Reasons Why the Keto Diet Can Help You Lose Weight and Burn Fat
A ketogenic diet, or keto for short, is a low-carb, high-fat diet that can provide a number of health benefits. It effectively turns your body into a fat-burning machine, while simultaneously helping you lose weight and boost your energy levels.
How Does Keto Impact Weight Loss?
Keto has some traits that are reminiscent of the Atkins diet and other low-carb plans. The keto diet involves dramatically reducing your carbohydrate consumption and substituting fat instead. This dietary alteration will put your body into a metabolic state known as ketosis.
Quick Keto Facts
- Ketosis occurs when the body is denied access to glucose, its main fuel source.
- In ketosis, stored fat is broken down for energy, producing ketones.
- Some people use a ketogenic diet to lose weight by forcing their body to burn surplus fat stores.
- The ketogenic diet was originally developed in the 1920’s to treat epilepsy but was inadvertently discovered to offer many other health benefits.
- There are multiple variations of the ketogenic diet.
Foods to Avoid in Keto
Any food that is high in carbohydrates should be limited or removed while attempting to achieve ketosis. Some of these foods include:
- Sugary foods: Cake, ice cream, candy, soda, fruit juice
- Grains or starches: Cereal, pasta, rice, wheat-based foods
- Fruit: All fruit should be eliminated, with the exception of small portions of berries.
- Beans: Peas, kidney beans, legumes, chickpeas, lentils
- Root vegetables: Potatoes, carrots, sweet potatoes
- Low-fat packaged products: These “diet” products are highly processed and usually pack a lot of carbs.
- Condiments and sauces: Many condiments and sauces contain sugar or unhealthy fats. Check the labels!
- Unhealthy fats: Limit things like vegetable oil and mayonnaise.
- Alcohol: Alcoholic beverages are high in carbs, which can take your body out of ketosis.
- Sugar-free diet foods: These products can be high in sugar alcohols, which affect ketone levels. They’re highly processed, too.
Keto-Friendly Foods
You should base most of your meals on these types of foods:
- Meat: Steak, ham, chicken, sausage, bacon, turkey
- Fatty fish: Trout, tuna, mackerel, salmon
- Eggs: Pastured and omega-3 whole eggs
- Butter and cream: Products of grass-fed animals, if possible.
- Cheese: Unprocessed cheddar, cream, goat, blue or mozzarella
- Nuts and seeds: Almonds, flax seeds, walnuts, chia and pumpkin seeds
- Healthy oils: Mainly extra virgin olive oil, but coconut and avocado oil are ok, too.
- Avocados: Whole avocado or fresh guacamole
- Low-carb veggies: Greens, tomatoes, peppers, onions
- Condiments: Salt, pepper, healthy herbs