The best Ketogenic Diet books: Reddit reviews

From 3.5 billion Reddit comments

The first book Sarah Ballantyne wrote has a ton of science but it’s less of a cook book. In fact it’s mostly about the AIP diet and lifestyle and the research she’s found to back it up. It’s a long book and goes deep into the immune system too.

https://www.amazon.com/Paleo-Approach-Reverse-Autoimmune-Disease/dp/1936608391

> I'd wager even intermittent fasting would improve blood sugar numbers in almost all type 2 diabetics.

It does. Dr. Jason Fung's book demonstrates that most type 2 cases he treats are off their meds after a month or so.

I would recommend that you read https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Guide-Fasting-Intermittent-Alternate-Day/dp/1628600012/ And https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1771641258/

These books contains links to a lot of the studies that answers your questions in depth.

I would not go low carb. Our bodies are made to function on carbs.

When I think of a carb heavy meal, I think of chewy farrow or fluffy quinoa as the base of a Buddha bowl with sweet potato, avocado, some sort of beans, cabbage, peppers, sprouts, and a dressing made of tahini, dates, and lemon.

WFPB diet already excludes animal products, oil, and anything processed. You’re left with legumes, grains, and veggies for the most part. I personally lost a ton of weight way less painlessly than low-carb, and felt better overall. Eating carbs is expected and healthy for humans.

I would recommend reading The Starch Solution by Dr. McDougall.

r/PlantBasedDiet - Great sub with good active members always willing to help!

The Starch Solution - I have read this and follow this. Losing weight constantly.

The Forks over Knives Plan - I have not tried this but the documentary they made is what changed my way of eating (hopefully for life)

Edit: I don't count calories, I eat what is allowed in the diet until I am full (ad libitum). I follow visual guidelines of how much food should be of each group. I try not to cheat except for special occasions. My lipid and Hb1AC numbers have come down to where I have never seen them before since I have started tracking them and lost 24 lbs in 3-4 months or so.

You want a weight loss and health-promoting diet which also is disease-preventing.

Good luck!

No it’s not sinful to break a fast. God is happy that you’re even trying, a lot of Christians don’t fast even though the Bible tells us to. I believe there’s a difference between fasting with God and fasting for him, and when it’s with him, Grace is there to help you and to empower you. There is no way I could’ve done the fasts that I have except by his grace!

I have a podcast episode i did on it if you want the link message me. Give some tips on what is helped me. Most of all I recommend this book called The Complete Guide to Fasting written by Dr Fung. It’s very informative!

Also fasting is not to get something it’s to become someone. You’re already close to God by the Blood of Jesus. Don’t use fasting as works, it doesn’t get us stuff. It helps us to learn who we are by the finished work.

I have been there, very recently. For the last decade. I can honestly say I absolutely have an addiction problem with sugar & carbs. They are without a doubt my downfall.

I started following a Keto diet in December 2017 and even though I've only lost 20 lbs since then (I have over 100 to lose), I'm off sugar entirely and off carbs for the most part - I try to get my carbs from my vegetables instead now. Coming off them was hard, admittedly, it was a rough week, and I still have my moments where I just want a real burger with fries, but if I make that choice it's going to hurt me, it's like "a little bit of heroin" for a drug addict and I can so easily fall off the wagon and go back to my old habits.

I am reading this book: https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/1628600160/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&amp;psc=1 and it's really good at describing why we gain weight, why we become addicted to sugar and can't seem to get off them if we keep eating an excess of carbs, etc. I highly recommend reading it, even if you don't follow the diet, it's a really good read. I also follow r/keto & r/xxketo <- lots of helpful stuff in there.

PM me if you want to talk, (if it matters, I'm 35, female, single, live in southern Alberta, Canada). In the last 2 years I moved away from all my friends & family (by choice, for a job), and then lost my dad (last January, he was waiting for new lungs) and he was my favorite person to joke with, no one else really measures up to match my sense of humor. It sucks losing a loved one who gets you.

I know this is a meme subreddit, but if you're considering not eating, look into fasting, you will see incredible results with a little bit of knowledge and preparation. This book is fantastic, and there is a very active subreddit for all the major fasting methods.

