There is a new diet that has taken over the world population, commonly referred to as “a ketogenic diet” or simply the keto diet. It is a high-fat diet with a touch of moderate protein and low carbohydrates. Many people are trying the keto diet because they intend to lose weight and improve their health circumstances. Beginners who are interested in this lifestyle may be confused as to what rules to follow. This gives rise to the question, ‘What are the golden rules for keto?’
The Golden Rules to Follow the Ketogenic Diet
People on the keto diet have often said that it is a hard thing to try and if you know you will not be consistent, then stay out of it. Relax, do not let that downhearted report scare you. Starting a new diet can indeed be daunting but knowing the keto rules is all you need. Sticking to these rules will help you reach and maintain ketosis. The rules are called ‘golden’ because they are very important and vital for the body.
Follow Keto Diet Rules for Ketogenic Diet Success
Sticking to fundamentals sets you up for ketosis, weight loss, and improved health. No doubt you entered into this journey in order to get something. A diabetic patient, for instance, can use this as a means to control his blood sugar. Someone is epileptic can use this medium to minimize the occurrence of fits. Even those who are hypertensive can find this medium helpful in lowering their blood pressure. Following the rules of the ketogenic diet may help you get all of these benefits and more.
Qualities you will need to make this journey a success includes determination, discipline and self-control. Without a doubt, the diet calls for effort and hard work but none of these is compared to the result you will see at the end of the day.
Limit Carbs to Achieve Ketosis on the Keto Diet
Stay under 50g net daily from low-carb vegetables, nuts, and seeds. Avoid sugar and grains. Let’s share an interesting piece of information with you. We bet you do not know that there are different kinds of this diet and they have different amounts of carbs to take. These kinds are briefly discussed below:
A standard ketogenic diet for weight loss is the most followed one that contains 70% fat, 20% fair protein, and 10% amount of carbs. It is more of a restrictive diet. A cyclical type is one in which someone can stay low on carbohydrate food for five days and then eat high-carb food two days. Then continue the circle again. Another kind is the targeted kind where people who follow consume more carbs whenever they engage in heavy exercise. The idea is as they exercise, the carbs burn fast. They reduce their consumption of carbs when they do not involve in exercise. The high-protein diet is another kind that suggests increasing your portion of protein food, that is, 35% protein, 60% fat and 5% carbs per day.
| Read Also: Cottage Cheese recipes keto & Low carb
Watch out that the foods you eat do not contain much carbohydrates. Food like bread, pasta, legumes and starchy vegetables contain high amounts of carbs. The consumption of fruit juice and drinks should also be restricted because they are high in carbohydrates like the others. Processed foods should not be called to mind. Instead, increase your consumption of keto nuts like almonds and coconut, as well as seeds like flaxseeds and vegetables such as cucumber or zucchini. Unprocessed whole foods are also a good choice for beginners.
Your body enters a metabolic state called ketosis when it uses stored fat for fuel instead of carbohydrates. If you want to reach and maintain this state in no distant time, limit your carb intake to at most 50g carbs per day. In this process, the body enters a metabolic state called ketosis.
The basic idea here is to limit carbohydrate intake and not totally eliminate or cut it out. They still remain part of the macronutrients that the body needs for function and development. It gives energy and totally eliminating carbohydrates can create problems for you. So just take things in moderation and do not go above the daily carb limit.
Knowing how to calculate carbs is also necessary to evaluate how much of it you consume. Some keywords to know are total carbs, net carbs, sugar alcohol and fiber. Total carbs include all the digestible and indigestible carbs that you eat. Net carbs is the amount of carbs that actually enters your bloodstream. Fiber is the type of carbohydrates that your body does not absorb. Sugar alcohol is not completely absorbed into the body so don’t worry, it does not have any significant effect on your sugar level.
To calculate net carbs per day, first, add up the total carbs of the food. Then you subtract the fiber and sugar alcohol level of the food.
