You’ve probably heard about the keto diet, so you are here, even if you may not know exactly what the keto diet is. Don’t worry; we’ll explore all about the keto diet.
Interest in the ketogenic diet has been on the rise among the general population and medical professionals alike.
The keto diet is a low-carb, high-fat diet. It involves drastically reducing carbohydrate intake and replacing it with fat. This reduction in carbs puts your body into a metabolic state called ketosis.
Several scientific studies in the recent past have found this low-carb, high-fat diet to be very beneficial in addressing numerous health concerns.
It is managing Type 2 diabetics and weight loss.
There are lots of kinds of stuff about the keto diet. Is it really safe? Are there long-term effects, and can it really help you lose weight and keep it off?
We’ll explore the keto diet in this eBook so you can. Let’s decide for yourself whether this lifestyle change is right for you or not.
Let’s begin!
What Is Keto Diet Or Ketogenic Diet?
The low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet or keto diet is one of the most popular diets in the United States.
Social media is flooded with before and after photos shared by the fans who credit the diet for life-altering weight loss or other health benefits.
The Ketogenic Diet-forces your body into a ketogenic state and the process known as ketosis.
Ketosis is a metabolic state in which your body uses fat for fuel instead of carbs.
Let’s understand the Keto Diet Breakdown
While everyone’s body and needs are diverse, the keto diet breakdown (or a typical macro ratio for keto) looks like this –
- 60-75% of calories from fat
- 15-30% calories from proteins
- 5-10% calories from carbs
If you go on a ketogenic diet, you’ll be getting around 75% of your calories from fat, which the body burns as fuel when it can’t get carbs.
You’ll also be dropping your carb intake to about 5 to 10 % of total daily calories and getting the rest of the 15-30% from proteins.
Usually, 50-60% of calories come from carbs, but in the keto diet, it’s exactly the opposite – you are going to get 60-70% of your calories from fats.
We all learned in school a healthy, well-balanced diet consisting of 20-35% protein, 45-65% carbs, and only 10-35% fat.
While you follow a keto diet, your body will become very good at burning fat, which of course, is exactly what you want when you’re trying to lose weight.
It also helps turn your fat into ketones in your liver, which your brain can use for energy. This diet is known to drastically lower blood sugar and insulin levels, where diabetic benefits come in.
There are two basic types of keto diet: standard and high protein.
The standard diet is discussed above, with around 70-80% fat, around 20% proteins, and only 5-10% carbs.
The high protein keto diet, just as it sounds, tweaks the proportions to add more proteins.
You drop the fat to around 60% and increase the protein percentage to 35%.
How & Why Keto Diet Work?
Let us understand how a keto diet works. Let’s look at your digestive system and how it responds to fewer carbs.
When you eat carbs, found in anything from fruits, vegetables, or any foods, your digestive system breaks them down into glucose.
Glucose is used to provide energy for the body, and the digestive system isn’t particularly picky about where the glucose comes from.
This glucose is stored in a couple of ways in your body: glycogen in the liver and muscle tissue and as adipose or fat.
When your body can’t get sufficient carbs to turn into glucose, it will start to burn fat instead.
This metabolic state is called ketosis because one of the by-products of this fat-burning is ketones, which can also be used for energy.
The most effective way to get your body into ketosis is to follow a ketogenic (keto) diet to limit your carb intake severely (remember that 5%to 10%).
That’s around 20-50 grams a day. The rest of the time, you fill up on fats and proteins like meat, fish, eggs, nuts, and healthy oils (like coconut or avocado).
It’s just as essential to limit your protein intake, though, because if you overeat protein, your body will sneakily start turning some of it into glucose, which it likes better than fat.
Intermittent fasting could also help you enter ketosis faster. Such as limiting your meals to eight hours during the day and fasting the remaining sixteen hours.
Mitochondria And Ketogenic Diet
Mitochondria are essentially your battery chargers. You have thousands of mitochondria in each one of your cells – their job is to turn the food you eat into fuel for your body.
The mitochondria use two primary sources– sugar (which comes from foods like fruits, bread, etc., that you eat) and fats.
Fat gets broken down into ketones, and sugar gets broken down into glucose. So, which one is a better fuel source for your mitochondria?
When sugar gets broken down in mitochondria and mitochondria try to use it as fuel, it creates more free radicals creating oxidative stress. Whereas fat, it turns out, is a cleaner and better fuel source for mitochondria.
Fats give you more energy than sugars do.
So, for mitochondria, fats are a better source of fuel. In ketosis, your body uses fat for fuel rather than sugar.
So, being in a state of ketosis means upping your fats to get your body to use fat as a form of energy.
But how to get to this state of ketosis? Just eat more fat, and you should be able to start burning fat right away, right? Sadly, it’s not so easy.
Because we have an abundance of carbohydrates in our diet, our body gets stuck in the sugar-burning mode so; transitioning to the state where we are burning fat for fuel is difficult.
Entering full ketosis takes time, but once you achieve ketosis, you will experience all the incredible benefits that come with it.
