A ketogenic diet (so-called keto diet) is a diet that consists of low carbohydrates and relatively high amounts of fats and proteins in it, which in turn offers a lot of health benefits that help a person significant weight loss.
Research has proved that the ketogenic diet is beneficial for diseases like Diabetes or Cancer (Joshi Shilpa1 and Viswanathan Mohan2, 2018).
How do these ketogenic diets work to provide all these benefits to the human body?
The ketogenic diet reduces the carbohydrate intake in the body and replaces it with fats. A reduction in the number of carbs puts the body in a state called Ketosis .
It is a process in which the body does not have enough carbohydrates to burn to produce energy. Your body starts burning fats in place of carbohydrates, which helps you lose weight.
A ketogenic diet has some pros and cons. According to some studies, it is beneficial for cardiac problems; However, some research shows it is high in saturated fats.
Its long-term use may increase some people's LDL (low-density lipoproteins). As a result, it increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and some other heart problems like a heart attack or a stroke.
In addition to that, the ketogenic diet is not permissible for pregnant women, and a Keto diet is not allowed for nursing moms because low carbs can be life-threatening for them. Furthermore, people having liver, respiratory or cardiac diseases should avoid the ketogenic diet.
KETO DIET FOR WEIGHT LOSS
Ketogenic diets have been widely used worldwide for their weight loss properties. Keto-friendly foods are proven to help patients lose almost 2kg more weight than the other low-fat diets do in one year.
Almost all Ketogenic diets start with a restriction in the number of carbohydrates to less than 20 to 50 g/d (10% of energy intake) for about every two months. The period where there is an increase in weight loss starts at about 5 months because of the Ketogenic diet. Keto involves less calorie intake, which helps in weight loss.
Effectiveness: Ketogenic diets can help lose weight effectively and in a significantly less amount of time. If we eat a high number of foods with a fat percentage and limit our body's carbohydrate intake to like 20-50 grams per day, we can lose 10 pounds or more in only one month. If keto meal is used for a long time, it may help a person live a longer life.
EVIDENCE
Proper evidence proves that Ketogenic diets help lose fats faster than any other diet.
According to a systematic review of 13 RCTs of ketogenic vs. low-fat diets (N = 1577, 61% women, BMI 30 to 43 kg/m2), those who relied on ketogenic diets lost 0.9 kg more than those who relied on low-fat diets at 12 to 24 months. In another study in 2007, it was proved that a low-carb diet caused more weight loss than any other low-fat diet.
According to Diabetes UK’s dietary guidelines, it was found that the low-carb group lost 15.2 pounds(which is 6.9 kg) in comparison to the low-fat group, which lost only 4.6 pounds (which is 2.1 kg) so over 3 months. The low-carb diet resulted in weight loss 3 times more than a low-fat diet.
WEIGHT LOSS WITHOUT EXERCISE
Ketogenic diets can work without any exercise. During ketogenic more fats are burned instead of sugars, so there is no need to exercise because enough fats are already being burned.
Most personal trainers and nutritionists do not recommend working out or strenuous exercise during a ketogenic diet. It depends on you if you want to lose weight in a rapid period or you want to lose stubborn body fats (18 Reasons Why the Keto Diet Can Help You Lose Weight and Burn Fat, 2022).
Serious muscle loss in possible during keto. There are cases when the patient is very severely overweight, so combining a ketogenic diet and high exercise would not be a good option. In this particular case, the patient is first asked to reduce enough weight so that he can safely combine their ketogenic diet with exercise.
There’s a risk of muscle loss if a person does not workout while following a ketogenic diet because of the higher body fat levels. The leaner you are, the higher the risk of muscle loss is.
KETOGENIC DIET PLAN
It is important to make planning on keto, which drives our body into the state of ketosis in less time. Proper planning helps you to burn fats rapidly instead of carbs, so ensuring more fats are burnt increases the weight loss. It takes a body almost 3 days to enter the process of ketosis. While following the diet, most of the patient's calories come from body fat.
The doctor has recommended taking almost 600-800 total calories per day in a ketogenic diet.
If you want the ketogenic diet plan to working effectively, you should always follow the diet plan issued either by a nutritionist or your doctor. You should eat more meats, fats, and oils. On the other hand, you have to consume significantly fewer non-starchy vegetables. protein also gives some calories in a ketogenic diet, almost about 1 gram per kilogram of body weight.
A proper diet plan should be made based on one’s body requirements, and the nutritionist should be aware of any health problems faced by the patient. The doctor continuously checks (health history) if the person has any respiratory or cardiac issues before making a food chart for the patient.
Every person has a different metabolism, so the results from the ketogenic diet might vary from person to person, so the doctor should make the diet plan based on every person’s requirements to enhance the process of weight loss through the diet.
FOODS TO EAT
These are the foods that you should eat while following a ketogenic diet. Eating these foods regularly might enhance or speed up the process of weight loss. It would help if you always were careful of your calorie intake. It is always advised to follow a diet plan specifically made for you by your nutritionist.
Even though ketogenic diets ultimately depend on carbs, there is still some amount of protein required in this diet.
