The word “ketogenic” originated from the word ketosis, which is a situation when a human body starts forming ketone bodies by burning fat to be used as the primary source of fuel. This kind of diet is very low in carbohydrates and hence the body is automatically pushed into a state where it starts burning fat.
A shocking fact is that you can feel full for quite a long time by keeping the levels of carbohydrates low and fat high (supplemented with a large amount of protein), and therefore you won’t be eating too much. This is going to bring the level of insulin down and your body will start using already stored fat. Undoubtedly ketogenic diet is the best way to lose a few pounds from your body.
Many of you might shut this page as you can’t live without pasta and bread, but let me assure you that you won’t have to leave your favorites.
2020 has been a terrific year not only to survive but also to go carb-free. Well, you can easily lose weight while eating a lot and not even exercising. All you have to do is just include in your diet meat and other whole foods and vegetables that are low- carb. And, once you have lost some weight, you can slowly add your favorite snacks also, but their low- carb versions only.
The Debate Over Carbs
The arguments regarding carbohydrates are quite endless and people tend to change back to loving or hating them each week. Carb intake might not be that bad if you are not like those who eat a lot of processed and packed foods that contain a mix of fats and carbs that tend to wreak havoc on your body, while at the same time tasting delicious. It is very easy to overeat carbs as they are one of the least satisfying food types.
One of the significant factors in going ketogenic is eating a very low-carb diet. When your Glycogen stores and insulin levels are decreased and besides that your carb intake is also low. This will facilitate the release of fatty acids in your body from stores of fat.
Your liver turns acetone, beta-hydroxybutyrate, and acetoacetate into the ketone bodies of each of these fatty acids. Some parts of your brain may use these ketones as fuel.
The level up to which you have to restrict carbs for achieving ketosis is individualized. Some individuals need to restrict net carb intake to 20 gms per day (total carbs minus fiber), while others are able to achieve ketosis by eating two times the same amount or even more. At this stage, as long as ketosis is preserved, you can gradually add back very small amounts of carbohydrates to your diet.
Diet Or Exercise
Your diet always plays a very important and also the greatest role in deciding your weight, while exercise is necessary. If you exercise every day like an athlete (a professional one), a well-formed diet will always beat out weight loss exercise.
Commitment Is Key
People think they’re golden if they consume 2 of their 3 low-carb meals in a day. Or they can have a low-carb week and a cheating day somewhere in the middle, it will be cool. It is not going to work like this. You will have to stick to it in the long run and strive to keep yourself away from cheating as long as you can for this diet to succeed and for you to see real results. In the initial weeks, it is going to take a little bit of time to adjust and improvement will be slow, so you will have to remain there for some time.
Getting Into Ketosis
Your keto monitor is the one and only purchase this change of lifestyle can have (keeping aside food). Some classy individuals opt for super-precise blood monitors, but you can opt for the urine strips that are quite cheaper than the monitor. Till when it’s a hue of purple color, you are into the state of ketosis. And if you are the sort of person folding their underwear, better to choose the computer, by all means. Bear in mind you will have to prick yourself a little bit if you end up with a monitor as it needs a fresh sample of blood to assess the levels of bodies of ketones flowing into your bloodstream.
It usually takes from about 4 to 10 complete days to actually get completely into ketosis. Your body has now become nothing less than a fat-burning machine until you get into ketosis, allowing you to lose weight. If you think that you can without any issues go down, then go down, and your body will keep continuing to consume the fat which will lead you to drop your weight. There is no harm in expecting yourself to lose 1 to 2 pounds in a week on an average in the first month, also you can do this while you keep eating a bag of bacon any day!
Now as you know what ketosis is, it is time for you to know why a ketogenic diet won’t work when you keep on cheating. You are going to cheat on yourself, because if you go on eating too many carbs, you will be kicked out of this ketosis and will have to begin with the entire thing all over again, and that will set you back about a week or maybe even two. Suck it all up, either do it or forget it. You will never get the feeling as if you have to deprive yourself of something if you consume the right food and that is going to make the entire process a lot easier.
Add Coconut To Your Diet
Coconut can assist you in getting into ketosis by consuming coconut oil. It contains medium-chain triglycerides or (MCTs) called fats. MCTs are easily absorbed and then sent straight to the liver, unlike most fats, where they are transformed so that they can be immediately used for energy. They can also be transformed into ketones. In fact, it has been put forward that people with Alzheimer’s disease and any other disorders related to the nervous system can increase ketone levels by consuming coconut oil and it is one of the best ways of doing so. While there are four kinds of MCTs in coconut oil, 50% of the total fat it contains comes from lauric acid. A few types of research indicate that a more persistent degree of ketosis may occur from sources of fat with quite a higher percentage of this lauric acid. This is mainly because it is more steadily metabolized than any other kind of MCTs.
In epileptic children, MCTs are used for inducing ketosis without limiting carbs as severely as is to be done in a proper and strict ketogenic diet. It would be a very great idea if you do so slowly to avoid any kind of side effects to your digestive system including diarrhea or stomach cramping while adding coconut oil to your diet. Start with a single teaspoon a day over the course of a week and move up to 2 to 3 teaspoons a day. Coconut oil can be found or bought at your local grocery store.
Eat An Adequate Amount Of Proteins
Achieving ketosis requires a sufficient but not excessive intake of protein. In order to increase ketone levels, the classic keto meal plan used in epilepsy patients is limited in both carbs and protein. For cancer patients, the same diet can also be useful, as it is known to limit tumor growth. However, cutting back on protein to boost ketone production is not a good activity for most individuals.
First, in order to supply the liver with amino acids that can be used for gluconeogenesis, which translates to “making new glucose,” it is necessary to consume enough protein. In this phase, for the few cells and organs in your body that can not use ketones as fuel, such as your red blood cells and parts of the kidneys and brain, your liver serves them with glucose. Second, when carb consumption is poor, particularly during weight loss, protein intake should be high enough to maintain muscle mass.
Short Fasting Or Fat Fasting
One more way of getting into ketosis is by going without feeding for some hours. In fact, between dinner and breakfast, many individuals go into a state of mild ketosis. Children who are epileptic are often made to keep a fast before they begin with a ketogenic diet for 24-48 hours. This is required to rapidly go into ketosis in order to eliminate seizures quickly.
Ketosis can also be caused by intermittent fasting which is a dietary strategy that requires occasional fasts for the short- term. In addition, “fat eating” is another solution to ketone-boosting that imitates the same effects as that of fasting. Fat eating includes eating approximately one thousand calories in 24 hours, 85 to 90 percent of which is fat. This too high intake of fat and low-calorie combination can assist you in achieving ketosis very quickly.
Since fat fast is very much low in calories and proteins, to avoid unnecessary loss of muscle mass, it has to be followed not more than 3-5 days. For more than a few days, it might also be hard to stick to it.
Conclusion
Ketosis is a natural phase of metabolism that offers many health benefits. Your body transforms fat into compounds known as ketones during ketosis and starts using them as its key energy source. Studies have shown that diets that facilitate ketosis are highly effective for weight loss. Emerging literature indicates that, among other factors, ketosis can also be useful for type 2 diabetes and neurological disorders. That being said, it may take some effort and preparation to achieve a state of ketosis. It’s not only as easy as cutting carbohydrates.
