Weight maintenance, weight loss and vitality thanks to proteins in keto, low-carb and Mediterranean diets - [MEMBER ZONE]

In this new chapter of Blooness guidethe white paper on the ideal diet, we're going to find out all about inputs of proteins in the keto dietMediterranean and more generally in feeding Blue Zones.

In particular, we will be highlighting the three traps that most people fall into when they try to introduce themselves to a raw, unprocessed diet such as the paleoMediterranean or ketogenic.

In fact, these eating habits, especially the diet low-carb and paleo, can lead to an increased intake of protein This is often a good thing for your health. Nevertheless, we're going to see that increasing protein intake isn't all plain sailingand there are many obstacles to avoid when carrying out this type of dietary rebalancing.

So we'll see in which situations this kind of pitfall can occurthen we'll see how to avoid them and what to do in practice to optimize your protein intake.

Finally, we'll look at how to adapt your protein and fat intake in practice. when trying to lose weightor on the contrary to gainand finally at cruising speed and are simply looking for vitality and long-term health.

What we will cover in this chapter:

• Protein intake in the low-carb diet revised upwards compared with earlier theories of the ketogenic diet?
• 1st pitfall: a high-fat, high-prot, low-carb diet that's too rich and too high in calories
• 2nd pitfall: acid-base balance
• 3rd pitfall: high-protein diets (high-prot, low-fat, low-carb)
• The special case of the high-protein, low-calorie diet
• 3 reasons why high-protein diets fail
• 3 key success factors for a high-protein diet
• How to avoid a high-protein diet over the long term
• The challenge of caloric intake to spread your macronutrients
• Case study 1: keto-adaptation, the quest for performance, vitality and full health on the Keto-Mediterranean diet, with an example of a day's meals
• Case study 2: the ketogenic diet with a high protein intake
• Case study 3: Weight loss on the Keto Mediterranean diet
• 4 conditions for successful weight loss on a low-calorie diet
• Create a caloric deficit by reducing energy intake. lipids
• Conclusion: protein at the heart of the diet, lipids as an adjustment variable.

This content is part of the set of chapters dedicated to proteins in the diet lowcarb and Mediterranean, and you can find the summary here.

As usual, content is available in both text and audio formats. it is exclusively reserved for Blooness members.

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Part 1 in audio / podcast format

The first part of this content is accessible to all.

Protein intake in the low-carb diet revised upwards compared with earlier theories of the ketogenic diet?

With regard to protein intakesince this is the subject we're interested in here, it constitutes the trap into which most people fallwhether or not they are aware of the issue of food.

In fact, as we've already mentioned elsewhere in this guide, on the one hand, there are people on a standard dietand we have already mentioned the problem, which is that these people are most of the time or on a low-protein dietor they consume proteins in quantity but poor qualityand combined with a simultaneous and excessive intake of carbohydratesand lipids.

On the other side people who are aware of the low-carb dietbut who fall into the trap of must consume fats in excess of 75% of caloric intaketo mimic therapeutic ketogenic diets developed to fight certain diseases by increasing ketonemia, or to provide energy, but which do not expend enough energy compared to lipid intake.

However, experience has taught us that, unless we are in a particular context that requires the ketosis deep, a ketogenic diet can be carried out with a higher protein intake and a slightly lower intake of fatsand it's even advisable, because protein is the foundation of the human dietwithout which the body cannot renew its tissues and function properly. In fact, this is what we have discussed at length in previous chapters on the subject of proteins.

And to achieve this, it would be wise to go through dense, highly bioavailable proteinssuch as those described in the previous chapterto avoid having to compensate for a lack of protein by consuming too much fatin the following cases :

• when you practice regularly resistance exerciseswhether you're a young athlete or an elderly personThis requires an adequate protein intake;
• when you're a rather prone to snackingIf you want to reduce your calorie intake a little, eating enough protein with your main meals tends to reduce nibbling;
• when you want to take care of your digestionThis can be achieved by reducing the sometimes excessive consumption ofoilseeds or other keto-compatible foods, but which may sometimes contain antinutrients, oxalates or other particles that some people find difficult to tolerate above a certain level. Proteins, on the other hand, are fairly well tolerated from a digestive point of view.

