This article is in our Keto Diet Series:
1) Four Common Mistakes that Sabotage Health and Fat Loss
2) Keto Diet 101: The Science Behind Ketogenic Diet
3) Six Reasons Why the Keto Diet is the Holy Grail for Fat Loss
The key concept is Ketosis
Ketosis is the metabolic process in which fat is used for energy instead of glucose. Usually, your body gets most of its energy from glucose, which is found in your blood.
Most of the carbohydrates you eat, like starches and sugars, are made up of glucose. Your body breaks down the carbs into glucose, which it then uses as fuel. The rest is stored in your liver, which uses it when it’s needed.
When you eat very few carbs, these glucose stores start to run out. Your body burns fat for energy when it doesn’t have enough carbs to burn.
So how does it work?
When your body breaks down fat, it produces the chemical bodies called ketones which is form energy. The ketones become the main source of energy for your body and brain.
Your body can get the fat it needs to make ketones from the food you eat (aka. nutritional ketosis) or from fat stores in your body. Your body naturally generates a small quantity of ketones in the liver. However, when your glucose level falls, so does your insulin level. As a result, your liver produces more ketones to ensure there is adequate fuel for your brain. During ketosis, your blood has a lot of ketones because of this.
Key takeaway: Ketosis is the metabolic process that burns fat to produce ketones, which serve as main energy source. When body is low on glucose, it burns more fat to generate ketones.
What is ketogenic diet?
The ketogenic diet, or the keto diet for short, alters the method in which your body processes food. The majority of the fuel that your body requires comes from the carbs that you consume in your diet. The Ketogenic Diet is a way of eating that drastically lowers your carbohydrate intake and trains your body to use fat for energy instead.
The ketogenic diet emphasizes fat over protein and carbs. A typical keto diet has 70% to 80% fat, 10% to 20% protein, and 5% to 10% carbs.
Many foods that are high in nutrients also have a lot of carbs. This includes fruits and vegetables, as well as whole grains. On the keto diet, you can’t eat a lot of carbs from any source. So you’ll have to stop eating bread, cereal, and other grains, and you’ll have to cut back a lot on fruits and veggies. Foods that are high in fat and suitable for the ketogenic diet include:
- Eggs 🍳
- Fish and meat 🥩
- Butter, cream & cheese 🧀
- Seeds and nuts 🌰 🥜
- Canola and olive oils
What is the timeframe for entering ketosis?
A typical ketogenic diet consists of 20–50 grams of carbs per day and takes two–four days to achieve. But the time it takes to reach this state depends on a number of things. You might not be in ketosis for a week or more. The time it takes to reach this condition may be affected by variables such as ages, the amount of carbs you have been consuming, degree of physical exercise, rate of metabolism, quality of sleep and stress level.
As you can see, the keto diet is the only piece of the jigsaw if reducing weight is your aim, but it may also be the most important one.When beginning a ketogenic diet, it might take longer to enter ketosis if you have been eating a high-carbohydrate diet before. This is due to the fact that your body must first use up all of its glucose reserves. Through the use of intermittent fasting, you could be able to enter ketosis more quickly. The most common way to do intermittent fasting is to eat everything you need to eat in eight hours. The following 16 hours are fasted.
Learn more about how keto diet has helped others achieved their ideal weights
Key takeaway: the requierd timeframe to achieve ketosis is two to four days during which carb intake is capped at 50 gram per day.
What are the advantages of being in ketosis?
Many potential health advantages have been linked to ketosis. One of the best things about ketosis may be that it helps you lose weight, as supported by numerous studies. A study by European Journal of Clinical Nutrition concluded that you may find that you eat less as a result of feeling less hungry. It aids in the reduction of visceral fat (commonly known as belly fat) without causing any other muscle loss. Ketosis could also help treat and manage various diseases.
1) The ketogenic diet has also showed promise in the treatment of neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, autism, and even glioblastoma.
2) The keto diet helps Type 2 diabetics lose weight and regulate blood sugar.
3) The keto diet may reduce your risk of heart disease by decreasing your blood pressure and triglycerides while increasing HDL (“good”) cholesterol.
4) The keto diet may minimize the risk of metabolic syndrome, which increases heart disease risk.
5) Focus and energy levels have also been reported to improve during ketosis. The ketogenic diet provides the energy your body needs while decreasing inflammation. Findings from studies imply that ketones may be a more optimal fuel source for the brain than glucose.
A keto meal plan tailored to your body, situation, goals, and taste buds is the answer to sustainable weight loss. We explain the 4 common mistakes to weight loss in this article.
Learn more about how keto diet has helped others achieved their ideal weight
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Supporting Sources:
1) Harvard T.H.CHAN. School of Public Health. Diet Review: Ketogenic Diet for Weight Loss
2) Paoli, A., Rubini, A., Volek, J. S., & Grimaldi, K. A. (2013). Beyond weight loss: a review of the therapeutic uses of very-low-carbohydrate (ketogenic) diets. European journal of clinical nutrition, 67(8), 789–796. https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2013.116
3) Bueno, N. B., de Melo, I. S., de Oliveira, S. L., & da Rocha Ataide, T. (2013). Very-low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet v. low-fat diet for long-term weight loss: a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. The British journal of nutrition, 110(7), 1178–1187. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007114513000548
4) Cleveland Clinic, Ketosis.
This article does not provide medical advice. It is intended for informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Never ignore professional medical advice in seeking treatment because of something you have read on the healthysolutions.fit Site. If you think you may have a medical emergency, immediately call your doctor or dial 911.
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