Ketogenic Diet For Weight Loss: What To Eat - Sample Menu

The ketogenic or ketone or keto diet is one of the well-studied nutritional systems that has proven beneficial in many experiments and clinical studies.

The scheme is complex, however. Not suitable for everyone and has many pitfalls.

What is the keto diet?

This is a low-carb type of food with a high-fat menu. Similar to your regular carbohydrate-free diet or the Atkins diet.

A diet that significantly reduces the amount of carbohydrates and increases fat intake translates the body into ketosis.

Ketosis is a metabolic disease in which fat is the body's main source of energy. This occurs when the intake of carbohydrates, usually the primary source of energy, is minimized.

Ketosis occurs during fasting, pregnancy, and infancy. It can be artificially induced in adults by switching to a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet.

In ketosis, insulin levels drop. Fatty acids in large quantities leave adipose tissue and go to the liver, where they are oxidized and converted into ketone bodies or ketones, which are a source of energy.

Educated:

• beta-hydroxybutyrate, the main body of ketone circulating in the blood;
• acetoacetate - the main product of the liver;
• Acetone is a volatile ketone that is responsible for the formation of a certain breath odor.

Ketone bodies can penetrate the blood-brain barrier in the absence of glucose and feed brain cells.

The steady decline in insulin and sugar levels that occurs with a ketogenic diet has several beneficial effects on human health.

How ketosis differs from ketoacidosis

The ketosis that develops with a carbohydrate-free diet is fundamentally different from diabetic ketoacidosis.

Non-diabetics have normal blood sugar levels. When the carbohydrate stores are depleted, the liver begins to produce glucose from other sources (pyruvate, glycerin and amino acids).

This makes it possible to maintain normal blood sugar levels and ensure the concentration of ketone bodies within 8 Mmol / L, which is harmless to health.

In type 1 diabetics, the ketone level reaches 20 Mmol / l. And this condition is already life threatening.

How keto eating is: options

1. Standard protocol. This means eating a lot of protein and fat and minimizing the carbohydrates - no more than 50 g per day. The menu contains 75% fat, 20% protein and 5% carbohydrates.
2. A high protein keto diet. As with the standard regime, only more protein. 60% fat, 35% protein, 5% carbohydrates.
3. Cyclic option. This diet follows a standard diet for 5 days and is high in carbohydrates for 2 days. Reminds of the BUCH diet.
4. Targeted approach. You eat according to the ketogenic scheme and consume carbohydrates before and after training.

All the scientific studies carried out evaluated only the standard version.

Cyclical and targeted approaches are only used by athletes, mainly bodybuilders. These eating habits are not intended to help you lose weight or improve your health.

How the keto diet affects weight loss

Scientific evidence shows that this is a highly effective weight loss method that gives more consistent results than traditional low fat weight loss systems that require severe calorie cuts.

It has been shown that those who lost weight on a ketogenic diet lost 2. 2 times more pounds of excess weight, those volunteers who had a low-fat diet with a strict calorie limit.

The mechanisms of weight loss on a keto diet are as follows.

1. Significant intake of proteins that are necessary for stable, healthy weight loss.
2. gluconeogenesis. Proteins and fats are converted into carbohydrates. This process can burn extra calories as the day progresses.
3. suppress appetite. The ketogenic diet normalizes the levels of the hormones leptin and ghrelin, which are responsible for eating behavior.
4. Increase insulin sensitivity. Insulin resistance leads to weight gain. Therefore, an increase in sensitivity to the hormone accelerates the metabolism and promotes the rapid breakdown of fatty deposits and a decrease in the rate of new deposit formation.

Treatment and prevention of metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes

Metabolic syndrome is a metabolic disorder that significantly increases the risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

Signs that a person has metabolic syndrome are:

• drooping blood pressure;
• abdominal obesity (large belly);
• high blood sugar (even if diabetes has not yet been diagnosed);
• poor lipid profile (rules for self-decoding analysis for cholesterol).

All of these indicators can be improved without medication by changing lifestyle and diet, e. g. B. by switching to a ketone diet.

