Since opening our doors, we have been helping people lose weight in Atlanta with our advanced medical weight loss programs. And as good as our methods are, our clients still need to commit to some form of healthy diet and exercise in order to have the greatest chances of success. Whole30, Paleo, and Keto are three of the hottest diet concepts right now. There are many similarities between the three, but all have different principles, and some will be better for some people over others – depending on their genetics, lifestyle, willpower, support, etc.
When choosing a diet or “lifestyle” change or commitment of any type, it is always a good idea to do your research and consult with your primary care physician before your get started. At Elevate Wellness Clinic, we are mostly diet agnostic – meaning that we do not necessarily promote one diet over another. We do, however, believe that treatments like peptide therapy can help further optimize your health and provide anti-aging benefits even beyond those afforded by diet and exercise alone. That’s why we are on a mission to be the best peptide therapy clinic in Atlanta.
We hope this post gives you a good primer on just a few of the methods available to you and helps to inspire you on your journey. If you would like more information about medical weight loss in Atlanta, please do not hesitate to call us!
So… Whole30? Keto? Paleo? What’s the difference? Read on to learn more!
Following Whole30 in Atlanta?
The Whole is for “whole foods” and the 30 is for “30-days.” Whole30 is a 30-day restrictive diet program designed to help you reset your eating habits and boost your overall wellness. This diet’s main goal is to have you avoid foods that are linked to creating an inflammatory response in the body. When your body has inflammation, it acts like it is fighting an infection — even though it isn’t. For this reason, the Whole30 is sometimes referred to as an anti-inflammatory diet. Doctors are learning that one of the best ways to reduce inflammation is restricting certain foods known to cause inflammation. On the Whole30 diet, foods such as grains, dairy, most beans, soy, sugar, and artificial sweeteners are strictly avoided.
The Whole30 doesn’t boast fast, dramatic weight loss results (even though some people do have those kinds of results); instead, it focuses on adopting healthy eating habits and learning how to work whole foods into your diet. Foods approved for the Whole30 include fresh fruits and vegetables, seafood, eggs, meat, and healthy oils. Unhealthy, processed carbohydrates are to be avoided. White bread and pastries are out!
There are no “cheat” days on the Whole30. This diet calls for 100% commitment. If you slip up and eat an unapproved food, then you’re supposed to start back at day one. This might make it harder for you to stick to this diet.
Foods you can have on the Whole30 Diet:
- tomatoes
- olive, coconut and avocado oil
- coffee
- green leafy vegetables, such as spinach, kale, and collards
- nuts and seeds like almonds, walnuts and pumpkin seeds
- fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, tuna, and sardines
- seafood like oysters, shrimp, and mussels
- fruits like watermelon, apples, and bananas – but especially those high in natural antioxidants and polyphenols – such as strawberries, blueberries, cherries, and oranges
On the Keto Diet in Atlanta?
Keto is short for ketogenic; the act of producing ketones. The ketogenic or keto diet is one of the hottest low-carb diets around. It differs from the other low carb diets because it focuses your efforts in getting 70 to 75 percent of your daily calories from fat. (Yes, from fat… really.) On the keto diet, you will be getting 75% of your calories from fat, 20% from protein and only 5% from carbohydrates. Doctors originally developed this diet to treat epilepsy, but many people follow the diet to lose weight too. When following the keto diet, your body burns substances called ketones for energy rather than carbs. Your liver produces ketones from stored fat but requires greatly reducing your carb intake to make them.
Because a keto diet compels you to limit your carb intake, it is an inherently anti-inflammatory diet. On a typical American diet, your body is constantly converting sugar from carbs into energy. However, when you change to a high-fat diet and limit your net carbs, your body starts producing ketones for energy. As a result, on a low carb diet, your body automatically begins burning fat. This process is known as ketosis. When your body runs out of burning fat that you have recently consumed, it easily taps into the fat that you have stored.
Significant weight loss is one of the biggest advantages of the keto diet and many people who follow this diet boast dramatic weight loss quickly. Since many doctors recommend a low-carb diet to help keep Type 2 diabetes under control, the keto diet can also be beneficial for treating this type of medical condition and has shown signs of being highly effective in people that were otherwise insulin-resistant.
