The ketogenic diet (or keto diet for short) is a low-carb, high-fat eating plan. It is believed that following the keto diet has many health benefits. We tell you in more detail the nutrition that keto provides to the body and how effectively you can lose weight with such a diet.
Many studies show that the keto diet is guaranteed to help you lose weight and improve your health. Additionally, the ketogenic diet may be beneficial for diabetes, epilepsy, cancer, and Alzheimer's disease.
Here is a detailed guide on how to start the keto diet and answers to the most common questions about it. Be sure to read, understand, and discuss with your doctor.
What is the ketogenic diet?
The keto diet is a low-carb, high-fat eating plan. In many ways, this is similar to the Atkins diet and low-carb diets. It's just that keto involves drastically reducing carbohydrates and replacing them with fat. This drop puts the body into a metabolic state called ketosis.
In ketosis, the body begins to efficiently convert fat into energy (ketones) - instead of doing it with carbohydrates. Therefore, the ketogenic diet can lower blood sugar and normalize insulin levels.
Different types of ketogenic diets
There are many versions of the keto diet, including:
- Standard ketogenic diet: This is a very low carb, moderate protein, and high fat meal plan. it usually contains 75% fat, 20% protein and only 5% carbohydrates;
- cyclical ketogenic diet: This plan includes periods of higher carbohydrate consumption, such as 5 keto days followed by 2 carbohydrate days;
- adaptive ketogenic diet: allows you to add more carbohydrates to your diet on training days;
- High Protein Ketogenic Diet: Similar to the standard ketogenic diet but includes more protein, typically 60% fat, 35% protein, and 5% carbs.
By the way, only the standard and high-protein ketogenic diet has been thoroughly researched and recommended by experts. Cyclic or adaptive diets are more advanced methods and are mainly used by athletes or bodybuilders.
Ketogenic diet helps you lose weight
The keto diet is an effective way to lose weight and reduce risk factors for several diseases.
Experiments have shown that the ketogenic diet has superior weight loss results compared to the low-fat diet. Moreover, the keto diet allows you to count calories and limit food intake, unless of course we are talking about those that are on the allowed list.
One study found that people who followed a ketogenic diet lost 2. 2 times more weight than those who cut calories and fat. Improvements in blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels were also noticed.
Ketogenic diet for diabetes and prediabetes
Diabetes is characterized by metabolic changes, increased blood sugar, and impaired insulin function. The keto diet will help you shed excess fat, an indicator that is strongly linked to type 2 diabetes, prediabetes, and metabolic syndrome.
One study has shown that the ketogenic diet improved insulin sensitivity by up to 75%!
In another experiment with participants with type 2 diabetes, it was found that 7 out of 21 people were able to stop taking all of their diabetes medications thanks to the keto diet.
Other Health Benefits of the Keto Diet
The modern version of the keto diet was invented as a way to treat neurological conditions, such as the aforementioned epilepsy. Several studies have shown that such a meal plan can be helpful for various ailments.
- Cardiovascular disease: The ketogenic diet may improve risk factors such as fat and cholesterol levels, blood pressure, and blood sugar.
- Cancer: Today, this diet is used to maintain the condition of patients with various types of cancer and reduce the growth of tumors.
- Alzheimer's disease: The keto diet may reduce symptoms of Alzheimer's disease and slow the progression of the disease.
- Epilepsy: Studies have shown that the ketogenic diet can significantly reduce seizures in children.
- Parkinson's disease: Several trials have shown that a high-fat diet can help reduce symptoms of Parkinson's disease.
- Polycystic ovary syndrome: The ketogenic diet will help lower insulin levels, which plays a large role in the progression of this diagnosis.
- Brain Injury: An animal study has shown that the keto diet can improve post-concussion conditions and help patients recover faster from injury.
- Acne: Lowering insulin levels and reducing sugar and processed foods will help improve skin significantly.
Foods to Avoid on the Keto Diet
Any carbohydrate-rich foods should be avoided. Here is a sample list of foods that should be eliminated from the diet - or significantly reduced in consumption:
- sugary foods: soft drinks, juices, smoothies, cakes, ice cream, sweets;
- cereals or starches: products derived from wheat, rice, pasta, cereals;
- fruit: all fruit, except a small portion of berries or an apple per day;
- beans or legumes: peas, beans, lentils, chickpeas;
- vegetables, tubers: potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, radishes;
- Diet or low-fat foods: These are usually foods that are processed and high in carbohydrates.
- certain condiments or sauces: mainly those containing sugar and saturated fat;
- saturated fat: limit the intake of refined oils, mayonnaise;
- Alcohol: Due to its high carbohydrate content, a lot of alcoholic beverages should be avoided on a ketogenic diet.
- Sugar-free diet foods: Often contain a lot of sugar alcohols, which can affect ketone levels in the body.
Foods to eat on a Ketogenic diet
Most of the diet on the keto diet should be based on these foods:
- meat: red meat, ham, sausage, bacon, chicken and turkey;
- oily fish: salmon, trout, tuna and mackerel;
- egg;
- butter and cream;
- cheese;
- nuts and seeds: almonds, walnuts, flaxseeds, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds;
- healthy oils: especially cold pressed olive oil, coconut oil and avocado oil;
- avocado;
- low carb vegetables: most greens, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers.
Weekly ketogenic meal plan template
Monday
Breakfast: bacon, eggs and tomatoes.
Lunch: chicken salad with olive oil, vegetables and feta cheese.
Dinner: salmon with asparagus cooked in butter.
Tuesday
Breakfast: scrambled eggs with tomatoes, spices and goat cheese.