Patience and persistence are the things you will need in abundance to pursue ketosis.
Benefits Of Ketogenic Diet
The keto diet has a massive fan following, and rightly so. Indeed, there are several recognized benefits and potential benefits of being in ketosis.
Once you experience its benefits, you will understand why reducing sugar-burning and increasing ketosis is good for you.
A ketogenic diet may provide many health benefits, especially with metabolic, neurological, or insulin-related diseases.
Let’s check out the benefits: –
More Energy – ketosis provides more long-lasting Energy.
Mitochondria Health – ketosis increases the number of mitochondria, the powerhouse in brain cells. The increased production of mitochondria gives you more Energy and increased fuel supply throughout the day.
Blood Sugar Management – ketosis stabilizes blood sugar. In people with type 2 diabetes, being in ketosis can help normalize blood sugar levels and improve insulin sensitivity.
While the studies have been mostly small, they do seem to show that a super-low-carb diet (like the ketogenic diet) might reduce A1C (a measure of how much glucose is in the bloodstream) and improve insulin sensitivity in the cells by as much as 75%.
Anti-inflammatory – ketosis lowers inflammation levels and protects your body from many inflammatory diseases. It allows your body to recover quicker and rejuvenates your health.
Appetite Regulation – being in ketosis suppresses appetite so, you are not hungry often. It aids in weight loss.
Effortless Weight Loss – keto helps in rapid weight loss. Restricting carbs leads to the state of ketosis, which causes a significant reduction in body fat.
Clears Brain Fog – ketosis helps the brain produce optimal amounts of GABA, an inhibitory neurotransmitter. GABA reduces brain fog, allowing you to focus better and be more productive.
Epilepsy. Research has shown that the ketogenic diet can cause significant reductions in seizures in epileptic children. Children can have 30 to 40% fewer seizures by rigorously following the diet.
Alzheimer’s disease. Some studies have shown an increase in cognitive function when Alzheimer’s patients follow a ketogenic diet.
Parkinson’s disease. Research funded by the Michael J. Fox Foundation has studied the effects of a keto diet on Parkinson’s Disease.
Heart disease. A high-fat diet would create havoc with the cardiovascular system, but studies have shown that a keto diet might help lower triglycerides, HDL, and LDL levels. A keto diet reduces cholesterol over a long period of time.
Since high cholesterol levels are associated with heart disease,
this is good news. A study showed that a ketogenic diet could be associated with lower cardiovascular health risks.
Cancer. Research suggests that a ketogenic diet might even have anti-tumor effects due to the lower calorie intake and lower circulating glucose levels (which would help the tumor to grow rapidly)
In a 2014 review of animal studies, a keto diet was shown to help reduce tumor growth and cancer in the colon, stomach, and brain. Human research is needed, though, with larger sample sizes, but the initial results seem heartening.
In a small study in 2016, multiple sclerosis patients were put on a ketogenic diet for six months. They reported improved quality of life, mental health improvements, and physical improvements.
Ketogenic Diets Can Help You Lose Weight
Weight loss is one of the reasons the keto diet has become so popular.
Among the many weight-loss diets, research has found keto to be superior.
Keto not only helps you burn body fat but also makes you feel less hungry. It is a satisfying and filling diet. In effect, you can lose weight without tracking calories.
Keto helps you maintain muscles. If you follow the keto diet, you must carefully check food labels and track your total intake of carbs each day. It requires paying close attention to food choices.
Not veering off the track and remaining focused on your keto goals would help too.
Calorie Restriction: cutting carbs significantly reduces the total number of calories you’re eating every day, which is proven to result in weight loss. Many diets depend on calorie counting to succeed.
Water Loss: the keto diet also works by reducing the amount of glycogen in your body. Glycogen, remember, is one way your body stores glucose, and it’s bound up with water in this form.
So, if you break down the glycogen, water is released and excreted. This means you lose a good deal of “water weight” in a short period.
Appetite Control: fat and protein satiate you, so you don’t feel as hungry all the time. In addition, the keto diet may also help suppress the hunger hormone (ghrelin), which is good news for most dieters.
Research shows that the ketogenic diet may be as effective for weight loss as a low-fat diet.
Besides, you will need to exercise vigorously to derive maximum benefits from your keto diet.
It would help if you tried doing any of these exercises – high-intensity exercises, aerobic exercises, or resistance training. Sticking to two meals a day will help you lose weight as fast as possible.
Among the many weight-loss diets, research has found keto to be superior. Keto not only helps you burn body fat but also makes you feel less hungry. It is a satisfying and filling diet. In effect, you can lose weight without tracking calories. Keto helps you maintain muscles.
If you follow the keto diet, you have to carefully check food labels and keep track of your total intake of carbs each day. It requires paying close attention to food choices. Not veering off the track and remaining focused on your keto goals would help too.
