The use of water is also important. When I started Atkins some years ago (it was successful, but I had an unrelated problem and fell off) I was surprised by the amount of veggies in the model "induction" diet -- they were veggies that I ordinarily didn't eat (at least one I'd literally never eaten, despite my advancing years). The ones most of us usually eat tend to be high carb.
I have lost all the weight I wanted to and am now on a modified keto diet using balanced macros (macros being carbs, protein, and fat). My diet is basically a low carb diet (no bread, pasta, potatoes, etc.), with high fat, moderate protein intake. I am not in ketosis but could get in ketosis in about 24 hours of water fasting.
For those new to the keto diet, here is a great video on the subject (it is complicated)...BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO KETOSIS by Dr. Boz
My conclusion about life AFTER KETO is: I think the keto diet is great for getting the weight off, but staying on it depends on what a body is required to do.
Bodies burning fat (in ketosis) are great for long, slow endurance operations because fat is a slow extraction process (extraction from adipose tissue) and slow cool burn for energy compared to glucose (carbs and sugar) which is fast and hot.
I found fat (keto-burn) is NOT good for high-intensity training or operations. That requires glucose (carbs) in the blood for immediate access and quick, hot burn.
Since the body burns glucose in the blood and liver first, carbs are needed for high intensity work. Ergo, I eat higher carb veggies before weight lifting and/or doing high intensity workouts like (in my case) sprints on the bike.
If I am going to do a lot of biking hill work, I eat bananas before or during the workout. BTW, bananas are NOT permitted on keto because of their sugar content. But they are great when quick bursts of energy are needed during workouts.
Bottom line for the military: this nutrition stuff is very complicated and striking the right balance of input is going to vary from person to person and vary depending on what a body is required to do.
But I think the military is on the right track in general. And keto is a great way to get the weight off because it attacks the problem and that is that the weight itself is the result of America's carbohydrate (i.e. sugar) addiction.
Greens are so good for you and filling too.
No reason not to come to love them. For those who don’t enjoy them regularly, they can be cooked with cheese or sausage or whatever added for flavor and satisfaction, more or less replacing the traditional role of starches in a lot of diets.