1. Increasing the sensitivity of body cells to the hormone insulin plays an important role in the treatment and prevention of diabetes and metabolic syndrome. A keto diet increases insulin sensitivity by 75%. Some people with diabetes may even stop taking their medication.
2. Improved lipid profile indicators. Positive changes affect both cholesterol and triglyceride levels.
3. Additional support for the body is provided by ketone-forming bodies, which themselves have beneficial properties.

What other therapeutic effects does the keto diet have?

1. Help in the treatment of epilepsy. A recent meta-analysis of 70 clinical studies found that the keto diet reduced the number of seizures by 50% in 46-62% of cases. The exact mechanism of the anticonvulsant effects through food is not known. Scientists believe that the beneficial effects may be associated with an increase in the amount of the antioxidant glutathione in mitochondria, an increase in the effects of the inhibitory neurotransmitters GABA and adenosine, etc.
2. Alzheimer's therapy. Several small studies have shown that ketone nutrition improves the condition of patients with mild Alzheimer's disease. Glucose supplies to the brain are impaired in patients with this disease. And keto bodies make it possible to energize the brain without the involvement of glucose while reducing the toxic effects of glutamate.
3. Support for patients with Parkinson's. According to some studies, a carbohydrate-free diet is beneficial for Parkinson's patients because it prevents dopaminergic neuron death and mitochondrial damage.
4. helping children with autism. There is speculation that the keto diet improves behavior in children with autism. And it makes it more effective than the Atkins diet, gluten-free and casein-free foods. However, the data on this subject is so small that it cannot be considered completely reliable.
5. cancer treatment. Tumor cells only work with glucose. You cannot get energy from ketone bodies. Therefore, the transition to the ketogenic diet promotes cell death in malignant neoplasms. However, experts emphasize that the method can only be used in conjunction with chemotherapy and with the approval of a doctor. And don't put too much hope on this approach.
6. Improves the skin condition. In particular, to eliminate acne. Low insulin levels and the elimination of all manufactured foods from the diet as the diet requires will eliminate chronic inflammation that affects the skin.
7. Treatment of polycystic ovary syndrome. The disease is associated with a disruption of the glucose and androgen metabolism. The ketogenic diet helps restore the insulin sensitivity that plagues women with polycystic syndrome.

Dos and Don'ts on the Keto Diet: List of Foods

• Sugar in any form. Apparently, sweet foods (candy, ice cream) and those that do not appear sweet, but contain this ingredient in their composition, are also classified as prohibited. It can even be a store-bought ketchup.
• Grains: wheat (including spelled), rye, barley, rice, corn.
• Vegetable oils that make you fat - soybeans, corn, sunflower, rapeseed. And trans fats too.
• fruit. Except for a small amount of berries like strawberries.
• legumes. Beans, peas, lentils, etc. Can be used in green form, e. g. B. bean pods.
• tubers and rhizomes. Potatoes, carrots, beets, parsnips, etc.
• All "dietary" foods, e. g. B. low-fat cottage cheese (in such products, fat is replaced by sugar).
• Products with sweeteners in the form of sugar alcohols (xylitol, erythritol) - have a negative effect on ketone bodies.
• Dips and sauces made using sugar, starch and flour.
• alcohol.
• All finished products in the food industry.

The ketogenic diet: What you can and should eat

• All types of meat: beef, pork, poultry, lamb, etc.
• Fish and seafood.
• eggs.
• vegetables. Preferably green. Others are allowed (tomatoes, eggplants, onions, peppers) - the main thing is that there is a lot of fiber and easily digestible carbohydrates are practically absent.
• Fatty dairy products - cream, butter, cheese.
• nuts and seeds.
• mushrooms.
• The right vegetable oils: olive oil, coconut oil, avocado.
• Fermented foods: natural yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, etc.
• spices and herbs.