Besides, you will need to exercise vigorously to derive maximum benefits from your keto diet. It would help if you tried doing any of these exercises – high-intensity exercises, aerobic exercises, or resistance training. Sticking to two-meals a day will help you lose weight as fast as possible.
Keto Isn’t For Everyone (Is It For You?)
The truth is the ketogenic diet isn’t for everyone. We already mentioned athletes and bodybuilders who do require carbs for quick energy while working out.
Carbs release insulin, which drives protein into your muscles faster for bodybuilding and peak performance. Glucose also builds up your glycogen stores for longer training sessions or runs and hikes.
So, if you’re a dedicated athlete or bodybuilder, you might find this diet just doesn’t work for you.
Another downside is that your body isn’t used to using ketones for energy when you start a ketogenic diet.
When you make that switch, you come down with a temporary condition called “keto flu,” where you may feel fatigue, headaches, and nausea.
The ketogenic diet also affects your electrolyte balance, which might give you a feeling of “brain fog” on top of the other reactions.
You may also notice bad breath at first because your body is breaking down fat instead of glucose, and that results in acetone production.
Your sweat and urine may also smell foul. Thankfully, all these negatives are only temporary so that you won’t stink for the rest of your life.
If you’re not careful about your food choices when following a keto diet, you may also find constipation a problem.
You’re cutting out your significant sources of dietary fiber, after all, like whole grains and fruit. You need to increase your consumption of fiber-rich veggies and even think about taking a fiber supplement while you’re on a diet.
And as with all diets, the ketogenic diet can interfere with your relationship to your food. You might find yourself obsessing over what you can and cannot eat.
And remember all those social eating occasions, too. No more birthday cake. No pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving. No pasta.
If you’re a gourmet who loves everything about food, this diet might not be the right choice for you.
Foods: Reference List
Foods to avoid:
Anything high in carbs should be avoided, of course. But what foods, exactly, have carbohydrates?
Here’s a short list:
- Sugars: cake, candy, sodas, sweetened drinks, fruit juices, smoothies, etc. Check the nutrition label if you’re not certain.
- Grains (“starches”): anything made with wheat (bread, cookies, etc.), pasta, rice, cereals, oats, etc.
- Root vegetables: potatoes, carrots, parsnips, sweet potatoes, etc.
- Fruit: basically, any fruit except small portions of berries; and watch trail mixes with dried fruit in them
- Low-fat or “diet” products: low-fat mayonnaise, salad dressings, condiments, etc.
- Artificial sugars: sugar-free candies, puddings, sodas, sweeteners, etc.
- Alcohol: beer, wine, mixed drinks, etc.
- Some condiments: ketchup, honey mustard, barbecue sauce, teriyaki sauce, etc.
- Unhealthy fats: processed vegetable oils, mayonnaise, etc.
Foods to include:
One good trick to this diet is to eat whole, single-ingredient foods without all the sauces or dressings.Here are some specific foods you definitely can eat on a keto diet:
- Meats: red meat (like steak or beef roast), ham, bacon, sausage, chicken, turkey, etc.
- Fatty Fish: salmon, tuna, trout, and mackerel
- Eggs: pasture-raised, free-range, or Omega-3 whole eggs
- Butter & Cream: grass-fed butter and heavy cream
- Cheeses: unprocessed cheese like cheddar, goat, cream, blue, or mozzarella
- Avocados: either whole or in freshly made guacamole
- Low-carb Vegetables: green veggies, tomatoes, peppers, onions, etc.
- Nuts & Seeds: almonds, walnuts, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, etc.
- Healthy Oils: extra-virgin olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil
- Condiments: salt, pepper, herbs, and spices
- Natural sweeteners: erythritol, monk fruit, or stevia
==> Click Here To Download Your Free Keto Recipes
The Top 4 Keto Trouble Foods
Keto diet restricts your carb intake so, certain foods (with some hidden ingredients that are not suitable for ketosis) can spell trouble, especially during the transition period. These are some foods that can ruin your ketosis goal.
Sugar is the big no-no. You’ll need to cut out all carbonated drinks, fruit juice, and sports beverages. Avoiding sweets, pastries, cakes, cookies, chocolates, donuts, frozen treats, and breakfast cereals will go a long way in helping you to stay in ketosis.
For this to happen, reading labels is very important. Read labels for hidden sugars, particularly in sauces, packaged drinks, dressings, and processed foods.
Cereal, rice, crackers, pasta, and bread are high in carbs. Plus, some grains contain gluten, which is harmful to some people. Avoid as many grains as possible.
However, you can have low-carb and high-fiber grains like oats, quinoa, millet, and barley in moderation.
Grains like oats, quinoa, millet, and barley, which are high in fiber and low in carbs, can be had in moderation.
As long as you have no allergy or sensitivity, you can incorporate dairy products like whipped cream, heavy cream, rich cheeses, total fat, and thick yogurts in your ketogenic diet. However, you should know that not all forms of dairy are keto-friendly.
Some dairy products have carbs in them. Moreover, some people find dairy products hard to digest. So, the trick lies in not going overboard with dairy consumption.
