There’s no denying the appeal of a burger (yes, even a vegie burger for you vegans out there), but when it comes to the raging debate between the keto diet and a regular healthy diet, there’s been no shortage of keto combatants who are quick to point out the superiority of their nutrition practices over another.
For the uninitiated, the keto diet is basically a diet which endorses an extremely low-carb intake or even zero carb intake. This in theory forces the body into a state of ketosis which sees it breaking down protein and fat for energy as opposed to carbs. The result is supposedly weight loss.
Graeme Tomlinson who is a nutrition coach took to Instagram to dispel the keto diet’s biggest myth in today’s trend-driven health and fitness space.
“The Keto diet has credence regarding epilepsy,” he said in the post.
“But for rational human beings, including level headed keto dieters, this comparison highlights some extreme and farcical concepts of the ketogenic diet regarding fat loss.”
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Using a burger comparison, Tomlinson highlighted the calorie intake between a regular burger and a keto burger without carbs.
“The extreme beliefs that carbs inhibit fat loss and that fat can be shed in a state of ketogenic caloric surplus are both fanciful and false. In fact, they are as deluded as believing that this avocado bun won’t slide around in your hands like a BMW in the snow. Rigorous studies continuously negate direct relationship between moderate carbohydrate consumption and weight gain.”
The truth, according to Tomlinson, is that carbs has absolutely nothing to do with it and your overall caloric intake does.
“Like any method of eating, going keto is an option if it is rational and sustainable for an individual,” he says.
“But given the demise of rationality in the fitness industry, it is hardly surprising that keto ‘conceptual fat loss exclusivities’ (which rips up 7 billion years of evidence) keep prevailing.”
Tomlinson explains that such pro-keto/anti-carb beliefs would instantly identify the ‘keto burger’ as the best option for fat loss even though it contains a high volume of cheese and streaky bacon.
“Yet, by virtue of rationality, fat loss is (and always will be) about achieving an overall caloric deficit, regardless of the food consumed. Therefore, in isolation, this keto burger is more detrimental to fat loss than this regular burger.”
The real answer to this is that both burgers can be an option and the ketogenic diet can work for fat loss, but only if the state of caloric deficit is achieved, i.e. a shortage in the amount of calories consumed relative to the amount of calories required for maintenance of current body weight.
In other words if you’re smashing through keto burgers without regulating how much of it you eat, then you won’t be losing any weight anytime soon. As with most things a balanced diet needs to be paired with balanced exercise and no one method is the silver bullet.