Ketogenic diet plan – Tips to get the most out of you

The Ketogenic Diet, also known as the Keto diet, is a reasonably popular weight loss method and has been successfully applied by millions of people, so what's so particular about this weight loss diet? Let's find out.

What is the Keto Diet?

The Keto diet is a very low-carb, high-fat method that brings many health benefits. It has many of the same price points as the Low Carb and Atkins diets.

When you eat fewer carbs and increase your fat intake, your body goes into Ketosis.

When your body goes into this mode, it will “crazy” burn fat for energy; it also converts fat in the liver into ketones and fuels the brain.

More than 20 studies show that this regimen can help you lose weight and improve your health.

The Keto diet may also help fight diabetes, cancer and epilepsy, and Alzheimer's disease.

What does Keto mean?

The Keto in the word Ketogenic comes from the fact that the body makes small energy molecules called “ketones.” This is a source of fuel to replace when the body lacks Glucose in the blood.

This phenomenon will occur when you eat minimal carbohydrates (converted into blood sugar) and a moderate amount of Protein (excess can also prevent the Keto process from happening).

The liver will make ketones from fat; these Ketones will be used as fuel for the body, especially the brain.

The brain is an energy-consuming organ of the body, and it cannot function directly with fat but can only work with energy from Glucose or Ketones.

In a ketogenic diet, your body will switch to burning fat for maximum energy. Insulin levels will drop very low, and fat burning will increase.

The body will “seek” all fat reserves to burn it for energy, which helps you lose fat significantly.

Details of the working principle of the Ketogenic Diet

Everything that wants to work requires energy; for the body, energy is the calories from Carbs, Protein, and Fat you put into your body.

The principle of correct weight loss is fat loss, not weight loss because fat is not lost, but weight loss is just water, and it will soon make you gain weight again.

And how to burn fat, that is, to reduce the amount of Glucose in your body. Because when the Glucose in the body remains, the fat will not be processed, and it will be more when you eat carbs in the body. So, cutting carbs will lower your glucose levels and allow you to burn fat.

The process is short like that, but if you want to understand more deeply, read on.

Carb is the body's main energy source, as it will be broken down into glucose for energy, and you can compare it to a source of electricity for an electric bicycle.

You certainly don't have to ride a bike while the bike is full of electricity, right, and your body will not burn fat when it is full of Glucose in the body.

Eating more Carbs will add more Glucose, making it redundant and stored by the body for use at another time called Glycogen.

However, because Glycogen is only stored within a limit of 100-120g in the average person, when it reaches the limit, but the Glucose is still loaded, they continue to be converted into fat by the body and stored throughout the body.

Thus, it can be seen that the biggest cause of obesity is from eating too many carbs, not eating fat.

Because of this, when you reduce your carb intake by only 1/10 of normal, you will probably reduce your glucose intake; lack of Glucose will continue to find a reserve in the liver (Glycogen), and if it is also dry, the new fat will be found.

When fat is used for energy, it is broken down into Acetyl-CoA. It is an important component of the Krebs cycle that occurs in cell mitochondria, and this cycle will produce ATP to help the body with energy to function.

Although fat is broken down into Acetyl-CoA, it is not used immediately and must continue to be broken down into Acetoacetata and Beta-hydroxybutyrate or ketone bodies for short.

Ketone bodies are transported to the cell, and the cell converts it back to Acetyl-CoA, which is then used in the Krebs cycle to generate ATP.

This whole process of burning fat for energy is called Ketosis, where the name Ketogenic Diet comes from.

What are the types of Ketogenic Diets?

There are many variations of the keto diet, but here are the four most common.

• Standard Diet: On this diet, you eat extremely low carbs (5%), moderate amounts of Protein (20) and high amounts of fat (about 75%).
• Rotating Keto Diet: When following this diet, your carb intake will vary by day, for example, you will have 5 days of low carb and 2 days of high carb.
• Targeted keto diet: This diet will allow you to eat extra carbs around the time of your workouts.
• High Protein Keto Diet: It is similar to a standard keto diet, but the protein content will be higher, typically 60% fat, 35% protein, and 5% Carb.

Of the 4 types, the standard diet and high protein diet have many studies; the remaining 2 types are usually only applied by professional athletes with a clear understanding of nutrition.

The information in this article about the keto diet will apply to the standard model. Although other types of eating also apply the same principle.

Does the Keto diet help with weight loss?

As noted above, the Keto diet is powerful in weight loss and disease risk reduction.

It is also built on accepted scientific research. Because since ancient times, people in the hunter-gatherer era also lived mainly in a state of Ketosis.

This regimen is more highly recommended than the Low Carb Diet.

Moreover, this diet can help you lose weight without counting every calorie intake.

One study found that people who ate Keto lost weight 2.2 times faster than those on a low-fat and calorie-restricted diet. Triglyceride and HDL cholesterol levels also improved (7).

