Tuesday, March 5, 2019

A ketogenic diet for beginners

A ketogenic diet for beginners


A keto or ketogenic diet is a very low-carb diet, which can help you burn fat more effectively. Many people have already experienced its many proven benefits for weight loss, health and performance. It’s also used and recommended by many doctors.
 
Here you’ll learn how to eat a keto diet based on real foods. You’ll find visual guides, recipes, meal plans and a simple 2-week get started program, all you need to succeed on keto.


1. Intro: What is the keto diet?

What “keto” means

The “keto” in a ketogenic diet comes from the fact that it allows the body to produce small fuel molecules called “ketones”. This is an alternative fuel source for the body, used when blood sugar (glucose) is in short supply.

Ketones are produced if you eat very few carbs (that are quickly broken down into blood sugar) and only moderate amounts of protein (excess protein can also be converted to blood sugar).

The liver produces ketones from fat. These ketones then serve as a fuel source throughout the body, especially for the brain.

The brain is a hungry organ that consumes lots of energy every day, and it can’t run on fat directly. It can only run on glucose… or ketones.

On a ketogenic diet, your entire body switches its fuel supply to run mostly on fat, burning fat 24-7. When insulin levels become very low, fat burning can increase dramatically. It becomes easier to access your fat stores to burn them off. This is great if you’re trying to lose weight, but there are also other less obvious benefits, such as less hunger and a steady supply of energy. This may help keep you alert and focused.

When the body produces ketones, it enters a metabolic state called ketosis. The fastest way to get there is by fasting – not eating anything – but nobody can fast forever.

A keto diet, on the other hand, can be eaten indefinitely and also results in ketosis. It has many of the benefits of fasting – including weight loss – without having to fast.

2. Why to eat a keto diet – the health benefits

The benefits of a ketogenic diet are similar to those of other low-carb diets, but it appears to be more powerful than liberal low-carb diets. Think of keto as a super-charged low-carb diet, maximizing the benefits. However, it can also be harder to do, and it may increase the risk of side effects a bit.

Lose weight
Turning your body into a fat-burning machine can be beneficial for weight loss. Fat burning is significantly increased, while insulin – the fat-storing hormone – levels drop greatly. This appears to make it far easier for body fat loss to occur, without hunger.

More than 30 high-quality scientific studies show that, compared to other diets, low-carb and keto diets result in more effective weight loss.

Appetite control
On a keto diet you’re likely to gain a new control over your appetite. When your body burns fat 24-7, it has constant access to weeks or months of stored energy, significantly reducing feelings of hunger. It’s a very common experience, and studies prove it.

This makes it easy to eat less and lose excess weight – just wait until you’re hungry before you eat. It also makes intermittent fasting easier, something that can super-charge efforts to reverse type 2 diabetes and speed up weight loss, beyond the effect of keto only.

Plus, you’ll save tons of time and money by not having to snack all the time. Many people only feel the need to eat twice a day on a keto diet (often skipping breakfast), and some just once a day.

Not having to fight feelings of hunger could also potentially help with problems like sugar or food addiction, and possibly some eating disorders, like bulimia, as well. At least feeling satisfied can be part of the solution. Food can stop being an enemy and become your friend – or simply fuel, whatever you prefer.