A ketogenic diet is a very lowcarb and protein and a high fat diet that is known to help burn down fat. It has faced several debates over potential benefits for weight loss, health and performance.
A ketogenic is similar to any strict no-carb or lowcarb diets. A keto diet is designed specifically to result in ketosis (catabolism of fat)It’s possible to measure and adapt to reach optimal ketone levels, weight loss, or for physical and mental performance.
Read on to know all that you need to know about a ketogenic diet:
When on a Keto diet, your body switches its fuel source and runs almost entirely on fat. Insulin levels drop down and increases the fat burning process. This makes it easier to access your fat stores to burn them off.
Getting on a keto diet:
You may think that you’ve got all that it takes to switch to keto without having to track your macronutrients. Wait right there. Getting your macros absolutely correct is what you need while starting on a keto diet. While Keto is a carb-restricted, high-fat and moderate-protein approach macro distribution which more or less looks like this:
Carbs: 5-10%
Fats: 70-75%
Protein: 15-20%
When getting started, it is ideal to keep carbohydrates less than 50 grams per day. In terms of protein, it is often suggested that athletes set protein between 0.6- 1 gm. of pound of lean mass and not per pound of body weight.
For example: to calculate the requirement of a person who weighs 81 kg with a 15% body fat:
81 kg x 0.15=12.15 kg of fat
81 kg -12.15= 69 kg of lean mass
69 kg x 0.6 = 41 gm
OR
69 kg x1.0 g= 63 gm
Therefore protein intake per day is between= 41-63 gm per day. If you don’t know your percent of body fat, you can get it analyzed through a fat analyzer machine or on a body composition analysis.
Keeping your protein intake too high could end up having the same effect as eating too many carbs. That said, once you gain more experience with your personal levels of ketosis, you can start playing with how much protein you consume in a day. You can go as high as 20% of protein per day.
To calculate your fat intake, after you have your carb and protein measures set, all you need to is fill in the rest of the daily calorie intake with healthy fat sources. Approx., adding in 200-500 kcals from fat by adding in 22-55 gm. of fat per day.
It can be hard to get enough fat in the early days. Butter, nuts, coconut and olive oils, and fatty cuts of meat are all on the menu. However, don’t go overboard with polyunsaturated fats like soybean, corn, or sunflower oil as dieters who increase their intake of those fats often end up with gastrointestinal distress that causes them abort their keto program soon. So, make it a point to choose wisely.
Here’s the list of the foods that you might need to go grocery shopping for:
Fatty nuts and seeds: Cashews, nuts, pumpkin seeds
Avocado
Whole eggs
Full-fat cheese
Lamb meat/ Mutton
Chicken: Thighs and legs
Vegetables: Spinach and other greens, broccoli, asparagus, cabbage, mushrooms, bell pepper
Olive oil
Butter/ Ghee
Heavy cream
Full fat milk/ curdGain vs. Fat gain: How to Spot the Difference
Suggested Read: Weight Gain vs. Fat gain: How to Spot the Difference
Avoiding the keto-flu:
Ensuring that you get enough of your electrolytes- Sodium, Potassium and Magnesium- is essential. When you don’t plan your keto diet properly, that is when you start seeing the effects like, headache, fatigue, lethargy from the lack of these electrolytes.
Green leafy veggies are a good source for helping you with your electrolytes, so try keeping them handy. Other than that, try and maintain a good intake of salt through diet- eating salted nuts or seeds, chicken broths, etc.
Whatever you do, resist the urge to cheat, refeed, or otherwise deviate from the plan. For the first few weeks in particular, ketogenic dieting demands strict adherence. Give it a chance to work!
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If you want a detailed nutrition consultation, drop us a mail at nutrition@oziva.in or call us on 9769298556 and our experts will help you with your fitness goal
Last modified: June 23, 2017
