto diet, your body transitions back to using blood glucose and takes days to revert back to the metabolic state of ketosis. These big swings can lead to a large amount of weight gain in a short period of time. Having zero room for error with a keto diet causes it to be consistently ranked one of the worst diets. This along with the lack of scientific data for any of its other health-based claims that is…
No one wants to sacrifice in order to lose weight just to gain it right back. That’s why doctors are consistently touting healthy dietary choices that can be maintained, ones that help you to live a healthy life for the rest of your life. Those types of diets end up being the most effective.
Last week I talked about the JOY of this easter season, and today I’m here to tell you, IT’S STILL EASTER! In the Catholic Liturgical Calendar, Easter is 50 days, starting from Easter Sunday through the feast of Pentecost. That means that this joy that I was talking about, we should still be celebrating!
Now that we are a week and a half into this lovely season, I’m sure you’ve had a bad day. I’m sure someone around you did something super frustrating that upset you. Sitting in that anger and irritation is just as tempting as that big plate of pasta when you’re on the keto diet, but I’m here to remind you what you’re working towards. It’s important to know that unlike with the keto diet, one misstep won’t completely ruin your journey, but it is still important to regain that joy as soon as possible. Consistency helps.
As Christians our joy is found in the Lord. The more time that we spend with Him, the closer we come to that perfect eternal joy that we are promised in heaven. Just like with any practice, it can be difficult at first. So many things in the world are working to take away that joy. There is pain and hardship, but there are also some really wonderful parts to our world. When divinely inspiring the Bible, I think God knew that we would need some help in MAINTAINING this joy because the Bible talks about joy A LOT! I thought I’d share some of my favorites with you.
This one makes me smile because it kind of reminds of a Christian version of “if you’re happy and you know it!”
I love this one because even when I’m having a hard time, it’s God that is working so hard to keep me joyous, through the power of the Holy Spirit. He really wants me to be joyful, and He’s working hard to make it happen.
This one reminds me that I’m not alone, that God is with me at all times, a great thing to rejoice over.
Then finally, I love this one because it seems so forceful. Haha When I hear it I feel like I should be like, “Alright, alright, calm down, I’ll do it!”
I hope that these joy-filled verses and the MANY more that can be found throughout the Bible will help you to maintain that Easter joy for the entire 50 days. It can be hard, and you’ll have bad days, just like we all slip up when we diet. The important thing is to start again with a renewed vigor, to keep trying. I say this because, although Easter is 50 days, Pope Saint John Paul II told us:
This means that every day of our lives we should be filled with this Easter joy. Yes, we set aside 50 days to specifically celebrate this truth, but it’s true every day! Jesus rose from the grave and conquered sin and death for us! It is our calling to continue to maintain that joy (as best we can) every day until we can find that perfect joy in heaven.
