What You Should Know About Keto Diet for Weight Loss – Have you ever heard the phrase “don’t dig your grave with your knife and fork”? While this may sound a bit harsh, it presents the need to reflect on your diet pattern — you just might have been feeding your body with the wrong foods all along.
However, there’s no reason to fret. “You don’t drown by falling in the water; you drown by staying there.” One common trend among people looking to shed weight fast is the keto diet. It’s proven to yield as much as a 13% weight loss in obese/overweight individuals.
If you’re reading this, then there’s a high chance that you’ve tried several ways (keto dieting inclusive) to lose some weight, but to no avail. This could be due to misinformation on how the keto diet works, or you’re simply not sticking to your current Keto Diet Plan For Weight Loss. Either way, this article aims to put you out of your current dilemma; read on to see how.
What Is a Ketogenic Diet?
A ketogenic diet—keto—is a healthy diet that comprises low carbohydrates and high fat. It’s designed to boost your energy levels while helping your body to lose weight. According to research, keto is particularly helpful in promoting transient, healthful changes in metabolism (physiological ketosis), resulting in weight loss.
How Ketosis Aids Weight Loss
Since the ketogenic diet replaced carbs in your diet with fat, the body simply resorts to ketones, which are gotten from stored fat, as an alternative fuel for all the body cells — a condition termed ketosis. Ketosis occurs when ketones accumulate in the blood. It’s a normal metabolism function that effectively burns fat in the body and can significantly reduce blood sugar and insulin levels, thus aiding weight loss.
One good thing about the keto diet is that its high-fat content is extremely filling and suppresses food cravings. This makes it relatively easier to follow. In addition, the high-calorie expenditure associated with the conversion of protein and fat into glucose further contributes to a reduction in weight in the long run.
Top Weight Loss-Friendly Keto Foods
Here are fantastic foods to inspire your next keto meal:
- Low-carb veggies, e.g., cabbage, kale, spinach, etc.
- Seafood, e.g., mackerel, sardines, and salmon.
- Fruits, e.g., avocado, blueberry, etc.
- Cheese, e.g., cottage cheese, goat cheese, etc.
- Eggs
- Meat, e.g., pork, grass-fed beef
- Poultry, e.g., turkey and chicken
- Healthy fats, e.g, avocado oil, coconut oil, etc.
- Nuts and seeds, e.g., walnuts, almonds, etc.
Not Losing Weight Despite a Keto Diet Meal Plan?
You may wonder why some people complain about not reaching their desired weight loss goal on a keto diet, considering it’s relatively easier to follow. The answer is simple — they’re probably doing several things wrongly. If you fall into this category, the following section informs you on what to steer clear of to enable you to benefit from your Keto Diet for Weight Loss meal plan maximally.
High Carb Intake
Anyone on a keto diet should strive to keep their carbohydrate intake at the barest minimum — only about 5–10% of their total daily calorie intake. Inability to cut down on carbohydrates would delay the attainment of ketosis, preventing the body from burning fat optimally.
Excessive Protein Consumption
Many people erroneously believe a keto diet should have a high protein content. However, this is out rightly false — the protein content of an ideal keto meal should account for only 10–20% of the total daily calorie.
It’s almost impossible to achieve ketosis with a high-protein diet. Why’s this so? The body tends to convert amino acids (from excess proteins) to sugar. This simply means the body still utilizes glucose as a source of energy and not fat.
Unregulated Calorie Intake
Weight loss is better achieved when you monitor and count your calories correctly. You should be aware of your total calorie count to avoid eating more calories than your body can burn. Despite attaining ketosis, one may still become overweight following the daily consumption of an unusual amount of calories.
High Consumption of Maltitol-Containing Foods
Described as sugary alcohol found in chocolate, pastries, and cake, it’s easy to see why maltitol is not keto-friendly. Despite its low glycemic index, maltitol affects the blood sugar level and could prevent a person from achieving ketosis.
Incessant Snacking
It’s clear that the Ketogenic Diet for Weight Loss provides immense benefits to those looking to shed weight. Unfortunately, not many people have the discipline to stick to these meal plans as they resort to intermittent snacking. While snacking can help quench your hunger cravings quickly, it’s detrimental to your weight loss goals.
Lack of Exercise
We cannot overemphasize the importance of regular exercise in weight loss. More importantly, pairing regular exercise with an effective keto diet meal plan can help fast-track your weight loss progress due to enhanced body metabolism.
