What is the keto diet?
In simple terms it is when you trick your body into using your own body fat as its main energy source instead of carbohydrates.
At time of writing this, it is among the most popular methods of losing fat easily and efficiently.
The Science Behind It
To get your body into a ketogenic state you must eat a high fat diet and low protein with NO carbs or hardly any.
The ratio should be around 80% fat and 20% protein.
This will the guideline for the first 2 days.
Once in a ketogenic state you will have to increase protein intake and lower fat, ratio will be around 65% fat, 30% protein and 5% carbs.
Protein is increased to spare muscle tissue.
When your body intakes carbohydrates it causes an insulin spike.
Which means the pancreas releases insulin which helps store glycogen, amino acids and excess calories as fat.
So common sense tells us that if we eliminate carbs, then the insulin will not store excess calories as fat.
Now your body has no carbs as a energy source your body must find a new source.
This works out perfectly if you want to lose body fat.
The body will break down the body fat and use it as energy instead of carbs.
This state is called ketosis.
This is the state you want your body to be in, makes perfect sense if you want to lose body fat while maintaining muscle.
Now to the diet part and how to plan it.
You will need to intake at least a gram of protein per pounds of lean mass.
This will help in the recovery and repair of muscle tissue after workouts and such.
Remember the ratio? 65% fat and 30% protein.
Well if you weight 150 pounds of lean mass which means 150g of protein a day. X4 ( amount of calories per gram of protein ) that is 600 calories.
The rest of your calories should come from fat.
If your caloric maintenance is 3000 you must eat around 500 less which means that if you need 2500 calories a day, around 1900 calories must come from fats!
You must eat fats to fuel your body which in return will also burn off body fat!
That is the rule of this diet, you must eat fats!
The advantage to eating dietary fats and the keto diet is that you will not feel hungry.
Fat digestion is slow which works to your advantage and helps you feel full.
You will be doing this on weekdays and then carb-up on the weekend.
After your last workout on friday this is when the carb up starts.
You must intake a liquid carbohydrate along with your whey shake post workout.
This helps create an insulin spike and helps get the nutrients your body desperately needs for muscle repair and growth and refill glycogen stores.
During this stage, eat what you want – pizzas, pasta, crisps, ice cream.
Anything.
This will be beneficial for you because it will refuel your body for the upcoming week as well as restoring your body’s nutrient needs.
Once Sunday starts, it is back to the no carb high fat moderate protein diet.
Keeping your body in ketosis and burning fat as energy is the perfect solution.
Another advantage to ketosis is once your get into the state of ketosis and burn off the fat you’r body will be depleted of carbs.
Once you load up with carbs you will look as full as ever – with less body fat – which is perfect for them occasions on weekends when you go to the beach or parties!