For reference:
The author's Starch Solution website
Book on Amazon

I've done counting calories on-and-off in the past. And what I've really taken away from it is I can be good at tracking...tracking all those extra calories I didn't need 😝

But I've had my biggest success with food this past year after discovering and reading about fasting. The Complete Guide to Fasting, by Dr. Jason Fung (Amazon Link) is very informative and easy to read.

You don't need to do long fasts, I never have and don't plan on doing anything past a day. But following a 16:8 (16 hour fast + 8 hour feeding window) had helped me immensely. It's basically skipping breakfast (just get some coffee (black or with a little cream, NO sugar)) and delaying lunch so it's more of an afternoon snack, if anything, then dinner as normal. Following a 16:8 schedule really helped me get out of snacking at work... Which is my greatest challenge. I simply tell myself I can have that afternoon snack, but not till 3pm. By then that 2pm craving had subsided... But if it's still there then it falls within my feeding window.

The best thing about fasting is that there are so many protocols to follow, some are even do popular they have a common name (leangains, warrior diet).

I don't track calories, but I do yet to make smarter food choices (low carb, less sugar, etc...). This year I have gone from about 150 to ALMOST 140. And it's been pretty easy. No stressing, no debating if I can have this, no determining what do I have to sacrifice in order to have an indulgence. The 10# may not seem like much for nearly half a year, but I succeeded with that along with managing a of stress at work, which led to lots of junk food, a long distance relationship, and a cross country move for work.

If you don't want to commit to a $20 go check out a copy from your local library or check or out some of the subreddits to learn more: r/fasting r/intermittentfasting r/leangains

do yourself a favor and put that bro science bullshit on hold for a bit to read this book

https://www.amazon.com/Starch-Solution-Regain-Health-Weight/dp/1623360277

Asians eat rice and Mediterraneans eat pasta (actually Asians also eat noodles and Italians also eat risotto) and both eat bread and they're the healthiest and happiest and longest lived people in the world

You should read this book:

The Complete Guide to Fasting (Heal Your Body Through Intermittent, Alternate-Day, and Extended Fasting) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1628600012/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_u5IcGb59PSDE3

It’ll do a better job explaining it than anything anyone here says

It's totally fine - but working up to three days may be needed.

If you're interested in fasting, I suggest you get some quality information and not just ask around - even here, with all these fabulous people! Download Dr. Jason Fung's The Complete Guide to Fasting from Amazon. Lots to learn.

You will do well brother.

I found the book <em>The Complete Guide to Fasting</em> by Dr. James Fung a good resource backed by science.

You may want to pursue a form of Intermittent Fasting (IF) while eating whole foods and still avoiding:

1. Sugar and refined fruit (fruit juice)
2. Refined carbs (anything with any kind of grain flour)
3. Seed oils (canola, sunflower seed, safflower seed, soybean, etc.)

These are the big 3 that make all of us unhealthy; but this doesn't mean you have to cut out all carbs if you're doing a form of Intermittent Fasting (/r/IntermittentFastLife or /r/OmadDiet or /r/AlternateDayFasting)

• Eat whole or chopped veggies, cooked or raw (but not pureed).

• Eat small portions of whole fruit on occasion. (no juices or smoothies, no fruit salad).

• Quality cuts of full-fat meat (don't choose lean cuts, you need that saturated fat. Also, prefer grass-fed or free-range.)

• Eat some nice cheese.

• Eat pastured eggs.

• Get seafood once a week.

• Get full-fat (5%) greek yogurt.

• Put heavy (aka. double) cream in your coffee or tea.

If you need the occasional slice of bread, choose a low-carb variety. There's a nice low-carb whole wheat bread I can find at my grocer that has 6 to 8g net carbs per slice. Tastes good, nice and chewy. I sometimes make grilled cheese sandwiches out of them.

If you're unfamiliar with fasting, I recommend this book: Complete Guide to Fasting by Dr. Jason Fung

I've read that the urine ketone test strips are not a good measure.

I've recently been reading Keto Clarity which has a lot of good information on how to measure.

But they basically say the most accurate way to measure ketones is a blood ketone meter or ketone breath analyzer. Ketones in the urine are inaccurate and could disappear after being keto-adapted for a while.

