Keto Fast: Effective Weight Loss Strategies

The ketogenic diet, or keto, is a popular eating plan that involves consuming a high amount of fat, a moderate amount of protein, and very few carbohydrates. The goal of keto is to transition the body from burning glucose (or carbs) for fuel to relying on fat for energy, resulting in a state called ketosis. While keto can lead to quick weight loss, critics argue that it may mostly be water weight, and long-term research on its effectiveness is lacking.

Intermittent fasting (IF) is another popular diet approach that restricts when, rather than what, a person eats. There are several ways to do IF, such as the 5:2 method, the Warrior Diet, and alternate-day fasting. Combining keto with IF has gained traction as a way to potentially enhance weight loss results and overcome plateaus. This involves eating keto meals during specific time windows, such as an 8-hour window followed by a 16-hour fast.

While the combination of keto and IF may make sense theoretically, there is limited rigorous research on its effectiveness for weight loss. Additionally, both diets are very restrictive, and combining them may be challenging to stick to. Before adopting this combined approach, it is crucial to consult with a healthcare professional to ensure it is safe and suitable for your individual needs.

Reducing carbohydrate intake

Reducing your carbohydrate intake is a key step in entering ketosis. Here are some detailed tips to help you cut down on carbs:

Understand Carbohydrates

First, it's important to understand what carbohydrates are and why reducing them is essential for ketosis. Carbohydrates are macronutrients found in many foods, including sugars and starches. When you eat carbs, your body breaks them down into glucose, which is then used as a primary source of energy. By reducing your carb intake, you lower your glucose levels, forcing your body to look for alternative energy sources, such as fat, which is the principle behind ketosis.

Set a Daily Carb Limit

To effectively enter ketosis, most people need to limit their net carb intake to 20 grams or fewer per day. However, this limit can vary from person to person, and some individuals may need to stay under 50 grams per day. It's important to monitor your carb intake and make adjustments as needed. You can use nutrition trackers and food labels to help you stay within your carb limit.

Choose the Right Foods

Focus on eating whole, unprocessed foods that are naturally low in carbs. This includes meat, fish, eggs, and non-starchy vegetables. Avoid sugary foods, refined grains, fruit juices, and starchy vegetables like potatoes. Opt for lower-carb snacks like nuts, cheese, and eggs instead of chips, pretzels, and crackers.

Modify Your Meals

Make some simple swaps and adjustments to your meals. For example, use lettuce wraps instead of bread or tortillas. Choose meat or fish dishes over pasta or rice-based options when dining out. Start your day with a low-carb breakfast like eggs or yogurt instead of sugary cereals or granola. You can also incorporate more healthy fats into your meals, such as olive oil, butter, and avocado.

Try Intermittent Fasting

Intermittent fasting can be a useful tool to help you reduce your carbohydrate intake. By fasting for short periods, you can lower your insulin levels and encourage your body to burn fat for fuel. Common intermittent fasting methods include the 16/8 method (fasting for 16 hours and eating within an 8-hour window) and the 5:2 method (eating normally for five days and restricting calories for two days).

Increasing physical activity

While exercise makes it easier to enter ketosis, it is important to note that a lack of carbohydrates may negatively impact your exercise performance. High levels of glycogen are necessary for strenuous workouts to boost your output. This is why exercises that require bursts of energy can be more challenging for people on a ketogenic diet.

To reach a fat-adapted state, where the body burns fat more effectively, it is important to consistently keep your carb intake low, at around 30-50 grams per day or even lower, for several weeks. Once you have reached this fat-adapted state, you will be able to perform high-intensity workouts such as HIIT exercises.

For those new to the keto diet, low-intensity steady-state (LISS) cardio exercises are more tolerable than higher-intensity sessions. Examples of LISS exercises include walking, running, cycling, training on an elliptical machine, and swimming. These types of exercises are also more effective than HIIT in reducing total body fat and improving fat distribution. Additionally, low-intensity workouts are easier to recover from and are suitable for people of all fitness levels.

