The Ketogenic diet is taking the world by storm, but what exactly does Keto mean, and does it work?
The world of health and fitness has long been flooded with a number of fad diets that promise quick weight loss for very little effort. The truth is that losing weight isn’t easy or fast, but it’s a relatively simple process. At its most basic form, weight loss is a matter of physics. When you eat more calories than you burn, you gain weight, and when you burn more calories than you eat, you lose weight. It makes sense, then, that restricting your calories to a healthy amount and adding in some moderate exercise would lead to gradual and healthy weight loss.
This is a simple process, but it’s by no means easy. Dealing with cravings and constantly counting calories can be too much for those on a busy schedule, and it’s easy to trade healthy eating for fast food when you’re too tired or busy to cook a healthy meal. While weight loss still remains a matter of your calories in being less than your calories out, there are diet solutions that make the process healthier and easier to manage. One such option is the keto diet.
What Is The Keto Diet?
Keto Diet, formally known as a ketogenic diet, is a method of eating that severely limits the amount of carbohydrates you consume. Our diets in the West are very carb heavy, with breads, fries, and pasta making up a large portion of what many people eat. Carbs also sneak in in other “healthy” ways too, such as with fruit and fruit juice. By severely limiting carbs, we’re able to force our body to use fat as an energy source rather than sugars in the form of carbohydrates – leading to weight loss in a method that is easier and more sustainable.
For most people, ketogenic diets work without strict counting of calories. By limiting your carbs and piling up on proteins and fats like steak and even butter, you can manage to put your body into ketosis and start losing those pounds.
How Does The Keto Diet Work?
The Keto Diet, as mentioned above, refers to severely limiting your carbs in order to put your body into ketosis. The primary way in which the body obtains its energy is through glucose, which is usually found in sources like sugar, grains, bread, starchy vegetables, fruit, and legumes. When you eat this food, you build up stores of glucose which are used to power your body from day to day.
It’s important to consume food to have enough energy for your body to function properly and to give you energy, but while glucose is the primary way in which many of us get our energy, it’s not the only way. Ketosis refers to a state of the body where the liver turns to alternative energy sources when it senses the lack of glucose: In this case, protein and fat.
Benefits Of Keto Diet
While it’s certainly possible to lose weight even by eating McDonald’s every day as long as you’re eating fewer calories than your body burns, it’s by no means an easy feat. There are many benefits to a Keto diet that make it an effective way to lose weight.
One of the biggest benefits is the more lax requirements in terms of counting calories. While you still need to make sure you’re not constantly binging on unhealthy food, by limiting your carbs you’ll cause your body to focus on burning fat. Because your carb intake is reduced, you’ll also be forced to eat more proteins and fats – a diet that is much more likely to keep you full for longer. If you’re not hungry, you’re less likely to eat, leading to fewer calories consumed overall without having to track everything you eat.
While it can’t be said for everyone, many people also feel sluggish after consuming a ton of carbohydrates. Many people report increased energy and motivation when they cut out bread and pasta, focusing instead on fatty foods and high protein options like cheese, butter, and meat.
Keto Diet: Effective But Challenging
The Keto diet can be an extremely effective way to lose weight that takes some of the guesswork out of the process, but it’s important to recognize that the process isn’t an easy fix. The majority of most people’s diets are made up by carbs, and a keto diet involves more than just eating less bread. While low carb diets may be less strict, most healthcare professionals recommend consuming less than 20 grams of carbs each day – a very low amount considering that a single slice of bread has an average of 15 grams of carbs.
While Keto diets may not be easy, there are certainly thousands of people who have seen great success. If you’re tired of trying fad diets and want to try a unique diet that has a proven track record of success and is backed up by the healthcare industry, a Keto diet may be right up your alley.
