I am sure you have at least one friend who adopted the ketogenic diet so far. People tend to speak so easily about it, that they assume that all of us understand what keto is. Well, it is not really the case. If you are also a beginner on this topic, maybe you want to find out what is it and why so many people are talking about.
This is not at all a simple diet and it is not for everybody first of all.
When did the keto diet start?
The first time it was mentioned it was almost 100 years ago when it appeared in the first medical researches in 1920. Since then it had an interesting evolution.
It all started when it was designed to help small children with epilepsy. It didn’t cure them completely, but it helped a great deal. It moved towards other types of neurological disorders like sleeping issues, bipolarity, the complex autism spectrum and also cancer brain. In Silicon Valley, I guarantee it is not a new thing.
It seems paradoxical when you hear of it for the first time. If you eat more bacon, beef, oils, and kinds of butter you will lose weight? We were taught all our lives the opposite, to avoid high fats. And look, this diet proves the contrary. Introduce as many high fats as possible and you are going to be slimmer.
How does exactly work?
The point is to have at least 70-75% fats in your life. This includes all types of fats, animal and plant-based fats, like beef, chicken, bacon, fat fish, eggs, avocado, dairy, avocado, seeds or nuts.
The difficult part is cutting down the carbohydrates, which can be quite challenging. You are not allowed anymore to eat sweets, certain types of fruits or veggies. Especially if you are having a vegan diet, it might be tricky, but not impossible.
Processed foods as soft drinks must also disappear together with the grains, including pasta, potatoes, and legumes.
Proteins are only about 10% and should be moderated, like greens or eggs.
Basically, you need to cut down your carbohydrates as much as possible. After you do this, you will enter a state called ketosis which is a type of starvation of the metabolism.
If in a normal state, our body uses carbohydrates as the main fuel for surviving. You want to change this process. You want it to stop eating your carbohydrates and to start eating your fats.
This is as simple as it can be explained: Eat fewer carbohydrates and more fats and you will lose weight.
It is always best to fast for at least one day before trying the diet. Don’t expect instant results, it will take a few days anyhow. If you are not sure how to calculate your carbohydrates, there are plenty of internet websites and mobile apps that can help you into the process.
What can you exactly eat?
If you want a mathematical recipe, the easiest is like this: for every 3-4 grams of fats, you just need 1 gram of carbohydrate.
Between the fats that you can choose are beef, poultry, bacon, fat salmon, eggs, avocado, nuts, and seeds. All types of oils are highly recommended like coconut oil, sesame oil, olive oil, pumpkin seed oil, linseeds oil or almond oil. Butter is also a great idea, as fat as possible. For vegans, cacao butter is good enough.
Proteins are plenty, so there is no problem to have a diet moderated in proteins. All animal products contain protein, so here is your solution. If you are a vegan or a vegetarian, you might want to try soy-based products like tofu, tempeh or plant-based yogurts
Take extra care what type of veggies or fruits you are ingesting. You don’t want to cut them out completely. Greens are a must to stay like spinach, kale, lettuce or parsley. But you need to take the sweet ones out like bananas, mangoes, pears, apples.
People who have a sweet tooth will find it most difficult, as there is absolutely forbidden to eat any type of sugar, processed or natural. And yes, I include also honey, all types of soft drinks, agave syrup or dates.
Five important things to know before going to keto:
- It is not only a diet but also a lifestyle
- Not sure if it is sustainable
- Is quite difficult to find a balanced
- No sugar at all
- Consult your doctor or your nutrition specialist before starting it
Most probably if you are going keto you are going to lose weight, especially if you are doing it properly. It will also regulate your sugar blood level and give a boost to your brain. You have to investigate a bit before starting it, as it is not very good for your body to do drastic changes. You have to be quite sure in your objectives and know why do you want to do it and how far can you go for your purpose.
The best diet we can recommend you is always a change of lifestyle that will automatically improve your health.