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The Keto Diet: A Beginners Guide to Help You Lose Weight

How To Lose That Weight Fast

By Doris NthumbiPublished 4 years ago 5 min read
The Keto Diet: A Beginners Guide to Help You Lose Weight
Photo by Nadine Primeau on Unsplash

The keto diet is one of the most effective diets for weight loss. You can lose up to 10 pounds in a month, and maintain your weight for years by eating this way. The ketogenic diet is a low-carb, high-fat diet that forces your body to use fat as fuel.

Ketosis happens when your body doesn't have enough carbs from food for it to use as an energy source and turns instead to fat. This leads to major weight loss and better blood sugar levels. Here are some reasons why the keto diet might be right for you.

The Ketogenic Diet

The keto diet is a low-carb, high-fat diet that forces your body to use fat as fuel. The ketogenic diet typically consists of 70% fats, 25% protein, and 5% carbs. When you're on the keto diet, you eat things like bacon, cheese, oils, nuts and avocados. This creates an environment where you can lose weight at a rapid rate because it's using up all the energy in your body.

Many people start out on the keto diet to lose weight or manage their diabetes or other diseases like epilepsy. But it can also help many who are looking for better ways to improve their overall health and wellness without having to take any prescription medications.

As people age they often need more fuel for their bodies to keep them active throughout the day. Ketosis helps provide this for people by giving them extra energy while still helping them lose weight.

The keto diet doesn't include many carbs so it's great for people with diabetes because it reduces the risk of spikes in blood sugar levels. With less glucose in your system, there's less chance of insulin resistance which can lead to type 2 diabetes over time.

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Why The Keto Diet Works

The keto or ketogenic diet has been used for decades to help people with diabetes manage their blood sugar levels. Now, the keto is being used by people without diabetes to help them lose weight quickly. The keto diet has many benefits, including:

-Reduced hunger pangs

-Quicker weight loss

-Improved mood

-Mental clarity

There are many reasons why the keto diet works so well. First, the keto reduces the amount of carbs you eat in a day. With fewer carbs coming into your system, your body will start using fat for fuel instead. This process is called ketosis and it typically takes less than 24 hours for your body to convert all of its glycogen stores into glucose.

Second, because your body can't get energy from carbs anymore, it starts burning fat more efficiently by releasing enzymes that break it down into ketones which are an easy source of energy for cells in your body. Finally, the high-fat content of this diet forces water out of your cells making them shrink resulting in rapid weight loss!

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How To Follow A Keto Diet Plan

The keto diet is a low-carb, high-fat diet. You can lose weight and improve your blood sugar levels by following this plan. To follow the plan, you need to cut out all sugar and eat foods that are high in fat and low in carbs. The best way to do this is to eat lots of low-carb vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, cucumber, cabbage and spinach.

You should also eat fatty cuts of meat such as pork chops or skinless chicken breasts without the skin. Be sure to use healthy oils like olive oil when cooking to make it even easier for yourself. Additionally, you'll need to avoid any drinks that include calories like milk or soda because they will stop the weight loss process for you.

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What to Eat on the Keto Diet

The keto diet is all about eating foods that are high in fat, moderate in protein, and low in carbs. It's important to note that not all fat is created equal. The ketogenic diet isn't just about the number of calories you consume; it's about the quality of calories as well.

You will need to monitor your caloric intake carefully on this diet. You need to make sure you eat only 20-30 grams of carbs every day (keep an eye on pre-packaged food to make sure). When you eat carbs, your body converts them into glucose, burning through them quickly. As a result, the keto diet eschews most grains, starchy vegetables like potatoes or corn, fruit, rice, beans and legumes that contain high amounts of carbohydrates.

The goal is to stay under 50 grams of carbs per day until you reach your goal weight--and then to slowly bring your carb intake back up so that you don't experience the dreaded "keto flu" symptoms like headaches or extreme fatigue.

How to Tell If You're In Ketosis

One of the major benefits of going keto is being able to lose weight. If you're not losing weight, check your ketosis levels. This will help you identify if the diet is working or not. Ketosis can be detected by using a urine test strip or blood ketone meter. The strip changes color when it detects elevated levels of ketones in your urine, so it's easy to see from a quick glance. A blood ketone meter will beep and show you your level of ketosis on a digital readout that ranges from 0-5 mmol/L (millimolar). You'll want a level above 2.0 mmol/L for best results on the diet.

If you're wondering how long it takes to reach keto, it usually takes around two weeks on a strict low-carb diet to enter into fat-adaptation mode where your body starts burning fat as its primary fuel source instead of carbs. When this happens, you need less insulin because glucose is not needed as often as before and there's no shortage from food sources like fruits and vegetables. At first, some people may experience some symptoms like tiredness and headaches but these symptoms should dissipate within three days and stop altogether after about six weeks with the proper nutritional adjustments and exercise regimen.

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Common Side Effects of the Keto Diet

Some side effects of the keto diet are common. Some people experience constipation, the feeling of being tired/sluggish, and a bad mood.

While these side effects can be tough sometimes, they usually go away after a few weeks on the diet. A lot of people also have bad breath for a while because there's a buildup of ketones in your system, which is made worse by not wearing deodorant or mouthwash. This usually goes away as well after you're used to things and your body starts using fat rather than carbs as it's main energy source.

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Conclusion

The ketogenic diet is a low-carb, high-fat diet with a focus on weight loss. It's a diet that focuses on the ratio of macronutrients. The ketogenic diet consists of high-fat, moderate protein and low-carbohydrates.

In order to be successful with the ketogenic diet, you'll need to track what you're eating and how much you're exercising. A keto diet can help you lose weight and reduce your risk for chronic diseases. If you want to try the keto diet, you should speak with a nutritionist first.

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