It's not a question of depriving yourself, simply of give a little more priority to proteinsThis is in line with what we learned in the chapters preceding this one, while respecting as a safeguard distribution ratios mentioned earlier, namely in the case of a low-carb diet:

• approximately 60 to 80% of lipids, and 20 to 40% of proteins, with the remainder coming from carbohydrates;
• In grams, this would be around 1 gram of protein for 1 gram of fat as a minimum, the best being 1 gram of protein for 1.3 or 1.4 grams of fat, but again, this depends on the individual and their objectives.
• and in a "carbohydrate" diet, but still Mediterranean, it would be the same protein intake, based on recommended intakes already covered in a previous chapterIn the case of lipids, rather than making up the majority, we would reduce them to 1 to 1.3 grams per kg of ideal body weight, making up the rest with carbohydrates, which would remain the body's preferred energy substrate.

These ratios make it possible to guarantee protein intake while to avoid overdosingwhich can lead to problems related to over-consumption of protein, as mentioned above.

With the exception of very short periods on a low-calorie dietIn this type of diet, some individuals keep their protein intake relatively high, while lowering their carbohydrate and lipid intake in order to draw on the body's reserves. However, even in such cases, protein intake in absolute terms would remain at levels that are largely correct and bearable by the body, even if in percentage terms the intake might appear high. We'll come back to the distinction between absolute values and percentages later in this chapter.

Ultimately, it would seem appropriate to build one's eating habits around ensuring that protein intake comes first, before anything else because the epicentre of human nutritionbut while striking the right balance so as not to overdo it either.. Fat and carbohydrate intake would then derive from the central protein intake.

The trouble is, once you've understood that you need to adjust your protein intake upwards, the rest can follow, it's sometimes hard to know how much protein you need to stay on track, and how to structure your meals in the ideal way.

The question is how to define your ideal protein intake on a low-carb, ketogenic and overall Mediterranean dietThe company's new concept is based on the premise that the keto-mediterranean diet (and, more generally, a diet at the crossroads of low-carb, paleo and Blue Zones) could be the most suitable for human beings.

In other words, how do we know how much protein we need, according to what criteria, and how this can vary if we decide to change our goals, for example from full energy to weight loss or muscle gain?

Warning: beyond the macronutrient intake estimates we're going to try to make, it's a good idea to vary these intakes from day to day, with higher and lower fat days. So adjusting protein intake upwards does not mean that you absolutely have to reduce your fat intake on a daily basis all the timeThe most important thing here, therefore, is to understand the overall logic, adapting it with varying degrees of precision. So the most important thing here is to understand the overall logic, adapting it with varying degrees of precision, without turning it into an exact science down to the gram, and knowing how to keep the hedonism that is part of the lifestyle. Mediterranean and Blue Zones in general. For example, we can have days that are richer in lipids because we have the opportunity to enjoy a rather fatty dish, and days that are lower in lipids because on those days we have the opportunity to enjoy a good fish with some vegetables.

In any case, when we talk about how to setting your protein intake on a low-carb dietit's worth remembering that you can boost your protein intake without fear of what macronutrient essentialeven if there are some pitfalls that might need to be avoided when making this upward adjustment.

That's precisely what we're going to deal with here first.

In particular, we have identified three traps as the most common pitfalls when trying to put protein back at the center of one's diet. These are the pitfalls that most beginners or intermediates fall into in the ketogenic diet, and more generally in carbohydrate-reasoned eating, which ranges from the flexible keto-carnivore diet to theketo-mediterranean diet.