Try a weekly menu for women and men on a ketogenic diet

Monday	Tuesday
Breakfast: scrambled eggs with bacon and tomatoes. Lunch: cauliflower and broccoli soup in chicken broth, sauté boiled chicken with eggplant and peppers. Dinner: a piece of red fish baked in sour cream with a vegetable salad.	Breakfast: fatty natural yoghurt without sweeteners or flavors with nuts and / or seeds. Lunch: bone broth (preferably beef) with a hard egg, a piece of boiled beef with sauerkraut (no potatoes). Dinner: Chicken stew with zucchini.
Wednesday	Thursday
Breakfast: scrambled eggs with paprika. Lunch: fish soup (no potatoes), pork chop with green bean stew. Dinner: oven-baked chicken breast with sour cream, cucumber and tomatoes.	Breakfast: normal fat cottage cheese without sugar and flavorings. Lunch: mushroom soup (no potatoes and noodles), minced meat steak with egg and vegetable salad. Dinner: fish baked under a cheese crust with vegetables.
Friday	Saturday
Breakfast: soft-boiled eggs with a slice of cheese. Lunch: pickled cabbage soup (no potatoes), chicken livers with sour cream and fried onions, with shirataki noodles. Dinner: Salad with fish and / or seafood (no potatoes and rice), but with green vegetables, tomatoes, etc.	Breakfast: cottage cheese with herbs. Lunch: Bone broth with meatballs (no flour or bread), beef azu with stewed cabbage (fresh or sour). Dinner: cooked chicken with a radish and cucumber salad.
Sunday	Go to next week
Breakfast: scrambled eggs with feta cheese. Lunch: Light vegetable soup with cauliflower and broccoli (no potatoes), whole oven-baked chicken, with cucumber and tomato salad. Dinner: mushrooms, steamed with sour cream, with vegetable salad.	Repeat the first week, trying to add maximum variety to the menu. There are many recipes in the world to satisfy the keto diet.

Rules to be followed

1. You can and should eat your fill without counting calories.
2. You can only eat the right fats. This means that you can only cook with oil that can withstand heat treatment. Salads should only be lubricated with the right dressings.
3. The diet should be high in fat. You can't focus on proteins.
4. Tea, coffee, instant chicory and many other drinks are allowed. The main selection criterion is the absence of sugar and sweeteners in the drink.
5. You should try to add lots of seasoning to your food.

Healthy snacks for losing weight with a ketogenic diet

Since no calorie counting is required for the ketogenic diet, snacking is not only allowed, it is even recommended. But they have to be right.

Allowed:

• boiled eggs;
• meat chips;
• cheese;
• nuts, seeds and various pastes and oils made from them;
• berries, for example strawberries with cream (but you shouldn't get carried away by berries);
• natural yogurt and other natural fermented milk products;
• all vegetables allowed by the diet and light salads from them.

All dairy products, be it cheese or yogurt, should have a normal fat content.

What is the "keto flu": symptoms

The first few days of switching to a low-carb diet can be difficult. Often times, uncomfortable symptoms known as the "keto flu" are observed.

Can be marked:

• Constant hunger, especially cravings for sugar;
• tiredness;
• insomnia;
• Abdominal discomfort, pain in the stomach;
• nausea and vomiting;
Constipation or diarrhea;
• Problems concentrating;
• headache and dizziness;
• muscle pain and cramps;
• irritability, lacrimation.

How long does Ketoflu last?

From several days to several weeks. It is linked to the restructuring of the body to use fats as the main fuel source. During the adjustment, there may be insufficient energy, resulting in the listed symptoms which are uncomfortable. However, they do not pose a threat.

Ketone bodies are always present in small amounts in the blood. After the first 2-3 days of a strict carbohydrate-free diet, the liver begins to produce ketones and its blood levels rise to 2-3 mM.

Adjustment is complete when cells under conditions of carbohydrate deficiency decrease the absorption of ketone bodies from the blood and increase their concentration to 8 mM. At this point the effective transport of ketones across the blood-brain barrier begins.

Why some people easily adapt to the ketogenic diet while others are difficult is not exactly understood. It is believed that a person's eating habits are important. The more easily digestible carbohydrates he consumes, the more difficult the transition is. Genetic predisposition is of some importance.

