The ketogenic diet works because the ketogenic diet changes the way that your body find fuel for its cells. Most of the time, the body relies on a supply of carbohydrates to provide the body with the fuel that it need to perform the various tasks that the body must complete each day. When you implement the ketogenic diet, however, your body is required to lower its intake of carbohydrates, forcing the body to utilize its stored fat for fuel.
This state of the body utilizing fat for fuel is referred to as ketosis, and the occurrence of ketosis create the reason that many individuals experience the steady loss of fat when they are on the ketogenic diet. Furthermore, ketosis helps to prevent the feelings of hunger that many individuals feels when they are restricting the calories that they consume daily. In order to make the ketogenic diet work for the individual, there are certain macronutrients that must be include in the diet.
How the Keto Diet Works
The majority of the calories that are consumed on the ketogenic diet should be from fat, the amount of protein that is consumed should be moderate, and the amount of carbohydrates should be very limit. Each of these components of the diet are included for a specific purpose. Fat becomes the primary fuel for the body after the body depletes its stores of glucose.
The protein is included in moderate amounts so that the body does not utilize the protein for glucose production. Finally, the limited carbohydrates helps to keep the body in a fat-burning state for the body. Therefore, the macronutrients must be balanced in this way in order for the ketogenic diet to accomplish its goal.
The foods that an individual consumes on the ketogenic diet should reflect these macronutrient goals. The foods that are allowed on the diet are those that are high in fat, high in fiber, and low in carbohydrates. Foods like avocados, fatty fish, eggs, and leafy greens are some of the foods that are high in fat and fiber, yet low in carbohydrates.
These foods are the foods that should be incorporate into each meal daily. Foods that contain carbohydrates, especially those high in carbohydrates, an individual on the ketogenic diet should avoid. Foods like bread, pasta, fruits, and starchy vegetables should not be a part of the diet of an individual who is attempting to enter the state of ketosis.
However, understanding these types of food and their impact upon the ketogenic diet is what is most importently. In order to enter the state of ketosis, the body must undergo a transition period. During the first couple of days of implementing the ketogenic diet, the body utilizes the stored glycogen that was accumulated from the body’s previous diet.
Using up that stored glycogen can lead to an individual feeling less full then they are used to with their previous diet. Around the third to fifth day of the ketogenic diet, an individual may experience the “keto flu,” which is a temporary period of discomfort that occurs as the body’s fluids shift. After the second or third week of the ketogenic diet, an individual will begin to feel the energy from the ketones that the body is being burn for fuel.
By the fourth to sixth week of the ketogenic diet, the body is fully adapted to burning fat for fuel, and no longer craves carbohydrate. An individual can prepare meals according to a structure that will allow their body to remain in ketosis while also providing the body with the energy that it needs to perform its daily tasks. For example, breakfast can consist of eggs and fat, lunch can consist of protein and non-starchy vegetables, and dinner can consist of fatty meats or fish.
Snacks that an individual can eat include cheese, olives, or nuts. This structure of meals is an example of the way to sustain the ketogenic diet. Many individuals experience additional benefits from the ketogenic diet beyond the loss of weight.
One benefit is that the stable blood sugar levels of an individual can eliminate energy crashes that are common among individuals who consume carbohydrate daily. An individual’s appetite will tend to regulate itself on the ketogenic diet. Additionally, some individuals report that they experience improvements in their mental clarity after the initial starting phase of the ketogenic diet.
An individual can succeed in the ketogenic diet with the performance of a few habit. For example, an individual should track what types of food they eat during the initial few weeks of the ketogenic diet. By tracking what food they consume, they will be able to recognize what foods contain carbohydrates that they did not know were high in carbohydrates.
In addition, the ketogenic diet requires that an individual drinks enough water to support their body, and that they replace the electrolytes that the body lost while in ketosis. Finally, preparing meals in advance allows an individual to avoid eating foods that may contain carbohydrates. Lastly, incorporating forms of resistance training into their diet will allow the body to preserve its muscle mass while it burns fat.
The most common mistake made by individuals on the ketogenic diet is to abandon the diet due to the lack of immediate result. An individual may not feel the benefits of the ketogenic diet for the first ten days. Therefore, adhering to the diet for at least a few week will allow the body to begin to feel the benefits.
The diet is the most difficult to establish during the initial few weeks of implementing the diet. However, by treating the first few weeks as a temporary diet instead of a permanent one, an individual will reach the point where they feel as though the ketogenic diet is sustainable. After the ketogenic diet has become sustainable for an individual, it is no longer a strict rulebook that they must follow, but rather is a reference that they use on occasion for their meal.
