LCHF vs KETO...what's the difference and what should you try?

Many of my patients are eager to jump on the keto diet, but an equal number reject it altogether due to the 'strict' nature of eating such a low-carb diet. North Americans typically eat a diet that's high in carbohydrates (getting most of their calories from carbohydrate sources like oatmeal, crackers, pasta, bread, fruit and legumes), in fact, most North Americans eat between 200-300g of carbs daily (based on a 2,000 cal/day diet).

What many people don't realize is that you don't have to jump right into keto - there is a happy medium that can still get them wonderful results, improve their insulin resistance and change their body composition. Enter 'Low Carb, High Fat' (or LCHF) eating style.

LCHF refers to ANY diet where the majority of the calories come from FAT rather than CARBOHYDRATES (keep in mind that fat provides 9 calories per gram, vs. 4 caloris per gram for carbs, so it's easy to reach this ratio without having to eat massive amounts of fat!). 

Usually we consider any diet that includes less than 100g of carbs a low carb diet, but in this definition we are not JUST restricting carbs, but ensuring we are getting enough fuel from fats and proteins.



Typical ratios for a LCHF diet can be:
50% FAT, 20% Protein, 30% Carbs (this is an easy starting point for many people)

All the way to the 'keto' spectrum:
75% FAT, 20% Protein, 5% Carbs (a common keto ratio)

So keeping your CARB intake between 5-30% and your FAT intake between 50-80% will keep you in a LCHF lifestyle. If these numbers seem daunting, simply track your intake for a few days in MyFitnessPal and look at your MACROS to see what your ratios are, and adjust from there. 

In most cases people struggle to decrease their carbs, so start by making little swaps like:

-nuts in place of crackers
-cauliflower in place of rice
-spiralized zuchini in place of pasta
-omelettes in place of high carb breakfasts (bagels, oatmeal)
-salads with protein in place of sandwiches for lunch

Why choose LCHF?
LCHF is a great transition into the 'low-carb' world. It's more 'intuitive' in nature (once you get the hang of it). There's no stress over keeping carbs extremely low (reaching ketosis is not the goal for most), and there's no foods 'off limits' (moderation becomes key).

LCHF is used by many as a 'maintenance' mode when they are not strict keto (I myself eat this way during the times of year where fruit is in season locally, or root vegetables are abundant in the fall. After doing keto, LCHF feels like an easy settling point for people. In addition, LCHF is a great eating style to explore as we age and loose our ability to tolerate as much carbohydrate as we did in our early years (partly due to insulin resistance, hormone changes and a decreased need for 'quick' fuel in our day to day sedentary lifestyles).

Why choose Keto?
The obvious answer is that for certain medical conditions and issues, it's essential to actually be in ketosis (epilepsy, concussions, brain health, Alzheimer's, PCOS, mood disorders etc). However, I use keto with patients who have reached plateau's despite eating well, have severe insulin resistance or type II diabetes, or need a tune-up in their fat-burning machinery! I myself go into ketosis regularly to keep my fat-burning liver enzymes fired up.

Sample LCHF menu:

The above menu shows what a typical LCHF day can look like (for actual recipes, please sign up for my newsletter OR join the next Fat Fueled Female session!)...you can see there's fruit (which is often avoided on keto menus), an abundance of veggies and all three days have less than 100g of carbs!

If you are interested in either a ketogenic diet or a LCHF lifestyle I'd love to work with you and show you how to do these in a way that's easy to add to your current lifestyle. Food is still delicious, simple and quick to prepare! For a hands-on learning experience, consider joining our April 1st. session of Fat Fueled Female, where we go through both of these eating styles (AND Intermittent Fasting)!