hey guys Dr Mark here if you've lost considerable amount of weight doing a ketogenic diet now you're transitioning to more of a maintenance diet you're probably thinking things like should I be doing low carb high fat forever how do I avoid gaining all this weight back and when if at all do I start to add carbohydrates back into my diet if that sounds familiar I made this video for you and maybe even your nutrition clients that have had some success with keto here's what you need to know although it's not my favorite nutritional approach the ketogenic diet does have some utility when it comes to weight loss and if someone can follow something find Success With It improve their health and end up in a better spot by doing it I'm all for it I'm not going to discredit that but where many people struggle with something like the ketogenic diet is what happens after and transitioning out of it which is why today I'm going to bring on Dr Mark method trained coach coach Morgan who successfully lost 100 plus pounds using the ketogenic diet to give you some insight on how to strategically work carbohydrates back in and how to transition out of the ketogenic diet to set you up for Success long long term excited to learn from you coach Morgan take it away hi I'm coach Mo and as Dr Mark mentioned the ketogenic diet and low carb eating definitely have their place I personally ate a ketogenic diet for almost 7 years and it helped me lose over a 100 lb however even after doing it for so long and having success I don't recommend it as a realistic eating style for people for the long term I started eating keto after many Weight Loss attempts I tried tons of different diets and all of them failed I was so frustrated with losing and gaining the same 50 lbs year after Year trying different diets and then I came across keto the draw for most people to a ketogenic diet is the rapid weight loss but after reading about it there seemed to be a ton of different benefits so I was intrigued and I immediately started cutting out carbs and sugar and I could not believe how great I felt I dropped 40 lbs in 6 months I felt lean and athletic for the first time in years and even though it became increasingly tougher to eat during Gatherings and holidays after results like that I was all in I was drinking the keto Kool-Aid for several years I was able to maintain a semi- a body weight but I struggled so hard with intense Cravings food Obsession and binge eating many years during the leadup to Christmas I would gain anywhere between 15 to 20 lbs during the month of December I would go crazy it's the holidays I would eat whatever I wanted it became almost a yearly cycle for me to gain weight over the holidays and then hire a coach January 1st to help me lose the fat holidays and family gatherings would always stress me out I felt like I either had to abstain from the food provided or I had to bring my own meals and in retrospect as understanding and support of my friends and family were I kind of feel like a jackass even day to-day I would feel so overwhelmed because I was cooking two different meals for my family and myself and when we wanted to go out to eat my diet would always dictate where we would go after a few years on keto I felt desperately restricted and completely obsessed with food I knew that the binge and restrict cycle that I was on was unhealthy but I had no idea how to break it I was so scared of the repercussions of eating more carbohydrates my whole world was keto I had eaten it for years and I had learned so much about how wonderful this diet was I also heard story after Story of people who started to eat carbs again and they had gained all of the weight back and then some I had it in my head that if I tried to eat carbs again I would gain all of the weight that I worked so hard to take off and that scared the out of me and that fear kept me from even trying the final straw was when I started to experience extreme fatigue and sleep issues it was crippling and it was interfering with my work and my personal life my doctor and my naturopath sent me for multiple tests with zero results after finding no answers we determined that I was probably just undereating for my calorie needs and they also gently suggested that I incorporate carbohydrates back into my diet just to see how I felt and after all these years of conditioning and all these stories of people gaining their weight back I was scared and it did not help that over the previous years when I did eat carbohydrates my body would become extremely inflamed it would become bloated I would experience fatigue and brain fog and I even felt sick in my brain carbs were the enemy I could not see a world in which they helped me feel better but I did know two things one I could not keep living this way and two I'm not a doctor so I very reluctantly listened to my Healthcare Providers and I even went as far as chatting with a fellow nutrition coach for some reassurance she had tons of experience helping women transition from keto to a more balanced lifestyle and she assured me that I was making the right choice so I did it I took the plunge and the results my friends were night and day almost immediately I had way more energy I was sleeping better and my performance in the gym was something that I had never experienced but best of all my intense cravings and food Obsession disappeared I took carbs and sugar off of a pedestal so I no longer felt like I was missing out this is when I really started to realize how warped my sense of food was yes keto helped me lose a massive amount of weight and turn my life around but it also stuck me with some incredibly destructive eating habits so if any of my story resonates with you and you are on a low carbo ketogenic diet and you are thinking about transitioning I know firsthand it can be super scary the transition from keto to to a more balanced flexible lifestyle is definitely a process but trust me it is so worth it so here are a few tips that help me transition from keto eating to a more balanced flexible lifestyle number one is slowly add in carbs try not to jump in with both feet I started out by adding 10 to 20 gam of carbs a day continued that for a week or two and then added another 10 to 20 depending on how I felt my first plan of action was to incorporate more carbs in and around my workouts in the morning our bodies turn carbohydrates into glucose it is our body's preferred fuel source glucose is used and stored by our muscles so I would usually eat a fruit like a banana before I went to the gym and I cannot tell you how good a banana tastes after being off limits for years then for a post-workout meal I