Keto Diet: A Beginner's Guide To Getting Started

The keto diet is a high-fat, low-carbohydrate eating plan that has been around since the 1920s. It was originally used to help with conditions like epilepsy and diabetes, but today, it is used as a weight-loss method. The keto diet can be tough to start as it involves a radical departure from the way you're eating now. It involves drastically reducing your carbohydrate intake and replacing it with fat. This reduction in carbs puts your body into a metabolic state called ketosis, where your body uses fat as its main fuel source. In this state, your liver turns fat into small energy molecules called ketones, which your brain and other organs can use for energy.

What to eat and what to avoid

The keto diet is a high-fat, low-carbohydrate eating plan that can be tough to start. It involves drastically reducing your carbohydrate intake and replacing it with fat. This reduction in carbs puts your body into a metabolic state called ketosis, where it becomes very efficient at burning fat for energy.

What to Eat

• Meat: red meat, steak, ham, sausage, bacon, chicken, and turkey
• Fatty fish: salmon, trout, tuna, and mackerel
• Eggs: pastured or omega-3 whole eggs
• Butter and cream: grass-fed butter and heavy cream
• Cheese: unprocessed cheeses like cheddar, goat, cream, blue, or mozzarella
• Nuts and seeds: almonds, walnuts, flaxseeds, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, etc
• Healthy oils: extra virgin olive oil and avocado oil
• Avocados: whole avocados or freshly made guacamole
• Low-carb vegetables: leafy greens, tomatoes, onions, peppers, etc

What to Avoid

• Sugary foods: soda, fruit juice, smoothies, cake, ice cream, candy, etc
• Grains or starches: wheat-based products, rice, pasta, cereal, etc
• Fruit: all fruit, except small portions of berries like strawberries
• Beans or legumes: peas, kidney beans, lentils, chickpeas, etc
• Root vegetables and tubers: potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips, etc
• Low-fat or diet products: low-fat mayonnaise, salad dressings, and condiments
• Some condiments or sauces: barbecue sauce, honey mustard, teriyaki sauce, ketchup, etc
• Unhealthy fats: processed vegetable oils, mayonnaise, etc
• Alcohol: beer, wine, liquor, mixed drinks
• Sugar-free diet foods: sugar-free candies, syrups, puddings, sweeteners, desserts, etc

How to prepare for a high-fat diet

How to Prepare for a High-Fat Keto Diet

The keto diet is a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet that has gained popularity as a weight-loss method. It involves reducing carbohydrate intake to a minimum and increasing fat intake, which makes up about 60% to 80% of your daily calories. This diet can be challenging, but there are several things you can do to prepare for it.

Step 1: Understand the Basics of the Keto Diet

Before starting the keto diet, it's important to understand its principles and potential benefits and risks. The keto diet aims to force your body to use fat as its primary fuel source instead of glucose. This is achieved by drastically reducing carbohydrate intake, typically to less than 50 grams per day, and increasing fat intake. The body then enters a state of ketosis, where it burns fat for energy and produces ketones in the liver.

Step 2: Consult a Healthcare Professional

The keto diet is quite restrictive and involves significant changes to your daily diet. It is always recommended to consult a doctor or nutritionist before starting the keto diet, especially if you have any health conditions, dietary restrictions, or are taking medications. They can help determine if the keto diet is suitable for you and provide guidance on how to safely incorporate it into your lifestyle.

Step 3: Plan Your Meals

To successfully follow the keto diet, planning your meals is essential. Focus on including a variety of keto-friendly foods in your diet, such as:

• Animal proteins: Fatty fish like salmon, meat, and poultry are good options.
• Dairy: Choose full-fat dairy products like cheese, butter, and cream.
• Vegetables: Opt for non-starchy, fibrous, and leafy green vegetables like spinach, kale, broccoli, and cauliflower.
• Healthy fats: Avocados, nuts, seeds, olive oil, and coconut oil are excellent sources of healthy fats.
• Drinks: Unsweetened coffee, tea, and sparkling water are good beverage choices.

Step 4: Stock Your Pantry

Once you have a meal plan in place, it's time to restock your pantry and fridge with keto-friendly foods. Remove any high-carb or sugary items and replace them with the foods mentioned above. This will help you stay on track and make it easier to prepare keto-compliant meals.

Step 5: Be Mindful of Potential Side Effects

When starting the keto diet, it's important to be aware of potential side effects, such as the "`keto flu," which may include symptoms like stomach aches, diarrhea, trouble sleeping, and poor focus. These symptoms usually occur as your body adjusts to burning fat for energy instead of glucose. Staying hydrated, getting enough rest, and gradually transitioning into the diet can help minimize these side effects.

Remember, the keto diet is not suitable for everyone, and it should be approached with caution. It is always best to consult a healthcare professional to determine if it is right for you and to ensure you are meeting your nutritional needs.

The types of keto diet

The Ketogenic diet, or keto, is a low-carb, high-fat diet that shares similarities with the Atkins and low-carb diets. It involves drastically reducing carbohydrate intake and replacing it with fat. This reduction in carbs puts your body into a metabolic state called ketosis, where fat is burned for energy instead of carbohydrates.

There are several types of keto diets, including:

Standard Ketogenic Diet (SKD)

The most common form of keto, this involves getting about 70-75% of your calories from fat, 20% from protein, and 5-10% from carbs. This equates to limiting carb intake to around 20-50 grams per day.

Cyclical Ketogenic Diet (CKD)

This diet involves periods of higher-carb intake, such as five ketogenic days followed by one or two higher-carb days. On high-carb days, you can eat up to 500 grams of carbohydrates, while on keto days, you reduce this to 20-30 grams.

