Diet Ups & Downs series: The Ketogenic diet (keto diet)

The keto diet has become a hot topic in the health world, with people praising it for helping them shed pounds, boost energy, and think more clearly.

By cutting carbs way down and focusing on healthy fats, the goal is to get your body into a fat-burning mode called ketosis.

While it might seem a bit tricky at first, plenty of people have seen great results. In this article, we’ll dive into how the keto diet works, the benefits it offers, and what you should keep in mind before you decide to try it out.

Overview

The ketogenic diet is a very low-carb (almost zero-carb), high-fat, and high-protein diet.

The idea behind the keto diet is a metabolic state called ketosis.

Ketosis

Here is a simple explanation of the ketosis state:

Carbohydrates are the main source of energy in our bodies.

If there are no carbohydrates in the body, it starts to turn the fat cells into small molecules called ketone bodies. These ketone bodies are burned to give your body the energy it needs to stay alive and functional.

When you follow a keto diet, you will be eating no or low carb daily. Therefore, your body will be depleted of carbohydrates and start to utilize its fat to form ketone bodies to turn them into energy instead of carbohydrates.

When this happens, your body becomes incredibly efficient at burning fat and you will lose weight faster.

There are 4 types of the ketogenic diet:

1- Standard ketogenic diet (SKD): This is a very low-carb, moderate-protein and high-fat diet. It typically contains 75% fat, 20% protein and only 5% carbs.

2- Cyclical ketogenic diet (CKD): This diet involves periods of higher-carb refeeds, such as 5 ketogenic days followed by 2 high-carb days.

3-Targeted ketogenic diet (TKD): This diet allows you to add carbs around workouts.

4-High-protein ketogenic diet: This is similar to a standard ketogenic diet, but includes more protein. The ratio is often 60% fat, 35% protein and 5% carbs.

However, only the standard and high-protein ketogenic diets have been studied extensively. Cyclical or targeted ketogenic diets are more advanced methods and are primarily used by bodybuilders or athletes.

Keto diet food list

As I mentioned before, the keto diet is based on eating high-fat, high protein and low-carb, so there will be certain foods that you can eat and others that not allowed at all.

Allowed foods

Any low-carb food can be eaten and here are some examples:

1-Meat: Red meat, steak, ham, sausage, bacon, chicken and turkey.

2-Animal fats: Butter, Ghee, Lard and tallow.

3-Fish: Such as salmon, trout, tuna and mackerel.

4-Eggs: you will be eating whole eggs not just egg whites.

5-Cheese: any fatty and unprocessed cheese (cheddar, goat, cream, blue or mozzarella).

6-Nuts and seeds: Almonds, walnuts, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, etc.

7-Healthy vegetable oils: olive oil, coconut oil and avocado oil.

8-Some fruits: avocados, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries.

9-Low-carb green leafy veggies: Most green veggies, tomatoes, onions, peppers, etc.

10-Condiments: You can use salt, pepper and various healthy herbs and spices.

11-Dairy products: full-fat milk, yogurt and heavy creams.

Not allowed foods

Any food high in carbs should be limited and here is a list of them:

1-Sugary foods: Soda, fruit juice, smoothies, cake, ice cream, candy, etc.

2-Grains or starchy foods: Wheat-based products, rice, pasta, cereal, bread, etc.

3-Fruits: All fruits, except avocado and small portions of berries like strawberries and blueberries.

4-Beans or legumes: Peas, kidney beans, lentils, chickpeas, etc.

5-Root vegetables and tubers: Potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips, etc.

6-Low-fat or diet products: These are highly processed and often high in carbs.

7-Some condiments or sauces: These often contain sugar and unhealthy fat.

8-Alcohol: Due to their carb content, many alcoholic beverages can throw you out of ketosis.

9-Sugar-free diet foods: These are often high in sugar alcohols, which can affect ketone levels in some cases. These foods also tend to be highly processed.

My own keto diet meal plan

I tried the ketogenic diet myself and it really gave me better results in less time than any other diet I have ever tried, and here’s a full day of eating:

1st Meal: (5) whole eggs, fried with 2 tbsp of olive oil, cheddar cheese and green pepper.

2nd Meal: meat, bacon or fish and cucumber.

3rd Meal 3: whey protein with (1) cup of whole milk.

4th Meal: chicken breast or tuna with some green pepper and mustard.

5th Meal-5: (1) cup of whole milk and (3) cups of yogurt.

Ups

1-Rapid weight loss

A couple of days after you start the keto diet; your body weight drops significantly. Most of this weight may be just water weight at the beginning, but you will be burning more fats as you carry on with eating low-carb foods.

Keto diet VS low-fat diet

A study found that people on a ketogenic diet lost 2.2 times more weight than those on a calorie-restricted low-fat diet.