1. Protein
Protein usually comes from meats like beef, dark chicken meat or fish, fatty fish or salmon, or meats like steak, ham, protein bars, sausages, and turkey.
All these foods should be consumed in a controlled amount to get desirable results for effective weight loss; if we talk about what we can eat occasionally, then slices of bacon can be your choice because one slice of it consists of 43 calories.
2. Oil and Fats
The ketogenic diet ultimately depends on the intake of Oil and fats, so oils like avocado, coconut and olive should be included in the diet. Fats like butter grass-fed butter and heavy cream should be part of your regular diet.
3. Fruits and vegetables
These are also part of a ketogenic diet. Vegetables like avocado, green leafy vegetables like spinach, carrots, eggplants, and parsnips should be included in the diet. Almost all fruits are rich in carbs and hence not okay to eat while following a ketogenic diet except the berries like strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries which are good proteins.
4. Nuts and seeds
Seeds like almonds, walnuts, pumpkin, and chia seeds should be in the diet. Cashews and pistachios can also be taken but very occasionally.
5. Dairy products
Dairy products contain many fats, so they are vital for the ketogenic diet. Products like cheddar cheese, blue cheese, mozzarella cheese, or cream cheese should be included in the diet because they are rich in fats.
6. Drinks
Drinks should be included in the ketogenic diet. This may include water; it is crucial to stay completely hydrated while following a ketogenic diet. There should be an intake of a good amount of water because water is essential for the world's diet.
Also, keto increases weight loss; consequently, other drinks like plain tea and almond milk should be included. It would help if you also had some see black coffee, smoothies, or diet soda-type drinks occasionally on keto (Migala, 2020).
7. Herbs
Herbs like chives, dill, and peppermint are allowed to take on keto, and garlic powder and onion powder are sometimes permissible. You can eat fresh herbs during keto, and a salad made from fresh vegetables with added basil can be the best choice for your keto diet.
FOODS TO AVOID
Grains like wheat flour or oatmeal should be completely avoided from the ketogenic diet because these contain high amounts of carbs which can hamper the process of ketosis. It affects the process of weight loss, so grains like rice, wheat, barley, rye and corn should be avoided.
Basic fish and chicken nuggets should be completely avoided.
Fruits like apples, grapes, bananas, dates, mangoes, peaches, pineapples, raisins, and pears should be completely avoided while following a ketogenic diet.
Beans like black beans, baked beans, green beans, lima beans, lentils, labia, kidney beans, and green peas should be avoided from the diet (List Of Foods To Avoid On Keto, 2020).
Low-fat Dairy products like a low-fat milkshake, toned milk, low-fat butter, ice cream, and condensed milk should be avoided at any cost. These products contain a very low amount of fats, but ketogenic diets require a good amount of fat intake.
Drinks like soda, fruit juice, lemonade, soda, margarita, protein shakes, iced teas, or fruit beers are high in carbs all these should be avoided.
KETO MEAL
A ketogenic meal should consist of 20- 50g of carbohydrate intake per day, and this intake should not exceed 50g, or else the results will be different. It would help if you were very careful about that.
Here is an example of a ketogenic meal:
WEEK 1: Completely avoid cakes, rice, bread, pasta, or beans. Eat more eggs, meat, and vegetables like spinach or broccoli, and eat nuts and cheese for snacks.
WEEK 2: Eat just one fruit per day, and there should be a gap duration of almost 4 hours after every meal. Drink plenty of water daily while following the diet plan for the first week too.
WEEK 3: Completely avoid all the fruits. Start to fast for 12 hours and track your carbs and fat intake. Also, follow the diet plan for the 1st and 2nd week.
WEEK 4: Start to track your macros and start eating many fats every time you feel hungry.
Following this diet in all these weeks can give you promising results. You would be able to lose an excessive amount of weight ( 10 pounds) in just four weeks.
Caution: You should always follow a Ketogenic diet under medical supervision. Asks your nutritionist to make a food chart for you. You should follow it regularly because it helps you decrease your weight and enhance your overall health, and may reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.
So when you’re starting a new diet, never forget to consult with your doctor and be unsure if this is suitable for your health or not.
SIDE EFFECTS OF THE KETO DIET
There are many side effects of a ketogenic diet. The more common ones are not something to worry about. These include constipation, low blood sugar levels, and inability to digest sometimes. In some cases, it can lead to kidney stones formation or increase the level of acids in your body.
Sometimes, a ketogenic diet leads to keto flu. Keto flu can usually occur if we follow a ketogenic diet and exercise. It occurs in the first couple of weeks after starting a ketogenic diet. It is mostly seen in people that go to the gym or the athletes.
The good news is that: Keto flu uncommon and happens rarely. Some people never experience it. At the same time, other people have minor symptoms such as headaches (Emmanuelle C. S. Bostock, 2020).
Conclusion
Every dieting plan has some pros and cons. The keto diet is not different. The keto diet has numerous health benefits. The Ketogenic diet provides you quick weight loss solution, and it is a more effective way to lose more weight in less time. There are various types of keto-friendly food options available for you. You should choose the best diet according to your body's requirements.
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