I experimented with a ketogenic diet for a couple weeks in 2012 and shared my data and experience at our local Chicago Quantified Self meetup. These are my presentation slides.

1. Ketosis &
Productivity

2. • Hypothesis
• Experiment
• Data
• Conclusions
• Things I learned

3. If I change my diet,
then I will increase
my productivity
Health, Sleep, Energy Level, Available Time,
Budget
Hypothesis

4. EXPERIMENT
Week at
Home
Hypothesis

6. Bulletproof – Paleo – Evolutionary
– Low Carb – Aktins – Ketogenic

7. 55%
30%
25%
Carb
Fat
Protein
USDA Recommended
5%
60%
35%
Carb
Fat
Protein
High-Fat, Low Carb
(my goal!)
14-Day Experiment

8. Feb 4
Pre-diet Diet
Tools

9. DATA &
RESULTS

10. LOTS OF
COOKING

11. 13%
61%
26%
Carb %
Fat %
Protein %
55%
30%
25%
5%
60%
35%
Me
US Goal

12. 17%
8%
6%
9% 9%
14%
7% 8%
14%
6% 5%
16% 17%
39%
58%
74%
67%
66%
64%
61%
68%
74%
60%
57%
54% 53%
58%
42%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
4-Feb 5-Feb 6-Feb 7-Feb 8-Feb 9-Feb 10-Feb 11-Feb 12-Feb 13-Feb 14-Feb 15-Feb 16-Feb 17-Feb
Carb %
Fat %
Protein %
Macronutrient % (by day)
All-you-
can-eat
sushi
buffet
Intermittent Fasting

13. LOW CARB IS
TOUGH
0 5 10 15 20 25
Apple
Blueberries
Coconut Milk
Onion
Spinach
Avocado
Almond Butter
Carbs (g)

14. 0
200
400
600
800
1,000
1,200
1,400
1,600
4-Feb 5-Feb 6-Feb 7-Feb 8-Feb 9-Feb 10-Feb 11-Feb 12-Feb 13-Feb 14-Feb 15-Feb 16-Feb 17-Feb
My Cholesterol
DRV (cholesterol)
WHOA THERE!
Cholesterol…

15. Blood Test

16. Weight

17. 0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
4.5
1/16/13 1/21/13 1/26/13 1/31/13 2/5/13 2/10/13 2/15/13 2/20/13
Linear (Wakup Energy (0-5))
Linear (Morning Energy (0-5))
Linear (Afternoon Energy)
Linear (Night energy)
Easier to wake up.
More tired at night.
Energy Level

18. 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Summer Pre-Diet Diet
Length
8
8.2
8.4
8.6
8.8
9
9.2
9.4
9.6
Summer Pre-Diet Diet
Rise Time
I sleep less I wake up earlier
Sleep

19. 0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
% REM % Light % Deep
Summer
Pre-Diet
Diet
Deep Sleep
up to 30%

20. 3-Feb 68.05 Trader Joe's
8-Feb 56.89 Trader Joe's
15-Feb 14.12 Reza's
17-Feb 24.45 Sushi Para
163.51 Total
$10.90 Cost per day
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
Diet (cost per day) Chipotle burrito
Price
Spending

21. 0
20
40
60
80
100
120
IF Diet Normal
Time (min)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Breakfast Lunch Dinner Chipotle
By Day By Meal

22. If I change my diet,
then I will increase my productivity
Conclusions

23. • Early morning energy
• Belief in being “healthier”
• Decreased hunger cravings
• Enjoyed cooking
Positives

24. • Productivity decreased from
researching diets!
• Difficult when not home
• Required more mental energy
than going to chipotle
Negatives

25. • One variable at a time
• Longer
• Fix sleep
• Cognitive performance
– www.quantified-mind.com
• Blood testing
– www.wellnessfx.com
– www.insidetracker.com
Next Time

26. “Too often we hold fast to the clichés of
our forebears. We subject all facts to a
prefabricated set of interpretations.
We enjoy the comfort of opinion without
the discomfort of thought.”
- John F. Kennedy, Yale University commencement address (June 11,
1962)

27. DIET
RATIONALE

28. Evolutionary Rationale
Loren Cordain - Origins and Evolution of the Western Diet: Health Implications for the 21st Century.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dw1MuD9EP4

29. Evolutionary Rationale
Loren Cordain - Origins and Evolution of the Western Diet: Health Implications for the 21st Century.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dw1MuD9EP4

30. Evolutionary Rationale
Loren Cordain - Origins and Evolution of the Western Diet: Health Implications for the 21st Century.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dw1MuD9EP4

31. Scientific Rationale
Carb-burning mode
Eat
carbs/sugars
Broken
down into
Glucose
Blood
glucose
levels rise
Insulin
secreted
Excess
stored as fat
Peter Attia. Eatingacademy.com

32. 0.4% 2.2%
97.4%
Glycogen (liver)
Glyogen (muscle)
Fat
Fatty
Acids
Ketone
Bodies
Energy for
Cells
Scientific Rationale
Fat-burning mode
Energy storage

33. Studies
• The stories of Frederick Schwatka and Vilhjalmur Stefansson, and their study of the Inuit
people. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC524027/
• The Minnesota Coronary Study – 10,000 person test showing no correlation between
Saturated Fat % and cholesterol on risk of cardiovascular disease -
http://atvb.ahajournals.org/content/9/1/129
• A low-carbohydrate, ketogenic diet versus a low-fat diet to treat obesity and
hyperlipidemia: a randomized, controlled trial. -
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15148063
• Woman's Health Initiative (2006) - Reducing Total Fat Intake May Have Small Effect on
Risk of Breast Cancer, No Effect on Risk of Colorectal Cancer, Heart Disease, or Stroke. -
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/whi/diet_mod.htm
• AtoZ Trial 2007 - low-carbohydrate, high-protein, high-fat diet may be considered a
feasible alternative recommendation for weight loss -
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17341711
• Workplace Diet Trial (2008) - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18635428

34. Resources
Evolutionary Diet
- Loren Cordain - Origins and Evolution of the Western Diet: Health Implications for the 21st Century.
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dw1MuD9EP4
Sugar is a toxin
- http://youtu.be/dBnniua6-oM
The Soft Science of Dietary Fat
- http://www.second-opinions.co.uk/taubes.html
Bad science and big business - about fat and cholesterol
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vr-c8GeT34
The limits of scientific evidence and the ethics of dietary guidelines — 60 years of ambiguity
- from Peter Attia
- http://vimeo.com/45485034
- slides: http://www.wds2010.com/delegates/presentations/10wed/06-Session0_1-Gary%20Taubes.pdf
Gary Taubes @ Google
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6vpFV6Wkl4
http://www.reddit.com/r/keto/wiki/faq
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/a-metabolic-paradigm-shift-fat-carbs-human-body-metabolism/