You can eat butter, hard cheeses, heavy cream, and Greek yogurts but stay away from ice creams, flavored milk, and puddings.
Although alcohol isn’t strictly forbidden in the keto diet, it can impede your transition from burning sugar to burning fat.
If you avoid alcohol during the transition phase, it will help you immensely.
Once you get fat-adapted, you can have an occasional glass of wine (which is lower in carbs than beer). Both whiskey and vodka contain zero carbs; you can have them too.
Thighs You Need To Know When Start Keto
Staying on a ketogenic diet long-term may carry with it, some negative effects.
As with all diets, check with your doctor to be sure it’s safe with your condition or medications.
You need to know all the factors related keto diet, and we are trying to solve all your queries.
Ketosis Vs Ketoacidosis
There is a lot of misconception among people with diabetes about ketosis. People with diabetes believe that because of ketoacidosis, keto is not for them. But not every diabetic can get ketoacidosis because of ketosis.
Ketosis is a state in which ketones accumulate in your blood. Ketosis can occur when a person is fasting or following a very low-carbohydrate diet (keto diet). Ketosis is quite common when you wake up in the morning as your body was “fasting” during the night. So, there is always a minimal level of ketones in your body at a given time.
Ketoacidosis is a potential complication that can occur if a diabetic person does not have enough insulin.
If a person lacks sufficient insulin, the body cannot use glucose for energy. As a result, ketoacidosis develops because of high levels of both ketone and blood glucose.
Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is most prevalent in type 1 diabetes when blood glucose is very high, and although rare, type 2 diabetes people can also have DKA if ketones are too high.
However, people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes can follow the keto diet because it can decrease blood glucose levels. When you remove carbs from the diet, your blood sugar levels drop. So, keto improves blood sugar management and insulin sensitivity.
But it would be best if you did so under the supervision of your physician and dietitian. They can advise you on how best to monitor ketones and insulin and thus prevent ketoacidosis from occurring.
Getting Keto-Adapted Or Fat Adapted
The goal of the ketogenic diet is to enter a state of ketosis by burning fat. So, the keto diet drastically reduces your carbohydrate consumption.
When you significantly reduce your carbohydrate consumption, you limit your body’s glucose supply (sugar), your primary energy source. Your body eventually runs out of fuel (glucose) and then starts to break down fat and protein for energy.
This state is called ketosis. However, the transition from burning sugar to burning fat is a difficult one and takes time.
One of the most common side effects of the keto diet is the “keto-flu.” This term describes the unpleasant symptoms like fatigue, brain fog, headache, muscle cramps, weakness, and nausea that occur as the body adjusts from a high-carb to an extremely low-carb diet.
Getting keto-adapted can take as little as a few days and or as much as several weeks or even months. While the length of time to get keto-adapted varies, ketosis begins after the first few days. Then, after a few days, you suddenly start feeling the positive effects of ketosis.
The Importance Of Insulin With Ketosis
As far as ketosis is concerned, one of the critical hormones is insulin. Insulin is the hormone that your body creates to metabolize carbs.
The more carbs you eat, the more insulin you need. If your goal is ketosis, insulin is not suitable for you. The keto diet’s goal is to promote the ketone bodies formation for energy; however, insulin suppresses ketone production.
So, if your goal is to achieve ketosis and stay in ketosis, your main aim should be to minimize insulin as much as possible. The easiest way to accomplish this is by changing your diet. Your body produces insulin in response to different foods.
By changing what you eat and reducing your blood sugar levels, you can minimize insulin production.
Hacks For Dealing With The Keto-Flu
Keto-flu is an unpleasant experience you may have to go through when you embark on the keto diet.
It can happen to you if you drastically and suddenly eliminate carbs from your diet. The symptoms that appear as a result of carb reduction can make you feel miserable.
However, there are ways to reduce these flu-like symptoms and help your body get through the transition period more easily.
• Bone Broth
Bone broth is a kind of soup in which the bones and cartilage of chicken/beef are simmered in water.
This broth is highly nutritious – it is full of minerals, amino acids, and proteins such as collagen and gelatin. Bone broth is low in carbs, improves your gut health, and makes the transition period smooth.
Consuming bone broth can be a preventative measure against the keto-flu in the keto diet’s early stages.
• Exogenous Ketones
Exogenous ketones are ketone supplements that can help you during your low-carb diet.
There are two types of exogenous ketone supplements: ketone salts and ketone esters.
These supplements are available in a variety of forms, including drinks, pills, and powders. Exogenous ketones could help a person achieve ketosis.
• Exercise
High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is a challenging workout module. It is the best way to kick your fat! HIIT is an intense short-burst exercise – you can get an effective workout done in less than 20 minutes.
• Sauna
Saunas can reduce stored toxins in the body. The heat from the sauna triggers cellular activity in your body and makes you sweat profusely. Detoxification and sweating may help you to get into ketosis quickly.
