Welcome to the new year, 2018! It is going to be a great year.  With the start of any new year, everyone is ready to eat better and lose weight. Since when did my fat jeans' become my regular jeans lol!  With the holiday festivities behind us, it is time to get back on track with our eating and get back into our skinny jeans!  

Over the years there have been numerous diet' programs for weight loss.  As many of us know, diets are not sustainable, which is why we might lose 15 lbs but gain it back and more.  Or we lose a little weight only to plateau and feel like our efforts are fruitless.  

One approach that seems to have spanned the ages is, eat less, exercise more.'  We all have tried it once or many times, even though it always backfires on us.  People still keep trying to rein in their calories and exercise like crazy after the new year. 
Reducing calories is not a good strategy for weight loss. One of two things will happen when you cut calories:

You will lose weight initially, and then you will gain it back plus more.  Either by binging, because your body cannot take the starvation mode.' Or you eventually begin to eat like a normal human.  The intake of normal eating' is too much for your already starved body that the weight come back.  The rebound weight gain is inevitable.  
You initially lose 8-15 lbs, making you super encouraged.  However, after that initial weight loss, it stops.  You frustratingly stop losing weight no matter how little you eat or how much more you exercise.

A few things that reducing calories can do to you:

Caloric restriction will lower your thyroid function. If your body thinks it is starving, your thyroid function will drop, which will reduce your metabolism.’ Lower thyroid function can also cause hair loss, dry skin, and fatigue.  Cutting calories can also force your body to break down muscle tissue, further lowering your metabolism.
Caloric restriction will also Increase cravings for carbs and sugar. There are many hormonal and neurotransmitter changes that occur when you drop your calories. Specifically, a neurotransmitter called Neuropeptide-Y will increase, which makes you want to eat sugar and processed refined carbohydrates.
Caloric restriction stresses the adrenal glands. Reducing calories will cause cortisol to rise.  Elevated cortisol will also break down muscle tissue. Breaking down muscle tissue will raise your blood sugar, which in turn causes your insulin to increase. Insulin will take the blood sugar from the breakdown of muscle and cause you to store fat around your midsection. Essentially, you are trading muscle for fat.

The Ketogenic Diet has been around for decades but is currently trendy for weight loss and overall health.  There are many opinions regarding its viability as a dietary strategy.  It is a low carbohydrate diet, but there are many more aspects to it.  A Ketogenic Diet is much better than just reducing your calories for weight loss.  

What is Ketosis?
When we eat carbohydrates, our bodies run by a process called, Glycolysis. This is the process of burning glucose/sugar is our primary fuel source for energy.  When we dr