If you’re looking to lose weight while also cutting down on carbs and increasing your fat intake, you might be considering starting a keto diet plan. While low-carb diets like the keto diet have been known to be highly effective in helping people lose weight, they can also be difficult to stick to in the long-term, which is why we’ve put together this handy guide on how to start a keto diet plan, so that you can lose weight quickly and healthily without feeling deprived of food options.
What is keto?
Keto is an abbreviation of the word ketosis, which is the state that your body enters when it is breaking down fat instead of carbs for energy. Ketogenic dieting, or keto for short, has grown in popularity in recent years as more people look for ways to lose weight by burning off excess pounds. The keto diet works by putting the body into a state of ketosis. This usually happens when carb intake is too low. When this occurs, the liver starts converting fats from food into fatty acids and sending them out into the bloodstream. These fatty acids are then used by cells as an alternative fuel source, especially by those that don’t need insulin to function properly such as muscle cells.
Why should I try it?
Ketogenic diets have been around for decades, but thanks to celebrities like Halle Berry and Kim Kardashian, it’s become one of the most popular weight-loss plans in Hollywood. The keto diet is high-fat, moderate protein, low carbohydrate. It puts your body into ketosis where you burn fat instead of sugar as the main source of fuel. As a result you can lose up to 10 pounds a week without feeling hungry or tired! Ketones are released when no more carbs are available in your blood stream. Your body then uses those ketones as fuel instead of glucose (blood sugar). When this happens, water is released from your muscles cells which reduces the amount of stored water that enters into your bloodstream.
What can I eat?
Ketogenic diets are high in fat, moderate in protein, and low in carbohydrates. In order to reach ketosis, you need to limit your carbohydrate intake below 50 grams per day. The best way to do this is by eating naturally low-carb foods like meat, fish, eggs, vegetables and healthy fats like olive oil or coconut oil. On the keto diet plan you will be eating mostly fat with a small amount of protein for every meal. This combination is great for those who are looking for weight loss because it has been shown that eating more protein leads to increased hunger levels over time. Protein can also suppress the release of glucose into the bloodstream which can help control blood sugar levels while increasing your metabolism!
What are the benefits of going keto?
Ketos are a type of low-carb, high-fat diet that changes the way your body uses energy. The keto diet is often used by people with diabetes to help control their blood sugar levels.
Ketos are very different from other types of low-carb diets because they actually put the body into ketosis—a state where it burns fat instead of carbs for fuel.
Some benefits of going keto include increased weight loss, better mental clarity, lower insulin levels, increased energy levels, improved cholesterol levels, reduced risk for heart disease and type 2 diabetes, decreased hunger pangs, clearer skin and hair…
How do I start a keto diet?
A keto diet is a very low-carb, high-fat diet that produces ketones in the liver. As I mentioned before, the goal is to get your body in a state of ketosis. And it’s actually not as hard as you might think. You can start by following these steps:
- Follow an ultra-low carb diet for 3-4 days until you’ve depleted most of your glycogen stores. This will enable your body to quickly enter the state of ketosis. On this type of diet, carbs should be restricted to less than 20g per day and preferably 10g or less per day for best results.
How do you stay on track?
To stay on track, I plan my meals for the week ahead. Knowing what I’m going to eat makes it easier for me to stay on track with my diet plan. Plus, when you have food at home ready to go, it’s much harder to stop off at the nearest drive-thru or pick up some fast food when you’re hungry.