would have something like eggs whole wheat bread or sourdough bread oats and fruit and this way my body would utilize the carbs post-workout and kept me full and satisfied throughout the day for lunch and dinner I played around with things that were previously off limits starchy vegetables like beets corn and peas and added things like quinoa beets and lentils to things like salads or as a side dish now you're going to want to to decrease your fat intake while your carbohydrate intake increases so decreasing your fats by around 5 to 10 G per day is going to help balance out your numbers you should also be increasing your protein slowly over time to make up for the Lost fats fats keep us full because they take a very long time to digest protein is a very important macronutrient that is also going to help you feel full and satisfied while your fat intake decreases to increase my protein I started incorporating things like egg whites chicken breast and turkey I chose these over more fatty proteins to incorporate into my lunch and dinner repeat these steps weekly until you hit a number that is comfortable and matches your goals adding carbohydrates slowly over time is going to help your body adjust this will help you avoid the excess water retention potential GI upset the bloating and inflammation number two focus on the right carbs you might be tempted to start eating all the foods that you've been missing out on like chips candies and chocolates I know I definitely was enticed to start eating all of those Foods because I felt like I was missing them you can enjoy these Foods in moderation but initially they still probably will make you feel pretty junky so the bulk of your new carb sources should be coming from more Whole Foods focus on adding in more fruits and starchy vegetables after almost never eating sugar my palette had completely changed so even just eating things like bananas strawberries and pineapple curbed a sweet tooth like crazy they were so sweet and this helped with any Cravings I had for the more processed stuff beans and legumes are largely off limits for people doing keto but they are a must in a balanced diet they are high in protein and fiber and contain a ton of important vitamins and minerals and then you're going to want to add in foods like whole wheat breader sourdough oats and brown rice sandwiches are back on the menu boys and don't worry after a while you can definitely incorporate more High processed foods into your diet of course in moderation after all eating flexibly and incorporating all foods into your diet is the absolute best way that you're going to adhere to an eating style over the long term I always have a serving of Sour Patch Kids or chips for our Friday movie nights and I enjoy them completely guilt-free number three utilize your carbs when I decided to switch from keto to a more balanc lifestyle I was lifting pretty heavy in the gym in order to perform heavy lifts my body needed glycogen this is the form of glucose that your muscles utilize for energy without carbs in my system my body was still utilizing energy through fats but the process to convert fatty acids into glucose is a way slower process than it is to convert carbohydrates into glucose without carbs in my system my body was still producing energy through fatty acids but the energy Pathway to convert fatty acids into glucose is very slow that's why our bodies prefer carbohydrates as a fuel source because to convert them into glucose which converts into energy is super quick very rarely will you see athletes on a low carb diet they need it to perform and so do you your body runs best on carbs whether you're a runner whether you lift weights or whether you're just chasing kids around on a daily basis so instead of hitting the gym fasted like I normally would I would incorporate a small meal before I went I could not remember the last time I had food in my system when I worked out so this made me very anxious but the result in my performance was enough for me to continue on my carb Journey after exercising your body needs to refill the glycogen stores and use the different foods that you eat to repair tissues so incorporating a balanced meal with carbs proteins and fats after a workout is ideal my absolute favorite post-workout meal is eggs and egg whites a sour dough toast or a sweet potato and a little bit of fruit while your body is adjusting to the new carb intake you may want to prioritize eating the bulk of them around a workout by doing this you are less likely to experience the negative effects of introducing carbs back into your life and number four and this one is the most important be sure to track your intake like I said earlier I had lost 100 lb on the ketogenic diet and I was terrified to gain it back after I took some nutrition courses like the one Dr Mark offers I learned that it is not one single food or macronutrient that is going to make you gain fat it is your overall calorie consumption it is true you often see people gain weight post keto but this is not because of the carbs if people come off keto without a plan they usually just jump in with both feet if you're not tracking it's really easy to go over your calorie goal so they're either eating way too many at once or they're eating a lot of processed carbs that are very calorie dense this will result in a ton of extra calories which helps them gain the fat now you may experience some weight gain when you introduce carbs back into your life but this is due to water retention 1 G of carbs comes with three molecules of water so it's just extra water retention and will go away eventually tracking your calories and staying within that calorie goal will ensure it's only temporary water weight and not fat gain do these four things to transition into a more balanced and flexible diet and you will be enjoying carbs in no time thanks so much for that coach Morgan I appreciate you coming on the channel and sharing your success with keto but also life after and how to transition away to a bit more of a flexible approach if anyone watching this has any questions for me or coach Morgan about this process make sure to drop it in the comments below and I'll make sure that she sees them or I address them as well now if you're really serious about starting a nutrition coaching business the next thing I'm going to have you do is check out this video of linked up right here today we talked all about the ketogenic diet but I want to dive a little bit deeper into the science and the link between carbohydrates and insulin resistance you're going to learn all about that right here so check it out now and I'll see you in the next video