Are you considering starting a ketogenic diet? The weight loss results you have heard associated with this diet are real and achievable! You can take the next step towards attaining your ideal weight by learning about the diet. This article and the advice of your doctor will help you decide if the ketogenic diet is the right diet for you.
What is the Keto diet?
People who follow the ketogenic diet are eating certain foods for the purpose of sending their body into the state of Ketosis.
As carbohydrates are the go-to fuel source of our bodies, the high protein keto diet causes our bodies to act as though we are fasting.
When our bodies believe we are fasting they seek other energy sources. The Keto Diet encourages the body to burn existing fat as it searches for alternative energy sources, which is referred to as the state of ketosis.
As carbohydrates are the go-to fuel source of our bodies, the high protein keto diet causes our bodies to act as though we are fasting.
When our bodies believe we are fasting they seek other energy sources. The Keto Diet encourages the body to burn existing fat as it searches for alternative energy sources, which is referred to as the state of ketosis.
The liver then converts fatty acids into ketones, the alternative energy source that makes this diet successful and popular. These ketones are our allies; they help us get our bodies beach-ready. Ketones are who to thank for the dramatic weight loss results that are possible by following this diet.
A Basic Outline Of The Keto Diet
Reduce carbohydrates in your diet.
Increase proteins and healthy fats in your diet.
When your body is not provided sugar or carbohydrates to burn, it begins burning fat. This results in the production of ketones.
When the levels of ketones in your body increases to a particular level, your body has reached the state of ketosis.
At this point, keto diet followers usually experience quick and consistent weight loss, as well as a reduction in appetite, fewer cravings, and other benefits.
The foods we are allowed to eat when following a diet plan is where most people begin when considering starting a new diet. Here are foods that keto diet participants may eat:
Keto Friendly Foods
Vegetables: Broccoli, leafy greens, tomatoes, carrots, mushrooms, asparagus, zucchini, and cauliflower.
Meats: unprocessed meats, fish, seafood, and eggs.
Spices: basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, salt, curry, chili, pepper, and cinnamon.
Healthy Fats: olive oil, palm oil, coconut oil, seeds, nuts.
Dairy: Cheese may also be enjoyed in moderation.
Fruit: Fruits are not particularly keto friendly, however, you may enjoy berries in moderation, as well as avocado.
Keto diet participants must avoid sugar, carbohydrates, alcohol, processed foods, and high-calorie foods, such as pizza, pasta, cereal, bread, ice cream, junk food, and sweetened drinks. If these are some of your favorite foods, do not be discouraged; following the keto diet can help you gain control over your junk food cravings!
Removing carbohydrates from my diet was one of the most significant struggles for me when I began this diet. If giving up carbs is a lot to ask of you, which I can completely relate to, do a quick google search of keto-friendly recipes. You will be amazed at the variety you will find!
There are even pizza crusts made of cauliflower, to which I may personally attest taste much better than they sound. You can still enjoy comfort foods such as chocolate chip cookies when you locate a recipe tailored to fit into the Keto Diet.
Does the Keto Diet really work?
The ketogenic diet has been around since the 1920s. It was not popular in the mainstream diet world until the last few years. Participants in the keto diet do report efficient weight loss, however, due to the recent surge in its popularity, the long term benefits are still being determined.
While you may not feel awesome at first while your body transitions into ketosis, you will feel better as your body adjusts to the new ketonic state. The keto diet changes the way your body functions, which while it is physically tolling for a time, it does make weight loss more achievable. If you follow the diet properly, you should experience the rapid weight loss you desire.
It is also said that the keto diet improves the overall well being of participants. The mental and emotional impact of weight loss can benefit us greatly. The physical impact of the keto diet can provide participants with positive impacts as well.
The keto flu was very tough on my body and between that experience and having to cut out carbs, I nearly gave up. However, I continued to follow the Keto Diet, knowing that this side effect was temporary. My perseverance paid off; I was able to achieve the weight loss goal that I had planned for when I began this diet.
I also noticed an overall improvement in my physical well-being, so much so, that I had no desire to return to my previous dietary habits and the physical effects that accompanied them.
Why Follow The Keto Diet?
Traditional diets require us to exercise self-control, even when we are legitimately hungry. By being forced to count calories, traditional diets may cause dieters to make poor nutritional choices in an effort to keep in line with their daily calorie allowance.
This was something that I personally struggled with, and it was part of the reason I considered participating in the Keto Diet, as I wanted to make a healthy change in my life.
The keto diet can help those of us, such as myself, who lack self-control. When your body enters the state of ketosis, appetite hormones are impacted; the hormone ghrelin, which tells your body it is hungry is suppressed, and the hormone cholecystokinin (CCK), which tells your body it is full increases.
