Keeping Fit with Keto
The Ketogenic lifestyle has aided men and women improve their well-being and general health through weight loss techniques. Peace Obi, who was at an event organised by the CEO, Keto With Friends, Amina Turnbull, reports that people were fascinated at the
The Convener, Keto With Friends, Mrs. Amina Turnbull hinted that Ketogenic lifestyle helps not only with weight loss, but that it also helps with the treatment of health-related issue like epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease, polycystic ovary syndrome, fibrosis, high blood pressure, lowers cholesterol and overall wellness of the body
Stepping into the meeting venue, Hangout with Amina Turnbull, the CEO, Keto With Friends, at the water front of Queen’s Drive, Ikoyi and welcomed by the ocean breeze, the heat from the scotching sun immediately became whittled. And standing out by the right were beautifully-designed white canopies with white balloon decorations, each with a red heart-shaped flower hanging down loosely, thus giving the environment a more beautiful look and serene.
Everything in and about the environment has a message to pass. The air was fresh, the tables were void of any form of soft drinks. The snacks cum meal served were unique - a combination of vegetables and other low carb components. As though a pointer to the bigger message of the day, the white colour was as though pointing to the need for clean bill of health - most desired by all people. Then the touch of red makes the combination sweet and beautiful, which seems to say that eating and living healthy will exude the inward and outward beauty in anyone. And to achieve this, a new lifestyle has to be adopted - low carbs, high in natural fats and moderate protein intake.
For Keto, it is neither a family name nor an association, but a diet and a lifestyle referred to by many with different names such as Ketogenic diet, low carb diet, low carb high fat (LCHF), among others. And Keto diet being a low carb diet, the body is said to produce ketones in the liver which it uses as energy. People of like minds assembled by the water front of Queen’s Drive in Ikoyi, to simply educate Nigerians on the huge benefits of adopting Ketogenic lifestyle as part of the measures to staying fit and healthy. For me, the message was made a lot simpler when I stumbled over a friend I haven’t seen for a couple of months now, as I struggled with my mind to place the old picture side by side with new one, now in a new shape. The evidence of the Keto lifestyle was quite obvious - she has visibly dropped some kilograms of weight.
Speaking with THISDAY, the Convener, Keto With Friends, Mrs. Amina Turnbull, said that Keto diet is a lifestyle where people eat fat to lose fat. According to her, this is achieved by eating good fat, real butter, full fat cream, palm oil, all animal fats, avocado, among others. And that avoiding starchy and complex carbohydrate foods like yam, garri, potatoes, most root vegetables, legumes, cereals, oats, bread, wheat and many more. According to her, “Our carbohydrates intakes are gotten from vegetables above the ground, spinach, egusi, lettuce, tomatoes etc. Eating 100g or below from carbohydrates above ground, moderate protein from all meat and fish and high fat from butter, eggs, palm oil, coconut oil, fatty meat or fish. Depending on your weight goal,” she explained.
Highlighting some of the benefits, Turnbull hinted that Ketogenic lifestyle helps not only with weight loss, but that it also helps with the treatment of health-related issue like epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease, polycystic ovary syndrome, fibrosis, high blood pressure, lowers cholesterol and overall wellness of the body. ketogenic lifestyle, according to her, yields better result when a kitchen scale or measuring cup is used to enable individuals know the amount of food they eat daily, adding that with the help of an app launched recently by the establishment, it now makes it easier to measure meals. “I found it difficult finding the caloric content and macros in African meals, it was always inconsistent. But with the help of international food analysers in the United Kingdom we decided to make an app where you can track each meal content according to your personal goal. Keto With Friends is a subsidiary of Beige Concepts Limited - a Nigerian/U.K company brainchild of Amina and Captain Russell Turnbull.
Sharing a bit of the concept’s history, Turnbull revealed that ketogenic lifestyle has been around since the early 1920s’. According to her, it was mostly used to treat epilepsy but has since evolved and that with the help from researchers, it is the number one and most efficient way to lose weight and regenerate cells today. “It was revolutionised in Sweden where it is a lifestyle for most Swedish people. First introduced in Nigeria 2014 and has since become a new trend in Nigeria with low carb innovations like cauliflower/cabbage swallow, Keto moimoi, Akara, Keto abacha, low carb bread, etc. In fact, there is a substitute for almost every Nigerian meal,” she said.