There are lots of reasons why people switch to a ketogenic diet. After many years of being restricted to the therapeutic nutrition in hospitals, the keto diet is now open for everyone. The diet dates back to 1920 when it was commonly used to treat childhood epilepsy. Due to its high success rate, a lot of people started to experiment it for other uses.
Today, the primary goal of over 90% of the people who are on a keto diet is to lose weight. Keto diets offer multiple benefits as outlined on Konscious Keto, but it is safe to conclude that losing excess weight is the ultimate end game. This guide highlights everything that you need to know about the keto diet and how to get into ketosis.
What Is a Ketogenic Diet?
According to Forbes, a ketogenic diet, commonly referred to as “keto”, is a highly low-carb diet that can help you burn your body fat effectively. A lot of people out there have already experienced its wide range of proven benefits for weight loss, health, and overall body performance.
The diet is super high in fat, super low in carbohydrates, and moderate in proteins.However, the most critical element of the keto diet is a natural and normal process referred to as ketosis.
What Is Ketosis and How Does It Occur?
In simple terms, ketosis is a metabolic process that happens in your body when you are on a keto diet. Instead of burning glucose to produce energy, your body starts to burn fat since there is insufficient glucose.
Typically, your body runs on glucose which is usually produced when the digestion system breaks down carbohydrates. This is a simple process which takes place to help your body produce energy. However, when you cut back on your carb intake, your body is forced to look for other ways of filling the void.
Fat is typically the next go-to source of energy. Therefore, the moment your body detects a significant drop in your blood sugar level, fat is released from your cells into the liver. The liver then turns the fat into ketone bodies which your body utilizes as the secondary source of energy. This also explains a simple way of how to get into ketosis.
What is the Primary Role of Ketones in your Body?
You can think of the ketones produced from the above-described process as your body’s new source of energy. Since your body has been relying on glucose as the primary source of energy, it is now switching to using ketones. We can comfortably say that the “gas” your body is using has automatically turned from being regular to premium.
These new molecules referred to as ketones are now going to force your body to break down your body’s fat deposits much faster than you would imagine. Ketones are critical since they will stimulate the weight loss process. That is the whole beauty of the keto diet.
How Long Does It Take to Get Into Ketosis?
There is no one specific answer to this question. Basically, it is going to take everyone a different amount of time to get into ketosis. This is the most critical thing that you need to understand before you start to pursue how to get into ketosis. For some individuals, it may take a few days, but for others, it may take up to one week.
How fast you get into ketosis will generally depend on how your body reacts to the ketogenic diet. The bottom line is that once your body has utilized all of its blood sugar and the liver glycogen, you automatically enter ketosis.
What Are the Different Types of Ketogenic Diets?
Healthline reports that there are different versions of ketogenic diets that you should know. The standard ketogenic diet (SKD) is perhaps the most common since it features low-carb, high-fat, and moderate proteins. The standard ketogenic diet typically contains 75% fat, 20% protein and only 5% carbs.
The cyclical ketogenic diet (CKD) usually involves higher periods of high-carb re-feeds. For instance, you can have five days of strict ketogenic diet followed by two days of high-carb eating. We also have the targeted ketogenic diet (TKD) for workout enthusiasts that allow you to add carbs around workouts.
There is also the high-protein ketogenic diet that is quite similar to the standard ketogenic diet, but it includes more protein. The typical composition of the high-protein ketogenic diet is usually 60% fat, at least 35% protein and 5% carbs.
However, it is good to note that only the standard and high-protein ketogenic diets are used extensively. The other types of keto diets are more sophisticated and mostly used by athletes and bodybuilders.
What Should You Eat While on a Keto Diet?
The most important thing that you need to keep in mind if you are pursuing the idea of idea ofhow to get into ketosis is that you need to avoid carbs as much as possible. You will have to keep your carb intake to under 50grams per day to achieve better results.
While counting carbs can be helpful, you don’t have to worry if you are sticking to your guide of how to get into ketosis. Typically, you need to consume a lot of natural fats, eggs, cheese, vegetables that grow above ground, fish and seafood.
What Should You Drink?
Water is the perfect drink if you want to get into ketosis faster. However, coffee and tea are good drinks too. Ideally, you should avoid all sugary drinks and don’t use sweeteners such as sugar in your coffee or tea. Simply add a small amount of cream or milk to your coffee or tea, and you are good to go.
Conclusion
If you really want to lose the excess weight that you carry naturally, then you need to try out the keto diet. This diet has changed the lives of many individuals out there and turned their bodies from sugar-burners to fat-burners.
Furthermore, there are a lot of success stories about keto that should motivate you to take that first step. If what you have heard about the keto diet sounds too good to be true, try it out and experience the difference.