{"id":2389,"date":"2016-01-15T00:56:53","date_gmt":"2016-01-15T00:56:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/?p=2389"},"modified":"2016-01-15T00:56:53","modified_gmt":"2016-01-15T00:56:53","slug":"the-ketogenic-diet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/nutrition\/the-ketogenic-diet\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ketogenic Diet"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ketogenic-diet\"It has become increasingly popular, as of late, the ketogenic diet<\/strong> (high-fat, adequate-protein, low-carbohydrate<\/strong>). However the diet is not new. In fact, it has been around for quite some time. Doctors and scientists have been implementing ketogenic diets in the prevention and control of cancer, epilepsy, and obesity for hundreds of years.<\/p>\n

Recently a lot of people have been knocking the ketogenic diet. In their defense, the ketogenic diet certainly has its pitfalls. First and foremost, most people won\u2019t be able to do it because of the almost complete avoidance of carbohydrates that it requires.<\/p>\n

It is not the perfect diet for everybody, no diet is. Of course, it\u2019s not for pregnant women or people who with certain ailments; but that\u2019s no reason to demonize it completely.<\/p>\n

In my opinion, the ketogenic diet has its place. From a bodybuilding perspective, it can serve as an awesome contest-prep diet.<\/p>\n

For the non-bodybuilder, the following are some benefits I think everybody would enjoy:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Increased Satiety\u2028<\/strong>
    \nThe increased in healthy fat consumption greatly improves satiety. Alleviating hunger is critical on a diet. It\u2019s inevitable but can be mitigated. The digestion of proteins and fats are much slower than carbs and therefore satisfy your hunger much longer.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      \n
    1. Initial Weight Loss\u2028<\/strong>
      \nIt\u2019s common for people to drop 6-10 lbs during the first week of a ketogenic diet. However, let me caution you. Ninety percent of that weight will be water weight. The decrease in carb consumption will deplete glycogen stores and allow for less water retention.<\/p>\n

      Each gram of carbohydrate requires approximately 2.5 oz. of water to help with digestion, etc. Naturally, when carbs are cut out, your body holds on to less water.<\/p>\n

      This doesn\u2019t mean that the only weight you lose from the diet is water weight. Once you have successfully \u201cfat-adapted,\u201d you will begin to lose body fat.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        \n
      1. More Energy<\/strong>
        \nOnce successfully adapted, you will find that your energy doesn\u2019t have the ups and downs like it usually does. You\u2019ll find that you have a constant amount of energy throughout the day.<\/p>\n

        Following a keto meal, you will find that you are not sluggish or need a nap an hour after you eat.\u00a0\u2028\u2028Fats and protein are digested more slowly than carbohydrates. Therefore, you will not have the same spike in blood sugar as you do with a mostly carb meal.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        So what is this diet, of which I speak? No carbs? What will I use for energy?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

        Well, all calories are technically energy. While carbs are the body’s\u00a0preferred<\/em> source, they are not the only source. The body likes carbs because they are easily used as energy. The bad news is that they are easily stored as fat if eaten in excess.<\/p>\n

        The ketogenic diet suggests that the majority of your calories come from fat, somewhere in the ball part of 70-80% of your calories. Protein will consists of 10-20% and the remaining will be trace carbs (mainly in the form of vegetables).<\/p>\n

        Click below\u00a0to continue to Page 2<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

        <\/p>\n

        By eating more fat and much fewer carbs, your body will transition into utilizing fat for energy (both dietary and stored). This transition takes some time and it will vary among different individuals.<\/p>\n

        The underlying premise to eating a ketogenic diet is to help your body burn more body fat. This will not happen if you are still eating in a caloric surplus. Although, eating in a caloric surplus will be more difficult on a ketogenic diet, as compared to other diets. This satiety affect has much to do with the success people experience while eating a ketogenic diet.<\/p>\n

        The recommended protein intake is lower than I have recommended in the past (“How much Protein do I need?<\/a>“)\u00a0and what I typically like to recommend. The ketogenic diet aims for the minimal protein intake necessary so that every gram is utilized for muscle repair and normal body functions.<\/p>\n

        By foregoing carbohydrates, you are forcing your body to adapt to utilize fat as energy. It is more difficult to do and your body doesn\u2019t prefer<\/em> to do it, but it can<\/em>\u00a0do it. This is a basic survival mechanism that our ancestors used many years ago to survive harsh conditions with little food.<\/p>\n

        No carbs? So, what do<\/em> I eat?<\/strong><\/p>\n

        First, let me say this: many people fail when implementing a ketogenic diet because they neglect vegetables. They think that they can eat endless amounts of bacon, butter, and meat and acquire the physique of their dreams. That\u2019s just not the case. Green, leafy, cruciferous vegetables are a critical component.<\/p>\n

        In my opinion, it\u2019s quite easy to over-do the butter consumption. I\u2019m not a huge fan of bacon either, from a nutritional perspective. Pigs don\u2019t limit themselves to a specific diet. Often times, you can find them eating trash, literally. That doesn\u2019t bode well for nutritious meat.<\/p>\n

        The meats you consume must be of the highest quality:\u00a0 grass-fed beef, wild-caught fish, organic, cage-free, free-range (outside) chickens, etc. You will be getting a lot of calories from fat. You need to ensure that you are getting quality sources.<\/p>\n

        To help increase your fat calories, you may need to consider oils. Macadamia nut oil, coconut oil, and olive oil are great choices. Trust me, it will be difficult to consume the amount of fat recommended at first. These oils can help out tremendously.<\/p>\n

        This article is far from an extensive over-view of the ketogenic diet. Rather, it\u2019s just to make you more aware of what it actually is. Personally, I like the diet in specific contexts. I have put clients on it, in the past. However, I always know that clients will not be on this diet forever. Therefore, I always have an exit strategy.<\/p>\n

        If you are interested in setting up a ketogenic diet, we would be more than happy to do that for you. At Nutritionaly.com, we offer a great service of finding you the correct diet for your nutritional needs and goals. You can find more information about what we do, here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        It has become increasingly popular, as of late, the ketogenic diet (high-fat, adequate-protein, low-carbohydrate). However the diet is not new. In fact, it has been around for quite some time. Doctors and scientists have been implementing ketogenic diets in the prevention and control of cancer, epilepsy, and obesity for hundreds of years. Recently a lot …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2390,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[95,17],"tags":[125],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2389"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2389"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2389\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2390"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2389"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2389"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2389"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}