Are you wondering how to start keto diet for weight loss?
Embarking on a ketogenic diet can be the change you need. Many of us get stuck in a rut when it comes to what we eat and lack of exercise.
Trying to jump out of that rut is difficult.
Our bodies get used to poor diet and lack of physical activity. It’s tough to kick the habits that result in an unhealthy physique while we’re trying to live our everyday lives.
Often, a complete change in diet and habit is in order.
Carrying too much flab day to day, and eating too many carbs hurts your body. Junk food, not getting enough exercise – all take a heavy toll on your system.
You might even feel fatigued and unhappy with your appearance.
Your head drops, and the whole thing can be a vicious circle of feeling low. We try to adapt to different diets and make time for the gym or running, all the time juggling work and home life. It’s exhausting and making enough of a change to see physical results can be a tough place to reach.
Making Choices and Understanding the Basics of Keto
That’s why the keto diet works so well for so many people. If you’re prepared to commit to a keto diet, metabolic changes will do a lot of the hard work for you.
In a busy world, keto is proving to be a great solution.
Keto is a method which encourages dieters because it brings noticeable results. It also provides a basis for a lifestyle change that is simple to understand. As a result, it fits well into the busy cycle of everyday life.
With a lot of diets and lifestyle changes, there’s such a buzz of nonsense around them that it can be off-putting. When you try to do your research, you’ll often see articles written all over the internet.
That can be overwhelming.
The thing to remember about keto is that one of its strengths is its simplicity. There’s a lot of information, depending on where you look.
What you need to know to get started and be successful, isn’t a lot of information at all.
Note: Interested in learning about the Paleo Diet instead? Check out our guidelines for beginners!
Getting Ready to Change
I want to walk you through the basics of how to start the keto diet for weight loss process in this article. The goal is to set you up with the necessary information to get you started.
With any diet change, you’ll stand a far better chance of getting results if you know how the method works. You don’t need to be a physician or a professional athlete to understand keto. It’s a lifestyle that suits all types of people, and one that’s going to get you to the place you want to be.
What Is Keto Diet?
What is the big deal with keto anyway? How exactly can it produce such great results, without disrupting your everyday life?
It’s easy sometimes to eye all diets with a certain amount of suspicion.
The excellent news with keto is that you don’t need a science degree to get a good handle on the ins and outs of it. Though, keto does exist because of science and medicine. It’s not a new fad.
How experts today have identified keto as a diet which gets results, is simple to understand. Once you appreciate how ketosis alters the way the body fuels itself.
Ketosis and Low Carbs
Your body has a default mode for producing energy. When given the option, a human will always run on carbohydrates. When you eat carbs, the body converts them into glucose – which is sugar.
After you eat a meal that is rich in carbohydrates, your body begins to produce insulin. Insulin is the vehicle the body uses to transport blood sugars to your cells, and this is how the body fuels itself.
One of the reasons we tend to carry a bit of flab is that the body looks to create a fat store. There’s a couple of things to do with fat stores which are very useful to know.
Your body isn’t only capable of running on carbs converted into glucose. The reason that your body creates stored fat is that it keeps you from starving to death if times ever get lean. At any time with no carbs to eat, the body can turn to its fat stores and use them for energy instead of carbs.
Your Body to Be Able to Energize Itself and Run on Fat Instead of Carbs Must Switch into Ketosis
A ketogenic diet is a method of inducing the state of ketosis by adjusting carb intake. There’s not much more to it than that. If you cut your carbohydrate intake, you can get your body to switch to burning off your excess fat to use as energy.
When you first cut your carbs, you’ll find that your body not only has a store of fat, it also keeps glucose in reserve.
So, the first change that will go inside your body will be the depletion of this glucose store. Once the glucose is gone, your body will enter a state of ketosis. Meaning it starts converting fatty acids in your system into ketones.
You’ll then be creating energy by burning off fat. Which is what you want if you’re looking to lose some of the lousy weight you’ve accumulated in the form of fat stores.
Fat Intake: Changing Your Perception
The main trigger for ketosis is depriving your body of carbs; this is what triggers ketosis. Ketosis is a natural metabolic state which exists as a protection mechanism. It likely evolved way back in the history of our species as a way in which to guard against starvation.
For some early humans, ketosis may even have been a way of getting through winter.
When we use the ketogenic diet we exploit the body’s ability to run well on ketones which means we’ll need to up our fat intake. Removing carbs requires you to get 75% or so of your energy from healthy fats. This change in diet and the increase in fat consumed won’t hurt your long- or short-term health.
Reducing that carb intake to such a low level, and taking on fats, results in a sustained state of ketosis.