Another study found that people on the Keto diet lost 3 times faster weight than those following the Diabetes UK diet.

There are a number of reasons why the Ketogenic diet is better than Low Carb, including the increased protein content and the many benefits it provides.

How the Keto Diet Helps You Lose Weight

• Higher protein intake: Increasing the amount of Protein in your diet has long been shown to increase calorie burn in the body.
• Limit carbs: Reducing carbs helps limit a significant amount of calories and thereby helps burn excess fat.
• Gluconeogenesis: This is the mechanism by which the body turns to fat and Protein for energy to make up for the lack of carbs, helping to burn more calories.
• Decreased appetite: This is aided by the hormones Leptin and ghrelin.
• Improves Insulin Sensitivity: Helps improve body energy use and metabolism.
• Reducing fat storage: With the Keto diet, the body will increase fat burning for energy instead of storing them.
• The Keto diet also helps fight slow metabolism.

Signs of slow metabolism include

• High Blood Pressure
• Fat belly
• High levels of LDL cholesterol
• Low HDL cholesterol levels
• High blood sugar

Many factors can be eliminated by simply changing how you eat and live.

Insulin is one of the causes of diabetes and metabolic disease. With Keto, it helps to improve insulin sensitivity and there have been studies showing that going on a Keto diet can improve insulin by 75%. (twelfth)

Other Benefits of the Keto Diet

• Heart disease: Improve body fat, increase HDL cholesterol, and reduce sugar and blood pressure.
• Cancer: It can slow down the growth of tumors.
• Alzheimer's disease: Helps relieve symptoms and slows the progression of this disease.
• Epilepsy: Helps reduce seizures significantly.
• Parkinson's disease: Keto eating may help reduce symptoms of this disease.
• Polycystic ovary syndrome: The keto diet can help lower insulin levels, which plays an important role in this condition.
• Brain damage: One animal study found it may help restore brain function after injury.
• Acne: Reducing insulin and sugar will help improve acne.

However, it should be noted that these studies are still quite far from final decisions.

What should not eat when following the Keto diet?

Below is a list of foods to avoid while following this diet.

• Foods containing sugar: Soft drinks, cakes, candies, ice cream…
• Grains and starches: Wheat, pasta, rice, vermicelli, pho…
• Fruit: All fruit except berries
• Beans: Peas, lentils, green beans….
• High-carb vegetables: Sweet potatoes, potatoes, carrots, …
• Low-fat foods
• Sauces
• Foods containing unhealthy fats: Delicate heads, mayonnaise…
• Wine
• Sugar-free diet drinks: These are drinks that are high in sugar and highly processed.

Foods to eat in Keto

The foods you should eat include

• Meat: All kinds of meat
• Fatty fish: Like salmon, tuna, mackerel…
• Eggs: All kinds of eggs
• Cheese: Unprocessed cheeses (cheddar, goat, cream, blue or mozzarella)
• Nuts: Almonds, walnuts, flaxseeds, chia seeds…
• Vegetable oils: Extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, avocado oil…
• Low-calorie vegetables: Most green vegetables, tomatoes, onions, and peppers….
• Spices: Salt, pepper, herbs and healthy seasonings.

See also: 44 types of low-carb foods to eat to lose weight very well

Standard keto menu model for you for 1 week

If you want to start this keto diet right away, here is a sample keto menu for you for 1 week

2nd

• Morning: Bacon, eggs, tomatoes
• Lunch: Chicken salad with olive Oil, cheese
• Pre-workout: Oats, Whey Protein
• After Workout: Banana, Whey Protein
• Dinner: Salmon, asparagus fried in avocado oil

3rd

• Breakfast: Eggs, tomatoes, basil, and goat's milk cheese fried eggs.
• Lunch: Almond milk, peanut butter, cocoa powder.
• Before Workout: Sweet Potato, Whey Protein
• After Workout: Whey Protein, Banana
• Dinner: Fried meatballs with cheese, and green vegetables.

4th

• Morning: A glass of Whey Protein + strawberry milkshake
• Lunch: Shrimp salad with olive Oil, 1 avocado
• Pre-workout: Banana, 1 scoop of Whey protein
• After exercise: 1 scoop of Whey protein
• Dinner: Grilled pork with cheese, broccoli, and vegetable salad.

Thursday

• Breakfast: Fried eggs with avocado, salad, onions, peppers and spices
• Lunch: Eat nuts, celery, salad and eggs
• Before training: Eggs, Oats
• After Workout: Banana, Whey Protein
• Dinner: Boiled chicken breast, vegetable salad.

Friday

• Morning: Unsweetened milk, peanut butter, cocoa milk and stevia.
• Lunch: Stir-fried beef with coconut oil, eggs, salad
• Before Workout: Oats, Sweet Potatoes, Whey Protein
• After Workout: Banana, Whey Protein
• Dinner: Bacon, eggs and cheese.