Eat Healthy Fats – Key Foods to Eat on the Ketogenic Diet
Get fats from olive oil, avocados, salmon. Fats fuel ketosis and satisfy. Feel free to dig into these delicious nuts like almonds and macadamia. These nuts are nutrient-dense especially in the area of unsaturated fats. They can also help you maintain good health and weight loss.
It is a popular belief that low-fat diet will make someone healthier but that is a lie. The truth is since you are not taking in plenty carbs, there is a need to substitute it with something else your body will use for metabolism and fat is the perfect substitute. There is no where it is stated that eating fat is harmful except you are consuming the wrong kinds of fat like saturated fat or trans-fat. These kinds are harmful and dangerous for you.
Food high in trans-fat include snacks, baked foods, fried foods and the fatty part of red meat. You can avoid these and properly cook your meals to ensure you are consuming the right kind.
Choose Quality Proteins to Follow the Keto Diet
Emphasize grass-fed meats, free-range poultry, fatty fish. Limit processed meats. Opt for fresh seafood like fish, shrimps and crabs as they do not contain carbohydrate but they contain protein as well as minerals like selenium and potassium.
Consuming fresh meat and poultry will give you high quality protein as they do not contain carbohydrate as well. The intake of this high-protein food will in muscle mass preservation as you limit your intake of carbohydrate. They will also supply you with additional minerals that will assist in fighting off some illnesses and diseases.
Opt for eggs too as they are a good source of quality protein. One whole large egg approximately supplies 1g of carbs and 6g of protein to your body.
To remain in ketosis, you should watch out that you do not consume too much protein. Especially if you are going on the standard type, you need just a fair amount of 20%. Eating too much protein may make you experience what is called gluconeogenesis. This is the process where the body turns the amino acids from the protein you eat to glucose since there is no enough carbohydrates. This can increase your blood sugar level and put you at risk of developing diseases.
| Read Also: How Many Eggs per Day on a Keto Diet?
Maintain Electrolytes to Prevent Keto Flu
Get enough sodium, potassium, and magnesium. Supplement if needed. Get 3000-5000mg sodium and 1000-3500mg potassium daily. Magnesium citrate, 400mg daily prevents dehydration, cramps, headaches, and fatigue. People who are starting the keto diet often have the occurrence of keto flu. This especially happens when the body excretes water and other useful nutrients.
To lessen the severity or seriousness of this flu, always remain hydrated by drinking plenty of water. Do not forget to retain your electrolytes by salting your dish and your drink. Concentrate on foods that are rich in sodium, potassium, and magnesium. You can also take broth.
Avoid consuming more than the recommended amount of minerals per day as they may need to serious health problems. Just stick to the approved quantity and do things in moderation.
| Read Also: Keto Electrolyte Drink Recipe
10 Great Keto Cookbooks to Inspire Low-Carb, High-Fat Recipes
As stated earlier, it can be challenging to stick to a strict and clean keto diet. It can be tempting when you go on occasions and parties and you cannot just gorge on sweets and those high-carb delicacies. Well, that will no longer be a problem as you consider these 10 books that can help in your eating plan.
- Essential Ketogenic Mediterranean Diet Cookbook is a perfect cookbook that gives a detailed explanation on how macronutrients work.
- A Year of Easy Keto Desserts: 52 Fat Burning, Low-Carb Desserts & Fat Bombs is another interesting piece that contains delicious recipes that can be prepared in just fifteen minutes. Many of the recipes found in this book are free from gluten and other allergies so they are pretty safe to try.
- Keto for Foodies: The Ultimate Low-Carb Cookbook with Over 125 Mouthwatering Recipes is another material that creates magic in the kitchen using simple ingredients.
- Keto Copycat Recipes is a book that lets you try out the delicious recipes of popular restaurants around you.
- The Easy 5-Ingredient Ketogenic Diet Cookbook is just like it is named. With just five ingredients or less, you can prepare a simple keto meal in few minutes using just one pan too.
