The 10 Most Asked Questions About What Is A Keto Diet

Ketogenic diet or keto diet is one of the most popular diet regimens people like to follow to lose weight. Keto diet has proved to be helpful to people looking to shred that extra fat. If you are starting out with keto, this article explores the 10 most asked questions about what is a keto diet.

What Is A Ketogenic Diet?

In simple terms, a ketogenic diet or a keto diet is a diet which is high in fat and protein while extremely low in carbohydrates. Note that carbohydrates need to be extremely low in the range of 20-50 g per day. Compare this to a medium size banana which has 27 g of carbs (more than half of the carb calories are already consumed in a single banana).

Will A Keto Diet Help In Losing Weight?

Yes, a keto diet will help you lose weight faster when compared to other diets. The reason being that, most of the body’s cells use blood sugar or glucose as their main source of energy which comes from carbohydrates that we eat. If we deprive this source of energy for the body, it starts to rely on the liver to break down stored fat into molecules called ketones to use as energy. This process is called ‘ketogenesis’ or ‘ketosis’ and hence the name ‘keto’.

How Many Days Will It Take To Enter Ketosis?

It typically takes two to four days to reach a state of ketosis (when fat becomes the main source of energy).

What Do I Eat In A Keto Diet?

In a diet, a person’s 90% of daily calories must come from fat. Another variation of keto diet is where most of the calories come from a combination of fat and protein while very few from carbohydrates. A sample keto meal’s macros looks like this: 165 g of fat, 20 g of carbohydrates, 75 g of protein. Example of foods that are keto friendly and high in fat include nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, olive oil, etc.

Related: Top 4 Best And Easiest Keto Breakfast Ideas.

What To Expect When Starting A Keto Diet?

Keto diet is hard since most of us eat carbs in our daily standard diets. Limiting carbs to such low levels as 20-50 g a day may take a toll on the body. Some initial side-effects may include fatigue, low energy levels, mood swings, and cravings.

Related: Satisfy cravings by eating keto-friendly snacks.

Should I Count My Macros In A Keto Diet?

If you are starting out your weight loss journey, counting macros (that is fat, protein, and carbs), is of utmost importance. Losing weight is also about math as much as physical activity and optimum nutrition. Take the example of banana, just 1 medium size banana has 27 g of carbs (although banana has its own health benefits), which is easy enough to throw you off your daily goals. Knowing your target macros and sticking to them will prove to be highly beneficial in the long term. Learn how to calculate macros.

How To Keep A Track Of Macros And Stay On Goal?

Use a free app like myfitnesspal; it provides a whole list of various foods with calories already defined. So you can just skip the math and let the app track your calories. Just setup goals in the app to ensure you get alerted when you’re approaching your set calorie intake for the day.

Is Keto Good For Long Term?

While keto diet is a great way to lose weight fast, it may not be a viable option for the long term. You can use keto as a short term strategy lose fat, but it may not be helpful in the long term since the lost weight comes back when you go off the keto diet. Most of the weight lost during keto is water weight, once you add carbs back into the diet, the lost water weight may come back.

Are There Any Risks With Keto Diet?

While there is no evidence to suggest any major risks associated with a keto diet, it may lead to fatigue, cravings, and mood swings due to low amount of sugar in the body. It is also hard to follow when compared to similar diets like the Mediterranean Diet. While a keto diet may prove to be beneficial in the short term leading to rapid weight loss, it may not be the most sustainable since people are not able to hold on to a diet like keto.