One of the questions we got recently was how to do a zero carbs meal plan. I hadn’t heard of this before, so I had to do some research. What I found out is that a zero carb plan is different from keto. If you think nutritionists hate keto, they are going to hate a zero carb plan! So, here are the basics.
The Keto Plan
Keto reduces your carb intake to about 20 grams a day. Once you do this, your body realizes it doesn’t have enough carbs to spend as energy, so it switches into ketosis. Your body creates ketones and uses that for energy instead. In other words, you burn fat instead of glucose. To keep this up, about 75% of the calories you take in are from fat, 5% from carbs, and 20% from protein. The pros and cons and how-to’s are listed on our website and in our workbook, but that is the basis of the keto lifestyle.
The Zero Carbs Plan
According to Health Line, this plan simply eliminates as many carbs from your diet as possible. There are no restrictions on calories or portion sizes, so you’re just tracking the amount of carbs you take in. The ultimate goal is zero net carbs. So, what has zero net carbs? Well, meats, oils and some dairy. This is similar to the carnivore diet, which aims to have zero carbs in a day.
Similarities to Keto
This plan is similar to keto in that you will likely get into ketosis and burn fat as energy. This means you will have the benefits of a keto lifestyle. Your blood sugars will be stable, so your energy will be consistent rather than having peaks and valleys that happen when you’re taking in carbs (especially sugar). You will likely see weight loss. You get all the benefits of ketosis because, well, you’ll be in ketosis.
Differences between Keto and Zero Carbs
I’m a little confused about this plan, so please enlighten me, anyone who does it. If you can get into ketosis and have the benefits that it offers you, why would you further restrict your carb intake? I enjoy having my 20 grams of carbs a day, so I can eat vegetables, salads, and a wider variety of foods. One of the criticisms of keto is that it is too restrictive, but trying for zero carbs a day seems restrictive to me. The fewer vegetables you eat, the more you need to take supplements. And, I enjoy vegetables as I find they round out my meals nicely.
My Thoughts on the Zero Carbs Plan
I’m not one to judge how people eat. Many people judge me for eating the keto lifestyle, and I don’t want to put that on anyone else. But, I just don’t get the zero carbs idea. Maybe I’m missing something, but if you can get all the benefits with 20 grams of net carbs a day, why not give yourself that flexibility? I couldn’t find anything in my research that gave any additional benefits to this way of eating over keto. Maybe it’s just not having to track anything but carbs?
For me, the question isn’t how do you do zero carbs – it’s why would you do zero carbs? Again, if I’m missing something, please let me know! I’m not trying to dump on the idea, I just don’t see the extra benefits of going below the level that puts you into ketosis. To me, you should eat your 20 grams of net carbs and enjoy!
Wendy