1st pitfall: a high-fat, high-prot, low-carb diet that's too rich and too high in calories

The first hurdle is to fall year-round in a low-carb/high-prot diet that would be with protein levels too high for the body's tissue renewal requirementsand all with a simultaneous high intake of fats. And we're not talking about the fat and protein breakdown here, but about total calorie intake in absolute terms.

In other words, it's a kind of "rich man's problemfor people with a big appetite, and is characterized by a diet that is quite simply too high in caloriesin which we may fall by wanting to do things too well without listening to your body's signals.

When you try to optimize your diet as much as possible by making it as dense as possible, you can quickly end up with an overly dense diet. too rich, too densetoo high in calories, at any time of day, and above all at inconvenient times from a chronobiological point of viewThis can sometimes lead to unwanted weight gain, gout attacks, and even metabolic problems down the line.

In other words, put much more simply, there is no need to consume more than 1.6 grams of protein per kg of body weight if you're not a bodybuilder, especially if you add to that over 200 grams of fat a day from butter, oilseeds, fatty meats and cooking oils.

The same way, it's not necessarily a good idea to consume more than 150 grams of protein a day if you're a sedentary 70 kg person and you don't have a highly-developed muscle mass to renew. As a reminder, protein intake is increased in successive stages, according to progress and sporting objectives, but you shouldn't put the cart before the horse.

The high-fat high-prot diet is useful when you're a confirmed athlete on the LCHF diet - generally at the crossroads of cardio and weight training - and that you want to gain or maintain muscle mass, while making the most of fat for medium and long-duration efforts.

This type of diet could be characterized by a P / G distribution of 30% / 70%, but if it remains calorically coherent in relation to the energy expenditure of the individual concerned, his size and build, it could pose no problem. So we're not talking about distribution here, but calorie intake. So, when in this distribution, the diet becomes too rich, and especially too rich in the evening, which could have deleterious effects on health.

To avoid this pitfall, one solution is to learn to listen to your bodyBy learning to listen to satiety, in particular via leptin, a hormone released when you've had enough to eat, and which acts as an appetite suppressant, you'll be able to reduce your appetite. By learning to listen to satiety, in particular via leptin, a hormone released when food intake has been sufficient, and which therefore acts as an appetite suppressant, we avoid eating because we have to eat.

Another technique is to take time to chew foodand not to eat too quickly, in order to give the body time to stop hunger.

Finally, another technique involves resynchronize with your circadian rhythmand eating during the day rather than just before bedtimewithout even a digestive walk after dinner.

Of course, there are special cases, and following the same logic as that described above, i.e. that we shouldn't force ourselves to eat this or that food because we need to respect this or that ratio and distribution, it goes without saying that - on the other hand - if a person occasionally feels like having a late dinner or eating quickly, as long as they don't hold it against themselves, because the idea, once again, is to eat as much as possible. allow yourself some flexibility.

2nd pitfall: damaging the acid-base balance

The second trap we could fall into when you increase your protein intake, you compromise your body's acid-base balance. This could very well happen in a typical diet low-carb high-fatWe'll explain why, but first let's take a quick look at acid-base balance.

When proteins are metabolized, certain amino acids produce (such as sulfuric acid) which can increase the body's acid loadincluding excess can be neutralized by adding foods with a basic pHlike fruit and vegetables.

When the acid load becomes too high in the body, this creates disturbances because the body seeks to neutralize acids and how to get there, it will generate ammonia to help the kidneys eliminate the acid. Except to generate ammonia, from connective tissue and muscles. In other words, acid treatment will require damage bones, muscles and jointswhich is absolutely what we want to avoid in terms of longevity.

In addition, a disturbed acid-base balance can lead to other health problems, such as insulin resistance. Exactly what we're trying to avoid with this guide. So it would be a shame to increase your protein intake in order to improve your health and longevity, only to fall back into the same trap.