High Alcohol Intake
To get the most out of your keto diet, it’s best to stay off alcohol. This is a result of the high carbohydrate content of most alcoholic drinks.
Excessive Stress
One thing to avoid whenever you are looking to lose weight is stress. Stress can increase hunger cravings, making it difficult for you to stick to your approved keto diet plan for beginners.
Little to No Motivation
The weight loss journey isn’t a walk in the park. It requires a great deal of hard work, diligence, and determination. Therefore, to keep up with your weight loss journey, you need to stay motivated and optimistic.
One excellent way to boost motivation is to keep track of your progress — a secret that most people tend to miss out on.
How the Strive App Can Help
Keeping track of your weight loss progress would help keep you going, even when it might seem challenging. Interestingly, the Strive Weight Loss Challenge App is designed to help you do just that. With the Strive app, users can track essential indexes like body fat percentage, body mass index (BMI), calorie count, and more. That’s not all; users can also monitor their weight by connecting the app to a smart scale.
In addition, the Strive app allows you to set weight loss goals for yourself and strive to achieve them within the given time. You can also set targets and compete with friends and family to attain these targets. This makes the whole idea of losing weight exciting and fun.
To get started, download Strive on your iPhone, sign up and start tracking your weight loss journey and Strive for greatness. Join us on Instagram and see others who Strive to Compete and lose weight together.
How Many Carbs Do I Have To Eat On A Ketogenic Diet?
You will be able to eat a little bit more carbs without decreasing the production of ketones if you are physically active and have a good amount of muscle mass. For individuals who are weaker and more inactive, the converse is true. Many manufactured low-carb foods include labels that list their "net carbohydrates," which are their total carbs less any added fiber and sugar alcohol sweeteners. Studies have revealed that some of these chemicals can elevate blood sugar levels by being partially absorbed. As a result, it's possible that the term "net carbohydrates" on packaged meals is quite inaccurate.
What If The Keto Diet Made Me Feel Exhausted And Weak?
Add MCT oil (medium chain triglycerides) and exogenous ketones to your supplement for a rapid boost in energy. Make sure you're getting enough of the necessary nutrients, particularly electrolytes, and that you're not dehydrated. Many keto dieters discover that seasoning their food with salt and regularly consuming bone broth helps to replenish some of the electrolytes lost while in ketosis, such as sodium, potassium, and magnesium. While reducing potential adverse effects including muscle loss, headaches, cramps, and spasms, bone broth also provides a number of other crucial nutrients and amino acids.
Can I be vegetarian and follow a ketogenic diet?
You can live a low-carb lifestyle while being a vegetarian. Protein should make up between 10 and 20 percent of your daily energy requirements, but you can still achieve this requirement by eating a diet strong in vegetarian and keto-friendly foods. Following is a list of popular vegetarian dishes that are high in protein, low in carbohydrates, and excellent sources of fat:
- Cheddar cheese
- Cottage cheese
- Whey protein powder
- High protein tofu
What are the do's and don'ts on a keto diet?
Here is the list of dos and don'ts for a keto diet :
- Do eat leafy greens
- Don't eat high sugar food
- Do increase your intake of seeds.
- Don't buy grain based food products
- Do add nuts in your diet
- Don't consume processed or natural sugar
- Do eat lean protein
- Don't eat high carb vegetables
- Do cook with high fat oils
- Don't Drink High-Calorie, High-Sugar Beverages
- DO Drink Low-Calorie, Low-Sugar Beverages
How much water should I drink on keto?
According to scientific study, it is advised that Keto dieters choose to drink at least 75 ounces of water each day. In actuality, it is strongly advised that both men and women drink 2.5 litres of water each day. Depending on a person's body mass, athletic ability, lifestyle, age, gender, etc., their water intake may differ from person to person. The amount of water you need to drink depends on whether you live in a hot or cold area because people in hotter climates tend to sweat more and lose more water as a result. There is minimal risk in consuming more water than is necessary.
How Long Do You Need to Stay on the Keto Diet to Lose Weight?
On a ketogenic diet, many people claim to lose weight quickly. When on an extremely low calorie keto diet, dieters shed an average of 44 lb over the course of four months. Due to the risks of a long-term ketogenic diet and the possibility of developing nutritional deficiencies, you should not stay in ketosis for longer than 12 weeks. During this period of adjustment after quitting the keto diet and starting to consume more carbohydrates, people frequently gain weight. Additionally, if they go back to their pre-keto eating habits after feeling deprived by the regimen, they risk gaining back all the weight they lost and possibly even more.