The keto diet is one of the most restrictive low-carb diets around. Tracking carb intake and ketone levels is a must to ensure that your body has gone into ketosis. Eating something high in carbs can almost immediately cause your liver to stop producing ketones. Most fruits, grains, and legumes are off limits, as are all starchy vegetables, like potatoes. If you follow this diet for a long time, your body might not get enough of the nutrients that it needs and so supplementation may be necessary for long term benefits. Taking oral supplements or visiting an IV infusion clinic in Atlanta are ways that some people replenish the nutrients that they are lacking.
The keto diet is known to have initial side effects known as the “keto flu.” Although not officially recognized by medicine, headache, brain fog, fatigue, irritability, nausea, difficulty sleeping, and constipation are just some of the symptoms anecdotally report in this condition. There are hundreds of articles written online about it. This, combined with how restrictive the diet is, probably means that this program is not for everyone – although die-hard fans swear by it.
The keto diet is often associated with intermittent fasting (IF) – an eating method that cycles between calorie restriction by not eating — or fasting — and normal food consumption during a specific time period. A typical example of a common intermittent fasting cycle would be fasting from 10 o’clock at night and not eating again until 6 o’clock the following evening. This would limit your food intake to 4 hours per day. During the other 80% of the day, you would be fasting and therefore, your body would be burning energy by creating ketones from your fat storage. It is believed by many who promote a ketogenic lifestyle that intermittent fasting works synergistically with the reduction of carbs and the increase in fat calories to produce better results.
There may be some additional good news for men dealing with Low-T considering testosterone replacement therapy in Atlanta: In non-obese men, an intermittent fasting testosterone study showed that fasting increased LH (luteinizing hormone – a testosterone precursor hormone) up to 67% and overall testosterone 180%.
TOP TIP: People following a ketogenic diet may also potentially increase their results using Lipotropic Injections to help burn fat for fuel and build muscle. Did you know that Elevate Wellness Clinic provides Lipotropic Injections in Atlanta?!
Considering the Paleo Diet in Atlanta?
Also known as the “caveman” diet, the Paleo diet focuses on eating foods that humans ate during the Paleolithic Era; in essence, the types of food they acquired through hunting and gathering between 12,000 to 2.5 million years ago. The diet focuses on foods like lean meats, fish, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds. On the Paleo diet, you cannot eat dairy, beans, or grains because these didn’t become food staples until farming came along in the Neolithic Era (7,000 to 10,000 years ago). The theory behind this diet is that the human body is not physiologically designed to eat many of the foods available to us through farming and modern technology.
Similar to the Whole30 and Keto diets, the Paleo diet puts an emphasis on eating clean. It eliminates processed foods and foods that can cause inflammation such as sugar and carbohydrates. People of the Paleo diet are encouraged to avoid foods that are drastically altered compared with their natural form, such as drinking apple juice versus eating a whole apple, eating chicken nuggets versus eating a fresh, unbreaded chicken breast, or eating veggie chips versus fresh vegetables. Many people who follow the Paleo diet lose weight because of diet restriction and the elimination of sugar alone. They also may see a significant improvement in their health by eliminating all processed and modified foods.
Due to the need for fresh, lean meats and produce, the Paleo diet is not inexpensive. This diet also eliminates whole grains, potatoes and salt. Paleo eating can be hard for vegetarians and vegans because of the emphasis on meat and lack of beans.
A number of randomized clinical trials have compared the paleo diet to other popular diets, such as the Mediterranean Diet or the Diabetes Diet. Overall, these trials suggest that a paleo diet may provide some additional benefits when compared with diets that include whole grains, legumes and low-fat dairy products. These benefits may include:
- More weight loss
- Improved glucose tolerance
- Better blood pressure control
- Lower triglycerides
- Better appetite management
Before Starting Any New Diet
Getting excited about the prospect of losing 10, 20 or even 100 pounds is awesome; but before you take the plunge, it is so important to check with your primary care physician… and especially if you have been diagnosed with a medical condition (like diabetes or heart disease), or are taking any prescription medications, or you have any history of an eating disorder. Some individuals have specific nutritional requirements and there is no one-size-fits-all approach to dieting.
At Elevate Wellness Clinic, we evaluate each client to make sure that we understand their medical history and their potential for unwanted side effects. We typically start with a comprehensive evaluation of your blood work and a Body Composition Analysis. Regardless of the diet that you choose to follow, if you are looking for great results, we want to speak with you!
Call us today to schedule your free weight loss consultation in Atlanta!