- Southern Keto: 100+ Traditional Food Favorites for a Low-Carb Lifestyle is a great book that teaches you how to make yummy dishes within your carb range.
- Beginners who wants to have a full enjoyment of their keto journey should get a hand on the book The Complete Ketogenic Diet for Beginners: Your Essential Guide to Living the Keto Lifestyle.
- Keto Kitchen is a great cookbook that can teach you simple keto-friendly recipes from your kitchen zone.
- Keto Your way: A Customizable Approach to a Low-Carb Lifestyle with Over 140 Recipes contains list of keto drinks, snacks and food that you can prepare according to your dietary needs and budget.
- The Keto Reset Diet: Reboot your Metabolism in 21 Days and Burn Fat Forever is a cook book that contains more than 100 recipes that you can prepare and you will experience encouraging result in just 21 days.
Do Ketone Supplements Work?
Because the ketogenic diet is quite difficult to follow, some persons have decided to turn to ketone supplements to do the function with none of the exercise or effort. It has been claimed that these supplements also help in increased energy, better sleep, ketosis, health and weight. Before you quickly jump into these, there are a few things to consider. First let’s see what these are and then we’ll consider if should be taken or not.
These supplements may come in powdery form or capsule form. There are two types which are ketone salts that are made in a lab and then prepared in powdery form and mixed with liquid and there are ketone esters that are packaged in liquid form.
Further research on ketone supplements is still ongoing to know if truly it can help one reach the state of ketosis. Consuming these supplements on a keto diet may give rise to side effects such as nausea, vomiting and discomfort. They are more expensive and have a poor aftertaste.
These supplements contain high concentration of minerals so it would not be wise to take them. They may also increase your ketone levels which may be harmful because they can make your blood acidic.
Do not deceive yourself into thinking that taking supplements will actually compensate for your high-carb food. It is rightly called a diet, meaning you have to eat the foods that makes up the diet in their right proportion. To fully enjoy the effect of the ketogenic diet, stay away from the supplements and prepare or purchase your low-carb foods.
Weight Loss Ice Hack: A Cool Way to Lose Weight
The weight loss ice hack is becoming popular among many populations in the world. It is a diet that helps people lose weight by lowering their body temperature. The belief is that people with lower body temperature experience rapid metabolism and thus burn fat quickly and easily.
The Ice hack diet includes drinking a glass of ice or cold water before bed or 30 minutes before a meal. You can also take a cold shower bath or rub some ice on your skin before bedtime. Another way to do the ice hack is to freeze your low carb fruits and veggies before eating or adding ice to your low-carb drinks. Some even use supplements like Alpilean Supplement to help boost metabolism and reduce weight.
Whether it is effectively used to promote weight loss or not is still subject to more research.
| Read Also: Keto Vs. Intermittent Fasting: Which is better for lasting Weight Loss?
Follow the Rules to get the benefits of Keto
Limit Carbs, increase healthy fats, choose quality proteins, and mind electrolytes. These are the golden rules for keto to reach ketosis and get the benefits of weight loss. Be mindful of the American diet which goes for excess minerals and unhealthy eating. Be mindful about taking too many supplements as they may knock you out of ketosis. Keep in mind too that you are not alone in this keto journey. There are helpful cookbooks written by those who are also doing this diet to help you.
Frequently Asked Questions(FAQs)
If you’re on the keto diet, avoid foods that are high in carbohydrates like fruits or fruit drinks, whole grain, sweet sauces, whole milk and starchy vegetables.
The number 1 worst carb to eat is rice. It is a whole grain food that has a high glycemic index and quickly make your sugar level shoot.
Eating healthy fats offers many benefits including weight loss as long as it is consumed in moderation. Stay away from unhealthy kind of fat.
Keto flu is a collection of symptoms that occur for a few days after following a keto diet.
While on keto, fruits you can eat include avocado, berries and lemon.
An ideal keto breakfast can include eggs, basil, olives, keto pancakes, mushroom or flaxseed porridge.