• Water & Electrolytes
Staying hydrated is very important during ketosis because a drop in insulin levels reduces salt and water from your body.
Because you lose water, you lose a lot of electrolytes too. Make sure to add a little bit more salt to your diet. Get more potassium and magnesium.
Keto-friendly foods that are rich sources of both potassium and magnesium are aplenty. Sodium and calcium rich-food should also be incorporated to counter electrolyte imbalance.
Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated. Adequate sodium, potassium, magnesium, and water will help you avoid many of the unpleasant side effects of being in ketosis.
It’s important to stay strong during this challenging transition period. Know that this unpleasantness is only for the short-term, and if you can overcome it, you will reap some fantastic benefits.
==> Click Here To Download Your Free Keto Recipes
Keto And Minerals
Maintaining your levels of minerals or electrolytes such as sodium, magnesium, and potassium is critical during ketosis.
Electrolytes are minerals found in the body that are vital for cellular and other bodily functions. Electrolytes also maintain hydration and acidity levels in the body.
Each electrolyte must remain within a healthy range for your body to perform at its optimum level but staying within range can be difficult when starting with the keto diet.
Once you drastically reduce your carb intake, your body begins to process electrolytes differently. On keto, your insulin is lowered, causing the kidneys to expel more sodium.
As your body begins to excrete sodium, the balance of other vital electrolytes in your body is also impacted. When your body doesn’t have enough electrolytes, you may suffer from the dreaded “keto-flu”. So, it would help if you increased the intake of these electrolytes through diet or another supplementation.
Exercise And Ketosis
Exercise is one of the most helpful things you can do to complement your high-fat keto diet. When you’re in ketosis, your body uses body fat as your primary energy source.
Working out during keto can deliver not only great health benefits but also can help you to get keto-adapted quickly.
How Often Should You Workout?
Whether you are on a keto diet or not, physical exercise is a crucial pillar of optimal health. Exercising during the keto diet is vital.
The carbs you eat give you the power needed during any strenuous physical activity. Since you drastically reduce your carb intake during the keto diet, you must start slowly as far as exercising is concerned.
Start with a low-intensity, steady-state workout and gradually build up your strength so that you can easily do high-intensity workouts.
Workouts can fasten fat-burning and can help you to get fat-adapted quickly.
Of course, you don’t want to go overboard with exercising. Be slow and steady and achieve your goal.
When To Test Your Ketone Levels
Ketone testing can help you determine whether you are on the right track following the keto diet.
Ketones levels change through the day in response to the food we eat and our body’s response to it. You may want to test at various times throughout the day to see how your ketosis level varies.
Urine testing strips, blood ketone tests, the breathalyzer can help you to measure ketones.
• Early Morning
Testing for ketones early in the morning (immediately after getting up) is a good idea. Do write down your readings so that you can compare them to subsequent readings and determine how far you have progressed in your keto-journey.
• Night
Testing at night gives you a chance to check how you went about your day. For example, you tested yourself in the morning, and all was good – you were in ketosis.
You return home at night after a hard day’s work and after meeting your friends. You test yourself and, to your horror, find that you are not in ketosis anymore.
So, now you can backtrack your steps and think about where you went
wrong. So, checking for ketones at night can help you to be on your toes.
• Glucometer
A glucometer can come in handy as it can help to keep track of your blood sugar levels. Being in ketosis, you need to have low blood sugar levels.
It will also help you to determine which types of carbs you can eat. Ideally, it would help if you had carbs that do not linger for too long in your system.
Long-Term Tracking
Tracking and measuring are valuable, especially at the start when you are getting into ketosis.
You will need to test a lot in the beginning because you will need to gather data to determine whether you are on the right track.
Once you become fat-adapted and are consistently getting a good ketosis level, you can stop your daily testing.
You can then start spacing out your tests. You can carry out tests more for maintenance and for wellness. You test to make sure that you are staying in ketosis.
What is Ketometer?
Knowing your blood ketone levels can be beneficial. It can motivate you because it is the kind of information that lets you know where you are and whether you need to make a change to reach your goal.
However, a ketometer and ketone testing blood strips can be quite expensive, but you get a significant amount of data from them.
A blood ketometer helps you monitor your blood ketones. You have to prick your finger and put a drop of blood on the test strip.
The ketone levels tell you whether you are in light ketosis (0.5-0.8 mmol/L), moderate ketosis (0.9-1.4 mmol/L), and high ketosis (1.5 – 3.0 mmol/L). For weight loss, you need to be in high ketosis.
Keto Sticks
You will need keto strips or keto sticks to determine whether your diet needs adjusting to reach and maintain ketosis.
If you want to know if you’re in ketosis, urine keto sticks are an inexpensive and easy way of finding out. A keto sticks kit contains from 50 to several hundred strips. However, the results are not always accurate.
But if you’re not too concerned about being super specific on this and just want to get a general idea if you are in ketosis, then urine strips are incredibly convenient.
How Do The Urine Strips Work?
- Take a urine sample in a container.
- Immerse the strip into the sample and then remove it.