Keto diet VS normal carb diet

A study found that the ketogenic group lost 24.4 pounds (11.1 kg), compared to 15.2 pounds (6.9 kg) in the higher-carb group.

Keto diet VS diabetic diet

A study found that people on the ketogenic diet lost 3 times more weight than those on the diet recommended by Diabetes UK.

Related: How to burn more fat with weight training (even more than cardio)

2-No counting calories or tracking

For those of you who hate counting and tracking calories in each and every meal, this diet is an excellent choice for you.

All you have to do as you follow a keto diet is eliminate the high-carb foods from your diet and eat foods that contain high fat and high protein as much as you want.

I personally focus on eating fatty, high-protein foods and limit pure fats like oils and butter to just one or two meals to give me faster results when I want to lose weight in a short period of time.

3-helps in treating diabetes

Diabetes is a worldwide disease that is characterized by changes in metabolism, high blood sugar and impaired insulin function.

One study found that the ketogenic diet improved insulin sensitivity by a whopping 75%.

Another study in people with type 2 diabetes found that 7 of the 21 participants were able to stop using all diabetes medications.

As I mentioned before, the ketogenic diet can help you lose excess fat, which is closely linked to type 2 diabetes, prediabetes and metabolic syndrome.

4-Less epilepsy seizures

The ketogenic diet was originally designed in (1920) to treat neurological diseases. So, it may be beneficial for people with epilepsy.

One study found it reduced the frequency of seizures for many study participants, 7 percent of whom were seizure-free at the four-year mark. And though it wasn’t the goal of this study, nearly 20 percent of the participants lost weight while following the diet.

Downs

Although the keto diet is safe for almost every healthy person, you may experience some of these side effects:

1-Keto flu

The keto flu is a collection of symptoms experienced by some people when they first start the keto diet.

These symptoms, which can feel similar to the flu, are caused by the body adapting to a new diet consisting of very little carbohydrates.

This drastic reduction of carbs can come as a shock to the body and may cause withdrawal-like symptoms, similar to those experienced when weaning off an addictive substance like caffeine.

Keto flu symptoms may include; nausea, vomiting, constipation, diarrhea, headache, irritability, weakness, muscle cramps, dizziness, poor concentration, stomach pain, muscle soreness, difficulty, sleeping and Sugar cravings.

These symptoms are commonly reported by those who have just begun the ketogenic diet and can be distressing.

Symptoms typically last about a week, though some people may experience them for a longer period.

To minimize these symptoms, you can try a regular low-carb diet for the first few weeks. This may teach your body to burn more fat before you eliminate carbs.

A ketogenic diet can also change the water and mineral balance of your body, so adding extra salt to your meals or taking mineral supplements can help.

For minerals, try taking 3,000–4,000 mg of sodium, 1,000 mg of potassium and 300 mg of magnesium per day to minimize side effects.

2-Flat looking muscles

I didn’t suffer from the keto flu but these falt-looking muscles were my only problem with the keto diet.

A couple of days after following the keto diet, I felt a decrease in my muscle size. So I searched the web to find out if there was something I did wrong.

However, I found that eating less carbohydrate empties the muscle glycogen stores. As the glycogen leaves the muscle, the water retention within the muscle drops too.

This will make your muscles look flat which for me was a huge problem as I thought I was losing muscle.

You can fix this issue by doing a high-carb refeed day after following the keto diet for a week or two.

3-It’s hard to stick to it

In many countries, the main meal of the day must contain rice or bread. So it’s hard for those people who are used to eating rice and bread every day to stick to this diet.

The only way to fix this problem is to lower your intake of these foods gradually instead of suddenly eliminating all of them.

As you eat less amount of them, the craving for these foods starts to drop bit by bit until you feel that there is no need for them anymore.

After you reach that level you can start your keto diet as long as you want to achieve your goals.

Who should follow the keto diet?

A ketogenic diet can be great for people who are overweight, diabetic or looking to improve their metabolic health.

It may be less suitable for elite athletes or those wishing to add large amounts of muscle or weight.

The Ketogenic diet is like any other diet, it will only work if you are consistent and stick with it in the long term.

That being said, few things are as well proven in nutrition as the powerful health and weight loss benefits of a ketogenic diet.

What you need to know…

To wrap it up, the keto diet has gained a lot of attention for its potential to help with weight loss, increased energy, and sharper focus. By shifting your body to burn fat for fuel, it offers some unique health benefits. However, it’s important to go into it with a good understanding of your health and, if possible, talk to a healthcare professional, especially if you have any medical conditions. Like with any big dietary change, success on keto comes down to planning and making sure you’re getting a balanced mix of nutrients. Stick with it, listen to your body, and you’ll likely see the results you’re aiming for.