Keto Diet For Beginners

So you want to lose weight and you don’t really know..how! Welcome, If you are new to Keto diet this is a great keto diet for beginners!

Keto Diet For Beginners

Keto Diet For BeginnersThe keto diet is short for “ketogenic diet.” It’s a high-fat, low-carb eating plan that has the potential to turn your body into a fat-burning machine.

The keto diet changes the way your body converts food into energy. Normally, your body turns carbohydrates (think bread and pasta) into glucose for energy. Eating a lot of fat and very few carbs puts you in ketosis, a metabolic state where your body burns fat instead of carbs for fuel.

If you need a helpful Resource of Keto Diet tips, check these helpful Keto resources out!

WHAT ARE KETONES?

When your body can’t get glucose from your diet, your liver turns body fat and fat from your diet into molecules called ketones, an alternative source of fuel. This puts you into ketosis, aka prime weight loss mode.

You’re in ketosis when your ketone levels measure 0.8 millimoles per liter. The keto diet is one way to get your body to make ketones. Other ways to run on ketones include intermittent fasting and using up your glucose reserves by exercising.

BENEFITS OF THE KETO DIET

The keto diet quickly boosts weight loss because your body turns fat from your diet and your fat stores into ketones. And unlike glucose, ketones can’t be stored as fat because they aren’t digested the same way.

That’s surprising, right? For decades, you’ve heard that fat makes you fat. Your body is actually built to use fat as an alternative source of fuel. For most of history, people weren’t eating three square meals and snacks throughout the day. Instead, humans would have to hunt and gather their food, and they learned to thrive when there wasn’t any food available, sometimes for days on end. To keep going, their bodies used stored fat for energy. Thanks, evolution.

HERE ARE JUST A FEW BENEFITS OF A KETOGENIC DIET FILLED WITH QUALITY FATS:

• Burns body fat: When you’re on keto, your body uses stored body fat and fat from your diet as fuel. The result? Rapid weight loss.
• Reduces appetite: Ketones suppress ghrelin — your hunger hormone — and increase cholecystokinin (CCK), which makes you feel full. Reduced appetite means it’s easier to go for longer periods without eating, which encourages your body to dip into its fat stores for energy.
• Reduces inflammation: Inflammation is your body’s natural response to an invader it deems harmful. Too much inflammation is bad news because it increases your risk of chronic disease. A keto diet can reduce inflammation in the body by switching off inflammatory pathways and producing fewer free radicals compared to glucose
• Fuels your brain: Ketones are so powerful that they can provide up to 20 percent of your brain’s energy needs, which is way more efficient than the energy you get from glucose. Did you know your brain is made up of more than 60 percent fat? That means it needs a lot of fat to keep the engine humming. The good fats you eat on a ketogenic diet do more than feeding your day-to-day activities — they also feed your brain.
• Increases energy: When your brain uses ketones for fuel, you don’t experience the same energy slumps as you do when you’re eating a lot of carbs. When your metabolism is in fat-burning mode, your body can simply tap into its readily available fat stores for energy. That means no more energy crashes or brain fog. Ketosis also helps the brain create more mitochondria, the power generators in your cells. More energy in your cells means more energy to get stuff done.
• Curbs cravings: Fat is a super satiating macronutrient. You eat a ton of good fats on keto, so you feel fuller, longer.

HOW TO LOSE WEIGHT ON KETO

So, how exactly do you lose weight on keto?

When you start eating more fat and cut out all the extra carbs (think sugar, bread, and pasta), you tend to stop experiencing the blood sugar swings and cravings that plague most people on the Standard American Diet.

When your body runs on ketones for fuel, it has a steady supply of energy in the form of body fat. When your body relies on glucose, it needs a regular hit of carbs to keep it going.

Ketones can control your hunger and satiety hormones so you feel satisfied and full, not hangry. That means fewer cravings, more energy, and increased fat-burning. Here’s how it works.

WHAT TO EAT ON KETO

The keto diet is pretty simple: Eat mostly healthy fats (75 percent of your daily calories), some protein (20 percent) and a very small amount of carbs (5 percent). This combo will put you into nutritional ketosis.

Choose low-carb foods such as meat, fish, eggs, vegetables and good fats. Check out these helpful keto resources for meal ideas.

Most people do best eating somewhere between 30-150 grams of net carbs daily.

“Net carbs” means you can subtract fiber and sugar alcohols (like xylitol) out of your daily carb count — they don’t affect your blood sugar or get stored as glycogen, the storage form of glucose.

TYPES OF KETO DIETS

• Standard keto: You eat very low carb (less than 50 grams of net carbs a day), every day. Some keto followers eat as few as 20 grams per day.
• Cyclical keto: Eat a high-fat, very-low-carb (less than 50 grams of net carbs per day) five to six days a week. On day seven, have a carb refeed day (approximately 150 grams). The Bulletproof Diet falls into this category but tweaks keto for even better performance with intermittent fasting, protein fasting and an emphasis on nutrient-dense, low-inflammation foods. Download the Bulletproof Diet Roadmap for free here.

• Targeted keto: You follow the standard keto diet, but eat extra carbs 30 minutes to an hour before a high-intensity workout. The glucose is meant to boost performance, and you return to ketosis after the workout. If your energy is suffering in the gym during keto, this style of eating might work for you.

• Dirty keto: Dirty keto follows the same ratio of fats, proteins and carbs as the regular keto diet, but with a twist: It doesn’t matter where those macronutrients come from. Dinner could be a bunless Big Mac with a Diet Pepsi. Learn more about the dirty keto diet and how it works.
• Moderate keto: Eat high fat with 100-150 grams of net carbs every day. Women often do best with this diet — restricting carbs can sometimes mess with hormonal function. Also, some athletes find they burn out with fewer than 100 grams of carbs on workout days.

HOW TO FIND WHICH APPROACH WORKS BEST FOR YOU

• First, check with your doctor before you make any major dietary changes.
• Try different styles of keto for at least a month each.
• Track your carbs, fat and protein using a food tracking app like MyFitnessPal (I love this app) and My Macros+.
• Set goals based on fat and carb intake instead of worrying about calories. Eat until you’re full, and listen to your body.