This is why, when boosting protein intake in a typical low-carb or high-protein diet for athletes, it may be appropriate to mix paleo diet-ketogenic with theMediterranean diet, offsetting the high animal protein intake with a sufficient supply of the vegetables typical of the Mediterranean diet, or that of blue regions in generaland certain fruits that are good for your health, such as those already listed in the chapter on the Mediterranean diet.

Acid-base balance is a subject to which we'll return in detail in a dedicated chapter, but in the meantime, the important thing here is to understand that too high a protein intake can be deleterious (we talked about it in the chapter dealing with this issue), and when increasing protein intake, it is important to include alkaline foods (the opposite of acidic foods), including broccoli, lemon juice, apples, cauliflower, potatoes (baked and cooled in salads, for example, rather than fried with oxidized, pro-inflammatory seed oil), zucchini, carrots, bananas (occasionally and if possible close to ancestral bananas) and green vegetables.

Still on the subject of increasing protein intake, let's move on to the third pitfall to be avoided, which consists in always bringing in a little too much protein, but in a case that is specifically deleterious for energy and vitality, namely the case where there is simultaneously too much protein, but not enough fat or carbohydrates at all.

3rd trap: high-prot, low-fat, low-carb diets

So the third trap to avoid when you're on a low-carb diet, it's the need to give priority to proteinsand reducing fat and carbohydrates too much over time.

By doing this, the body's energy source is cut offwhether carbohydrates or lipids, and we force it to work only on proteinsThis is difficult to achieve over the long term. That's why most diets (apart from short-term weight loss diets) are based on a moderate protein intake (which generally ranges from 10 to 30% of calorie intake), and a majority intake of either carbohydrates or fats.

A hyper-protein diet based on the consumption of almost exclusively lean proteins, with no added fats or carbohydrates, can damage vitality and the hormonal systemand reduce the energy available.

In addition, this type of high-protein diet in the long term could lead to two counterproductive results. The first would be to make a low-calorie dietThis is because it's difficult and monotonous to consume enough calories via lean proteins alone, so we'd be energy deficient in absolute terms, even before talking about dietary and micronutrient deficiencies.

The second problem would be that if we provided enough protein, we would fall into the trap described above of achieve acid-base balancewith ammonia synthesis from muscle and connective tissue, which would be tantamount to consuming oneself.

There's one case in which protein can be higher than everything else: it's in the case of keto-carnivore and paleo diets. . however, this food model is not for everyoneand is most often suitable for athletes with overdeveloped muscle mass, or for healthy people who want to lose a few kilos on a low-calorie diet lasting from a few days to a maximum of a few weeks.

In addition, low-carb athletes who use this type of diet tend to vary their protein intake with lean and fatty meats. not to leave their lipid intake too low for too long.

But since we're on the subject, this is an opportunity to deal with it in a little more detail, even if we'll have the chance to devote some content of our own to it.

The special case of the high-prot, low-fat and low-carb hypocaloric diets

In the case of very special athletes such as bodybuilders, who are on a ketogenic diet, their muscle tissue renewal needs are such that their protein intake can reach up to 250 grams a day, which can't be compared with the diet of the average person.. We will now understand why their macronutrient distribution cannot be duplicated by anyone.

It's important to remember that these people often have the problem of achieving an athletic physique with little body fat, at least for a given period (competition or photo shoot, for example), which is no mean feat, no pun intended.

To achieve this goal, these athletes reduce their carbohydrate and fat intake at levels that keep them as "dry" as possible, and they have the advantage of a very high basal metabolic rate, which again is not available to everyone.

For the rest of the year, some of these athletes still maintain a relatively low body fat mass even when they significantly increase their carbohydrate and/or fat intake, but their body fat remains high. they are active almost daily, have a good basic metabolism and a fairly high daily energy expenditure.

These three conditions (high metabolism, sports-based lifestyle and high daily energy expenditure) are precisely the surest way to keep body fat levels low.