I bought the Precision Xtra Blood Glucose & Ketone Monitoring System and Ketonix to try it out for myself, so I could figure out my personal threshold. Haven't received them yet, so I can't tell you my results.

I really recommend that book though, it's a really good read so far. They went on to publish Keto Cookbook which I actually picked up first at Costco, and after reading that I picked up Keto Clarity on amazon.

Blending coffee with 3 tablespoons of coconut oil and a tablespoon of cocoa is absolutely delicious. If you don't blend it there is a layer of oil on top which is pretty distasteful, but if you blend it up you get a frothy, rich coffee that is wonderful. As to protein levels, lyle mcdonald has a wonderful book on dietary ketosis that should give you a better understanding. Here's a link

Do a search on "statin" here and you will find many sources. Probably your best starting source for additional research is:

http://highsteaks.com/cholesterol/#statins

http://www.amazon.com/Principia-Ketogenica-Carbohydrate-Compendium-Literature-ebook/dp/B00N0KGKNI

Short of getting a different cardiologist, you will likely find it a tough sell. Good luck.

I read about it in <em>The Starch Solution: Eat the Foods You Love, Regain Your Health, and Lose the Weight for Good!</em> by Dr. John A. McDougall initially.

I'm sorry to hear that you're struggling to get started :(!! Honestly starting and the first couple weeks are probably the hardest part! I am soooo glad this was helpful to see! I get really motivated seeing other's progress pics too, especially with similar body type :)

I'm on maternity leave right now so my week and weekend are all the same blur lol. If weekends are hard though, don't fast on weekend to start. My favourite thing about IF is that it is so flexible- make IF fit your life instead of making your life fit IF. Start with fasting during the week and build up to it :) or keep your weekends fast-free if that works for you :)

More unsolicited advice because I tend to over-share 🙃

Have you heard of Jason Fung? I listened to his book The Complete Guide to FastingThe Complete Guide to Fasting and it helped me so much! Ive also been consuming as many fasting related podcasts as I can because, for me, the more I understand the how & why the easier something is and I feel more motivated.

You've got this! Commit to one day at a time. Start slow if thats easier, do a 12hr fast, then try 13, then 14 etc find the rhythm that works for your body and your life :)

You would need to look into this further to see if it's a good idea, but AIP is an elimination diet. It's primarily geared to people with autoimmune conditions, but if you'd be seeing a rheumatologist I'm guessing there's some overlap. It certainly is focused on lowering inflammation. If you implement it properly it's very healthy, but people tend to have a month or two where they aren't eating in a balanced way as they get the hang of the diet, you wouldn't want to take any risks with that. Another issue is that if you're not able to move that much you would need someone else to do a lot of the food prep. So, something to look into. https://www.amazon.com/Paleo-Approach-Reverse-Autoimmune-Disease/dp/1936608391/ref=sr\_1\_1?crid=2YXTGNRA34SHL&amp;keywords=sarah+ballantyne+autoimmune+protocol&amp;qid=1666991120&amp;qu=eyJxc2MiOiIyLjQxIiwicXNhIjoiMS44OSIsInFzcCI6IjIuMjEifQ%3D%3D...

Not the OP, but I’ve read some info on fasting, and Dr James Fung has written about fasting and diabetes. You might start there and see how the information fits for you.

https://www.amazon.ca/Complete-Guide-Fasting-Intermittent-Alternate-Day/dp/1628600012

> But really looking for a book it some other resource.

I’ve been mostly disappointed by books on nutrition but I can recommend The Perfect Health Diet because of how the authors evaluate how macro- and micronutrients function and survey the existing literature on what the approriate range of intake is. They’re not trying to con you into adopting a fad diet. Instead they try and gather the existing knowledge about foods and the human metabolism so you can make your own dietary choices to match your lifestyle.

As for cycling, the most important thing is to understand how glucose works (anaerobic metabolism), how it is stored in the body and how to replenish it during exercise. The book above does a good job at that but you will find dedicated sources online too. There’s a reason why supplements marketed for cyclists are predominantly high-glucose.

Bummer!

