Christine Bailey - Ketogenic Bible: The Complete Ketogenic Diet for Beginners--The Only Keto Guide You Will Ever Need

Introduction What is Keto?

T HIS BOOK CONTAINS information intended to help readers be better-informed consumers of health care. It is presented as general advice on health care. This book is not intended to be a substitute for the medical advice of a licensed physician. The reader should consult with his/her doctor in any matters relating to his/her health.

The simplest explanation is that a ketogenic diet is a high-fat, low-carbohydrate, and medium-protein diet. The diet became popular as a way to treat refractory epilepsy in children. It makes the body burn fat instead of carbs for energy.

The carbohydrates most people consume are converted to glucose, which the body transports around and which is important for fueling the brains functioning. However, if the body doesnt have many carbohydrates, the liver will convert fats in the body into fatty acids and ketone bodies. The ketones will then make their way to the brain to replace the glucose. This increased level of ketones helps reduce the frequency of epileptic seizures.

Nearly half the children placed on this diet experienced a reduction in seizures. The effects continued even once they returned to a normal diet.

A classic keto diet contains about a four-to-one ratio by weight of combined carbohydrates and protein to fats. This is done by eliminating high-carbohydrate foods like sugar, grains, pasta, bread, starchy vegetables, and fruits. In addition, the consumption of butter, cream, and high-fat nuts is increased.

Most fats found in food are LCTs or long-chain triglycerides. However, MCTs (short for medium-chain triglycerides) are more ketogenic. Many people who follow a ketogenic diet will use a lot of coconut oil because its high in MCTs, or they will purchase MCT oil and add it to their coffee in the morning.

Everybodys needs and bodies are different. However, the macro makeup of a keto diet is normally 60 to 75 percent of calories coming from fat, 15 to 30 percent from protein, and five to 10 percent from carbs.

After a few days on the diet, the body will enter what is known as ketosis, which we will go into later. This is when the body starts using stored and consumed fats for energy.

While this diet was originally used to treat epilepsy, people started noticing how useful it was for losing weight. When you consume carbs, the body will hold onto fluids so that it can store carbs for energy. When you dont consume as many carbs, you will lose all the stored water.

The main reason why people start a diet is to get rid of fat stores, and this diet literally targets those stores.

While the diet may seem hard to stick to because it cuts out many foods, there are several creative ways to ensure that you dont miss out on tasty meals. If you stick with it, youll notice your waistline shrinking in no time.

Speaking of foods, lots of products are aimed toward keto fans. FATBAR is one of them. The company makes snack bars that have 200 calories, four net grams of carbs, and 16 grams of fat.

Those who love coffee and are used to having vanilla lattes every morning can turn to bulletproof coffee. This is regular coffee with butter and MCT oil mixed in.

Lets dive into how to get started.

Starting a Keto Diet

T HE KETOGENIC DIET is often shortened to just keto. The word keto comes from the fact that the diet makes your body create small fuel molecules known as ketones. Once glucose is in short supply, your body uses ketones as an alternative fuel source.

When you eat a few carbs, ketones are produced. This is also true when protein intake is kept to a moderate amount. Excess protein can also be turned into sugar.

The liver creates ketones from your fat stores. Ketones will then be used as fuel throughout the different areas of your body as well as by the brain. The brain tends to use a lot of energy every day, but its not able to run off fat. It is able to get energy only from glucose or ketones.

When you follow a ketogenic diet, your entire body will change its fuel supply so that it runs almost entirely on fats. Your insulin levels will drop, and your fat burning will increase. The body will find it easier to access your fat stores to burn them. This is perfect when you are trying to drop weight; however, there are plenty of other, less obvious, benefits, like a steady energy supply, less hunger, and mental alertness.

How Low Is the Amount of Carbs?

The only way this diet works is if you eat very few carbs. The fewer carbs you consume, the more effective the diet will be at promoting weight loss. A ketogenic diet is an extremely strict low-carb diet. You will consume only 20 grams or less of net carbs every day.