The ketogenic diet, otherwise known as the low-carb, high-fat diet is a metabolic state in which the body transitions from using glycogen for fuel to using fat for fuel.
This is achieved by eating a low carbohydrate, high fat diet with moderate protein intake. The individual is regularly providing their body with an alternative fuel source to use that primarily consists of ketones (a type of fatty acid). This puts your body into an increased state of fat burning; it also prevents or reduces the feeling of hunger.
The keto diet helps you to lose weight, but it's also known for being healthy and having a range of other health benefits. If you're thinking about following the keto diet, here's what you need to know:
What is the Keto Diet?
The goals of the ketogenic diet are as follows: 1. To deplete your body of its glycogen stores [1] . Glycogen is a type of stored carbohydrate that your body uses as fuel. After about 3 days without carbohydrate intake, your liver creates ketones from fat to use as a secondary fuel source in the absence of glucose/carbohydrate from food intake [2] . 2. To increase your consumption of dietary fats [3]. 3. To make you feel less hungry [4]
So, for a period of 3-4 days, or even longer if you prefer, the ketogenic diet requires that you consume high amounts of fat, moderate amounts of protein, and very low carbohydrates.
The amount that you will eat depends on your own weight, so the below information is intended as a guide to help you know how much to eat. It's worth noting that the actual macros (fat, protein and carbs) will vary depending on your exact weight.
Keto Diet Foods
It's possible for some people to eat an exclusively keto diet (eating only food that is naturally low in carbohydrates), but most people will need at least some vegetable or fruit intake of at least 5-10% of their calories per day from carbs [5]. For this reason, it's important that you include vegetables in your diet on days when you are not eating a lot of fats. Your keto diet menu will typically follow the following structure:
5-10% of calories per day from carbohydrates. This is most people's carb amounts, and there are various ways to accomplish this. The simplest is to pick foods that naturally have a small amount of carbs in them (e.g. leafy greens, asparagus, cucumber), but you can also accomplish this through the use of low carb substitutes for high carb foods (e.g.. flax meal for oatmeal or almond flour instead of wheat flour). Vegans who refuse