What is the Ketogenic Diet?
The ketogenic diet seems to be all the craze nowadays. However, what really is the keto diet?
Simply put, the keto diet is a low carb, high fat diet that can help you burn fat more efficiently.[1]Diet Doctor – A ketogenic diet for beginners
What Does “Keto” Mean?
Now that you know what the keto diet is, how does it actually work?
First, it is important to understand how the body produces energy.
Normally, our bodies use glucose as the primary source of energy. Glucose comes from carbohydrates usually found in sugar and starchy food. Our cells break these down into simple sugars which can be either used immediately by our muscles or be stored in our liver as glycogen for later use.
However, the liver can only store a limited amount of glycogen at any one time. In addition, if you are doing prolonged activities, such as running a marathon, it cannot hold enough glycogen to fuel you for your entire race.
In situations like this, your body adopts other methods in order to produce energy. More specifically, it starts to use your body fat as a source of fuel by breaking down the triglycerides into glucose. One of the byproducts of this process is Ketones, a type of acid that builds up in your blood and is eliminated in your urine. In small amounts it is ok; however, too much ketones in your body is poisonous.
The entire process of converting fat to energy and producing ketones is called Ketosis.[2]Medical News Today – Ketosis: What is ketosis?
The Keto diet takes advantage of this body process in order to better use your body’s fat as the main source of energy. By eating few carbs and moderate amounts of protein, you can get many of the benefits of fasting without actually having to fast!
Benefits of Keto
While it might seem hard to give up carbs, the Keto diet provides a lot of benefits to your health.[3]Medical News Today – Why is the keto diet good for you?
Weight Loss
The keto diet turns your body into a fat burning machine. Needless to say, if you are looking to lose some weight, it is a great way to do so. In fact, over 30 scientific studies show that the keto diet is more effective at helping people lose weight than other forms of dieting.
Control Your Appetite
One of the most difficult parts of any diet is the hunger. However, unlike other diets, the keto diet helps you get better at controlling your hunger.
Your body can store way more fat than it can glycogen. Needless to say, you won’t be feeling as hungry!
In addition, since the keto diet is high in protein, you can eat foods that will be leaving feel much more satisfied and satiated.
Control Blood Sugar
As the keto diet uses fat and not sugar as its main source of energy, it is great at helping control your body’s blood sugar levels.
In fact, it is also great at managing type 2 diabetes. In some cases it might be even able to reverse the markers of pre-diabetes!
Improve Other Health Markers
If helping control type 2 diabetes wasn’t enough, the keto diet can also help with many other health related issues such as:
- Heart disease
- HDL cholesterol
- Blood pressure
Overall Physical and Mental Energy
When on the ketogenic diet, your body uses fat 24/7 as its main source of fuel. As such, you don’t get the drastic blood sugar swings that result from eating carbs.
As such, many people feel not only more energetic physically, but also experience less brain fog and are better able to concentrate.
Calmer Stomach
If you tend to have a lot of stomach problems such as gas or Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), studies show that the Keto diet can help. In fact, these studies also show that in as little as a couple of days on the ketogenic diet, you can start to see improvements!
Increase Your Physical Endurance
If you are a long distance runner, one of the best reasons to consider the keto diet is that it can help increase your endurance.
Normally, when people run, they use glycogen as their main source of energy. However, your body only has a limited store. If you are running longer races, you will run out.
Using fat as your main source of energy, you literally have weeks of fuel to keep you running!
Reduce Acne
One of the biggest contributors to acne is a poor diet. If you are eating a lot of processed carbs and sugar, there is a much higher chance that you will suffer from acne. Therefore, by reducing carbs, as prescribed by the keto diet, you can also help clear up your skin.
What Does the Keto Diet Look Like?
The keto diet is quite flexible. It doesn’t have to look the same for everyone. In fact, depending on your personal situation, such as what foods you can afford and health/fitness goals, it can be completely different from person to person.
However, with that in mind, there are a few main tenants that you need to follow in the ketogenic diet:
- High fat
- Moderate Protein
- Low Carbs
While this is not too difficult, the most difficult thing you might have with this diet is getting enough fat while not eating too much protein.
Fat
In general, you can pretty much have as much fat as you want while on the ketogenic diet, as long as it is reasonable. The biggest thing that you should make sure not to do is to eat snacks between your meals.
Protein
One thing that many people mistake about the keto diet is that you can eat a lot of protein.
In fact, on the ketogenic diet you need to be careful not to eat too much protein as your body can convert it into blood sugar. This can sometimes be difficult for people as there might be protein hidden in food, such as cheese, that they didn’t realize.
As a rule of thumb, you should eat between 40 – 50 grams of protein per day if you are a woman and 50 – 60 grams of protein per day if you are a man.
Carbs
The most important part of the keto diet is to make sure that you aren’t eating too many carbs.
In general, you should try to keep it below 50 grams of carbs per day in order to stay in ketosis. However, if that is still not working for you, consider going down to around 30 grams of carbs per day.[4]Diabetes.co.uk – What to eat on a ketogenic diet
So What Can I Eat?
So now that you know the general guidelines for the keto diet, you might be wondering what CAN I eat?[5]Diet Doctor – Ketogenic diet foods – what to eat
Meats
In general unprocessed meats are ok on the keto diet. However, remember that the keto diet is a high fat and not high protein diet. Therefore, you don’t need to eat a lot of meat. A normal amount is fine.
