Screw Keto, What's Freto?

It seems like everyone is getting into the ketogenic diet these days. But let me tell you something, while keto is kind of a good idea for some, it is a terrible idea for many and I'm going to explain to you why that is. But first I have a question for you. What are the key mascots of the ketogenic diet?

Fat-filled Coffees

You have likely heard of bulletproof coffee, which is a buzz word that seems to also possibly be a trademarked item, so I'll tread lightly here. So, let's discuss these oily coffees... Really, 700+ calories in your coffee sounds like a good idea to somebody out there? If I'm going to consume 700+ calories in the morning it is because I went to a local diner and grabbed myself a wicked delicious omelette with a 15 calorie coffee. I just can't understand why anyone feels so tired during their fast that they need a 700+ calorie pick-me-up inside their already caffeinated beverage, but all I can hope is that they are fat-fasting at that moment, because if that coffee is paired with a meal at some diner then all hell has broke loose.

Remember way back when we all started realizing that eating nothing but refined carbohydrates was a bad idea? Its funny how society just accepted the rapid and ridiculous change in our diets from natural to industrialized without bothering to see if it would be safe first. Oh, oops, that is actually rather recent... Right, so it looks like we're going to make the same mistake all over again but this time with refined fats. What's the keto diet? Well if I were to share a friend's regular eating pattern it would look a little like this:

Breakfast: 700-900 calorie butter-blended coffee
Lunch - Bacon, cheese, tomato, cilantro, mayonnaise and mustard in a lettuce wrap
Snack - 700-900 calorie coconut oil ate as a pudding
Dinner - Fatty meatballs cooked in butter, heavy cream Alfredo sauce over shredded zucchini with cheese melted over it all
Dessert - Frozen heavy cream with lemon juice as an ice cream substitute

I'm not saying that doesn't sound great, sure it does, but it might kill us. How natural is any of that? Butter is cool, in moderation, meatballs are fine, in moderation, coconut oil is great, in moderation. The problem is that this diet tends to be so incredibly refined fat oriented. Its mostly butter, coconut oil, or heavy cream. A lot of people are doing it with olive oil too, and I mean just drinking the stuff. I'm not saying that olive oil isn't healthy, but its 125 calories for a table spoon, and you wouldn't think of four table spoons as much to consume if you had it, but it makes up a whopping 500 calories, which is the same as a nice sized steak.

Bacon, So Much Bacon...

Let's look at one more meal routine that I know an old friend of mine doing keto would eat fairly frequently.

Breakfast - Bacon, eggs and bell pepper slices fried in bacon grease with cheese melted over top
Lunch - Bacon, cheese, tomato, cilantro, mayonnaise and mustard in a lettuce wrap
Snack - 700-900 calorie coconut oil ate as a pudding
Dinner - Bacon wrapped cream cheese with butter fried asparagus and two glasses of whiskey
Dessert - Keto Dark Chocolate Cheesecake made primarily out of sour cream, heavy cream, lemon juice, dark chocolate

That night, he didn't elect to have the dark chocolate covered bacon, thank goodness... But, yeah, you see my point I think. This diet is rather bizarre, but it most certainly isn't natural. You just don't find that much stuff in nature all that fatty, and you really never see refined fats like oil and butter all over the place. Avocado is a rare exception to a wide variety of low fat food in nature. Even most animals are just not that fat unless they have been domesticated and fattened in a rather unnatural way.

For weight loss or what have you, I much more prefer the concept of fasting. However, since keto is so popular, even my grandmother is into it, I thought I would help everyone figure out how to do it better. That is why I created Freto, the Freto diet...

So how is freto different from keto? Well, it is somewhat inspired from the concept of the fruitarian diet. The fruitarian diet is another rather limiting diet, and I'm not saying freto has to be vegan or even vegetarian, but it starts with a good fruitarian base. What is so great about the fruitarian diet is that it is mostly all whole foods, and frankly, I believe that whole food eating is the real key to a nutrient dense and balanced life.

So here's the idea in a daily meal routine:

Breakfast: Macadamia nuts, coconut shavings, 85% dark chocolate chunks, pecans, blue berries, anise seed and cinnamon powder in a bowl with a small amount of coconut cream and coconut water mixed together to make a low carbohydrate milk. This is a great Freto breakfast for the cereal lover.

Lunch: Avocado wedges with hummus and spicy chilies over top, almond and flax seed flatbread with cashew cheese and herbs.

Snack (if you feel you need to eat a snack): Coconut flour-based flatbread with peanut butter and blackberries.

Dinner: Olives, Artichoke hearts, cherry tomatoes, small amount of quinoa, chia seeds, Brazil nuts and garlic in olive oil, vinegar and a splash of strong stevia water.