Lunch: if you don't feel like eating much, you can replace the usual hot dishes with a cocktail with vegetables or cow's milk with peanut butter and herbs.
Dinner: meatballs, cheese and vegetables.
Wednesday
Breakfast: Ketogenic Milkshake - The basic recipe we mentioned can be adjusted to your liking.
Lunch: Seafood salad with olive oil and avocado.
Dinner: pork chops with cheese, broccoli and salad.
Thursday
Breakfast: tortilla with avocado, chili, onion, spices and sour cream sauce.
Lunch: A handful of nuts and celery mixed with guacamole and salsa.
Dinner: Chicken stuffed with pesto and cream cheese, garnished with vegetables.
Friday
Breakfast: unsweetened yogurt with peanut butter, cocoa powder and stevia.
Lunch: stewed veal with vegetables.
Dinner: Bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich with low-carb almond bread.
Saturday
Breakfast: scrambled eggs with cheese and ham with vegetables.
Lunch: a few slices of ham and cheese with nuts.
Dinner: white fish, eggs and spinach cooked in olive oil.
Sunday
Breakfast: scrambled eggs with bacon and mushrooms.
Lunch: hamburger with sauce, cheese and guacamole.
Dinner: steak with eggs and salad.
As you can see, the ketogenic diet can be very varied and extremely nutritious.
Keto Snacks
If you feel hungry between meals, here are some examples of healthy keto snacks:
- fatty meat or fish;
- cheese;
- a handful of nuts or seeds;
- cheese with olives;
- 1 or 2 hard-boiled eggs;
- dark chocolate with 90% cocoa;
- low-carb milkshakes with almond milk, cocoa powder and peanut butter;
- full cream yogurt with nut butter and cocoa powder;
- strawberries with cream;
- celery with sauce and guacamole.
How to follow the keto diet if you have to eat out
Today, finding a restaurant with a keto menu or locations suitable for dieters is no longer so difficult. Most establishments offer a large variety of meat and fish items, and you can get vegetables as a side dish.
Egg dishes are also a great option for the keto diet, like scrambled eggs or bacon with eggs.
Another ideal dish is a burger, but it is better to cut half of the bread. Replace the fries with vegetables and ask to add cheese, sauce or a piece of butter to the filling.
It is better to refuse dessert in the usual sense of the word in restaurants. But you can order a cheese, berry and cream platter or panna cotta.
Side effects of the keto diet and how to minimize them
While the ketogenic diet is safe for healthy people, you may notice some side effects at first as your body adapts to the new eating plan. For example, in the first few days, many people get a ketogenic cold.
Ketoflu is a condition in which you feel more hungry, have less energy, and may also experience sleep problems, nausea, and indigestion.
To minimize this problem, you can try a standard low-carb diet for the first week, then add more fat to the diet. This will prepare the body to burn more fat before the amount of carbohydrates in the diet becomes much smaller.
Supplements in the Ketogenic Diet
While supplements aren't necessary, these supplements can be especially helpful when on keto:
- flaxseed, olive and any other vegetable oils - add to meals or drink in the morning on an empty stomach to increase the level of ketones in the body;
- caffeine will help maintain energy and also speed up fat burning;
- creatine - improves performance and is especially recommended for intensive training while on a keto diet;
- Whey Protein: Add half a scoop of whey protein to smoothies or yogurt to boost your daily protein intake.
Frequently asked questions about the Keto diet
1. Can I return to normal carbohydrate consumption?
If you go on a keto diet, and then suddenly return carbohydrates to your life, the weight loss results will go downhill. It's best to eat fewer carbs after finishing the ketogenic diet than you can afford before. What's more, you'll have less cravings for carbohydrate-rich foods!
2. Will I lose muscle mass on the keto diet?
In any diet there is a risk of loss of muscle mass. However, high protein intake and controlled ketone levels will help minimize muscle loss - especially if you're doing endurance training.
3. Can I build muscle on a ketogenic diet?
Yes, but it won't be as easy as a moderate carb diet.
4. Do I need to have a carb day every now and then?
No, but it can help if you add a few days of more calories than usual to your diet plan.
5. How much protein can I eat?
Protein intake should be moderate, as high protein intake can cause insulin spikes and ketones to drop. The upper limit for protein intake is 35% of total calories.
6. What should I do if I often feel tired and weak?
You may not be following a ketogenic diet properly, or your body may not be using fats and ketones properly. To ease discomfort, try eating even fewer carbs and continue to follow the tips we've given to help make sure you're in ketosis.
7. Why does the smell of urine change - become more pronounced?
Don't worry, it's just a result of ketosis.
8. What should I do if I have bad breath?
This is a very common side effect of the keto diet. Try drinking more water or chewing sugar-free gum.
9. Is it true that ketosis is dangerous?
People often confuse ketosis with ketoacidosis. The first is a natural process for fat processing, and the second is only present with uncontrolled diabetes.
Ketosis is dangerous, but ketoacidosis that occurs on a ketogenic diet is completely normal and even healthy.
10. What should I do if I have digestive problems, constipation or diarrhea?
This side effect usually goes away 3-4 weeks after starting the keto diet. If the condition persists, try eating more high-fiber vegetables. Magnesium supplements can also help with constipation.
The ketogenic diet is good, but not for everyone
The ketogenic diet can be beneficial for people who are overweight, have diabetes, or want to improve their metabolic health. But if you're interested in gaining muscle, you're better off looking at other nutritional options.
Also, like any diet, the ketogenic diet will only work if you're diligent about it. The results will appear in the long run - you'd better not wait to lose weight quickly.