Targeted Ketogenic Diet (TKD)

This diet allows you to add carbs around workouts, with 15-50 grams of fast-absorbing carbs consumed before, during, or after exercise. This provides a boost of energy and can improve performance and recovery.

High-Protein Ketogenic Diet

Also known as the modified Atkins diet, this variation involves increasing protein intake to 30-35% of calories, with fat making up 50-60% and carbohydrates remaining under 10%. This diet is suitable for those who need more protein, such as bodybuilders and older people.

Keto 2.0

This newer version of the keto diet reduces fat intake to 50% of calories, while increasing protein to 30% and carbs to 20%. This allows for a wider variety of carb sources, such as fruit, vegetables, beans, and whole grains.

Lazy Keto

This version of the keto diet focuses solely on tracking carb intake, keeping it below 50 grams per day. Calories, fat, and protein intake are not tracked.

Mediterranean Keto

This diet combines the standard keto macros with an emphasis on Mediterranean diet elements like fatty fish, olive oil, and monounsaturated fatty acids.

Dirty Keto

The dirty keto approach follows the same macronutrient distribution as the standard keto diet, but the source of these macros can come from any type of food, including highly processed and prepackaged meals.

Clean Keto

Swinging in the opposite direction of dirty keto, clean keto focuses on eating organic and "healthy" versions of foods. This includes grass-fed meats, cold-pressed oils, and whole plant foods.

Traditional Ketogenic Diet (4:1)

The original therapeutic keto diet developed in the 1920s to treat childhood epilepsy. This highly restrictive diet involves a 4:1 ratio of fat to protein and carbohydrates, with about 80% of calories coming from fat.

It's important to note that only the standard and high-protein ketogenic diets have been extensively studied. The cyclical and targeted ketogenic diets are more advanced methods primarily used by bodybuilders and athletes.

The benefits of a keto diet

The keto diet has been around since the 1920s and is a low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet. It has been proven to have many health benefits, including:

Weight Loss

The keto diet is well known as a weight-loss tool. It causes the body to break down fat for energy, which results in the production of ketones that the body uses for fuel. This process is called ketosis. The keto diet can also reduce your appetite, which may lead to eating less food.

Improved Heart Health

The keto diet can improve heart health by reducing cholesterol. High levels of cholesterol increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, so the keto diet's reducing effect on cholesterol may lower the risk of heart complications.

Reduced Risk of Certain Cancers

The keto diet may be a safe and suitable complementary treatment to use alongside chemotherapy and radiation therapy in people with certain cancers. This is because it causes more oxidative stress in cancer cells than in normal cells, causing them to die. The keto diet may also lower the risk of insulin complications, which are linked to some cancers.

Improved Brain Function

The ketones generated during the keto diet provide neuroprotective benefits, strengthening and protecting the brain and nerve cells. Therefore, a keto diet may help prevent or manage conditions such as Alzheimer's disease.

Reduced Seizures

The keto diet has been proven to reduce seizures in people with epilepsy, especially those who have not responded to other treatment methods.

Improved PCOS Symptoms

A pilot study from 2005 examined five women over 24 weeks and found that a ketogenic diet improved several markers of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), including ratios of luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and levels of fasting insulin.

Increased Muscle Mass and Strength

A UC Davis Health study found that a ketogenic diet improved muscle function in older animals by preventing muscle mass loss due to age.

The risks of a keto diet

The ketogenic diet is a low-carb, high-fat diet that has gained popularity in recent years. While it may lead to quick weight loss, it also has several risks that should be considered before starting this diet. Here are some of the dangers of the keto diet:

• May lead to the keto flu: Carbohydrate intake on the keto diet is typically limited to fewer than 50 grams per day, which can be a shock to the body. As a result, you may experience flu-like symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, fatigue, nausea, and constipation due to dehydration and electrolyte imbalances.
• May stress your kidneys: The keto diet includes high-fat animal foods such as eggs, meat, and cheese, which can increase the risk of kidney stones. This is because a high intake of animal foods can make your blood and urine more acidic, leading to increased calcium excretion in the urine.
• May cause digestive issues and changes in gut bacteria: The keto diet restricts carbohydrates, making it difficult to meet daily fiber needs. This can lead to digestive discomfort and constipation. It may also negatively affect gut bacteria, which is important for immune function, mental health, and reducing inflammation.
• May lead to nutrient deficiencies: The keto diet restricts several nutrient-dense foods, including fruits, whole grains, and legumes. This may result in vitamin and mineral deficiencies over time, including calcium, vitamin D, magnesium, and phosphorus.
• May cause dangerously low blood sugar: While the keto diet can help manage blood sugar levels in people with diabetes, it may also increase the risk of hypoglycemia, especially in individuals with type 1 diabetes. Hypoglycemia is marked by confusion, shakiness, fatigue, and sweating and can lead to coma and death if not treated.
• May damage bone health: The keto diet has been associated with impaired bone health and decreased bone mineral density. This can lead to an increased risk of bone fractures and other bone-related issues.
• May increase the risk of chronic diseases and early death: The keto diet's effect on the risk of chronic illnesses, such as heart disease and cancer, is debated and not fully understood. However, some evidence suggests that high-fat, low-carb diets focusing on animal foods may lead to poor health outcomes, while diets emphasizing vegetable sources of fats and proteins provide benefits.

Before starting the keto diet, it is essential to consult with a healthcare professional to ensure it is safe and appropriate for your individual needs and health status.

Frequently asked questions