- Compare the strip with the color chart on the bottle.
- The color reveals the concentration of ketones in your urine – it tells you how much into ketosis you are. The darker the color, the higher you are into ketosis.
Keto Breathalyzer
For cheap, non-invasive ketone testing, a keto breathalyzer is the best bet. Keto breathalyzer measures acetone on the breath in the same way alcohol breathalyzers measure ethanol.
Without help from a urine test or finger prick for blood, you can know if your body stays in ketosis by using a keto breathalyzer.
The Protein Problem
Your body needs only a certain amount of protein per day. This protein gets broken down into amino acids. But if you get too much protein per day (more than what your body needs for that day), your body has no way of storing this extra protein.
So, your body performs a metabolic process called Gluconeogenesis and converts excess amino acids into sugar. And sugar is what you don’t want when are you are trying to get into ketosis.
To accomplish your keto goals, you need very little protein, and you need to know what that optimal level of protein is.
How To Find The Right Amount Of Protein?
To remain in ketosis, you need enough protein but not too much.
You will need to strike the right balance between protein synthesis and breakdown. How much protein you need on a keto diet depends on your goals, body weight, and activity levels.
You can find the ideal protein intake for you by finding your lean body mass and dividing it by 2. To find your lean body mass multiply your total body weight by your body fat percentage.
This way, you will get the value of the minimum amount of protein to consume. If you are exercising intensively or if you are an athlete, you can increase your protein intake.
What To Expect When Going ‘Keto’
The keto diet aims to induce ketosis to burn more body fat. Your body goes through a transition period while it’s going through this change.
It undergoes many biological adaptations. Knowing the signs of ketosis can help a person prepare better for the challenges that lie ahead and determine whether the diet is working.
As we read earlier, keto-flu is something that everyone experiences during the transition period. When your body is starved of carbohydrates, flu-like symptoms appear.
You may experience nausea, headaches, fatigue, muscle aches, irritability, and brain fog. But all this is temporary and normal and will pass soon.
Some people may reach ketosis quicker than average, while others may take more time to reach ketosis.
A blood test is a definite way to tell you whether you are in ketosis or not. Even if you haven’t reached ketosis, your body is getting used to running off fats for fuel.
In a few days more, you will hit ketosis, and you’ll likely start feeling good. Your body gets used to the high-fat diet.
To stay in ketosis, you will need to continue with the low-carb diet. Some people can maintain their ketosis with about 50 grams of carbs a day, while others can stay in ketosis by eating even fewer carbs.
You’ll find your energy levels increasing and that you can go longer without eating between meals. Moreover, once your body gets fat-adapted, you can indulge in pizzaz and desserts once in a while and still get right back into ketosis.
Your Goals Change Your Ratios
The ketogenic ratio is the ratio of grams of fat to grams of carbohydrate plus protein. For ketosis, a typical adult must consume 20 to 50 grams (or even lesser) carbohydrates.
Usually, a keto diet consists of at least 70% of calories derived from fat, less than 10% from carbs, and less than 20% from protein. However, depending on your lifestyle, eating habits, and physical activity status, this ratio can be modified.
What you want to achieve through this diet is also crucial. You want to lose or maintain your weight, you are an athlete and want to improve your performance or want to get fitter physically – the ratio of fats, carbs, and proteins can be modified depending on your goals and requirements.
Quickest Route To Keto
The transition from burning sugar to burning fats for fuel is going to take time.
Moreover, the time required for getting into ketosis varies from person to person depending upon their body type, activity level, lifestyle, and carbohydrate intake.
There are several ways to speed up the process of ketosis. Let’s look at some of the things you can do to hasten this process.
Intermittent fasting – involves 16 hours of fasting and eight hours of eating. If you can increase it for up to 18 hours, it can be fantastic.
Drastically lower your carb intake – the goal is to get at or below your target grams of carbs based on the ketogenic calculator.
Add lots of high-quality fats – incorporate as much fatty food as possible in your diet.
Search for keto recipes – to keep up with your keto diet, search for keto recipes on the Internet.
Stick to 2 meals per day – your goal will be to stick to 2 meals per day with very little to no snacks. If you do want to have snacks, eat high-quality fatty snacks.
Exercise – exercise to break your fast. Even a 20 min workout before you break your fast is sufficient.
Meal after fast – should be full of healthy fat and protein.
Be physically active throughout the day – try to get 10000 steps a day.
Stay hydrated – drink plenty of water. Try to keep your electrolyte balance.
Stay consistent – think of the long-term gains and stay consistent. Do not deviate from your keto routine.
Keto-flu hacks – Make use of the keto-flu hacks to overcome the challenging transition.
Stay The Article
As you go through trying to get into ketosis and become fat-adapted, there will be bumps in the road.
But it’s essential to stay the course. Initially, that one slice of pizza or a few chips may tempt you. But remember that even a small bite of such foods could ruin your goals. So, stay the course.
