The ketogenic diet is a low-carb, high-fat diet that has been relied on for centuries since its discovery to treat particular medical disorders like epilepsy. It was initially used to manage diabetes in the 19th century when it was presented in 1920 as a successful treatment for epilepsy in kids who were not responding to medicines. Then it was slowly discovered that the keto diet can also reduce the conditions for type II diabetes, Alzheimer’s and even polycystic ovarian syndrome.
Around the 1970s, keto began to trend as a weight-loss diet along with Atkins which is another low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet that happened to become a commercial success and this promoted low-carb diets to a whole new level. However, with only a minimal intake of protein, the ketogenic diet stands out for its extraordinarily high fat content, which can vary between 70% to 80%.
The Mechanism
The fundamental concept behind the diet is that it denies the body of glucose—the primary energy source for all body cells, which is obtained by consuming carbohydrate foods. Instead, it starts to rely on ketones, an alternative fuel source. Ketones are generated from stored fats in the body by the liver.
The brain cannot store glucose, so when deprived of glucose, it goes into overdrive as it needs a rough supply of 120 gms everyday. When you fast, or eat a very less amount of carbs, your body starts to utilize the glucose from the glycogen stored in the liver and briefly it suffices for the bodily functions. Within 3-4 days, the body runs out of stored glycogen, and insulin levels fall. This is when the body switches to burning fat. The liver starts to produce ketones from fats, in the absence of glucose.
The state in which ketone bodies start to be produced in the body is called ‘Ketosis”. Most people who live a healthy life go into a state of mild ketosis when they work out, or when they fast for extended periods of time (like sleeping). Healthy people normally create enough insulin to prevent excessive ketones from accumulating. Because the brain is now using ketones as fuel, if the diet is strictly adhered to, blood levels of ketones (also known as “ketoacidosis”) shouldn’t increase to a risky level. Various factors like body fat percentage and resting metabolism rate control when ketosis will set in the body and how many ketones are flowing around in the blood.
You don’t have to follow any certain quantity of macro-nutrients. The daily intake of total carbs is less than 50 grams, or roughly equivalent to a medium plain bagel, and it can even be as low as 20 grams. You can have around 165 grams of fat, and 75 grams of protein for a diet of 2000 calories.
In comparison to other low-carb, high-protein diets, the protein intake on this diet is kept reasonable. Consuming too much protein can hinder ketosis. Because protein’s amino acids can be transformed to glucose, this diet asks you to conserve enough protein to maintain your lean body mass, including muscle, and without causing a hindrance to ketosis.
The ketogenic diet induces positive metabolic changes swiftly right from when your body sets into ketosis. Along with weight loss, health factors like insulin resistance, high blood pressure, and raised cholesterol and triglycerides that are related to being overweight improve.
There are several theories as to how low carb diets like keto works:
- Ketone bodies,which are now the primary fuel, have a direct function in lowering hunger.
- Lean body mass reduction is encouraged, partially because of lowered insulin levels.
- The less fat content causes a satiating effect with lessened cravings
- Reduction in appetite-stimulating hormones, ghrelin and insulin when consuming fewer carbs.
- Increased calorie expenditure as a result of how fat and protein are metabolically converted into glucose.
Ketosis and Metabolism
This diet will change the way your body performs metabolism, so how much energy is actually produced? Based on factors such as physical activity, age, height, and weight, it differs from person to person. However, there is conflicting evidence that adopting a ketogenic diet may boost your rate of calorie burning. Your metabolic rate could be higher on a ketogenic diet than on any other kind of diet. While in ketosis, some studies have also discovered that people burn about 250 more calories per day than they would otherwise, while other research have found little to no change.
Thus people are advised to monitor their carbohydrate intake and restrict their net carbs (defined as total carbs minus net carbs). Those following a ketogenic diet are thus advised to monitor their carb consumption and maintain their net carbs, which are calculated as total carbs minus fiber and sugar alcohols, to 5 to 10% of their daily calories. That equates to 20 to 50 grams of net carbohydrates each day on average.
Try to rely less on your hyper-charged metabolism to burn off calories that you would not have consumed otherwise because the jury is still out on that. Your daily calorie intake should fall within a normal, healthy range. In order to maintain calorie balance (i.e., not gain or lose weight), moderately active men should consume between 2,200 and 2,800 calories per day, whereas moderately active women should consume between 1,800 and 2,200. Physically inactive men and women, both, should aim for less calories, whilst those who are very active should give themselves more. You must eat less than you already do if you want to lose weight. Experts typically advise reducing your daily calorie intake by 500 calories to lose around a pound a week.
What is a Calorie?
A calorie is a unit of measurement used for the amount of energy present in a diet. The more the calorie count, the more energy you derive. A caloric surplus, commonly referred to as eating more calories than we require, causes our bodies to store some of the additional calories as body fat.
In contrast, your body will begin to burn body fat for energy when you consume less calories than it requires. This is what we call a caloric deficit, which is required for fat reduction.
How many Calories should you consume daily?
Men typically need 2,000 to 3,000 calories per day to maintain weight, whereas the average woman needs between 1,600 and 2,400 calories per day. Keep in mind that these are simply average ranges. Your individual calorie requirements will vary depending on your age, weight, height, lifestyle, general health, and degree of physical activity.