A word of warning with regards to meat, stay away from processed meats such as meat balls, cold cuts, and sausages and they often contain added carbs.
When in doubt, look at the nutritional stickers to find out.
Fish
Fish is a great on the keto diet. In fact, fatty fish such as salmon, is great part of the diet.
The only thing that you need to watch out for is breaded fish as this contains a lot of extra carbs.
Eggs
Eggs might be perhaps one of the best things that you can eat on the keto diet.
In addition, on this diet, you can pretty much eat them any way you want and as much as you want.
Fat
A majority of your calories on the keto diet should come from fat. While you will get a good amount from the meat, fish, and eggs, don’t forget that you can also get it from other things such as olive oil, coconut oil, butter, and other high fat sauces!
Vegetables
Vegetables are a great way to get more good fats into your diet.
However, when choosing vegetables make sure to pick low carb ones. The easiest way to figure out if a vegetable is low carb is by choosing ones that grow above the ground, have a lot of leaves, and are green.
Some great choices include
- Zucchini
- Broccoli
- Avacado
- Cabbage
- Cauliflower
Nuts
Nuts are ok in moderation on the keto diet.
However, be careful not to eat too many as is common when snacking on them.
In addition, stay away from cashews as they are high in carbs.
If you are craving nuts, go for pecans or macadamias instead.
What Can’t I Eat or Drink?
More than half of the battle on the keto diet is know what NOT to eat or drink.[6]Diet Doctor – Ketogenic diet foods – what to eat
High Sugar Foods
Foods and drinks with a lot of carbs are a big NO on the keto diet. This includes things such as:
- Breakfast cereals
- Frozen treats
- Donuts
- Chocolate bars
- Cookies
- Cakes
- Candy
- Sports drinks
- Fruit juice
- Soft drinks
- Honey
- Sauces/Condiments
When looking what to buy, make sure to pay close attention to the nutrition labels as many foods have a lot of hidden sugar in them.
Starches
High starch food is also not good for the keto diet. Things you should make sure to avoid include:
- Wholegrain products
- Muesli
- Porridge
- Potato chips
- French fries
- Potatoes
- Rice
- Pasta
- Bread
- Many root vegetables
Fruit
In general fruit should be avoided when on the keto diet as most are filled with a lot of sugars.
However, it is ok to eat them once in a while as a natural sweet.
A Note On Drinks
It is important to stay hydrated on the ketogenic diet. However, it is also important to pay attention to what you are drinking.[7]Diet Doctor – Ketogenic diet foods – what to eat
Water
Water should be your first option for drinks on the keto diet.
You can have it pretty much any way you want such hot, cold, flat, sparkling, or with ice.
Coffee
You can have coffee on the diet. However, make sure to not add sugar.
It is ok to add a bit of cream or milk.
Additionally, if you still need more fat in your diet, consider making “Bulletproof coffee” by stirring in a bit of butter.
Tea
Most teas are fine on the keto diet, just make sure not to add sugar.
Beer
In general, you should avoid beer as it is full of quickly absorbed carbs.
How to know you’re in ketosis
Now that you are starting the keto diet, how do you know that you are doing it correctly.
Fortunately, there are several obvious signs that you can look for to help.[8]Healthline – 10 Signs and Symptoms That You’re in Ketosis
- Dry mouth and more thirsty
- Peeing more
- Keto breath/bad breath
- Reduced hunger
- Increased energy
- Weight Loss
- Easier to control appetite
- More focus and energy
- Short term fatigue and a decrease in performance when initially starting the keto diet
- Issues with your digestion
- Insomnia
Measuring Keto
If you still aren’t sure that you are in ketosis, there are several different ways that you can test for it.
The main three ways include:
Risks on the Keto Diet
Now that you know all the great things about the keto diet, it is also important to understand about some of the risks.
Just like any other diet, you need to understand what you are getting yourself into before deciding if keto is for you.
Who shouldn’t do keto?
For most people the keto diet is very safe. However, for some people you should take special consideration before starting.
In general, if you
- Are currently taking diabetes medication
- Taking high blood pressure medication
- Are currently breastfeeding
You should consult with your doctor before starting a keto diet.
Additional Risks To Consider
- High in fat which can be difficult for your liver to metabolize
- Potential nutritional deficiencies including Vitamins B + C, phosphorus, magnesium, selenium, and other micronutrients
- Too much protein which can be difficult for your kidneys to metabolize
- Constipation due to low fiber diet
- Mood swings due to low blood sugar when switching to new diet
What’s Next?
Now that you have started the keto diet and perhaps even reached your weight loss goals, you might be asking yourself what’s next?
You actually have a couple of choices.
First, you can keep eating keto and maintain the positive effects.
If keto was just too difficult, you can also add a bit more carbs back into your diet. However, know that you will probably not see the positive effects quite as much and might even regain a bit of weight.
The most important thing to remember is that keto is more than just a diet and should become a part of your everyday life. If you go back to your old eating habits, you will see all the weight that you lost as well as the health issues you had before come back.
If you would like to learn more about nutrition, check out The Ultimate Marathon Nutrition Guide.
References