Kick-Start Your Weight Loss Journey With Keto Diet Pins

The ketogenic diet, or keto for short, is a high-fat, moderate-protein, low-carbohydrate diet that has gained traction as a weight loss method in recent years. The keto diet first surfaced in the 1920s as a treatment for conditions like epilepsy and diabetes. On the keto diet, your nutrition centres on fatty foods, which will make up anywhere from 60% to 80% of your daily calories. Proteins make up 15% to 20%, and carbs are restricted to no more than 50 grams.

The keto diet is restrictive, but studies show that those who follow it are more likely to lose weight within the first 3 to 6 months than those on a more balanced diet. If you're thinking of trying the keto diet, it's best to ask your doctor or a nutritionist if it's right for you.

Know what foods to eat and avoid

The keto diet is a low-carb, high-fat diet that can be effective for weight loss and certain health conditions. 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 it becomes incredibly efficient at burning fat for energy.

Foods 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.
• Dairy: Butter, cream, and full-fat dairy products.
• Cheese: Unprocessed cheeses like cheddar, goat, cream, blue, or mozzarella.
• Nuts and seeds: Almonds, walnuts, flaxseeds, pumpkin seeds, and chia seeds.
• Healthy oils: Extra virgin olive oil and avocado oil.
• Avocados: Whole avocados or freshly made guacamole.
• Low-carb vegetables: Above-ground veggies, leafy greens, broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, and eggplant.

Foods to Avoid

• Sugary foods: Soda, fruit juice, smoothies, cake, ice cream, and candy.
• Grains and starches: Wheat-based products, rice, pasta, and cereal.
• Fruit: All fruit, except small portions of berries like strawberries.
• Beans and legumes: Peas, kidney beans, lentils, and chickpeas.
• Root vegetables and tubers: Potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, and parsnips.
• Low-fat or diet products: Low-fat mayonnaise, salad dressings, and condiments.
• Unhealthy fats: Processed vegetable oils and mayonnaise.
• Alcohol: Beer, wine, liquor, and mixed drinks.
• Sugar-free diet foods: Sugar-free candies, syrups, puddings, sweeteners, and desserts.

Be prepared to eat lots of fat

The keto diet is a high-fat, low-carb, and low-to-moderate protein diet. It involves eating a lot of fat—around 70% to 80% of your daily calories. This can be a challenge for those who are not used to eating a lot of fat or who remember the low-fat diet craze of the '70s. Here are some tips to help you prepare for this change:

• Start making small adjustments to your diet. For example, order a burger with lettuce leaves instead of a bun, or choose green veggies instead of fries.
• Choose non-starchy vegetables like asparagus, kale, bell peppers, and arugula.
• Cook with more olive or avocado oil.
• Avoid foods that are high in carbs, such as bread, pasta, chips, cookies, candy, ice cream, beans, fruit, and starchy vegetables like potatoes and sweet potatoes.
• Include more healthy fats in your diet, such as coconut oil, olive oil, avocados, cream cheese, and grass-fed butter.
• Opt for fatty animal proteins like dark-meat chicken, salmon, bacon, and ribeye.
• Use keto-friendly sweeteners like stevia, erythritol, and monk fruit.
• Drink coffee with MCT oil and butter, or sweeten it with artificial sweeteners.
• Include nuts and seeds in your diet, such as Brazil nuts, pecans, macadamia nuts, chia seeds, flax seeds, and sunflower seeds.

Know how much protein to eat

Protein is an essential macronutrient for a host of important bodily processes, including muscle growth and repair, supporting healthy bones and joints, and promoting healthy skin, hair, and nails. It is also important for those on the keto diet to eat enough protein to prevent decreased muscle mass and struggles with weight loss.

The ideal amount of protein on the keto diet is widely contested. Some sources recommend a daily intake of 20 to 30 percent of calories from protein, while others suggest 1.2 to 2.0 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. This amount can vary depending on factors such as activity level, age, and health conditions such as diabetes.

To calculate your protein needs on the keto diet, you can use the following formula: grams of protein per kilogram of body weight (g/kg body weight). For example, if you weigh 70 kg, you would multiply that by the recommended range of 1.2-2.0 to get a target protein intake of 84-140 grams per day.

It is important to note that eating too much protein on the keto diet may lead to a process called gluconeogenesis, which can potentially kick you out of ketosis. However, this is unlikely, and the bottom line is that your body needs some glucose to survive. Maintaining adequate protein intake on keto will give your body just enough glucose to function properly while still benefiting from burning ketones (fats) for energy.

Some tips for meeting your protein goals on the keto diet include:

• Spreading protein intake evenly throughout the day
• Adding nuts, seeds, or cheese to meals or as snacks
• Using a food scale to track your intake more accurately
• Choosing keto-friendly protein sources such as meat, eggs, and dairy

Get familiar with reading nutrition labels

Reading nutrition labels is a crucial step in starting a keto diet. This is because the keto diet is not just about reducing your carb intake, but also about increasing your fat intake. Therefore, you need to ensure that you are consuming enough fat and not unknowingly eating too many carbs. Here are some tips to help you get familiar with reading nutrition labels:

• Serving Size Matters: Always check the serving size on the nutrition label to understand how much of a particular food you can eat without exceeding your daily carb limit. For people aiming to maintain a constant state of ketosis, this usually means keeping carbs under 20 grams per day.
• Watch Out for Hidden Sugars: Sugars can be sneaky and hide under different names on ingredient lists. Typically, any ingredient ending with "-ose" is a form of sugar, such as dextrose, lactose, and sucrose. Other sweeteners to avoid include maple syrup, honey, and agave.
• Be Mindful of Sauces and Dressings: These often contain different types of carbohydrates, such as sweeteners or thickeners like corn starch, which can increase the total grams of carbs in a product.
• Understand Carb Counting for Weight Loss: If your primary goal is weight loss, you may want to aim for a fully ketogenic diet, which typically means keeping carbs under 20 grams per day. However, if you are not as focused on dramatic weight loss, a Low-Carb High-Fat (LCHF) diet or a moderate low-carb diet may be more suitable. These diets allow for slightly higher carb intakes, ranging from 20-50 grams per day for LCHF and 50-100 grams per day for a moderate low-carb diet.
• Stay Hydrated: Water is crucial for staying hydrated and helping with fat metabolism, especially when on a keto diet. However, be mindful of other beverages and read their nutrition labels to ensure they fit within your daily carb limit.

Know that you may experience the keto flu

The keto flu is a group of symptoms that may appear when you start a ketogenic diet. It is your body's response to entering ketosis, which can often mimic flu symptoms. The keto flu is also known as carb flu because it is your body's reaction to the withdrawal from carbohydrates.

Your body burns carbohydrates (glucose) for energy by default. When you start a ketogenic diet, your body is depleted of stored glucose and instead turns to burning fatty acids for energy. This is the metabolic process of ketosis.

Some of the most common keto flu symptoms include:

• Stomach aches or pains
• Nausea
• Dizziness
• Sugar cravings
• Cramping
• Muscle soreness
• Irritability
• Diarrhea or constipation
• Trouble falling asleep or staying asleep
• Poor focus and concentration
• Brain fog

Symptoms of keto flu generally begin within the first day or two of removing carbs from your diet. For most people, the keto flu can last a week or less, but in extreme cases, it can last up to a month.

• Start with a typical low-carb diet and give your body time to adjust before going into full keto.
• Drink lots of water.
• Take an electrolyte supplement to stop cramps and nausea.
• Ensure you are getting enough healthy fats in your diet.
• Get plenty of rest.
• Try light exercise to help relieve muscle pain and tension.

Frequently asked questions