So calculating your overall energy expenditure is the first step in determining your ideal calorie intake. The majority of ketogenic diets don’t specify calorie requirements, but they provide recommendations. Most people keep within this calorie range while following a ketogenic diet. You need to determine what your metabolism has been doing today, to put it simply.
That being said, paying attention to your daily calorie intake will only do you good. This stands true more if you tend to get carried away and binge on your comfort foods which are usually calorie-dense items. It’s also critical to keep in mind that following a ketogenic diet does not give you permission to consume an endless supply of low-carb items or to ignore calories altogether.
Do Calories Matter?
You’ve probably been told to track your calories if you’ve ever followed any kind of diet plan to lose weight.
The premise that “not all calories are created equally” and that the calories in the foods you eat on the keto diet are digested differently and that not as much of the “net” energy is absorbed by the body leads to the assumption that you don’t need to monitor calories on the keto diet.
Although it is theoretically true that different foods have varied effects on the body, the variations in the amount of net energy that different macronutrients offer are often not substantial enough to completely negate the need to be aware of your caloric balance.
A particular aspect of your overall daily energy expenditure is the thermic effect of food (TEF), which is the amount of energy your body expends to break down the nutrients in the food you eat. It takes a larger amount of energy (carbs) to burn down proteins than other macros, so it has a bigger thermic effect. In actuality, the TEF of proteins is roughly 25%, compared to about 8% for carbs, during the digestion process. Accordingly, if you consume 100 calories of protein, you will potentially only produce a net of 75 calories, compared to 92 calories from carbohydrates.
Having said that, the majority of studies indicates that proteins actually contain roughly 5.2 calories per gram, and the nutrition labeling system’s 4 calories per gram already accounts for the energy consumed through the thermic effect of food. Never assume that you are only absorbing a portion of the calories from the food you are eating.
Can you eat too many calories while doing keto?
Because our biological survival mechanisms are built to sustain homeostasis, unless you are considerably underweight or overweight, your body will typically try to maintain the weight that you are at right now. So, focusing solely on eating when you’re hungry and stopping when you’re full may not result in a sufficient calorie deficit to result in weight loss.
Due to the suppressing properties of fat, protein, and ketones, most people feel fuller after starting keto. But eating excessively big portions, topping meals with too much fat or oil, and/or snacking on high-fat foods all day long are all surefire ways to eat too many calories. So if you want to reduce weight but find that your weight is gradually increasing, it’s likely that you’ve been maintaining a calorie surplus. Lessening the amount of butter and oils you use in your meals is an easy way to combat this.
How Much Water Should You Drink?
All of us shed a significant amount of water weight when we restrict carbs. Many people following a ketogenic diet can mistake this water loss for quick fat loss results when it’s actually a sign of imminent dehydration.
You could eventually develop the keto flu, which causes symptoms like exhaustion, headaches, if you fail to refill your fluid levels. Drink around a gallon of water with a pinch of unrefined salt each day to help reduce this. Ingesting too much protein is one of the major errors that people who follow the keto diet make.
Even though the body requires a lot more energy to digest proteins than what it needs for carbs and fats, you should only be getting 20 to 25% of your daily calorie intake from proteins. The thermic effect of food may cause you to burn an additional 300 calories per day while following the ketogenic diet, which is not negligible but also not a huge amount of calories. So proteins and fats are considerably more satiating than carbohydrates, so if you only pay attention to your hunger cues, you will not have to watch calories on the keto diet.
This highlights the concept of intuitive eating, which argues that you can allow your hunger cues and cravings dictate your eating decisions, and that this should automatically cause your body to reach a healthy weight.
Protein and fat are both more satiating than carbohydrates, which can mean that you won’t eat as many calories while on the keto diet since you won’t be as hungry and your appetite and energy levels will be more steady when you learn to listen to the hunger pangs your body sends out than just eating whenever, or how you are accustomed to (3-4 meals a day).
The Atkins diet and other low-carb diets are said to be similar to the keto diet in that you must count calories, whereas on the keto diet you just need to count carbs. The idea behind intuitive eating is that you can still lose weight without tracking calories since you will naturally feel full with considerably fewer food and calories, making it difficult to overeat. While it is true that eating protein and fat instead of carbohydrates is more filling and may even increase metabolic rate, it is shortsighted to assume that everyone can adhere to the keto diet by being completely aware of their body’s needs and only eating as prescribed.
The Bigger Picture
We consume food for a variety of reasons, including emotional ones that are unrelated biochemically to the number of calories the body requires. Creating a calorie deficit is essential if you want to lose weight. You must consume less calories daily than your body expends. The hunger cues should be consistent with how much energy you actually require each day to maintain your weight, not lose weight, if your metabolism is functioning properly.
What You Can Do?
Here’s a list that will guide you to adapt the keto diet into a sustainable lifestyle that satisfies your demands:
- Monitoring your food intake by tracking your grocery list.
- Learn more about the role that fat, protein, and carbs play in the ketogenic diet.
- Try using a keto macro calculator to determine your calorie and macronutrient targets.
- Get a nutritionist to prepare a customized meal plan for your lifestyle and weight loss goals.
The three macronutrients that make up our food—fat, carbohydrates, and protein—will provide these calories. Your body size, degree of activity, and goals will determine the precise number of calories you need.
Your total calorie intake is mostly the reason behind the number you see on the scale, a percentage of that weight is made up of lean body mass, fat mass, and water retention. This depends on your macronutrient intake. Establishing and maintaining nutritional ketosis depend greatly on getting your macros right.