For your information, the third condition we're talking about here, which is daily energy expenditure not related to sport, is what we call NEATthe non-exercise activity thermogenesiswhich is the energy expended through daily activity outside sport and physiological activitiestypically theaking a walk, taking the stairs or walking the dog. It is therefore important to remember this notion of NEAT, which will recur throughout this guide, whether for health, weight loss or psychological health.

Coming back to the low-carb, high-protein diet, some keto athletes in particular have had breakdowns such as P / G / L of 43% / 17% / 40%. So finally, calorie intake almost identical protein and lipid contentwhich corresponds in grams about twice as much protein as fat. Now, remember that in a classic keto diet practised by the average person, the caloric breakdown in P / G / L is more like 25% / 5% / 70%. And there are even P / G / L distributions of 20% / 5% / 75%. In any case, this is the kind of distribution that is being advocated everywhere to those who want to try the ketogenic diet. So what to do?

For the common manit is sometimes possible to consume almost as much protein as fat, but on two conditions.

The first condition is that protein intake should be slightly raised to the limit, but above all that lipid intake is reducedThis is to avoid the aforementioned pitfall of a hyper-rich, hyper-caloric diet. So when we talk about increasing protein percentages, we're really talking about doing so by reducing lipids.

The second condition is that this must be done in short periods of a few weeks to make what is commonly known as a low-calorie dietin the sense that it is a temporary deprivation for the purpose of lose weight fast.

This diet consists not in drastically increasing protein intake without any justification (which, as we have seen, would be either useless or counter-productive for the body), but in maintaining this intake and possibly increasing it slightly, but above all in reduce the body's energy substrate provided by the dietin this case the dietary fats consumed by keto-adapted individuals.

The aim is to so force the body to draw on its body fat reserves.

Nevertheless, if on paper this diet looks like magic, many people fail to make itfor a number of reasons.

1st reason for failure on a high-protein diet: deprivation

The first, and most obvious, reason is that it's particularly demanding. by its drastic natureIt's based not only on the energy deprivation provided by carbohydrates (the body's famous preferred fuel), but also on a drastic reduction in lipids, the body's ancestral alternative fuel. For the latter, the transformation of consumed proteins into energy is very laborious.

And deprivation can sometimes be unpleasant, leading to compensation phenomena, eating disorders and so on...

2nd reason for failure on a high-protein diet: non-keto-adaptation

The second reason is that this diet could be very trying for people who are not keto-adaptedand for whom the energy "switch" may not take place.

In other words, since the person is still hard-wired to convert dietary carbohydrates into energy, it is difficult for him or her to switch to body fat. It could be that the bridge between supply ketosis (via the diet) and ketosis induced by the breakdown of our own body fat is much smoother than when we go from a carbohydrate diet to energy deprivation all at once, hence the interest of the ketogenic diet as a preamble to weight loss, but on condition that it is keto-adapted and provides sufficient energy at the outset so as not to cripple the metabolism. Which brings us to the next point.

3rd reason for failure on a high-protein diet: low metabolism

Finally, the third reason is that individuals whose metabolism is already too low will not benefit from this calorie reduction. A collapsed metabolism is often induced by a deleterious lifestyle coupled with a poor diet and insufficient daily caloric intake over several months or years.

This insufficient caloric intake is generally unsuspectedWe've already talked about this situation, which could concern people living in large city centers where life is expensive, and whose diet is based on alternating between nibbles and low-calorie, low-protein and low-fat dishes offered by the food industry or catering chains, for obvious reasons of cost.

So you're already on a calorie intake of just 1500 kcal, it seems perilous to embark on a low-calorie diet to lose weight, as this would mean lowering dietary intake to particularly problematic levels, not to mention the micronutrient deficiencies induced by insufficient dietary intake.

Now that we've seen the main cases in which a high-protein diet might fail, let's take a look at the cases in which this type of diet might nevertheless work. The secret of this type of diet lies in several key success factors, and we're going to mention a few of them.

Second part in audio / podcast format

The second part of this content is available below in text and audio format, but it is exclusively reserved for Blooness members..