Karla Baker - Keto Microwave Meals: Low Carb Keto Cookbook, Including Mug Meals To Enhance Weight Loss And Fat Burning With Easy To Follow, Quick, And Delicious Ketogenic Recipes!

INTRODUCTION TO THE KETOGENIC DIET

Its been heralded as the diet to rule all diets, and has been advertised to do amazing things - from burning stubborn fat to curing or preventing cancer. Its called the ketogenic or keto diet and its taking the world by storm.

Keto is a low-carb, moderate-protein, high-fat diet that has been proven to help people lose excess weight as well as offer many other health benefits. Numerous studies have been done surrounding it that prove how effective it is.

To start off, keto has been proven to be beneficial against cancer, diabetes, Alzheimers disease, and epilepsy, among other health issues.

Keto Explained

Experts say keto is loosely based on the popular Atkins diet and other low-carb eating plans. Whats significant about it is that you need to drastically decrease your carb consumption while considerably increasing your fat intake.

Normally, your body is dependent on carbohydrates for most of its energy needs. When you go on a keto diet, the body switches to fat as the primary source of energy and gradually becomes very efficient at it. This metabolic state is called ketosis.

During the ketosis phase, the liver converts fat into ketones, which becomes the brains primary energy supply, and doctors say its a cleaner fuel than glucose from carbs.

Keto has also been proven to drastically reduce insulin and blood sugar levels. This benefits the body furthermore when combined with the increase of ketones.

Keto Diet Types

The keto diet can be approached in several ways. The 4 more popular types are the following:

Standard Ketogenic Diet - This is the most common approach and is the one recommended for most beginners. It follows the 75 percent fat, 20 percent protein, and 5 percent carbs rule when planning out your meals.

Cyclical Ketogenic Diet - This type of keto diet is recommended for those who cant wean off carbs yet. For the first 5 days, youll follow the SKD and for the next 2 days, you can eat regularly.

Targeted Ketogenic Diet - With this type, you are allowed to consume more carbs during your workout periods.

High-protein Keto Diet - This is similar to SKD wherein you follow the keto diet every day, but you can consume more protein than what is recommended. The ratio becomes 60 percent fat, 35 percent protein, and 5 percent carbs.

Of the 4 types mentioned, SKD and the High-protein Keto Diet are the most researched. The other two are considered advanced types, and are usually used by elite athletes or bodybuilders.

For the purpose of this book, we are going to stick with the Standard Ketogenic Diet.

How Keto Helps You Lose Weight

You might be wondering how can a diet that advocates the daily consumption of mostly fatty foods be effective in keeping excess weight off.

Keto has been proven in numerous studies to be very effective in helping people lose weight, as well as lower the risk factors for certain diseases. In fact, some studies even show that keto is far superior to low-fat diets, which are often recommended by doctors.

One of the most significant advantages of keto in weight loss is that this diet keeps you satiated longer between meals so you dont crave. Youre actually consuming fewer calories without the need to track calorie intake.

In one of the studies centered around keto, people who underwent this diet lost weight more than two times compared to those who were given a low-fat, calorie-restricted diet. Theres no need for you to starve yourself when undergoing keto, and it can even improve your HDL or good cholesterol levels and triglycerides.

Keto is even better than the diet plan recommended to diabetes patients by Diabetes UK. When both diet plans were compared, those who went on keto lost three times more weight versus the diabetes-centered diet.

Another factor that may contribute to the weight loss associated with keto is the increased protein consumption. An increase in protein intake has long been proven to help in weight reduction.

Other factors that may weigh in on the keto diet weight-loss effect are improved insulin sensitivity, decreased blood sugar levels, and increased ketones.

What to Eat

Keto is all about food choices since this diet revolves around getting most of your caloric needs from healthy fats, which are different from what youve been used to. These are foods that you need to include in your grocery list.

Meat Steak, red meat, sausage, ham, chicken, bacon, and turkey

Fatty fish Salmon, tuna, trout, and mackerel

Eggs Go for the omega-3 enriched or pastured varieties

Cream and butter Grass-fed is your best option

Cheese Look for unprocessed cheeses (goat, cheddar, blue, cream, or mozzarella)

Seeds and nuts Walnuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, chia seeds, and others

Healthy oils Primarily coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, and avocado oil

Avocados Perhaps the most recommended product in the keto diet. Eat the whole fruit or make some guacamole out of it.