Keto Diet for Weight Loss

In the last decade, the number of people interested in losing weight or follow a healthier diet has grown dramatically and the internet is constantly updated with new diets that claim to provide amazing results in a short period of time.

One of these popular diets is the keto diet. This diet was first developed in the 1920s for children with epilepsy but has gained more fans in recent years, described as being a “magical tool”. Even celebrities adhered to the keto diet trend, including Britney Spears that lost more than 20 pounds.

However, it’s extremely important to make clear that celebrities, like Britney Spears, Kourtney Kardashian or Halle Berry, all had professionals that made specific plans for them. So, if you’re interested in trying out this keto diet for weightloss yourself, I advise you to seek help from a nutritionist first. This because the keto diet may cause more harm than good to some people, especially for those on medications or with any health problem.

KETO DIET FOR WEIGHT LOSS: WHAT IS THE KETO DIET?

The Keto diet is a low-carb, high-fat ketogenic diet that adjusts your body to use stored fat for energy instead of carbohydrates. This means that the keto diet puts your body into a “ketosis” state, a natural process to help us survive when food intake is low.

Your body uses whatever energy source is most readily available. This is normally glucose (sugar) and insulin converted from carbohydrates. Glucose is the easiest molecule for your body to convert and use as energy so that it will be chosen over any other energy source. Insulin, on the other hand, is produced to process the glucose in your bloodstream by taking it around the body.

 In theory, if you drastically limit your carbohydrate consumption and replace it with fat, your body will eventually be forced to use fat from food or your stores as energy instead. This is known as the ketosis process.

KETO DIET FOR WEIGHT LOSS: LOW CARBOHYDRATE DIET

To induce ketosis, you can only eat about 20 to 50g of carbohydrates per day if you’re on 2,000 calories a day. To put this into perspective, however, just a banana already contains about 20g of carbohydrates. In addition, you have to moderate your protein intake, as it can encourage the production of glucose and interrupt ketosis.

KETO DIET FOR WEIGHT LOSS: DOES IT WORK?

Well, if you’re looking for rapid weight loss, research showed a ketogenic diet is a good option. However, the weight loss you’ll experience will be mainly water loss and not as much fat loss. Also, after one year, the weight loss effect will become like other dietary approaches. The health risk of the keto diet depends on the types of food you’ll eat. Foods containing carbohydrates are often also high in fibre, which is important for a healthy gut microbiome and keeping you fuller for longer.

So, it’s important to ensure that you eat enough fibre-rich foods from leafy greens if you’re on a keto diet for weightloss:

• Broccoli,

• Cauliflower,

• Clax seeds,

• Nuts,

• Coconut,

• Avocado.

Also, the keto diet for weightloss limits starchy vegetables such as carrots, sweet potatoes, parsnips, pumpkin, and squash and eliminates many fruits. This might restrict the amount and variety of nutrients, vitamins, and phytochemicals (plant power) you get from your food, especially if you remove them rather than replace them. People who restrict their carbohydrates and increase fatty foods may develop “keto flu”. There is very little medical research on this, but there are thousands of personal testimonies. Though it sounds unpleasant, it isn’t necessarily unsafe, and many reports indicate the discomfort subsides. It is also not clear whether it only occurs on the keto diet or can be caused by other restrictive diets.

HOW TO DO THE KETO DIET FOR WEIGHT LOSS?

You want to keep your carbohydrates limited, coming mostly from vegetables, nuts, and dairy. Don’t eat any refined carbohydrates such as wheat (bread, pasta, cereals), starch (potatoes, beans, legumes) or fruit. The small exceptions to this are avocado, star fruit, and berries which can be consumed in moderation.

You can’t eat:

• Grains – wheat, corn, rice, cereal, etc.

• Sugar – honey, agave, maple syrup, etc.

• Fruit – apples, bananas, oranges, etc.

• Tubers – potato, yams, etc.

You have to eat:

• Meats – fish, beef, lamb, poultry, eggs, etc.

• Leafy Greens – Spinach, kale, etc.

• Above ground vegetables – broccoli, cauliflower, etc.

• High Fat Dairy – hard cheeses, high fat cream, butter, etc.

• Nuts and seeds – macadamias, walnuts, sunflower seeds, etc.

• Avocado and berries – raspberries, blackberries, and other low glycemic impact berries.

• Sweeteners – stevia, erythritol, monk fruit, and other low-carb sweeteners.

• Other fats – coconut oil, high-fat salad dressing, saturated fats, etc.

KETO DIET FOR WEIGHT LOSS TIPS

• If you’re finding yourself hungry throughout the day, you can snack on nuts, seeds, cheeses, or almond butter to curb your appetite. But remember, that snacking can slow progress in the long term. Sometimes we can confuse the want to snack with the need for a meal.

• Chronic stress will severely hinder your body’s ability to enter ketosis. This is because the stress hormone cortisol elevates your blood sugar levels, which prevents your body from burning fats for energy because there is too much sugar in the blood. So, if you are currently going through a high-stress period in your life, starting the ketogenic diet may not be the best idea.

• Poor sleep will increase levels of your stress hormones. As explained above, that can prevent you from getting into fat-burning mode. Maintaining a proper sleep schedule on a keto diet where you go to bed at the same time every day will help improve your quality of sleep. It’s critical to get at least seven to nine hours of sleep every night. But if you’re currently getting way less than that, try scaling back by a half-hour every night until you hit your sleep goal.

• Maintaining a regular exercise schedule while on the keto diet can boost your ketone levels and help you transition into a low carb, high-fat lifestyle much quicker than without exercise. To get into ketosis, your body needs to get rid of any glucose present in the body. Exercising uses different types of energy for fuel including carbohydrates, fats, and amino acids. The more frequently you exercise, the quicker your body depletes its glycogen stores. Once your body has gotten rid of its glycogen storages, it will seek out other forms of fuel and will turn to fat for energy through ketosis.

Now that you understand the keto diet for weightloss and how it works, you can download this 14 day keto meal plan.