OVERVIEW
Ketogenic diets and other ancestral eating patterns are transforming how the world sees and consumes food. After successfully losing weight and boosting health on keto diets, Community Activist and Wellness Coach Ede Fox, and Writer and Pop Culture Junkie Imani Dawson decided to share their journeys and inject their unique brand of fierceness, fun and flavor into the monolithic low carb community.
Black Keto is an unapologetically cultural approach to a lifestyle with the potential to save lives, particularly for people of color suffering from disproportionate rates of obesity, diabetes and other diet related diseases. Join Ede and Imani each week as they navigate the benefits and challenges of keto and low carb living while infusing cultural and culinary traditions from across the globe. Welcome to keto for the culture.
KETO
FOR THE
CULTURE
ABOUT US
Imani
Imani's dieting story
42-year-old Imani has struggled with her weight since the age of seven. She started her first diet at 12, with dreams of losing thirty pounds overnight with over the counter “fat blockers”. Those dreams were dashed the next morning...
Ede Fox
Ede's weight loss story
Ede has been struggling to lose weight for as long as she can remember. As a child of the 70’s she was chunky by that era’s standards though completely normal compared to children of today. She even went to Weight Watchers camp at 14 where she lost 30lbs, which.....
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Keto? A ketogenic diet is a low carbohydrate, high fat, moderate protein approach to eating that allows the body to burn fat for energy, rather than glucose. This translates into longer lasting energy, more satiety at meals, reduced inflammation and much easier weight loss.
So Ketosis Is..? Ketosis is a normal metabolic state that occurs when the body burns stored fats instead of glucose for energy. The process results in the production of ketones in the body, which can be used to power the brain and can be measured in the blood and urine. Ketosis is different than ketoacidosis, a serious complication of type 1 diabetes. The life threatening condition arises from dangerously high ketones and blood sugar levels and cannot occur in anyone who is capable of producing insulin.
How do you get started? If you don’t like counting carbs then eat only foods from this list. This is the original list that low carb diet pioneer Dr. Robert Atkins, and later Dr. Eric Westman used to guide their patients and can be found all over the internet. If you would like to see the author of the New Atkins for A New You author, Dr. Westman explaining the program to a group of his patients you can go to YouTube or watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNZsfluh0Uo&t=39s.
Dr. Westman Explaining Keto
If you do like counting carbs and tracking your foods, you’ll find you can see carb counts in apps like MyFitnessPal or Lose It!. Choose the foods you like, but make sure your carbs come from real foods like veggies, nuts and dairy not donuts or ice cream. Note that many people have difficulty controlling their portions of nuts, additionally cheese and alcohol may slow down weight loss. Use these foods at your own risk and know your experience may vary.
You should switch over to burning fat for energy (ketosis) in anywhere from 3 days to 2 weeks. It takes time for your body to get good at it though, after all you’ve been running on refined sugars and other carbohydrates for years. You can expect to feel fatigued and unwell for the first week (keto flu), but if you stick with it, you will recover and feel more energy than you have in years. Make sure that you are eating adequate salt/electrolytes to minimize the keto flu.
What is the "Keto Flu"? Keto flu is a colloquial term for the body’s reaction to carbohydrate restriction. It feels like withdrawal and fatigue, stomach pains, dizziness, sugar cravings, brain fog, nausea, cramping, insomnia and muscle soreness may arise as the body transitions from sugar to fat as its primary energy source. For most people, the keto flu lasts for about a week, but can be minimized or even eliminated by drinking water to thirst and replenishing electrolytes (sodium, potassium and magnesium). If you’re feeling headachy, dizzy or weak try putting a pinch of salt under your tongue. If you feel better within 20 minutes, then you know you need to increase your sodium consumption.
Stop by the site to find new delicious recipes that fit into a ketogenic diet. You’ll get descriptions of all the foods you can eat, intriguing discussions of which foods supplement your health goals, and most importantly inspiring recipes to keep your diet interesting.
Food + Recipes
Grandma's Collard Greens
This recipe is a Brooklyn take on Latinx classic, slow-roasted and marinated pork shoulder.
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