Fasting for short periods

Intermittent fasting (IF) can help a person reach a state of ketosis. In some controlled cases, a doctor may recommend fasting periods of 24–48 hours, but most people do not need to fast this long to reach ketosis. Intermittent fasting is mainly used as a weight loss technique. However, studies have shown that it may benefit health in many other ways. For example, intermittent fasting has been shown to reduce inflammation and improve brain function and blood sugar control.

There are many different types of intermittent fasting routines, including the 5:2 method, the Warrior Diet, and alternate-day fasting. The most popular type of intermittent fasting is the 16/8 method, which involves eating during an eight-hour time frame before fasting for 16.

Intermittent fasting, when combined with the keto diet, may help your body reach ketosis quicker. This is because your body, when fasting, maintains its energy balance by shifting its fuel source from carbs to fats. During fasting, insulin levels and glycogen stores decrease, leading your body to naturally start burning fat for fuel.

Increasing healthy fat intake

The keto diet is a high-fat, very low-carb way of eating. The diet forces your body to use fats instead of glucose for its main energy source. This metabolic process is called ketosis. During ketosis, your body breaks down fats to form substances called ketones, which are used as an alternative fuel source.

Getting enough fat on the keto diet is essential to keep the body in the metabolic state of ketosis, which burns fat for fuel. If your macronutrients are unbalanced, with too little fat and too much protein or carbohydrates, you won't get all the benefits of a keto diet, like weight loss and better blood sugar management.

Additionally, not eating enough fat on the keto diet may leave you feeling hungry and low on energy, making the diet less sustainable.

Healthy Fats to Eat on the Keto Diet

• Avocados and avocado oil
• Fatty fish like salmon, tuna, mackerel, sardines, and anchovies
• Nuts and seeds (as well as nut and seed butters)
• Plant-based oils like olive oil, avocado oil, and walnut oil
• Beef, pork, and lamb
• Full-fat Greek yogurt
• Eggs
• Cheese
• Coconuts and coconut oil
• Dark chocolate

Tips for Increasing Healthy Fat Intake

• Enjoy creamy soups and sauces made with full-fat dairy
• Use multiple fat sources at each mealtime—for example, a basic avocado toast can become even more keto-friendly with the addition of a fried egg and a sprinkle of melted cheese
• Dunk low-carb veggies in high-fat dips like creamy onion dip, ranch, or blue cheese dressing
• Roast vegetables in healthy oils like olive and avocado oil
• Sprinkle nuts and seeds on top of salads, soups, or traditional oatmeal
• Make a full-fat dairy smoothie with heavy cream, full-fat yogurt, and whole milk
• Add shredded coconut to snacks and sweets
• Load up on avocados—add them to low-carb wraps and sandwiches, bulk up smoothies, or make guacamole

Checking protein intake

Protein is essential for wound healing, injury recovery, and muscle growth. It can be broken down into amino acids, which the body uses to build new tissues. There are nine essential amino acids that we must get through food.

On a keto diet, it is recommended that people get 20 to 30 percent of their calories from protein. However, according to ketogenic diet experts Stephen Phinney, MD, PhD, and Jeff Volek, PhD, RD, the ideal way to calculate protein needs is in grams per kilograms of body weight (g/kg body weight). They recommend a target range of 1.2-2.0 g/kg body weight, depending on lifestyle. For example, a male who lifts heavy weights regularly may want to eat at the higher end of the protein range, while a smaller female who doesn't do much weight lifting may do better at the lower end.

To calculate your protein needs, first convert your target weight to kilograms by dividing it by 2.2. Then, multiply that weight in kilograms by 1.2 to get the lower end of your target protein range, and by 2.0 to get the higher end.

It is important to note that while protein can be beneficial for weight loss, too much protein may kick you out of ketosis by increasing blood sugar and insulin levels, especially in people with type 1 diabetes. However, this is unlikely to happen unless you eat a very large amount of protein in one sitting.

On the other hand, not eating enough protein can lead to several problems, including muscle mass loss, appetite changes, weight gain, delayed wound healing or injury recovery, and fatigue. It is also linked to a higher risk of death from all causes. Therefore, it is important to aim for the recommended protein intake range to support ketosis and prevent negative health consequences.

Frequently asked questions