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Pros and Cons of Keto – What to Expect When You Begin
Whenever we decide to make a change for the better, there are hurdles to overcome. No pain, no gain is what they say – and they’re right to some degree.
Keto is no different.
The beauty of keto is that it’s a simple switch, but learning how to start a keto diet for weight loss does take a bit of getting used to at first. It’s useful to take a moment to think about the pros and cons of keto in simple terms.
Pro: When you lower your carbohydrate intake, you’ll begin to burn off fat stores. If you’re overweight, you’ll begin losing excess flab. Your body will start to change for the better. With a little bit of patience, you’ll soon begin to see very noticeable results.
Don’t forget – lower body fat levels don’t only look great; it’s also the key to being and feeling healthier.
The Pros
Pro: The health benefits of a ketogenic diet are often forgotten because it works so well for weight loss. A keto diet can be a great way to balance insulin and blood sugar levels. People living with type 2 diabetes can see positive results from ketosis. Alongside conventional medical treatments, of course.
Pro: The keto diet can be beneficial for the heart. It reduces many of the triggers and causes of poor heart health. Such as LDL cholesterol, which causes plaque to build up in arteries.
Keto also increases the production of HDL cholesterol. Burning fat for fuel also reduces triglycerides. Keto doesn’t promote the storage of fat as a high carbohydrate diet does. Triglycerides are a form of fat which accumulates in your blood when your fat stores are high. Lower levels of this fatty compound are very beneficial.
Pro: Ketones have anti-inflammatory benefits which can help with a myriad of problems. Keto may even present benefits in areas as diverse as PMS, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s Disease, and even Acne. Ketones may also improve cognitive function. Many people on a ketogenic diet report that they think more precise and in a more effective manner.
Pro: Keto reduces hunger, which bucks a trend that causes people to feel unhappy about other diets. Changes within your body resulting from ketosis cause you to generally to feel full.
Note: See our post, Learn How to Control Hunger Cravings, Starting Now for more tips on controlling your hunger pains.
The Cons
Con: When you change your diet, it may take your stomach and digestive system a little while to catch up. This is a normal and understandable part of the process, and it will improve with time.
Con: Like any diet, it may be hard at first for you to adapt mentally. The body often reacts to changes in diet with cravings. It’s important to remember that cravings and difficulty adjusting will pass. Excellent results can be had from Keto if you can get through a pretty brief period of change.
Con: If you already work out at the gym, or if you exercise often by running or a similar means, low carbs can make that hard. Again, it’s good to be mindful that your body will adapt to running on fat fast.
Determination and dedication will give you the best chance of success.
Keto Diet for Beginners – Foods to Use
You can eat enjoyable and tasty meals when you’re on a keto diet. One of the best things about keto is that you get to eat things like butter, meat, and fish. On other diets, an aversion to fat can mean tasteless and boring food – day in and day out. It’s what wears you down, and sees you yo-yo between weight loss and weight gain.
With keto, that’s not the case.
Note: Check out our 111 Paleo Recipes while you’re here!
Try making up meals by using the following:
● Fish: seafood, such as catfish, cod, salmon, tuna, trout. You can even eat sardines for breakfast on the keto diet.
● Poultry: Turkey, chicken, and duck can all form the basis of healthy meals when you’re in a state of ketosis. There’s no need to avoid them or to remove skin and fat, like on other diets.
● Beef: This is nutritious meat to eat when you’re using the keto diet. It’s versatile and full of flavor.
● Veggies: Try to source vegetables from above ground. These are the veggies that tend to have the lowest carbohydrate content. You can eat things like cabbage, cauliflower, and kale. Spinach and collards are also great ways to get nutrients while on keto. You can even eat as much avocado as you like, and tomatoes are on the menu too.
● Natural oils such as coconut oil, olive oil, and avocado oil are all fine to use when you’re using a keto diet.
Note: A lot of vegetables and fruit contain very high levels of carbohydrates. Generally, on keto, fruit is not eaten.
How to Start the Keto Diet for Weight Loss – Summary
You don’t have to look on the internet for very long before finding a million different versions of the latest and greatest diet or health regime. The amount of information we have in this digital age is fantastic, but overwhelming at the same time.
That is why the keto diet is so popular these days. It’s not new; it’s not flashy. But instead, it is simple, based on science, and has proven results for all kinds of people.
Keto gets right to the heart of the matter and tackles the most significant issue. At its core, Keto is about changing your body to run off the long-burning fuel of fat. Now instead of storing fat, your body is burning fat for energy.
This shift has incredible results.
Just like any diet or health regime, going Keto takes focus, dedication, and determination. However, for those who are willing to put in the work, Keto can be the beginning of a whole new chapter in your life.
If you found this post useful, you might want to save this pin below to your Keto or weight loss board to check the post later when new updates are announced.