The adjustments made to these hormones after I began following the Keto Diet made a huge difference in my appetite; for the first time, I felt free from food. I no longer craved snacks and I no longer spent time thinking about the specific meals that I wanted to eat.
When the adjustments to these hormones combine with the rapid weight loss, participants in the keto diet are usually able to successfully follow the diet. The psychological benefit of my rapid weight loss helped motivate me to continue the Keto Diet, even when I struggled with certain aspects of it.
Being overweight places us at risk for chronic diseases. By forcing your body to carry extra weight, your joints wear down more quickly from carrying the extra weight than at the rate they would experience carrying a healthy weight. Dieting can be frustrating and many people do not achieve immediate results, making the efforts they make feel unrequited. Participating in the keto diet is a way for people to lose weight quickly, thereby improving their physical well being, and their mental well being from the visual result of their hard work and from the confidence they feel as they achieve weight loss.
Lose Weight More Easily With Keto
The Keto diet may be a beneficial way for diabetics to lose weight and improve the control of their blood sugar. Carbohydrates and sugar are two types of nourishment that create challenges and restrictions for diabetic patients. As carbohydrates turn into glucose, diabetics experience blood sugar spikes that require insulin and medication adjustments. Since the keto diet relies on fat rather than sugar for energy, the reduction of sugar in the body can assist diabetics to maintain a healthy blood sugar level. If a diabetic achieves more control over managing their condition, certain medications may no longer be needed.
According to a 2007 study, women who followed a ketogenic diet or a low carbohydrate diet were able to decrease their blood pressure more effectively than women who followed traditional diets which included carbohydrates. While some participants were able to lower their blood pressure by the Keto Diet and without medication, others still required medication. Be sure to consult with your doctor before discontinuing any medications.
The Keto Diet was actually designed by a doctor at The Mayo Clinic, Dr. Wilder, specifically for the benefit of children who suffered from epilepsy. The study of this diet in Dr. Wilder’s patients proved to be beneficial to the children’s overall well being, as well as a provider of symptom reduction, on par with and in some cases better than the relief provided by the children’s medications.
Diets high in sugar can impact the function of the brain; due to lack of sugar in the keto diet, participants may experience mental clarity and better focus.
Ketones also have the ability to protect brain cells, preserve neural function, and prevent neural loss. These benefits are good for anyone, but especially Alzheimer’s patients. Studies have shown that Alzheimer’s patients who were administered ketone supplements experienced improved memory.
People with the following medical conditions may benefit from the keto diet:
Type 1 Diabetes
Type 2 Diabetes
Alzheimer's Disease
Epilepsy
Chronic Migraines
Heart Disease
High Blood Pressure
Fatty Liver Disease
Cancer
Is a Keto Diet beneficial for your health?
Many people may argue that the keto diet is unhealthy due to the restrictive nature; they believe that our bodies were made to consume a variety of foods to receive all the nutrients we require from different sources. However, the keto diet is a healthy choice for dieters because it encourages participants to make more selective and healthier food choices.
Traditional diet plans that send meals to your home mostly consist of processed foods. Keto diet participants have access to a multitude of healthy recipes and must seek non-processed foods for their diet. Processed foods have been linked to cancer.
I personally enjoyed being more selective and purposeful when shopping for my Keto Diet meals, and combined with the incorporation of supplements, my doctor approved my Keto Diet plan.
As all people have different needs and health conditions, there is no universally perfect diet. Please consult with your doctor if you are unsure if the keto diet is right for you.
Ketogenic Diet Benefits and Studies
The most significant benefit of the keto diet is the rapid weight loss most participants experience when their bodies enter ketosis.
The keto diet offers many additional benefits, including, but not limited to the following benefits:
1. Higher Fat Burning
Sending your body into the state of ketosis burns fat efficiently by using your body’s natural capabilities.
2. Increased Energy
As traditional diets cause our bodies to experience highs, lows, and spikes in blood sugar, we often feel the impact on our energy in the form of sugar highs after consuming sugary foods or carbohydrates, and a subsequent crash or lack of energy when our body burns through the sugar it was given, frequently referred to as the state of being “hangry”.
Due to the lack of carbohydrates and sugar in the Keto Diet, participants have a more consistent energy source, and most report that their energy level increases overall. They do not experience the highs and lows associated with blood sugars that traditional dieters feel.
Removing the highs and lows aforementioned helped me greatly; I frequently experienced “hanger” when I followed traditional diets.
3. Improved Complexion
Sugary foods and carbohydrates can contribute to breakouts. The Keto Diet can assist our bodies with producing healthier mitochondria, which improves our bodies’ healing abilities and contributes to clearer skin. Removing sugary foods from my diet drastically improved my complexion.
