A recent study conducted by numerous American universities showed that the ketogenic diet, which is becoming more popular than the Atkins diet can help you to lose extra pounds faster than physical exercises. Since not everyone who tries to lose weight likes to do sports, we decided to find out more about the ketogenic diet and how effective it is.
We suggests you get familiar with the ketogenic diet principles in order to understand whether or not this diet suits you. Either way, you must remember that you need to consult a doctor before starting any diet.
The Ketogenic Diet description
Usually, our body receives energy from carbs by turning them into glucose. However, if there is a lack of carbs, the body begins to use fats to get the necessary level of energy. The Ketogenic diet is used by athletes and participants in marathons or triathlons that require especially high endurance.
In accordance with different studies, the ketogenic diet helps to suppress the production of ghrelin, the hunger hormone.
The Ketogenic diet is different from other diets because when following its rules, a person loses weight due to loss of fat — meaning that the muscle mass stays the same.
Proteins, fats, and carbs
The main element of nutrition while on the ketogenic diet is fat which takes up 75% of your whole food intake. Then proteins follow at 20%, and carbs should take up only 5% of your entire food intake.
The main condition of this diet is that sugar should be completely excluded from the menu as well as any flour products.
- Wondering how to calculate the necessary quantity of proteins, fats, and carbs? It’s actually very easy. For each 2 lb of your weight, you’ll need 1g of protein. Let’s assume that you weigh 200 lb. In this case, you’ll need an intake of 90g of protein. Additionally, you’ll need 3.75 times more fats which is approximately 12 oz, and four times fewer carbs which would be about 23g.
What is and isn’t allowed
As we mentioned above, this diet excludes carbs almost entirely while the base of nutrition should consist of foods with high concentrations of fat and protein.
Allowed foods:
- Oil and butter (ketogenic diet nutritionists specifically recommend coconut oil and butter)
- Nuts
- Eggs
- Any meat including pork, poultry, and seafood
- Mushrooms
- Green vegetables with a high concentration of fiber (which improves digestion) and tomatoes
- Full-fat dairy products excluding milk
Forbidden foods
- Any flour products
- Processed meat products (e.g. sausages) because they contain sugar
- Vegetables with a high concentration of sugar and carbs, such as corn and potatoes
- Fresh fruits and dried fruits (only some berries are allowed)
- Any alcohol and cereal that contain sugar
There are a lot of keto recipes out there so that you can enjoy different delicious dishes and never get bored with the diet. Thanks to this table, you’ll be able to find out how many proteins, fats, and carbs can be found in different foods.
The diet specifics
The main advantage of the ketogenic diet is that fast weight loss happens due to fat dissolving without involving any muscle mass. You’ll also never be hungry. This diet allows you to have a snack using the allowed foods — and you won’t even need to give up fried food! But what are the main principles of this diet?
1. The ketogenic diet doesn’t demand you to eat different foods separately. You can eat meat with any of the allowed foods, whether it’s mushrooms or eggs.
2. You won’t need to give up on salt which adds taste to food and helps to restore the balance of electrolytes.
3. This diet cannot become a forever diet because it’s unbalanced.
4. Though there are no recommendations regarding calorie quantity, you should not get more than 5,000 calories a day otherwise, you’ll see no results.
The diet doesn’t limit the time of food intake to the standard 6 pm. You can eat any time but, of course, in reasonable quantities.
The most difficult thing to get rid of is carbs. If you can’t imagine your life without potatoes, pasta or fruit, this diet would hardly suit you.
While on the diet, you may acquire a specific acetone smell from your mouth which is a side effect of the ketone production in your body. That is why it is very important to not drink less than eight glasses of water every day.
Celebrities who use the ketogenic diet
This diet has become popular thanks to Kim Kardashian who lost 60 lb after giving birth.
The famous actress, Halle Berry who has a gorgeous body, admits that it is due to the ketogenic diet which she follows from time to time. Adriana Lima and Megan Fox who are believed to be among the most beautiful women on the planet, also stick to non-carb diets.
Would you like to try the ketogenic diet? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section.
Preview photo credit Kim Kardashian/instagram, PacificCoastNews/eastnews
source : brightside
