What is the keto diet, how does it affect weight loss and wellness, and what foods can you eat?
Thousands of people around the world eat fatty and high-calorie foods and literally melt before our eyes.At the forefront of world weight loss is the keto diet.A new way of eating, where you can eat only proteins and fats, excluding all carbohydrate-containing foods.
It seems that it is impossible for a modern, active person to live without carbohydrates, because it is glucose from cereals, fruits and sweets that provides the body with fuel.But the keto diet has proven otherwise: you can get energy from fat and still lose weight and be healthy.
Ketogenic diet, keto diet (eng. Ketogenic diet) is a low carbohydrate diet with high fat content and moderate protein content.
The first keto diet was developed in 1921 at the Mayo Clinic by Dr.Wilder to treat epilepsy in children: Carbohydrates often caused seizures, but ketones did not.And in the 1970s, Robert Atkins developed the ketogenic weight loss diet, which has gained immense popularity in recent years due to its effectiveness and benefits.
Ketones are healthier than glucose
Why, if we have no power, do we want chocolate?Because chocolate is a carbohydrate that is converted into glucose, which in turn gives the body energy.It turned out that by restricting the body from carbohydrates and glucose, the liver begins to convert fat into ketone bodies.They enter the brain and become a complete source of energy instead of glucose.The less carbs you eat, the more ketones your body will produce.
Ketones have many advantages over the usual glucose fuel.They enrich the body with oxygen, increase energy, support the brain and heart.Ketones combine the properties of both fat and carbohydrates, so you feel energized and full on a keto diet.It helps to combine the keto diet with intermittent fasting because there is no feeling of hunger and you can get by with two meals.By the way, following a keto diet, you don't have to force yourself to eat as usual: breakfast, lunch and dinner.Listen to your body and eat when you really want to.
The process of breaking down fats and turning them into ketones is called ketosis.According to nutritionists, it has many benefits.It helps lower insulin levels, remove fatty liver, improve cognitive performance and mood, lower blood pressure, increase energy and reduce inflammation.And most importantly, the belly fat disappears and the skin clears!You become healthier, more beautiful and thinner.
The Keto Diet: Possible Complications and Disadvantages
- Constipation.Therefore, it is necessary to eat a lot of greens and vegetables.
- Possible kidney stonescaused by oxalates (salts and esters of oxalic acid.).Therefore, you need to eat spinach with caution.It is better to drink more water with lemon.
- Insomnia and irritabilityfrom the lack of macronutrients.
- RashesDue to lack of vitamin B2.
- The smell of acetonefrom the body, urine and mouth as ketone levels rise rapidly.To reduce it, you need to drink more pure water.
- Ketoacidosis- when the body is oxidized due to a large number of ketone bodies.
The body will need time to adapt to a new nutritional system.In the initial stage, lethargy, bowel disorders and reduced attention are possible.Also, when the body enters a state of ketosis, weight decreases rapidly in the first week: excess water and fat are lost.Starting in the second week, you will continue to lose weight, but not as fast.
Diabetics, pregnant women, and people with weakened immune systems should follow a keto diet.Also, fans of active sports should not get carried away with the keto diet - you may not be able to calculate your strength and you will not be able to train.
The Keto Diet: Key Foods
Ketogenic diet diet basically per day:
- 75% - fat,
- 20% - proteins,
- 5% no more than 25 grams) - carbohydrates.
You can mix any of the listed products and create dishes that suit your taste and preferences.
What you can eat on the keto diet:
- Oils(coconut, olive, ghee, butter, avocado oil).
- Meat(poultry, pork, beef, bacon, liver and offal).Can be eaten with skin and fat.
- Fish and seafood(salmon, trout, pink salmon, salmon roe, caviar, shrimp, mussels, squid, cod liver).The fattier the fish, the better.
- Eggs(chickens and quails).
- Green vegetables(cauliflower, broccoli, zucchini, zucchini, green beans)and greenscan be eaten in unlimited quantities.Exclude potatoes, beets and carrots, give onions and garlic.
- Unsweetened fruits, berries and citrus fruits.
- Avocado, coconut.
- Mushrooms
- Coconut or almondmilk without sugar
- Full fat dairy products(cream, cheese, cream, cottage cheese).Milk - rarely, can be added to coffee.
- Flour(coconut, almonds, linseed).
- Spices and salt, balsamic sauce.
- Nuts and peanut butterwithout sugar (30-50 g per day, no more).
- Seeds (chia, flax, sesame, pumpkin seeds) and sprouts- beneficial phytonutrients.
- Herbal teas, coffee.
- Protein shakesand bars without sugar and glucose.
All cereals, soybeans, legumes, sweets and flour are prohibited!
Keto Diet: Weekly Menu (Options)
Breakfast:
- Pork fat with greens and egg whites
- Eggs with avocado and salmon
- Omelet with mushrooms and vegetables
- Scrambled eggs with cheese and tomatoes
- Cottage cheese with nuts, seeds and berries
- Egg Casserole with Bacon, Spinach and Cheese
- Almond flour and coconut milk pancakes
Lunch:
- Steamed broccoli and 200 g of any meat
- Casserole made with ground pork, cheese and eggs
- Cauliflower Mash and Chicken Patties
- Stuffed mushrooms (paprika) with cream
- Chicken soup with celery and melted cheese
- Quiche with salmon and broccoli (with almond or linseed flour and psyllium) + you can fill the quiche with any meat, liver, adding cream and cheese.
- Beef chop with vegetables
Dinner:
- Cheesecakes with coconuts and nuts
- Chicken wings with sautéed mushrooms in coconut cream (or any other)
- Steamed salmon (chum salmon, pink salmon, trout), green beans and broccoli
- Stewed zucchini with peppers and turkey urchins
- Eggs, cod liver and homemade mayonnaise
- Chicken fillet with cheese and spices
- Zucchini pasta with ground beef, pepper and cheese, fried in vegetable oil.
The keto diet is a good way to lose extra pounds and improve your body's health.But for a long-term eating pattern, choose a balanced diet of proteins, fats and carbohydrates.Then you will always be fit and in a good mood!