Spoiler alert: calories from healthy fats are better for you.

Many people know I am a proponent of the ketogenic diet, which consists of eating mostly low carbohydrate and high fat foods. I eat this way because I truly believe it is the BEST WAY to support good health for life! I feel fantastic and am able to maintain a healthy weight on the keto diet. And, I’m not the only one who sees the benefits of a diet high in healthy fats.

I recently came across a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association where researchers were studying what kind of diet helped people maintain their new weight after a period of successful weight loss. (The study was conducted at Boston Children’s Hospital by Cara Ebbeling, PhD, and David Ludwig, MD, of the New Balance Foundation Obesity Prevention Center.) Results showed that a low-fat diet predicted weight regain, while diets with more calories from fat increased the participants’ energy levels and reduced surges in their blood sugar after eating. The high-fat diets were found to be more successful than low-fat diets for people trying to maintain their weight loss.

In another (now famous) study done in London in the 1950s, Professor Alan Kekwick and Dr. Gaston L.S. Pawan also found that not all calories are created equal. These researchers tested a number of different diets on overweight patients. The individuals who were on a high-carbohydrate diet consistently maintained or gained weight. The subjects on the high-fat diet lost more weight than those on any other diets—even when they consumed more calories!

A keto diet is not low calorie; it is low in carbohydrates and high in nutrient-rich, healthy fats, which has been proven to help people maintain a healthy weight!, in some cases as low as just 20 grams of carbs daily compared to the 300-400 grams of carbs on the standard American diet.  Some individuals may need more carbs, but I would never exceed 80 grams daily. The keto diet is high in nutrient-rich, healthy fats (70-80% of the diet), moderate levels of protein (20-30% of the diet) which has been proven to help people maintain a healthy weight!