Keto diet! If your main target is to lose some weight – fast!– there’s nothing better for you than to try out the Ketogenic Diet, or the Keto diet. This diet is primarily for losing weight by cutting back on carbohydrates, without any form of exercise, perfect for people who can’t do physical activities.
Like most other diets, following the Keto diet means that you need to drastically reduce your carbohydrate intake, and depend heavily on protein. You can lose a lot of excess weight within the first three months of trying Keto, and it also helps in improving performance and stamina.
However, there is a special reason that makes Keto different than other diets: it has a more scientific base than just starving yourself and losing weight.
How does Keto Diet Work?
Like the Atkins diet and other low-carb diets, you need to replace all your carbohydrate intake with protein. The lack of carbohydrate puts your body in a special metabolic condition which is known as ketosis. This is the condition our bodies automatically initiate when our food intake is low. The lack of carbohydrate in the body is replaced by burning the fat already stored inside your body – one of the reasons behind your excess weight. The fat in the liver is also burned and converted into ketones, and this becomes energy to be supplied to the brain.
Since you completely avoid any kinds of fat in the Keto fat, your body ultimately breaks down all stored sugar in your blood and converts the sugar into pure energy. Your stamina increases, as does your energy level, while your excess muscles and fat is burned away inside your body without any kind of physical exertion.
How Can Keto Diet Help?
The main goal of following the Keto diet is to lose excess body weight, which is achieved when our stored fat is burned inside the body. Our fat-storing hormone, i.e. insulin, is reduced too, and that makes our body continuously burn fat. But this is not the only way that Keto can help us!
Due to the selective kind of food we eat, our sugar level drops, too. We intake almost zero amount of sugar every day in the Keto diet, which makes this a good diet for people with diabetes. It is especially pre-diabetic or people suffering from Type-II diabetes who benefit more from this diet, as simply by regulating their food intake, it is possible to keep our blood sugar level in control.
Some people also prefer to be on the Keto diet because they want to improve their concentration and mental performance. This can happen in this diet because Ketones – the hormone we get from burning fat, is actually a good fuel for our brain. Besides, lowering our intake of carbohydrates means that there isn’t any chance of a sudden sugar spike in our blood, which helps us to stay calm and focused at all time. Both of these reasons contribute to a better mental balance.
While carbohydrates seem filling, they are actually easy to digest, leaving you feeling hungry only a short time after. This is one of the reasons that we eat often, which adds to our weight. On the Keto diet, on the other hand, we are only allowed to consume pure protein. Protein is more filling than carbohydrates and stays longer in our stomachs, making us feel “full” for a longer time.
The ketogenic diet has been used as a treatment for epilepsy for decades, especially in children. A protein-based diet can reduce the number of epileptic seizures in children. It also helps in treating and reducing symptoms of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s Disease.
The health benefits of Keto diet can also be seen in the reduction of blood pressure and cholesterol level, as well as acne. Patients are prescribed a Keto diet when they are recovering from brain injury. Besides, the most miraculous use of this diet can be seen in the treatment of a number of cancer and tumours.
As you can see, the Keto diet is not only popular because it can help you to reduce a significant amount of weight. A number of scientific experiments on this diet have proved that Keto is not just a diet, but a lifestyle choice that can make our lives considerably better.
How to Start the Keto Diet?
Starting the Keto diet isn’t hard; you don’t need to remember a lot.
This is a list of everything that you can eat while on the Keto diet:
- Eggs
- All kinds of meat
- All Seafood
- Poultry
- Full-fat dairy products
- Leafy Greens
- Most low-carb Vegetables
- Berries
- Nuts and Seeds
- Good fats (Coconut oil, butter, olive oil, salad dressing, etc.)
- Artificial Sweeteners
- Water
- Dry Wine, hard liquor and champagne
- Coffee/Tea (Unsweetened)
- Herbs and Spices
These are what you cannot eat in Keto Diet:
- All kinds of grains (brown and white)
- Anything sweet, i.e. maple syrup, honey, sugar, agave, etc.
