The Ketogenic Diet for Beginners
Changing your life is never easy. When it comes to living a healthier life, you need to make small changes every day. The keto diet is becoming one of the most popular ways to achieve this.
What is the Keto Diet?
A ketogenic diet, or Keto for short, is a popular diet that significantly reduces carbs. Typically, a person will eat 10 percent of their calories in carbs, which is usually around 20 grams per day. This means that most of your calories are coming from protein and healthy fats. The goal is to get your body into ketosis, a state that burns fat but still fuels the body.
In order to properly do a keto diet, you will have to eliminate some healthy foods from your diet. For example, an apple typically has 25 carbohydrates in it. That’s more than the diet allows for the day. Instead, you’ll be eating berries, coconuts, peaches, cantaloupe, and watermelon in smaller portions.
There are also several foods with no calories that you can enjoy. Seafood, lean meats, broccoli, cauliflower, leafy greens, eggs and dairy products usually become a part of everyday meals.
As one could guess, a lot of unhealthy items are completely off limits. Some zero-calorie beverages, such as water, sparkling water, coffee, and tea are acceptable, but regular soda and most alcohol will put you over your carb limits. Some people choose to make smoothies or purchase keto shakes as a treat.
Natural Products and Remedies
There are several natural products and home remedies to help with overall health. Before you start looking into products, you should assess your needs and identify your health goals. After speaking with your doctor, they may recommend a blood test to help you identify nutrients your system may be lacking. They can also give you recommendations on which products to use. In some cases, they may suggest multivitamins or adding specific foods to your diet.
How Does the Keto Diet Burn Fat?
By replacing carbs with fat, you are tricking your body into ketosis. Instead of burning glucose for energy, ketosis encourages the body to burn stored fat. The lower your carb intake, the lower your glucose is, and therefore, the more you burn. Because you are also closely watching what you eat and how many calories you are taking in, the keto diet can help you lose weight.
Tips for While You are on Keto
Jumping into a strict Keto diet can be difficult for most people. It requires a lot of discipline to cut carbs down to a minimum and having one cheat item can kick you out of ketosis. Tracking your food intake using an app can be very beneficial, especially when trying to track your daily carb intake.
Planning meals ahead of time is also a must on Keto. If you have time, prepare large meals and portion out the leftovers. This will make it easier to track what you are eating and you won’t be as tempted to reach for foods you should be restricting.
While on Keto, especially when starting out, your body may undergo a lot of changes. This can produce flu-like symptoms as your body adjusts. Drink plenty of water throughout the day. If you do feel sick, try finding a low-carb beverage with electrolytes or add a little bit of salt to your dinner. This can help reduce symptoms.
Choose a Diet Plan that Suits Your Needs
You are what you eat, and a healthier lifestyle starts with developing better eating habits. There are several different popular diets that you can try for weight loss or overall health. If you have specific health needs, such as a vitamin deficiency, diabetes, or other medical condition, start by talking to your doctor. They can help you select a plan that will promote your overall health.
Some people also choose to slowly eliminate foods that aren’t good for them. For example, they may give up soda one week, and fast food the next. While this may not produce fast results, it can make it easier to make permanent changes to your lifestyle.
