A keto diet is a type of low-carb diet specially created to force the body to use stored fat in order to produce energy instead of burning glucose for energy. The keto process produces ketones that give this diet “keto” name. Along with the South Beach diet and the Atkins diet, people who are willing in low-carb approach to dieting need to look into the ketogenic diet. The diet is really famous among those who are looking to reduce body fat or maintain blood sugar levels. The major premise of the keto diet is “Eat fat to lose fat”. Before you get started on a ketogenic diet, you need to learn about the disadvantages and advantages of this diet plan and how to begin on one.
How Keto Diet Works
As you may know, carbohydrates are the major fuel source for the body, and your body breaks them into glucose components. When you reduce carbohydrate intake, your body automatically switches to use protein as an energy source. And as you lower protein intake, your body is forced to utilize stored fat as a primary source of energy, that results in weight loss.
The major factor that specifies whether the diet is ketogenic or not depends on how low-carb diet it is. A little reduction in carbohydrate amount can be helpful to people, but this is not considered as ketogenic. Mainly, there are three approaches to low carbohydrate eating and only one of them focuses on ketosis.
More About Ketosis: Understand Ketosis
Ketosis means your body is in a position where it doesn’t have proper glucose to use as fuel, so it turns to use fat as energy source, basically known as ketosis. It is a state in which energy components known as ketones are produced during fat metabolism.
Ketones can be used to generate energy or can be utilized instead of glucose for the energy required in the brain, where fatty acids are not allowed to use. So, the goal of the ketogenic diet is to bring your body to a state called ketosis, where your body stops burning carbs to produce energy instead starts using ketones as fuel. The state occurs when an individual lowers his/her carbohydrate intake to around 50 grams carbs per day.
There are many keto diet experts who suggest consuming about 30 grams carbs in a day, but it is not that much necessary, you can still be in ketosis state while consuming 50 grams carbohydrates each day.
Pros and Cons of Ketogenic Diet
Nowadays, keto diet has become a famous option for people looking to reduce weight. While following this diet, you may have to deal with several negative side-effects for first few weeks. Once you become used to it, get ready to experience amazing and unexpected health benefits. If you follow a keto diet wisely, it not only helps you in fat loss but also offers a number of health benefits. One of the biggest advantages of being in ketosis state is appetite reduction.
The ketosis caused by this low-carb diet plan has been referred to as physiological ketosis, dietary ketosis, nutritional ketosis, benign dietary ketosis (Volek & Phinney) in an order to clarify possible confusions or misunderstandings with ketoacidosis. There is a transition phase where your body adapts to fat and ketones components rather than using glucose as fuel. You may have to experience a number of negative effects such as lightheadedness, weakness, mild irritability, fatigue, and headaches throughout this period. These symptoms are ended by the first week of your keto diet or few of them can extend to two weeks.
Another drawback of using keto diet is that you may have to experience low energy while performing heavy exercises. Maximum times, carbohydrates are the perfect source of fuel for heavy activities and exercises. To avoid this situation, a great solution is that the person should follow TKD rather than doing CKD.
TKD (Targeted Keto Diet)
A targeted keto diet is a condition where you can have carbohydrates right before and after your exercise. This is the best technique for people who are involved in highly intense activities or need some carbs time to time to keep them energetic.
CKD (Cyclical Keto Diet)
On the other hand, a cyclical keto diet is something where you consume a limited amount of carbohydrates each day i.e. from 30 to 50 grams. And then, on the weekend, intake a large number of carbs just to re-boost your muscle power and strength.
If you’re looking to try out a keto diet, you need to adjust it as per your metabolism and experiment it with the proper balance of calories and carbs. While some low-carb dieters find ketosis a great fun, there are some who believe, it is really difficult to be in this state. Want to lose weight? Nothing can be better than a keto diet, consult a dietitian for more details about the diet. He will surely help you in building a keto-friendly menu that will help you in meeting your nutritional requirements. It is necessary to talk to your healthcare provider before you start a new diet or make changes in existing one for the safe side (especially, when have some ongoing serious health related problems).
Final Conclusion
Getting into a ketosis state takes around 4 to 8 days depending on glycogen storage in your body. The diet seems odd in the starting days but all the negative symptoms will go away with the time. There is a long list of keto-diet foods including whey protein, nuts, bacon, sausage, eggs, butter, salmon, olive oil, and more or anything else that includes high fat & protein amount and zero carbs. As you can’t intake many vegetables during ketosis, you need to take a vitamin pill to maintain the level. The diet is really difficult to follow, if you’re serious about it then you need to have a strong willpower. In short, keto is one of the best short-term diets you can follow for weight loss or cutting.
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