Keep temptations at bay at least at the beginning of your ketosis journey because once your body gets fat-adapted, you are going to get some incredible health benefits.
Sneaky Sugar
If you’re trying to get into ketosis and become fat-adapted, it’s essential to check the labels on all the foods you buy from grocery stores to make sure that there is no hidden sugar in them.
The most common food group which has hidden sources of sugar is condiments. Ketchup, mustard, salad dressing, some sauces have sneaky sugars. Even protein powders, protein bars, and granola bars have hidden sugars.
These sugars can throw you out of ketosis. So, check, check and check food labels.
Fat Fueled Coffee
Fat fueled coffee or bulletproof coffee, or keto coffee gives you healthy fats to keep your body in ketosis.
It also gives you energy because it has some calories and some fuel to last through your intermittent fasting. You can also have it even when you are not fasting, just as a healthy fat source for your keto journey.
Add one tablespoon of coconut oil or MCT oil, one tablespoon of grass-fed unsalted butter to your coffee, and a dash of cinnamon or stevia or xylitol to your coffee to make it more interesting.
Exogenous Ketones
You can consume exogenous ketones to keep your body in ketosis.
Exogenous ketones are ketone supplements that you can take into your body from the outside – they are not produced internally by the body.
The exogenous ketone supplements contain only the beta-hydroxybutyrate ketone.
Ketone Supplements
There Are Two Types Of Ketone Supplements
Ketone salts – ketones are added to a salt, typically sodium, potassium, calcium, or magnesium. They are available in powder form.
Ketone esters – ketones are linked to esters. They are not readily available in the market.
Exogenous ketones act as appetite suppressors but are not a lose-weight-quickly solution. Moreover, they’re expensive. You will be paying around $50 or more for roughly 15 servings. So, if you don’t have the budget, you can skip exogenous ketones and instead spend the money buying whole foods.
What Are Bad Fats?
Avoid cooking oils like canola, cottonseed, and grapeseed, which are bad fats. These oils contain processed trans fats that are bad for your health. They can cause inflammation, wreak havoc with your gut, and generally cause more harm than good.
If you are on a keto diet, stick with these four oils – extra virgin olive oil, MCT oil, coconut oil, and avocado oil for cooking, baking, roasting, and frying. Fish oil is also suitable for keto.
Avoid Alcohol
Drinking alcohol during your keto journey is not prohibited per se – you can drink alcohol and still be in ketosis. But there’s a catch.
On the keto diet, your body uses fat instead of carbs for energy. In the absence of carbs, your liver turns fat into ketones.
When you drink alcohol, your body begins to metabolize the alcohol. Your liver focuses on processing alcohol, so it slows down the process of converting fats to ketones. In short, even a glass of alcohol will slow down your rate of ketosis.
Furthermore, the next morning after your alcohol indulgence can be even more challenging.
As your liver works hard to get rid of alcohol from your body, you may feel tired, have extra cravings for sugar, and will generally feel bad. So, avoid alcohol as much as possible. Once you get fat-adapted, you can zero in on the spirit that works best for you.
What If I Stop Keto?
Is it possible to stop keto and go back to your old carb-heavy lifestyle? After months of eating high fat, high protein, and minimal carbs, and being in ketosis, a sudden influx of carbs and sugar could wreak havoc on your body. So, you have to transition properly off the ketogenic diet.
If you are comfortable and like the keto lifestyle but want to have carbs once in a while, you can do that. The thing is, once your body gets fat-adapted, it gets much easier to get back into ketosis even after having carbs here and there. So, have carbs in moderation and let your body do the rest.
Can I Go Vegan With Keto?
Absolutely! You can go Vegan with keto. It’s possible to be vegan and be in ketosis.
A Vegan diet involves consuming only plant-based foods, such as vegetables, fruits, and grains, and avoiding animal-based foods like meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy. So, by significantly restricting carb intake (the keto diet’s primary requirement), you can go Vegan with keto.
However, you will need to do some research, planning, calculating, and self-experimentation to ensure that you meet all your ketosis goals and nutritional requirement.
Snacks
Finding healthy snacks to satisfy your mid-day cravings can be challenging for people who have just started their keto journey.
They have to keep in mind that to limit their carb intake and increase their fat intake. In such situations finding fat-laced but healthy snacks is critical. Here are some keto diet snacks that will help you meet your keto goals while never getting hungry.
- Nuts and seeds – are high in protein and healthy fats. Almonds, walnuts, pecans, chia seeds, and sunflower seeds are healthy choices.
- Olives – contain a large amount of fat but minimal protein. But they are high in sodium, so you need to be cautious with them.
- Avocados – are full of healthy fats and fiber.
- Kale chips – eating them is an easy and delicious way to satisfy your craving for hunger. Kale is nutrient-dense, and chips made from it are healthy.
- Fat bombs – can help you reach your daily macro levels as well as satisfy your hunger. Beacon-pepper fat bombs, smoked salmon fat bombs, fruity fat bombs, chocolate fat bombs have significantly fewer carbs and are loaded on fats.