4. Fewer Cravings For Unhealthy Foods
When your body successfully reaches the state of ketosis, blood sugar levels reach a consistent level. When you experience cravings for specific foods or excessive hunger, it is likely correlated to erratic blood sugar levels. The Keto Diet provides participants with a natural method to gain control of their blood sugar levels. With this control, you will experience fewer, if any, cravings between meals. I particularly appreciated this benefit, as between meal snacks were a frequent part of my day.
5. Feeling More Satisfied After Meals
The types of foods allowed to be consumed while participating in the Keto Diet make our bodies feel more full. Traditional dieters may not feel satisfied after consuming carbohydrates and end up eating more food as a result. You may also save money on your grocery bills as a result of feeling more full after meals, as you will not want to eat as much.
6. Better Focus
Inflammation can impair our cognitive function. When following the Keto Diet, many participants report experiencing a better ability to focus, which may be as a result of the reduced inflammation in their bodies. Additionally, our brains are made of approximately sixty percent fat and therefore benefit from the consumption of healthy fats. The healthy fats that participants of the Keto Diet consume are the type of fats that may improve the function of the brain. Participants of the Keto Diet also report better memory.
7. Decreased Inflammation
When sugar is consumed excessively for energy, the process of burning glucose for energy often results in unstable blood sugar levels. A lack of consistent blood sugar levels can cause inflammation in our bodies. Inflammation can cause joint pain, weight gain, and impaired cognitive function. However, the Keto Diet provides our bodies with a natural way to regulate consistent blood sugar levels and insulin production.
8. Mitochondrial Biogenesis
What our bodies experience as they transition into ketosis, then how the body functions during ketosis, can stimulate the growth of new, healthier mitochondria, while simultaneously culling unhealthy or weak mitochondria. Stronger mitochondria contribute to our bodies general improvement, as well as providing an improved ability to heal.
9. Anti-Aging Effects
Anti-Aging effects: The Keto Diet is said to improve the health of our body’s mitochondria. New research suggests that healthier mitochondria can contribute to the prevention of premature or untimely aging.
10. Decreases Chances Of Chronic Illnesses
Due to the mitochondrial benefits of the Keto Diet, your body is better prepared to heal itself efficiently. If you have a family history of illnesses, participating in the Keto Diet is a way to prepare your body to combat the onset of certain illnesses. One of the factors which motivated me to follow the Keto Diet was a family history of diabetes.
Keto Side Effects and Precautions
The most significant side effect of the keto diet is the “keto flu”. As your body is adjusting from burning glucose to burning fat, you may experience some undesirable symptoms such as increased urination, nausea, vomiting, constipation, irregular menstrual cycles, decreased libido, general weakness and/or muscle soreness, trouble focusing, bad breath, irritability, difficulty sleeping, and headaches.
The frequent urination, vomiting, and diarrhea that may be experienced have the potential to cause dehydration and loss of electrolytes, contributing to the dieter feeling worse. It is very important to drink lots of water during the transition to ketosis to combat the side effects.
Some people struggle with following a restricted diet; as such, it is common to see keto dieters “yo-yo”. By going on and off this diet, your weight loss may not be maintained long term. You also may experience the negative side effects more frequently, as your body will be working hard as it is bouncing between going into ketosis and returning to a non-ketonic state.
Children and teenagers are not recommended to participate in the keto diet. As this diet is very restrictive and some children are already picky eaters, it may deprive them of consuming important nutrients that their growing bodies need.
Individuals with renal disease should consider other weight loss options unless their doctor approves the Keto Diet. High protein diets have a negative impact on bodies suffering from kidney disease. In fact, doctors usually institute low protein diets for renal disease patients.
Should you choose to partake in the keto diet, make sure that you are taking appropriate vitamins and supplements. Due to the restrictive nature of the keto diet, your body may no longer have access to many of the vitamins and minerals it obtained from the variety of foods you ate before the diet.
Doctors do state that individuals who are on the keto diet long term could have micronutrient deficiencies as depending on what you eat, it is not necessarily a completely balanced diet. Accordingly, over time, this may contribute to bone loss and place you at risk for certain diseases if your body does not receive the micronutrients it misses from an alternative source. If you plan on staying on the diet long term, you may want to speak to your doctor about getting a blood test after being on the diet for some time.
Low Carb Diet Facts and Research
The Mayo Clinic states that while there are short term benefits to low carb diets, most studies are about one year in duration, making the long term benefits and risks largely unknown. Research regarding the actual ketogenic diet is very limited. Due to the recent surge in popularity, it is likely that more studies will take place in the future.
However, we may link diets high in protein to a higher risk for heart disease due to the increased cholesterol in high protein diets.
Final Thoughts
My personal participation in the Keto Diet was successful; I lost the weight I planned to lose and experienced positive physical side effects after my body adjusted. While I do recommend the keto diet and believe that it offers many benefits, it is not for everyone. Do you think the keto diet is for you? Discuss this article with your doctor to see if it is the best choice for your weight loss plan.
