Have you tried diet after diet only to lose the weight you wanted and then gain it all back? If so, the keto diet may be for you.
Millions of people just like you are so frustrated with trying to lose weight, they’re ready to give up. Don’t give up yet.
There are a lot of so-called “diet” programs out there that teach you to count calories, take pills or subsist on a tiny boxed meal that takes 2 or 3 bites to finish. (Mmm, satisfying. Not!) The only thing the people selling these products want is your money. If you were to actually succeed through any of these companies, they’d go out of business.
Starving yourself with extreme calorie restriction is never a good idea. Especially with these pre-packaged diet plans as most of them are low-fat and high in synthetic chemicals. Low-fat diets are virtually guaranteed to keep the weight on because your body needs and craves the right kind of fat to stay healthy.
Most diet pills aren’t any better because they’ll either make you too sick or too anxious to eat. With the ketogenic diet, you eat fat to get fit and won’t feel deprived.
The Keto diet fills you up with healthy fat
With the ketogenic diet, the goal is to put your body into a state of ketosis or a “fat-burning” state. When you eat a high-sugar, high-carbohydrate diet, your body burns sugar for fuel. In a ketogenic state, it burns fat for energy. To get your body into this ideal state, you must significantly reduce your carbohydrate intake and bump up your intake of healthy fat and protein.
You combine this with “intermittent fasting” to keep you in a fat-burning state long after the diet is over. Intermittent fasting involves eating in a short 6-8 hour window and fasting the rest of the time. The easiest way to do this is to do more of your fasting at night as you sleep and then skip breakfast, eating your first meal at lunch.
What to eat on the Keto diet
When you’re on the keto diet, you’re getting most of your nourishment from healthy fat, second from protein, and third from a minimal amount of carbohydrates.
Healthy Fats
- Avocado
- Coconut Oil
- Olive Oil
- Butter
- Soft/Hard Cheese
- Mayonnaise
- Beef Tallow
- Nut Butter (Avoid Peanut)
- Heavy Whipping Cream
- Sour Cream
- Cottage Cheese
Meat/Animal Protein
- Grass-Fed Beef
- Organic Poultry
- Organic Pork
- Wild-Caught Fish
- Eggs
Nuts
- Almonds
- Walnuts
- Macadamia Nuts
- Nut Butters (Avoid Peanut)
Vegetables
All vegetables are allowed on the ketogenic diet, except those that grow in the ground. Avoid potatoes, parsnips, rutabagas, carrots, and turnips. Everything else is fine. Load up on dark, leafy green vegetables for filling, digestion-regulating fiber.
Fruit
Stick to low-carb fruits on the ketogenic diet. Cherries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, kiwi fruit, watermelon, grapefruit.
Sweetener
Stevia is the only acceptable sweetener on the keto diet.
Water, Coffee, Tea
Water, coffee, and tea are the only drinks allowed on the ketogenic diet.
How long does it take to reach ketosis?
It takes 10-30 days of strict adherence to the diet to reach a ketogenic state.
You may feel fatigued, cranky, and irritable at first but this will pass as your body makes the transition.
If you have a serious medical condition, consult with your physician and a certified dietician before using this diet. If, during the fasting time of the diet, you feel you’re going to pass out from hunger, eat something. Your blood sugar should stabilize as you get used to the change, but always listen to your body.
When 30-60 days are up, you will be able to slowly re-introduce higher-carbohydrate meals once or twice a week and your body should remain in ketosis. Just don’t overdue it.
If nothing else has worked for you, give the ketogenic diet a try and watch those excess pounds melt away.