- Tubers and root vegetables
- All kinds of Fruits
- Legumes
- Particular oils (Canola, grapeseed, soybean, peanut, sunflower, sesame, etc.)
- Processed and packaged foods
- Candy, chocolates, cookies and ice creams
- Sweetened drinks and juices
- Low-fat dairy, i.e. skim mozzarella and milk, yogurt, cream cheese
- Dips and Sauces
- Beer, sweet wines, alcoholic sweet drinks, cider, etc.
If anything seems sweet or processed, it should be avoided – that’s how the Keto diet works. This is one of the few diets in the world that eliminates the intake of fruits since they all contain sugar. Any kind of sugar is completely restricted in the Keto diet, even when they come in the form of fruits and some vegetables.
Getting Help with Keto Diet
If you are serious about trying out the Keto diet – not just for losing weight, but overall wellbeing, or some specific health reasons – you might need some help. Help can come in the form of these books by Dr Charles Livingstone. You can find everything you need to know about the Keto diet from these books; not just in theory, but a complete plan, recipes, guidelines, answers, and many more.
His series of books titled the “28-day Keto Challenge” are what you are going to need to start the Keto diet. These books are not just empty words and encouragements, but a month-long guide to starting and continuing your Keto diet. The series comes with a meal plan for 28 consecutive days, as well as the recipes that you need so that you won’t be left to your imagination while cooking for yourself and your family.
This series is a set of 10 books, all about the Keto diet.
- “Keto Diet Basics” has all the primary information that you might want to know about this diet, including its origin and development, tips and tricks, and a list of what you can and cannot eat.
- “Eating Well on Keto” comes with a 28-day meal plan and a total of 38 recipes: 10 for breakfast, 14 for lunch and 14 for dinner.
- The book “Ketosis” informs you about the condition our body goes in where there is absolutely no carbohydrate or sugar intake, and what takes place inside the body.
- “Mastering Macros” deals with maintaining and calculating your nutrients so that your body can stay in balance.
- “Beating Keto Flu” is the book that helps you deal with some of the symptoms that can occur in your body when you start this diet.
- The book“Intermittent Fasting” deals with this trendy diet of fasting for specific hours throughout the day, popular for weight loss.
- “Social Situations” is a book dealing with your food choices while eating out, while eating with company, drinking with friends or attending a social event.
- “Guilt-free Desserts” is the book everyone loves. It has 36 dessert recipes that are Keto-friendly and healthy.
- The book“Yummy Avocado Recipes” has 5 recipes that use avocados – nature’s wonder food.
- The final book –“Keto Supplements Guide” has information about the important supplements that you can take while on the Keto diet.
Another book that is a complete treasure trove is “Guilt-free Desserts: Your Guide to Better Baking” by Kelly Herring, founder of Healing Gourmet.
Her book comes with two other bonus books filled with recipes and useful information.
The first book is “Awesome Appetizers: Tips, Sips and Healthy Hor d’Oeuvres Perfect for any Occasion”. Here, you can find recipes for 15 Keto-friendly, low glycemic appetizer recipes, 5 alcoholic cocktail recipes and the names of 5 appropriate holiday wines.
The second book is titled “Copycat Girl Scout Cookies: America’s Five Favorite Girl Scout Cookies Recreated with Real Food Ingredients”. This book is for everyone who loves the classic flavours of Girl’s Guide Cookies but limit them because of the calorie content. Now, with this book, you can make those favourite cookies yourself using Keto-friendly ingredients.
If you want to lose some weight fast, or if you are struggling with diabetes, cholesterol or any other diseases, the Keto Diet is what you need. With this diet, you will not only become leaner and thinner but will also find a new focus and concentration in your life. This diet can change your life, for the better. There are a lot of materials that can help you with starting a Keto diet, such as the two links above so that you can make your decision easier.
Good luck!