>endometriosis

Regarding this, I would encourage you to look into the "autoimmune protocol" if you haven't already. It's basically an elimination "diet" (it's not a diet...you know what I mean lol. Maybe "program" is a better word?) to help with autoimmune issues . Below I linked a book that changed my wife's life completely. If you search through the comments, you'll find people who found relief from endometriosis following it. My wife was crippled with Rheumatoid Arthritis at the age of like 25 for two years until she changed her diet. Now she's roughly 90% better. https://www.reddit.com/r/AutoImmuneProtocol/

https://www.amazon.com/Paleo-Approach-Reverse-Autoimmune-Disease/dp/1936608391/ref=sr\_1\_1?crid=5JB3FGIAKMFY&amp;keywords=the+paleo+approach&amp;qid=1652200787&amp;sprefix=the+paleo+approac%2Caps%2C123&amp;sr=8-1

Glad to help! My wife bought this and it helped her. Just know that it often reads like a medical journal, but it will explain why the change in food is needed. "Paleo approach" by Sarah Ballantyne. https://www.reddit.com/r/AutoImmuneProtocol/

https://www.amazon.com/Paleo-Approach-Reverse-Autoimmune-Disease/dp/1936608391/ref=sr\_1\_1?crid=2CC2BUPRMN5S8&amp;keywords=paleo+approach&amp;qid=1651074699&amp;sprefix=paleo+approac%2Caps%2C122&amp;sr=8-1

Sorry, that may not have been clear: the low-carb diet is part of the problem. It has to be complex carbs like starch and fiber, but they need to be >55% of your diet. The brain runs exclusively on carbs as its fuel, so eating low carbs basically means your brain is running on fumes.

For blood sugar, starch and especially fiber are also very important. Fiber works at least as well as protein at preventing blood sugar spikes, and it's way better for your kidneys, liver, brain, and cardiovascular system.

This is a good book to read on the subject, and this is a good website with resources to investigate.

For me, keto means meat + veggies. I don't do dairy because it's horrible for me. Causes cystic acne and I'm sensitive to lactose. I agree with everyone that's saying to just change your approach.

A great dairy-free keto cookbook that's saving my life right now is Leanne Vogel's. Definitely check it out and see if her recipes sound like something that could work for you. My only gripe is that she relies on gelatin a lot, but 9 times out of 10, it really lands. In recipes where that approach doesn't work for me, I just substitute the gelatin for coconut cream.

You might be interested in Dr. McDougall’s website (https://www.drmcdougall.com ) and his book The Starch Solution: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1623360277/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_HYMABJ1KXJH43BG52NTD

His work has gotten a lot of people off diabetic pills (including me) and reduced or decreased insulin injections. He also has a YouTube channel.

I follow the 3 x 39 hour fasting protocol outlined in Dr. Fung’s book: The Complete Guide to Fasting: Heal Your Body Through Intermittent, Alternate-Day, and Extended Fasting https://www.amazon.com/dp/1628600012/ref=cm_sw_r_awdo_navT_a_QVKYCHDRST59Z0WNYCV6

I thought it sounded kind of crazy at first, but it’s one of the easiest diet/lifestyle changes I’ve ever done and fasting feels like a tool that is sustainable long term and easily adjustable based on goals. Can’t recommend the book enough.

I have been following the 3x39h protocol since the start of September this year along with a low carb high fat diet (target < 120g carbs/day) and losing weight at a rate of 2 to 3 lbs per week with no blood glucose issues (my BG levels stabilize at 70mg/dL about halfway into a fast and have never dipped below that). I recommend taking a look at ketone meters if you are going to look into fasting, along with the Zero app as it has been majorly motivating/reinforcing to be able to see my body going into nutritional ketosis while fasting and measuring that via ketone levels. A CGM is also a big help if you already aren’t using one, as you can see the impact fasting has on your BG levels over time.

There’s also a BBC documentary on fasting which has some great background info that can be found via Google as well. Good luck!

Ask God for his grace, and he will help you. There’s this really cool thing about fasting, once you start doing it, the self-control will just start happening in your life. It’s really awesome! And once you start doing it you will start finding that you have self control over foods and other things that you had struggled with previously

Check out this book by Dr. Fung, it’s actually really helpful. It’s very cool to learn about the science behind fasting, which is something God has designed our bodies to do