However, eating too many snacks is never a good idea. You can consume exogenous ketones to help curb your appetite and last longer between your meals. Additionally, keeping hydrated is crucial.
Not Getting Into Ketosis?
Many people need longer than average to get into ketosis or get fat-adapted. If they feel that they are not getting into ketosis even after a couple of weeks, they can become impatient and worried. So, what could be going wrong for them?
The most common reason for not achieving ketosis is getting (subtly) too many carbs through the food. So, it would help if you scrutinized your diet.
The other reason could be eating too much protein. The keto diet allows for a moderate amount of protein. However, some people mistakenly consume a high amount of protein. Their bodies then break down excess proteins into amino acids and convert them to sugars, thus preventing them from getting into ketosis.
Things like constant snacking, drinking alcohol, little or no exercise, and no sweating could prevent you from achieving ketosis.
So, keeping a close watch on your diet, some high-intensity exercises, aerobic exercises, intermittent fasting, exogenous ketones, and bulletproof coffee can help you get into ketosis.
Digestive Troubles
The keto diet may affect your digestion and gut health, especially during the transition phase.
Unlike carbs, fats are not easily broken down by the body. Moreover, some people aren’t accustomed to metabolizing the amount of fat consumed in a keto diet.
Their bodies fail to make use of all the fat they’re eating, so the body tries to expel it, resulting in watery diarrhea. Additionally, the lack of fiber in the diet can lead to constipation.
Choose keto-friendly high-fiber foods, try fiber supplements, stay hydrated and generally go slow as you transition from a carb-less to fat-laden diet.
Having some digestive enzymes could help your body digest protein and fats efficiently.
Your digestive issues will get resolved with time as your digestion improves.
Avoiding water for 30 minutes after meals will give your digestive juices more time to act, making digestion easier.
Bone Broth
Bone broth is a great food that can support your body’s ability to digest fat. This nutrient-rich liquid is bioavailable – meaning the nutrients in it are readily absorbed by the body.
For making bone broth, animal bones are simmered in water for hours and hours. Due to this, all the minerals and nutrients from the bone
seep into the water. It makes for a healthy concoction. It is also a great transition food.
- The natural gelatin and collagen in bone broth can help with your digestive issues during ketosis.
- The nutrient-laden bone broth is incredibly good for your skin, teeth, and hair.
- Bone broth is high in the essential electrolytes – sodium, potassium, and salt.
- Bone broth is jam-packed with nutrients, so it can increase bone mineral density as well as lubricate your joints.
- Bone broth contains key amino acids like glycine and proline, which boost the levels of neurotransmitters like serotonin, GABA, and dopamine.
Conclusion
The ketogenic diet involves significantly cutting carbs and knowingly increasing your intake of healthy fats.
When you eat lots of fat and protein and substantially reduce carbs, your body slowly adapts and converts the fat and protein into ketone bodies, or ketones, for energy.
This metabolic process is called ketosis. The food you eat to get into ketosis forms the ketogenic diet or keto diet. The keto diet has become a mainstream phenomenon as more and more people are becoming aware of its various health benefits.
Everyone should know how many calories they need to sustain themselves and their diet.
A ketogenic calculator can give you (depending on your body weight and height) an approximate breakdown of calories and foods that you
can eat. Using a ketogenic calculator allows you to pick your optimal keto macros ratio and master the keto diet.
You will also need to acquaint yourself with keto foods and keto recipes. But beware of the deluge of information on social media. Some of the keto recipes available on social media contain hidden sugars.
In the keto diet, you need to avoid all sources of sugar. Strictly avoid bread, pasta, chips, pretzels that contain carbs. Fruits contain sugar or fructose. So, eat fruits sparingly and stick to berries.
You need to increases fat in your diet, so you need to add healthy fat. Try coconut oil, MCT oil, olive oil, avocado oil, and grass-fed butter (high in fat and calories). Nuts and seeds are full of healthy fats, fiber, and protein.
They also are very low in carbs. Heart-healthy avocados, plain Greek yogurt, cheese, fatty fish like salmon, sardines, mackerel, and tuna are also great for the keto diet as they contain high levels of omega-3 fats.
Organic or pastured eggs are high in proteins, B vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Unprocessed meats and grass-fed meats are low-carb and keto-friendly. Incorporating bone broth into your keto diet can be great for you.
Bone broth makes a great ‘transition’ food. Avoid protein powders that may contain hidden sugars.
Avoid processed meats, like sausages, cold cuts, and meatballs, as they often have added carbs. Stick to healthy sources of fats and proteins.
However, people who want to embark on the ketogenic journey should properly weigh all its pros and cons.
You must establish your goals beforehand –
Why do you want to start on a keto diet?
What are your goals? Do you have it in you to meet the challenges this diet will throw at you?
Before you start this diet, you should understand what exactly it entails.
It is also essential to understand what your body needs.
Hope this article answers your questions about the keto diet and ketosis and helps you on your keto journey.
