How To Lose Weight Using A Ketogenic Diet?

Have you reached a plateau when it comes to your weight loss goals? Does your weighing scale stuck with the needle refusing to move from its present spot? Then it is high time you change your diet and try something new that will mobilize your metabolism.

With hundreds of diets on offer, it is difficult to decide the right diet plan to try. Almost all diets prescribe cutting down on various kinds of food that will help to speed up weight loss. Some of these diets can be good for the health while some can cause side effects. It is always better to know the pros and cons of the diet before trying it. The best diet would be the one that helps to burn the stored fat in the body without sending it into starvation mode.

Created by Dr. Russell Wilder in 1924, the Ketogenic diet is a high fat, low carbohydrate diet. The combination of low carbohydrate and high fat changes the way energy is used in the body. Fat is converted into ketones, which replaces glucose as an energy source. Instead of using carbohydrate for fuel, the body now uses stored fat for energy. When the body is in ketosis, it surely helps to lose weight.

This diet uses the body€™s natural pattern to burn off extra fat stored in the body without the negative impact of insufficient calorie intake.

In the first week of ketogenic diet weight loss there is greater loss in weight as eating less carbohydrate diet expels excess water from the body. Excess sodium is also flushed out from the liver. This leads to rapid weight loss. The extra ketones produced in the body are not stored, but excreted in the form of waste through urine.

The Ketogenic Diet for Weight Loss:

• It is surprising, but the Ketogenic diet requires the person to consume more fat! You can eat cream, butter, nut and other fatty food and reduce the consumption of food rich in carbohydrate, such as fruits, vegetables, sugar, bread, grains, pasta. You can eat only 50 grams of carbohydrates per day.

• You have to careful about consuming proteins too. Too much protein can alter the ketosis stage of your body. About 60 to 80% of the calories have to come from fat. To start with, most people are unable to eat fat rich food, which helps in calorie control. On the other hand, lower carbohydrate intake reduces appetite. Fats high in medium-chain triglycerides, such as coconut oil and MCT oil, and foods high in monounsaturated and saturated fats, such as olive oil, butter, cheeses, avocado etc., can be consumed in this diet plan.

• Ketogenic diet is not a special diet that requires special food. It requires reducing the intake of food that is high in carbohydrates. Artificial sweetener should be used to cut processed sugar from your diet.

• Processed food or packaged food is a complete no-no. To achieve the weight loss goal, eat home cooked food, which is the key to lose weight in the ketogenic diet.

• Avoid eating colorful food, which are full of nutrients and minerals. Stay away from eating broccoli, sweet potatoes and berries. Apart from that eating of cakes, chocolates and bread should also be avoided.

• Eat your meals early to stay on your diet, which will also help to count accurately the intake of protein, carbohydrate and fat. This helps to follow the ketogenic diet plan for weight loss work efficiently.

• The ketogenic diet brings about a complete lifestyle change. Instead of walking into a coffee shop for a cup of coffee and sandwich, you can make coffee and have eggs at home.

• It is important to drink sufficient water. You can increase your water intake to 10 – 11 glasses. A low carb diet flushes out the excess water from the body. So, to stay hydrated, drink more water.

• Once on the diet plan, you need not weigh yourself daily. The weight loss may not be uniform. Water intake and absorption can be different on different days and this may result in varying weight loss. Concentrate on the health benefits and weight loss will follow.

• The first few days of the diet can be a little difficult. There can be cravings. A little distraction can help to overcome these cravings. Gradually the cravings will be reduced as the ketogenic diet is itself an appetite suppressant.
  

Sample Meal Plan:

• Breakfast – Two eggs, two rashers of bacon and one cooked tomato.
• Lunch – Beef burger wrapped in lettuce.
• Dinner – Green beans, mushrooms and red peppers fried in flaxseed oil with a salmon steak.
• Snacks – Unlimited yogurt and full-fat milk. Match box size of cheese, strawberries and cream and peanut butter.
  

Effects of Low Carb High Fat Diet:

• The body stores fat in various places- subcutaneous fat (under the skin) and visceral fat (in the abdominal cavity). The second type of fat is dangerous as it lodges around the organs. It leads to inflammation and metabolic dysfunction. The ketogenic diet helps to shed all this harmful fat from the body.

• Fat molecules known as Triglycerides are elevated due to high carbohydrate consumption. This can be reduced considerably with a low carbohydrate diet, which in turn cuts down the risk of heart disease.

• To have a healthy heart, it is important to have a healthy HDL Cholesterol level. The HDL carries cholesterol from the rest of the body to the liver to be excreted. Low carb diet increases the HDLlevel.

• The ketogenic diet is known to improve sugar level and insulin level in the body. Foods high in carbohydrates are broken down into simple sugar and they increase the blood sugar level. The hormone called insulin helps to store glucose in the cells. This gives rise to Type 11 diabetes. The ketogenic diet helps to treat and even reverse this kind of diabetes.

• Many studies show that a low carbohydrate diet helps to reduce blood pressure too. Lowered blood pressure helps to prevent many kinds of diseases like stroke, heart diseases, kidney failure, etc.

• High carbohydrate diet often leads to LDL cholesterol floating in the blood stream. This can lead to heart diseases. Low carb diet helps to cut down the number of LDL floating in the blood stream, keeping the heart protected.

• The ketogenic diet is good for many brain disorders like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

• It is important that the diet should not be followed for a longer period of time. Following the diet for a short time claims to bring about significant weight loss. To follow it for a longer period of time may lead to mineral and vitamin deficiency.
  

Exercise on Ketogenic Diet:

Many who go on ketogenic diet are happy about the fact that you do not have to exercise when on this diet! Even when you are asleep, the diet helps your body to burn calories. The diet is good for people who are extremely obese, or have any disability that prevents them from exercising.

But if you are the kind of person who feels that exercise can help to recharge your mood, then go ahead. It will speed up your weight loss. Muscle building and body toning will be more pronounced while on the ketogenic diet.

Ketogenic diet helps to lose all that extra fat piled on over the years. Easy to follow, it needs you to be careful about the things you eat.

So what are you waiting for? Not only will you lose weight with the help of this diet, but will also feel a lot healthier than before. You will soon be recommending the ketogenic diet to friends and family!

Hope you found this article helpful. Do share your views and experiences on the ketogenic diet for weight loss with us in the comments section.

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