How to get into ketosis quickly with a keto diet

1. Correct water regime. When carbohydrates are removed from food, glycogen stores in the body are reduced. As glycogen accumulates around itself with a decrease in its amount of water, dehydration can develop, leading to fatigue and muscle pain.
2. Only light physical activity. During the adaptation phase of the body, only light exercises are allowed: walking, yoga classes, slow cycling. All kinds of strenuous fitness must be given up.
3. Recommended intake of mineral supplements:
   • Sodium - 3-4 grams per day;
   • potassium - 1 g;
   • Magnesium - 0. 3 g.

Creatine monohydrate and caffeine additives are also shown.

Keto breathing and specific urine odor

The transition to a carbohydrate-free diet high in fat is often accompanied by the appearance of a certain odor from the mouth. The person himself often experiences it as a metallic taste in the mouth. People around you usually perceive it as the smell of nail polish remover. Some people think it smells like fruit. The same smell is absorbed by the urine.

The phenomenon is caused by the formation of the volatile acetone ketone, which is often found in nail polish removers.

Odor is not a side effect. It simply indicates that the body is switching to working on fats and making ketone bodies. It is harmful to health. But it can be uncomfortable for people themselves and those around them, especially when it comes to breathing.

To reduce the severity of a symptom, you need:

• drink more fluids;
• eat less protein;
• use mint chewing gum;
• slightly increases the amount of carbohydrates (only if you eat less than 50 g per day).

The smell should go away on its own after 1-2 weeks.

Delayed side effects of the keto diet

In addition to Ketoflu, which wears off within a few weeks, this diet regimen can lead to delayed side effects. Possible:

• Problems with the digestive system caused by ingestion of excessive amounts of fat and dysfunction of the intestinal flora;
• gradual rise in cholesterol levels;
• increased stress on the kidneys, which can increase the likelihood of kidney failure and cause urolithiasis;
• decreased the bone density.

Possible nutritional deficiencies in a long-term ketogenic diet

Since the diet cannot be described as balanced, a prolonged stay on this diet can lead to a lack of some important components.

1. Calcium. Leaves in the urine. Since with an excess of fat, the urine becomes too acidic and the body is forced to alkalize it with calcium. In addition, a lack of carbohydrates affects the absorption of this trace element.
2. magnesium. Presumably, the gradual development of the deficiency is associated with the withdrawal from the diet of foods rich in this micro-element - cereals and fruits.
3. iron. An abundance of fat in foods affects the absorption of iron.
4. sodium and potassium. Because of the decrease in insulin levels, the loss by the kidneys increases. However, unlike other micronutrients like calcium or magnesium, the deficiency of which is noted over time, potassium and sodium disappear quickly. And in many ways, its deficiency is due to the symptoms of keto flu, which are gradually disappearing.
5. selenium. Deficiency can be due to the lack of this trace element in high-fat foods. The exception is the Brazil nut, a piece of which gives the body 100% of the daily selenium value.
6. carnitine. The disadvantage is that the compound will be consumed too quickly on a fat diet.

If you have been on the keto diet for a long time, you should regularly check the level of any substances that may become deficient over time. It is advisable to take supplements with nutrients at risk.

Who shouldn't switch to keto foods: contraindications

1. Children, pregnant and breastfeeding women, patients with diabetes mellitus and cancer may only switch to a ketogenic diet if this is prescribed by the treating doctor and under his supervision.
2. The diet is contraindicated in people with the ApoE3 and ApoE4 genotypes as it can lead to life-threatening cholesterol levels.
3. Do not follow epilepsy patients with KCNJ11 and BAD genes.
4. Severe liver and / or kidney diseases are contraindications for following this nutritional plan.

Conclusion

The keto diet is a fairly harsh nutritional system that requires an almost complete rejection of carbohydrates and the introduction of a significant amount of fat into the diet.

Switching to a ketogenic diet is often difficult to tolerate.

The nutritional regimen has received a multitude of scientific studies, many of which demonstrate its benefits for weight loss, the treatment of type 2 diabetes and neurodegenerative diseases, the normalization of lipid profiles, and the eradication of metabolic syndrome.

However, there aren't many studies looking at the health effects of prolonged diet (over a year). And, after some assumption, the constant presence of such a diet can be harmful to health.