Saturday

• Morning: Fried eggs with green vegetables
• Lunch: Chicken breast, mixed vegetables with olive Oil
• Before practice: Boiled eggs, Oats
• After Workout: Banana, Whey Protein
• Dinner: Fish, egg, spinach salad with olive Oil

Sunday

• Breakfast: Fried eggs, bacon, mushrooms
• Lunch: Chicken, mushroom, egg salad, 1 tablespoon of Whey
• Dinner: Steak, Egg Salad

It would help if you tried to eat a lot of meat and green vegetables throughout the day because it contains many benefits for the body.

Healthy snacks when eating Keto

In many cases, you will feel hungry before it's time to eat, so if you want to eat something light, here are some dishes for you.

• Fish
• Cheese
• Almond
• Boiled eggs
• Dark Chocolate
• Whey smoothie with almonds or cultured fruit
• Cocoa milk
• Pure yogurt
• Strawberry
• Celery
• Or a small portion of the main meal

Possible side effects and how to minimize them

Although it is very safe for healthy people, there may be some side effects at first because the body has not adapted.

This phenomenon is called keto flu and it usually happens within the first few days

Manifestations are feeling of not enough energy, or hunger, slow nerve function, trouble sleeping, feeling nauseous, digestive discomfort and reduced energy to exercise.

To avoid this, start reducing carbs slowly instead of completely so you can get used to the new habit.

The Keto diet can also alter your body's water and mineral balance, so add a pinch of salt and minerals to your meals.

The minerals you can take are Sodium (3000-4000mg), Potassium (1000mg), and Magnesium (300mg); every day will see a significant reduction in symptoms.

At least, in the beginning, you should eat enough but avoid consuming too many calories. Weight loss with the keto diet still has to follow the calorie deficit principle.

Food supplements to use when following the Keto diet

• MCT Oil: MCT Oil helps increase energy levels and has a more Ketone effect.
• Minerals: Salts and minerals may need to be added at first
• Caffeine: Helps increase energy, and improve fat-burning performance.
• Creatine: Creatine offers many health and performance benefits. It is beneficial when you apply Keto with exercise. You can use it after or before training.
• Whey: Using Whey protein will add more Protein and increase fat burning.

Who should not adopt this keto diet?

Although it is safe for healthy people, if you fall into one of the following situations, you should not apply this regimen.

• People who are taking diabetes medication.
• People who are taking medication for high blood pressure.
• Those who are breastfeeding.

If you have any other health problems, get your doctor's approval before adopting this diet.

Frequently asked questions about the Keto diet.

1. Can I eat carbs again?

Yes, of course, but it's important to reduce your carb intake significantly at first. After 2-3 months, you can eat carbs again on special occasions, then go back to the old diet.

2. Will I lose muscle?

There is a small risk of muscle loss on any diet. However, muscle loss is negligible when combined with exercise due to the high protein content.

3. Is it possible to gain muscle while eating Keto?

Yes, but it will not be able to achieve optimal performance like a moderate carb diet. For more details on this, you can read this article.

4. Do I need to Refeed or Load Carbs?

You don't need to, but a few days of high-calorie intake can help.

Refeed or Load carb can be understood as eating days with higher calories (or higher carbs) than previous days.

5. How much protein should I eat a day?

Protein should be eaten in moderation, as consuming large amounts of protein can increase insulin levels and decrease ketones. You should only keep your protein intake to about 35% of your all-day calories.

If you eat 2000 calories a day, the protein level will account for about 700 calories, equivalent to 175g of Protein.

6. My urine has a fruity smell; is it normal?

This is a normal phenomenon when your body enters the ketosis phase; no need to worry.

7. My breath smells bad; what should I do?

This is a common side effect; try drinking flavored water or chewing sugar-free gum.

8. I heard that Ketosis is very dangerous; is it true?

It is possible that people confuse Ketoacidosis with Ketosis. Ketosis is a natural phenomenon, while Ketoacidosis occurs when you have uncontrolled diabetes.

Ketoacidosis is dangerous, but Ketosis is safe.

9. I have digestive problems and diarrhea; what should I do?

This is a common side effect and will go away after 3-4 weeks. If it still doesn't go away, eat more foods with fiber. Adding extra media can also help.

Ketogenic Diet Summary – Everything about the Keto Diet for Weight Loss:

The Keto diet is good, but not everyone can apply it

A diet like Keto can be very beneficial for people who are overweight, have diabetes and are looking to improve their metabolism.

It may not be suitable for athletes, professional sportsmen, or those looking to gain muscle by weight training.

And like all other diets, it only works when you have the right eating habits and a reasonable living regimen, and it takes a long enough time.

Therefore, consider what your goals are to be able to decide whether to follow this Ketogenic Diet or not.