The ketogenic diet is a successful weight-loss program. It requires consuming very few carbohydrates – even less than the amount allowed on the low-carb Atkins diet. To understand the scientific workings of the keto plan, read on…
How does the keto diet work?
Normally, the carbohydrates contained in food are converted into glucose, which is then transported around the body and is particularly important in fueling brain function. However, if there is very little carbohydrate in the diet, the liver converts fat into fatty acids and ketone bodies. The ketone bodies pass into the brain and replace glucose as an energy source.
Ketosis is the state characterized by elevated levels of ketone bodies in the blood. Very simply put, ketosis is when your body stops using glucose for energy and instead uses fat broken down into ketones.
How many grams of carbs should I be eating daily?
A strict ketogenic diet is <20g of carbs a day, or about 5% of your total calories. It’s recommended to start out with a strict keto diet if you are a beginner so you can get the hang of eating keto foods. Some people eat under 50 grams of carbs per day and can stay in ketosis just fine. Others do a more low-carb style (Atkins) diet with less than 100 grams a day. Once you are settled in after a few weeks of strict keto start raising your carbs until you find the sweet spot for your body.
What is the nutrient ratio?
Your nutrient ratio is defined as the percentage of fat, protein, and carbohydrates of the calories you consume. The correct ratio for doing a strict ketogenic diet is 60% fat, 35% protein, and 5% carbs. This should be your number one goal for the keto diet, maintaining the correct ratio. An example of a ratio would be 100g fat, 100g protein, and 20g carbs.
Sources: reddit.com and wikipedia.com
Here’s a link to a Keto Calculator to get you started.
Some of my favorite sites:
Look at before and after keto progress pics.
Check out the keto subreddit for lots of information.
Here’s the subreddit with lots of recipes.
