In a few weeks I'll be heading off for a one-week vacation with a group of non-Keto friends. In anticipation of their probing questions about my diet, I've prepared a set of condensed, high-level talking points. I'd love it if my Keto friends here would verify my answers and give me tips on common questions that you've received from skeptical friends.

These are the most likely questions that I expect to field:

1. WHAT ARE YOU DOING? * A low carb (i.e. low insulin) diet: no sugar, no grains, no potatoes (a Ketogenic Diet). * Goal is to induce and maintain ketosis where my body switches to using ketone bodies (fat derived) for fuel instead of glucose (carb derived).

2. WHY ARE YOU DOING THAT? * ONE: I don't want to be fat again. Carbs stimulate insulin, which encourages fat storage. * TWO: It's a healthier way to eat, allows me to lose more body fat and, long term, avoid metabolic syndromes like diabetes, heart disease, and Alzheimer's. * THREE: It's a highly satisfying way to eat: meat, cheese, nuts, cream, butter, cocoa, green veggies and berries. * FOUR: It works. I've been at the same weight for a year. Lost 10 pounds in first two weeks of limiting insulin.

3. IT IS UNHEALTHY TO NOT EAT BALANCED! * No, it's the way we evolved to eat prior to the agricultural and industrial revolutions. * The high carb ( 300g/day) US diet has caused a nationwide obesity epidemic. * I still eat balanced: lots of quality meats and fish, healthy fats, green veggies, and a variety of nuts and berries.

4. ALL THAT FAT WILL KILL YOU! * No, BEING FAT will kill you. You get fat from carbs, the only macro which converts nearly 100% to glucose and triggers insulin secretion. * The lipid hypothesis is bunk. There is no scientific consensus that dietary fat leads to greater body fat, a worse blood lipid profile or heart disease. * Chronic systemic inflammation is the more likely culprit for heart disease and cancers.

5. BUT WHOLE GRAINS ARE GOOD FOR YOU! * Whole grains have a lower glycemic index, but still convert primarily to glucose and raise your insulin levels. * They're better than enriched, "white" grains which spike glucose and insulin, but not nearly as good as protein, fat or fiber.

6. YOU'RE WRONG, IT'S JUST A "CALORIES IN VS. CALORIES OUT" GAME! * No, basic endocrinology says that the composition of those calories matter. * Fat cells fill up because of insulin, people get fat when their fat cells fill up. * Obesity should be looked at via the discipline of biology, not physics.

7. WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL WITH INSULIN? * Among other things, it is the fat storing hormone. * Carbs --> glucose --> insulin = fat storage and prevention of fat release since there is already too much fuel in the blood. * If you perpetually wash your cells in insulin, they can become resistant to it and require even more insulin. * Eventually, you raise your risk of developing type-2 diabetes and other metabolic syndromes.

8. YOU'VE GONE CRAZY ON US! * Not paying careful attention to how you fuel your body is crazy, IMHO. * "Food Inc", "Fat Sick and Nearly Dead", "Fat Head", "King Corn": I've chosen the red pill and have awoken from the matrix. I now see the truth all around me. * The "blue pill" days were easier, but I believe they were dangerously wrong. * If the US fully adopted this way of eating, I believe the obesity epidemic would disappear, health care costs would plummet and the economy would flourish.

9. DOES ANYONE OF SIGNIFICANCE SUPPORTS THIS WAY OF EATING? * The American Diabetes Association says a low-carb diet is legit way for people with diabetes to lose weight (Men's Health article). * (would love more backup here)

Thanks believers. I look forward to going on vacation fully prepared to spread the Gospel of Keto [EDIT] ...humbly answer my dear friends' questions if asked!

[EDIT] I seem to have given the impression that I'm going to kick in the front door of our vacation home, stand on the coffee table and defiantly preach these points sequentially one through nine to anyone who'll listen. To be clear, I'm not going to do that. The above is just my mental preparation IF I'm asked any of the questions. It's more or less a set of distilled key-value pairs. The starkness is to help store the info neatly in my brain. If they don't ask, I won't tell. However, since we'll be sharing every meal for a week, I'm pretty sure it will come up.